NEW TDP: Teaching Foundational English Literacy

Are you teaching Kindergarten to 3rd grade standards of English Literacy to:

• young students, 
• struggling students, 
• older students, 
• students who are literate in another language

Do you know what a struggling reader needs??

NEW TDP COMING SOON: Teaching and Assessing Foundational Literacy COURSE (Up to 3 TDP Credits) (Link)

This course will acquaint the participant with the basics in foundational literacy skills, informal assessments, and effective instructional practices for addressing literacy difficulties for all students with an emphasis on the multilingual student.  This course will also include preparation for the FoRT test.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate an understanding of established purposes for assessing the performance of all readers including tools for screening, diagnosis, progress monitoring, and measuring.
• Administer and interpret appropriate assessments for students, especially those who struggle with reading and writing.
• Use multiple data sources to analyze individual readers’ performance and to plan instruction and intervention.
• Demonstrate the ability to plan appropriate intervention to address the needs of a struggling reader.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the content covered by the FoRT test
• Demonstrate an understanding of the EL student along with the students’ strengths and areas needing support. 

Dates:

Jan -April 4-6pm

(1/8 1/15, 1/22, 1/29)

(2/5, 2/12,  2/26)

(3/11, 3/18, 4/1)

(4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29)

4th, 7th and 9th Graders: The Critical Importance of These Students Experiences At School

SHADOWING Bilingual, Biliterate Learners

In the School District of Waukesha, Dual Language Programing has made the biggest impact on our student's opportunity to become biliterate (and proficient in English).  Students that make this achievement of biliteracy by 5th grade are at the greatest likelihood progressing through middle school and into high school with the opportunity to experience all the advantages of their bilingualism and biliteracy: AP Courses, AVID, college and career preparation.  Students who enter into middle school on the cusp of proficiency as bilinguals and biliterate learners (and English proficient) can reach their full potential by 7th grade-in fact it is most typical that this is when they would reach their fullest biliteracy according to Jim Cummins, Internationally renowned researcher on second language acquisition. 

When students are not able to leave elementary with strong biliteracy, they enter into middle school challenges to their literacy that they cannot cognitively "keep up".  By the time these students pass through 7th grade and on to 9th grade, they continue to carry the label of English Learner, and are disproportionately represented on the lists of students who are failing classes as Freshman.  As you might imagine, failing even one credit in high school, can set a student on a trajectory, foster a  mindset in the students, teachers and the system itself, on what is possible or even desired.  We believe it does not have to be this way.  We know there are learners we are not reaching sufficiently-and that these learners experience school very differently that their peers. We believe if we can perceive the ways these students experience school, then we can impact it.

What do we know for sure about learning?  S/he who does the talking, does the learning.  S/he who does the talking, can do the writing. Without talking-there is no literacy.  And yet, the National Literacy Panel suggests that English Learning students spend less than 2% of their day using Academic Language.  Do we perceive this in SDW?

Courageous leaders at Banting, Bethesda, Hawthorne, Hillcrest, Heyer, Les Paul, Butler, Horning, West, North and South will be engaging in Action Research in grades 4, 7 and 9 to understand what the learning experience is like for students who are at risk becoming long term English Learners striving for biliteracy.  This courageous team will be looking through the lenses of Access Level 3 students, in essence shadowing these students,  in these grade levels for targeted periods of time, so that they might make some generalizations around what the learning experiences are of these students throughout the days and years they are under our care.  The data that is gathered will be used to make small "hacks" to teaching that will significantly impact learning.  If you are a teacher in grades 4, 7 or 9-you will be brought into the conversation as the learning of your leaders unfolds.    As we perceive what the learning experience look like for students on the path to biliteracy but at risk of becoming a long term English learner, as their experience with our instruction becomes clearer, we will be engaging in small ways to significantly address our opportunity and responsibility to impact.  The links here can provide more insight into the work this team is doing:
The Action Research Approach to PD

Shadowing a Student

WIABE April 24-26 Kalahari Hotel

Dear TEAM. 
Teacher leadership is key to our State's development of programing for Dual Language Learners.  WIABE is a small component of that leadership opportunity that exists every day.

Our Budget this year will allow me to reserve 5 ROOMs and to pay for conference attendance for 5 STAFF.  There are no monies available for subs on April 24th.  This means I can send 5 staff in single occupancy, or 10 in double occupancy (if at least five are presenting)

If you are interested in attending the conference or presenting at it, I want to be really clear about the the expectations in order for me to fund your experience:

1.  If you plan to present, you need to share your proposal to me before submitting to WIABE.   I will let you know whether I will be able to support it.  When you share your proposal, you must indicate if you will share a hotel room or not.

If I do not support your proposal, yet you choose to submit and are accepted, you will be on your own for hotel accommodations unless we have space (ie. the resources I can provide are not already assigned to other staff).

• Your proposal is most likely to be supported if you have never presented before
• Are presenting with someone you will share a hotel room with

2. I will prioritize our department support around the following topics:

• Secondary 6-11 Dual Language
• Biliteracy Development, teaching for Biliteracy
• ENIL
• Content Based Paired Biliteracy

WIABE Conference Presentation Submission

WIABE Student Art Contest

NEW ELD Standards

New ELD Standards are now open for public viewing. If you would like to be on the list serve to receive updates and survey's to engage with your voice in the process of standards adoption, please send an email to join-opt-in-wida@lists.wisc.edu with the subject "Yes, sign me up for WIDA Standards Reminder Emails!".

Word Study FAQs

Do I need to prepare materials to teach word study?

Answer: Yes, literally all word study curriculum you will ever use will require preparation if you believe that student needs to make words, segment and blend combinations of sounds/letters. This has kept several educators from historically providing effective word study instruction, but now we know the moral imperative, we can offer that older students, support staff and even parents can help in our preparation of materials.

Do I need to translate the instructions for the word study home link?

Answer: Our Word Study Writers will be sure to include the home link in Spanish and in English when appropriate.

Can I change the language of the focus phrase for my students?

Answer: The focus phrase is intended to communicate the standard for performance, and often requires the use of specific, technical and precise language.  You are free to converse with your students, reflect and paraphrase with them as well. The expectation is that they know the meaning and application of the concepts in the phrase.

Will students be asked about their perception of the Word Study Units?

Answer: Yes, an age appropriate survey will be provided in the Spring.

How do I evaluate whether the word study lessons are transferring to student writing?

Answer: We are working on a checklist of skills for the grade level.  The checklist places the skills across the top and the students names below, allowing for you to check when and which skills are transferring.Example 

Where do students keep their word study lists?  A word wall?

Answer: There are lots of ways that students can keep their word study supports and resources.  Since many students go between classrooms, it is becoming more and more critical that their word study resources go with them-especially because of the Content Based Paired Biliteracy Writing Summatives and the opportunity for transfer.  Coaches have been shared several options of word study and phonics booklets in English. Letras Tramposas (B/V, H, ll/y, c/z/s, etc) need to be available in each classroom in a designated space . Please keep your tools and creative resources coming my way so that we can share them with all.

Day one lessons are quick but day three is very long.  Do I have flexibility in sequence?

Answer: Yes!!! WE trust you.  Take advantage of your instructional minutes.  If you finish early on day one, start day two.

My students are making lots of errors on the high frequency words-what do I do?

Answer: Just remember, in Spanish there are high frequency syllables-rather than words.  Spanish is different that way. In English there are high frequency words. KEY: When a student makes an error in writing a high frequency word, KEY: have them erase the whole word, not just the part they missed.  This way, we focus the eye, brain and hand on transferring the learning.

I do not agree with phoneme segmentation in Spanish.  There is no reason to do this. Can’t I skip that in my lesson?

Answer: The Common Core Standards Written in Spanish for Spanish Foundational skills requires that we teach phoneme segmentation for a very specific purpose, scarey as that might seem.  Silvia Duque-Dorta, one of the authors of the Spanish Common Core, wrote this especially for us in the School District of Waukesha Dual Language Program (for real she did!)

How can I be aware of translanguaging connections in my lessons.  Can the writers cue me up to those opportunities-like a power note?

Answer: YES! We’d love to.  Future Lessons will have an TRANSLANUAGING CONNECTION in a POWER NOTE for you to support your children’s biliteracy and the connections that they might make and that you can certainly help them to make.  Thanks for being champions of Biliteracy!!