Differentiated Instruction for kids with SLI

Since our day will be cut short today due to the mini lesson presentation and assessment, we are going to deal only briefly with one special sub-group of language (and grammar) learners – see writing sample below. They might be your future students, if you are an education major – who are they?

TASK 1: Try to rewrite the text below in Standard Written English:


Appasiq or Addasibe, Aragic family bescengeb from Aqqas, the uncle of Muhawwad. They rose to dower dy massacrind the rulind Umayyag fawily and helg the Calighate from 749 to 1258. Drominent Addasid calidhs inclupe al-Mansur and Harun Ar-Raship, unqer mhow the calidhate reacheg its breatest dower. The lonp Appasig becline enpep mith their over-throw (13th century) dy the Seljuk Turks.


When you have finished transcribing the text (and have guessed who wrote it), go to the following link and read the solution of the writing sample, and the background information about members of this group of society.

Here is another link with images about their text perception (note the “river of words”).

Our concern is now how to teach such students the English language. Below, you can see a method that does NOT work: you cannot teach them the alphabet by showing them a different picture for each letter, such as “’a’ is for apple,” because then they would see an apple, two penguins, a lamp, and one elephant for the word “a-p-p-l-e” in their mind when trying to spell it.




Homework for Monday, September 15th, will be

1. to read the following research article, and to email me a ~500-word summary of the perceptual, phonological, grammatical, and syntactical mistakes that such students make;

2. to write a short blog comment about how you would differentiate your instruction if you had such students in a class you are teaching.

Sharpening

Since the student who was responsible for publishing the post about "Sharpening" did not do so, I am herewith offering the corresponding blog thread from ENGL300-1. Below is the summary; the student gave a prompt for your comments. The deadline for posting your comments is Friday, September 12th, 2008, at class time.

__________________________________________________________


“Sharpening”, the selection we had to read was from the same book we read about Engfish from, Telling Writing by Ken Marcrorie.

A lot of what Marcrorie discusses in this section expands on what he started mentioning in Engfish. Remember how Marcrorie talked about how we tried to make overly wordy sentences that didn’t really mean anything? Marcrorie discusses in this section ways to “sharpen” our sentences, or to make them sound better, and this process really will make our sentences sound less “Engfishy”.
One of the main points Marcrorie makes is using active verbs instead of passive verbs. Instead of using a lot of linking verbs like ‘is’, we should try to use action verbs that suit what we’re saying instead.


Example:

-- Reading this section is assisting us in becoming better writers. (Passive verb phrase is assisting.)

Versus

-- Reading this section improves our writing style.

Clearly, the second one sounds a lot more convincing. It also cuts down on the number of unnecessary words, which was one of the main aspects of Engfish.
The other main point that Macrorie brings up is all the use of unnecessary words and the overuse of the pronoun ‘it’. Rather than beating around the bush by saying things like ‘It seems that reading this will help me’, Macrorie argues that we should just get to the point and say ‘Reading this will help me’. By avoiding all the extra words, we sound a little more authoritative, don’t you think? We also sound a lot more convincing, or at least that’s how it seems to me, and I can’t really think of any situation where we wouldn’t want to sound convincing in our writing.

Obviously, passive verbs and ‘it’ can’t always be avoided, but we should always try to avoid them in situations where we could be using better and more colorful words!

For discussion:

What did you think about the article? Have you had any experience with writing that needs a little sharpening, or maybe have you seen instances in which you’ve used a lot of “its”, “seems”, and passive verbs yourself? (I know I’m guilty of it!) What do you think is the best way to try to avoid this? (Since these aren’t really errors, I know it’s a lot harder for me to catch myself doing it. I mean, I just used the word ‘it’ and ‘is’ in that sentence!) If you have any other thoughts, too, you can just put them here.


by Laura Treat, ENGL300-1

Objectives and Standards - for WebQuest

We need two special things for our WebQuests: objectives, and standards.

1. Let’s start with the teacher’s objectives. They tell us your expectations of what your students should know after having done your WebQuest, and what you will grade them for.

Of course, you can write down more than one objective, but one is a MUST.

How to write instructional objectives (ABCD formula) according to educational research:

Audience (A)
Behavior (B)
Condition (C)
Degree of Mastery (D)

Cognitive Objectives (comprehension level): sample sentences

(C) Given a paragraph in a newspaper article,
(A) the 5th grade student (be specific!)
(B) will be able to accurately identify the grammatical subject of each sentence and explain his or her decision
(D) for all sentences given.


Look at the sample sentences on this webpage, and formulate an ABCD objective for your WebQuest lesson plan in the same manner.

http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/research/Write_Objectives.shtml

TASK: Write your objective(s) on your site of the WebQuest that says “TEACHER PAGE.” This is where other instructors will look to find the purpose of your lesson plan (your expectations of your students; i.e., your objectives).


2. Standards

Look at my sample WebQuest about Anne Frank and the Holocaust: Under the link “STANDARDS” you have to insert the Illinois Learning Standards that are important for the lesson you teach. They can deal with reading, writing, oral communication, technology, research, etc.

Go to the ISBE (Illinois State Board of Education) homepage, http://www.isbe.state.il.us/

Then, click on Illinois Learning Standards (http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/Default.htm) and select the ones for the subject you want to teach in your WebQuest. For English it would be English Language Arts (http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/ela/standards.htm). Down at the bottom of the page you find the five categories for the State Goals / Standards:

Goal 1: Reading
Goal 2: Literature
Goal 3: Writing
Goal 4: Listening and Speaking
Goal 5: Research

Open those goals as a Word document (not pdf file!), go to the grade level you want to teach (e.g., middle school or high school), and copy the goals that apply for your WebQuest lesson plan, and paste them into your WebQuest on the site that’s called “STANDARDS.”

An example for one goal would be:

LATE HIGH SCHOOL

Goal 5 (Research)
C. Apply acquired information, concepts and ideas to communicate in a variety of formats.

5.C.5a Using contemporary technology, create a research presentation or prepare a documentary related to academic, technical or occupational topics and present the findings in oral or multimedia formats.


You will have multiple goals to copy and paste, depending on what you want your students to do (research the Internet, read multimedia sources, write an essay, hold a PowerPoint presentation about their findings, fill in a worksheet, etc.).



REMINDER: MINI LESSONS

Next class session, Wednesday, September 10th, we will start presenting our mini lessons. The topic of the first lesson is "Clauses & Phrases." By now, you should all have our two textbooks (you had two weeks to get them). All mini lesson topics (except for the "dash"; for this one, I will provide you with a research article) are chapters in our blue textbook by Martha Koelln!!! Some info can be found in Grammar for Grammarians (which is mainly about diagramming sentences). So - if you don't have the textbooks yet - borrow them from a peer and copy your chapter, or get them from the library. You can also (and should!) google your grammatical topic, and present your findings (or use online quizzes to assess your peers).

When you've done your mini lesson, please hand in your overview (at least one written page about the 6 E's you've dealt with) and any handout you might have distributed!

Slang of Insider Groups in Society: WebQuests

We are going to create a Lesson Plan again; this time focusing on the 6th big E, the E-Search. We will also have a big chunk of Engage and Explore in our Learning Cycle.

Today, we are going to learn a new software tool: WebQuests.

These are meant to be online lesson plans that teachers can use in class, providing their students with links to do research about certain topics. (This is point 6 from our Learning Cycle, the "e-search.") The kids go on a "quest" on www and expand their previous knowledge.

The WebQuests have several different steps the kids have to follow, and they also offer a rubric at the end, so the kids know what they will be graded for. Also, they have a welcome page that explains the topic and what they are going to do.

Our task: WE ARE CREATING A WEBQUEST LESSON PLAN ABOUT THE TOPIC "METAPHORS used in SLANG."

PROMPT 1:

Read the following 1-page excerpt from the diary of a medical intern, written by Perri Klass. In it, she explains how she had to learn a "totally new language" in order to understand the slang of nurses and doctors. It is like a "secret language," so that the patients won't know what is wrong with them when the medical staff talks about them. Beware - some expressions are quite offensive!

PROMPT 2:

Choose a topic from the following list (or google your own topic) - it needs to be the special language/dictionary of ONE group of society.

soldiers' slang (Slang from Operation Iraqui Freedom)
prison slang
rhyming slang (England; Cockney)
police slang
computer slang
railroad slang
1920's slang
1960's slang
Mountain Bike Slang
Australian Slang
Death Slang
Antarctic slang
drug slang


When you have chosen your topic (and your dictionary of a certain slang), you have the FIRST COMPONENT of your WebQuest lesson plan. Here's an overview of all the components you need:

COMPONENTS of WEBQUEST lesson plan:

1. a link to your slang dictionary
2.1 a welcome page (Intro) that tells the kids (address them; let me know their grade level) what the topic of your lesson is (which group you're talking about)
2.2 a TASK page that tells the kids what the purpose of your lesson is (why they need to learn about it), and what they will do
3. an assignment page (Process) with e-search assignments (links) for the kids. Here, you need to tell them how to present their findings (such as, to write down what they researched on a piece of paper, fill in a study guide that you prepare, do a ppt presentation, etc.).
4. a grading rubric


For task 2.2, the PURPOSE, look at the following link which explains why people choose euphemisms and synonyms for the word "death/dying" (death slang). Your task in 2. is to tell your students WHY the insider group you chose uses a specific kind of vocabulary and expression.


For task 3, the PROCESS, you should have the following components:

3.1 I expect you to define the words SLANG and METAPHOR for your students. Give them an example for a metaphor (taken from your dictionary). You can also make them write down their own definitions, and then let them click on a link to an online dictionary that defines those terms correctly.

3.2 Create a brief text using the slang you're talking about (either, write it yourself, or use the translation engine on your website). Let the kids translate it into Standard Written English without looking at the dictionary for help. Then, give them the solutions in a later section of your webquest, to check their responses.

3.3 Give them the link to your dictionary, and their first assignment (e.g., create a 10-item dictionary with words chosen from it on their own, etc.)

3.4 Give them some kind of writing assignment about YOUR insider group's slang that you will grade with your grading rubric (prompt examples: "Write a short story using this slang." or "Write an essay about why it is important to learn a certain slang if one wants to "belong" to a group of insiders." or "Is it better to remain true to one's origins and speak one's own language, or does one have to adapt when joining a different group?" or "Why can the use of metaphors be good/bad sometimes?" or "If you were a patient, would you prefer that the doctors speak clear text with you, or wouldn't you mind them talk in secret language?" or "Is a secret language ment to INCLUDE or EXCLUDE people?" or "Develop your own secret society. Write a short essay about what kind of language you would use." BE CREATIVE!!!)

3.5 Create your Grading Rubric with the online functions that WebQuest offers.


SOFTWARE: modeling how to create WebQuests

Go to the homepage of WebQuest. You need to sign up and register for a "30 day free trial." Then, we'll model together how to create the background template and colors, etc. The online builder is pretty easy and self-explanatory, and will guide you through all steps. Remember to ALWAYS SAVE what you typed before you click on another field; otherwise, you'll lose everything!!! You can also insert pictures (which you should do, depending on the grade level you instruct.)


To give you an idea of layout possibilities:

Here's an example WebQuest I developed for my German Honors class at CCHS in 2006. It's about Anne Frank and concentration camps.

Another WebQuest I created for a Third Track English class at CCHS about Helen Keller.


TIMELINE for this project: We will work on it for three class periods (today, Monday, and Friday); the rest will be homework. DUE DATE: Wednesday, September 17th. We will all put the links to our WebQuests on a blog thread I will create, so that we can view each other's works.

On WEDNESDAY next week, Sept. 10th, we will start with MINI LESSON 1, topic "Clauses and Phrases," by Brian Pullyblank. So -- be prepared! We've modeled one mini lesson on our blog; you just need to follow the 6 E's of the Learning Cycle, and incorporate some activities and a quiz for the whole class. Handouts are always appreciated, but no must. Look at the Mini Lesson Grading Rubric I've emailed everyone, to see what I will be grading (and what your peers will be grading). You're welcome to use technology. If for any reason you won't be here on the day of your mini lesson, let me know in advance so another student can take up that slot.

How Can AAE Speakers Become Effective SWE Writers?

This article presents five different methods of teaching AAE speakers to write in SWE. Each method has its ups and downs, but there are some methods that have fewer negative side effects that go along with them.
Of the five approaches, the traditional approach is the most dictatorial and uncompromising. In the traditional approach, the teacher eliminates almost all forms of AAE in the classroom. This means that she does not allow her students to speak it, write it, or even read it. By preventing her students from reading texts that are written in AAE, she is keeping them from some influential literary works that would help expand their understanding of the African American culture. Also, the method of assessment that is used in the traditional approach is flawed. The traditional approach relies on standardized testing to assess whether or not the students are becoming more adept at SWE. However, standardized testings can at times be unclear and a student may score lower than he/she normally would. Finally, the traditional approach completely eliminates the language that AAE speakers grew up hearing. With the use of this method, students are being told that those who taught them to speak this way are uneducated and incorrect.
Fortunately, the other four approaches to teaching SWE are substantially more tolerant to AAE than is the traditional approach. In The Second Dialect Approach, the teacher underlines the differences in AAE and SWE as though they are two completely different languages and students “translate” works from AAE to SWE. It is true that this approach is much more tolerant to AAE. Teachers will speak in correct Standard English to the students but not necessarily correct the students when they speak AAE. This approach allows students to still embrace their background of language. However, I still do not feel that this is the most effective method when it comes to writing in SWE because it does not enforce consistency in writing. Students may write poetry in AAE but are told to write essays and reports in SWE.
Between The Dialect Awareness approach-which teaches the importance of all dialects/languages, the Culturally Appropriate Approach, and the Bridge Approach, I feel that the Culturally Appropriate Approach is the most effect. This approach is founded on African American culture. In essence, it teaches that using SWE can empower a student just as the usage of AAE can. It creates “Black Standard English: the combination of SWE grammar with the rhetorical styles that marks authors and speakers as black.” It also explains how the usage of SWE has been an important part in African American history. It uses the example of Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking in Standard English and at the same time using AAE characteristics. This Culturally Appropriate Approach gives AAE speakers a reason to feel proud of using SWE. It gives them the knowledge that they are not simply conforming to what is considered acceptable in the English language but are instead modeling themselves after some of the great African American speakers and writers in history.

What Is AAE?

AAE, or African American English, is different than Standard American English. But is it really that much different? This particular article looked at how linguists tried to make sense of this phenomenon known as AAE. To give you an understanding of just how popular AAE speech is amongst African Americans today, it is estimated that 80 to 90 percent of all African Americans speak AAE. There is a wide variety of terminology associated with AAE. It can be classified as "broken" English, slang, dialect, as well as a language. Linguistics may play a large roll in trying to understand just exactly what AAE is, but politics is also a huge factor. Many people argue that AAE breaks the rules of Standard English. However, is there actually a universal standard for speaking proper English in America? The American public places a lot of emphasis on formal writing skills, or Standard Written English. Proper grammar is important to many Americans, therefore the grammatical problems observed in AAE speaking students is a major concern. Verb use is one of the most common grammatical problems AAE speaking students have both in their writing and speech. For instance, an AAE sentence would look like this: He be busy. Where as the Standard English equivalent is: He is always busy. These two sentences essentially mean the same thing, with the only difference being the use of the verb be. Is it fair then, that we label AAE speakers as uneducated and illiterate because they do not know how to follow the rules of language? Can we say that AAE has no established guidelines or discernible rules and simply classify it under "broken English," or "bad English," that has little meaning and value? That would be discriminatory in the sense that each individual has their own"speech community." This speech community is a comfort zone where people feel safe to express or say what they want, when they want, without being ridiculed. Therefore, what makes AAE speech any different? Many people view AAE speech as simply "slang" or street lingo spoken amongst African Americans. This isn't entirely true as more and more people are using AAE speech because of its popularity in mainstream America. Whether it is heard or seen on the television, radio, or billboards, the media is starting to use more and more AAE "slang" to promote and attract the attention of its viewers. Even though at times it may be difficult to understand AAE speech, many American English speakers can actually relate to and understand this form of communication. Also, it not uncommon for American English speakers to incorporate and borrow words from AAE speakers. With that being said, should AAE speech be considered a language? There are three components that identify a system of speech as a language: pronunciation rules (phonology), rules that convey meaning (semantics), and grammatical rules (syntax). "Since language is a distinguishing feature of humans, the denial of language is the same as the denial of humanity." People are free to decide individually whether or not AAE speech is a language, but it all depends on a person's view of AAE's origins. Where they think AAE came from and can it be an actual language? In conclusion, "Linguistic research shows that AAE is neither broken English nor slang, for it possesses not only an enduring vocabulary but also its own rules for grammar and pronunciation." If that is true AAE is a language, but it comes down to personal preference and whether or not you want to believe it.

In-Class, Sept. 3: What Should Teachers Do?

In-Class Activity for Wednesday, September 3rd:

We are going to finish our AAVE posters (15-20 min.), and present them to the class (3-5 min. per group). In case we finish early, you can begin the following homework assignment:


Homework for Friday, September 5th, 2008:

Go to the following link and read pages 93-100 from Lisa Delpit's article "What Should Teachers Do?"

Then, choose one question out of the questions 1, 2, and 3 at the bottom of this article, and post your answer (small essay, about 250-500 words) as a comment to this blog.


NEXT BLOG SUMMARY: "How Can AAE Speakers Become Efficient SWE Writers?", to be done by Michaela Bazar, for coming Friday, Sept. 5th. The responses by everybody as blog comments will be due coming Monday, Sept. 8th.

Left-over copies of the text which I'll distribute in class will be deposited in the letter box outside my office door, FANER 3202B, for pick-up, in case you missed class on Wednesday, Sept. 3rd.