Making Sense: Small-Group Comprehension Lessons for English Language Learners

ISBN-13: 9781571104090 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 168 str.

Juli Kendall

Opis

Reading is all about understanding. Many English language learners simply do not understand what they are reading, whether it's a picture book, a literature selection, or a science textbook. Juli Kendall and Outey Khuon believe that small group comprehension lessons have a key role to play in advancing students' understanding of texts.Making Sense provides answers to many common questions asked by teachers of English language learners: How do we organize small-group comprehension instruction? How do we select books to teach strategies? How do we know our kids are getting it--and what do we do when they don't get it? It is an easy-to-use, practical resource for ELD, ESL, and ESOL pull-out teachers, and for push-in teachers working "in-class" to support English language learners.The book's five main sections are geared to the stages of language proficiency, and lessons are divided into 'younger' and 'older' students, spanning kindergarten through grade 8. The authors outline fifty-two lessons that teach students how to make connections, ask questions, visualize (make mental images), infer, determine importance, and synthesize. Each lesson follows a four-part teaching framework:

• Start Up/Connection--helping students build background and use prior knowledge to connect to the lesson;
• Give Information--explicitly telling students what they are going to learn and why they are learning it, and then teaching them;
• Active Involvement--often occurs during the teaching as students practice what they are learning while the teacher checks for understanding and monitors and adjusts instruction;
• Off-You-Go --opportunities for students to practice what they learned with peers or independently.

Making Sense also explores the stages of language proficiency through descriptions of ten English language learners of different ages. A chart of student characteristics for each stage shows how students demonstrate understanding and outlines the implications for planning instruction. This book will appeal to experienced teachers seeking to expand their repertoire of lessons, as well as new teachers just beginning the adventure of teaching comprehension to English language learners.

Spis treści

1: Introduction; 2: Preproduction; 3: Early Production; 4: Speech Emergence; 5: Intermediate; 6: Advanced

O autorze

Outey Khuon began teaching in Cambodia in 1969. Since 1992 she has taught elementary students in Long Beach, where she is currently a Literacy Specialist. She has presented at many state and national conferences and workshops and is a lecturer teaching Khmer language and Culture (Heritage Language) in the Linguistics Department at California State University, Long Beach. In addition to her degrees from Cambodia Outey has a Masters Degree in Multicultural Education and a BCLAD credential specialising in Khmer (Cambodian). Juli Kendall has been working and learning with Outey Khuon for the last 15 years. She has taught kindergarten through eighth grade and is currently a Literary Specialist. A NBCT, she holds a Masters Dress in Multicultural Education, a Bilingual Specialist Credential in Spanish and is also trained as a Reading Recovery Teacher in English and in Spanish. Juli writes a Reading/Writing Journal for MiddleWeb.