Book Study: Why Do ELL's Struggle With Reading?

Why Do ELL's Struggle With Reading? 

Distinguishing Language Acquisition From Learning Disabilities

Currently, I’m leading a book study in my district, using the book Why Do English Language Learners Struggle With Reading: Distinguishing language acquisition from learning disabilities (Edited by J.K. Klingner, J.J. Hoover & L.M. Baca).  The book is a good “anchor” for discussions about the similarities and important differences between students learning English and those with learning disabilities.  Each chapter is written by different authors, including the editors, and covers background necessary for developing an understanding of the process of learning English as well as how a learning disability might manifest itself during that process.

The first chapter gives background information on English language acquisition and learning disabilities, as well as statistics related to over and under-representation of minorities in Special Education programs.  The second chapter, which in my opinion is one of the more valuable chapters in the book, lists and describes eight common misconceptions about learning a second language.  Response to Intervention is the subject of chapters three and five, with an emphasis on how RTI should look for English Language Learners and how to use data to inform our decisions about students.  Chapter four focuses on helping classroom teachers distinguish between learning disabilities and language acquisition.  Chapter six covers special considerations when testing ELL’s for learning disabilities, including a section on using authentic assessment.  Finally, the last chapter brings it all together with practical applications.

Like I said earlier, I use this book as an “anchor”.  It is our starting point for discussions, but I’ve brought in other articles to expand on the information covered in the book.  I have the links to a few of those articles listed below.  Also, I’ve attached the study guide I created for the book study.  Why Do English Language Learners Struggle With Reading is a useful resource for both teachers and administrators who want to dig deeper into an ELL’s academic performance and understand more of the factors that lead to success for linguistically diverse students.

STUDY GUIDE:

Why Do ELL’s Struggle With Reading:

Distinguishing language acquisition from learning disability

Session One: Introduction and Chapter One

Background Information

Discussion Questions:

1.  A lot of statistics were thrown out in pages 5-8.  Were any of them surprising?

2.  Look at your students.  What percentage of them are LD?  ESL?  both LD and ESL?

3.  Do you think ELL’s in your school are over or under-represented in Special

     Education programs, or neither?

4.  What assessment does WCS use to identify students with LD?

5.  Are native language assessments available?  If they are, should they be used?  What are some pros and cons of using native language assessments?

6. Applications/ implications?

Session Two: Chapters 2 and 4

Misconceptions and helping classroom reading teachers

Discussion Questions:

1.  What do you think of the concept of “potential bilinguals”?  Is this different from the

     way ELL’s are viewed in your building?

2.  After reading about MacSwan’s 2004 research comparing three standardized Spanish assessments with natural language samples, did your opinions about using native language assessments change at all?  How and why?

3.  In Escamilla’s research findings, he refers to looking at some writing errors as signs

     of “emerging biliteracy.”  Is this valid?  Have you noticed native language

     interference in your students’ writing?

4.  Do you think it’s important for reading teachers to learn which sounds in a student’s

     native language do not exist in English in order to help the student with phonemic

     awareness?

5.  Do you agree with the assertion in Chapter 4 that teachers don’t spend much time

     teaching comprehension strategies to students?

6.  What are your thoughts on the motivation piece when it comes to learning how to

     read?  Could some of ELL’s lack of motivation be a response to an ineffective

     reading program?

7.  Respond: “Another way to think about this is not that the children have disabilities,

     but that they are in ‘disabling contexts’”.

8. Applications/ implications?

Session Three: Chapter 3

RTI and ELL’s

Discussion Questions:

1.  What does RTI look like at your building?

2.  How does ESL staff fit into the RTI model?

3.  Which, if any, of the challenges faced by Marble Mountain Elementary School are

     similar to challenges your school faces (or has faced) with implementing RTI?

4.  Is RTI in your building very different from the old IAT process?

5. Applications/ implications?

Session Four: Chapter 5

Data-driven decision making in RTI       

Discussion Questions:

1.  In this chapter, the author makes a definite distinction between learning disabilities and learning differences.  What were your thoughts on this distinction?  I have an article to share about this issue!

2.  Any thoughts on the chart showing similarities between cultural/ linguistic behaviors and suspected learning disabilities (Table 5.1 on page 79)?

3.  Are the interventions done in your building for RTI appropriate, evidence-based interventions?  How do you know?  Where could we look to find such interventions?

4.  What would non-discriminatory progress monitoring look like?

5.  In RTI meetings, does the team consider alternate reasons for suspected problems?

6. Applications/ implications?

Session Five: Chapter 6

Considerations when assessing ELL’s for SE

Discussion Questions:

1.  Do you think it is important to look at the linguistic appropriateness of standardized assessments used to determine LD in ELL’s?  Have you done this before?

2.  What assessments are used in WCS to determine whether or not an ELL has a LD?

3.  Do you use Classroom Based Assessment/Measurement in your classroom?  If yes, what is your experience with it?  Do you consider it valid and reliable?

4.  What are your thoughts on dynamic assessment?

5. Applications/ implications?

Session Six: Chapter 7

Putting the pieces together

Discussion Questions:

1.  What are your thoughts on the checklist of components for a successful learning environment for ELL’s?  Would you add anything to this list?

2.  Will you change anything you do after reading and discussing this text?  If yes, what would you change and why?  If no, why not?

Links to some additional resources:
Considerations in implementing intervention assistance teams with ELL's
Disproportionality in special education identification and placement of ELL's
Separating differences and disabilities: a powerpoint presentation from Cross Culture Ed
Separating difference and disablity by Catherine Collier

Happy reading!
Jacquie

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

In The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi, a little Korean girl, Unhei, struggles with her identity as she tries to decide if she should keep her Korean name or choose an American name.  The children in her class help her by writing down names they like on small sheets of paper which they then place into a jar on Unhei's desk--the name jar.  My students have gotten a few chuckles out of the suggested names! Ultimately, Unhei, with the help of her friend Joey, keeps her Korean name and shares it with her classmates.  The story relates the loneliness and disorientation of new immigrants through the eyes of Unhei: a relatable, multi-faceted character.  I think that many students (and their parents) will see some of themselves while reading this story.

Ideas for the ESL classroom:

• Class discussion about native-language names vs. "American" names
• List native-language words that have become a part of the English language; choose some words to illustrate and share
• Feelings and emotions are threaded throughout the story.  Discuss synonyms and antonyms of different emotions.  Make a chart.
• Unhei often visits the Korean store with her mother, where everything is written in both Korean and English.  Communities and markets around the city can be explored through maps, websites and possibly field trips with an emphasis on international connections.  Students can make maps of their local community and include places they visit with their families.
• Character development would be a great focus while reading this story.  Unhei changes throughout the story, and students could track her changes using evidence from the text.
• Unhei's mother tells her that although they are in America now, they will not stop eating Korean food.  Teacher and students can discuss aspects of their home cultures that they have kept up in America.  This could be a class discussion and then a journal activity or essay.
• Some words that might be tricky for ELL's: nervous, fingered, pouch, carved, grooves, blush, relieved, curious, identity, teased, familiar, characters (multiple meanings), concern, souvenir

Something cool to check out...an interview with the author: http://goodcharacters.com/newsletters/the.name.jar.html


Happy reading!
Jacquie

Carmen Learns English

I have to admit, I did not love this book.  While I appreciate the author, Judy Cox's, intent, I am not a fan of multicultural books written by people who are not either a part of the ethnic group about which they are writing or embedded in that culture.  The illustrations in ink, watercolor and acrylics by Angela Dominguez, however, are engaging and full of emotion.


The story follows the experience of a Spanish speaking kindergartner named Carmen who is nervous about attending school in English.  The themes are pretty standard--she is nervous about speaking English in class, she misunderstands some of the words used in class and has trouble pronouncing others, a couple of times she is made fun of, ... The author attempts to use code-switching, but it is stilted and awkward--not at all natural.  The feelings experienced by the main character, Carmen, feel superficial and forced. 


The one element threaded throughout the story was that of Carmen going home and teaching her younger sister, Lupita, the little bit of English that she learned at school each day.  Had that been explored more and made the main focus of the story, I would have liked the book much more.

Some ideas for the ESL classroom: Students could discuss and journal about their first days of school and how they felt.   A comparison/contrast essay comparing the students' first days of school to Carmen's could be crafted using a Venn diagram as a pre-writing tool.  Students could also write about what they have taught their families at home after learning something fun at school.  Graphing could be explored using words that are hard for students to pronounce in English.  Teachers might pull some words from those that Carmen struggles with and add a few that their own students have difficulty saying.  A graph would be made on chart paper.  Then, students can vote using sticky notes for the top three most difficult words in English to pronounce.  Activities would then be based on the graph.

Happy reading!
Jacquie

Buba Leah and Her Paper Children by Lillian Hammer Ross



A warning up front: this book made me cry!  Lillian Hammer Ross captures the mixture of sadness and joy that is felt by families separated by immigration.  Buba Leah's children have moved to America, leaving her with paper children: the letters they send her from America.  She keeps them in a special box and shares them with the daughter of her neighbors, Chava.  One afternoon, the postman delivers a special letter to Buba Leah.  Enclosed in the envelope are two tickets for passage to America: one for Buba Leah and one for Chava.  Chava must leave her parents behind in Russia and become a paper child herself in order to have a better life.  The illustrations by  Mary Morgan help convey the emotion of the story, drawn in the characters' faces.

Some ideas for the ESL classroom:

• Using the illustrations, discuss past and present
• Discussion of students' own family members left behind in their home country
• Making predictions: What are the paper children?  What is in the special letter of Buba Leah?  Will Chava leave her parents to go to America?
• Character development: What kind of person is Buba Leah?  How do we know that?  What does the author tell us about her?
• Vocabulary that may be tricky for ELL's: porch, linen, challah, Sabbath, frightened, wondered, snuggled, wagon, blossom, tickets, mingled, journey, mazel tov

Exploring the form and function of friendly letters would be a great writing activity to go along with this book.  Students could learn the format and then write letters to family members.  For emerging writers, help students write a letter as a class on chart paper, maybe to the school principal or librarian, for example. 

Keep in mind, this topic may make students sad, but that's no reason to avoid it.  The ESL classroom may be the only place in school that your students feel comfortable talking about loved ones that they miss back in their home countries.  Encourage children to share as much as they would like.  You might be surprised at how close you will grow to them! 

Happy reading!

Jacquie

Elena's Serenade by Campbell Geeslin; illustrated by Ana Juan

Love, love, love, love this book!!  Not only are Ana Juan's illustrations amazing, as always, but Campbell Geeslin's narrative that accompanies them is equally pleasing.  The story follows a young girl, Elena, as she journeys to Monterrey to learn to be a glassblower like her father.  In order to be taken seriously in her quest, Elena must dress as a boy because, as her father tells her, "who ever heard of a girl glassblower?"  Along the way, she meets several characters that she aids with the songs she plays on her pipe.  Her beautiful songs translate into fantastic glass creations which are beloved by the people of Monterrey and earn her the respect of her father.  I read this book to my daughter, and she loved it so much that we had to read it three times in a row!

Some ideas for the ESL classroom:

• Make a chart of the Spanish words that appear in the story.  Add columns for students to write the English translations, as well as translations from any other languages they know.
• Problem/Solution and Cause/Effect: Make flip cards that show the problem/cause on the top.  Lift the flap and write the solution/effect.  This would work well in the section that details Elena's journey and the friends she meets and helps.
• Similes and metaphors abound in the story, so this would also be a great skill to teach using the book.
• Some vocabulary that might be tricky for ELL's: glassblower, trousers, furnace, fades, factory, steady, gliding, chiming, politely, squinting

For responding to the story, students could complete a writing activity in which they write about what they would make if they were a glassblower and which song they would play in their pipes in order to make it.  Emerging writers could write a word or phrase, while more experienced writers could write several paragraphs.

A website with cute ideas for the classroom: https://sites.google.com/a/plymouth.k12.in.us/webster-third-grade/home/reading/elena-s-serenade

Happy reading!
Jacquie

Silly Chicken by Rukhsana Khan

Silly Chicken by Rukhsana Khan is a humorous story about a young girl who is jealous of the attention her older sister pays to a pet chicken.  I read this one to my daughter, and she laughed out loud at some of the chicken's antics, as well as some of the main character, Rani's, responses to her sister's love of the chicken.  At the end of the story, the tables are turned when Ami, the older sister, becomes jealous of the new pet chick adopted by Rani.  The illustrations in the story are brightly colored paintings that depict rural Pakistan.

Ideas for the ESL classroom:

• Cultural/ background knowledge: Pakistan, villages, chickens
• Dialogue: How do authors show conversations between characters?
• Cause/ effect
• Making connections: sibling rivalry or wanting more attention
• Inferencing: Why does Rani think Ami loves the chicken more then her?  List specific examples.
• Possessive pronouns
• Vocabulary that might be tricky for ELL's:
• adjectives: silly, gangly, tiny, humid, fluffy
• verbs: wormed, nursed, fetch, pile, landed, cocked, fanned, fussed
• nouns: yard, cold, cupboard, nest, miracle, grave, gate, chick
• cultural words: tonga, lussi

A story map would be an easy Writing Activity to go along with this story.  Depending on students' writing ability, they could make a simple map with one word and pictures or a manila paper folded book with several sentences and a picture on each page.  A chart or book of story elements would also work.  Of course, another cute idea would be for students to write their own story about loving a pet and publish the stories for your classroom library.  This could also be differentiated for different levels, beginning with each student labeling a picture of a favorite pet or animal.  The pages could be bound for a classroom book. 

Happy reading!
Jacquie

I Hate English by Ellen Levine

I Hate English by Ellen Levine is a story about a young Chinese girl, Mei Mei, who experiences culture shock when she moves to the United States.  Her sadness is manifested in her dislike of English.  To Mei Mei, English letters fight and bang into each other.  When an American teacher comes to the Chinatown Learning Center to work with her in English, Mei Mei becomes angry because she fears that if she learns English, she will lose her Chinese identity.  The story ends with Mei Mei appreciating her bilingualism.


This story is an excellent one to read with all students, but will especially resonate with recent immigrants.  Students can use the book as a springboard for discussing their own experiences with learning English, as well as to share their own native languages with classmates.



Ideas for the ESL classroom:

• Background knowledge: words we know in other languages; write on chart paper and post in the room
• Character development: How does Mei Mei change throughout the story?  How does the author show Mei Mei's feelings?  Check predictions.
• Making predictions: Looking at the cover, what do you think the story will be about?  How do you think Mei Mei will respond to the English teacher?  Do you think Mei Mei will learn to like English?
• contractions
• proper nouns
• Vocabulary that may be tricky for ELL's: lonely, noise, bang, sound, strokes, tutors, arithmetic, ping pong, checkers, post office, pails, shellfish, stared, glared, continued, suddenly, strange, invisible

Some Writing Activities for students to respond to the story include making an English/ native language dictionary.  The students could begin their dictionaries at school using agreed-upon words with illustrations and then take the dictionaries at home to work on with their families.  Students could also create a chart about how certain words in English sound (banging, hard, soft, ringing, fuzzy).  Students may want to journal about how they feel learning English, including both likes and dislikes.  They could use their journal responses to create a brochure about learning English.


Happy reading!
Jacquie

The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman

The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman is picture book about a little boy from Somalia who moves to the U.S. and tries to adjust to his new life.  The illustrations for the book are done in vibrant watercolors (by Karin Littlewood) that truly capture the emotions of the main character, Hassan.  In the story, Hassan struggles with the sadness not only of leaving his home, but also of what he experienced in Somalia before coming to the U.S.  Through a Somali translator that comes to his school to work with him, Hassan is able to tell his story of leaving behind violence in Somalia in which his uncle is killed, living in a refugee camp in Mombasa and finally leaving behind his cousins and grandparents to move to the U.S., a country that "seemed all cold and gray."  Of course, this being a children's book, at the end of the story Hassan begins to come to terms with his new life and the colors of his new country begin to emerge.

Ideas for the ESL classroom:

• story elements
• problem and solution (what is Hassan's problem at the beginning of the story and how is it solved?), 
• comparing and contrasting (Somalia with America, students' own experiences with Hassan's, schools in the U.S. vs. other countries, food in the U.S. vs. home country) 
• character development and change (how does Hassan change and grow throughout the story?)
• the technique of story within a story can be explored, as Hassan tells about his life in Somalia within the story of his life in the U.S.
• transition words (next, then, the next day, that afternoon, tomorrow)
• adjectives (especially the use of color)
• Vocabulary that may be tricky for ELL's:
• verbs: shivered, smudged, spoiled, disappeared
• art vocabulary: easels, bottle' stick figures, smudged
• nouns: bundle, flock, creature, luggage, camp, stroller
• adjectives: murky, awful, frightened, spindly, maroon
• cultural vocabulary: hajab, qu'ran, prayer mat

An easy writing activity to respond to the story would be to ask students to write about their own experiences moving to the U.S.  This could be a journal-type activity or a more formal writing activity in which students take the piece through the writing process.  Younger students could paint a picture of their home country and write (or dictate to the teacher) a few words or a sentence describing their pictures.  Emphasis on the use of colors (as well as color vocabulary) would add another dimension.

Happy reading!
Jacquie