Designing and Implementing Interactive, Collaborative Family Literacy Events

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Kerrigan Mahoney ◽  
Jane Patrick ◽  
Leighann Pennington ◽  
Alicen Brown ◽  
Tonya Moon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Family Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
Literacy Events ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Environmental Print ◽  
Gifted Learners ◽  
Theory Of Intelligence

Shared experiences through school-hosted events, such as family literacy events, can afford opportunities to support and extend academic learning while fostering positive home–school relationships. This article describes the importance of developing primary-grade students’ literacy skills through a talent development lens and explains several ways to nurture students’ literacy skills and recognize potential, gifts, and talents during family literacy events. This article features one of the activities from the family literacy events, Environmental Print Bingo, a modification of I-Spy and Bingo which uses rich and varied environmental print resources. A description of this activity, necessary resources, and implementation tips are provided. Options for differentiating this learning activity to provide more challenge for gifted learners are suggested. Throughout the article, the application of a pedagogy for early childhood gifted education and Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence as a framework are discussed; these approaches informed the design of all family literacy activities. A brief overview of nine additional family literacy event activities is also shared. Welcoming and involving families of English learners is an important consideration in many communities, and therefore, preparation tips and considerations for facilitators that will help maximize the participation of all families are included. Finally, reflections and helpful advice for implementing family literacy events in your school communities are presented, including advice for implementing online family literacy events. Ultimately, this article should help readers conceptualize, plan, and implement family literacy events in their school communities.

STAGE OF DIAGNOSIS READING SKILLS WITH STUDENTS IN 4TH CLASS THROUGH PROJECT LEARNING ACTIVITY

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 887-894
Author(s):  
Iva Andonova Stamenova
Keyword(s):  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
External Assessment ◽  
School Time ◽  
International Systems ◽  
Learning Projects

The report is devoted to the problem of reading with understanding in the fourth grade. The problem of the levels of reading literacy of elementary school pupils is also affected by international systems for assessing their achievements worldwide - PISA and PIRLS. The worrying results show that Bulgaria occupies one of the last places of literacy in the charts of the two international systems, which implies the necessity of introducing changes in the educational system. For this reason, the National External Assessment at the end of the 4th grade was introduced, based on the level of literacy and reader competence of our students.As a result of yearly tests and many expert studies, we disprove the information originally presented that we are at the bottom of the literacy chart in Europe. During the last few years, Bulgarian students have not only improved their literacy skills, but they have also been among the successful participants in national reading competitions, the project initiatives organized by the Ministry of Education and Science and the clubs for readership interests of the local libraries .Our pupils work on learning projects both in school time and in extracurricular activities that teachers place on their own. Design works are not only a pleasant activity for learners, but also a way of enriching the child's personality, building useful competencies and stimulating the development of creative activity. Apart from the above, the project activities allow students to share ideas, experiences, interests, teamwork, listen and respect with respect to their classmate's point of view, to communicate as equal partners in the process of project endeavors. Teamwork brings together the class and sets the foundations for a friendly work environment where each team member makes every effort to finalize the project.

scholarly journals “I start learning English through speaking”: Social agency demand and inter-school readiness for Indonesian young English learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-225
Author(s):  
Sri Setyarini ◽  
Bachrudin Musthafa ◽  
Ahmad Bukhori Muslim
Keyword(s):  
School Readiness ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
School Level ◽  
Social Agency ◽  
Young Learners

Preserving Indonesian as a national identity and institutional readiness to perform the national curriculum 2013 instruction has become a critical factor in the exclusion of English as a compulsory subject at the elementary school level. This leaves rooms for teachers’ confusion and creativity, leading to various practices at different school clusters, depending on parental demands and school readiness. This study thus tries to cast light on the social agency demand and inter-school readiness for young learners in the Indonesian EFL pedagogical contexts. This instrumental case study portrays the practices of English language teaching at three clusters of Indonesian primary schools; local, national, and independent, as well as responses of parents and students to these practices. Involving 4-6 grade students and English teachers of six primary schools, the data were garnered through classroom observation, interviews, and document analysis. The findings revealed that although teaching English to young learners is somehow communicative and fun, it more emphasises  literacy skills (reading, writing, and grammar), particularly at local schools as the majority cluster across the country. Since English is a non-phonetic language, this literacy-focused practice is rather contradictory to what parents as social agencies expect, that is, to develop their children’s English oral proficiency. The study also offers ways by which teachers and schools can accommodate this social agency’s needs for speaking skills by focusing more on student-centred and oral English proficiency activities and assessment.

The Language Policy of Placement Tests for Newcomer English Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 936-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendall King ◽  
Martha Bigelow
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
High Stakes

U.S. public schools are required to establish policies ensuring that English language learners have equal access to “meaningful education.” This demands that districts put into place mechanisms to determine student eligibility for specialized English language services. For the most states, this federal requirement is fulfilled through the local administration of the WIDA–Access Placement Test (W-APT), arguably the most widely used, yet under-studied, English language assessment in the country. Through intensive participant observation at one, urban new student intake center, and detailed qualitative, discursive analysis of test administration and interaction, we demonstrate how the W-APT works as a high-stakes assessment, screener, and sorter, and how test takers and test administrators locally negotiate this test and enact this federal and state policy. Our analysis indicates that the W-APT is problematic in several respects, most importantly because the test does not differentiate adequately across students with widely different literacy skills and formal schooling experiences.

Improving Young English Learners’ Language and Literacy Skills Through Teacher Professional Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie M. Babinski ◽  
Steven J. Amendum ◽  
Steven E. Knotek ◽  
Marta Sánchez ◽  
Patrick Malone
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
School Year ◽  
Teacher Professional

Using a randomized controlled trial, we tested a new teacher professional development program for increasing the language and literacy skills of young Latino English learners with 45 teachers and 105 students in 12 elementary schools. School-based teams randomly assigned to the intervention received professional development focused on cultural wealth, high-impact instructional strategies, and a framework for collaboration. We observed each teacher three times during the school year and assessed students individually at the beginning and end of the school year using the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey (WMLS). Using an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis, we found effects for the intervention on teachers’ implementation of high-impact instructional strategies and students’ language and literacy skills.

scholarly journals The troublesome guidance towards academic literacy.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-64
Author(s):  
Marit Greek ◽  
Kari Mari Jonsmoen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Writing Theory ◽  
Text Organization ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Research Findings

According to research findings, students having graduated from upper secondary school, ought to be sufficiently prepared for meeting the demands of higher education, and for further developing their textual competences within the discipline specific contexts. Nevertheless, according to lecturers and librarians in higher education, students are still in need of guidance in their textual work. The question is what the students need and who are qualified for guiding the students. The overall goal is to promote a meaningful writing process, when assisting the students towards the planned academic learning outcome.  The article discusses «Writing courses» as a phenomenon, in light of writing theory and literacy research. According to international research findings, writing in higher education is part of a disciplinary discourse, and disciplinary literacy skills are essential for building textual competences within a specific disciplinary community. Thus the essential factors in guiding students in their writing process, are genre conventions, text organization and argumentation. However, the students also need guidance in searching relevant literature as well as dealing with sources in a correct manner. The article emphasizes the significance of textual knowledge when guiding the students in higher education. However, librarians and lecturers possess different knowledge, and are part of different disciplinary discourses. There is therefore a need for debating what guidance in writing is to be, and how lecturers and librarians can complement each other and together offer constructive and relevant guidance.     

scholarly journals Visual Literacy Skills of Students in College-Level Biology: Learning Outcomes following Digital or Hand-Drawing Activities

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine C Bell
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Visual Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Cell Group ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
College Level ◽  
Biological Images ◽  
Group 2

To test the claim that digital learning tools enhance the acquisition of visual literacy in this generation of biology students, a learning intervention was carried out with 33 students enrolled in an introductory college biology course. This study compared learning outcomes following two types of learning tools: a traditional drawing activity, or a learning activity on a computer. The sample was divided into two random groups. In the first intervention students learned how to draw and label a cell. Group 1 learned the material by computer and Group 2 learned the material by hand drawing. In the second intervention, students learned how to draw the phases of mitosis, and the two groups were inverted. After each learning activity, students were given a quiz, and were also asked to self-evaluate their performance in an attempt to measure their level of metacognition. At the end of the study, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire that was used to measure the level of task engagement the students felt towards the two types of learning activities. The students who learned the material by drawing had a significantly higher average grade on the associated quiz compared to that of those who learned the material by computer. There were no other significant differences in learning outcomes between the two groups. This study provides evidence that drawing by hand is beneficial for learning biological images compared to learning the same material on a computer. Afin de vérifier le bien-fondé de l’assertion voulant que les outils d’apprentissage numériques renforcent l’acquisition de la littératie visuelle parmi la génération présente d’étudiants en biologie, une intervention d’apprentissage a été effectuée auprès de 33 étudiants inscrits dans un cours collégial d’introduction à la biologie. Cette étude compare les résultats d’apprentissage suite à l’utilisation de deux types d’outils d’apprentissage : une activité de dessin traditionnel ou une activité d’apprentissage par ordinateur. L’échantillon a été divisé en deux groupes formés au hasard. Au cours de la première intervention, les étudiants ont appris à dessiner et à caractériser une cellule. Le groupe 1 a appris la matière par ordinateur et le groupe 2 l’a apprise en faisant les dessins à la main. Au cours de la seconde intervention, les étudiants ont appris à dessiner les phases de la division cellulaire (mitose) et la manière dont les deux groupes ont appris cette matière a été inversée. Après chaque activité d’apprentissage, les étudiants ont subi un test de contrôle et on leur a également demandé d’auto-évaluer leurs résultats pour tenter de mesurer leur niveau de métacognition. À la conclusion de l’étude, on a demandé aux participants de remplir un questionnaire qui a été utilisé pour mesurer le niveau de participation à la tâche perçu par les étudiants par rapport aux deux types d’activités d’apprentissage. Les étudiants qui avaient appris la matière en dessinant ont obtenu une note moyenne considérablement plus élevée à leur test de contrôle que ceux qui avaient appris la matière par ordinateur. Il n’y a eu aucune autre différence significative dans les résultats d’apprentissage entre les deux groupes. Cette étude fournit la preuve que le fait de dessiner à la main est bénéfique pour apprendre des images de biologie par rapport à l’apprentissage par ordinateur de la même matière.

Membangun Kelas Literat Berbasis Pendidikan Lingkungan Hidup Untuk Melatihkan Kemampuan Literasi Siswa Di Sekolah Dasar

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slamet Widodo
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Environment Education ◽  
Class Environment ◽  
Conceptual Study

This conceptual study is a literature study. It includes various interrelated concepts which are discussed to obtain the whole idea about literati class; environment education to accustom the students’ literacy skills in primary schools. In simple perspective, literacy means the ability or competence of a person in terms of reading and writing. Recently, literacy has been viewed as an absolute need to be majored by each individual, in this case, including students in elementary school. Literacy competency in lower levels emphasizes the literacy learning more on the development of the basic foundations of students’ ability. That students’ ability is focused on the introduction of symbols, pictures or letters. Meanwhile, literacy in higher levels emphasizes on teaching students to critically analyze such as conducting interviews, observing the environment, writing reports, and doing such observations. Students could make written report, present their activity in front of the class, or display the results of their observations in the classroom. Environment education is considered as a solution to cope with literacy problem and the implant of environment care toward students earlier. Environment education is integrated in teaching and learning activity which supports the students’ literacy skills. Therefore, developing a literati class based on environment education needs enough preparation including conditioning students, the learning environment, and active participation of every component of education.

Teaching Reading to Young English Language Learners Through Folk Literature

2020 ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Nabat Erdogan
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Folk Literature ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Different Characteristics

The lack of sufficient reading ability and, consequently, inadequate reading achievement continue to affect large student populations in U.S. schools. English language learners (ELLs), who represent the fastest growing segment of student population in the U.S., constitute one of the largest groups of students who perform poorly on state reading tests. There are many factors contributing to English learners' low reading skills. One of these factors is the lack of appropriate and interesting reading materials or insufficient attention to effective text selection. What kind of texts are considered appropriate for language learners? Effective texts for ELLs should be age-appropriate, language-appropriate, culturally relevant, entertaining, and interesting. This chapter suggests that folktales possess many characteristics of effective texts and can serve as a valuable resource for improving young English learners' literacy skills in English. The chapter exemplifies different characteristics of folktales and provides recommendations for the use of folk literature in the language classroom.

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