Improving Comprehension: Part 5

Welcome to the last part of the Reading Comprehension Series!

If you're just joining us, check out parts 1-4 to get up to date!
Part 1: Research and Questions
Part 2: Purpose and Methods
Part 3: Evidence from the Classroom
Part 4: Results and Conclusions

So, what does all of this mean for my future classrooms, and what can I do next?

Improving Comprehension: Part 4

Welcome back to the Improving Reading Comprehension Series!

Don't forget to check out Parts 1-3!
Part 1: Research and Questions
Part 2: Purpose and Methods
Part 3: Evidence from the Classroom

Five For Friday

 

It's that time again! I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for their weekly linky party!

Improving Comprehension: Part 3

Welcome back! Here is the third part of the Improving Comprehension Series for ELLs - the evidence straight from the classroom!

If you are just joining us, don't forget to check out Part 1 and 2 by clicking the links below.

Improving Comprehension Part 1

Improving Comprehension Part 2

I don't know about you, but I love data!!! After completing the reading assessments as I outlined in Part 2, I took the information and put it into some graphs so I could easily see the trends and growth. 

These first four graphs show the students growth from the assessments done in Fall and the assessments I just completed, labeled Spring. The students are anonymously labeled as 1-22 along the bottom. The numbers used were an average of a fiction passage and a non-fiction passage.

Improving Comprehension: Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my Improving Reading Comprehension Series!

You can find Part 1 here. I got a lot of awesome feedback, so thank you!

Purpose of Inquiry

The purpose of this inquiry is to find the correlation between reading fluency and reading comprehension in first language Arabic speaking ELL students, and what specific strategies allow for improvement of this relationship.

I hypothesize that the correlation between reading fluency and reading comprehension in ELL students is weaker than those of first language English speakers, therefore suggesting that traditional reading fluency assessments and strategies may not accurately predict or strengthen reading comprehension in ELL students. This may also mean that traditional reading fluency and comprehension strategies that are currently used for these students may not be the most effective. 

Method

To begin my inquiry, I will use a traditional (American) reading fluency benchmark assessment to assess student readings levels, words per minute, ability to retell and comprehension of the text. The assessment being used is the Journeys benchmark assessment by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This information will give me a basis to draw conclusions from, and show the connection between the students' reading fluency and their comprehension. This data will also be compared to data taken at the beginning of the school year to outline progress made and what strategies may have been responsible for that growth. 

*Although the students in this study are in Grade 5, the study will use the Grade 4 reading passages in order to more easily access the text. The data will come from one fiction text and one non-fiction text.

Once the data has been reflected on, I will outline some if/then statements that I will try in my classroom.  I will document this information with anecdotal notes, pictures and work samples to show whether a strategy was useful or not, and what next steps could be taken. Look for this evidence in next Friday's post - Part 3!

Improving Comprehension: Part 1

Welcome to the Improving Reading Comprehension Series!

This will begin a series of 5 posts about the relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension, especially in ELL/ESL students. For the purpose of this post and further posts about this topic, I will refer to students whose first language is something other than English as ELLs or English Language Learners. You can expect to be given the most important research that has been found, and over the course of the five blog posts hopefully gained some valuable knowledge and strategies about teaching ELL students!

Part 1: Introduction, Research & Asking Questions
Part 2: Purpose of Inquiry and Methods
Part 3: Evidence from the Classroom
Part 4: Results & Conclusions
Part 5: Next Steps

So, let's get started! I will keep it brief to begin.

Whether you teach ELL students or not, you know that the relationship between fluency and comprehension is important. Almost all research suggests that reading fluency in native English speakers is a direct indication of their reading achievement and reading comprehension level. In ELL students, I have found that this is not the case. I see a large gap between oral reading fluency and what the students can comprehend, in my experience.  In an article written by Matthew Quirk & Sofie Beem (2012), a study was done that found the correlation between reading fluency and reading comprehension was weaker in ELL students than that of native English speakers.  There have been a number of studies done in specific countries to examine this correlation including Turkey, Thailand, Korea, and Egypt that I could find so far.

In the setting I currently teach in, all the students in my class are ELLs. There are no native English speakers at all, so one challenge I face is students speaking in Arabic when they 'turn and talk' as we are discussing a text. It then becomes a challenge for them to translate back what they were discussing in Arabic so that I can understand as well. Other challenges I find are irrelevant content, context and challenging vocabulary. Making meaning is especially important for these students.

I would love your feedback to help me focus in on some specific aspects of reading that you find your students particularly struggle with.  Please post answers to any of the following questions in the comments section below! Please begin with a line about where you teach and the makeup of your classroom.

• Do you find there is a disconnect between fluency and comprehension in your ELL students? 
• What is the biggest challenge you face when teaching reading to ELL students?
• What strategies do you use to ensure students are comprehending what they are reading?

Thank you, I really appreciate your feedback!

Game Board Culminating Activity

You're a teacher. The end of the year is coming. You're tired, and your mind is quickly moving into "summer mode".  How are you going to tie it all together? Let me tell you! With a fun [no prep for you] board game where students can show what they know!
It is completely ready to print, differentiated and all! Students will create questions about anything they have learned in the past term, and you can choose what subjects to include. Click any of the pictures below for a closer look!

The student explanation sheet has blank spaces for you to modify the project to fit the needs of your class. You can decide how many question cards are needed and what subjects the students will write questions about. Also included are three different rubrics - one marked using points and two marked used 4 levels. One leveled rubric includes a self and peer assessment, while the other doesn't.

Students will be required to complete a planning sheet where they will decide on a theme, and also complete a rules sheet. The good copy can be included in the final game package so others will know how to play! There are explicit teacher instructions included in the download.

These little ones decided on a transportation theme. They made their game board into a road, and their game pieces were modes of transportation: a car, bus, train, plane and helicopter. They made their question cards in the shapes of cars. You could even stop at Starbucks on your way around the track. :)

Very colourful! They loved decorating the game boards.

Reading each other questions to move ahead on the board. They loved to play each others games afterwards! This was a true test to see if their instructions were clear enough for another group to understand.

So excited they are crawling on the desks!

I hope you and your class enjoy this activity as much as we did! It will be something I will keep using for a long time to come, and I hope you will too!

Two Writing Activities and an April Freebie!

Welcome Spring! Not that we really have spring here in the UAE.. it pretty much goes from kinda hot to really hot, in a hurry! Either way, I am feeling quite springy! That's why I created this awesome resource for my students - a Spring Reading Challenge. Spring Break ends this week for the students (although we have been back since Sunday!!! - blog post coming soon about my holiday), so I was looking for a way to get them excited about reading again as the end of the year comes closer! I decided to make this to do just that :). This allows them to keep track of their books using a fun coloring page. Also included are two different types of tracking sheets for the books the students have read, as well as two different versions of a goal setting sheet. The best part? There are three differentiated reading response menus (or choice boards) where the students can choose what activity they want to do! I will be using this during their independent reading time in our reading workshops and during our centers. The other best part? NO PREP! Ready to go and easy to use.  You can decide as a class what their reward will be if they reach their personal goals, or you can decide for them. You could also set goals for each reading group. You can use it however you choose! I hope your students can enjoy it as much as I know mine will! I will add some pictures of my students using this once they return back to school.

Spring Reading Challenge - Get your students excited about reading again!

The other new product I am excited about is my Comic Strip packet. Earlier I posted a comic strip pack that was related to the American Revolution, which my students LOVED! They did a really great job on their comic strips. It had me thinking that comic strips can be used for pretty much anything, and the kids really enjoy it. So, here is an easy, NO PREP, fun way to have your students show what they know! There are options for 4, 5, 6 or 8 frames - brainstorming sheets, planning sheets and good copies. There are also 3 options of rubrics as well. If you needed an alternative to the three provided, I would also be happy to alter one for you. You could use this for many years to come!!! Check it out:

No prep Comic Strip Packet! Planning sheets, templates and rubrics!

 And here is the moment you've been waiting for.. your April freebie! Sorry for it being late, with Spring Break and the lack of internet while on a cruise I had a few technical difficulties. Better late than never!!!

Maybe you are a KG teacher or primary teacher and your students are working on your writing, or maybe you're like me and your middle school students need some extra handwriting practice!! This is just a simple handwriting booklet where students can work on all the letters and write sentences to practice the letters in context. Click the photo for the free download! Please remember to leave feedback. :)

 

 Thanks for stopping by!