As ELL teachers our main job is to support language development. We help students develop their English skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. As parents at KISJ you are very familiar with the fact that for the past year and a half the ES ELL teachers have focused their support in Reader’s Workshop. So, let’s talk reading. The components of reading are: decoding, fluency, rate, comprehension, and metacognition. Decoding is the ability to break apart the sounds of a word in order to in order to say that word. Decoding is related to pronunciation. Fluency is the ability to read as we speak, in a smooth way and with expression. Rate is how fast or how slow you read. Comprehension is the ability to understand what you read. Background knowledge and vocabulary are key aspects of comprehension. Finally, metacognition is thinking about how you think. Metacognition in reading is the ability to talk about how you figure something out in the text. It is important to note that some components of reading, like decoding, are more emphasized in younger grades, as students engage in the study of phonics. In older grades, an important switch happens. In lower Elementary students are learning to read and in upper Elementary they read to learn. Because of this switch, comprehension and metacognition are reading components that are greatly capitalized in the older grades. Although Reader’s Workshop is a method to teach reading, it provides us, ELL teachers, with the perfect platform to help develop all four domains of language. Within the Workshop students engage in meaningful activities that not only support reading, but also support the development of writing, listening and speaking. Together with the Homeroom Teachers we ensure that students are engaged in relevant activities and have the language to be successful in them. At school, on a daily basis, your child is engaged in activities that will help improve his/her academic English. As a parent it would be beneficial if you could provide your child with opportunities to practice his/her social English. Say, a holiday trip to an English speaking country. Now, wouldn’t that be fun!
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AuthorThe Elementary ELL team! Archives
March 2019
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ELL Department | Blog |