Instructions: This Script Accompanies The Powerpoint Presentation, "Best Practices For
Instructions: This Script Accompanies The Powerpoint Presentation, "Best Practices For
Instructions: This script accompanies the PowerPoint presentation, “Best Practices for
Teaching Students in a Bilingual Classroom: Teaching Reading in English.” The script has two
components. The first is information in black that is to be read to or shared with an audience. The
information given after each slide’s number is meant to compliment the information on the slide.
The second is information printed in blue which is meant as a resource for the presenter.
This power point is approximately 45 to 60 minutes long and offers suggestions for bilingual
teachers on how they can more effectively teach reading in English to their students. The
suggestions in this presentation are intended for first through fifth grade classrooms. References
for cited works are at the end of the script
Welcome to Best Practices for teaching reading in English to students in a bilingual classroom.
Through out this presentation information is going to be presented on methods for teaching
children whose primary language is not English.
Allington’s quote is accurate because it reflects what we know about children learning to read-all
children, including bilingual children. Time to read, access to reading materials, and adults who
are role models all play a part in creating a desire to read in children. The desire helps create
motivation and motivation is essential.
Slide 3: “Overview”
Three general, but interrelated topic areas will be touched on in this presentation. The first area,
“What is effective reading instruction?” covers some aspects that research has identified as
components of effective instruction. Second, the five components of reading instruction
identified by the National Reading Panel (2000) are presented. Finally, some additional ideas
that will help bilingual students learn to read English are presented.
The three general areas presented are not intended to be all-inclusive. They are characteristics
that contribute to and are part of effective instruction. For an overview of components of
effective instruction, see Mazzoni and Gambrell (2003). For a detailed explanation of the five
components of reading instruction, see the report of the National Reading Panel (2000).
Slide 4: “Characteristics….”
Six characteristics of effective reading instruction are presented. Each of these characteristics is
elaborated on in upcoming slides. Embedded in each of these characteristics is the fact that
teacher caring and expectations accompany that specific characteristic. Effective instructing
stems from concern and caring coupled with high expectations.
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Slide 5: “Provide Time”
Instructional time for reading is important. Reading authorities agree that children need time for
reading instruction and time to practice reading. An illustration of how important time is in
helping students learn to read is shown by the Federal Reading First grants that stipulate 90
minutes a day of uninterrupted time for instruction. Regardless of the amount of time scheduled,
the time allotted for reading must be long enough so that children can receive instruction and
actually practice reading, talking about what they read, and writing about what they read.
Authorities differ on how much time for reading instruction is needed. As mentioned, the
federally funded Reading First grants require 90 minutes of blocked time a day. Morrow &
Asbery (2003), reviewing effective literacy instruction, stress that reading instruction needs a
long uninterrupted time period so that children actually receive instruction and have an
opportunity to read.
Teacher modeling is essential. Teachers need to be seen reading. They also need to model what
they are doing when they read. Modeling can take two forms. The first is sharing what is
happening when reading out loud to students. This sharing is done by verbalizing what is going
on in the teacher’s head while she is reading a passage. These verbalizations are called “mini-
lessons” and “Think Alouds.” Both activities allow students to see and hear what a mature
reader’s thoughts are while he or she is reading.
Teachers also need to read aloud to students. Teacher “read alouds” let students hear how good
reading sounds in English. Through teacher reading aloud, a child gains a sense of fluent reading
in English. The child also gains insight into how a mature reader handles different reading
situations. Teacher “read alouds” reinforce the idea that reading is an important skill, something
adults do.
For information on teacher modeling and why it is important see Hansen (2004) and different
chapters in Morrow, Gambrell, and Pressley (2003). See Cooper (2006), Ousten and Yulga
(2002) for a discussion of mini-lessons, and Willhem (2001) for information “Think Alouds.”
Children need to be read to daily. By being read to by teachers and others, children acquire a
sense of the English language and hear what good reading sounds like. Being read to regularly,
exposes students to new vocabulary, There is wide spread agreement that being read to is a
powerful way of improving a student’s vocabulary. During “read alouds,” students are also
introduced to books and stories that serve as a basis for future reading. Teachers should read a
wide variety of works ranging from fairy tales, poems, stories, and non-fiction works to both
large and small groups of children. “Read alouds” are most effective when the reader speaks
clearly and with animation.
For more information on reading to children, what is effective and why it is effective see Fisher
and Medvic (2003), Parkes (2000), and Hahn (2004).
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Slide 8: “Reading With”
Children need a chance to read with both other children and adults. In a normal school day,
children should have a chance to “practice read.” In “practice reading,” students get to try those
skills recently covered in easily read materials. Practice reading time should allow children the
opportunity to pick books that they can easily read to others. Reading to other children and adults
provides support for a reader, increases self-confidence, and reinforces the perception that
reading is important. Reading with a child can also supply a child with non-threatening one on
one interaction.
In addition, children can and should reread those books that are read aloud by a teacher.
Rereading works, especially books a child likes, is a good way to improve a child’s reading. The
repetition of repeated reading helps reinforce and develop reading skills while increasing
vocabulary.
Providing a print rich environment for children is important because it reinforces the importance
of reading while stimulating the desire to read. A room should include both students’ works and
a wide array of books. Some books need to be featured or advertised for the students. Featured
books should be displayed in plain sight. Bookstore practices supply two useful ideas for
classroom teachers. First, place featured books in a location where children can see and pick
them up. Second, change the featured books regularly. Keeping the same book or books out for a
long time causes a book to lose appeal.
A print rich environment also includes a variety of books that children can relate to and read. If a
bilingual classroom is comprised of primarily Hispanic children, then books on Hispanic
children are important. Children relate to works in which the characters resemble themselves and
their families.
A print rich environment also means having a variety of fiction and non-fiction works available
for children to pick up and read. Suggested resources to identify books for children are listed in
the references for the script accompanying this power point presentation.
Some resources on print rich and literate environments are Pinell and Fountas (1996) and
Strickland and Morrow (1998). While “older” both references contain viable information.
Research is increasingly finding that having books and literature children can identify with is
important. Children are more likely to read books that contain people they can identify with
(Nieto, 2004). For additional information on multicultural literature, including books for
different ethnic groups, see Norton (2005) and Temple, Martinez, and Yokota (2006). For
additional information on the importance of having non-fiction literature for young children see
Kristo and Bamford (2003).
Children profit from being presented with different strategies. It can help motivate and excite
them. Different strategies also increase the possibility of “connecting with” a child.
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Children need opportunities to interact with each other in collaborative literacy experiences.
Collaborative literary experiences can range from talking about a book with another student
through small group instruction with an adult. Guided Reading is a small group experience that
helps assure success in the classroom. To be effective, Guided Reading should include authentic
literature or literature that stands up to children. The books should be good stories that children
can relate to and enjoy. Guided Reading also included modeling fluent reading and modeling
good reading behaviors. This modeling can come from the teacher, another adult, or a student.
Many authorities feel that reading instruction can be divided into the five major areas identified
by the National Reading Panel (2000). As can be seen from the diagram, the five areas
sometimes overlap with each other.
Phonemic awareness is the hearing and discrimination of sounds in words. All of phonemic
awareness is “auditory” and based on oral language. It is the sound of language. The student
manipulates the different sounds or phonemes of words. The components of phonemic
awareness are rhyming, word play, sound blending, sound substitution, and syllable
segmentation.
Phonemic awareness helps lay the foundation for phonics and fluency. Being able to hear and
manipulate the sounds in the English language help the children identify the sounds that letters
make. By being able to manipulate the sounds in words, students can use their skills to figure
out unknown words. Phonemic awareness can be taught by rhyming words and activities that are
fun.
Rhyming words can be taught effectively with the substitution of beginning sounds of words.
Students can manipulate the first letter of a word such as cat and change the c to b to form the
word bat. Word family study aids the student in reading of text because they can relate unknown
words to familiar rhymes.
Hands on games provide the student with concrete representations of rhyming. For English
language learners, the concrete or pictorial representation increases the students’ awareness of
rhyming, making it less abstract. Encountering rhyming words in context allows the student to
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obtain meaning from the text. For an English language learner, seeing the word “cat” in isolation
may not allow the learner to construct meaning. However, seeing the word “cat” within the
sentence “I saw the cat chase the mouse.” gives the reader a visual reference, thus promoting
understanding.
Many activities that manipulate the sounds of words help to develop phonemic awareness.
Different skills exist in phonemic awareness. Among these skills are sound blending, sound
counting, sound matching, sound switching, and syllable counting.
1) Sound blending is the blending of the individual phonemes of a word. Two different
processes of sound blending are involved in phonemic awareness. Blending individual sounds
such as c-a-t for cat and then blending word parts such as ch-air for chair.
2) Sound counting is the counting of the sounds heard in a word regardless of the number of
letters in the word. Sound counting is an auditory skill. For instance, cake has three sounds
for four letters.
3) Sound matching can occur in three different parts of a word—beginning sounds, ending
sounds, and medial vowel sounds. Students match words that have the same sound at one of
these three parts.
4) Sound switching is a complicated form of phoneme manipulation. Students switch the
beginning sounds or ending sounds of words. For example a student would change bug to rug
or cat to can.
5) Syllable count allows the student to manipulate the syllables of a word. This is important
because later when the student encounters an unknown word they can break it down into
syllables and chunk into parts. The student can then use chunks to increase their word
recognition within text.
Besides set phonics instruction in the classroom, English language learners can benefit from a
variety of interactive activities to increase phonics knowledge.
Word work activities in which the students create words from larger words and use manipulative
letters are effective. Another activity is letting the students create words using chunks and onsets
and rimes then saying the word orally incorporating all the sounds.
The repetitive nature of poems gives the students the opportunities to blend sounds to read the
text. During shared reading and writing, students can experience the blending of sounds with
teacher and class assistance. Shared reading and writing phonics experiences are less
intimidating for the English language learner since all students are participating.
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Slide 24: “Activities for Teaching Phonics”
Students need to know sight words instantly instead of sounding them out because these are the
most common words they encounter in reading. There are several activities teachers can do with
their students. One activity is to use manipulatives to build sight words. Then follow up by
having the student read the word in a sentence because sometimes sight words carry very little
meaning. However, it is important to see how the word used in context contributes to flow of
what is being read. Finally, have the student write the word.
Big books can be used in many of the reading components. In the slide, a teacher is using them
to teach students about word patterns. Using books that have a rhyming pattern, students can
identify the rime in words and are able to see words used in context. Students sometimes find it
easier to identify words when they locate rimes that are familiar to them. Furthermore, using big
books enables students to recognize word patterns allowing them to generalize word parts to
fluently read unfamiliar words.
Making words can be a direct approach to teaching phonics. It allows students to manipulate
beginning sounds, ending sounds, and medial vowel sounds. Using manipulative letters, students
can see how sounds blend to create words.
Fluency has three parts. They are speed, accuracy, and prosody. Prosody refers to reading with
expression and feeling. Fluency is the bridge between reading words and comprehension.
There are three reasons why fluency is important: As early as 3rd grade students are expected to
read independently and comprehend text that is more challenging. “Learning to read” becomes
“reading to learn” because the emphasis is on comprehension. If students have to decode and
sound out each word, then comprehension is lost. The second reason is desire to read. A reader
that is not fluent will not want to read. The frustration makes it an experience that is not
enjoyable. In addition, by avoiding reading, students are not exposed to important vocabulary.
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Slide 32: “Creating Fluent Readers”
In order to become fluent readers, students need to hear what fluent reading sounds like. One
way teachers can model fluent reading is through read-alouds. Read alouds can be students
reading out loud as well as teachers reading out loud. Providing students with multiple
opportunities for reading books orally can be important.
A good material for reading aloud is poetry. Poems have a repetitive nature and can be fun
reading aloud. Also, make sure that text is not too difficult. Some activities teachers can use to
help create fluent readers are audio taping, paired reading, choral reading, and reader’s theater.
Paired Reading or reading with a buddy is reading with a teacher, another student, or an adult.
The student sits next to a reader and both are going to read the same material out loud. The
strongest reader begins reading first pointing at the words being read. The less proficient readers
follow along and read aloud when ready. If the better reader reads slowly and is willing to
reread a sentence or passage, this can be both fun and helpful.
In order to use poems for building fluency, they must have rhythm and repetition. Poems can be
a fun and engaging way to get students to become fluent readers. Because poems can be read in
unison, in pairs, or groups, reading poetry is an activity that is non-threatening for struggling
readers. Reading the poem multiple times is not seen as a tedious task, but rather an enjoyable
experience. Poetry also exposes students to rhyming words and sight words in context.
Integrate a poem into your science or social studies lesson. This can be used as a focus to a unit.
By using poems in the content area, student gain a deeper knowledge of the concept. If it is a
poem about a science concept, you might want to extract the words those words before hand and
go over them with the students.
The best thing about reader’s theater is the performance. You can have your students create their
own script or use one that is already in print. First, you want to assign parts - you need to check
the reading level of the script if it is commercially prepared to suit the ability of the student.
Provide time for students to practice their parts. Encourage the students to read accurately and
expressively. When ready, have the students perform. Performances are simple and require
minimal props.
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There are two kinds of vocabulary written and oral. While the two are related, they are not
always the same. There is, however, a large amount of transfer between the two kinds of
vocabulary. Helping children develop their speaking and listening vocabulary helps them have a
larger reading and writing vocabulary. As children develop in their ability to read and write,
written vocabulary plays an increasing role in developing oral vocabulary.
Vocabulary has long been identified as being one of the major factors of reading ability. A
comprehensive treatment of the topic in this short a space is impossible, so it is not being
attempted. What is, are some general guidelines and activities that research has identified as
being effective. For more comprehensive treatment on vocabulary acquisition and development
see Blachowicz and Fisher (2006) and Johnson (2001).
Vocabulary is crucial for comprehension to occur. If a child is reading a work (or being read to)
and too many words are not known, neither enjoyment nor comprehension is likely to occur.
Two factors promote vocabulary development. First, vocabulary growth occurs when children
relate words to real world experiences or concrete events. Second, vocabulary acquisition occurs
when students are able to personalize words and make them their own.
A simple way of helping students’ vocabulary grow is to immerse them in experiences and
words. One useful way is to immerse children are through teacher read alouds. Read alouds can
introduce words in context and situations that the student can experience and figure out without
calling attention to themselves.
A second way to develop vocabulary is for students to be able to talk to each other and to adults
about things they experience. Students gain when they have the chance to use and share words
with other people.
A vocabulary cluster is a prereading or after reading activity that elaborates on the vocabulary
words from a text. It is appropriate for use with science and social studies concepts. Students
can benefit from relating known information to define the unfamiliar vocabulary word. Using
context clues from the content of the text, the teacher places the vocabulary word in the middle
then extends out from the word with definitions, examples, or related material. Allowing the
students to contribute and make predictions deepens the understanding of the word.
The word wall provides opportunities for students to increase their vocabulary throughout the
school day. Words are placed on a wall for the students to see. The words to be placed on the
word wall should be words that the students use in their writing daily, sight words, and words
that follow a pattern. By using words that follow a pattern, students can relate the knowledge to
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recognize additional words with that same pattern. An example is light and relating it to night,
sight, or right.
The student can use vocabulary context clues independently to determine the meaning of a word.
There are five strategies students can use to determine a word. It is easy for the students to
remember them by relating them to the five fingers on a hand. First, think about the story—think
about what was read previously in the story text. What would make sense to occur next in the
story? Second, check the picture for clues to relate to new vocabulary. Third, the student uses
their knowledge of letter sounds and blending to try to sound out the word or even parts of the
word. Fourth, relate back to previous knowledge of word families have the student look for
chunks in the different parts of the word. Fifth, have the student determine if the word looks like
a word on the word wall or one previously encountered.
Teach the students the three basic questions to always consider when reading:
Does it make sense?
Does it sound right?
Does it look right?
The student will be able to independently determine any new or unknown words.
Shared reading of a big book is a very effective way to promote vocabulary instruction. The
print on a big book is so large that all the students can see it. They are able to follow along as the
teacher tracks print and read the text. Choral reading of a big book in which the students read in
unison with the teacher as she reads is valuable. Shared reading of a big book involves the
teacher and students sharing the reading. For example, the teacher reads the text but allows the
students to read the repetitive section on each page. During the shared reading experience,
students are engaged in discussion about what they have read. They can make connections to the
text relating to their world.
Teacher read alouds give the teacher the opportunity to elaborate on new vocabulary and
unknown concepts as they are reading to the class. It is this time that the teacher can make
connections to previous learning or experiences. Reading aloud a variety of genres at many
times during the day allows the students to hear much more vocabulary. The exposure to
vocabulary increases the students’ knowledge. The more you read to them the more they learn.
Comprehension is the reason for reading. Reading without understanding what is being read is
not reading - it is calling out words. Comprehension is thinking and going beyond the literal
recall of facts. Comprehension also allows students to prosper and succeed in school especially
in the upper grades.
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The topic of comprehension is a large and complex issue. For ideas on teaching reading
comprehension, as well as an explanation of how it can be done see Pearson and Johnson (1978)
and Keene and Zimmerman (1997). For an explanation of specific reading strategies, see Cooper
(2006). For a more detailed examination of recent developments in comprehension, see Collins-
Block & Pressley (2002).
Successful comprehension instruction involves supplying students with guidance as they learn
how to make sense of what they read. Guidance is more then having them read a passage and
answer questions about what they have read. One form of guidance involves scaffolding.
Scaffolding means helping students think about a topic before they begin reading about it.
Scaffolding can involve something detailed like experiencing a food before reading about it or
something as simple as talking about a topic before reading. A second form of guidance involves
discussion. Students need a chance to relate what they are reading to their own lives and talk
about it with others. Finally, comprehension is developed by reading widely in different genres.
One graphic organizer is the story pyramid. The story pyramid allows the students to elaborate
on the different elements of a story. The top of the pyramid is the title of the story followed by
the setting and the characters. Towards the middle of the pyramid the students are given the
opportunity to explain the problem in the story. After the problem, the students relate what
happened at the beginning of the story, the middle of the story, and then the end of the story.
The last category for the story pyramid is the solution to the problem from the story. These
allow the English language learner to become familiar with story structure and comprehend the
content of the story.
Another graphic organizer is the story stair step. The stair step is a story retelling by the student
in which each part of the story is retold and placed in an ascending manner. The student can
retell the story elements and elaborate the plot of the story. A story stair step is useful for both
fiction and nonfiction text. For a nonfiction story, the students can elaborate on the new
information they have learned from the context.
KWL is a reading strategy developed by Dr. Donna Ogle. The strategy has three basic parts.
First, you ask the students what they know about a topic that they are going to read about. The
teacher writes the students’ ideas down on a sheet of paper or a black board under the “K”
section. Next, you ask the students what they want to know about the topic. These are written
down under the “W” section. Then the students read the book or passage. Afterwards, the
students say what they have learned. The strategy works with a paper divided into three parts like
shown on the slide or just writing a “k,” a “w”, and an “l” in different places on the board. KWLs
can be used with short stories or longer materials.
For a detailed explanation of “KWL,” see Donna Ogle (1986).
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Slide 56: “Other Suggestions”
Roach Van Allen’s work is still among the best, if not the best work on Language Experience
(Allen, 1976).
Now that we have viewed the power point we are going to assess your knowledge of what you
have learned today.
Slide 63:
Slide 64:
Slide 65:
Scenario 1
Slide 66:
Scenario 2
Slide 67:
Scenario 3
Slide 68:
Scenario 4
Slide 69:
Scenario 5
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References
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Allington R. L. (1983). Fluency: The neglected goal of the reading program. The Reading
Teacher, 36, 556-561.
Blachowicz, C., & Fisher, P. J. (2006). Teaching vocabulary in all classrooms. Upper Saddle,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
Collins-Block, C., & Pressley, M. (2002). Comprehension instruction: Research based best
practices. New York: Guildford Press.
Cooper, J. D. (2006). Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin.
Fisher, B., & Medvic, E. F. (2003). For reading out loud: Planning and practice. Portsmouth,
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Johnson, D. D. (2001). Vocabulary in the elementary and middle school. Boston, MA: Allyn and
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Norton, D. E. (2005). Multicultural children’s literature: Through the eyes of many children.
Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson.
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Rasinski, T. (2003). The fluent reader: Oral reading strategies for building word recognition,
fluency, and comprehension. New York, NY: Scholastic.
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teacher needs to know. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
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