Blog 6

Determine if the activity is Learning (L) or Acquisition (A) based on Freeman & Freeman's (2004) book: Essential Linguistics, What You Need to Know to Teach Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics and Grammar. Chapter 2- Written and Second Language Acquisition. The student:
L	Students look up words in the dictionary to write definitions: A classroom activity supplied by those who believe in word recognition is learning vocabulary words in advance (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25). Students are pre-taught vocabulary words that the students may not be able to figure out or are a part of their current vocabulary (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.28). Looking up words in a dictionary and writing definitions holds true to this theory. “Pre-teaching often consists of defining words for students or giving students a list of words and having them look up in a dictionary” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
A	Students make a Venn diagram to compare two stories: Finding commonalities and differences is a strategy that can aide in comprehension. Sociopsycholinguists believe that teaching reading strategies such as, how to use a Venn diagram, will aide in independent reading comprehension (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25).
L	Students practice sounding out words: Sounding out words is based on phonics. “Students should use phonics as the primary tool for word identification” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.27).
L	Students read in round~robin fashion: Two activities that word recognitionists practice is read alouds and round~robin reading (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.28). Their belief is that reading aloud will aide in using correct words and correct pronunciation of a word (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
L	Students correct peers when they make a mistake during reading: Students usually correct (other) students if they mispronounce a word during round~robin reading and read alouds (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
A	Students identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound: Teachers who use big books with illustrations, help make written language understandable for students. Reading from a big book, helps students connect oral language to written print (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25)
L/A	Students group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on such as first or last letter: This lesson could be found in both a traditional and acquisition classroom. Names are authentic and real world sources for language instruction. It also is a creative way to teach phonics, patterns, sorting and alphabetizing (Freeman & Freeman, 2004 p. 31).
L/ A	Students write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound: Word recognition teachers “use phonics rules to sound out words” and then discuss different spellings for the same sound (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.25). In a process classroom, teachers provide many opportunities for students to produce different kinds of writing; poetry is one that is taught (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 30).
L	Students ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know: Word recognition teachers supply words when the reader does not recognize them (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28). “In many traditional classrooms, the form of writing becomes more important than content. Students who focus on form many not even try to use new words for fear of misspelling them” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 30).
A	Students read a language experience story they have created with the teacher: “Teachers help students say what students want to say and also give them strategies to communicate (in a variety of modes) when they do not have the linguistic resource” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.34). Acquisition teachers focus on meaning and help students understand and express ideas through a variety of modes (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).
L/A	Students work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences: Teachers with a learning view teach parts to whole (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 29). This means that the teacher directs instruction so that smaller tasks build upon themselves, such as arranging sentences, until the student can independently accomplish the whole task. This activity can also be found in an acquisition classroom. Working with familiar chants for the purpose of building skills, students learn to take meaning from an authentic piece of literature (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 41).
L	Students divide words into syllables: Traditional learning view breaks language into component parts and then teaches each part (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 33.). The same holds true for those who believe in word recognition. Students learn to sound out letters. They then blend these sounds into groups of phonemes they can pronounce and identify as a word (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 24).
L	Students on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound Word recognitionists believe that worksheets, drills and exercises are ways to practice the language and teach different skills (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).
A	Students make alphabet books on different topics: “Students who listen and read and build up a storage of language can then later use the language to accomplish different things” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.34). This is true for making an alphabet book on different topics. Students must have already had learned the language to be able to use it in their alphabet book. This also is an authentic task of writing instruction (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.29)
The teacher:
L	The teacher pre-teaches vocabulary: Teachers, who believe in word recognition, pre-teach vocabulary words they feel the student will not be able to figure out on their own. Also, they pre-teach words that are not currently in the student’s vocabulary (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
A	The teacher does a shared reading with a big book: Sociopsycholinguistic teachers who read from big books make written language comprehensible for students who are following along. The student begins to connect written language with oral language for later use during independent reading (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.25).
L	The teacher makes sure that students read only books that fit their level: Word recognitionists believe that students should read books at their current level. This is because the object of reading is to find meaning from the text. The more words a student knows, the more likely they will be able to comprehend the meaning in a text (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 25).
L	The teacher has the students segment words into phonemes: Traditional learning view breaks language into component parts and then teaches each part (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 33.). The same holds true for those who believe in word recognition. Students learn to sound out letters. They then blend these sounds into groups of phonemes they can pronounce and identify as a word (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 24).
A	The teacher writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words: “Teachers help students say what students want to say and also give them strategies to communicate (in a variety of modes) when they do not have the linguistic resource” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.34). Acquisition teachers focus on meaning and help students understand and express ideas through a variety of modes (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).
A/L	The teacher asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter: “Acquisition occurs as the student uses language for a variety of purposes” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.35). Students who are discovering commonalities in words, such as first letters, are learning about the language. They are learning parts to whole. Teachers with a learning view teach parts to whole (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 29). This means that the teacher directs instruction so that smaller tasks build upon themselves, such as arranging sentences, until the student can independently accomplish the whole task.
L	The teacher uses decodable texts: Decodable books are phonics based and are easily comprehended by the reader. Word recognitionists believe that the job of a reader is to indentify words and apply them to oral language to find meaning (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 26).
A	The teacher sets aside time for SSR (sustained silent reading) each day: Sociopsycholinguistic’s view of reading is that it should be done silently. When students become stuck, they are to apply the scaffolding strategies the teacher provided (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.28).
L	The teacher teaches Latin and Greek roots: One aspect of word recognition is teaching root words and word parts (Freeman & Freeman, 2004 p. 25).
A	The teacher has students meet in literature circles: Sociopsycholinguistics view of learning promotes students to participate in literature circles. This allows “students to listen and read to build up storage of a language (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 34). “Students should be able to understand, speak, read and write the language in different settings” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 33). Literature circles also help students understand others when they are speaking, reading and writing.
L	The teacher conducts phonics drills: Word recognition believers think that for optimal learning, students need to accomplish “drills and exercises to practice language (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33)”. Also, word recognition believers think that “By applying phonics rules, readers can determine the pronunciation of a string of letters and change the written marks to words in their oral vocabulary” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 27).
A	The teacher chooses predictable texts: Predictable books are necessary for teachers with a sociopsycholinguistic view. They believe that students “go through a process of sampling a text, predicting what will come next, filling in the unstated information by inferring, confirming or disconfirming their predictions and integrating the new information with what they already know” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 26). Students need predictable books so that they can use background information to confirm or disconfirm their predictions of the book.
A	The teacher teaches students different comprehension strategies and does a picture walk of a new book: Teachers from a sociopsycholinguistic view teach students a variety of strategies that they can use to construct meaning and develop higher levels of reading proficiency ( Freeman &Freeman, 2004, p. 28).
L	The teacher uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills: Worksheets are dominating activities given by teachers who believe in word recognition. Worksheets, drills and exercises are seen as ways to practice the language and teach different skills (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p.33).

Blog 5

I choose the children’s book I Went Walking, Sali de paseo by Sue Williams. This book is great for Preproduction and Early Production staged learners. The rhythm of the book is slow and easy. It has a similar pattern to Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle. The book I Went Walking, Sali de paseo relies heavily on pictures and sight words while implementing new vocabulary words about farm life. I like to read this book to Kindergartners and younger children prior to our “Living on a Farm” unit. On each page, I would read the English and then the Spanish texts. This makes it so that all my students are at the same point of the book at the same time. For the activity, I would pair the students a more fluent reader with a ELL learner or lower leveled reader. Their task would be to draw and label an event that happened in the book. For extra credit, students could write Spanish text along with the English text.

The next book I choose was On the Banks of the Amazon, En las orillas del Amazonas by Nancy Kelly Allen. This is a great book for English and Spanish speakers who want to learn about the various animals that live in the Amazon. The beginning of each paragraph is repeated throughout the book. When I listen to students read this book, I noticed that both English and ELL students read both the English and Spanish text. I found this interesting that given the opportunity, most of the students attempted to read the unknown language.

Blog 4

The introduction to Jane D. Hill’s book Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners is fantastic!

Language is the air that we breathe and the water in which we swim. It comes as naturally to us as seeing the sky or digesting our food. It is as vital part of us as our name and personality. But what if we suddenly had to breathe different air or swim in different waters? What if we consciously had to think about selecting the words we were going to say, getting them in the right words, applying the correct grammatical rules and using the correct pronunciation? If we had to think about not only what we say but also how to say it, the language overload would be exhausting. (1)

This paragraph clearly explains what language is. It is the necessary and surrounding phenomenon that humans need to communicate to one another. Hill’s paragraph was a great introduction to the experience I would have this week. My task for blog 4 was to choose a text in a language unfamiliar at a level that I should be proficient at considering my age. I began this task by scanning for a book in Spanish that I thought I would like (ok, I was basing my likely hood of reading a book on the cover). I found a book that I thought to be interesting. I flipped through pages trying to make meaning out of the words. I soon realized that I only recognized three words on the entire page. I am obviously not advanced or even intermediate reader in Spanish (I figured this much).

I moved to the young adult books in Spanish. These were a bit easier for me to understand but not by much. These books had two or three undetailed pictures throughout the book. I looked for words that were similar to English words and the sight words I learned 15 years ago. I scanned the pages for numbers, dates and locations. I could read small phrases but could not understand the content I was reading. I already felt tired of reading as my brain struggled to remember sentence structure, accents and vocabulary words. I am not in the speech emergence stage of Spanish.

I then found my section of books! The children’s Spanish book case at Barnes and Noble. I flipped, happily, through different Spanish children’s books. These books had fantastic and detailed illustrations, many had easy dialogue. A few of the books I found had the Spanish at the top of the page and English on the bottom.

Here are the ways I tried to make meaning out of Spanish text.

- Looked for words similar to English words: territory= territorio

- Looked for sight words such as: con, un, de a, y, los, en, muy, no, si, entre, gracias, el, la

- Numbers such as: una, dos, tres,..ect

- Looked for specific locations such as: Estados Unidos, Texas, Colorado,

- Specific Dates

- I tried to remember verb tenses of words (with minimal luck)

- Looked for pictures

- Looked for slow dialogue

I am at the end of the preproduction stage and the early production stage. I have limited reading comprehension. I can produce one or two word responses and am able to participate in conversations using key words and familiar phrases. I need a lot of pictures, details, many sight words, slow dialogue, English text near, clear genders and easy verb tense.

This activity was an eye opening experience. I never experienced how difficult it was to learn another language without support from fluent speakers. I took for granted the art of reading and comprehension and realized I need to support my ELL students as much as possible. Just because you hand a child a book, does not mean that they are going to be able to read it and understand it. Hill was correct; trying to find meaning out of a text is exhausting! I will remember this task and blog when I am helping my students in the classroom. I will provide my students scaffolding instruction and support so that they will learn content within the language.

Blog 3

Comment on the relationship between oral language development and the reading process.

Oral language is a phenomenon that takes place for all children. It is genetic, complex, key to survival and is learned without any instruction. Communication begins at a very young age. Between the months 1-7, children start babbling. These utterances begin to transform between 8-12 months into sounds with a consonant/vowel patterns. One word may have a variety of meanings to the child speaking. It is the job of the more experienced listener to determine the field of the spoken word and respond accordingly. Between 12- 18 months, children begin to form two word sentences. Much like the previous phase, the listener may have to figure the field and meaning of the words given. Around 18 months and lasting through early adolescence, children begin to learn words at a very rapid rate. They begin adding on words to their previous telegraphic state of thinking to form longer and more meaningful sentences. Between these ages, children are learning 1 word for every 2 hours.

There are five critical components necessary in the reading process. They are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension. Here are descriptions of each of the components.

Phonemic Awareness is the understanding that spoken words are made up of individual phonemes. Phoneme is another name for an individual sound. When we put phonemes together in a meaningful way we make a word. Phonemic Awareness deals with manipulating phonemes to better understand word structures and build vocabulary. It teaches beginning readers to analyze and manipulate phonemes in oral language.

Phonics uses the Alphabetic Principle in understanding that letters are symbols used to represent speech sounds. It is most effective when instruction is introduced in early years. Phonics instruction shows children systematic, explicit and predictable relationships between written words, symbols and spoken words. It is very important for students to understand this connection for reading and writing purposes. Even though teaching students to phonologically decode words is hard, it is obtainable with instruction in Phonological Awareness and Letter Sound instruction. Phonics helps students learn how to decode words. Decoding is essential when first learning how to read and write.

Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. It is important because it assists readers in understanding print meaning. Vocabulary can be segmented into four groups: listening, oral, reading and writing. Each of these vocabulary groups work systematically together, though most often, teachers who refer to vocabulary are discussing oral vocabulary and reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary is the words we use in daily speaking and listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize in print. Students use their oral vocabulary when developing their reading vocabulary.

Fluency is the ability to read text quickly and without mistakes. A student is considered to be fluent when they are no longer concentrating on decoding words; rather they are focusing on comprehending the text’s meaning. Students who are fluent readers can recognize words and comprehend meaning all at the same time. Fluency is not a stagnant outcome. Readers’ fluency depends on what they are reading, exposure to the vocabulary words and the amount of time practicing on the text. Fluency is usually taught with explicit instruction from the teacher. Two current instructional methods are Repeated Reading and Independent Silent Reading.

Comprehension is the reason for reading. Comprehension is the ability to understand information given. If readers do not understand what they are reading then they are not actually reading. Comprehension is the goal for all readers. These readers think actively, engage with the text and use prior knowledge in making meaning out of print.

The relationship between oral language and the reading process are very closely related though they do not occur at the same time as each other. Children develop most of their oral language before developing their reading and writing language. Below, explains how oral language fits each of the components of the reading process.

Phonemic Awareness- Children learn individual sounds around 8 months. These individual sounds progress and then grow into consonant/ vowel words. From there, children put together words to make sentences form. This is the same pattern as in the reading process except the children are a few years older.

Phonics- Children need to have a well developed oral language to understand phonics and the alphabetic principal. Reading phonics instruction is designed for beginning readers, starting at the age of 4. Phonics gives students appropriate scaffolding strategies that will be necessary throughout their lifetime.

Vocabulary- Children begin developing oral vocabulary as early as 8-12 months. Their consonant/ vowel sounding utterances are rewarded by more developed oral language speakers. This promotes more attempts in oral language and eventually the child will have developed a full vocabulary. Vocabulary is necessary and continues throughout one’s life. The more words a person knows, the better they will be able to communicate and understand other’s communication.

Fluency- Children begin practicing oral fluency around 18 months. It continues through adolescence. In oral language, children are trying to communicate quickly and without mistakes. The same goes for reading vocabulary, they are trying to read quickly and without mistakes. A prerequisite to having a strong reading fluency is to have a strong oral fluency.

Comprehension- Comprehension is the most important aspect for both oral language and during the reading process. If the person does not understand what is being said or is written, then they do not understand the meaning. It is necessary and key to survival to be able to understand one another and be able to respond appropriately.

In conclusion, oral language is an amazing phenomenon that assists in the development of the reading process. Without the ability to understand one another through oral language and the elements of the reading process, our existence would be bare. Oral language and the key components of the reading process are similar in the way a child approaches language.

Works Cited

Cooper, David J., 2006, Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Gibbons, Pauline, 2002, Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Kamil, Michael L., 2004, Vocabulary and Comprehension Instruction. In P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (p. 213-234). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co.

Blog 2

Reflect on the writing instruction I have received. Which view of writing described in this chapter corresponds most closely to my experience?

The literacy instruction I received is closely related to word recognition through a traditional classroom. The goal of students was to recognize words as a means of recording. My teachers pushed vocabulary lists, sight words and sounding out individual sounds of a word. A teacher would supply an unknown word quickly, to make sure I did not attempt it incorrectly. During writing, I was given a topic to write about (I do not remember ever choosing a topic) and given a short time to finish it. The teachers graded heavily on form, handwriting, spelling, punctuation and organization.

Although I was good at handwriting and organization, I lacked the necessary skills of being a good reader and writer. I was never given strategies to apply if I found myself stuck on a word or meaning, I never remembered all my vocabulary words and more importantly I struggled finding meaning out text.

I teach writing very differently than what I experienced. Comprehension is the most important aspect of oral, written and reading instruction. I believe that children construct meaning from written text the same way they acquire oral language. I think much like a Sociopsycholinguistic though I believe that some parts of the written language must be learned. In class, I activate student’s schema and prior knowledge when introducing topics. I teach students scaffolding tips and techniques they will be able to apply when they are stuck or are not comprehending meaning. The class participates in a variety of reading and writing groups. Writer’s workshops and mini lessons are very common in my classroom. Above all, I promote reading and activities that will build comprehension skills.

Blog 1

Discuss with another teacher, his/her philosophies about teaching literacy.

Literacy instruction is a hot topic for many teachers. Each having their own personal experiences and beliefs, teachers teach literacy to their students in the ways in which worked well for them. It is an important topic that needs to be addressed, researched, implemented and monitored.

Students learn literacy through listening, speaking, reading and writing. Teachers need to have a balanced approach to teaching literacy in a manner that will foster a child’s growth in each of these modes. Even though listening, speaking, reading and writing are individual aspects of learning, they are all interrelated. This means that giving instruction in any one of the modes of learning will help in the others as well. Lessons that have students using a variety of modes will have the best result in literacy instruction. Activities for listening and speaking include: having students listen to a variety of fluent readers and participating in group discussions in a variety of topics and giving students the opportunity to discuss topics with others. Students will learn from not only the task given but from listening to others point of views and descriptions. Activities for reading and writing include: reading in a variety of genres, writing in a variety of genres and writing for a variety of purposes and people. Teachers need to be cautious when teaching literacy; they need to steer clear of getting stuck in any one mode of teaching. Teachers need to make sure that literacy instruction is meaningful to the students and authentic. Students should be able to connect it to their daily lives and be able to use it in the real world.

The five key components to a research based literacy program are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension. Teachers who give instruction in a variety of ways within each of the elements will have students with a strong literacy background. Teachers need to make sure that they are giving their students scaffolding tips and techniques for the students to be able to apply when needed. Teachers need to also take into consideration the needs and strengths of the students.

In conclusion, literacy instruction needs to be explicit and comprehensive. It needs to help students learn real world experiences through the modes of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Literacy programs need to teach through these modes as well as teach the five elements of a research based program. Teachers need to give many opportunities to students and develop curriculum around the students’ needs and interests. Taking all these measures into account will ensure that each student will have a strong literacy base.