Teaching & Learning Activities to support EAL/D studentsTeaching Context: Intercultural approaches Within this year 1 class there are 27 students with all apart from 6 which having English as their first language. The 6 students to whom English is a second language cultural backgrounds are from the Indigenous Ngarridjeri people situated in the Fluerieu Peninsula South Australia. Ngarrindjeri is an Aboriginal nation of 18 language groups (Guides.slsa.sa.gov.au, 2015) of which only 160 people claim to speak the Ngarrindjeri language in their home according to the 2006 national census of which is combined with other Aboriginal languages to create an Aboriginal creole known as Nunga English (Mobilelanguageteam.com.au, 2015) and some SAE speakers. All of these students speak Nunga outside of school and within their community where “the nature of creoles and related varieties is misunderstood and they are often stigmatised” (McTagarrt, 2010) with students continually code switch incorporating English they have learned at school with the people in their community. “Code switching is common in communities where there is wide spread competence in two or more languages (or dialects) in a community (Simpson & Wigglesworth, 2008). The students come from a low socio economical background where schooling is not see as a priority so their attendance rate fluctuates. Socioeconomic disadvantage has been describe it as a direct influence due to home resources family perspectives on schooling and the communities ability to negotiate with the school (Purdie, Milgate & Bell, 2011) .and has also affected their health to some extent with their hearing being affected which in turn affects their ability to concentrate. (Purdie, Milgate & Bell (2011) state “If a child can’t hear properly they cannot be expected to earn properly”. While developing this lesson the EAL/D student’s particular learning styles were taken into consideration with visual and verbal activities provided throughout to consolidate learning. Good & Brophy (1990) describe it as “advantageous to be able to understand one’s own learning style and have the opportunity to learn in one’s preferred way (as cited in Gish & O’Neil, 2008) Language needs: The students are classed as emerging learners as the have completed the Reception year and were classed as being only slightly behind the other SAE speaking students. They all exhibit the following traits and skills of the emerging learner from the ACARA EAL/D progression stage of schooling guide in speaking, listening, writing and reading. They have moved from the Beginning English where they relied heavily on English language proficiency to convey content knowledge and understandings (ACARA, 2014) to displaying developing knowledge of print literacy using predictable learner formulas, such as narrative structures, and are provided with adequate contextual scaffolds (ACARA, 2014) Listening: At the emerging stage these students display some of the following attributes however this is seen as the language need to consolidate the students in the emerging listening phase. This is accomplished when the teacher and SAE students model their stories using simple and repetitive spoken English and the teacher’s questioning techniques i.e. what is the animal? While the student listens. Understand familiar, simple and repetitive spoken English supported by the immediate context, including simple instructions relying on key words and context (ACARA, 2014) Use first language knowledge of the world to make interpretations of spoken texts and may use other first language speakers to confirm understanding, ask for clarification, translate, repeat or paraphrase (ACARA, 2014). When discussing in previous lesson the associated cultural language names for certain elements and characters of a story and sharing these as a class. Student are able to listen and connect language with own. Use first language knowledge of the world to make interpretations of spoken texts and may use other first language speakers to confirm understanding, ask for clarification, translate, repeat or paraphrase – this is positive learning behaviour (ACARA, 2014). While describing their story using the 5 hoops students will be encouraged to use stress on words to add meaning to context. Teacher will scaffold and model this before and during student’s draft giving them the opportunity to listen to others. Use intonation and stress on words to gain meaning from spoken English (ACARA, 2014). Speaking: At the emerging stage theses students display some of the following attributes however this is seen as the language needs of this group of EAL/D learner to consolidate the emerging speaking stage. When the students begin to question what type of object is in the bag at the beginning of the lesson they enter the speaking learning development phase. Participate in highly structured routine exchanges located in the immediate environment, using gesture, isolated words, formulaic language and well-rehearsed patterns to express needs and information (ACARA, 2014). Initially watch and imitate some social and classroom activities use comprehensible pronunciation and attempt to approximate English stress and intonation Distinguish between English and other languages and dialects (ie on hearing English, they attempt to respond in English) (ACARA, 2014). During the development phase of their story be it using the 5 hoops or drafting the narrative, the teacher helps to scaffold students speaking (ACARA, 2014). Use comprehensible pronunciation and attempt to approximate English stress and intonation (ACARA, 2014). demonstrate a beginning understanding of word order in simple phrases and sentences Make use, when available, of first language speakers to provide words, clarification and translation (ACARA, 2014). During the 5 hoops story telling after the teacher and other students have modelled the activity Move from using single words and telegraphic speech, and begin to repeat short, familiar phrases and simple language structures (ACARA, 2014). Demonstrate a beginning understanding of word order in simple phrases and sentences Make use, when available, of first language speakers to provide words, clarification and translation (ACARA, 2014). Curriculum considerations for SAE for learners As the students continue to develop the attributes of the emerging English learner the following SAE curriculum considerations have been prioritised for the EAL/D learners in this context. The EAL/D student’s background in creating texts may be based on a different text structure which is dissimilar to the SAE text structure (ACARA, 2014). The modelling, construction and development of these text structures As punctuation varies in different languages it is import for the teacher to explicitly teach punctuation and its associated symbols and functions (ACARA, 2014) EAL/D students may be limited in their everyday English vocabulary due to speaking in their first language. This is where word walls and concrete items label help to develop their everyday vocabulary(ACARA, 2014) Some of the learners display problems with phonemes and find it hard to tell the difference between and replicate. Oral practice, reading aloud opportunities and imitating sounds are seen as beneficial in grasping phonemes (ACARA, 2014) Creating text as class will help develop EAL/D students in constructing text and their structures. This is done through modelling, join-construction and deconstruction(ACARA, 2014) Lesson Plan Detail Based on the students learning attributes and abilities the following lesson activity has been designed to enhance the students listening and speaking skills and has been adjusted for the EAL/D students through sourcing resources from EAL/D teacher’s resource. I have used the ELA/D learning progression to inform me of the students proficiency in Speaking, Listening. I have also used the EAL/D annotated content descriptors to inform cultural considerations and teaching strategies (ACARA, 2013) Age Group: Year 1 Curriculum: English – Developing SAE language proficiency in constructing a narrative text. EAL/D learning progression: Speaking, Listening, Writing Learning objectives: This lessons focus is on students understanding of narrative structure and punctuation. Pre lesson learning Before starting this activity it is assumed that the class has discussed the different cultures within the class and some aspects of the different languages referring to everyday names of objects as to help students connect to the diverse cultural knowledge of their fellow students with Purdie, Milgate & Bell, (2011) stating that teachers “need to help students to choose academic success without loss of cultural identity”. Lesson: This activity has three parts where students will firstly discuss and recap the basics of a narrative story, discuss and select 2 characters to choose from in their stories, practice telling their story and then writing/ drawing their story, editing the story and finally writing their final copy. Before teacher starts have students down on the floor and recap on what they know about stories and especially a narrative structure from the book that was read in the previous lesson. Write up on the whiteboard a list that the students have made. Here the teacher has provided text structure framework within to write the specific text (ACARA, 2014). Reread the book 1 more time making sure to point to words as you read through and pointing out text structural features. Horst (2013) states “Through repeated exposures to the same storybook texts and illustrations children are able to form a robust representation of a new word because such contextual repetition helps lower the attentional demands of word learning.” Teacher to write each part of the narrative structure on separate A4 paper for later use in developing the story within the 5 hoop strategy. The teacher is have a bag with two plastic animals in it that all students can connect to or that are familiar with. Ie Kangaroo, wombat, emu etc. The teacher is to choose a student to take an item from the bag making sure no one else can see it. The rest of the class will take turns in guessing what the animal is, concentrating on descriptive words (adjectives) and using contrast to guess the animal. Murphy and Jones (2008) tentatively suggest that contrastive contexts may function as bootstraps in the acquisition of relational words in general and adjectives in particular (as cited in Tribushinina et al., 2013) Here is an assessment opportunity (formative) for the teacher to assess students listening skills. To see if they are able to build on other students ideas and not repeat the same questions. Vandergrift (2004) notes the importance of listening skills as “listening is recognized as an active process, critical to L2 acquisition and deserving of systematic development as a skill in its own right (Morley, 1999). Once the animals have been discussed and characteristics explored the teacher is to write them on the whiteboard as one the main characters to choose from for their story. Teacher is to place down 5 hoops on the classroom floor with the associated narrative structure in them. Hoop 1: Characters & setting, Hoop 2: the problem, Hoop 3: Event that takes place, Hoop 4: Solution, Hoop 5: How the story ends. Teacher models own pretend story walking through the 5 (Hoops) stages of the story. Haston (2007) states that “Learning by imitating a model results in learning about the structure of a fairly complex stimulus environment”. Have each student walk through each stage (hoop) speaking aloud (telling) their story. Have a student complete this one by one gives the teacher an ideal opportunity to assess the students speaking. Once all students have used the 5 hoop structure to tell their stories they now move to their desks where a worksheet with 5 hoops. Scaffolding opportunity here Students to draw, draw and write or write up their story draft. Provide three levels of worksheet available to allow for student learning diversity. Group collaboration for EAD/L learners can be utilised here. Inclusive teaching strategies are those teaching techniques that enable all students to learn and engage with the curriculum in the classroom (Education.qld.gov.au, 2015). Teacher need to explicitly instruct students to incorporate words from their word wall in telling their story. Teacher here can help scaffold students writing. Marzano (2004) states “direct vocabulary instruction has an impressive track record of improving students' background knowledge and the comprehension of academic content." Once the students have written or drawn out their stories they can move to the 5 hoops in groups of 4 and read their story while moving through the different narrative stages concentrating on spoken vocabulary and punctuation. (Editing) Students in the group are to listen and collaborate in giving productive feedback on vocabulary and punctuation. Van Compernolle & Williams (2011) state that “collaborative interaction within a group’s ZPD has the potential to develop learners’ conceptual understanding of variation, which can provide an important orienting basis for the development of their performance abilities. This is to be completed with the teacher (explicitly) listening and guiding students. The teacher here can go first and model their own story emphasising vocabulary and punctuation. Capitals at the start of a sentence and full stops at the end. Assessment opportunity (formative) for the teacher to assess student’s vocabulary / pronunciation skills. Punctuation is used to support meaning and smooth reading of texts (Schools.nsw.edu.au, 2015). Once student completes the walk through they are to complete any adjustments ie correct punctuation and go on to complete the filmstrip activity. It is hoped by this stage the student will be able to work independently on completing the task. Teacher to assess final product against assessment rubric. Critical gaps in my understanding My lack of cultural understand regarding my EAL/D student’s home environments and community attitudes to schooling cannot prepare me for potential disengagement by these students. The same can be said for the knowing the students commitment to learning SAE and early childhood experiences of learning like the lack of access to literature in their homes and coming to school with no breakfast (Purdie, Milgate & Bell, 2011) Possible issue that may arise while teaching the EAL/D students could be that I do not fully understand the children’s hearing issues and the class may lack the required amplification system needed to enhance their learning (Purdie, Milgate & Bell, 2011). Appendices Lesson Plan two Lesson Information Unit Topic Band and year Strand Lesson Two: Narrative Text Constructing Narrative Text Lower Primary year 1 English Students 27 Curriculum Connections and Outcomes: Curriculum Connections English Curriculum outcomes Understand that the purposes texts serve shape their structure in predictable ways (ACELA1447) Recognise that different types of punctuation, including full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, signal sentences that make statements, ask questions, express emotion or give commands (ACELA1449) Understand the use of vocabulary in everyday contexts as well as a growing number of school contexts, including appropriate use of formal and informal terms of address in different contexts (ACELA1454) Create short imaginative and informative texts that show emerging use of appropriate text structure, sentence-level grammar, word choice, spelling, punctuation and appropriate multimodal elements, for example illustrations and diagrams (ACELY1661) Use interaction skills including turn-taking, recognising the contributions of others, speaking clearly and using appropriate volume and pace (ACELY1788) Reread student's own texts and discuss possible changes to improve meaning, spelling and punctuation (ACELY1662) Lesson Overview This lesson focus is on developing student’s SAE language proficiency as they develop their understanding of naratives • Start by connecting to last lesson and reexamining what a narrative sequence involves • Discuss the basic structure (Characters & setting, problem, events, solving problem, the ending) • Discuss characteristics of animals from bag, describing using adjectives • Table animals and words to describe them on whiteboard • Point out classroom word wall to include in story • Model and display examples (walk thru 5 hoops) • Students to complete 5 hoop story walk thru • Students to start draft narrative • Students when complete use 5 hoops as draft review, paying attention to vocabulary and punctuation. • Students in groups listen and provide feedback on other students drafts after the 5 hoop review on vocabulary and punctuation • When students have completed the walk thru move on to final copy using the filmstrip activity sheet. Writing final edit story with accompanying illustrations. Outcomes Students will have an understanding of a Narratives basic structure. That of introduction, body and conclusion Students will have developed and understanding of punctuation of written text Students will have developed language proficiency to produce written and spoken texts EAL/D students ( including above) Strengthen students phonic and alphabet fluency, pronunciation and punctuation. Develop students’ knowledge and speaking of phonemes. Lesson Structure: Topics Teaching Method Introductio n Explaining Activity Questions/activity/Actions Describe classroom expectations, rules and standards (Classroom management) See attached sheet Give students and overview of the lesson. Focus on learning about structure of a narrative Collaborati ve Accessing Prior Knowledge: students down on the floor and recap on what they know about stories and especially a narrative structure from the book that was read in the previous lesson. Write up on the whiteboard a list that the students have made. Modelling Reread the book 1 more time making sure to point at words as you read though and pointing out text structural features. Teacher to write each part of the narrative structure on separate A4 paper for later use in developing the story within the 5 hoop strategy. Activity Collaborati ve Assessme nt The teacher is have a bag with two plastic animals in it that all students can connect to or that are familiar with. Ie Kangaroo, wombat, emu etc. The teacher is to choose a student to take an item from the bag making sure no one else can see it. The rest of the class will take turns in guessing what the animal is, concentrating on descriptive words (adjectives) and using contrast to guess the animal. Here is an assessment opportunity (formative) for the teacher to assess students listening skills. To see if they are able to build on other students ideas and not repeat the same questions opportunit y Activity Collaborati ve Once the animals have been discussed and characteristics explored the teacher is to write them on the whiteboard as one the main characters to choose from for their story. Teacher is to place down 5 hoops on the classroom floor with the associated narrative structure in them. Hoop 1: Characters & setting, Hoop 2: the problem, Hoop 3: Event that takes place, Hoop 4: Solution, Hoop 5: How the story ends. Teacher models own pretend story walking through the 5 (Hoops) stages of the story. Have each student walk through each stage (hoop) speaking aloud (telling) their story. Have a student complete this one by one gives the teacher an ideal opportunity to assess the students speaking. Once all students have used the 5 hoop structure to tell their stories they now move to their desks where a worksheet with 5 hoops. See resources below. Scaffolding opportunity here Students to draw, draw and write or write up their story draft. Provide three levels of worksheet Modelling Activity Modelling Activity Modelling Collaborati ve Activity Independe nt Activity Scaffoldin g Independe nt available to allow for student learning diversity. Group collaboration for EAD/L learners can be utilised here Collaborati ve scaffoldin g Teacher need to explicitly instruct students to incorporate words from their word wall in telling their story. Teacher here can help scaffold students writing Once the students have written or drawn out their stories they can move to the 5 hoops in groups of 4 and read their story while moving through the different narrative stages concentrating on spoken vocabulary and punctuation. (editing) Students in the group are to listen and collaborate in giving productive feedback on vocabulary and punctuation. This is to be completed with the teacher (explicitly) listening and guiding students. The teacher here can go first and model their own story emphasising vocabulary and punctuation. Capitals at the start of a sentence and full stops at the end. Assessment opportunity (formative) for the teacher to assess student’s vocabulary / pronunciation skills. Once student completes the walk through they are to complete any adjustments ie correct punctuation and go on to complete the filmstrip activity. It is hoped by this stage the student will be able to work independently on completing the task. Teacher to assess final product against assessment rubric. Activity Independe nt Activity Collaborati ve Modelling Independe nt Assessme nt Independe nt Assessment: Summative Activity sheets will be added to working narrative portfolio - Assessment Teacher to check the student understands the structure of an narrative Participation Teacher to note students participation and engagement levels Formative Assessment Gather evidence of student learning, idea depth, progression and provide feedback during lesson. Activity sheets will be used to form a formative assessment of students connection to content with The final product assessed against an assessment rubric. Resources Butchers Paper Whiteboard Rulers Interactive whiteboard Pencils Erasers Activity sheets Safety General Classroom OH&S Watch for cords on ground from electrical equipment Locate any tripping hazard and remove Make sure sharp objects ie scissors or Stanley knives are put away in cupboard Make sure students seating arrangements are appropriate ie no one seated behind doors Notes Pedagogical approached used will be a student centred approach with the teacher scaffolding class and individual students where needed. The classroom will be an inclusive environment with all students to feel safe and valued in participating in all classroom activities and conducive to EAL/D. Classroom Management: Topics Teaching Method Introduction Explaining Actions Of acceptable behavior I expect you all to listen without talking while I am talking or a student is asking or answering a question, please show them the respect they deserve to be heard Not to distract others, they have the right to learn If you have a question raise your and I will respond to you when I can Lastly by showing me that you can respect others it shows me that you have respect for yourself. Resources: Film Strip Narrative Film Strip Narrative References ACARA see Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Acara.edu.au,. (2013). English as an Additional Language or Dialect: Teacher Resource (EAL/D) | ACARA. Retrieved 12 April 2015, from http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/student_diversity/eald_teacher_resour ce.html Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013). English as an Additional Language or Dialect Teacher Resource: Overview and EAL/D Learning Progression. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/English_as_an_Additional_Langu age_or_Dialect_Teacher_Resource_05_06_12.pdf Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). English as an Additional Language or Dialect Teacher Resource: Annotated Content Descriptions: English Foundation to Year 10. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/EALD_Learning_Area_Annotatio ns_English_Revised_February_2014.pdf Education.qld.gov.au,. (2015). Teaching. Retrieved 13 April 2015, from http://education.qld.gov.au/staff/learning/diversity/teaching/teaching.html Gish, A., & O'Neill, S. (2008). Teaching English as a second language (pp. 1-56). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Guides.slsa.sa.gov.au,. (2015). Ngarrindjeri people - Aboriginal people of South Australia - Library Guides at State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 12 April 2015, from http://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/Ngarrindjeri Haston, W. (2007). Teacher Modeling as an Effective Teaching Strategy. Music Educators Journal, 93(4), 26-30. doi:10.1177/002743210709300414 Horst, J. (2013). Context and repetition in word learning. Frontiers In Psychology, 4. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00149 Marzano, Robert J. Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2004. (pp 68-69) ISBN 0-87120-972-1 Mobilelanguageteam.com.au,. (2015). Mobile Language Team | Aboriginal Languages | South Australia. Retrieved 12 April 2015, from http://www.mobilelanguageteam.com.au/languages/about/ngarrindjeri Purdie, N., Milgate, G., & Bell, H. (2011). Two way teaching and learning. Camberwell, Vic.: ACER Press. Schools.nsw.edu.au,. (2015). SMART Teaching Strategies. Retrieved 12 April 2015, from http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/712assessments/naplan/teachstrategies/yr2014/index.php?id=lw_punc_es1_14 Simpson, J., & Wigglesworth, G. (2008). Children's language and multilingualism. London: Continuum. Taggart, R. (2010). Language needs of indigenous students issue and strategy. QTU Professional Magazine, 23-27. Retrieved from http://www.qtu.asn.au/files/3413/2268/2362/profmag2010_mctaggart.pdf Tribushinina, E., van den Bergh, H., Kilani-Schoch, M., Aksu-Koc, A., Dabasinskiene, I., & Hrzica, G. et al. (2013). The role of explicit contrast in adjective acquisition: A cross-linguistic longitudinal study of adjective production in spontaneous child speech and parental input. First Language, 33(6), 594-616. doi:10.1177/0142723713503146 Van Compernolle, R., & Williams, L. (2011). Promoting sociolinguistic competence in the classroom zone of proximal development. Language Teaching Research, 16(1), 39-60. doi:10.1177/1362168811423340 Vandergrift, L. (2004). 1. LISTENING TO LEARN OR LEARNING TO LISTEN?. Annual Review Of Applied Linguistics, 24, 3-25. doi:10.1017/s0267190504000017