ESL Teacher Resources for Elementary Education
There are two approaches to reading comprehension, the product oriented approach and the process oriented approach. The product oriented approach uses the text, itself, to understand the meaning. We use pre-reading in this approach to clarify the meaning of difficult words. In the process oriented approach, meaning of a text is developed through the interaction between the reader and the text. What is inside our heads helps us apply the meaning to what we just read. Background knowlesge is the information we have stored in our heads, another word for this is Schema.
Schema is the knowledge in our heads that helps us develop reading comprehension. Schema, or background knowledge, is a “hypothetical mental structure for representing generic concepts stored in memory” (Ajideh, 2003, p. 4). Schema is very beneficial to reading comprehension because it uses what we already know and helps us apply it to the task at hand. Schema is created through life experiences and helps us build up knowledge that we can apply to all aspects of our life. For example, someone telling you the stove is hot is not the same as touching the stove and learning that it is hot! We must touch the stove to know what hot is, therefore, our background knowledge of a hot stove will teach us to be careful in the future!
If a reader does not have the proper background knowledge on the text, it may lead to the reader not comprehending the text. Schema is important to ELL students because they may have different background knowledge on the tasks given their different culture. The following strategies can be used to help build their schema and most of them should be done before the text is read.
BUILDING SCHEMA (BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE) STRATEGIES
Pre-Reading Activities through Graphic Organizers: Schema Tree, KWL, Etc.
Pre-reading activities are designed to motivate the students to want to read and to prepare them to be able to read the text. A problem with some ELL students is that they may have background knowledge about a concept in their own culture, but it may be different in our culture. In this case, they may have background knowledge on the text, but their schemata may not be activated to comprehend the text because it does not match their understanding. “Pre-reading activities must accomplish both goals: building new background knowledge as well as activating existing background knowledge” (Scott, 2001, p. 1).
Pre-reading activities include visual representations of the text. For example, a Schema Tree may be used to build on to a basic concept. The basic concept would be the tree trunk, and as the students read, the advanced information they acquire becomes the branches.
KWL Charts are also used in pre-reading because it forces the students to think about what they already know and what they want to know. KWL charts are divided into three categories. The K stands for what they already know, W for what they want to know, and L for what they learned. Before the students read, have them fill out the K and W. After reading, have them fill out the L. This activity can also be broadened because sometimes they may not receive answer to the questions they want to know. This will force them to dig deeper into the topic to find the answers.
There are other variations to the KWL chart, a Knowledge Chart is similar but instead of having the W column, you just make a T-chart and have them fill out what they knew before (prior knowledge) and after (new knowledge) reading. These activities are great because it gets the reader excited to learn more about a topic they think they already know a lot about.
Semantic Maps are also a great activity because it shows how ideas are related to each other and to the student’s prior knowledge of the topic. You can (even with the help of your students) create a word list from the text and then discuss the meanings of the words with the class. Then you discuss with the class how to cluster the words and how they are related to each other. Then you have them help you create a map that helps show the relationship that exists between the words.
The following videos show just a few of the activities described.
01
Communicative Pre-reading
Communicative pre-reading is done before you or the class reads a text. Unlike the pre-reading activities, this strategy involves more verbal communication and collaboration amongst your students. Such communicative pre-reading strategies include prediction based on story elements and picture walks. For example, a picture walk involves the teacher flipping through the pages of the book and talking about what is happening on each page.
Another way to get the class thinking about the story is to show them the cover and title and ask them to turn to the person next to them and discuss what they think (predict) is going to happen in the story, or what they think the story is about. This type of communication allows students to share their own schema on a particular topic. “The active exchange of ideas within small groups not only increases interest among the participants but also promotes critical thinking” (Goodmacher & Kajiura, 2010, p. 26). For ELL students, this strategy exposes them to more of the English language and prepares them to better understand the story through the voice of their peers.
The following videos show the teachers doing a walk through of the story while asking questions. They are communicating the important aspects of the story so the student will better understand the text. They have also coupled this strategy with pre-questioning, another strategy that is discussed further down.
02
Vocabulary Instruction through Pre-teaching
It can be argued that vocabulary instruction is "not an effective strategy, in reading comprehension, for students who have limited English proficiency" (Mihara, 2011, p. 51). However, many people believe that vocabulary is an integral part of reading comprehension and should be used as a strategy. If a student does not understand the words in a text, they are less likely to understand the text. “Word knowledge is crucial to reading comprehension and determines how well students will be able to comprehend the texts they read” (Sedita, 2005, p. 2).
There are two ways to teach vocabulary instruction, direct and indirect. Direct vocabulary instruction means teaching specific words that are found in the text. These are usually Tier 2 or 3 words. Indirect vocabulary instruction means making the students read independently, so they get used to seeing more and more words. The problem with indirect instruction for ELL students is they are still trying to grasp the English language, so sounding out words as they go does not come as naturally to them as it does English proficient students. Or, they may be able to pronounce the words, but they have no idea what they mean! “ESL students cannot learn vocabulary words effectively through context clues, synonym exercises, or use of dictionaries. Meaningful opportunities through communication, interaction, and oral language, allow the reader to repeat and use new words in a meaningful way” (Navarro, 2008, p. 7). Through direct instruction and communication, you can help your ELL students learn the vocabulary necessary to understand the text they are about to read.
The following videos provide wonderful examples of how to communicate vocabulary effectively for reading comprehension. The teacher in the first video does a beautiful job communicating the words and the teacher in the second video actually activates her student’s prior knowledge on the new words.
03
Visuals/Pictorial Context: Realia
It has been established that ELL students are visual learners; therefore it makes sense that realia (visual aids) and other pictorial contexts can be used to help students activate their background knowledge to understand the text. “Pictorial contexts as a pre-reading activity can be an effective, beneficial device and an important tool to be applied in a reading program in order to activate the students' relevant schemata necessary for the comprehension of the text” (Tavassoli, Jahandar, & Khodabandehlou, 2013, p.564).
Realia is the use of objects or pictures to show students the meaning of a word and helps motivate them to expand their background knowledge. The use of objects and visuals can help build schema by making lasting memories through the use of all five sense. Giving students the physical object helps produce greater memories because they are able to use almost all five senses when observing the object, and they can then reflect on these memories when relating the word to the text.
The first video explains realia in greater detail, while the second shows realia in use.
04
Pre-Questioning/Questioning
Pre-questioning, or asking questions before reading a text, can help build motivation and interest in what students are about to read. Pre-questioning is a great strategy to use with ELLs, and all students, because it sets them up to use their prior knowledge by asking them questions. These questions are basically scaffolds that help them target the schema necessary to understand the text. There are also many different kinds of pre-questioning. Besides pre-questioning for motivation and building schema, it can be used for general text comprehension, detailed text comprehension, confirming expectations, and to extract specific information from the text.
The following videos show how asking questions during reading can benefit the reader. The second video does a great job showing how students can build their knowledge by being asked questions before reading.
05
Language Experience Approach (LEA)
The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is a great way to get your ELL students to become better readers and to build upon their growing vocabulary. LEA can be used to reinforce the written and spoken language and to provide a meaningful context on student’s knowledge by using repeated readings, examining components of a language, and modeling sentence structure.
To use LEA in the classroom, you must first find an out-of-classroom experience that you and your students all share, i.e. a field trip, going to the movies, going grocery shopping, etc. The experience must be something you and your students all share. Then your class will create a vocabulary list that authors might use when writing about the topic and a dictation chart of your students experiences in this topic. Once you have completed this it is time to read the text that is relevant to the experience. First you will read the text out loud to the class and model fluency and text connections. Then you will invite the class to re-read the text in either an echo read, choral read, or an independent silent read (depending on their reading level). After the text has been read, and re-read, “begin to focus on the smaller components of the text such as sentences, words, and letters” (Meyerson & Kulesza, 2010, p. 1). By focusing on the words, you are nurturing word recognition and you can do this by using sentence strips and other scaffolding materials. “LEA demonstrates how English is written so that isolated words become part of a meaning-making experience”. (Meyerson & Kulesza, 2010, p. 1).
The following videos show the ELA experience in the typical classroom setting.
06
Narrow Reading
“Narrow reading is based on the idea that the acquisition of both structure and vocabulary comes from many exposures in a comprehensible context, that is, we acquire new structures and words when we understand messages, many messages, that they encode” (Krashen, 2004, p. 17). Narrow reading involves reading many short stories by the same author or many passages about the same topic.
By reading many things from one author, the students will recognize the distinct pattern that the author writes in. The same can be said about reading items related to the same topic. Students will become familiar with the key terms used in that topic. “The more one reads in one area, the more one learns about the area, and the easier one finds subsequent reading in the area (and the more one acquires of the language)” (Krashen, 2004, p. 17). This helps to build students background knowledge because they may be introduced to a topic that they know little about, but after reading many things about it, they will become experts and they can apply their knowledge to new topics. They can also apply strategies they used in reading about one topic to reading other topics. It is important to note that ELL students can read about the topics in their native languages’, but also supply them with a copy of the text in English so they can become familiar with the syntax of the English language.
The following video is mainly about comparing and contrasting two stories written by the same author. Asking your students to compare and contrast in narrow reading will help them dig deeper into the meaning and provide a basis for newly acquired background knowledge.
07
Semantic Maps
Resources
Ajideh, P. (2003). Schema theory based pre-reading tasks: A neglected essential in the ESL reading class. The Reading Matrix, 3(1), 1-14. Retrieved from http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/ajideh/article.pdf.
Blazejak, M. (2014, March 30). bubbl.us | brainstorm and mind map online. Retrieved from https://bubbl.us/?h=1f562f/3f63d6/20BYlt6GfeRt6&r=1639329984.
Global English TESOL courses (2009, August 6). TESOL/TEFL training: Pre teaching New Language [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/fEazHipRHiQ.
Goodmacher, G., & Kajiura, A. (2010). Collaborative and communicative reading. Polyglossia, 18(February), 25-30.
Krashen, S. (2004). The case for narrow reading. Langauge Magazine, 3(5), 17-19.
Mahillah, S. (2011, November 1). The Effects of Pre-Questioning on the Reading Comprehension Achievement In Teaching English. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://smahillah.hubpages.com/hub/mamaalvin.
Meyerson, M. J., & Kulesza, D. L. (2010, July 20). Language Experience Approach | Education.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/language-experience-approach/.
Mihara, K. (2011). Effects of Pre-Reading Strategies on EFL/ESL ReadingComprehension. TESL Canada Journal, 28(2), 51-73.
Mucci, K. (2012, July 31). Kris Mucci - Questioning During Read Aloud - LEaRN DVD4 ES5 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/DImylBBsAgQ.
Navarro, A. M. (2008). Building Schema for English Language Learners. Online Submission.
Scott, N. (2001). Helping ESL students become better readers: Schema theory applications and limitations. The Internet TESL Journal, 7(11). Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Articles/Stott-Schema.html.
Sedita, J. (2005). Effective Vocabulary Instruction. Insights on Learning Disabilites, 2(1), 33-45.
Tavassoli, A., Jahandar, S., & Khodabandehlou, M. (2013). The effect of pictorial contexts on reading comprehension of Iranian high school students: a comparison between pre-vs. During reading activities. Indian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Life Sciences, 3(3), 553-565. Retrieved from ISSN: 2231-6345