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Reading Instruction for Multilingual Learners: The Role of Background Knowledge

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Reading Instruction for Multilingual Learners: The Role of Background Knowledge for English Language Learners

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Escamilla, K., Olsen, L., & Slavick, J. , 2022

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Toward Comprehensive Effective Literacy Policy and Instruction for English Learner/Emergent Bilingual Students

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Toward Comprehensive Effective Literacy Policy and Instruction for English Learner/Emergent Bilingual Students

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Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners

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Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners

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Document 1: Flowchart for Determining Background Knowledge

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Albuquerque teacher Ali Nava describes the "realia" activity she used to introduce Burro's Tortillas and some of the items she brought into the classroom for the lesson.

School Name: Lew Wallace Elementary School, Albuquerque, NM

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Ali Nava is an elementary teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico and a member of the first-grade cadre in our Common Core in Albuquerque project.In this video, Ali describes the "realia" activity she used to introduce Burro's Tortillas and some of the items she brought into the classroom for the lesson.

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Video: Activating and Building Students' Background Knowledge

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Video: Activating and Building Students' Background Knowledge

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Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners

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Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners

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Baker, et al., 2014

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Resources for Addressing Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Your Classroom

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Resources for Addressing Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Your Classroom

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National Education Association.

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NEA views the diversity that exists among our members, staff, students, and communities as a great asset for public education and works to maximize this asset through the National Diversity Training Program.

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Colorín Colorado’s Multicultural Resources 

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Colorín Colorado’s Multicultural Resources 

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Multicultural Resources for the Classroom

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This award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for chi…

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Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners

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Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners

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Our nation's moment of reckoning with the deficit view of multilingual learners has arrived. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and exacerbated long-standing inequities that stand in the way of MLs' access to effective instruction. Recent events have also caused us to reflect on our place as educators within the intersection of race and language. In this innovative book, Sydney Snyder and Diane Staehr Fenner share practical, replicable ways you can draw from students' strengths and promote multilingual learners' success within and beyond your own classroom walls.

In this book you'll find

*Practical and printable, research-based tools that guide you on how to implement culturally responsive teaching in your context
*Case studies and reflection exercises to help identify implicit bias in your work and mitigate deficit-based thinking
*Authentic classroom video clips in each chapter to show you what culturally responsive teaching actually looks like in practice
*Hand-drawn sketch note graphics that spotlight key concepts, reinforce central themes, and engage you with eye-catching and memorable illustrations

There is no time like the present for you to reflect on your role in culturally responsive teaching and use new tools to build an even stronger school community that is inclusive of MLs. No matter your role or where you are in your journey, you can confront injustice by taking action steps to develop a climate in which all students' backgrounds, experiences, and cultures are honored and educators, families, and communities work collaboratively to help MLs thrive. We owe it to our students.
On-demand book study-Available now!
Authors, Snyder and Staehr Fenner have created an on-demand LMS book study for readers of Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity available now from their company SupportEd. The self-paced book study works around your schedule and when you're done, you'll earn a certificate for 20 hours of PD. SupportEd can also customize the book study for specific district timelines, cohorts and/or needs upon request. Learn more.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners

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What will you do to promote multilingual learners’ equity? Our nation’s moment of reckoning with the deficit view of multiling...

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In this eagerly anticipated revision of their bestselling book, authors Diane Staehr Fenner, Sydney Snyder, and Meghan Gregoire-Smith share dynamic, research-backed strategies that every educator of multilingual learners (MLs) can add to their repertoire. Including more of what educators loved from the first edition-authentic classroom examples, a wide variety of research-based instructional strategies, and practical tools to implement across grade levels and content areas-this is the ultimate practical guide to unlocking the potential of MLs in K-12 classrooms.

With fresh graphics and eye-catching colors, this thoroughly revised edition also includes:

Considerations for newcomers and students with interrupted or no formal education (SLIFE)

An added chapter on building scaffolded instruction and peer learning opportunities into MLs' academic reading and writing activities

Additional opportunities for reflection and application

A new unit planning template aligned with research-based instructional practices, including a completed example unit

Situated within five core beliefs that frame the must-haves for MLs' equitable and excellent education, Unlocking Multilingual Learners' Potential is a guide to research-based practices and a toolbox of strategies every educator can implement to make content accessible and increase language proficiency among MLs.

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Research-based instructional strategies, guidance on building scaffolded instruction and peer learning opportunities, and practical tools to make cont...

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Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association.

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Colorin Colorado

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When I read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, I remember being fascinated by the "babel fish." These were fish, who when dropped in a person's ear, would provide immediate translation of any language, thriving on sound waves and converting them into comprehensible language.

Wouldn't it be just great if learning a new language were that easy (despite the "yuck" factor)? While we do have some technology that provides translation into a variety of languages, it often fails to translate accurately due to the complexity of language. Effective communication requires so much more than just being able to translate vocabulary words - it requires knowledge of intonation, dialect, and intent, and a nuanced understanding of word use, expression, and a language's cultural context. For example, one online translation application I tried translated "Fall Events" as "fall down events" in Spanish because it didn't know that I was referring to events in autumn.

So, without a babel fish or perfect technology, we are left with the old-fashioned way of learning a new language, which requires time, effort, and patience. How much time, effort, and patience depends a lot on the individual who is learning, as well as the learning environment and situation, but language researchers have developed a general outline of language acquisition that helps explain the process that language learners go through to develop skills in a foreign language. In this article, I will provide an overview to the stages of language acquisition, and offer strategies designed to support ELL instruction at different stages of language acquisition.

Stages of Language Acquisition

Researchers define language acquisition into two categories: first-language acquisition and second-language acquisition. First-language acquisition is a universal process regardless of home language. Babies listen to the sounds around them, begin to imitate them, and eventually start producing words. Second-language acquisition assumes knowledge in a first language and encompasses the process an individual goes through as he or she learns the elements of a new language, such as vocabulary, phonological components, grammatical structures, and writing systems.

The Six Stages of Second-Language Acquisition

Pre-production

This is also called "the silent period," when the student takes in the new language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six weeks or longer, depending on the individual.

Early production

The individual begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the emphasis is still on listening and absorbing the new language. There will be many errors in the early production stage.

Speech Emergent

Speech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the individual still relies heavily on context clues and familiar topics. Vocabulary continues to increase and errors begin to decrease, especially in common or repeated interactions.

Beginning Fluency

Speech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the individual will struggle to express themselves due to gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases.

Intermediate Fluency

Communicating in the second language is fluent, especially in social language situations. The individual is able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions. There are very few errors, and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills in the second language such as offering an opinion or analyzing a problem.

Advanced Fluency

The individual communicates fluently in all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage, the individual may still have an accent and use idiomatic expressions incorrectly at times, but the individual is essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the second language.

How long does it take for a language learner to go through these stages? Just as in any other learning situation, it depends on the individual. One of the major contributors to accelerated second language learning is the strength of first language skills. Language researchers such as Jim Cummins, Catherine Snow, Lily Wong Filmore and Stephen Krashen have studied this topic in a variety of ways for many years. The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency. This generally applies to individuals who have strong first language and literacy skills. If an individual has not fully developed first language and literacy skills, it may take between seven to ten years to reach advanced fluency. It is very important to note that every ELL student comes with his or her own unique language and education background, and this will have an impact on their English learning process.

It is also important to keep in mind that the understood goal for American ELL students is Advanced Fluency, which includes fluency in academic contexts as well as social contexts. Teachers often get frustrated when ELL students appear to be fluent because they have strong social English skills, but then they do not participate well in academic projects and discussions. Teachers who are aware of ELL students' need to develop academic language fluency in English will be much better prepared to assist those students in becoming academically successful. (Learn more about academic language in Colorín Colorado's academic language resource section.)

Instructional Strategies

If you have ELL students in your classroom, it is more than likely there will be students at a variety of stages in the language acquisition process. What can teachers do to differentiate instruction according to language level? Here are some suggestions for appropriate instructional strategies according to stages of language acquisition.

Emphasize listening comprehension by using read-alouds and music.

Use visuals and have students point to pictures or act out vocabulary.

Speak slowly and use shorter words, but use correct English phrasing.

Model "survival" language by saying and showing the meaning. For example, say, "Open your book," and then open a book while the student observes.

Gesture, point and show as much as possible.

More advanced classmates who speak the same language can support new learning through interpretation.

Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct language usage when students make mistakes.

Continue the strategies listed above, but add opportunities for students to produce simple language.

Ask students to point to pictures and say the new word.

Ask yes/no and either/or questions.

Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss a problem. Have literate students write short sentences or words in graphic organizers.

Model a phrase and have the student repeat it and add modifications. Teacher says, "This book is very interesting." The student repeats it and says, "This book is very boring." Continue with as many modifications as possible.

Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct usage.

Introduce more academic language and skills by using the same techniques listed above, but beginning to use more academic vocabulary.

Introduce new academic vocabulary and model how to use it in a sentence.

Provide visuals and make connections with student's background knowledge as much as possible.

Ask questions that require a short answer and are fairly literal.

Introduce charts and graphs by using easily understood information such as a class survey of food preferences.

Have students re-tell stories or experiences and have another student write them down. The ELL student can bring these narratives home to read and reinforce learning.

In writing activities, provide the student with a fill-in-the blank version of the assignment with the necessary vocabulary listed on the page.

Provide minimal error correction. Focus only on correction that directly interferes with meaning. Reinforce learning by modeling the correct usage.

Have students work in pairs and groups to discuss content.

During instruction, have students do a "Think, pair, share" to give the student an opportunity to process the new language and concept.

Ask questions that require a full response with explanation. If you do not understand the student's explanation, ask for clarification by paraphrasing and asking the student if you heard them correctly.

Ask questions that require inference and justification of the answer.

Ask students if they agree or disagree with a statement and why.

Model more advanced academic language structures such as, "I think," "In my opinion," and "When you compare." Have students repeat the phrases in context.

Re-phrase incorrect statements in correct English, or ask the student if they know another way to say it.

Introduce nuances of language such as when to use more formal English and how to interact in conversations.

Have students make short presentations, providing them with the phrases and language used in presentations ("Today I will be talking about") and giving them opportunities to practice the presentation with partners before getting in front of the class.

Continue to provide visual support and vocabulary development.

Correct errors that interfere with meaning, and pre-identify errors that will be corrected in student writing, such as verb-tense agreement. Only correct the errors agreed upon.

You may want to assist in improving pronunciation by asking a student to repeat key vocabulary and discussing how different languages have different sounds.

Identify key academic vocabulary and phrases and model them. Ask students to produce the language in class activities.

Use graphic organizers and thinking maps and check to make sure the student is filling them in with details. Challenge the student to add more.

Help the student make connections with new vocabulary by instructing him or her in the etymology of words or word families such as, "important, importance, importantly."

Create assessments that give students an opportunity to present in English after they have an opportunity to practice in pairs or small groups.

Introduce more academic skills, such as brainstorming, prioritizing, categorization, summarizing and compare and contrast.

Ask students to identify vocabulary by symbols that show whether the student "knows it really well, kind of knows it, or doesn't know it at all." Help students focus on strategies to get the meaning of new words.

Have a "guessing time" during silent reading where they circle words they don't know and write down their guess of the meaning. Check the results as a class.

Introduce idioms and give examples of how to use them appropriately. For example, "Let's wind up our work." What's another way you could use the phrase "wind up?"

Starting at this level, students need more correction/feedback, even on errors that do not directly affect meaning. They should be developing a more advanced command of syntax, pragmatics, pronunciation, and other elements that do not necessarily affect meaning but do contribute to oral fluency.

It may also be helpful to discuss language goals with the student so you can assist in providing modeling and correction in specified areas.

Students at this level are close to native language fluency and can interact well in a variety of situations. Continue to develop language skills as gaps arise by using the strategies listed above. Although the student may seem completely fluent, he or she still benefit from visual support, building on background knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary and making connections between content areas.

Offer challenge activities to expand the student's vocabulary knowledge such as identifying antonyms, synonyms and the use of a thesaurus and dictionary.

Demonstrate effective note-taking and provide a template.

Offer error correction on academic work and on oral language. Because students at this stage have achieved near-native fluency, they benefit from support in fine-tuning their oral and written language skills.

Recommendations

Scaffold instruction so students receive comprehensible input and are able to successfully complete tasks at their level. Instructional scaffolding works just like the scaffolding used in building. It holds you at the level needed until you are ready to take it down. Scaffolding includes asking students questions in formats that give them support in answering, such as yes/no questions, one-word identifications, or short answers. It also means providing the context for learning by having visuals or other hands-on items available to support content learning. Also, when practicing a new academic skill such as skimming, scaffolding involves using well-known material so the students aren't struggling with the information while they are trying to learn a new skill. Scaffolding includes whatever it takes to make the instruction meaningful for the student in order to provide a successful learning experience.

Use cognates to help Spanish speakers learn English and derive meaning from content. The Colorín Colorado website has a helpful list of common cognates in Spanish for teachers to reference. Teachers can explicitly point out cognates for Spanish speaking students so they begin to realize that this is a useful way for them to increase their English vocabulary.

Explicit vocabulary instruction is very important in accelerating ELL students' English language development. Textbooks include lists of new vocabulary words based on grade-level content, but ELL students need further vocabulary instruction. There are many words in a text that may affect the ELL student's comprehension of the text that a teacher may assume he or she knows. It is important for teachers to develop ways to help students identify the words they don't know, as well as strategies for getting their meaning. Of course it is also beneficial if teachers reinforce the language structures or common associations of vocabulary. For example, "squeak" is a sound that often goes with "mouse" or "door" and it may be stated as, "squeak, squeaky, squeaks, or squeaked."

Error correction should be done very intentionally and appropriately according to student language ability, as noted earlier in the article. Students who are just beginning to speak English are already nervous about using their new language skills and constant correction will not improve their ability; it will just make them want to withdraw. I inform students in advance of the type of errors I will correct, such as "missing articles" and "third person agreement," and then those are the only errors I check. In my class, I do not correct the errors; I circle the mistakes and return the paper to the student. They are responsible for correcting the errors and returning the paper to receive more points. Most of the time the students can make the corrections themselves when they see the area I've circled, but if they have difficulty, I guide them as they make the correction. In this way, I feel there is a manageable amount of correction information to work with and the student will actually learn from doing the correction.

Learning another language. If you learn the language(s) your students speak, they will be thrilled to hear you try it with them. I learned how to say "good morning" in Somali and had to practice for an hour before I felt comfortable saying it. When I did I was rewarded with the big grins of students as they entered the room. They were excited to teach me other phrases as well, and we discussed how much English they had learned since they arrived in the country. They were very proud to think of how much progress they'd made.

Seek the experts in your building or district who can offer you guidance on effective instructional strategies for your ELL students. There are many teachers who have taught ELL students in your content area, have taught a certain population of students, or are trained ESL or bilingual teachers who have a lot of advice and support to offer. Don't hesitate to look for support when you are challenged to reach students who are learning English. This can be especially true when you have a "pre-production" or "beginning level" student and you are responsible for grade level content instruction.

Visit the hotlinks section for this article for more information on specific research regarding language acquisition and recommended instructional strategies. You can also search the Colorín Colorado educator information for useful information and resources to assist you in meeting ELL student needs.

ELL teachers encounter students with a variety of backgrounds and abilities, and until the babel fish comes into existence, they will need to have flexibility, creativity and skill in order to help ELL students make meaning from the new language and content they are learning. An understanding of the language acquisition process and levels will help teachers tailor instruction to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners. Students will benefit from everything teachers do to support the development of their language skills while teaching them grade level content. Together teachers and students develop their understanding of each other, the world around them, and the language that connects us all.
The Stages of Second Language Acquisition
This chapter from Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners Facilitator's Guide, by Jane D. Hill and Cynthia L. Björk, offers information on the second language acquisition process and effective ELL instruction. It includes a a simplified chart of language acquisition levels and the kinds of language teachers can use to help students at each level.

Simple description of the stages of language acquisition and recommendations for instructional strategies according to level.
Overview of Second Language Acquisition and Strategies
Downloadable booklet from the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory, "Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners." Includes useful information on language levels, acquisition and 10 things teachers can do today to help ELL students.
Understanding the "Silent Period" with English Language Learners
This article describes some strategies used by two kindergarten teachers to communicate verbally and nonverbally.

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“One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.”— Chinese ProverbWhen I read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, I remember being fascinated by the “babel fish.” These were fish, who when dropped in a person’s ear, would provide immediate translation of any language, thriving on sound waves and converting them into comprehensible language.Wouldn’t it be just great if learning a new language were that easy (despite the “yuck” factor)? While we do have some technology that provides translation into a variety of languages, it often fails to translate accurately due to the complexity of language. Effective communication requires so much more than just being able to translate vocabulary words — it requires knowledge of intonation, dialect, and intent, and a nuanced understanding of word use, expression, and a language’s cultural context. For example, one online translation application I tried translated “Fall Events” as “fall down events” in Spanish because it didn’t know that I was referring to events in autumn.So, without a babel fish or perfect technology, we are left with the old-fashioned way of learning a new language, which requires time, effort, and patience. How much time, effort, and patience depends a lot on the individual who is learning, as well as the learning environment and situation, but language researchers have developed a general outline of language acquisition that helps explain the process that language learners go through to develop skills in a foreign language. In this article, I will provide an overview to the stages of language acquisition, and offer strategies designed to support ELL instruction at different stages of language acquisition.Stages of Language AcquisitionResearchers define language acquisition into two categories: first-language acquisition and second-language acquisition. First-language acquisition is a universal process regardless of home language. Babies listen to the sounds around them, begin to imitate them, and eventually start producing words. Second-language acquisition assumes knowledge in a first language and encompasses the process an individual goes through as he or she learns the elements of a new language, such as vocabulary, phonological components, grammatical structures, and writing systems.The Six Stages of Second-Language AcquisitionPre-productionThis is also called “the silent period,” when the student takes in the new language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six weeks or longer, depending on the individual.Early productionThe individual begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the emphasis is still on listening and absorbing the new language. There will be many errors in the early production stage.Speech EmergentSpeech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the individual still relies heavily on context clues and familiar topics. Vocabulary continues to increase and errors begin to decrease, especially in common or repeated interactions.Beginning FluencySpeech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the individual will struggle to express themselves due to gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases.Intermediate FluencyCommunicating in the second language is fluent, especially in social language situations. The individual is able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions. There are very few errors, and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills in the second language such as offering an opinion or analyzing a problem.Advanced FluencyThe individual communicates fluently in all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage, the individual may still have an accent and use idiomatic expressions incorrectly at times, but the individual is essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the second language.How long does it take for a language learner to go through these stages? Just as in any other learning situation, it depends on the individual. One of the major contributors to accelerated second language learning is the strength of first language skills. Language researchers such as Jim Cummins, Catherine Snow, Lily Wong Filmore and Stephen Krashen have studied this topic in a variety of ways for many years. The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency. This generally applies to individuals who have strong first language and literacy skills. If an individual has not fully developed first language and literacy skills, it may take between seven to ten years to reach advanced fluency. It is very important to note that every ELL student comes with his or her own unique language and education background, and this will have an impact on their English learning process.It is also important to keep in mind that the understood goal for American ELL students is Advanced Fluency, which includes fluency in academic contexts as well as social contexts. Teachers often get frustrated when ELL students appear to be fluent because they have strong social English skills, but then they do not participate well in academic projects and discussions. Teachers who are aware of ELL students’ need to develop academic language fluency in English will be much better prepared to assist those students in becoming academically successful. (Learn more about academic language in Colorín Colorado’s academic language resource section.) Instructional StrategiesIf you have ELL students in your classroom, it is more than likely there will be students at a variety of stages in the language acquisition process. What can teachers do to differentiate instruction according to language level? Here are some suggestions for appropriate instructional strategies according to stages of language acquisition.Language StageStrategiesPre-productionEmphasize listening comprehension by using read-alouds and music.Use visuals and have students point to pictures or act out vocabulary.Speak slowly and use shorter words, but use correct English phrasing.Model “survival” language by saying and showing the meaning. For example, say, “Open your book,” and then open a book while the student observes.Gesture, point and show as much as possible.More advanced classmates who speak the same language can support new learning through interpretation.Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct language usage when students make mistakes.Early ProductionContinue the strategies listed above, but add opportunities for students to produce simple language.Ask students to point to pictures and say the new word.Ask yes/no and either/or questions.Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss a problem. Have literate students write short sentences or words in graphic organizers.Model a phrase and have the student repeat it and add modifications. Teacher says, “This book is very interesting.” The student repeats it and says, “This book is very boring.” Continue with as many modifications as possible.Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct usage.Speech EmergentIntroduce more academic language and skills by using the same techniques listed above, but beginning to use more academic vocabulary.Introduce new academic vocabulary and model how to use it in a sentence.Provide visuals and make connections with student’s background knowledge as much as possible.Ask questions that require a short answer and are fairly literal.Introduce charts and graphs by using easily understood information such as a class survey of food preferences.Have students re-tell stories or experiences and have another student write them down. The ELL student can bring these narratives home to read and reinforce learning.In writing activities, provide the student with a fill-in-the blank version of the assignment with the necessary vocabulary listed on the page.Provide minimal error correction. Focus only on correction that directly interferes with meaning. Reinforce learning by modeling the correct usage.Beginning FluencyHave students work in pairs and groups to discuss content.During instruction, have students do a “Think, pair, share” to give the student an opportunity to process the new language and concept.Ask questions that require a full response with explanation. If you do not understand the student’s explanation, ask for clarification by paraphrasing and asking the student if you heard them correctly.Ask questions that require inference and justification of the answer.Ask students if they agree or disagree with a statement and why.Model more advanced academic language structures such as, “I think,” “In my opinion,” and “When you compare.” Have students repeat the phrases in context.Re-phrase incorrect statements in correct English, or ask the student if they know another way to say it.Introduce nuances of language such as when to use more formal English and how to interact in conversations.Have students make short presentations, providing them with the phrases and language used in presentations (“Today I will be talking about”) and giving them opportunities to practice the presentation with partners before getting in front of the class.Continue to provide visual support and vocabulary development.Correct errors that interfere with meaning, and pre-identify errors that will be corrected in student writing, such as verb-tense agreement. Only correct the errors agreed upon.You may want to assist in improving pronunciation by asking a student to repeat key vocabulary and discussing how different languages have different sounds.Intermediate FluencyIdentify key academic vocabulary and phrases and model them. Ask students to produce the language in class activities.Use graphic organizers and thinking maps and check to make sure the student is filling them in with details. Challenge the student to add more.Help the student make connections with new vocabulary by instructing him or her in the etymology of words or word families such as, “important, importance, importantly.“Create assessments that give students an opportunity to present in English after they have an opportunity to practice in pairs or small groups.Introduce more academic skills, such as brainstorming, prioritizing, categorization, summarizing and compare and contrast.Ask students to identify vocabulary by symbols that show whether the student “knows it really well, kind of knows it, or doesn’t know it at all.” Help students focus on strategies to get the meaning of new words.Have a “guessing time” during silent reading where they circle words they don’t know and write down their guess of the meaning. Check the results as a class.Introduce idioms and give examples of how to use them appropriately. For example, “Let’s wind up our work.” What’s another way you could use the phrase “wind up?“Starting at this level, students need more correction/feedback, even on errors that do not directly affect meaning. They should be developing a more advanced command of syntax, pragmatics, pronunciation, and other elements that do not necessarily affect meaning but do contribute to oral fluency.It may also be helpful to discuss language goals with the student so you can assist in providing modeling and correction in specified areas.Advanced FluencyStudents at this level are close to native language fluency and can interact well in a variety of situations. Continue to develop language skills as gaps arise by using the strategies listed above. Although the student may seem completely fluent, he or she still benefit from visual support, building on background knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary and making connections between content areas.Offer challenge activities to expand the student’s vocabulary knowledge such as identifying antonyms, synonyms and the use of a thesaurus and dictionary.Demonstrate effective note-taking and provide a template.Offer error correction on academic work and on oral language. Because students at this stage have achieved near-native fluency, they benefit from support in fine-tuning their oral and written language skills. RecommendationsScaffold instruction so students receive comprehensible input and are able to successfully complete tasks at their level. Instructional scaffolding works just like the scaffolding used in building. It holds you at the level needed until you are ready to take it down. Scaffolding includes asking students questions in formats that give them support in answering, such as yes/no questions, one-word identifications, or short answers. It also means providing the context for learning by having visuals or other hands-on items available to support content learning. Also, when practicing a new academic skill such as skimming, scaffolding involves using well-known material so the students aren’t struggling with the information while they are trying to learn a new skill. Scaffolding includes whatever it takes to make the instruction meaningful for the student in order to provide a successful learning experience.Use cognates to help Spanish speakers learn English and derive meaning from content. The Colorín Colorado website has a helpful list of common cognates in Spanish for teachers to reference. Teachers can explicitly point out cognates for Spanish speaking students so they begin to realize that this is a useful way for them to increase their English vocabulary.Explicit vocabulary instruction is very important in accelerating ELL students’ English language development. Textbooks include lists of new vocabulary words based on grade-level content, but ELL students need further vocabulary instruction. There are many words in a text that may affect the ELL student’s comprehension of the text that a teacher may assume he or she knows. It is important for teachers to develop ways to help students identify the words they don’t know, as well as strategies for getting their meaning. Of course it is also beneficial if teachers reinforce the language structures or common associations of vocabulary. For example, “squeak” is a sound that often goes with “mouse” or “door” and it may be stated as, “squeak, squeaky, squeaks, or squeaked.“Error correction should be done very intentionally and appropriately according to student language ability, as noted earlier in the article. Students who are just beginning to speak English are already nervous about using their new language skills and constant correction will not improve their ability; it will just make them want to withdraw. I inform students in advance of the type of errors I will correct, such as “missing articles” and “third person agreement,” and then those are the only errors I check. In my class, I do not correct the errors; I circle the mistakes and return the paper to the student. They are responsible for correcting the errors and returning the paper to receive more points. Most of the time the students can make the corrections themselves when they see the area I’ve circled, but if they have difficulty, I guide them as they make the correction. In this way, I feel there is a manageable amount of correction information to work with and the student will actually learn from doing the correction.Learning another language. If you learn the language(s) your students speak, they will be thrilled to hear you try it with them. I learned how to say “good morning” in Somali and had to practice for an hour before I felt comfortable saying it. When I did I was rewarded with the big grins of students as they entered the room. They were excited to teach me other phrases as well, and we discussed how much English they had learned since they arrived in the country. They were very proud to think of how much progress they’d made.Seek the experts in your building or district who can offer you guidance on effective instructional strategies for your ELL students. There are many teachers who have taught ELL students in your content area, have taught a certain population of students, or are trained ESL or bilingual teachers who have a lot of advice and support to offer. Don’t hesitate to look for support when you are challenged to reach students who are learning English. This can be especially true when you have a “pre-production” or “beginning level” student and you are responsible for grade level content instruction.Visit the hotlinks section for this article for more information on specific research regarding language acquisition and recommended instructional strategies. You can also search the Colorín Colorado educator information for useful information and resources to assist you in meeting ELL student needs.ELL teachers encounter students with a variety of backgrounds and abilities, and until the babel fish comes into existence, they will need to have flexibility, creativity and skill in order to help ELL students make meaning from the new language and content they are learning. An understanding of the language acquisition process and levels will help teachers tailor instruction to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners. Students will benefit from everything teachers do to support the development of their language skills while teaching them grade level content. Together teachers and students develop their understanding of each other, the world around them, and the language that connects us all.Hot linksThe Stages of Second Language AcquisitionThis chapter from Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners Facilitator’s Guide, by Jane D. Hill and Cynthia L. Björk, offers information on the second language acquisition process and effective ELL instruction. It includes a a simplified chart of language acquisition levels and the kinds of language teachers can use to help students at each level.Simple description of the stages of language acquisition and recommendations for instructional strategies according to level.Overview of Second Language Acquisition and StrategiesDownloadable booklet from the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory, “Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners.” Includes useful information on language levels, acquisition and 10 things teachers can do today to help ELL students.Understanding the “Silent Period” with English Language LearnersThis article describes some strategies used by two kindergarten teachers to communicate verbally and nonverbally.

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The Whys & Hows of Activating Students' Background Knowledge (Opinion)

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The Whys and Hows of Activating Students' Background Knowledge

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The Whys and Hows of Activating Students' Background Knowledge

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What are the best ways to activate and build students' background knowledge, and why is it important?
Our students have a great deal of background knowledge that teachers need to activate so that they can learn new content. And students need to be provided with additional background knowledge so that they can access even more content!

This two-part series will look at what we mean by the term "background knowledge," why it's important, and how we teachers can best identify and develop it both in the physical classroom and during remote teaching.

Today, Adam Fachler, Jeffrey Wilhelm, Rachel Bear, Cheryl Abla, Elizabeth Villanueva, Jenny Vo, and Sarah Said share their commentaries. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Jeffrey, Rachel, Cheryl, and Elizabeth on my BAM! Radio Show. You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.
"Priming" students for success
Jeffery D. Wilhelm, Adam Fachler, and Rachel Bear are the authors of the book Planning Powerful Instruction: 7 Must-Make Moves to Transform How We Teach--and How Students Learn":

In our book, Planning Powerful Instruction (Corwin), we argue that a central move of teaching is priming to prepare students for success. (This is much more efficient and fun than remediating learners once they have begun to struggle.) The only resources that learners have for approaching a new challenge is what they already know and are already interested in. The only way to build new interests and capacities is by activating and building on students' prior interests and background knowledge before instruction. This process honors what students bring to the classroom and provides them with necessary context and connection to the purpose and payoff of what is to be learned. It is essential to culturally relevant pedagogy.

But the biggest reason we begin new learning experiences with activities that "prime" students for the learning ahead is this:

There is no alternative! All new learning builds on prior learning.

When we activate and build students' background knowledge:

Students see the connection between previous and current learning.

We establish a set of conceptual "hooks" on which students can "hang" new learning.

Students get on the same page with us.

We receive formative-assessment data we can use throughout the learning experience.

Not only does this practice provide myriad benefits and accord with how the brain functions, it also describes how experts in every field develop expertise. Everyone from engineers to entrepreneurs ask themselves, " What is already known and how do we know it-and how might we extend and build on it?" before undertaking a new project.

If the best instruction mirrors or approximates how individuals in the real world learn, then it stands to reason that we should do what they do.

So, what are the best ways to get it done? Here is a short list of our favorite techniques:

Solving a "junior," mini, or scaled-back version of the problem you will teach students to solve.

Unpacking images or art related to the targeted learning (e.g., see-think-wonder protocols that mirror the process of inquiry: establishing the facts, interpreting facts and inference chains, asking questions to drive further learning).

Providing autobiographical prompts related to the learning ahead (e.g., make students face a moral dilemma the character will face, putting them in the thematic driver's seat).

Asking questions that address problematic or controversial aspects of the content.

Facilitating a simulation.

Ranking products or concepts (which requires making value judgments and applying reasoning).

Conducting surveys or opinionaires.

Remember: The best priming activities are accessible, focused, relevant, and revealing of students' knowledge and abilities. If your priming activity leaves a good taste in your students' mouths and creates energy and interest in future learning, then that positive spillover can affect the vibe of the whole unit. So, while we know time is of the essence in every classroom, it's a necessary investment to make priming student learning a mainstay of yours.

Background knowledge and curiosity
Cheryl Abla is a former teacher who now, with McREL International, leads professional learning and coaching for K-12 educators on research-based strategies for effective instruction, use of classroom technology, English-language acquisition, and classroom culture and climate. She's a co-author of Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works, which provides easy-to-use tools and learning activities to help teachers get CITW strategies into the classroom on a daily basis:

At McREL, we're huge believers in the power of curiosity to propel lifelong learning, but we're not naïve about its limitations. Without background knowledge, what would students have to be curious about? You've got to start somewhere. Learning is about filling in the gaps between what is known and what isn't yet known.

The best way to leverage background knowledge is to give students cues, questions, and advance organizers about what they're about to learn. Sound familiar? Together, these tools form one of the nine classic research-based strategies from Classroom Instruction That Works. What cues, questions, and advance organizers have in common is that they're about beginnings. They all precede the delivery of new content and they all rely on the understanding that knowledge doesn't exist in a vacuum but builds upon prior knowledge and in turn gets built upon.

Vocabulary Knowledge Rating, which we adapted from Camille Blachowicz, introduces students to critical vocabulary terms before instruction begins. Students rate their understanding of each term before and after the lesson, to see if their knowledge has grown.

Anticipation Guide reverses the traditional model of learning enough about a subject to then be able to form an opinion about it. First, students are asked their opinion of a subject. Then the lesson is delivered. Was their background knowledge adequate to support their original position, or do they need to re-evaluate? Now they're not only learning new content, they're learning how additional evidence can influence their understanding.

Power Previewing teaches students to skim a text strategically. The teacher guides the previewing process by pointing out useful things to look for, such as recurring themes. There are many questions a teacher can include in an advance organizer, and one of them is, "Does anything look familiar or relate to something you've seen, read, learned about, or experienced?" Students become more proficient readers when memory is activated as part of the process of acquiring new knowledge.

While none of us wants schools to be curiosity-free drill-and-kill zones ever again, we have to acknowledge the importance of background knowledge and develop skill in helping students acquire it. Background knowledge plus curiosity is the most powerful formula of all.

"Funds of knowledge" Elizabeth Villanueva is a Spanish teacher and world-language department chair at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif. She has been recognized as the 2018 National Education Association Social Justice Activist Award Finalist; 2018 California Teachers Association, César Chávez "Sí Se Puede Human Rights Award"; and Sacramento City Unified school district, Teacher of the Year 2015-16. Elizabeth is an Ed.D. candidate at the University of San Francisco in the Learning and Instruction Doctoral Program with an emphasis in heritage-language maintenance:
Academic learning success must be founded at the personal level of each learner and teacher. Its relevance brings meaningfulness and connectedness to each individual creating a learning atmosphere of interconnectedness that stimulates curiosity for the known and unknown. That bridges to a deeper level of understanding to explore and discover the purpose for academic access and success. Therefore, the power of disseminating the funds of knowledge of each learner to develop self-determination for personal growth and academic success is correlated with the teacher's willingness to share their own personal funds of knowledge that may trigger students' interest and motivation to thrive.

I come from a family that can be labeled as "dysfunctional," since there was domestic violence, lack of love, low economic status, and then at an early age, my parents separated. It was then my mother left my father and migrated illegally to Salinas, Callif., looking for better life opportunities. It was she who, after crossing the border, began telling me and my siblings to get an education to have more and better life opportunities because being uneducated, she was only able to work in the fields and then at a packing company. So five years after her arrival to Salinas, I came to Salinas knowing her expectations. Those were to finish high school, learn English, get some educational degree, and find a better job than she had. It was her insistence to apply myself to study that made me realize how important it is to go to school and most importantly the role that teachers play in a child's education.

As a language teacher and an English-language learner, I believe there is no language more powerful than the language of empathy, sensitivity, and kindness for one another. I know that if I take care of my students' educational well-being by valuing and integrating their funds of knowledge, it is transformed into meaningful and relevant instructional material that becomes students' academic success. Building that relatedness can enhance students' competence to develop their autonomy to continue thriving. Thus, learning from the funds of knowledge of my students is my motivation to strive and enhance meaningful relationships that empower a bigger community.

ELLs & prior knowledge Jenny Vo earned her B.A. in English from Rice University and her M.Ed. in educational leadership from Lamar University. She has worked with English-learners during all of her 23 years in education and is currently an ESL ISST in Katy ISD in Katy, Texas:
Our English-learners come to us from many countries and bring with them different backgrounds and experiences. In order to successfully support their learning in the content areas, we need to make sure we find out what they already know and what gaps need to be filled. We can do this by activating the students' prior knowledge and then building their background knowledge.

What is prior knowledge and why do we need to activate it? Prior knowledge is what the students bring with them that they have gained from previous schooling and their life experiences. It is important for teachers to activate their students' prior knowledge so they know what students already know about a certain topic and what gaps in learning they will need to fill in order for students to be successful. It helps them to understand the reason why the students are struggling. Is the poor comprehension or struggle with assignments due to lack of language, lack of experience, or lack of skills? Having a firm grasp on the reason or reasons will enable the teacher to know how to support the students.

I like using anticipation guides at the beginning of a unit to see what students know. Anticipation guides have statements that students answer at the beginning of a unit and then at the end. The responses can be in an Agree/Disagree or True/False format. KWL (Know-Want to Know-Learn) charts are also great for activating prior knowledge. Charts can be filled out as a class or by individual students. Another great strategy is the observation chart. This GLAD strategy has students walking around the room looking at pictures and writing observations, comments, and questions on them. I either give each student a different colored pen or have them write their name after their observation so I can track which student wrote what.

Once you have a grasp of your students' prior knowledge, your next step is to build their background knowledge to fill in the gaps. Building background knowledge allows you as the teacher to link the students' past learning and experiences to new learning. There are many ways to build background knowledge. Videos are great for this. Choose ones that are not too technical and easy to understand. Stop periodically to check for understanding. Virtual field trips are a great alternative to live field trips when you are unable to schedule them. I like virtual field trips because you can keep going back to them if needed. The most important way teachers can build background knowledge is to explicitly teach key academic vocabulary. Give students multiple opportunities to use and practice the vocabulary so that the words are internalized and permanently connected to the topic of study.

As you can see, it is essential for you to plan activities to activate your students' prior knowledge and to build background knowledge so that your students, especially your English-learners, can make that critical connection between their past learning and their new learning. With the info gained from the activities, you can better plan how to support your students so they are successful in their learning.

"Language dives" Sarah Said is the director of language and equity programs at an EL (Expeditionary Learning) Education School in the Chicago suburbs. In her role, she oversees support programs for multilingual learners, works with others to create a community that fosters success for students from the diverse communities her school serves, and helps strengthen school to community outreach. In the past, she has been a director of ELL, dean, and curriculum coordinator. In addition to her role in her building, she is a contributor for ELL Confianza and has written a variety of blog posts online. She is a member of the #ELLChat and #ELLchat_bkClub where she helps advocate for multilingual learners. Follow her on Twitter at @MrsSaid:
As I always say, "We don't eat something in a restaurant when we don't understand what it is on the menu"-at least I don't. Our minds are "picky eaters" when it comes to what we engage in and connect with. Be able to front-load information and support students with connecting to past knowledge is something we need to do to support them as educators. How do we do this? We engage students in activities that help us learn about them. This helps support us in being culturally responsive teachers in the classroom.

One strategy that I like to use at the beginning of the year is a project that I call the "cultural bag." I explain to students that their cultural bag is something that they always carry around with them that holds their values, norms, and experiences. What I like about this activity is that it can be done with any age level from K-12 and be effective. Simply, you give students a paper bag, explain what a "cultural bag " is with an age-appropriate explanation, then they can collage or draw the bag with effective images to emulate the "cultural bag." Depending on the age level of the students, you can have them then either write or explain what the images on the bag mean.

As you continue to get to know your students during the year, you can use ideas from what you know about them to scaffold conversations about new content. This helps students learn, and it makes the classroom more engaging for all.

When you are considering multilingual learners, you need to think about other ways to build background knowledge. You may need to utilize cognates in the native language to support students' understanding vocabulary in English. This can be supported in an interactive word wall. These word walls are not just word walls that sit on a wall; students actually create the word wall and utilize the word wall to actively support it.

Building background for students helps support them in really engaging with and grasping content and language. This is an essential part of teaching and learning. It is critical in supporting a culturally responsive classroom.

Thanks to Adam, Jeffrey, Rachel, Cheryl, Elizabeth, Jenny, and Sarah for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And if you missed any of the highlights from the first eight years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. The list doesn't include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the "answers" category found in the sidebar.

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The Whys & Hows of Activating Students' Background Knowledge (Opinion)

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Seven educators explain the importance of tapping students' background knowledge in order to learn new content, and they describe ways to do just that, including through the use of surveys and anticipation guides.

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Colorin Colorado: The Role of Background Knowledge

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Colorin Colorado: The Role of Background Knowledge

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One of the most critical components of helping English language learners (ELLs) succeed academically is the role of background knowledge. Lessons, reading passages, and test questions that assume prior knowledge or familiarity with a certain experience, person, or object may not be an appropriate tool for ELLs who lack the required background knowledge to understand the content.

To learn more about the role background knowledge plays and some ideas for identifying particular pieces of background knowledge that may be useful to review before a lesson, see the following articles, videos, and blog posts below.

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One of the most critical components of helping English language learners (ELLs) succeed academically is the role of background knowledge. Lessons, reading passages, and test questions that assume prior knowledge or familiarity with a certain experience, person, or object may not be an appropriate tool for ELLs who lack the required background knowledge to understand the content.

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Determining How Much Background Knowledge to Provide to MLs

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Determining How Much Background Knowledge to Provide to MLs

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This week, I'd like to focus on a topic that is getting a lot of attention in Common Core conversations: the role of background knowledge in reading instruction for ELLs. You may recall that close reading is one of the major shifts of the CCSS. I've been interested in the role that background knowledge plays in the close reading of text and wrote a post about it a few months ago. It's an issue that teachers, district leaders, policymakers, and curriculum writers seem to continue to struggle with when considering how best to teach ELLs within a CCSS-based framework.

I've heard opinions that span both ends of the continuum when it comes to deciding how much background knowledge is appropriate for ELLs - from no background knowledge whatsoever (and exclusive attention on the text) all the way to extensive preparation about the subject of the text, the author, or other topics that relate to the text.

"Letting the Text Take Center Stage"

There is a new article that can help shed more light on the role of background knowledge within the Common Core. It's titled " Letting the Text Take Center Stage" and was written by Tim Shanahan for the American Federation of Teachers' Fall 2013 American Educator magazine. Some state-level educators referred to the article a number of times at a meeting I recently attended, so I decided to give it a read. The article clearly describes some of the major relevant themes with reading in the CCSS and presents guidance that will be helpful to teachers.

In this post, I'll highlight some information from Shanahan's article about background knowledge. I'll then share a table and flow chart adapted from the article that will help you decide how much background knowledge to teach to ELLs. You can use these tools to make the process of figuring out how much background knowledge to teach a little less subjective.

A Little Background on Tim Shanahan

What better way to start than with some background knowledge on our featured author? In case you're not familiar with him, Tim Shanahan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Urban Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is an expert on ELL literacy. (He has also served as an adviser to Colorín Colorado.) His stance on background knowledge for all students falls along the continuum I referenced earlier.

In this particular blog post, he says that readers use what they know to interpret text, which supports teaching background knowledge where necessary. However, even though students use what they know when they read, he tempers his position on background knowledge by stating that any pre-reading activities should "give students as little preparation as required to engage with the text." In other words, providing students with background knowledge can't take the place of them making meaning from the text itself. This is especially true if the teacher is going to work with a text over time to help students understand it deeply.

Matching Kids to Texts and the Role of the ESL Teacher

In his article, Shanahan observes that, before the CCSS, English Language Arts content standards usually ignored the fact that some texts are harder to read than others. Until now, he writes, teachers have been taught to give students books at their instructional level. The CCSS constitute a reversal of that practice. Shanahan says there is not a firm base of research to support matching kids to texts. He says that while the student and text level do matter, the amount a teacher can support or scaffold a text is also important. (This should come as no surprise for ESL teachers!)

He says, "Under the CCSS, students will be more frustrated by challenging texts, and this means other instructional supports will be needed to help and encourage them along this path. Teachers must learn to anticipate text challenges and how to support students to allow them to negotiate texts successfully, but without doing the work for them." The needed expertise he outlines is exactly the kind of skill set many ESL teachers bring to the classroom. For example, Lily Wong Fillmore supports analyzing texts and spending time unpacking what she calls " juicy sentences."

If ESL teachers help content teachers in the ways Shanahan outlines, they'd be one step closer to fulfilling TESOL International Association's vision for the new role of the ESL teacher in the CCSS as expert, consultant, and advocate. However, ESL teachers may still need support in not doing all the work for their students so ELLs can gain more responsibility in negotiating texts.

Areas of Background Knowledge

Shanahan outlines two essential areas of background knowledge that teachers can effectively utilize with students. One area is providing background knowledge. Readers need to integrate prior knowledge with text information in order to form a mental representation or memory. This area has gotten more buzz with the CCSS in the context of close reading, as some have incorrectly interpreted this to mean that teachers may not provide any background knowledge at all.

A second area is activating existing prior knowledge. Existing prior knowledge is also a form of background knowledge, and teachers can draw upon what students already know when teaching in a CCSS framework. For example, teachers can use the title of a text as a springboard to help the students make a connection between the title and their existing knowledge of a topic without giving away the text. (See more in this related Colorín Colorado article.)

Deciding How Much Background Knowledge to Provide

When trying to decide how much background knowledge to teach ELLs in particular, it's important to figure out how critical the background knowledge is to ELLs understanding the text, even though that's not always easy to do. When you're considering pre-teaching some background about a text your ELLs will be reading, use the following table and flow chart to help you decide whether to teach this background knowledge. When conceptualizing how much background knowledge ELLs need within the CCSS framework, consider these four elements.

Checklist for Providing Background Knowledge to ELLs in CCSS-Based Instruction

Note: These tools build upon a rubric that Diane August created as part of her ongoing Common Core work in New York State.

Background Knowledge Considerations

Comments

Do non-ELLs have background knowledge on the topic?

Teachers must ensure that ELLs approach the text with comparable levels of background knowledge that non-ELLs already have. If non-ELLs already approach the text with certain background knowledge, teachers should make sure ELLs have the same information. However, non-ELLs (as well as ELLs) will also need background knowledge to comprehend some texts.

Does the background provide information in place of what the author is going to provide in the text?

The background information provided can't give away the text. (No spoilers!) Students must gather information from the text itself instead of learning it from background knowledge the teacher provides. ELLs will still need support and scaffolding to gather information from the text itself. The next two considerations can help both groups of students.

Is the background knowledge about big issues that will help students make sense of the text?

Teachers must focus instruction only on the background knowledge that is critical to ELLs comprehending the text. ELLs don't need to know everything possible related to the topic. For example, ELLs don't need to be pre-taught all the vocabulary they will encounter in a text but will need to know key vocabulary that will help them unlock the meaning of the text.

Is the background knowledge you'd like to provide concise?

The more concise the background information is, the better (e.g., you may wish to reconsider taking an entire class period to build ELLs' background knowledge).For example, you could provide some background knowledge via homework that students complete prior to class time and briefly discuss the background the next day of class.

Another way to work through how much background information to teach to ELLs prior to reading a text is to use the flow chart below.

What are your thoughts and experiences on providing background knowledge to ELLs in CCSS-based instruction? Are you hearing this topic debated or discussed in your local settings? We'd love to hear from you!

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Determining How Much Background Knowledge to Provide for ELLs

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In this post, I'll highlight some information from Tim Shanahan's article about background knowledge in American Educator. I'll then share a table and flow chart adapted from the article that will help you decide how much background knowledge to teach to ELLs.

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Students learn best when new content is linked with past learning and experiences. The differences we see in reading comprehension for our ESL students is partly due to their schema.

Schema is also culturally specific. That is really important, because when the meaning of the text is not part of a particular reader's cultural background, the schema is skewed.

We must structure our lessons to fit our students existing schema.

But what happens if you, as the teacher, don't know much about the backgrounds of the different students?

What if the family, cultural, and religious experiences of your students, including English language learners, are vastly different from your own? Where are the connections?
How can you connect ESL activities to something that might be completely foreign to you?

Ask and Listen for Background Knowledge

Ask and then listen to your ESOL students. The open-ended questions are simple enough:

How many of you have ever...?

When have you...?

Tell about a time when you felt...?

These types of questions will provide you with ways for building background knowledge for students to be successful.

An experience shared in a five-minute quick-write can reveal connections to a scientific process, a historical situation, or a literary theme.

Give yourselves credit for your capacity to highlight, focus, compare and link student sharing with the ESL lesson plans; you already are building background knowledge all the time anyway.

Even beginning English language learners want to share their experiences.

Use activities to encourage them to use quick sketches, arrows, or simple pantomime to express ideas. If they get stuck:

Suggest a word supported with a sketch or gesture of your own

In a quick-write, concentrate on the ideas, not the spelling or grammar

Help students share and connect.

Prior Learning

When you build a solid house, you start with a strong foundation. Students learn best when they can connect new information to previous concepts, vocabulary, strategies and activities from earlier learning experiences.

It's possible that your students come from a number of feeder schools, not to mention different school districts, states and countries. If that is the case, it's sometimes extremely difficult to know where to even begin a lesson!

Academic vocabulary and concepts learned in another language are just as valid as those learned in English, but school curriculum in other countries may have a different focus.

You can't change what they have or haven't been exposed to - you just have to work with what you have.

Refugee Students and Background Knowledge

Refugee students may significantly lack background knowledge and skills due to interrupted schooling.

Teachers have to determine what background information and learning strategies students already have, and then provide support to fill in any gaps.

To assess previous learning, some teachers use short, formative written or oral pretests.

Others utilize student-centered journaling or interactive class discussions as part of their TESL program.

As learning gaps are found, ESOL teachers should provide or display simplified materials from previous lessons.

These should be in the form of visuals, vocabulary graphic organizers, outlines, maps, essential word lists and time-lines.

Within the diversity of shared student stories is the common thread of living for all of us. By tapping into those past experiences, you stimulate clear connections between the lesson and the students themselves.

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Students learn best when new content is linked with past learning and experiences. The differences we see in reading comprehension for our ESL students is partly due to their schema. Schema is also culturally specific. That is really important, because when the meaning of the text is not part of a particular reader's cultural background, the schema is skewed.

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Background Knowledge: A Key to Close Reading with MLs

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Background Knowledge: A Key to Close Reading with MLs

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Background Knowledge: A Key to Close Reading with MLs

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This post is my second of two about how the shifts of the English Language Arts CCSS are playing out in classrooms with ELLs. My first post was about teaching informational text to ELLs, and this post will focus on close reading for ELLs. The concept of close reading has not been without debate, and so I will first provide an overview of what close reading is and could mean for ELLs, including some definitions of close reading. Then I'll present the role of background knowledge, which is a major consideration with teaching ELLs close reading, and share some recommended resources.

Definitions of Close Reading

There are several prominent voices that have emerged when it comes to defining the concept of close reading as it pertains to the Common Core. One is Tim Shanahan, Professor of Urban Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and expert on ELL literacy. He describes close reading on his website as "an old, widely known and specific concept that indicates where meaning resides (in the text) and what readers must to do gain access to this meaning (read the text closely, weighing the author's words and ideas, and relying heavily on the evidence in the text)." Shanahan stresses that close reading is not a teaching technique per se, but rather a way to place emphasis on readers figuring out a high quality text and grapple with it.

He states that close reading plays out in the classroom by shifting instruction off of strategies and skills and onto the texts themselves and ideas presented in texts. Instead of having students focus on their own personal connection to a text (e.g., How did the story remind you of a similar time from your childhood?), instruction instead focuses students' attention on reading, interpreting, and evaluating text. So, close reading becomes an intensive analysis of a text in order to comprehend what it says, how it says it, and what it means. By engaging in close reading throughout their education, Shanahan says students are poised to develop a rich body of knowledge about the world, and their reading practices will become ingrained "habits of mind."

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) offers their own definition of close reading:
Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole. (PARCC, 2011, p. 7)
A third view comes from a recent brief authored by the Aspen Institute titled " A Primer on 'Close Reading' of Text" (whose authors are featured in this webinar hosted by the Alliance for Excellent Education) which points out that the ten anchor standards for reading in the English Language Arts CCSS are bookended by a focus on the close reading of complex text:

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text

Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently

While Shanahan disputes some claims made by the Aspen institute in his blog (e.g., all texts read must be brief), both Shanahan and the Aspen Institute agree that students need to read complex texts multiple times to unlock their multilayered meaning. Shanahan suggests a particular close reading sequence in which:

(1) The first reading allows the reader to determine what a text says,

(2) The second reading allows the reader to determine how a text works, and

(3) The third reading allows the reader to evaluate the quality and value of the text (and to connect the text to other texts).

One Consideration in ELLs' Close Reading of Texts: The Role of Background Knowledge

Although there are multiple challenges for ELLs at all levels of English proficiency in effectively partaking in the close reading of complex texts (e.g., academic language needed, unlocking the meaning of complex texts), I will focus here on the role of background knowledge. There has been some debate about whether to pre-teach elements of a text before students read it using a close reading framework. For ELLs, however, the role of background knowledge cannot be ignored. As part of doing a close reading of text, teachers of ELLs need to find out how much background their students have about a text's given topic and build background where necessary.

One of the many hats we wear as educators of ELLs is to set up our students so they can achieve academic success. While more attention is now being paid to the question of ELL rigor and finding the right balance between scaffolding and independent learning, the CCSS now call for us to be more cognizant of how we approach building ELLs' background knowledge as part of close reading. So, while building ELLs' background knowledge definitely has its place in the Common Core, it is only one piece of the close reading puzzle. After we build ELLs' background knowledge as necessary, we must then focus the majority of our instruction on having students working with the text itself so that they can unlock its meaning.
An Example
To better illustrate how ELLs' background knowledge comes into play during close reading, let's take a look at a sample text. An Appendix to the CCSS provides text exemplars with sample texts of different genres suggested - but not prescribed - for each grade level. For example, Erinn Banting's England the Land (2004) is listed as a suggested informational text for close reading in grades 4-5. Take a look at two paragraphs of this text, and think about what kinds of background knowledge students would need to fully access this text:
As they gained control of sections of land, they protected their property with walls made from wooden stakes and spiny plants. Dead hedgerows, as these fences were called, were eventually replaced by fences made from live bushes and trees. Recently, people building large farms and homes in the countryside have destroyed many live hedgerows. Other people are working to save the hedgerows, which are home to a variety of wildlife, including birds, butterflies, hedgehogs, and hares. Low fences, some of which are thousands of years old, divide much of England's countryside. These fences, called hedgerows, were fist built by the Anglo-Saxons, a group of warriors from Germany and Scandinavia who arrived in England around 410 A.D.
For more information on planting hedgerows, see this related blog post.

My Think Aloud in Building ELLs' Background to Access This Text

The history of the Anglo-Saxons

What was happening during the time period described in the text (410 A.D.)

Low fences or hedgerows

The importance of protecting one's property in the time period described and today

How large farms and homes in the English countryside look today

The wildlife described in the text

If I were using Banting's text to teach fourth grade ELLs at varying levels of English proficiency, I would want to first find out their knowledge of:

As a teacher preparing to do a close read of this text with my ELLs, I would not spend the majority of my instruction on building my ELLs' background knowledge, like I might have done before the CCSS. However, I would recognize that my ELLs would likely have very little background knowledge on the many topics contained in this text, let alone be familiar with all the terms and language structures used in the text.

I would therefore want to carve out some - but not a majority of - my instructional time to provide my ELLs images, videos, and resources in both English and their first languages that would help position them to be better prepared to work with this text. I would also prioritize which topics from the list above would warrant my time and attention during instruction. Some students might only need the image I included here of a hedgerow (which also helped my comprehension of the text.) In essence, I would want to help provide them a comparable frame of reference that their native English speaking peers might already have developed in terms of background knowledge.

I can also use this brief text as an example to note how background knowledge might differ from a personal connection to a text. For example, a student may have some knowledge about what the English countryside looks like from a documentary he or she has seen about England. On the other hand, a student's personal connection to this text might be in the form of an event in the student's life that took place in the countryside. Where background knowledge will most likely support the student's understanding of the text, the student's personal connection might not accomplish the same goal. For ideas on ways to determine what kinds of background knowledge students have or need, take a look at these strategies from Colorín Colorado.

Final Thoughts on Close Reading

Using close reading of texts with ELLs presents more challenges beyond balancing building background knowledge with working with the actual text. Such challenges for educators of ELLs include choosing appropriate grade level texts, supplying supplementary texts at different reading levels, scaffolding instruction, and creating text depending questions that ELLs can access - topics I intend to write about in future posts. Successful close reading with ELLs requires a more defined skill set and targeted training for all educators of ELLs.

Additional Resources

The American Federation of Teachers' free resource Sharemylesson.com has several teacher-created lessons that incorporate the close reading of texts.

Tim Shanahan has a presentation on planning for close reading here.

The Teaching Channel has a video about using Thinking Notes to encourage close reading and also houses many other videos such as these of real classrooms doing close readings of text and targeted pre-reading activities.

Literacy Professors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey also have housed multiple resources on close reading on their website.

Nancy Boyle has a blog entry about close reading that provides some suggestions for classroom instruction.

Four myths about the ELA CCSS touches on aspects of the ELA CCSS (including close reading) that have been debated.

Here are some resources on close reading for all students to help you build your arsenal of materials:

As always, please post your comments or share some authentic examples of your experiences with close reading with your ELLs.

Image Source: http://restoringmayberry.blogspot.com/2011/04/laying-hedgerows.html

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Background Knowledge: A Key to Close Reading with ELLs

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Part II of the series on informational text will first provide an overview of what close reading is and could mean for ELLs, including some definitions of close reading. Then I'll present the role of background knowledge, which is a major consideration with teaching ELLs close reading, and share some recommended resources.

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Some people like surprises, like when someone throws you a surprise birthday party. But in education, surprises tend to leave ELs confused, not energized. There's no context for learning the new information and nothing for them to tether current learning to past experiences. Before surprising your ELs with new information, building on their background knowledge helps provide solid ground for them to build on new knowledge.

In this third article in the Sheltered Instruction Series, I share the key points of building background knowledge.

Building background knowledge is so important that it is considered a key component of sheltered instruction. In Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model (5th Edition) (SIOP Series) , Echevarria, Vogt, and Short recommend three things when trying to establish background knowledge :

Make clear links between past learning and new concepts

Emphasize key vocabulary terms (2017).

(Side note: If you happen to purchase this book, it supports the blog).

Explicitly link concepts to students' background experiences

I'm currently teaching a 10th grade English unit around the concept of Because this was the first unit of the year and because I didn't know my students in this class, it was difficult for me to connect to their background experiences.

Instead, I had students connect to the universal concepts in the texts we viewed.

For example, we read The Hunger Games to start exploring this concept of heros. As we read, we identified other concepts such as:

By looking at this list of universal concepts , students could easily find personal experiences that connected to these concepts. For example, Vina connected to the concept of control by explaining how her parents control her in different ways and to different degrees. She then analyzed how the Capitol controls the districts in different ways, the cruelest of which is by creating the Hunger Games.

Allowing ELs to connect to concepts in this way:

Values what ELs bring to class as assets,

Fosters greater comprehension of content and

Develops ELs' critical thinking skills

Make clear links between past learning and new concepts

Because this was the first unit of the year, I didn't have any prior units to connect new concepts to past learning. Instead, I decided to connect concepts between the resources used in our , which included:

We started by watching and reading articles related to Thistle Thorns a social enterprise that supports women escaping from prostitution, trafficking and drug use. Students identified several concepts from these resources (ie: service, compassion, abuse, escapism, seeking belonging).

The next class, we went to visit a Lao-based social enterprise called Xao Ban . Students toured the facilities and interviewed Ms. Nongnut, the founder, to learn how one might consider her a hero. Once back in class, they had a Harkness ( student-led discussion ) to compare the concepts from Thistle Farm and Xao Ban.

Though these two social enterprises were different in many ways, students were able to identify concepts that were similar to both. We didn't just move from video to article to field trip. Instead, we purposefully returned to the previous resources to make sense of the current resource.

Emphasize key vocabulary terms

Lacking proficiency in academic vocabulary is one of the main reasons why many ELs experience the fossilization of their English skills . It also significantly impacts their achievement because ELs are not able to access academic text or communicate using academic language.

In my unit on heroes, I emphasize key academic command terms , such as:

Then, I make sure the assignments we have circle back to and reinforce those vocabulary terms. One way to do this is by brainstorming writing topics for homework based on the resource we reviewed in class. The topics themselves need to use one of these key academic words. For example, after reading the New York Times article about N.F.L. players' responses to Trump's tweets, students identified three writing prompts they might explore further in writing:

Describe the conflict between President Trump and some NFL players.

Compare NFL players with the characters in The Hunger Games.

Argue your opinion about how the NFL players are protesting Trump.

I know what you're thinking: These aren't words related to the Heroes Unit! But our priority should be helping ELs develop academic language proficiency , not just learn content for one unit. By integrating these terms in the lesson, ELs understand them when they're expected to:

describe a phenomenon,

sequence events,

compare ideas,

describe the cause-effect relationship,

identify a problem,

suggest a plausible solution or

argue a claim in there other classes.

Takeaways

Surprises can be unpleasant, but we can make learning experiences less surprising by building background knowledge between new content and students' experiences. These three ways to build background knowledge bridge this divide. Without them, it's certain that some students will be left behind by the divide in experiences, while others forge on ahead.

Echevarria, J., Vogt, ME, & Short, D. (2017). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model. Fifth Edition. New York: Pearson.

Nora, Julie, and Jana Echevarria. No More Low Expectations for English Learners . Heinemann, 2016.

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#83. Start with What They Know: Building Background Knowledge - ELL Strategies | TanKHuynh

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Building background knowledge is one component of sheltered instruction. When this happens, it provides an avenue to access content for ELs.

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K. Robertson

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What are some other ways you can tap into background knowledge if it's very different from your own? You can start by choosing a single topic to research that you think might be relevant to your students. These might include learning about:

your students' native countries, cultures, or educational systems

historical figures, musical and artistic traditions, geography, or biodiversity from your students' countries so that you can connect your lessons to something that the students already know.

Family liaisons are an excellent source of information here and can also guide you to choose examples that are likely to be appropriate and meaningful to students.

Helping students make connections

You can also find ways for your students to contribute their own cultural experience, funds of knowledge, talents, and interests in the classroom. You can do this by asking students to:

show how a topic connects to their lives

give an example of a particular idea as they would experience it in their native country

bring music or art from their culture and describe its significance and meaning to their classmates.

Another activity is to ask students to interview their family members in order to learn more about their memories and experience. ELLs may find interviews valuable because even if they speak their native language at home and are surrounded by their culture, they may not have had an opportunity to learn about their family members' life experiences and values.

Note: These strategies will work in mainstream classes as well as students may engage more deeply with content when they can relate it to historical and cultural information shared by family members.

Proceeding with care and sensitivity

If you plan to ask students to contribute their experiences to the class, it is important to keep a few things in mind. First, Dr. Cynthia Lundgren and Giselle Lundy-Ponce remind teachers to consult with multiple sources and not to expect students to be the sole 'ambassador' for a culture. They write, "Do not put a particular student on the spot without asking them beforehand if they are comfortable sharing information with the whole class. Each student is an individual and their experiences may or may not be similar to that of the group they represent."

It is tempting to view your students as the experts, and it is certainly important to draw on what they have to offer to the class, but it is also important to discuss whether they feel comfortable doing so beforehand, and to avoid putting them on the spot - particularly about cultural, political, or religious subjects that might be particularly sensitive.

This is also important because students may not feel comfortable sharing their culture or prior experiences for a wide range of reasons, including trauma or stigma. For example, some Indigenous students from Latin America "hide" their culture and identity because of the persecution (sometimes violent) that they have faced in their home countries. Be patient with your students, and look for ways to increase their confidence in the classroom as you get to know each other. They may share information with you privately that they do not wish to share with the class. Honor their confidence and look for other ways for them to contribute.

Related resources

Video: Getting to know your students

Teacher Omar Salem talks about the importance of getting to know your ELLs, their interests, and their concerns.

Go beyond the textbook

Look for resources that go beyond the textbook that will engage students and involve them in the learning process so that they find elements they can connect to and learn from. These may include:

Artwork

There are many ways to bring educational content to life through art, and to use art as a starting point for discussing different cultural traditions. For example, in a history class, you may offer students a couple of different artistic representations of historical events from different perspectives, and ask whether a particular perspective resonates with their experiences.

Or you might want to compare artwork depicting similar kinds of events as they occurred in different countries, such as revolutions, battles, the signing of a famous document, inaugurations, elections, protests, and major milestones. Perhaps students can share depictions of those kinds of events in their country as a way to open up the discussion and connect their experience to the content as well. Students can examine artistic style, theme, the artist's intent, and the materials used while comparing artistic works from different cultures as a way of applying what they learning about the content.

Finally, be sure to invite students to share artwork and traditions from their own cultures and look for ways to connect what they share with the curriculum.

Using artwork that depicts day-to-day events and celebrations can also be a provocative starting point for a discussion about the similarities and differences between other cultures, and a way of affirming the students' daily lives, traditions, and lifestyles in the classroom. You may find that these connections are even more powerful than you expected, as seen in the student story below.

Video: Why an indigenous student hid his identity

ESOL resource teacher Manuel Portillo Gomez shares the story of an Indigenous student who kept his cultural identity hidden for much of the year until Manuel planned a lesson plan about Guatemalan basket weaving.

Music & dance

Students are a great resource for sharing music, and older students especially like to share music, discuss the meaning, and connect it to content. If the song is in a language some students do not understand, ask the student to translate it and discuss the meaning. Songs from other countries often describe political events or re-tell folk stories in poetic form.

When it comes to dance, students may enjoy sharing videos of traditional dances from their own cultures and talking about when certain dances are performed. You never know - you may just have a performer in your midst who would like to share some talent with the class, as teacher Omar Salem discovered below!

Video: My students' many talents

Teacher Omar Salem describes a student who sings, dances, manages her own YouTube channel, and edits all of the video.

Culture kits

I got this idea from the Dakota County library system in Minnesota. They have a learning resource called "Bifolkal Kits" that patrons can check out. The kits have themes such as the "The Fifties," "Work Life," or "African American Lives." Each kit contains items relevant to the topic, reading materials, and questions that can be asked of a person who has experience in that area. It would be a wonderful addition to a curriculum if students created their own Culture Kits with special items that would bring culture alive as a way of sharing their cultures and discussing what can be learned from different multicultural traditions.

Special traditions, celebrations, and recipes

Invite students to share special traditions, holidays, and foods from their cultures throughout the year and across the curriculum. For example, students could describe a favorite recipe in writing or in a presentation (with plenty of practice beforehand). Ask students early on in the year what holidays they celebrate and what those celebrations look like, and invite families to share their own experiences with the class.

Video: Thirty kinds of "mole"

Juan Felipe recalls a conversation with a student who comes from the town of Hidalgo, which is famous for having many different kinds of mole, a Mexican sauce.

Realia

Using concrete objects, often called "realia," is a great way to build background knowledge and tap into students' existing background knowledge. Some objects may be very familiar, while others may be to new students. Other objects may have particular significance for students. Students can share what they know about particular objects through drawing, writing, or native language discussion groups before sharing a summary with the class.

Video: Using "realia" to build background knowledge

Albuquerque teacher Ali Nava describes the "realia" activity she used to introduce Burro's Tortillas and some of the items she brought into the classroom for the lesson.

Note: You can also see materials related to this lesson plan in our classroom module created in collaboration with Dr. Diane August.

Use things that are familiar

In addition to making important cultural connections, look for ways to tie learning to everyday objects that students are likely to have seen and used (without making assumptions, as discussed below). For example, ESOL specialist Katy Padilla prepared her ELLs for a lesson about vascular plants by pre-teaching the concept with straws - an even more relevant example since they were previewing the content in their special Secret Science Lunch Club!

Video: Making the connection between vascular plants and straws

Katy describes the challenge of the week, which is designed to increase ELLs' use of the target vocabulary.

Look for "mirror books" for your students

Using books, stories, and poems where students can see themselves, also called " mirror books," is a powerful way to tap into their experiences. Culturally relevant books are a great place to start. However, finding books about broader experiences, family traditions, or familiar situations that students recognize and relate to can be powerful as well.

Middle school teacher Anna Centi, who teaches newcomers in Dearborn, Michigan, also notes that her students dig in more deeply when they feel that connection and that she has been able to push them with more rigorous texts. You can see Miss Centi's students, most of whom come from Yemen, reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park in an excerpt from our award-winning film, You Are Welcome Here below.

Note: It is critical for teachers to be sensitive to what students have been through and not to ask a lot of direct questions about personal stories, especially in front of others; training in trauma-informed instruction is essential in order to lead conversations about students' experiences safely. Yet figuring out how to do this with care is worthwhile as it gives students a chance to connect more deeply with content and share their own stories if they wish. You may wish to request that training be offered to staff since it can benefit all adults in the school community.

Use literature, stories, and folktales from across cultures

By reading texts from different cultures, you can encourage students to connect what they are reading to their own experiences. While this seems like a simple and logical place to start, it will take some research to find just the right additions for an educational unit, as well as to find literature that is authentic and culturally relevant. If you are working with bilingual colleagues or cultural liaisons, ask them if they have recommendations or can help you make the best selections for your students.

Libraries across the nation have increased the amount of multicultural literature available from a wide variety of countries and cultures. Some of the material is written in other languages, and some of it is translated into English. There are also many publishers who have focused on increasing multicultural literature in the classroom, and Language Arts series often will have a multicultural connection with suggestions of books to read with the class. To read about one high school teacher's use of multicultural literature in the classroom, read Time is Not on Our Side: Literacy and Literature for High School Language Learners, on our sister site, AdLit.org.

In addition, you can also look for connections across stories. For example, many cultures have a story version of "Cinderella", as seen in the video below.

Video: Introducing different versions of Cinderella

In this classroom video, Albuquerque teacher Clara Gonzales-Espinoza introduces a character study of Cinderella by sharing a number of diverse versions of the Cinderella story, chosen to reflect the cultures of her students.

Note: You can also see materials related to this lesson plan in our classroom module created in collaboration with Dr. Diane August.

Use storytelling in the classroom

Many cultures have a rich tradition of storytelling that often gets lost in the U.S. with the focus on developing literacy skills. Many of the common stories in cultures have been translated and written in story form, but children also enjoy telling and acting out stories. There are many resources to help build storytelling skills, and some students may also have a relative who is a great storyteller and would be willing to visit the class and tell a story. The class can have great discussions about what made the story interesting, what the story was trying to tell them, and if they know other stories that are similar.

Asking students to share folk tales

In addition, you can ask students to share popular folk tales or legends from their own culture or bring them to life through writing, artwork, or a digital storytelling activity. You may find that many cultures have similar stories based on a certain theme, or that students have heard different versions of the same story. This is also an excellent way to engage families - who also will have strong opinions about the "right" way to tell a certain story!

Video: "How many of you have heard that story?" Teaching folklore through students' cultural experiences

Juan Felipe describes a project he oversaw for a Chicano folklore class in which students interviewed their families and compiled stories, jokes, and legends they had grown up hearing.

Video: My favorite section in the library

Storyteller Lucía González describes how family stories led to an important discovery in the library.

Avoid assumptions

Just as it's important not to put students on the spot, it's important not to make assumptions about the experiences they may (or may not) have had. For example, Dr. Ayanna Cooper shares a story in the video below about U.S. history teachers who mistakenly thought their Haitian students were African American students who had a deep knowledge base about U.S. history. As mentioned above, the better you know your students, the better you can plan lessons that will give all students access to grade-level content.

Finding resources for culturally responsive instruction

Teachers spend a lot of their own money to add to the school curriculum in order to meet the needs of their students. Adding culturally relevant curriculum and materials shouldn't be an additional financial burden on the teacher. Many schools are willing to fund the purchase of culturally relevant items if the teacher has researched the purchase and can explain how it will enhance student learning. If the school does not have resources, there may be funding at the district level or diversity grant funding available to teachers. You can find additional researched-based information in our resource collection about culturally responsive instruction.

Closing thoughts

Accessing students' background knowledge is a powerful way to make your instruction more culturally responsive and meaningful for all students. In the end, the efforts that teachers make to add a rich, cultural dimension to the curriculum will enhance student learning and comprehension, and create excitement in the classroom. The most wonderful thing about adding diverse cultural perspectives to the lesson is that it is a way of letting your students know - particularly ELL students - that their diverse experiences and backgrounds are valued in your classroom. Students may also be motivated to explore content and deepen their understanding of material.

As students share insights with you and with each other, they will develop appreciation for other cultural perspectives and they may find that there are more similarities than differences among them - and that might prove to be the greatest lesson of all.

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How to Connect ELLs' Background Knowledge to Content

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What are some other ways you can tap into background knowledge if it's very different from your own? You can start by choosing a single topic to research that you think might be relevant to your students.

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The home language: An English language learner’s most valuable resource.

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The home language: An English language learner’s most valuable resource.

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F. Genesee, 2015

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In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Fred Genesee discusses the research supporting the importance of a child's home language. In addition, Dr. Genesee explores the question of why an approach that is well-supported by research has been largely ignored in the era of "research-based" policy.

Overview

Webcast: ELLs and Reading

Learn more about using the home language to support ELLs' reading instruction in our Teaching ELLs to Read webcast featuring Dr. Genesee!

The education of English language learners (ELLs) is one of the most important issues facing U.S. educators. ELLs are a large and growing proportion of the school-age population - according to National Center for Educational Statistics, in 2007, about 10.8 million (or 20%) school-aged children in the U.S. spoke a language other than English at home (Planty, Hussar, Snyder, Kena, Kewal Ramani, Kemp, Bianco, & Dinkes, 2009). This situation is not likely to change because ELLs are currently the fastest growing population in U.S. schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004), with the number of ELLs expected to increase another 50% by 2025 (Passel & Cohn, 2008).

The importance of the issues goes beyond the sheer number of ELLs, however. It has been shown in numerous national studies and surveys that, on average, ELLs under achieve in comparison to their English-speaking peers in academic domains and that the achievement gap tends to increase the higher the grade level (e.g., Fry, 2007; Rumberger, 2007; McNeil et al., 2008). As we consider ways to help ELLs increase their academic achievement, then, it is clear that educators need all the resources at their disposal to meet these challenges.

Policy and Home Language

Until recently, significant efforts were made to enhance the educational outcomes of ELLs by offering alternative forms of education that incorporate use of ELLs' home language (Genesee, 1999, for a review). These programs were justified on the grounds that educating ELLs in English only posed a triple threat to their educational success since it would require that they simultaneously:

learn academic English to high levels,

master challenging academic skills and content taught through English,

adopt new social skills that would permit them to integrate with their English-speaking classmates and teachers.

However, in recent years, recent political and legislative initiatives that disfavor bilingual education have made these educational options difficult to access, despite evidence of their success (Goldenberg, 2009). Along with these politically-motivated changes, it would appear that educators and policy-makers no longer recognize the native language skills of ELLs as an important educational resource and, indeed, it would even appear that they discredit it having any role in the education of ELLs.

What does the research say?

At the same time that the role of the home language is diminishing in public education policy, there have been growing political and legislative expectations that educational policies and classroom practices be backed up by scientific, empirical evidence. With respect to ELLs, there is undeniable and growing evidence that the home language of ELLs is of considerable benefit to their overall academic success. There are multiple sources of such evidence. First, recent meta-analyses have shown that educational programs that systematically incorporate use of ELLs' home language result in levels of academic success, including achievement in literacy and other academic subjects, that are as high as and often better than that of ELLs in English-only programs (Genesee & Lindholm-Leary, in press). In a review of these meta-analyses, Goldenberg (2008) notes "Readers should understand how unusual it is to have five meta-analyses on the same issue conducted by five independent researchers or groups of researchers with diverse perspectives. The fact that they all reached essentially the same conclusion is worth noting. No other area in educational research with which I am familiar can claim five independent meta-analyses based on experimental studies - much less five that converge on the same basic finding." (p. 15).

Second, in a study of ELLs in two-way immersion programs, Lindholm and Aclan (1991) found a significant positive relationship between individual student's level of bilingual proficiency and their achievement in math and reading in English. Furthermore, the students who were classified as "high bilinguals" were able to attain grade level results by fourth grade in English reading and by third grade in English math.

Third, a growing body of evidence from researchers around the world has shown that bilingual children exhibit significant cognitive advantages in comparison to monolingual children (e.g., Bialystok 2006; Chin & Wigglesworth, 2007; Kovaacs & Mehler, 2009). These advantages have been demonstrated in executive control processes related to selective attention and inhibition and monitoring of attention when, for example, children are engaged in problem solving.

Fourth, and finally, extensive research, again from around the world, has found that children who are learning to read in a second language are able to transfer many skills and knowledge from their first language to facilitate their acquisition of reading skills in the second language. The best evidence of this comes from studies showing that students with strong reading skills in the home language also have strong reading skills in their second language. Much of this work has been done on ELLs in the U.S. (August & Shanahan, 2006; Riches & Genesee, 2006).

What we see in the U.S., then, is a push for research-based policy but the creation of policies that contradict the research. Debate concerning the value of using ELLs' home language in specially-designed programs, such as two-way immersion, will undoubtedly continue, and so it should since it makes little educational sense to diminish U.S. students' opportunities to become bilingual in an increasingly globalized community.

Home Language in the Classroom

In the meantime, teachers and students can't wait for these policy debates to be settled before deciding how or whether to draw upon ELLs' home language. The question arises how can schools and teachers, even those who are monolingual, act on evidence that clearly shows the personal, cognitive, linguistic and educational value of using the linguistic resources that ELLs bring to school. There is no simple or single answer to this question, but a number of options are worth exploring that, at the moment, are often overlooked and discounted. Cloud, Genesee, and Hamayan (2009, Chapter 3) offer a number of suggestions:

To encourage students to see connections between their languages and, thus, to better understand how languages are structured and organized, talk to ELLs about their home language - ask them:

How is the home language the same and how it is different from English?

Are there words in the home language that sound the same and mean the same thing in both languages?

Are there words in the home language and English that sound the same but mean different things?

As part of phonological and metalinguistic awareness exercises to facilitate reading acquisition, ask students:
to say words that start with the same sound(s) in English or the L1.

how words are changed and formed in the home language - singular and plural forms, present tense and past tense forms of verbs - to enhance their word knowledge

who are new to your class, to read books in their home language to show you what they know about reading.

By using the collective skills and knowledge of all students (both ELL and English-L1 students) in the classroom, even a monolingual teacher can tap into these valuable language resources that ELLs have and do so with the confidence that these methods will promote their language development - in English as well as the home language.

Education for All

A hallmark of public education in the U.S. is respect for and appreciation of the individual skills and backgrounds of students as a foundation for furthering their education. Taking advantage of ELLs' home language resources is asking no more than the same respect and appreciation for this group of learners. At the same time, parents, teachers, educational leaders in local school districts, and politicians should discuss how best to provide all students in the U.S. with high quality educational programs that promote competence in additional languages. At stake is not only the competitiveness of individual students once they enter the work force but, indeed, the ability of the U.S. itself to compete in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural world.

Video: Using the Home Language as a Resource

Dearborn Public Schools ELD Director Rose Aldubaily discusses the value of using students' home language as a resource.

About the Author

Fred Genesee is Professor in the Psychology Department at McGill University, Montreal. He has conducted extensive research on alternative forms of bilingual and immersion education for language minority and language majority students. His current research interests also include language acquisition in pre-school bilingual children, internationally-adopted children, second language reading acquisition, and the language and academic development of students at-risk in bilingual programs. He is the recipient of the Canadian Psychological Associate Award for Distinguished Contributions to Community or Public Service and the 2-Way CABE Award of Promoting Bilingualism. Publications include:

Genesee, F., Paradis, J., & Crago (Eds.) (2010). Dual Language Development and Disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism and Second Language Learning, 2nd Edition. Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes Publishing.

Cloud, N., Genesee, F., and Hamayan, E. (2009). Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Research-Based Practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Acknowledgements

Our policy section is made possible by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation. The statements and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.

References

August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.) (2006). Developing literacy in second language learners. Report of the national literacy panel on minority-language children and youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Bialystok, E. (2006). The impact of bilingualism on language and literacy development. In Bhatia, T.K., & W.E. Ritchie (Eds.) The handbook of bilingualism (pp. 577-601). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Chin, N.B., & Wigglesworth, G. (2007). Bilingualism: An advanced resource book. London: Routledge.

Cloud, N., Genesee, F., & Hamayan, E. (2009). Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fry, R. (2007). How far behind in math and reading are English language learners? Washington, D.C.: Report of the Pew Hispanic Center.

Genesee, F. (1999). Program alternatives for linguistically diverse students. Educational Practice Report #1. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence.

Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K. (in press). The education of English language learners. In K. Harris, S. Graham, & T. Urdan (Eds), APA Handbook of Educational Psychology. Washington DC: APA Books.

Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: What the research does - and does not - say. American Educator, 32, 8-23, 42-44.

Kovacs, A.M., & J. Mehler, J. (2009). Cognitive gains in 7-month-old infants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16), 6556-6550.

Lindholm, K.J., & Aclan, Z. (1991). Bilingual proficiency as a bridge to academic achievement: Results from bilingual/immersion programs. Journal of Education 173, 99-113.

McNeil, L., Coppola, E., Radigan, J., & Vasquez-Heilig, J. (2008).Avoidable losses: High-stakes accountability and the dropout crisis. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 16(3): http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v16n3/

National Center for Education Statistics (2004). Language minority learners and their labor market indicators: Recent trends. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/2004009.pdf

Passel, J.S., & Cohn, D. (2008). U.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center: Social and Demographic Trends.

Planty, M., Hussar, W., Snyder, T., Kena, G., Kewal Ramani, A., Kemp, J., Bianco, K., & Dinkes, R. (2009). The Condition of Education 2009 (NCES 2009-081). Washington, DC.: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

Riches, C., & Genesee, F. (2006). Cross-linguistic and cross-modal aspects of literacy development. In F. Genesee, K. Lindholm-Leary, W. Saunders, & D. Christian, D. Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence (pp. 64-108). NY: Cambridge University Press.

Rumberger, R. (2007). Lagging behind: Linguistic minorities' education progress during elementary school. University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute Newsletter, 16(2), 1-3

Reprints

You are welcome to print copies or republish materials for non-commercial use as long as credit is given to Colorín Colorado and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact [email protected] .

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The Home Language: An English Language Learner's Most Valuable Resource

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In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Fred Genesee discusses the research supporting the importance of a child's home language. In addition, Dr. Genesee explores the question of why an approach that is well-supported by research has been largely ignored in the era of "research-based" policy.

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Are You Tapping Into Background Knowledge Often Enough?

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Are You Tapping Into Background Knowledge Often Enough?

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Are You Tapping into Prior Knowledge Often Enough in Your Classroom?

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Blogger Rebecca Alber explains why using students’ prior knowledge to guide instruction is key to learning.

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Designing Learning That Incorporates MLs' Background 

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Designing Learning That Incorporates MLs' Background 

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Part 1 of WIDA's Essential Action Series

Action 1: Incorporating ELs' Experiences

This is the first of 15 articles devoted to sharing practices that WIDA (World-Class in Design and Assessment) (Gottlieb, 2013) has identified as essential to helping ELs develop social and academic language. This set of articles can be found in Essential Actions: A Handbook for Implementing WIDA's Framework for English Language Development Standards .

The practices range from describing the types of scaffolding that support ELs to explaining how collaborating with content teachers can further ELs academic language and access content. Gottlieb is also the author of Assessment for English language learners: Bridges to equity (2016), another work that you might be interested in reading.

ColorínColorado.org wrote an extensive article on how schools can use the Essential Actions Handbook as a book study in professional learning communities.

WIDA's Action 1 encourages us to see that our ELs come with lots of life experiences that can be tapped to cultivate their academic language. Action 1 wants us to shift from a deficit-based model of language instruction to an asset-based approach. The purpose of this article is to encourage educators to find ways to welcome ELs' background knowledge, incorporate their cultural experiences, and use students' native languages to help ELs connect to class.

Research for Incorporating ELs' Experiences

Educators can honor students lives and cultural experiences by setting them as the context for teaching and learning (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005; Moll, 1992).

Although academic language includes multiple literacies, engaging in one academic language enriches and develops the others. Research suggests that ELLs who have diverse and meaningful experiences in their native language develop literacy faster in a second language (Gottlieb, 2013; Gee, 2008).

Teachers of ELs can encourage bilingualism by supporting students' inquiries into their own cultural experiences and their use of multiple languages (Escamilla & Hopewell, 2010, Garcia & Kleifgen, 2010; Hornberger, 2003).

In this article, I'll show you how I honor this body of research and attempt to include students' cultures and experiences as a context for learning language. In addition, I recommend reading Laura Lenz's guest post entitled " A Strength-Based Approach to Teaching ESL" on Jennifer Gonzales' highly useful Cult of Pedagogy blog . Laura and I both write about adopting an asset-based approach to instruction instead of a deficit model. She provides six reminders to educators on how to validate what ELs can contribute to their communities.

Current Practices: How to Incorporate ELs' Experiences

There are three areas of EL knowledge that educators can use as context for learning language: cultural traditions, hobbies/Interests, life experiences, national practices. Each of these areas can be integrated in 4 simple ways: reading, writing, researching and collaborating. Students in Garrett's class were exploring the concept of human rights. They had to report on the different ways that human rights are being denied and describe their impact.

Instead of making students report on a human rights issue selected by Garrett and I, we decided to tap into ELs' own experiences and cultures. We encouraged students to choose topics they are familiar with that are happening in their own countries. We knew that if they did, their engagement would increase and their focus would more likely be sustained. After all, students' experiences form a foundation where new learning can be built ( Ausubel,1968; Ausubel, Novak, & Hanesian, 1978) . Here are some examples of how the students chose to incorporate their worlds into this assignment.

Student Examples

Yinuo, a student from China, wanted to inquire into the right to move both within and out of one's country. She decided to focus on internal migration in China. Because she was at the Emerging phase of her English language development, I encouraged her to find relevant sources in Chinese to help her access information.

Yinou used this article from Human Rights Watch, which was already translated into Mandarin by the organization, to support her research. We allowed Yinou to use resources in Chinese because we wanted her to first and foremost understand the topic. After all, she could not communicate what she did not understand.

We wanted to use Yinou's experience and her native language to empower her to communicate ideas, even if she had to do it in broken English. This belief that comprehensible input is required to produce comprehensible output comes from Stephen Krashen (1981). The priority was on her understanding the concept Mr. Garrett wanted Yinou to learn, not on her mastery of English grammar and vocabulary.

By allowing Yinou to use Chinese sources to aid her comprehension of the topic, Garrett and I honored Yinou's language development. When as her English was more established, we gradually let her use more and more English resources.

We use the same philosophy of incorporating ELs' experiences to support that academic engagement with Nurul, a Malaysian student. She was interested in the right to marry the partner of one's choosing. She wanted to explore the perspectives on why Malaysians are only allowed to marry if both partners practice the same religion. Nurul was also encouraged to use sources in Malay to help her research. She found several Youtube videos and two articles in her native language related to the topic.

The Result

Both of these girls were highly engaged in the assignment because they were allowed to explore topics connected to their cultural experiences. Learning had a context, and the concept of human rights became more accessible and meaningful to them when they were encouraged to use their home languages and a research a topic they could identify with.

Just because they used non-English resources does not mean that they were not developing English skills. On the contrary, the assignment required them to organize and communicate their understanding of the topic in English . This made learning academic English even more meaningful precisely because Yinuo and Nurul had to use it to express their ideas.

If there is space and freedom within your curriculum, I encourage you to try to find ways to allow ELs to incorporate their cultural backgrounds and interests as the context for learning content and developing skills. It makes learning more relevant and thereby increases student engagement. The more students are engaged, the more their critical thinking and communication skills flourish.

Can Do Philosophy

Incorporating ELs' experiences is one of the key elements of WIDA's Can Do Philosophy. This is a framework that has transformed the way I think about my ELs and the way I talk about them. I has shifted my thinking from a deficit model to one where I describe actions ELs can do instead of negatively focusing on things they can't. All they can do right now is everything they can do. WIDA's Can Do Philosophy honors that.

To empower ELs to live up to their full potential, we have to explicitly teaching academic language. In the next chapter, I'll be sharing diagrams that make learning academic language more accessible and visible.

References

Krashen, S.D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

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#19. Designing Learning that Incorporates MLs' Experiences - TanKHuynh

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Part 1 of WIDA's Essential Action Series Action 1: Incorporating ELs' Experiences This is the first of 15 articles devoted to sharing practices that WIDA (World-Class in Design and Assessment) (Gottlieb, 2013) has identified as essential to helping ELs develop social and academic language.

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Activating Prior Knowledge

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WeAreTeachers is pleased to welcome guest teacher blogger Erin Lynch from the Sadlier School Core Literacy blog. Find Erin's blog, as well as free language arts lesson plans, classroom activities and games, at Sadlier's PubHub.
I'll never forget reading Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmerman in college. While studying the benefits of strategy-based comprehension instruction, I was astonished to learn activating prior knowledge or schema was something that needed to be taught. As a college student, I couldn't believe that wasn't something that was just common sense. Now as an educator, I know that activating prior knowledge is not common sense but rather an important skill that needs to be taught to students.

Like many teachers, I describe schema to my students as a filing cabinet in their heads. As we get new information about a topic, we either add it to a folder of preexisting information in our brain or we create a new folder that we will continue to add information to as we get it. It is important before we begin to read about a topic to go into our filing cabinet in our brain to activate our prior knowledge of the subject. That background knowledge can help us better process new information and build upon what we already know.

Before reading, I teach my kids to activate prior knowledge by making a list about what they already know about a topic, creating a KWL chart (download a KWL chart here), doing a turn and talk, brainstorming, or simply taking a moment to think silently. During reading, I teach my students to make meaningful connections with the text to themselves, other texts and the world. I also model how to make meaningful connections with think-alouds whenever I am reading to my students. After reading, we discuss how our prior knowledge helped increase our understanding of the text. Activating prior knowledge is not only an important reading strategy for empowering students to be able to independently comprehend a text, it also serves as a confidence booster for those students that typically give up before even trying. By linking instruction to familiar topics, prior experiences or students' interests, students will learn more effectively. I also find the process of activating prior knowledge with my students useful for guiding my instruction. It helps me determine how much or how little they know about a topic, which will guide the amount of support I need to provide.

Here are two lesson plans you can use with your third- and fourth-grade students to learn or review the reading strategy of activating prior knowledge. I use the first lesson plan with my third-grade students. It's a four-day strategy lesson that uses multiple texts featuring bats. In this lesson, I use two picture books: Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies and Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. I also incorporate two nonfiction articles about bats from the San Diego Zoo. I use the second lesson plan with my fourth graders. I use a similar format but different texts. The nonfiction article is about hyenas from National Geographic and the fiction texts are by Janell Cannon and Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull.
Erin Lynch is a literacy specialist and learning facilitator at an elementary school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Follow her blog Core Literacy, a K-5 resource for teachers of reading & language arts.

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Teaching Reading Strategies: Activate Prior Knowledge - WeAreTeachers

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WeAreTeachers is pleased to welcome guest teacher blogger Erin Lynch from the Sadlier School Core Literacy blog. Find Erin's blog, as well as free language arts lesson plans, classroom activities and games, at Sadlier's PubHub. I'll never forget reading Mosaic ...

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Cultural Orientation Resource Center.

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About the COR Center / COR Center - Cultural Orientation Resource (COR) Center

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The Cultural Orientation Resource (COR) Center focuses on a critical element of refugee resettlement and integration, providing technical assistance regarding the orientation refugee groups receive about their new lives in the United States, either before their departure for the U.S. or after their arrival.