Curriculum for Building on Families Interests and Needs

Barbara Krol-SinclairIntegrating Family Engagement in Advising and the ClassroomMarch 7, 2014

Curriculum for Building on Families Interests and NeedsBackground on the ILPBegun in 1989 as one element of Boston University/Chelsea Public Schools PartnershipThree major goals:To improve the English literacy of parentsTo support the literacy development and academic success of their childrenTo conduct research on the effectiveness of an intergenerational approach to literacySince then, the ILP has expanded to include 4 ESOL family literacy classes (morning & evening); 3 ESOL classes (evening); 1 Spanish ABE & 2 Spanish HiSET classes (afternoon and evening)ESOL family literacy classesAM and PM (some DESE funded, one not)Childrens classes AM and PM, infants, toddlers, preschool; and school-aged

ESOL and ABE/HiSET classes are leveled, but ESOL family literacy classes are deliberately multi-level and multi-lingual. Each semester, the mean and median years of formal education are both 8. About 15% have never attended school.

Teachers are supported by tutors who are BU Work-Study students.

Total number of learners served right now is 165, with a waiting list of 880.2Looking at Our LearnersCLASSMean school yrs.Median sch. yrs.% of 0 yrs of schoolOverall7.9983.8%ABE (Spanish)5.459.1%HiSET (Spanish)8.590% (4)ESOL 15.965.6%ESOL 29.08/96.3%ESOL 311.3110% (5)ILP AM8.396.5%ILP PM7.990% (2)3Whats Authentic?Authentic Materials:Unscripted materials or those which have not been specially written forclassroom use, though they may have been edited. Examples includenewspaper articles, materials sent home from school and application forms.

Source (this and 2 subsequent pages): Adapted from http://www.finchpark.com/courses/glossary.htm

4Authentic TaskA task which involves learners in using language and literacy in a way that replicates its use in the 'real world' outside the classroom. Filling in blanks, changing verbs from the simple past to the simple present and completing workbook questions after reading passages are, therefore, not authentic tasks. Examples of authentic tasks would be answering a letter addressed to the learner, arguing a particular point of view, and comparing MBTA schedules in order to find the best way to get to a specific location.5Why Authentic?Purcell-Gates, Degner, Jacobson, & Soler (2002) found that in programs in which the materials and activities were more authentic, learners were more likely to read and write outside of class and to engage in more complex tasks and activities. Condelli, Wrigley, & Yoon (2002) determined that Students in classes where teachers made connections to the outside or real world, had more growth.

Purcell-Gates and her colleagues conducted a nationwide study of adult education programs in in the early 2000s (ILP was one of the programs in this study) to determine the types of instructional materials and activities used in these programs and the effects of these materials and activities on learners literacy practices outside of the classroom. The results arent that surprising, when you think about it. As we are all attempting to help our learners move up and outjob, education, family livesthe more relevant the instruction, the more easily it can be integrated into learners daily lives and thus rehearsed and frequently used.

Condelli and his colleagues, also in a nationwide study, examined what strategies are most effective for low-literacy ESOL learnersthat is learners with fewer than 6 years of formal schooling. This is important because they also found that Students who had more years of formal education (proxy for native language literacy) initially had faster growth, but this benefit faded over time. I dont know about your programs, but our programrefer to earlier slide

The term authentic often carries the incorrect connotation that explicit teaching is not necessary for learning to read and that exposure to real-world language and text is enough (see Condelli and Wrigley, 2004, for a similar argument). For language learners, and even for adults developing literacy in a first language, the spoken and especially more formal written input in authentic communications can be overwhelming. Finding authentic materials and tasks doesnt not

6HoweverThe term authentic often carries the incorrect connotation that explicit teaching is not necessary for learning to read and that exposure to real-world language and text is enough. For language learners, and even for adults developing literacy in a first language, the spoken and especially more formal written input in authentic communications can be overwhelming. Extensive scaffolding and support is needed to make the real life tasks and materials comprehensible.

That is, authentic materials are not EASIER to use than commercial texts. They dont come with the vocabulary or specific strategies already identified. Its labor-intensive work to tease out what and how to teacher. But its the best way7Types of Authentic Activities and Materials (Source: Huang, Tindall, & Nisbet, 2011)

These suggested activities and materials are from a study reported by Huang, Tindall, & Nisbet in the Journal of Adult Education. They surveyed 30 adult ESOL teachers to determine the types of authentic materials and activities that utilize and deem successful in their classrooms. They are equally applicable for ABE learnersin English or in their first language (such as Spanish in our program). 8

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Supporting Childrens Literacy and School SuccessIncorporate readings on home literacy practices, understanding of school culture, and supporting childrens learning at school into routine curriculum (50%)Routinely focus on activities that parents and children can engage in at homeModel storybook reading on a daily basisDaily Literacy Log

Adaptations for Learners with Limited LiteracyFocus on short segment of reading passageLink to phonemic awareness concepts being addressedUse of Language Experience Approach in writingRejoining whole group at end

Adapting to Include Family InterestsIncorporate materials that are of interest to parents. (Theyre also relevant to the rest of the community.)Connect adult interest readings to family concerns.Provide opportunities for learners to engage in small group discussions of the issues that are most important to them. (This can help drive future planning, too.)When selecting focal vocabulary, be mindful of choosing words that can facilitate parent-child discussions.Instructional themes that are of interest to adults can easily be adapted to families, as in this crime unit we just did (last week ) in our ESOL family literacy classes.

That is, directly teach vocabulary on the topic that learners children are likely to know and use, that can help parents in discussing their children with schools, and that parents can use in talking directly with their children. 19

This is an article that is particular to parents, but is relevant to the entire learner population.20

Think of ways that these statistics can be of particular interest to families. 21ReferencesCondelli, L., Wrigley, H. S., & Yoon, K. (2002). What works for Adult ESL Literacy Students. Study summary. Washington, D. C.: American Institutes for Research. Huang, J., Tindall, E., & Nisbet, D. (2011). Authentic activities and materials for adult ESL learners. Journal of Adult Education, 40, 1-10. Kruidenier, J. R., MacArthur, C. A., & Wrigley, H. S. (2010). Adult literacy instruction: A review of the research. Washington, D. C.: National Institutes for Literacy.Purcell-Gates, V., Degener, S. C., Jacobsen, E., & Soler, M. (2002). Impact of authentic adult literacy instruction on adult literacy practices. Reading Research Quarterly, 37, 70-92.Welch-Ross, M. K., & Lesgold, A. M. (2012). Improving adult literacy instruction: Options for practice and research. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.227. U.S. culture Body language

Census

Elections/voting

Gender roles

Typical holidays--Census Bureau information and rationale for participation (www.census.gov)

--Articles detailing concerns with/objections to participation in Census

--Most recent local and national census data

--Global population statisticsapportionment,

census,confidential,

data,

enumeration,

funding,

geography,

population,statistics,

surveyConsonant Digraphs

Examples include:

(sh, th, ch, wh, ck, ng, ph)

Body language

Census

Elections/voting

Gender roles Typical holidays

--Census Bureau information and

rationale for participation

(www.census.gov)

--Articles detailing concerns with/objections

to participation in Census

--Most recent local and national census data

--Global population statistics

Consonant Digraphs

Examples include:

(sh, th, ch, wh, ck, ng, ph)