Strategies to Accelerate Academic Learning for English Learners

Strategies to Accelerate Academic Learning for

English Learners

Based on presentation by:Anna Uhl Chamot, The George Washington University

Marisol RexachChapman University

EDUC 504

“Humanity grows from thinking together about life, solving problems, building relationships, and constructing meaning with others.

The world needs our students to become better thinkers and communicators than we are. They will become future parents, teachers, leaders, and problem solvers.

Conversations are not the only solutions to the complex challenge of how to prepare students for future success in life. However, we believe that academic conversations can play a meaningful role in meeting this challenge.”

21st Century Skills

Session 1, Activity 2

Applied Skills in the 21st Century

Workplace

What are the skills and qualities that employers

are looking for?

Oral Communication

Critical Thinking/ Problem Solving

Diversity

Leadership

Ethics/Social Responsibility

Professionalism and Work Ethic

Information Technology Application

Creativity/Innovation

Teamwork/Collaboration

Written Communication

Lifelong Learning/ Self Direction

“Are They Really Ready

to Work?”Session 1, Activity 2

The Workforce Readiness Report CardHigh School


1997 Standards

Common Core ELA Standards – Grades K-12

ReadingWriting

Communication(includes Speaking

and Listening)

ELA Common Core Standards

Speaking and Listening

Reading Writing

Language

Media &

Tech

•Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

•Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

•Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

ELA/Literacy Instructional Shifts*

*Achieve the Core

Content Literacy Standards(history/social studies, science, technical subjects)

• Complement rather than replace content standards

• Are the responsibility of teachers in those subjects

• Align with college and career readiness expectations

How do the CCSS standards define text

complexity?

What are the three factors for “measuring”

text complexity?

On your own, read:

Common Core State Standards, Appendix A (2010b pp. 2-4)

Make notes as you read and highlight key areas on your paper

What are Academic Conversations?“Academic conversations are back and forth dialogues in which students focus on a topic and explore it by building, challenging, and negotiating relevant ideas. They push students to think and learn in lasting ways.”

Jeff Zwiers and Marie CrawfordAcademic Conversations

Session 1Session 1, Activity 2

Different Purposes

Academic Conversations Oral Language Practice• Build knowledge• Solve problems• Communicate thoughts• Deepen understanding

• Practice language structures– Forms and functions

• Repetitive practice• Carousel/Differentiated ELD


Five Advantages of Academic Conversations

1. Language and Literacy (LL)2. Cognitive Thinking Skills (COG)3. Content Learning (CON)4. Social and Cultural (SC)5. Psychological (PSY)


1. Language and Literacy Advantages

Conversation builds:– Academic language – Vocabulary– Literacy skills– Communication skills


2. Cognitive Advantages

Conversation:– Builds critical thinking skills– Promotes different perspectives and empathy– Fosters creativity– Fosters skills for negotiating meaning


3. Content Learning Advantages

Conversation:– Cultivates connections– Helps students co-construct understandings– Helps teachers assess learning


4. Social and Cultural Advantages

Conversation:– Builds relationships– Makes lessons more culturally relevant– Fosters equity


5. Psychological Advantages

Conversation:– Fosters engagement and motivation– Builds confidence and academic identity– Builds student voice and empowerment


Session 3

Academic Conversations

Everyday Conversations

Students are

Talking

Sharing Ideas

Language Exchange

Highly Focused

Evidence Based

Build on others ideas

Build lasting

knowledge

Promotes CCSSskills

Random Thoughts

Personal Opinions

Popcorn out ideas

Fleeting Knowledge

Social Purposes

Model how to wonder by presenting real-world issues, dilemmas, and problems.


Base Prompts on a Thinking Skill

Thinking Skills

Session 6

AnalyzeCompareClassifyAnalyze Cause/EffectProblem SolvePersuadeEmpathizeSynthesizeInterpretEvaluateCommunicateApply


Base Prompt on a Thinking Skill

Thinking Skill: Empathize

In collaborative groups, create a journal entry from the perspective of a child living at the time of the Dust Bowl.

Base Prompts on a Product or Task

• Set the purpose of conversations by giving students a task to accomplish or a product to create.

• When conversing about tasks, students are training to do two very important real-world things: to collaborate and to create.


Base Prompt on a Product or Task

ScienceCreate a museum exhibit of different types of biomes.


Base Prompts on Life Experiences

• Enduring learning happens within the context of real life.

• Contextualizing lessons help students understand concepts and ideas.



Thinking Skill

Subject Area: Social Studies/Language Arts/Science/Math

Analyze Grade 3: Changing Habitats –Social Studies Choose an animal from this unit to create a Public Service Announcement explaining why this animal has adapted to city life, the dangers or problems this animal creates, and provide advice to people about what they should do if they encounter the animal.

Compare Grade 5: Volume –Math Create a 2D and 3D robot. Write a paragraph that compares and contrasts a two dimensional shape (area) and a three dimensional shape (volume).

Classify Grade 1: Homes –Collaborative Activity Pictorial Sort Provide pictures of a variety of environments, climate conditions (weather), and homes. Students will match the three categories and provide a verbal or written rationale for their choices.

Analyze Cause/Effect

Grade 3: Strength or Character –Dust Bowl Write a letter to a farmer explaining the causes of the dust bowl, and make suggestions of changes he could make to prevent this from happening again.

Problem Solve Kindergarten: Working Together to Reach Common Goals Pretend you and your family have just stepped off the Mayflower and arrived in the New World. In small groups, discuss how you will find the food you need to survive. Create a dramatic presentation that shows how you will get food.

Thinking SkillsConversations-Based Tasks

CALLA Model

How does CALLA support these objectives?

Objectives

• Describe CALLA instructional model to accelerate academic learning;

• Identify learning strategies that assist academic content and literacy development.

Secondary English Learners• Linguistically and culturally

diverse.

• Differing educational backgrounds.

• Variety of approaches to learning.

• Range of levels of family literacy.

Academic Needs of English Learners

• Develop and practice academic vocabulary.

• Read to learn.• Understand information presented

orally.• Participate in classroom discussions.• Write to communicate their

knowledge and ideas.

CALLA Instructional Model• RESEARCH-BASED LEARNING MODEL:

Learning process is mentally active, strategic, based on prior knowledge.

• CURRICULUM CONTENT: Content topics aligned with National and State Standards.

• ACADEMIC LANGUAGE: Integrated language development across the curriculum.

• LEARNING STRATEGIES: Metacognitive awareness, explicit instruction, scaffolding.

What is academic content?

• Aligned to national/state standards

• Cognitively appropriate

• English Language Arts, history, social studies, mathematics, science.

What is academic language?

• Language used during teaching and learning.

• Language in content textbooks.

• Language of literature.

• Language of literacy.

Input: Academic Language and Content Texts

• Literature genres: stories, novels, poetry, biography

• Informational texts: articles, essays, textbooks

• Oral texts: teacher, speakers, students, video, TV, film, live performance

• Personal texts: journals, e-mails, instant messages, letters.

Output: Academic Products

• Book reports, essays, stories, poetry, biographies

• Science lab reports

• Math problem explanations

• Social Studies research reports, debates

The Teacher’s Role• Model academic language by using

in context

• Add language activities to academic content lessons, focus on literacy

• Maintain high expectations

• Teach students how to learn.

CALLA Model for Teaching Academic Content, Language, and Learning Strategies

PREPARATIONPREPARATION

PRESENTATIONPRESENTATION

PRACTICEPRACTICE

SELFSELF-- EVALUATI ONEVALUATION

EXPANSIONEXPANSION

CALLACALLA’’S FIVE PHASESS FI VE PHASES

PREPARATION• Teacher provides overview

and objectives

• Elicits students’ prior knowledge

• Develops vocabulary

• Uses students’ native language as a resource.

PRESENTATION• Teacher addresses different

learning preferences• • Models language processes

explicitly

• Explains learning strategies

• Discusses connections to students’ prior knowledge.

PRACTICE• Students engage in interactive

activities

• Practice different cooperative learning structures

• Use authentic content and language tasks

• Use learning strategies.

SELF-EVALUATION

• Students reflect on their own learning

• Identify preferred strategies

• Keep learning logs

• Evaluate themselves.

EXPANSION• Students apply what they have

learned to their own lives

• Make connections between language and other content subjects

• Relate new information to own culture

• Parents contribute to learning

Think about: Do you see evidence of this in the Praxis

setting?

How will you apply this to lesson and unit

planning?

Lesson Plan Review• Refer to CALLA text.

• Review lesson plan guidelines & structure.

• Integrate what you have learned.

• For 9/25/13, create a CALLA lesson plan related to your content area.

• Create an ELD mini lesson that supports this lesson.

*These assignments will undergo peer review/critique.

For more information, visit the CALLA Web Site:

www.calla.ws

Strategies to Accelerate Academic Learning for English Learners

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