Sheltering and Constructivist Strategies in ELD for K-2 Sharon Adelman Reyes DiversityLearningK12 Pasco School District PD Mini-Conference Becoming Bilingual:

Sheltering and Constructivist Strategies in ELD for K-2

Sharon Adelman ReyesDiversityLearningK12

Pasco School District PD Mini-Conference Becoming Bilingual:

Strategies for Strengthening English Language Development

February 11-12, 2011

This presentation has been adapted from

Reyes, S. A. & Vallone, T. L. (2008). Constructivist Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners,

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Sheltering and Constructivist Strategies in ELD for K–2

In kindergarten and the primary grades, games and the arts provide a natural way to engage learners in the English language arts curriculum.

Constructivist strategies and methodologies, when combined with sheltering and scaffolding, make curriculum accessible and language comprehensible.

Agenda

Theoretical overview: 30 minutes

Active participation: 50 minutes

Discussion: 10 minutes

Educational Equity for ELLs

Communicative EnglishAcademic English

Native languageCulture

Communicative vs. Academic English

BICS Basic Interpersonal

Communicative Skills

CALP Cognitive/Academic

Language Proficiency

Cummins, 1981

The Early Childhood Advantage: In K-2, academic English is at the level of a five through seven year old native speaker of English!

Are you a constructivist?

Constructivist Learning Theory is About

The process of knowing and the nature of cognition

The active construction of new knowledge to make sense of our surroundings

Prior knowledge that is built upon in an effort to achieve greater understanding

Deep understanding, rather than rote learning

The reflective transfer of knowledge to other subject matter and to life

Are you a constructivist?

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Uses students’ identities and backgrounds as meaningful sources of their education

Views student backgrounds as strengths

Is compatible with constructivism because it values prior knowledge

Can be considered “cultural constructivism”

What do constructivist classrooms look like?

What about content?

What about students?

What about teachers?

What about curriculum?

What about assessment?

What do quality second language classrooms look like?

What about content?

What about students?

What about teachers?

What about curriculum?

What about assessment?

Content

In second language classrooms, content and language are integrated.

In constructivist classrooms, content and process are integrated.

In constructivist second language classrooms, content, language, & process are integrated.

Students

Are both teachers and learners

Are viewed as thinkers with emerging theories about the world

Prior knowledge is valued

Questions are valued

Teachers

Are both teachers and learners

Behave in an interactive manner, mediating the learning environment for the students

Construct knowledge along with the students

Curriculum

Highlights conceptual learning

Relies heavily on primary sources of data

Relies heavily on manipulative materials and real-life objects

Employs cooperative groups and thematic units often

Assessment

Is interwoven with teaching through ongoing observation

Occurs primarily through authentic means

Is determined by curriculum

What is instructional practice in constructivist second language classrooms?

Constructivist Practice for All Learners

Values prior knowledge

Is context-embedded

Integrates cooperative group work and highlights thematic instruction

Incorporates multidimensional assessment

Integrates language, content, and process

Modifications for Second Language Learners

Scaffolding

Sheltered Instruction

Scaffolding

Is based on the premise that what the learner can do with assistance today, can be done alone tomorrow

Provides access to the core curriculum through modeling, providing feedback, and asking questions

Takes learners through a process one step at a

time

Involves activities such as structured poetry, process writing, the scientific process, and even routines

Sheltering

Provides comprehensible input

Is a linguistic scaffold

Is supported by visuals, manipulatives, real-life objects, and hands-on activities

Sheltered Instruction: Language-Related Modifications

Sheltered Instruction

Permits students to contribute to classroom and cooperative group activities through non-verbal means

Supports teacher talk by nonverbal means such as visuals and hands-on experience

Modifies teacher talk

Modify Teacher Talk

Modification of teacher talk makes input comprehensible!

Modify Teacher Talk Through

Rate of speech

Phrasing and rephrasing

Pauses

Gesture and facial expression

Sentence expansion

Vocabulary is foundational

add sum combine total

2 + 2

plus

4

Cognates

ArtistaSalarioDistanciaFamosoDirector

Can you think of any other cognates?

False Cognates

Is “carpeta” a carpet?

Word Blocks

Prefix = disRoot = connectSuffix = ed

disconnected

Can you think of any others?

“False Word Blocks”

Prefix = inRoot = valuable

invaluable

Can you think of any others?

Other Ideas to Teach Vocabulary

Picture dictionariesElectronic dictionaries

Can you think of any others?

Be inventive: Engage students in learning

REMEMBER

Making the curriculum accessible for emergent bilingual students makes the curriculum accessible for everyone!

Citations

Reyes, S. & Vallone, T. L. (2008). Constructivist strategies for teaching English language learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In California State Department of Education (Ed.),

Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3-49). Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles.

Feuerstein, R. (1980). Instrumental enrichment: An intervention program for cognitive modifiability. Baltimore: University Park Press.

Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

Peregoy, S. F., & Boyle, O. F. (2005). Reading, writing, and learning in ESL: A resource book for K-12 teachers. New York: Longman.

Activities Games Creative Movement Sentence Stems Storytelling Language Experience Approach Creative Drama (Pantomime) Poetry Music Visual Art

Frog

Hand Drum Freeze

Hop (low) Leap (long) Jump (high) Swim (fast) (Sit on a lily pad and) Catch

flies

( )

BTW,

( )

ELD.scaffold

cantechnology

BTW,

Frogs can _______.

Frogs cannot _______.

Wordless Books

Shelter oral language development

Shelter writing

Adapt the Language Experience Approach for English learners

Model your thinking about language.

Creative Drama

Focuses on process over product

Lowers the affective filter Can provide comprehensible

input

Terquain:Structured poetry as a scaffold

Three lines on a single subject First line consists of a one-word

noun Second line describes the noun

with two or three words Third line is either a synonym of

the noun or describes a feeling about it

Frog Terquain

FrogHopping, jumping, croakingSilly

Terquain

Three lines on a single subject First line consists of a one-word

noun Second line describes the noun

with two or three words Third line is either a synonym of

the noun or describes a feeling about it

Adapting Songs for ELD

Keep the rhythm and melody Change syntax for ELD level Change words for context Add action and movement

Five Little Frogs

Five green speckled frogsSat on a speckled logEating some most delicious bugs (Yum, yum)One jumped into the poolWhere it was nice and coolThen there were four green speckled frogs

Adaptation of Five Little Frogs

Many green and speckled frogs Are sitting on some speckled logsEating some delicious bugs (Yum, yum)They jump up in the airThey float on lily pads way up thereNow the town is full of flying frogs

Comparison

Five green speckled frogs

Sat on a speckled log

Eating some most delicious bugsOne jumped into the poolWhere it was nice and coolThen there were four green speckled frogs

Many green speckled frogs Are sitting on speckled logsEating some delicious bugs They jump up in the airThey float on lily pads way up thereNow the town is full of flying frogs

WEDNESDAY

Can pigs fly?

How do these activities shelter and scaffold ELD?

Games Creative Movement Sentence Stems Storytelling Language Experience Approach Creative Drama (Pantomime) Poetry Music Visual Art

Citation

Reyes, S. A. & Vallone, T. L. (2008). Constructivist Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

For more information contact

[email protected]