Transcript Reaching & Teaching Students who Resist Putting Pen to Paper

Reading with your child in French
Immersion: What research tells us and
how it can help you read with your child
to promote success in both languages!
EDPY 903 Final Project
M.Ed. In Educational Psychology,
University of Alberta, 2011
P. Natos-Parrila
Definition of Literacy
• Literacy is the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate, compute and use
printed and written materials associated with
varying contexts.
• Literacy involves a continuum of learning to
enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to
develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to
participate fully in the wider society.
• UNESCO
What does it mean to be a fluent
reader?
• The following is an excerpt from the famous nonsense
poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. Try reading it aloud.
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
How did you feel? Could read this as if you knew what it
meant if you had to – could you ‘fake’ it?
Reading research tells us that:
• These skills - sounding out letters and
breaking words apart into patterns – are
learned. We all sound out words and we may
not be aware of it.
• We learned these skills consciously at one
time, and as we improved, they became
automatic and unconscious to us; children
need to go through the process of learning the
skills consciously and practicing them until
they become automatic.
http://foundationsforliteracy.ca
Challenges to Literacy Development
Why is literacy so important?
• 28% of Canadian 6-year-olds have cognitive or
behavioral problems, which make them
unprepared for the challenges of Grade 1
• At ages 4 and 5, about 1/5 of all children show
delays in vocabulary development
(Willms, 2002)
(Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth
Services)
• Many children who successfully learn to read in
Grade 1 or 2 are unable to understand books they
need to read by Grade 3 or 4
(Scarborough, 2001; Spira, Bracken, & Fischel, 2005;
Storch & Whitehurst, 2002; Rupley & Nichols, 2005)
Why is literacy so important?
• By Grade 3, 1/3 (Ontario) students fails to meet the
provincial standards for reading and writing
• 40% of Grade 4 students read at low fluency levels
(Daane, Campbell, Grigg, Goodman, & Oranje, 2005)
• Students who score
lower on fluency also
score lower on
comprehension
(Jenkins, Fuchs, Espin, van den Broek, & Deno, 2003)
Exploding Reading Myths
Myth 1
• Learning to read, like learning to talk, is
a natural process
• Response from research: oral language
develops naturally from birth; however, not all
children will learn to read without proper
instruction
• Systematic exposure to early literacy is the
foundation for later instruction.
(Lyon, 1998; Pressley, 2006)
Myth 2
• Genetics rule: if a child has dyslexia, he
or she cannot be helped
• Response from research: Although dyslexia is
influenced by genetics, most children with
dyslexia can learn to read
(Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes, 2007; Olson, 2006)
• Early intervention both at home and at school can
have an important impact
• Providing a rich home literacy environment early
on and working closely with the school is key!
Myth 3
• If you start at a disadvantage, you will
never catch up
• Response from research: Children who enter
school at-risk for reading difficulties can become
strong readers if they have skilled literacy teachers
for two years in a row
(Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998)
• Support from small group (differentiated)
instruction in the classroom and targeted small
group instruction from trained reading teachers
may also be necessary for certain students to catch
up; a process that often takes more than one school
year.
Myth 4
• After Grade 3, children are finished
learning how to read
• Response from research: Not every aspect of
reading has been taught or learned before a
child completes Grade 3
• In a second language context, students are
learning to read throughout elementary school
as vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar
become increasingly complex.
• Generally, learning to read is throughout
elementary years in French immersion with
reading to learn a concurrent goal in a second
language that spans many years of study.
(Pressley, 2006)
Learning the finer points of any second language can last
many years.
How to support my child’s reading in
French…when I don’t speak French?
What research tells us:
•Developing reading skills in one’s own maternal language
can be a predictor of success or failure in a second language.
Early intervention in English can help a child transfer
fundamental reading skills to French. (Jared et al., 2011)
•Researchers also support the existence of a link between
English phoneme manipulation in kindergarten and both
English and French reading outcomes in Grade 2. These
results provide information about what phonological
awareness measures can be used in kindergarten to predict
later reading outcomes for children learning to read in an L2
(Haigh et al., 2011).
What does this mean for my child?
Reading in English first matters….in fact, it helps!
•Several research studies have concluded that the ‘variables
that predicted English reading development were consistent
with studies of monolingual English children, even though
participants were concurrently learning to read in French.
(Desrosiers, 2009, Genesee,et al., 2011, Jared et al., 2011)
•[These] findings provide evidence that at least some of the
skills that play a role in learning to read are general cognitive
and linguistic skills that transfer across languages and that
phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, rapid
automatized naming, and grammatical ability in English were
able to predict reading ability in French (Jared et al., 2011)
Support for the Transfer of Skills From First
Language to Second Language
• The following video clip is of Dr. Fred Genesee, McGill
University, speaking about the connection between first
language acquisition (L1) and how that impacts second
language learning (L2) in a French Immersion setting,
which may include English language instruction at the end
of division one (Gr.2 or 3) or earlier (Kindergarten).
• At risk learners are also discussed in terms of the link
between using English assessments early on – often in
Grade one – to identify students at risk for reading
problems in French in later
grades.http://foundationsforliteracy.ca/index.php/D._Supp
ort_for_the_Transfer_of_Skills_From_First_Language_to_
Second_Language
How you can help – first steps:
• The foundation for future language and literacy
skills is laid in early childhood
(Coulombe,
Tremblay, & Marchand, 2004)
• Parents are the first ‘teachers’…so singing songs,
making up silly rhymes and just playing with
language is really important – it is ‘phonemic
awareness’ and it trains an early reader to do this
in any language.
• All that you do in your first
Language builds the
Foundation for any second
language.
What are the ‘must haves’ or the Components
of Literacy Development
Concepts about Print/Print Awareness
• Early exposure to text in the home environment
influences print awareness
• Multiple exposures = increased print awareness
(Wood, 2004; Cunningham & Allington, 2007)
• With a literacy-rich environment and explicit
instruction at school, children can catch up with
their peers (Cunningham & Allington, 2007)
• For French Immersion students, a
solid base in their first language
helps to learn a second language
Components of Literacy Development
Connecting Speech Sounds to Print/Decoding
• Oral language and print development must be closely integrated
and coordinated in reading instruction (Blaiklock, 2004; Foorman, Chen, Carlson,
Moats, Francis, & Fletcher, 2003; Schneider, Roth, & Ennemoser, 2000; What Works Clearinghouse, 2006b)
• Television shows such as, 'Between the Lions’, ‘Word World’,
‘Super Why’, ‘Sesame Street', and ‘Electric Company’ are worth
watching as they all target these key skills.
• And, watching French kids programming on television is an
excellent addition to time well spent on
good viewing activities.
Connecting Speech Sounds to Print/Decoding
Phonological Awareness
• Definition: All aspects of speech processing and
production
• Regular exposure to activities that promote phonological
awareness skills enhance reading development (Blachman,
2000)
• Activities: Syllable segmentation, Rhyming, Phoneme
isolation
http://foundationsforliteracy.ca
• (Examples: sing ‘Down by the Bay’, sound out a word
and add a new beginning, middle, end to make a new
word or nonsense word, write your spelling words on
paper, then cut up and move them around, put them back
together again…)
Connecting Speech Sounds to Print/Decoding
(cont’d)
What is the Alphabetic Principle and Phonics
• Alphabetic Principle – understanding that letters and letter
patterns in written words represent the phonemes in spoken
words in systematic, predictable relationships
• Phonics – teaching term for the study of the alphabetic
principle
http://foundationsforliteracy.ca
• Play with word families, adding and taking away sounds,
looking for patterns – which words start the same way or
end the same way?
• Play clapping and rhyming
games that reinforce both!
The Alphabetic Principle and Phonics
Synthetic or specific Phonics Instruction
• Teach specific pronunciation patterns (e.g., silent ‘e’ rule)
as well as exceptions in irregular words (e.g., through)
• Provide many examples to build sight word recognition of
irregular words
• Allow inventive spellings to practice connecting sounds
with letter patterns; once the connection is made,
• Correct spelling patterns should be emphasized.
(http://foundationsforliteracy.ca)
• Listen to spelling music CD’s in the car (ex: Sarah Jordan),
and explain ‘rules’ about language as you read together.
Creating a literature rich environment…
Encourage your child to…
• Take out books from the
School and/or local library
At his/her independent reading
Level (this means about a
10 – 15% error rate that is not
difficult to explain to someone)
• Buy and trade friends for both French and English books –
translations of English favorites into French is an excellent
way to learn new vocabulary and ensure comprehension!
(Ex: Magic Treehouse)
• Ask your child to explain what is going on in a French
book or what a particular word means so that you monitor
understanding even if you don’t speak French – most kids
won’t make up a definition – but will let you look it up for
them!
What do good readers do that also leads to
good writing?
What do
good readers
do?
What do
good writers
do?
What do effective parents do?
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First and foremost, create a motivating and risk-free
environment that is scheduled and predictable.
Teach strategies by asking the right questions:
Talking about the kind of words the author chose
Finding the rhymes or the patterns in the words
(word families – ing, and, ap, ot, ight, etc…)
Pointing out the repetition in words or ideas
Noticing (and discussing) the illustrations – do they match
the words on the page? How closely?
Retell the story just looking at the pictures
Make up a new ending, beginning, or setting etc..
Play with the same story before moving on – read and reread and ‘mine’ a favorite book!
Ask many questions and let your child
be the expert! Try the HI 5…and then
some!
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Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
What now?
How?
What if?
Have you ever?
What if my child is struggling with reading –
how you can help:
•Parents are often the first to get a sense that their child may
be experiencing difficulty.
•According to research, early intervention is key and can
prevent reading difficulties later on.
•When students struggle at school, it is essential to have
targeted small group or one on one support – in any language.
•Prevention and early literacy are key: the following video
clip discusses the role of parents in fostering strong literacy
skills. Dr. Janette Pelletier speaks to strong home-school
collaborations and the value of playing with language at home
early on.
http://foundationsforliteracy.ca/index.php/Video_29:_Janette_
Pelletier_–_Role_of_parents
Why learn another language
The kitty and the goldfish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLSoxZyhau8
funny video
Discussion Questions
• What have I learned about early print
awareness and how to help my child?
• What have I learned about
reading development in general?
• What have I learned about helping my child
succeed in French Immersion?
• What can I do to ensure my child continues to
develop the best possible reading ability in
English and French?
• Other questions?
Benjamin Franklin - "Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember. Involve me
and I learn.”
Thank you!
et
Merci!
Questions?
An example of home reading !
Further reading on home reading research:
• Sénéchal, M. (2006). Testing the home literacy model:
Parent involvement in kindergarten is differentially related
to grade 4 reading comprehension, fluency, spelling, and
reading for pleasure. Scientific Studies of Reading, 10, 59-87.
• Sénéchal, M., & LeFevre, J. (2002). Parental involvement
in the development of children's reading skill: A five-year
longitudinal study. Child Development, 73, 445-460.
• Tabors, P. O., Snow, C. E., & Dickinson, D. K. (2001).
Homes and schools together: Supporting language and
literacy development. In D. K. Dickinson, & P. O. Tabors
(Eds.), Beginning literacy with language: Young children
learning at home and school (pp. 313-334). Baltimore, MD, US: Paul H
Brookes Publishing.
Further reading on reading outcomes with French
Immersion students:
• Jared, D, Cormier, P., Levy, B.A., Wade-Wooley, L.
(2011). Early predictors of biliteracy development in
children in French immersion : A 4-year longitudinal
study. Journal of Education Psychology, 103(1), 119-139.
• Fostering Reading Acquisition in French Immersion
Written by: Monique Bournot-Trites, Department of Language
& Literacy Education,The University of British Columbia.
http://www.literacyencyclopedia.ca/index.php?fa=items.show&topicId=240
• Literacy Outcomes in French Immersion. Fred Genesee,
Ph.D., Department of Psychology, McGill University (2007)
http://www.literacyencyclopedia.ca/index.php?fa=items.show&topicId=27