Here is a list of resources that I have been compiling over the years. Most of them are links to texts and curriculum from all over Latin America. Enjoy!
Son antologías que se usan en países de habla hispana de primer grado a 6to grado
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El Salvador
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Home » Posts tagged 'lecto-escritura'
Tag Archives: lecto-escritura
Improvisational ESL
Recently, I was reminded of the power of theater in education. Thinking about students who are new to English… but not completely new… I have been looking at improvisational theater exercises to get students talking. This is not a strategy to teach new vocabulary but to build fluency, spontaneity and confidence while speaking.
Imagine having two students create a skit where someone is lost and the other has to help the first person find his or her way. Imagine adding a third person who says that the first person is wrong. What would you say? What would you do? Can they ask for an additional person to assist?
Make it a little bit harder and open ended: Imagine students creating a skit based off of three nouns- pencil, stove, rake. Throw in a verb and shake things up a bit.
There are a million scenes that you can have students improvise based on anything that students need to practice. Try it; see what happens!
Speaking to My Children- What Language?
The short answer is: speak to your children in the language you know best. Oral language is the precursor to all literacy skills:
- What you can think, you can say;
- what you say you can write;
- what you can write you can read.
When parents ask me what language they should use with their children I consistently tell them to use the language they know best. Most of the time the parents are non-English speakers wondering if they should speak with their children using the little English they know. “No,” I tell them.
When children are offered rich language in extended discourse they develop amazing vocabularies and complex sentences. If their caregivers offer them limited vocabulary and limited discourse that is what the children will develop. Because literacy skills transfer, the extended discourse will transfer once the children have the necessary vocabulary in the new language… but they can’t transfer what they do not know.
- Speak to your children often and listen to their answers.
- Have them tell you stories and ask follow-up questions.
- Ask open ended questions (questions that require more than yes or no).
- Ask them to explain more or tell you what that means.
- Give them new vocabulary as you ask them questions and respond to their stories:
- Child: I used that thing to cut cheese.
- Adult: Oh, you used the cheese slicer.
- Child: Yes, I used the cheese slicer and I cut a lot of cheese.
- When you read with your children ask them questions such as:
- What do you think will happen next?
- Would you have done that?
- How would you solve the problem?
- Tell me the story
- Talk, talk, talk!
There is much research about the importance of oral language. Give your child the gift of language through conversation and story telling.
Literacy creates justice!
Graphic Organizers
If you have not seen these please take a look: Graphic Organizers. Estas ayudas gráficas están disponibles en español también.
Any time we can help students organize their thinking, plan their learning, make their learning visible, we are helping them build connections and increase the number of synapses– that is learning! With graphic organizers we can increase literacy, too.
Literacy Creates Justice!
Staggered Start Guided Reading
You are right- I never explained this!
In a guided reading group one of the goals is to have students read text while supported by you, the teacher. Remember the idea of gradual release of responsibility:
- I do, you watch
- I do, you help
- You do, I help
- You do, I watch
Using staggered-start can be both of the last two bullets; the key is that the student is ‘doing’ while you watch or help:
- When you stagger the start, each student has a copy of the text;
- One student student begins with the first paragraph (first page, first part,…);
- When the first student gets to the second paragraph (second page, second part, …) student number two begins with the first paragraph while the second student continues on;
- When student number two gets to the second paragraph, student number three begins with the first paragraph while the previous students continue reading;
- While students are reading you are monitoring, taking notes and coaching.
- When a student finishes s/he goes to the beginning and starts again and all students stop at the same time.
Did that make sense? The idea is that each student starts and continues reading through to the end. Because each student begins at a different time, each one has to appropriately-struggle with the whole text. No one is getting nervous about everyone listening; no one is counting ahead and pre-reading his or her paragraph. This is not round-robin reading!
As coach, you cue students as they are reading and take notes about their struggles. I always ask students to use their finger or a ruler while they are stagger reading so that I, the teacher, know where they are on the page and I can match the text with their speech as I quickly check in with each student.
Remember, this is one step in a whole process; it is one way to have students practice their reading in a guided reading group. Staggered reading will mean nothing if students do not understand what they are reading. Reading= comprehension.
Literacy Creates Justice (and it’s fun!).
Here is a group of teachers practicing staggered reading:
Modified Guided Reading
Thank you for the question about Modified Guided Reading. Let me start with the link to the original article and a link to an article that explains the original article.
Now that you have read those, I have a copy of my Modified Guided Reading-Plan for you to look at and use.
The results are amazing when done carefully. In order for this to work, though, we have to think about our students and what they know and what they need to learn. When I use this format I pre-teach the aspects that my students will struggle with (you need to know your students!) and work on building oral language around those ideas. By the time they get to the text they will be in that wonderful Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky) and understand most of what they are reading. I try to leave appropriate challenges along the way so that their reading is in the Goldilocks-Zone.
Try it and let me know what you think. If you want some additional coaching please let me know. Remember: Literacy Creates Justice (and it’s fun!).
Earth Alphabet
This is worth looking at- “NASA’s Earth Observatory has tracked down images resembling all 26 letters of the English alphabet using only NASA satellite imagery and astronaut photography.”
Here is the link on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/_5QLUVIaHq/
Here is the link to the whole alphabet: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ABC/
Wonder at the marvels of the earth as we near the new year!
Now in Peru!
Last Thursday night we arrived in Lima, Peru! This will be home for the foreseeable future.
We have been enjoying the company of family and friends; we have been searching out places to live; we have been learning from and working with some amazing people; we have been looking for and creating work, ways to share what we know while continuing to grow in knowledge.
There are amazing possibilities in this city of 10 million! If you are looking for a literacy/ language teacher and coach please let me know; I would love to talk to you about the possibilities.
Literacy in Minnesota
If you are interested in how Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop works in one school in Minnesota, check out the site Literacy @ Riverview. The site gives an outline of expectations for reading and writing education. It is a great site for new teachers who want a window into elementary literacy or experienced teachers who want a refresher. There is also a section of resources in Spanish.
Check it out and see what you think:
https://sites.google.com/a/stpaul.k12.mn.us/riverview-literacy/
Sites for Spanish Literacy Games
I have been gathering websites for early literacy learning in Spanish; here they are… so far. clearly I need to annotate the list and add more.
- http://www.mundoprimaria.com/juegos-lenguaje
- http://ww2.educarchile.cl/UserFiles/P0001/File/articles-66689_Juego_0.swf
- http://www.educarchile.cl/ech/pro/app/detalle?id=216804
- http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/averroes/~cepco3/fondolector/frases.htm
- http://www.tudiscoverykids.com/juegos/abcdario/
- http://www.dibujosparapintar.com/juegos_relacionar/tema_vocabulario
- http://juegosflash.dibujos.net/aprender/
- http://www.cokitos.com/tag/juegos-de-lengua-para-ninos/
- http://www.cyberkidzjuegos.com/cyberkidz/juegos-educativos-gratis-en-linea.php
If you have any other suggestions please let me know; I am sure there are many, many more.
S. T. Fleming 