Connecting Content and Academic Language for English Learners and Struggling Students, Grades 2–6

Ruth Swinney - Education Consultant
Patricia Velasco - Queen's College of the City University of New York
Connecting Content and Academic Language for English Learners and Struggling Students, Grades 2–6
May 2011 | 200 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781452236216
Available from January 0001
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ISBN: 9781412988438
Available from January 0001

Description

Create unit plans that will empower your EL students

In this supremely practical book, award-winning principal Ruth Swinney and college professor Patricia Velasco focus on the careful planning needed to develop the academic language of all students. For English learners especially, it is critically important to integrate language development with the content that the curriculum demands. What makes this book unlike any other is the detailed guidance it provides to:

• Help students advance from social to academic language
• Encourage verbal expression in the classroom
• Plan language arts, social studies, and science lessons that connect language and content
• Use shared reading and writing, read alouds, and conversation to teach language skills

Hands-on tools include graphic organizers, sample lesson plans, concept maps, semantic webbing, word walls, and worksheets—everything teachers need to help emergent bilingual and struggling students master the academic language they need to excel in school.

Contents

List of Illustrations

List of Illustrations

Foreword: Finding Cats and Dogs in the Zoo, by Ofelia Garcia

Foreword: Finding Cats and Dogs in the Zoo, by Ofelia Garcia

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Part I: The Language Component: From Social to Academic Language

Part I: The Language Component: From Social to Academic Language

Introduction: Making Content Accessible to English Learners and Struggling Students

  • 1. Building Language: How and Why
  • Background Knowledge and Its Relationship With Vocabulary
  • The Role that Background Knowledge Plays in Our Learning
  • Morphology and Syntax
  • Figurative Language
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection
  • 2. From Social to Academic Language: a Curriculum of Talk
  • Developing Oral Language
  • The Social and Academic Language Continuum
  • What Is a Curriculum of Talk?
  • Goals of a Curriculum of Talk: The Role of Conversation
  • Different Types of Classroom Conversations That Support Listening and Speaking in the Classroom
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection
  • 3. Structures of Balanced Literacy That Support English Language Learners and Struggling Students
  • What Is Balanced Literacy?
  • Literacy Practices That Support Language Growth
  • Adapting Balanced Literacy Components
  • Interactive Real Aloud
  • Shared Reading
  • Shared Writing
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection

Part II: The Lesson Component: Sample Units to Integrate Content and Language Goals

  • 4. Language Arts Unit: Memoir (Grades 3-6)
  • Introduction
  • Section 1: The English Language Learner and Memoir
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Immersion in the Genre Through Read Aloud
  • Developing Knowledge About the Genre After Reading Many Memoirs
  • Section 2: Addressing Language Needs
  • Elements of Cohesion
  • Figurative Language
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 5. Social Studies Unit: Colonial Times and the American Revolution (Grade 4)
  • The English Language Learner and the Social Studies Curriculum
  • Concepts and Teaching Tools
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Anchoring the Unit in a Read Aloud
  • Thinking Skills Used Throughout the Unit: Language Prompts
  • Vocabulary Development
  • Shared Reading: Working With Language Goals
  • Shared Writing
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 6. Science Unit: Plant and Animal Adaptations (Grades 5-6)
  • The English Language Learner and Science
  • Planning the Unit
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Shared Reading
  • Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Read Aloud
  • Experiment: Plant Adaptations
  • Individual Book Reports
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 7. Thematic Unit: The Rainforest (Grades 2-3)
  • The English Language Learner and Thematic Units
  • Planning the Unit
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Social Studies and Math Concepts
  • Science
  • Language Arts
  • The Rainforest of the Amazon: The Play
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit

Conclusion

Conclusion

References

References

Index

Index

Resources

Supplemental Resources Website

This companion website provides printable templates for the different organizers that have been described throughout the book. They will assist you in planning units of study that include the development of background knowledge, and the integration of content and academic language goals.
http://www.corwin.com/connectingcontent4ell

Additional materials

Description

Create unit plans that will empower your EL students

In this supremely practical book, award-winning principal Ruth Swinney and college professor Patricia Velasco focus on the careful planning needed to develop the academic language of all students. For English learners especially, it is critically important to integrate language development with the content that the curriculum demands. What makes this book unlike any other is the detailed guidance it provides to:

• Help students advance from social to academic language
• Encourage verbal expression in the classroom
• Plan language arts, social studies, and science lessons that connect language and content
• Use shared reading and writing, read alouds, and conversation to teach language skills

Hands-on tools include graphic organizers, sample lesson plans, concept maps, semantic webbing, word walls, and worksheets—everything teachers need to help emergent bilingual and struggling students master the academic language they need to excel in school.

Contents

List of Illustrations

List of Illustrations

Foreword: Finding Cats and Dogs in the Zoo, by Ofelia Garcia

Foreword: Finding Cats and Dogs in the Zoo, by Ofelia Garcia

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

Part I: The Language Component: From Social to Academic Language

Part I: The Language Component: From Social to Academic Language

Introduction: Making Content Accessible to English Learners and Struggling Students

  • 1. Building Language: How and Why
  • Background Knowledge and Its Relationship With Vocabulary
  • The Role that Background Knowledge Plays in Our Learning
  • Morphology and Syntax
  • Figurative Language
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection
  • 2. From Social to Academic Language: a Curriculum of Talk
  • Developing Oral Language
  • The Social and Academic Language Continuum
  • What Is a Curriculum of Talk?
  • Goals of a Curriculum of Talk: The Role of Conversation
  • Different Types of Classroom Conversations That Support Listening and Speaking in the Classroom
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection
  • 3. Structures of Balanced Literacy That Support English Language Learners and Struggling Students
  • What Is Balanced Literacy?
  • Literacy Practices That Support Language Growth
  • Adapting Balanced Literacy Components
  • Interactive Real Aloud
  • Shared Reading
  • Shared Writing
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection

Part II: The Lesson Component: Sample Units to Integrate Content and Language Goals

  • 4. Language Arts Unit: Memoir (Grades 3-6)
  • Introduction
  • Section 1: The English Language Learner and Memoir
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Immersion in the Genre Through Read Aloud
  • Developing Knowledge About the Genre After Reading Many Memoirs
  • Section 2: Addressing Language Needs
  • Elements of Cohesion
  • Figurative Language
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 5. Social Studies Unit: Colonial Times and the American Revolution (Grade 4)
  • The English Language Learner and the Social Studies Curriculum
  • Concepts and Teaching Tools
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Anchoring the Unit in a Read Aloud
  • Thinking Skills Used Throughout the Unit: Language Prompts
  • Vocabulary Development
  • Shared Reading: Working With Language Goals
  • Shared Writing
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 6. Science Unit: Plant and Animal Adaptations (Grades 5-6)
  • The English Language Learner and Science
  • Planning the Unit
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Shared Reading
  • Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Read Aloud
  • Experiment: Plant Adaptations
  • Individual Book Reports
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 7. Thematic Unit: The Rainforest (Grades 2-3)
  • The English Language Learner and Thematic Units
  • Planning the Unit
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Social Studies and Math Concepts
  • Science
  • Language Arts
  • The Rainforest of the Amazon: The Play
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit

Conclusion

Conclusion

References

References

Index

Index

Resources

Supplemental Resources Website

This companion website provides printable templates for the different organizers that have been described throughout the book. They will assist you in planning units of study that include the development of background knowledge, and the integration of content and academic language goals.
http://www.corwin.com/connectingcontent4ell

Additional materials

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Connecting Content and Academic Language for English Learners and Struggling Students, Grades 2–6

Ruth Swinney , Patricia Velasco
Cancel Print

May 2011 | 200 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/01/2025 9781412988438 $41.95
Lifetime 01/01/2025 9781452236216 $38.00

Create unit plans that will empower your EL students

In this supremely practical book, award-winning principal Ruth Swinney and college professor Patricia Velasco focus on the careful planning needed to develop the academic language of all students. For English learners especially, it is critically important to integrate language development with the content that the curriculum demands. What makes this book unlike any other is the detailed guidance it provides to:

• Help students advance from social to academic language
• Encourage verbal expression in the classroom
• Plan language arts, social studies, and science lessons that connect language and content
• Use shared reading and writing, read alouds, and conversation to teach language skills

Hands-on tools include graphic organizers, sample lesson plans, concept maps, semantic webbing, word walls, and worksheets—everything teachers need to help emergent bilingual and struggling students master the academic language they need to excel in school.


Table Of Contents:

  • List of Illustrations
  • Foreword: Finding Cats and Dogs in the Zoo, by Ofelia Garcia
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Authors
  • Part I: The Language Component: From Social to Academic Language
  • Introduction: Making Content Accessible to English Learners and Struggling Students
  • 1. Building Language: How and Why
  • Background Knowledge and Its Relationship With Vocabulary
  • The Role that Background Knowledge Plays in Our Learning
  • Morphology and Syntax
  • Figurative Language
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection
  • 2. From Social to Academic Language: a Curriculum of Talk
  • Developing Oral Language
  • The Social and Academic Language Continuum
  • What Is a Curriculum of Talk?
  • Goals of a Curriculum of Talk: The Role of Conversation
  • Different Types of Classroom Conversations That Support Listening and Speaking in the Classroom
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection
  • 3. Structures of Balanced Literacy That Support English Language Learners and Struggling Students
  • What Is Balanced Literacy?
  • Literacy Practices That Support Language Growth
  • Adapting Balanced Literacy Components
  • Interactive Real Aloud
  • Shared Reading
  • Shared Writing
  • Conclusion
  • Questions for Reflection
  • Part II: The Lesson Component: Sample Units to Integrate Content and Language Goals
  • 4. Language Arts Unit: Memoir (Grades 3-6)
  • Introduction
  • Section 1: The English Language Learner and Memoir
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Immersion in the Genre Through Read Aloud
  • Developing Knowledge About the Genre After Reading Many Memoirs
  • Section 2: Addressing Language Needs
  • Elements of Cohesion
  • Figurative Language
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 5. Social Studies Unit: Colonial Times and the American Revolution (Grade 4)
  • The English Language Learner and the Social Studies Curriculum
  • Concepts and Teaching Tools
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Anchoring the Unit in a Read Aloud
  • Thinking Skills Used Throughout the Unit: Language Prompts
  • Vocabulary Development
  • Shared Reading: Working With Language Goals
  • Shared Writing
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 6. Science Unit: Plant and Animal Adaptations (Grades 5-6)
  • The English Language Learner and Science
  • Planning the Unit
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Shared Reading
  • Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Read Aloud
  • Experiment: Plant Adaptations
  • Individual Book Reports
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • 7. Thematic Unit: The Rainforest (Grades 2-3)
  • The English Language Learner and Thematic Units
  • Planning the Unit
  • Breaking the Plan Into Doable Parts
  • Social Studies and Math Concepts
  • Science
  • Language Arts
  • The Rainforest of the Amazon: The Play
  • Conclusion
  • Teacher Self-Assessment for the Unit
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

The content was covered by other resources that were more broadly applicable to other grades.
Dr Kate Reynolds, Foreign Languages Dept, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
"The main contribution this book makes is to show teachers that they have other options rather than simplifying the material. Supremely practical, with careful and precise guidance, the book is for teachers in bilingual settings, in regular classrooms, and for ESL teachers. It can also be valuable in teacher training programs, which incorporate language objectives into all their planning."
SirReadAlot.org, July 2011, Issue 147
"The authors' practical approaches for teaching content and language simultaneously are based on research and a deep knowledge of how classrooms operate. Every teacher working with language-diverse students will find much of value here.”
Catherine Snow, Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA
"Swinney and Velasco provide an extraordinarily useful and comprehensive resource across content areas for the full spectrum of professionals working to improve the language and learning skills of students in Grades 2–6. Teacher educators as well as pre-service and beginning teachers will find a rich array of very concrete examples that detail effective instructional strategies, step-by-step action plans for achieving specific instructional objectives, and real-world vignettes of teachers achieving success with struggling students. This is an inspired and inspirational guide, well-informed by theory and research, and by the realities of actual classrooms. Both authors have extensive experience in classroom teaching, teacher supervision, program development and administration, and the writing of educational materials; their book distills the best of their combined 30 years of educational service."
Herlinda E. Cancino, Associate Professor, San Francisco State University, CA
"Many professors, staff developers and literacy coaches offer their conceptual knowledge but lack the wisdom of practice. Swinney & Velasco take the time to detail exactly the making of an ELL master teacher. Their teaching wisdom serves an often misunderstood student population—the struggling reader and writer. This book is a must-read to those practitioners in the field of second language special education."
Jossie O’Neill, Ed. D., Director of Partnerships & Outreach, The Gateway Schools, New York City, NY

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