English Language Learners & Library Partnerships

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English Language Learners Library Partnerships

• Ruth Hall, ACL, Earl Haig SS Library, TDSB
• Sandy Katz, Instructional Leader, ESL/ELD, TDSB
• Session 1808
• Ontario Library Association Superconference, Feb
  27, 2010

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Workshop Focus

• Relationships with ESL students
• ESL curriculum and research tasks
• Connections to a Research Model
• Building a skills continuum with research
  assignments
• Modifications and accommodations for ESL learners
• Other Issues Differentiated End Products

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What does it mean..

• ELL,
• ELD,
• ESL

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Building Relationships

• The Library is a safe place
• T-L connects with many classes, subjects, grades
• Support students
• Help with assignments, resources, avoiding
  plagiarism
• Support teachers
• Help with assignments, resources, avoiding
  plagiarism

Library as ESL advocate
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Curriculum Rationale

• Inquiry is at the heart of learning in all
  subject areas. p.52

• In ESL and ELD courses, students will develop
  their ability to pose questions and to explore a
  variety of answers to those questions p.52
• ESL and ELD Ontario Curriculum grades 9 -12 (2007)

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Locating Information
ESLAO, ESLBO, ESLCO

• Locate key information relating to the school and
  community in a variety of simple texts
• Locate information for a variety of purposes in
  simplified or adapted informational and graphic
  texts selected in collaboration with the
  teacher-librarian
• Locate information on classroom topics from
  appropriate research materials selected in
  consultation with the teacher-librarian, and
  acknowledge their sources

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Extract Organize Information
ESLAO, ESLBO, ESLCO

• Extract and organize key facts from information
  texts designed or adapted for beginning learners
  of English
• Extract information from informational and
  graphic texts designed or adapted for English
  language learners, and organize it using a
  graphic organizer
• Extract information from a variety of sources and
  organize it using appropriate outlines and
  graphic organizers

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Critical Thinking
ESLAO, ESLBO, ESLCO

• Identify the sources of information used
• Compare information from a number of sources on a
  topic for a classroom research assignment
• Identify sources of information used and evaluate
  them for reliability and point of view

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Inquiry ESL Friendly Assignments

• Teacher-librarian offers help with
• Creating or modifying the assignment
• Finding resources at the right level
• Co-teaching
• Assessment

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Library Resources

• Elementary resources which can be modified to
  hide the junior audience
• Sources with headings and graphics
• Online encyclopedias and reference books
• Online news articles (different levels)
• Reluctant reader materials
• Knowledge Ontario databases
• Elementary KO resources
• Recommended websites (pathfinders)
• Public Library

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Considerations with English Language Learners
(ELL)

• Support literacy skills in first language
• Expect use of first language
• Silent period
• Opportunities to demonstrate what they know
• Different end products, not always language based
• Teach reading strategies (features of text)
• Projects should support broad language
  acquisition
• Move beyond mere copying to critical thinking
• Providing resources as a way to focus students

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What is school like in other places?

• Learning environment
• Role of teacher
• Type of learning - K/U
• Challenges with critical thinking
• Plagiarism issues

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Research Model have kids had this kind of
teaching?
A MODEL FOR INQUIRY
Together for Learning school libraries and the
emergence of the Learning Commons a vision for
the 21st century. OSLA. (2010)
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Why a research model works for ELLs

• Provides a structure or map for students
• consistency and common language
• transferable to all subjects and grade
• framework for
• designing projects
• developing skills
• assessing evaluating

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Stage 1 Exploring(Preparing for Research)

• Starts in the classroom
• Introduce content
• Introduce skills
• Engage interest

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ESL A Stage 1 Preparing

• The Animals Project
• Start with classroom activities about riddles
  answer question about wolves
• Students learn how to answer questions on a
  nonfiction topic using a graphic organizer
• Engage interest using visuals which allow
  students to engage prior knowledge and to choose
  topics
• Quick write (from the picture prior knowledge)
• Next step - research in the library

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ESL B Stage 1 Preparing

• The Unexplained Mysteries Project
• In classroom read Marie Celeste
• Practice writing and answering 5 W research
  questions
• Brainstorm - what other unexplained mysteries do
  you know?
• View slideshow of mystery topics
• Guess what it is
• What its called
• What makes this a mystery
• Choose 1 mystery to research in the library
• Write research questions

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ESLC Stage 1 - Preparing

• Inventors and their Inventions Project
• In classroom teacher introduces the inventor,
  Alexander Graham Bell
• Use the question matrix to create questions about
  Bell under the headings
• The inventor
• The process
• The invention
• Read a simple info text on Bell to find answers
• Formative activity
• View CBC Website - choose an invention

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The Greatest Canadian Invention
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Using the Research Process Putting it into
Context

• Ensures students understand the research project
• Activates students prior knowledge and higher
  level thinking skills
• Acknowledges the need for accessible resources
• Diminishes cut and paste research assignments
• Teaches students a transferable skill

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Using the Research Process Putting it into
Context cont

• High Yield strategies
• Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers - 22
  (Marzano)
• Note-taking Summarizing - 34 (Marzano)
• Other than attendance, the greatest impact on
  student achievement comes from non-fiction
  writing (Reeves)

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After Stage 1 A through C

• Take some time to notice how the projects fits
  into the steps of the research process
• Use the graphic organizer to identify the
  scaffolding of skills from level A to C

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Modifications Accommodations

• Working with ELL students who are not in ESL
  classes
• adaptation
• accommodations /or modifications
• OR Differentiated Instruction (DI)

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What is Differentiated Instruction (DI)

• (Based on Carol Tomlinsons model of
  differentiated instruction)

Differentiated Instruction
Product
Process
Content
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ELL Considerations

• Research in first language (background)
• Building literacy skills in both languages
• KO - translation
• MP3
• A note about Wikipedia

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Knowledge Ontario

• Gale Cengage - Virtual Reference Collection
  Science of Everyday Things

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Writing Questions Putting it into Context

• Taps into students prior knowledge
• Clarifies/reinforces knowledge and
• understanding
• Provides a low-risk environment where ELLs can
  share ideas and participate in consensus-building
  tasks

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Writing-to-learn strategy Graffiti

• Put students in groups of 3
• Choose from 6 WH charts to stand beside
• Write research questions for the topic The
  Bermuda Triangle under your wh heading
• Every 3 minutes move to the next chart.
• Read the questions on the chart and add your own.
  
• Go back to where you started. Label the questions
  thick and thin.
• Choose the three best questions and present them
  to the group.

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Other Issues Plagiarism

• How to minimize copy paste responses
• Answering questions, not general topics
• Being engaged in the topic
• Use of visuals to activating prior knowledge
• Formative activities in the classroom
• Student generated questions, not teacher
• Monitor the process in stages (e.g. notes by
  source, storyboard planner)

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Other Issues Presentations

• Using Storyboard organizers to plan effective
  presentations
• Why breaking down tasks is essential
• How storyboarding works
• Understanding the difference between slide
  content and spoken content
• Plan first - use computer after

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Different End Products

• The process remains the same but the outcome can
  be different
• Provide a situation - zoo guide, invention
  convetion
• create a podcast to listen to at each station
• Use comic life to publish your mystery on the web
• Forest of Reading - class book club in wiki

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White Pine Wiki
tabs make navigation simple
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The goals of the White Pine Award program

• promote reading for enjoyment
• make students aware of Canadian issues addressed
  in young adult books
• provide opportunities for students to discuss the
  nominated titles in an authentic, academic manner

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Student responses

• When you dont feel the school and class
  environment, I think you feel more comfortable so
  you can share ideas easier.
• We need to use formal English we cant use MSN
  language or swearing words. And it can correct
  our bad habits.

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Benefits of ESL-Library Relationship

• Build student trust
• Ongoing support, all subjects
• Safe haven
• Skill building, all grades
• Access to technology
• Support new
• experienced teachers

http//balancingacts.wordpress.com/
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The Exit Slip Strategy Final Reflections

• Reflection Framework 1
• 3 important ideas that I want to remember
• 2 things I would like to know more about
• 1 idea/strategy that I will implement with my
  students

• 2

• OR

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Thank you very much!
ESL Library - partners in student
success