Winter 2011Vol. 4, Issue 2
Promising Practices from the Field
Achievement Inspired Mathematics for Scaffolding Student Success...
A Publication of Dual Language Education of New Mexico
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Inside this issue...; Supporting Language... Through Technology
; El español académico en los grados avanzados
; AMME/NMABE 2012 Conference Insert
; Focus on Language During Math Games
; Making a Difference for Language Learners... Interactive White Boards
; El leer para abrir las ventanas de la vida...
Students are often our best teachers in finding the most effective way to teach them. During a class discussion a number of years ago, Erin Mayer’s students were reflecting on their goals and the strategies that helped them learn. To her surprise, the students said that the strategies Erin thought were exactly what they needed were all right—but if she could do what they were suggesting instead it would be even better!
That conversation set in motion the practitioner research that led to the development of this model, Achievement Inspired Mathematics for Scaffolding Student Success (AIM4S3), which provides support beyond the typical core program to increase the mathematics achievement of all learners. This model was developed by Erin Mayer in collaboration with Dual Language Education of New Mexico, and that joint effort has resulted in a recently released monograph and a professional development model.
AIM4S³ is designed to provide a framework of instructional components that shelter mathematics content to make it comprehensible
and accessible to all students, with a specific focus on English learners (ELs) and academic language learners (ALLs).
AIM4S³ can be implemented with any mathematics program or curriculum for students in kindergarten through high school, as well as post-secondary school.
Model Components
Below is a diagram of the different components of the model.Opening Bookend:
; Two introductory components that are implemented prior to beginning a unit7 Focus/Motivation 7 Compendium
Unit Instruction:
; Core mathematics program lessonsClosing Bookend:
; Two ending components after the unit assessment7 Closure7 Goal Setting
Key Instructional Principles
; Teacher mechanics and delivery; Student output; Positive classroom culture ; Sheltering and scaffolding strategies
by Erin Mayer and Lisa Meyer-Jacks
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Supporting Language Development Through Technologyby Shelley Healy, Technology Literacy Teacher—East San José E.S., Albuquerque
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A year ago this past May, I was informed that my position as Technology Resource Teacher at East San José Elementary School (ESJ) was to change, due to district budgetary issues. I would go from a position responsible for trouble-shooting technology problems, ordering new equipment, supporting teachers with the newly installed Promethean technology, and maintaining and updating all computers—to teaching every student the technology skills in the district, state, and National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). I approached the coming school year with angst and trepidation. How could I shift from the position of Technology Resource Teacher and become an effective Technology Literacy Teacher at a dual language school? How could I, a monolingual English speaking educator, deliver curriculum instruction to students in a 90/10 model? Much to my surprise, the ensuing year turned out to be one of much learning and one of my most professionally rewarding experiences!
Rather than give in to my fears, I gave considerable thought to what my goals were for the children. Wasn’t technology a tool for students to use toward academic achievement, as much as a book or a pencil? Technology really is a motivating, highly visual, engaging tool. The students are so much more tech-savvy than adults; they know how to use
technology to negotiate their world and to see its use as common ground. The technology
team at East San José developed bilingual technology- skill checklists for each grade level so that teachers and students alike would know what technology skills were expected. I was excited to consider how the technology skills would build from each grade level to the next.
And, aren’t the literacy skills students need to develop in elementary school transferable from one language to another? Don’t kids learn to identify details or look for cause and effect relationships in both English stories and Spanish stories? I realized that I would need to scaffold the language required both to read and respond. As a result, I took full advantage of the visual images and videos available through the Internet (teachertube.com, youtube.com) and specific software like ActivInspire used with the Promethean technology (interactive whiteboards), Kidspiration 3, KidPix Deluxe 3, Keynote, and ABCYA.com. I made sure I provided sentence stems and fill-in-the-blank sentences so that students of all proficiency levels could participate. I allowed the very young students to complete projects in Spanish and used my bilingual colleagues to help me respond to their work. Most importantly, I planned my thematic units so that we always began with a whole-group demonstration of the content and identified technology skills.
I would demonstrate in front of the entire class and ask students to come up to interact with the software. Then the students would turn on their own computers and practice. The expectation was that the students would ask each other questions or clarifications before they could ask me. The result was that the monolingual Spanish-speaking students were able to get considerable support from their bilingual peers and bridge any language issues that arose. Finally, the
students worked on their own independent projects. The students were motivated and excited to work on their projects, their literacy skills were improving, and they were practicing important technology skills. What a success!
Over the course of the school year, all of ESJ’s students from kindergarten through the fifth
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grade completed various literacy/technology projects. Their completed work was posted on the walls outside the computer lab. Students in kindergarten looked to see what the older students had accomplished. Fifth graders identified their younger siblings’ work. The students read the walls, “oohed” and “aahed” over what each grade level accomplished, and looked forward to future projects.
Primary students started with either a teacher read-aloud or an animated read-aloud by the author downloaded from the Internet. I had great success with Eric Carle’s read-aloud of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Maurice Sendak’s read-aloud of Where the Wild Things Are. Using activities and tools found on ABCYA.com, Promethean Planet, my own created flipcharts, KidPix, and Kidspiration, we would practice technological skills such as drag and drop, highlighting, manipulating images, and including text boxes while we put story events into the correct sequence (see page 2), identified details and cause and effect, and captioned our work.
We practiced reading and writing by using story patterns, creating story maps, finishing cloze sentences like “In the beginning … ” and discussing characters and events. As final projects, younger students wrote their own shape books with captions, completed their own edition of “It Looked like Spilt Milk,” and storyboarded their own take on “The Three Little ____ and the Big Bad ________” (see example above). Often, research projects extended from these literary projects. Using National Geographics for Kids (http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids), the students gathered information on habitat, predator, prey, means of communication, etc., about an animal they included in their “Three Little ____ and Big Bad ____” story.
Intermediate students identified technology vocabulary in the book, The Computer Teacher from the Black Lagoon, authored by Mike Thaler and illustrated by Jared Lee. Students wrote their words in individual lists in a contest to see who identified the most. The words were listed in a “word-cloud”
activity, found on the curriculum-based web site ABCYA.com, and then transformed into students’ own tech-word clouds. Students used their growing technology skills to word process and manipulate font, font size, color, and layout. The clouds were
posted around the lab, and they provided a great opportunity for younger children to read and enjoy.
Bio Poem frames inspired the fifth graders and were included in their end-of-year Keynote slideshows. Students filled in the following information: First line—first name;
next line — 4 adjectives that describe you; Son or daughter of __________. Lover of ____, ______ and ______. Who feels ____, _____ and ______. Who fears ____, ______ and _______. Who would love to see _____, _____ and _____. Resident of _______. Last line—last name.
Other items included in the slideshow were a quote from a hero found on the Internet, an explanation of how that quote pertained to the student, images found through a Google search of the hero quoted, and the student’s own picture manipulated through the Photo Booth application. The students also had to include a slide with text and clipart images representing what they expected to be doing in 10, 20, and 30 years. These slideshows were then burned to individual CDs, which also included videos of their teachers, principal, and assistant principal offering sage advice and words of wisdom. These CDs were presented to the students during their fifth-grade graduation ceremony in May.
It was a busy year! I devoted my time to mining the Internet for ways to connect the development of literacy and technology skills. I became very adept at using the incredible programs and applications available to educators. The students made great leaps in their literacy and technology skills and, together, we had a blast!
This article is third in a series highlighting the role of East San José Elementary’s specials classes in the school’s
dual language program. The Winter 2010 and Spring 2011 articles focused on physical education and library classes.
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por Rebecca Blum-Martínez, Ph.D.—Universidad de Nuevo México
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El español académico en los grados avanzados
El tema del lenguaje académico en la actualidad, es de mucha preocupación para los profesionales de la educación; sobre todo para los maestros que tienen la responsabilidad de preparar a sus alumnos en los usos orales y escritos de ciertas formas de la lengua. Hay quienes afirman que si los alumnos tuvieran la habilidad de reconocer y utilizar los diversos registros del lenguaje, tendrían un mejor rendimiento escolar y mejor puntaje en los exámenes estandarizados.
Estos exámenes, las expectativas políticas y la rendición de cuentas (accountability) sobre los sistemas educativos ha intensificado la preocupación sobre la adquisición del inglés y del inglés académico, en grupos con otro idioma materno.
Sin embargo el llegar a una definición consensuada de lo que es un lenguaje académico no es fácil. Los políticos y el público en general no comprenden la complejidad de esta problemática. Valdés (2004) afirma que hay cuatro visiones del lenguaje académico en inglés, y que éstas corresponden a las especialidades que lo contemplan: 1) los especialistas en literatura inglesa y los profesores de las artes de lenguaje, 2) los profesores de inglés como segundo idioma a nivel universitario, 3) los maestros en los niveles básicos de inglés como segundo idioma y 4) los maestros y profesores bilingües. Estas cuatro especialidades han desarrollado sus propias visiones del lenguaje académico sin conocer ni contemplar las definiciones de los otros. Este desconocimiento a su vez ha contribuido a que se desarrollen ciertas definiciones del lenguaje académico en exclusión, lo cual perjudica a los alumnos que hablan una variante no estandarizada, o a los que están en proceso de adquirir una segunda lengua.
La percepción común sobre este tema es que existe un problema de decodificación, es decir, si
el alumno pudiera decodificar una palabra, sabría su significado. El poder hablar y leer a cierto nivel, no permite necesariamente que uno pueda participar en distintos géneros y registros. Halliday (1994) insiste en que el contexto general o cultural en el que se utiliza la lengua nos indica el género que se debe usar. Por ejemplo una carta se puede categorizar como carta sin especificar el tipo de la misma carta; ya sea para un propósito legal o para comunicarse
con un familiar. No obstante, el contexto específico nos indica el registro a utilizar. Para ello hay que concocer el campo (cómo se puede caracterizar la interacción o acción social) el tenor (la relación entre participantes, y el modo (qué papel juega la lengua en esta situación). Por esto, no hay un sólo lenguaje académico sino varios; el lenguaje de las ciencias, el de las matemáticas, el de la literatura, el de la historia, etc.
En los últimos años la labor de Wong Fillmore (2009) ha sido la
de analizar cuidadosamente los textos académicos utilizados en los niveles básicos, intermedios y superiores en las escuelas públicas. Aunque esta investigadora reconoce que el vocabulario es un elemento importante en estos textos, hace hincapié en la sintaxis (la gramática) de los textos académicos. Su análisis muestra una característica distintiva del lenguaje académico: una mayor concentración de información en textos reducidos. Esta concentración se logra a través de:
vUna mayor nominalización (el convertir un verbo o adjetivo en sustantivo, por ejemplo usar “el involucramiento de los formadores” en lugar de “los formadores se involucran”);
vEl uso de ciertos artificios para resaltar o fundamentar la información, por ejemplo en la oración que comienza “Respecto a los formadores”, la frase “respecto a” es una frase prepositiva que resalta a los formadores.
vLas diferentes maneras de formar oraciones compuestas.
Dra. Blum-Martínez trabajando con alumnos en México.
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La Dra. Wong Fillmore ha desarrollado una serie de talleres en los que explica estos puntos gramaticales y la manera de analizarlos con estudiantes de diferentes edades. En los distritos escolares donde se ha trabajado con este proceso, ha habido una gran mejora en los resultados de los exámenes estandarizados, sobre todo para aquellos alumnos que están en el proceso de adquirir el inglés. También los maestros que dictan sus clases en español han adoptado estos procesos con muy buenos resultados. El taller que presenté en el congreso, La Cosecha, tuvo el propósito de abordar este proceso para los niveles intermedios y superiores.
Como se ha podido discernir en esta revisión breve, la mayoría de los escritos sobre el lenguaje académico se han enfocado en el inglés y son muy pocos los que contemplan este tema en español. De los estudios que examinan el lenguaje académico en español, la mayoría se concentra en analizar los textos escritos por los alumnos cuya lengua de herencia es el español a nivel universitario. Colombi (2003, 2009), por ejemplo, analiza los ensayo expositivos de sus alumnos utilizando la lingüística sistémica funcional de Halliday (1994). En ello, el análisis no solo trata el tema de registro (campo, tenor y modo) sino que también se examina cómo la elección de ciertos elementos gramaticales y léxicos funcionan para que se acepte el ensayo como de un ‘experto’. Colombi describe una serie de actividades para apoyar a sus estudiantes en el desarrollo de varios registros escritos: a) los estudiantes realizan varios escritos en privado y en grupo. Luego son evaluados en cuanto a registro, b) los estudiantes interactúan con varios textos sobre un mismo tema para analizarlos conjuntamente, c) el grupo de estudiantes elabora un texto en conjunto, y d) cada alumno desarrolla su propio texto (p. 90, 2003).
Achugar (2003) hace una revisión de las características del lenguaje académico en inglés (mayor uso de nominalización, densidad léxica, una mayor precisión de significados a través de la integración de cláusulas) para así comparar cuáles se utilizan en el español. En general, los estudios que se han realizado confirman que el inglés académico y el español académico son muy parecidos en sus formas, pero con la diferencias obvias que existen entre las lenguas, por ejemplo, en el español la
utilización de “se” (Se analizan textos) sustituye la construcción pasiva en inglés (Texts are analyzed). Además el español utiliza adjetivos especializados. “Trabajo colegiado”, en lugar de dos sustantivos, en el inglés, “Team work”.
Schleppegrell y Colombi (1997) también analizan las estrategias utilizadas por dos estudiantes en inglés y en español, enfocándose en la estructura de sus ensayos y la combinación de cláusulas mostrando cómo estos dos elementos contribuyen a un registro mas académico. Para las autoras es necesario que los alumnos analicen la construcción de los géneros académicos con el fin de que puedan construir sus propios textos.
En el taller “El Español Académico en los Grados Avanzados” que presenté, trabajamos con textos académicos en las materias de historia, ciencias y literatura de las escuelas públicas. Juntos analizamos estos textos y seguimos los pasos desarrollados por Wong Fillmore y Achugar que nos llevaron a comprender cuáles son las estructuras y los elementos utilizados para desarrollar nuestros propios textos.
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Opening Bookend
The first component of the opening bookend, Focus and Motivation, is meant to prime students’ thinking prior to teaching new concepts and to create connections between students’ current understandings and these new concepts. Developing schema, or prior knowledge or understanding, is essential for learners to make connections between ideas and concepts (Anderson, 1984). When beginning a new unit, the teacher utilizes strategies that generate excitement and provide experiences that students can build on throughout the unit.
The second component, the Compendium, is a chart created with the students that provides the foundational “big picture” for the unit. It builds a common language, defines the standards or targets in student-friendly language, and captures what students already know about the topic and questions that they have. Students use the Compendium throughout the unit to connect new information to previous learning, creating a solid understanding of the concept to support them as they develop their foundation in mathematics. With a strong “big picture” foundation, students’ proficiency increases as they are able to demonstrate their knowledge on a variety of assessments.
Unit Instruction: Core Mathematics Program Lessons
The core mathematics unit is central to instruction and guides the development of the other components of the model. Teachers use their core program pacing guide, coupled with the standards, as they integrate the AIM4S3 model into their instruction.
During the mathematics program lessons, sheltered instruction is incorporated on a daily basis to support content and language development for English learners as well as academic language learners. The following six characteristics (adapted from Rich, 2001, www.lcequity.com) guide teachers in meeting the needs of their students while using the resources in their program’s materials: activate prior knowledge/create shared knowledge; support meaning with realia; focus on language; make text accessible; plan for structured peer interaction; and teach for transfer.
Closing Bookend
The closing bookend contains two components that are designed to solidify connections and ideas for students and provide reflective goal setting. The first component, Closure, connects students to the initial Focus and Motivation experiences and activities to clarify and reinforce students’ end understandings. Goal Setting, the second component, provides students
with the opportunity to reflect on their progress and devise an action plan for the next unit. Students consider which strategies support their learning and how their actions and attitude impact their progress. Goal setting and reflection celebrate student progress, and they heighten awareness of deliberate practice and the important role students play in their own learning.
Key Instructional Principles
Four key instructional principles provide the pedagogical foundation for the model: teacher mechanics and delivery, student output, positive classroom culture, and sheltering and scaffolding instruction. Mechanics and delivery refer to the methods the teacher uses to present the material and how the teacher engages or interacts with the students. Throughout the unit, this model emphasizes effective mechanics and delivery as well as frequent opportunities for student output. Strong sheltering and scaffolding practices and a positive classroom culture surround all elements of instruction. These key principles are discussed in detail throughout the monograph in the descriptors of the model components.
Monograph Overview
In the AIM4S3 monograph, each of the components above is addressed in greater depth. These are accompanied by examples of classroom practice, supporting assessment data, planning support, teachers’ voices, and more. DLeNM subscribers receive a copy of the document, and they can also access it electronically at www.dlenm.org. The monograph is available for purchase at publications.dlenm.org. DLeNM’s Clearinghouse is also a resource for a video of the model’s introduction at La Cosecha 2011 and classroom videos of the model in action. For just a small sample of what you’ll find in the monograph, please see the classroom vignette on page 7.
Sixth grade students refer to a Compendium.
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For more information, please contact your New Mexico representative:Sylvia Velasco-Saiz • Grades K-5 • 505-999-0248 • [email protected]
Eddie Marshall • Grades 6-12 • 505-660-2172 • [email protected]
Many mathematics programs include games that students play to reinforce concepts and develop automaticity. We typically model for students how to play the game, but we also need to teach students the language they should be using while playing. This includes phrases like “It’s your turn,” “Roll the dice,” or “It’s time to clean up.” It’s also essential to teach students the academic language that goes with the specific game. This could include sentences like “The 3 is in the hundreds place,” or “Nine is a larger product than six,” or “Twelve is a multiple of six.”
Recently a first grade class was playing Top-it (Everyday Math) to work on the concept of more and less. Students play with partners. Each partner chooses a card. The person with the highest card adds both cards to their pile. Typically, students flip through the deck very quickly and what you hear is “I win,” or “You get the cards.”
In this classroom, when the teacher modeled the game, she also taught the students the words more or less and the frames ___ is more than ___ and ___ is less than ___. Each student needed to use one of these frames to describe their cards before the round was over. While students were playing, the teacher circulated to reinforce the language they were using and to model when necessary.
Including a language focus in the lesson elevates all students’ language and gives them multiple opportunities to practice these essential mathematical structures. It is very important that the teacher set an expectation that all students will use this language. It has to be an integral part of playing the game. Then the teacher can positively reinforce the use of high academic language by highlighting students using it. For example, “I just heard Kayla say ‘Seven is more than five,’ and Miguel said ‘Three is less than five.’ That is the mathematical language we want to hear!”
Teacher and students review the game together:T—What word will we hear every time that you have the low card during Top-it?
S—LessT—What would we say with these two cards? (points to five and ten)S and T—Five is less than ten.T—Let’s say it again.S—Five is less than ten.T—What word will we hear every time you have the high card?S—MoreT—What would you say with five and ten? (pointing)S—Ten is more than five.T—Here’s a challenging one. What would you say if you had five and five? (pointing)
S—The sameT—They are the same. We can say five is equal to five or they are equal. Say that with me.S and T—Five is equal to five. They are equal.T—Great. When you are playing today, our goal is to use that language every time.
Focus on Language during Mathematics Games—an excerpt from Achievement Inspired Mathematics for Scaffolding Student Success...
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by Kim Marquez, Adobe Acres Elementary School
I think it is safe to say that most children have a relatively high comfort level and enjoy interacting with some form of technology. Every day it becomes more challenging for teachers to deliver instruction in creative ways, capture and hold students’ attention, and gain student participation—all while delivering meaningful content in a world of ever changing technology. Much of this technology isn’t even available to many teachers in the classroom. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to have a Promethean Board,a brand of interactive white board (IWB), in my classroom.
If you have never experienced a flipchart on an IWB, envision a Power Point presentation with lots of extras: animation; audio; video; the ability to write, vote, assess, move objects, take pictures; use manipulatives; link to files and the Internet; and more—all within a single document. The possibilities are infinite and limited only by the time you have to create or modify a flipchart.
The IWB’s “big screen” grabs students’ attention and sets up an inviting atmosphere for learning. First challenge met: student effort and willingness to participate. A plethora of IWB flipcharts are available on the Internet and many are free (visit prometheanplanet.com). These are easily modified to fit your students’ instructional needs. Each week my students play a different game on the IWB to review the week’s most important vocabulary words. Their favorite game is Hot Seat. The flipchart includes a scoreboard for two teams and a place to write a vocabulary word. The two students in the “hot seats” have to guess the vocabulary word as their teammates provide clues. Sentence stems or frames for giving clues support the participation of students across language proficiency levels. This helps to develop oral language while reinforcing vocabulary learned throughout the week.
Learning a second language can be difficult and teaching a second language can also be a challenge when you are managing as many different proficiency levels as you have students. The IWB allows me to
shelter instruction using realia or visuals. I search the Internet for the object or idea that I want and either immediately display it or import it into a flipchart for later use. If I need to activate prior knowledge, make a connection, or introduce new content into a teachable moment or planned lesson, I simply use the Internet
to import or display whatever it is I need and use it immediately. As children watch me do this, they also gain research skills and a better understanding of the use of the Internet as the IWB displays what is on the computer desktop.
Imported items from the Internet are great resources, but an IWB also provides many opportunities for nonlinguistic representations with its interactive features. Students can draw/create their answers or ideas
directly on the board with the IWB pen (a type of input device); these can be saved and printed for future use at student conferences or at instructional review times.
I use an animal classification game that is made up of pictures. The containers to which the children “drag” the animals for classification are set up to accept only the right pictures. If a student makes an incorrect choice, the picture “pops” back, and the student gets another try, receiving immediate feedback in a nonthreatening manner because of the game-like structure. Graphic organizers are also easily displayed and completed by the teacher or students, and note taking and summarizing can be facilitated as well.
Homework is checked every day using the IWB. The homework page is displayed, and students write the answers on the board with the IWB pen. Having the page displayed helps to alleviate confusion for students. I have found that more students complete their homework. I’m not sure if this is due to the IWB or not, but I do know that I must draw name sticks so that everyone has an opportunity to go to the IWB. Even students who may not have completed the homework or may not feel they have the right answer still want to participate with a helper, another student to assist them at the board. Students receive immediate feedback, I learn from ongoing formative assessment (without carrying yet another stack of papers home), and we
A student classifies living organisms on the IWB.
Making a Difference for Language Learners with Interactive White Boards in the Classroom
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work through any problems the students may have had in a way that benefits the entire group.
GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) strategies have been some of the most helpful that I have used in working with English learners. If you are familiar with GLAD, you know that the use of butcher paper is ubiquitous and wall space is at a premium. When my IWB was installed, much of an entire wall was lost, so I began to use many GLAD strategies in conjunction with the IWB. Chants, cognitive content dictionary (CCD), and the big book are strategies that can be projected during instruction; then students can have hard copies for their own reference and/or access the documents on classroom computers or website. I feel it is critical for third grade students to begin to use reference resources around them, and the IWB supports that skill.
With the ever-increasing demands for assessment, instructional time seems to be decreasing at an exponential rate. To help preserve instructional time, the student response system (a hand-held device for each student) can be used to collect data in quick and easy assessments. Each student votes or chooses an answer with their device and all student responses are immediately tallied by the interactive software. Questions can be posed in a multiple choice or Likert scale format. Data can be collected and exported into Excel for further analysis or displayed immediately to show students the collective results.
Marc Prensky refers to students as “digital natives,” writing, “Our students today are all ‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet” (Prensky, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, 2001). This comfort level (that many adults do not feel) allows me to use the IWB in small cooperative groups and not just whole class situations. Students are able to navigate their way through interactive activities on the IWB while I meet with other students.
The IWB, a few computers, and a listening center help me meet the needs of many more of my students in this digital age.You may be thinking that many of the activities I have described can be done without the IWB, and you would be correct. But my experience has shown that children and adults alike are intrigued with this new form of technology, regardless of language proficiency levels. Fun is not always synonymous with learning, but the IWB has transformed my classroom and has allowed me to bridge that divide and deliver instruction in a more engaging, visual, and “real world” manner. Students are able to interact and take risks with content in a nonthreatening way.
My own learning curve with the IWB has been huge, and I know there is still more to learn and potential to explore. I am where I am—though not necessarily where I want to be— with integrating the interactive white board and GLAD strategies and the new district reading program into my instruction. I know that next year will be even better. But for now, seeing more of my students engaged and learning successfully has made it all worthwhile. I continue to learn right along with them.
Kim Marquez builds background knowledge using the IWB.
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El leer para abrir las ventanas de la vida… ¿Cómo lograr que los alumnos de la preparatoria alcancen una lectura crítica?
Hace dos años me encontré con un libro llamado Readicide escrito por un maestro de inglés en el estado de California. Según Kelly Gallagher, autor del libro, a muchos alumnos les falta la formación previa para hacer conexiones a las lecturas. Estos mismos alumnos pueden descifrar las palabras pero no comprenden bien lo que han leído. Pensaba que eso era cierto; a mis estudiantes del programa bilingüe en la Preparatoria Albuquerque les hace falta la misma destreza; especialmente en su lectura en español. Por eso, el título captó de inmediato mi atención. El título del libro implica la exterminación de la lectura.
Aún como mamá me preocupa este fenómeno. Mis hijos están matriculados en programas de lenguaje dual. Veo a mis hijos batallar con su comprensión de lectura en español. Con la preocupación de educadores en los exámenes estatales aún en los programas duales el enfoque es más en la lectura en inglés. Como maestra veo que la mayoría de mis alumnos se sienten más cómodos en lecturas en inglés. Entonces me hice esta pregunta, ¿Cómo educadores bilingües contribuimos en este plan de exterminar la lectura en español? Llegue a la conclusión que sí, pues todo el material didáctico proveído por las editoriales, aunque abundante, le falta algo para atraer a los estudiantes. Los estudiantes en mi clase necesitan leer mucho más porque ya la gran mayoría están en el proceso de exterminar su lectura en español. Decidí cambiar como enseño la lectura y comprensión en mi clase. Decidí incorporar la idea de “El artículo de la semana” de este libro.
Método
El método consiste en darle a los alumnos sus propias copias de lecturas en donde los estudiantes puedan subrayar, encerrar palabras y hacer sus apuntes. Al iniciar este cambio pedagógico no
estaba exactamente segura que mis alumnos podían leer un artículo por semana, sin embargo tampoco quería no darles este reto. Entonces se los presenté incorporando la técnica que les iba a ayudar a leer y comprender mejor las lecturas. Los artículos podían ser de una hoja hasta seis pero nunca más de eso. Reciben un artículo cada dos semanas y tienen dos semanas para terminar el trabajo. Cada
artículo tiene que ser leído en cierta forma que yo llamo “conversando con el texto”, Gallagher le dice “talking to the text”. Básicamente es de leer con una visión más critica y lenta para comprender más profundamente y recordar lo leído. Se efectúa de la siguiente forma: ; Hacer preguntas;
; Formar comentarios;
; Hacer conexiones personales;
; Hacer conexiones de una parte de la lectura con otra, usando flechas u otras marcas; y
; Encerrar vocabulario desconocido en donde se puede predecir el sentido o buscar definiciones.
Al realizar la lectura de esta manera el alumno tiene que pasar por un camino más preciso en su comprensión crítica.
Los estudiantes, al terminar la lectura, elaboran un resumen de 3 a 5 párrafos. Para este resumen se les provee a los estudiantes una serie de oraciones de inicio; (Me fije…..; No estoy de acuerdo…; Me pregunto…) con esto los estudiantes confirman lo leído y lo aprendido en dichas lecturas. Esta actividad les da a los estudiantes la oportunidad de escribir de una manera individual y auténtica sin la necesidad de que sólo copien el artículo. Esto les ayuda a los estudiantes desarrollar una habilidad de escritura y vocabulario que se les provee, de manera natural, éxito en su avance académico.
“Conversando con el texto”
por Mishelle Jurado—Preparatoria Albuquerque High
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Soleado—W
inter 2011
DLeNM
Promising practices...
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Resultados
Cuando comencé este cambio pedagógico al principio ni los alumnos ni yo sabíamos cual sería el resultado. Fue un cambio de actitud completo hacía la lectura por parte de los alumnos y por mi parte al calificar. Poco a poco se les veía un mejoramiento a los estudiantes que hacían el trabajo. Cada dos semanas se les daba un artículo nuevo y con el transcurso del tiempo les iba dejando migajitas de información para que se animaran al siguiente artículo. Es de suma importancia que los estudiantes quieran hacer los trabajos y que muestren interés al hacerlo. Por eso, yo como maestra tenía que encontrar artículos de alto interés para ellos. Por ejemplo, uno de los artículos que más les gustó a los estudiantes fue de psicología y el tema fue de cómo los seres humanos postergamos todo para el último momento. Observé que la capacidad de los alumnos para cuestionar y conversar con los textos aumentaba con el paso del tiempo, hasta que llegó el momento en que lo hacían sin la necesidad de una rúbrica a seguir. Llegó el momento que los estudiantes de manera natural leían y evaluaban los textos de una forma critica y rápida.
Conclusión
Al día de hoy constantemente monitoreo a mis estudiantes y los resultados son sorprendentemente satisfactorios, en contraste a los estudiantes con los cuales aún no usaba esta acertada técnica. Los estudiantes que usan este método han mejorado notablemente su léxico, su escritura, su comprensión lectora, y su capacidad de cuestionar y comprender lo que han leído. Yo como maestra me he pulido en buscar artículos de alto interés y actuales que han cautivado a nuestra comunidad estudiantil.
El tener cautivo a nuestros estudiantes en la lectura en español ha sido el mayor resultado adquirido en el uso de la técnica “Conversando con el texto”. El uso de estos artículos dio como resultado que nuestros estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de desarrollar el español de manera natural. También han adquirido una gran gama de lenguaje académico. Este lenguaje les ha ayudado a mejorar en su vida escolar de una manera profesional. Otro resultado satisfactorio es que los estudiantes pueden usar esta técnica en otros
contenidos académicos, ya que esta técnica se puede aplicar con éxito en cualquier lectura.
Por último, los estudiantes se dan cuenta el valor de conservar y aumentar el idioma español de la misma manera que hay que desarrollar el idioma inglés, ya que nuestra sociedad está construida de una variedad de culturas. Los estudiantes pueden ver la importancia de leer artículos de diferentes países de habla hispana, y como su español ha crecido notablemente esta es la llave que les abre las puertas al mundo latinoamericano. La gran ventaja es de tener dominados dos idiomas de manera académica.
Referencias
Gallagher, K. (2009) Readicide: How schools are killing reading and what you can do about it. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.Gallagher, K. (2003) Reading reasons: Motivational mini-lessons for middle and high school. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Sitios de Red para artículos:
www.editum.org www.vivasaludable.orgwww.windows2universe.org www.muyinteresante.es
www.tudiscovery.com www.natgeo.tv/us—continúa en la página 11—
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Soleado—Promising Practices From the Field—Winter 2011—Vol. 4, Issue 2
Dual Language Education of New Mexico
Editor: Dee [email protected]
© DLeNM 2011All rights reserved.
Soleado is a quarterly publication of Dual Language Education of New Mexico, distributed to DLeNM’s professional subscribers. It is protected by U.S. copyright laws. Please direct inquiries or permission requests to [email protected].
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Board Members—Dr. Rubén CórdovaDr. Suzanne Jácquez-GormanSusana Ibarra JohnsonMishelle JuradoGilberto LoboMaría Rodríguez-BurnsAdrian SandovalJesse Winter
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; The Common Core and More! Connecting Language Learners to Standards—Illinois Resource Center and WIDA Consortium: June 11-15, 2012, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. More details forthcoming—for updates and information, please call 224.366.8555.
; Literacy Squared summer insititute—Bueno Center, University of Colorado at Boulder: June 27-June 29, 2012, in Estes Park, Colorado. The insitute will include research and assessment, lesson demonstrations, and guidelines for implementation. For more information and for online registration, please visit http://literacysquared.org.
; 2012 State Spanish Spelling Bee—New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education: April 9, 2012, in Albuquerque at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. For more information or to include your school or district, please call David Briseño at 505.238.6812 or email [email protected]. The Santillana 2012 National Spanish Spelling Bee will be held in Albuquerque on July 20, 2012.
; Achievement Inspired Mathematics for Scaffolding Student Success (AIM4S3)—DLeNM: Three day trainings include a model overview, theory and research, supporting data, classroom demo, and collaborative planning time. Three trainings will be offered this spring: January 17-19, 2012 (Deming, NM); Feb. 21-23, 2012 (Albuquerque); and April 10-12, 2012 (Albuquerque). Registration is $429 per participant. Contact Lisa Meyer-Jacks, [email protected] or 505.243.0648, for more information or for pricing on district/school sponsored trainings.
; Southern NM Regional Institute—New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education and the Southern Consortium: February 25, 2012, in Las Cruces, NM. The institute is open to teachers, administrators, students, and families, and it offers a variety of relevant topics. Please call David Briseño at 505.238.6812 for more information. A flyer is available for download at nmabe.net.
