tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72362644974261827672024-03-06T01:13:34.502-07:00ESL TrailLessons learned from life as an educator in the ESOL world -- by Heidi HyteHeidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-50512306884833097622016-12-09T17:30:00.000-07:002016-12-09T17:37:19.933-07:00Taking the Mystery out of English for English Language Learners<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
English is seen as being complex, full of exceptions, and without consistent rules. But what if there <i>were</i> strategies we could teach that reveal consistent patterns to help "make sense" of the English language for our ESL students/English Language Learners? Teachers may not teach some of the consistent patterns that do exist in English because they simply don't know what those strategies are themselves.<br />
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I thought it would be helpful to repost my ESL teaching tips blog post to reinforce some consistent, systematic strategies I've learned that teach basic pronunciation, spelling, decoding, and grammar. I've been fortunate to work with these (and other) strategies over the last several years in the form of classroom teaching, teacher training, and curriculum development. The strategies taught and applied in each of these contexts have proven to be both effective and empowering for students and teachers alike. A list of several teaching tips can be accessed below or by visiting my previous post <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/08/esl-teaching-tips.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">ESL Pronunciation Tips</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-three-sounds-of.html">The Three Sounds of the Suffix <i>-ED</i></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-pronouncing.html">Pronouncing Plurals</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-recognizing.html">Recognizing and Pronouncing Voiced and Voiceless Sounds</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-rising-and.html">Rising and Falling Intonation in <i>WH-</i> and Yes/No Questions</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/esl-pronunciation-tip-syllable-stress.html">Syllable Stress and the Schwa</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/02/word-stress-predictability.html">Word Stress Predictability</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/09/minimal-pairs-exercises-for-esol.html">Minimal Pairs (Part 1)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/07/in-previous-post-i-shared-examples-of.html">Minimal Pairs (Part 2)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/07/minimal-pairs-for-esol-students.html">Minimal Pairs (Part 3)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/09/free-online-pronunciation-tool.html">Free Online Pronunciation Tool</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/02/teaching-students-how-to-self-monitor.html">Teaching Students How to Self-Monitor to Improve Pronunciation</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/07/esol-students-potential-pronunciation.html">Potential Pronunciation Problems (Part 1)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/05/potential-pronunciation-problems-for.html">Potential Pronunciation Problems (Part 2)</a></div>
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<b>ESL Spelling Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/esl-spelling-tip-adding-suffixes.html">Adding Suffixes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/07/spelling-tip-one-syllable-words-that.html">One-Syllable Words that End in <i>S</i>, <i>F</i>, and <i>Z</i></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/09/tricky-words.html">Tricky Words: Usage and Spelling Help</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/02/english-sounds-and-corresponding.html">English Sounds and Corresponding Spellings</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/10/ten-consistent-spelling-patterns-in.html">Ten Consistent Spelling Patterns in English</a></div>
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<b>ESL Grammar Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/common-suffixes.html">Common Suffixes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/esl-teaching-tip-common-prefixes.html">Common Prefixes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/07/esl-teaching-tip-when-to-use-comma.html">Proper Use of Commas</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/07/esl-teaching-tip-nouns.html">Nouns</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/12/direct-and-indirect-quotations-lesson.html">Direct and Indirect Quotations</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/10/parts-of-speech.html">Parts of Speech</a></div>
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<b>ESL Reading and Decoding Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/06/esl-teaching-tip-other-sounds-for-c-and.html">Soft Sounds of <i>C</i> and <i>G</i> </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/07/decoding-strategy-is-vowel-long-or.html">Is the Vowel Long or Short?</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/08/esl-teaching-tip-syllable-division-in.html#more">Syllable Division in Multi-Syllable Words</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/11/ideas-for-how-to-teach-sight-words.html">Ideas for Teaching Sight Words</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/10/free-games-and-manipulatives-for.html">Free Literacy Games and Manipulatives</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/10/free-phonemic-awareness-activities.html">Free Phonemic Awareness Activities</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/12/what-are-graphic-organizers.html">What Are Graphic Organizers?</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/08/sight-words-vocabulary-list.html">Sight Words Vocabulary List</a><br />
<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/p/engaging-activities-to-teach-sight.html">Engaging Activities to Teach Sight Words</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/03/what-makes-good-reader.html">What Makes a Good Reader?</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/02/dictionary-skills-for-esol-learners.html">Dictionary Skills</a></div>
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<b>ESL Listening Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/10/esl-listening-strategies-for-english.html">Listening Strategies</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/08/esl-listening-and-speaking-activities.html">Listening and Speaking Activities</a><br />
<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/p/listening-strategy-training-activity_17.html">Listening Strategy Training Activity</a></div>
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<b>ESL Teaching Strategies</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/03/23-teaching-strategies-to-enhance-esol.html">23 Teaching Strategies for ESOL Students</a></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-18242990884200513162016-06-13T14:03:00.000-06:002016-06-13T14:09:20.729-06:00Bottom-Up and Top-Down Strategies (or Processing): What Are They Anyway?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A colleague of mine recently asked me to explain the difference between bottom-up and top-down reading strategies. I feel a need to add the <i>interactive approach to reading</i> to these descriptions, as well. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Essentially, bottom-up, top-down, and interactive approaches to reading are the t<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">heoretical models used to describe how print is processed. Each are described below.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Bottom-up strategies (or bottom-up processing): </b></span><span style="color: black;">Bottom-up strategie<span style="line-height: 18.48px;">s incorporate the lower-level reading processes that teach students to construct meaning from the most basic units of language, including letters, letter clusters, and words. Students make meaning of a text by building on a foundation of analyzing the smallest units of meaning. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Bottom-up reading strategies begin with letter-sound correspondences (the bottom) to achieve comprehension (the top). Bottom-up processing begins with letters and sounds, building to morpheme and word recognition, and then gradually moving to grammatical structure identification, sentences, and longer texts. A phonics approach to teaching reading supports bottom-up processes. Phonics is a method to facilitate students' access to text to ultimately lead to comprehension.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Top-down strategies (or processing): </b>Top-down strategies instruction focuses on activities that construct meaning rather than on mastering bottom-up skills. <span style="line-height: 18.48px;">Students generate meaning by employing background knowledge, making predictions, and searching the text to to confirm or reject the predictions that are made. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">According to supporters of this approach, comprehension resides in the reader. The reader uses background knowledge, expectations, assumptions, and questions and engages in pre-reading strategies, such as previewing the text, predicting, and activating background knowledge.</span><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"><b>Interactive approach:</b></span><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">The interactive approach is considered the most comprehensive description of the reading process. </span><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">The best readers use an interactive reading approach.</span><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">An interactive approach to reading combines elements of both bottom-up and top-down reading processes simultaneously. </span><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">For example, a</span><span style="line-height: 18.48px;"> reader may begin reading a text using top-down strategies to comprehend the text, and then shift to bottom-up strategies when he or she encounters an unfamiliar word. The reader then uses bottom-up strategies to decode the new word before moving on. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.48px;">Another way to illustrate the interactive approach to reading is as follows: Recognition of letters (bottom-up processes) leads to recognition of words, which leads to comprehension (bottom to top). Conversely, context, inferences, and world knowledge (top-down processes) can influence lower-level processing strategies, affecting readers' expectations about words and meanings and thus helping readers recognize words faster (top to bottom).</span></span></span></div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-5160340567024610462016-05-26T13:05:00.000-06:002016-05-26T13:16:41.038-06:00Sounds of OUGH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was recently asked if I knew of any rules that govern the differing pronunciations of <i>ough</i>. This letter combination can prove to be very tricky. First of all, it may be helpful to consider the combination <i>gh</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i>GH</i> can do three things:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">1) When <i>gh </i>comes at the beginning of a word, it has the sound /g/ (e.g., <i>ghost</i>).</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2) When <i>gh </i>comes at the end of a word, it sometimes has the sound /f/ (e.g., <i>laugh</i>).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3) When the vowel<i> i</i> comes before <i>gh</i>, the <i>i</i> is long, and the <i>gh</i> is silent (e.g., <i>high</i>; <i>night</i>). This is the case for most <i>gh </i>words.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">But what about the <i>ough </i>combination? </span></span></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The following are the sounds that </span><i style="color: #222222;">ough </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">makes:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/oo/, as in <i>through</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/ou/, as in <i>drought</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">long <i>o</i>, as in <i>though</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/uff/, as in <i>rough</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/auf/, as in <i>cough</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">/au/, as in <i>bought</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Basically, <i>ough </i>should be taught as a unit. But because of the variety of sounds it makes, students should not try to learn a specific sound for <i>ough</i>. Rather, students should sound out the other sounds in the word and use context to help determine the correct pronunciation of <i>ough</i>. Only 38 words in English contain <i>ough</i>: 23 one-syllable words and 15 additional words that are longer forms (multi-syllabic words) of those one-syllable words. Since <i>ough </i>occurs in relatively few words, it is recommended that the sounds are addressed as they surface in context rather than explicitly teaching the different sounds of <i>ough</i>.</span></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-52378727009777284332016-05-03T10:47:00.000-06:002016-05-03T10:52:27.460-06:00Teacher Appreciation Day...Thank an Educator Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is Teacher Appreciation Day. Which teachers come to mind who have left an impression on you? Teaching is often a thankless job. Yet teachers get up and go to work day after day. They continue to prep, grade, and instruct...mentor, encourage, and inspire. What do educators have in common? In my opinion, educators are philanthropists at heart.<br />
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Here's a video that pays tribute to teachers everywhere. Share this video and a note of thanks with an educator who has influenced your life for good.<br />
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-47771532203948832222016-04-20T13:43:00.000-06:002016-12-09T17:06:17.408-07:00Bottom-Up Reading Strategies for an Interactive Reading Approach: TESOL 2016 Presentation in Baltimore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.tesol.org/about-tesol" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="52" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEom6IAXKs7biFMLylZgIU873dDJ6gWXK672kxkDDyAjb1YXyrzlVvxvG_Btd0WxOLkGs2rZf6tJFnygbjrN5I7a-j4q9nSQzyY_AHbDvXwyophTc3yQL-vFLEkznRt5ZHij8d5ewsxo/s320/tesol-main-logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I always appreciate the opportunity to attend the <a href="http://www.tesol.org/convention2016" target="_blank">International TESOL Conference</a>. I enjoy learning what other professionals in the field are doing to contribute to their respective contexts. I also enjoy "stirring the gray matter" and the ideas that come to mind that I can apply in my areas of responsibility.<br />
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I had the opportunity to present this year on <i>Bottom-Up Reading Strategies for an Interactive Reading Approach</i>. I shared the rationale behind the use of bottom-up reading strategies and their role in promoting an interactive reading approach. I also shared specific bottom-up strategies (decoding and encoding strategies originating from <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/" target="_blank">Reading Horizons</a>) that I've used with my students, as well as application activities for applying these strategies in the ELL classroom. The session was well-attended, and several individuals mentioned to me after the presentation that they had been introduced to things in the presentation that they'd never learned before. I shared the free <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/workshop" target="_blank">Online Workshop</a> where teachers and teachers-in-training can learn additional bottom-up strategies to apply in their classrooms.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>My presentation slides can be viewed using the QR code below, or by clicking <a href="https://goo.gl/oJQm5J" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0pcP5-C7eBspFUWRlFJ8fKB90V49Xso9CbGW4Gh5q0dMOPKX9oku8kxvW9kgcEwLxjSqxzdJ_6z6Y7AqaeT8qWprq8VPwSD-M8Wu7cctOF1hL1VcUDfFfk3flAvMUeArp2pN1dO5N0A/s1600/qrcode.34532051.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0pcP5-C7eBspFUWRlFJ8fKB90V49Xso9CbGW4Gh5q0dMOPKX9oku8kxvW9kgcEwLxjSqxzdJ_6z6Y7AqaeT8qWprq8VPwSD-M8Wu7cctOF1hL1VcUDfFfk3flAvMUeArp2pN1dO5N0A/s200/qrcode.34532051.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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The handout can be viewed using the QR code below, or by clicking <a href="https://goo.gl/iJlSXI" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirISiepey-Y4oAoiAylI5UskUVhNlNx_Mrnpy5Ca3tKJVGi-y5VLszuAcU35mt2U-iyHWVBepfCttYH3kKRUxF80HpNvSfr3oDdWrszvn0Qlubk4jZNScasAQHvtZOEvZXNsBe60xAd0Q/s1600/HANDOUT+qrcode.34532148.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirISiepey-Y4oAoiAylI5UskUVhNlNx_Mrnpy5Ca3tKJVGi-y5VLszuAcU35mt2U-iyHWVBepfCttYH3kKRUxF80HpNvSfr3oDdWrszvn0Qlubk4jZNScasAQHvtZOEvZXNsBe60xAd0Q/s200/HANDOUT+qrcode.34532148.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-63897472612566968572015-12-23T14:25:00.000-07:002016-05-26T13:31:44.663-06:00Using "Teacher Video Selfies": A Free Resource from Harvard University<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently returned home from China where I conducted teacher training on phonics strategies and activities for English teachers. Below is my super-professional selfie that I took with the teachers on the last day of the training.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwNqs1eJI7DIzDyOfII6qbfGv2N3P4eklehDcfdljSI7BpIrkhyphenhyphenui7Bb43v-dODVB2t0ObC1gV4If63aWzWNZQgk_12YkIl16GW51ZpVTPK6KY0XiJXVRV18LG5iu-8ORwZ7kVnTpyHc/s1600/China+Training+Selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwNqs1eJI7DIzDyOfII6qbfGv2N3P4eklehDcfdljSI7BpIrkhyphenhyphenui7Bb43v-dODVB2t0ObC1gV4If63aWzWNZQgk_12YkIl16GW51ZpVTPK6KY0XiJXVRV18LG5iu-8ORwZ7kVnTpyHc/s320/China+Training+Selfie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Believe me. I don't usually take selfies with the teachers I work with. But I posted this photo because of the relevance to a concept from Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research: Teacher video selfies to analyze evidence of your teaching and your teacher performance. The resource, entitled "Teacher Video Selfie: A self-guided module
for analyzing videos of your own instruction", can be accessed <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/l1a_teacher_video_selfie.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Essentially, teachers record two 10-15 minute teaching segments, and then teachers watch their videos to analyze their performance and self-direct adjustments to their instruction. While watching their videos, teachers write notes about what they notice. Then teachers analyze their notes with guidance from the module/toolkit to learn how to effectively conduct self-observations and set goals for improvement. See the <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/l1a_teacher_video_selfie.pdf" target="_blank">link</a> to view the step-by-step procedure.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>This resource is part of a larger free toolkit published online by Harvard to assist with using video for classroom observation. The <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/video-observation-toolkit" target="_blank">toolkit </a>is free and outlines a variety of strategies for successful application, including information about <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/1._leveraging_video_for_learning.pdf?m=1443808435" target="_blank">using video observations for professional growth</a>, <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/2._cultivating_trust_in_video_observations.pdf?m=1443808541" target="_blank">considerations for teacher and student privacy</a>, <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/3._turnkey_technology-_setting_up_schools_for_effective_implementation.pdf?m=1444156341" target="_blank">setting up schools for effective technology implementation</a>, and <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/4._measuring_readiness_and_assessing_success.pdf?m=1443808700" target="_blank">piloting and large-scale implementation</a>. Be sure to view the complete toolkit <a href="http://cepr.harvard.edu/video-observation-toolkit" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
How do you feel about using video to replace in-person classroom observations? Have you had any experience watching yourself teach before? Share your experiences in the comments below.</div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-33163415430291188722015-07-28T09:18:00.000-06:002016-05-26T13:36:06.625-06:00Characteristics of a Good (Implementation) Coach...and Educator<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you think of a "coach", what comes to mind? I think of an athletic coach. But what about coaches in context of literacy instruction or fidelity of implementation? This past week, I participated in training new implementation coaches who were recently hired to oversee schools implementing the Reading Horizons program. At the beginning of the training, we discussed the implementation coach vision by identifying characteristics of a good coach. Note how these characteristics apply to both athletic coaches and implementation coaches in educational contexts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Characteristics of a Good Coach</span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A good coach…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…takes you back to
the basics. A good coach knows that the best way to learn and improve is by <i>doing</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…knows that if you want to get better at something, it
takes practice…a lot of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…breaks the process into steps, and then pinpoints specific
areas needing work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…focuses on proper form early on to ensure the development
of good habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…helps you master one thing at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…diligently watches over, looking for ways to suggest
improvement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…identifies individual needs and makes suggestions for
change and improvement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…provides encouragement and appropriate “pep talks” when
needed to counteract discouragement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…develops a positive rapport by taking time
to communicate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…provides feedback on performance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…provides positive reinforcement, tells you what you’re
doing well, and makes you believe you can succeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…celebrates successes, big or small.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…takes their work seriously and truly cares about others’
success. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">…gains the trust of those they work with. And if they trust
you, they will listen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Essentially, educators of all disciplines are coaches. They guide, instruct, correct, and validate. They teach, encourage, redirect, and communicate. As once quoted on CNN, "Coaching is the universal language of change and learning."</span></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-72893393277969026982015-06-03T18:02:00.000-06:002015-06-03T18:02:50.424-06:00Online Learning Guidebook<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A colleague invited me to post a link to a new <a href="http://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/online-schools-guidebook/" target="_blank">Online Schools Guidebook</a>. This resource provides information about popular online resources, including Khan Academy and MIT Open CourseWare, as well as provides helpful guidance when considering various online programs.<br />
<br />
The introduction paragraph provides a good synopsis of the value of the resource:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;"><i>"Online education has come to an interesting point in its over three-decade-long lifespan. No longer seen as a passing fad or novelty, it has gained widespread acceptance and credibility, not only by the general public, but from those in the field of education as well. As attitudes have favorably changed over the years, so too has the state of educational options online; thanks to this widespread acceptance, there are more choices than ever before for potential students. That’s where this guidebook comes in: we analyze the current state of online education, where it stands and where it’s heading. We’ll take an in-depth look at the benefits and experience of an online education; choosing an online school or program; the methods, technologies and resources employed by schools in program and course delivery; online learning and students with disabilities; tips for student success; and many others. You’ll also find helpful observations and advice from online education professionals."</i></span><br />
<br />
The guidbook can be accessed for free <a href="http://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/online-schools-guidebook/" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-36759285713057142902015-03-18T13:55:00.001-06:002015-03-18T14:13:39.385-06:00Blended Learning Resources<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Blended learning employs an appropriate balance between—and implementation of— technology and face-to-face teacher/student interaction to maximize a student’s learning experience. Blended learning is generating interest and gaining increased attention in K-12 and higher ed contexts. Although blended learning is gaining popularity in classrooms across the country, there are still many teachers who are just beginning their quest to learn what blended learning is and how to best implement it in their classrooms. There are several resources available to assist with meeting this objective, some of which are listed below.</div>
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Resources Available to Learn About Blended Learning:<br />
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Khan Academy, the Clayton Christensen Institute, and Silicon Schools have teamed up to provide a <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-04-21-khan-academy-offers-blended-learning-101" target="_blank">Blended Learning 101</a> course, which shares a myriad of resources to promote and implement blended learning. The course takes participants through a five part course with resource guides and over 40 videos that teach different models and how to select resources. View the course <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/ssf-cci" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.christenseninstitute.org/" target="_blank">Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation</a> is a non-profit striving to solve problems related to health care and education through research. Learn more about <a href="http://www.christenseninstitute.org/key-concepts/blended-learning-2/" target="_blank">blended learning</a> on their website <a href="http://www.christenseninstitute.org/blended-learning/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.blendedlearning.org/" target="_blank">Blended Learning Universe</a> (BLU) provides several resources to inform and instruct on blended learning implementation, including videos, guides, and a directory of blended learning sites world-wide.<br />
<br />
Aspire Public Schools has produced a <a href="http://aspirepublicschools.org/media/filer_public/2013/07/22/aspire-blended-learning-handbook-2013.pdf" target="_blank">Blended Learning 101 Handbook</a> to guide teachers through the orientation and implementation of blended learning.<br />
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<br /></div>
I recommend reading the book <a href="http://www.christenseninstitute.org/blended/" target="_blank">Blended</a>, which provides a practical overview of the <i>what</i>, <i>why</i>, and <i>how</i> of blended learning.<br />
<br />
I recently wrote a <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/Documents/seo-pages/Blended%20Learning%20-%20White%20Paper.pdf" target="_blank">white paper</a> on blended learning that explains what blended learning is and the models associated with <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/blended-learning" target="_blank">Blended Learning</a>.<br />
<br />
My colleague, Tasi Young, recently conducted a webinar on blended learning. The recording can be viewed <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/webinars/blended-learning-a-disruptive-model">here</a>. Tasi is also featured on a recently-produced blended learning video which can be viewed <a href="https://youtu.be/H3tRe6n_o8E" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Dr. <a href="http://education.byu.edu/directory/view/charles-graham" target="_blank">Charles Graham</a>, professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University, has published several <a href="https://byu.academia.edu/CharlesRGraham/1-Blended-Learning-Research" target="_blank">articles on blended learning</a>. Video demonstrations of blended learning are available <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/blendedlearninginitiative/course-level-blended-learning-models" target="_blank">here</a>. In addition, Dr. Graham discusses the six P's of blended learning, which can be viewed in the video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hWLphnHYfuw?autoplay=1&rel=0" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-2277042599088144732014-10-21T16:10:00.000-06:002014-10-23T12:11:05.325-06:00Literacy Training in Zimbabwe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7en_dYR6keb6zd5zQdLTkxnJEUzr633JQOk6UrglKiLbQtgcqppdlABBMISJfgP007AB-ngm2zsgyazvllCoYcK3qALtDSQSUemegoWGpW1Ch9PYo5lpwc5LyKLa9fxau6NTNydpq2xA/s1600/IMG_9610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7en_dYR6keb6zd5zQdLTkxnJEUzr633JQOk6UrglKiLbQtgcqppdlABBMISJfgP007AB-ngm2zsgyazvllCoYcK3qALtDSQSUemegoWGpW1Ch9PYo5lpwc5LyKLa9fxau6NTNydpq2xA/s1600/IMG_9610.jpg" height="200" width="189" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my job responsibilities includes traveling to various
locations to train teachers in literacy strategies. My objective is to empower
teachers with additional tools for their teaching strategies toolbox. I’ve
traveled to urban middle schools and high schools, community colleges and universities,
literacy centers and libraries, and a myriad of other sites to train teachers,
paraprofessionals, and tutors. I’ve met hundreds of teachers and students, and
in the process, I’ve witnessed a variety of different backgrounds and needs.
Once in a while, I have experiences while training that teach me life lessons,
whether it be a lesson learned about how literacy strategies unlock a struggling
student’s world of learning, or feeling inspired by a teacher’s passion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year I had a unique training opportunity. I traveled to Zimbabwe
to provide literacy training for people in various remote villages where such
services had never been provided. During this experience, I learned life
lessons about individual dignity and the hierarchy of needs—physical, social, and
educational. We drove on long, bumpy, dusty roads without air conditioning and
proper suspension, and we traveled with little water and food. We traveled
through and camped in wild game parks, witnessing rare sightings of wild
animals and waking up to the sounds of the competing roars of lion prides. Although
the conditions were not ideal, I felt </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">privileged to have had the opportunity to
interact with teachers and students that few people will ever get to meet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bb_nX_3QF1xaD8J1TbZG6C3TOWMrh-8X5niwBDNXVmZpFxBVbSpEI0pLlRj6kZCCWXwGEjKi37KCy0fjGHC_u8lhjUzrrGOjyOaaMPxBgblR-6gM-9M3pBD5v2_yaTtsdvRIzDKyOcA/s1600/DSCN1656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bb_nX_3QF1xaD8J1TbZG6C3TOWMrh-8X5niwBDNXVmZpFxBVbSpEI0pLlRj6kZCCWXwGEjKi37KCy0fjGHC_u8lhjUzrrGOjyOaaMPxBgblR-6gM-9M3pBD5v2_yaTtsdvRIzDKyOcA/s1600/DSCN1656.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">I conducted a training at a school in a village where the local
community has taken on the responsibility to educate their children, many of
whom are orphans and cannot afford the required school fees. In fact, some of
the children live in the community that populates the nearby dump. The teachers
volunteer their time to teach at the school, and they conduct small businesses on
the side to pay for the children’s education. At this school, pencils and paper
are scarce. Desks are not available in every classroom. The school has a “home-made”
look with its corrugated iron roof, slats of wood and scraps of iron for the walls, and
red dirt floors. But the teachers are happy with what they have. As I began
the training, I thanked the teachers for their service at the school. The
teachers were eager to learn, exemplifying a teachable and grateful attitude
for teacher training and professional development—a foreign luxury at their
school. The teachers caught on </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3dg5oQ-RP8zbpfpFe_mUHYTF4NccX7RS_4iogjB4TLpYMvO97DcBD25YsEX2_Wiy2YmaYCwt2I_0b9OvUGSt4-5THaWNE_pecZVQBFHMKCtM8IMjuNn7PJUHUVZadT4T0xEMsOcplok/s1600/DSCN1647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3dg5oQ-RP8zbpfpFe_mUHYTF4NccX7RS_4iogjB4TLpYMvO97DcBD25YsEX2_Wiy2YmaYCwt2I_0b9OvUGSt4-5THaWNE_pecZVQBFHMKCtM8IMjuNn7PJUHUVZadT4T0xEMsOcplok/s1600/DSCN1647.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">quickly; they’re very intelligent. At the end of
the training, I noticed the teachers were whispering to each other. Then finally,
one of the teachers spoke up and said that they were hungry. They rarely have
lunch as food is scarce. They asked if there was anything I could do to help
them. I admit that the first thought that passed through my mind was, “I just 'fed' you some amazing strategies that will help your
students become life-long learners.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> And now you’re asking me for food? Aren’t you
grateful for what I have already provided you?” It was at this moment that I caught
myself and felt ashamed as I realized at that moment that I was learning a
powerful lesson regarding the important connection between the requirements of physical
needs being satisfied before educational needs can be met. If a teacher or
student does not have food in their stomachs or clothing on their backs,
teaching and learning cannot take place effectively, if at all. While education
is certainly important, first and foremost, physical needs need to be met prior
to engaging them in effective teaching and learning.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekxDf-yshw0YNQ96fSrLgzsnBTr2_cdwlcfDbacHcuc5C77EVx_QYt_1GQcE-MgBEDAHf1D57aALSqBSb-JfWhZk9xDryBUQzWGPpXTQaJZKTPMMwLJDwoF-y62Bqsv9rFMUw0xfcHZo/s1600/DSCN0642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekxDf-yshw0YNQ96fSrLgzsnBTr2_cdwlcfDbacHcuc5C77EVx_QYt_1GQcE-MgBEDAHf1D57aALSqBSb-JfWhZk9xDryBUQzWGPpXTQaJZKTPMMwLJDwoF-y62Bqsv9rFMUw0xfcHZo/s1600/DSCN0642.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I conducted another training in a small village at an elementary
school for Kindergarten through sixth-grade students of the local community.
One class of each grade attends the school. Class sizes are large, and trained
teachers are difficult to come by. I conducted the training in a small office. I
left the door open to allow a breeze to cool the hot temperature inside the uninsulated, unventilated room. Throughout the training, goats were nipping at
my heels and cow bells were clanking as cattle grazed on the school grounds.
The teachers participating in the training were unaffected by these
distractions as they were accustomed to such things. At this school,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTmXvFqH2vRuE76pKxozGc763UaYkqqAog4PDrYwTlRBt0UuTeBm23NXHzJeCOAqajGZRnjDL2JfD1Auv7n52ypNO_mmvzKPt2Bi97DYdBkriZ34bX4E2oMgAe7vN6dIzAWVn7MSh5mw/s1600/DSCN0672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTmXvFqH2vRuE76pKxozGc763UaYkqqAog4PDrYwTlRBt0UuTeBm23NXHzJeCOAqajGZRnjDL2JfD1Auv7n52ypNO_mmvzKPt2Bi97DYdBkriZ34bX4E2oMgAe7vN6dIzAWVn7MSh5mw/s1600/DSCN0672.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
the
headmistress serves as both an administrator and a teacher. She is one of the
few trained teachers at the school, so she chooses to teach the first graders
each year as she recognizes this grade to be critical in a child’s development.
The school has only two school rooms reserved for the upper elementary grades—fifth
and sixth grades. The other classes meet under trees on the property. The
headmistress hopes to construct school rooms for all of the children someday as
she says that the children are easily distracted sitting on the dirt exposed to
the elements. The previous season brought strong winds, for example, which made
it difficult for the students to concentrate. There are two thatched-roof
structures under construction that are being used by a </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4ZwS_98zJRIJ2T55aC9V5IAe6XvBZvj3REkm7j-YQfnbk027gKL5Z4qMQ5ttCo_In69fzEY6dS8fa1-pLjCP65eAEbSKg7t4OvPSZRwzn_qyZ6gc7totgk62reFCgz9nBSmnjrz8y0Y/s1600/DSCN0697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4ZwS_98zJRIJ2T55aC9V5IAe6XvBZvj3REkm7j-YQfnbk027gKL5Z4qMQ5ttCo_In69fzEY6dS8fa1-pLjCP65eAEbSKg7t4OvPSZRwzn_qyZ6gc7totgk62reFCgz9nBSmnjrz8y0Y/s1600/DSCN0697.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">
couple of the classes to
protect them from the heat and wind. A need has arisen to put the construction
of these edifices on hold, however, until more volunteer help from the
community is provided. The headmistress expressed disappointment in the
community’s rejection of the invitation to assist with the building of these
school rooms for their children who attend the school. I admire this
headmistress’s dignity and perseverance as she runs the school and manages her
own first-grade class, while tempering her desires for bettering the school as
she patiently waits for the help that she petitions for.</span><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_12" o:spid="_x0000_s1028" style="height: 62.4pt; margin-left: 378.9pt; margin-top: -252.05pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: page; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: page; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 83.25pt; z-index: -251648000;" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata o:title="DSCN1753" src="file:///C:\Users\Heidi\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image008.jpg"><w:wrap type="tight"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQR12h4HqyE0GKUrC1aCB-xdMkmMMS6AJqIcdwojCDnno-MNb89dO3eP7drQj4SkjjxXPHsboLYZCZc16eBJe3wex7r3qDHDPIsTse1TVYeU2CrnKq_wuFkE21ZrTpnGus3q3wH-adNNM/s1600/DSCN0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQR12h4HqyE0GKUrC1aCB-xdMkmMMS6AJqIcdwojCDnno-MNb89dO3eP7drQj4SkjjxXPHsboLYZCZc16eBJe3wex7r3qDHDPIsTse1TVYeU2CrnKq_wuFkE21ZrTpnGus3q3wH-adNNM/s1600/DSCN0670.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcJk7lrwnsLjpCuAwW1-tn4GripQkkpdirzDY6K8k2aUSLmXE2EV3Mifh0QgAjTM0Nd0svHWP5E_6Sx4GaSiJdbmpQA4EwKWtO2duW6B0Ou9LFo6S4zr6wEAaPOcyWXX3AwezoAyVRBk/s1600/DSCN0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9CY6PrOYnfNAKZy1nvHA6R4yi0exYU-bcF-wUjPZejhrkO5M-61HB-XVyhex7FrFvIgAtQQ6GDY9Xg-mLZrCa3V9CBgxADRLs2h6-G3AfHgYfp-5A0db6u7hg61IzWMeXe_Ux8Sg0Go/s1600/DSCN1723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9CY6PrOYnfNAKZy1nvHA6R4yi0exYU-bcF-wUjPZejhrkO5M-61HB-XVyhex7FrFvIgAtQQ6GDY9Xg-mLZrCa3V9CBgxADRLs2h6-G3AfHgYfp-5A0db6u7hg61IzWMeXe_Ux8Sg0Go/s1600/DSCN1723.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">
A third school where I conducted a training was a small, one-room school
with dirt floors. There </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">were no walls to separate the classes within the room.
A wooden, external frame with white tarps draped over the tops of the frames form
the walls. The tarps serve as fragile protection against the elements. The
teacher training took place outside the school so as not to take up any
precious real estate in the school room and to avoid disrupting the students. (They
were not accustomed to seeing foreigners, so being in the same room as them
would likely distract.) The teachers moved chairs and desks outside and moved a
large piece of thin plywood to the outside training site for me to use</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoO0k6MyNmYFW9y-OZjNWlhhrcgLhjJ80TxvmbmGzx4SHoXMlZgxwAuwiXcAEQpfG-06GKzvbkBmjCF6v3lVPpx9l8Tj0lb3vKtLDVJn8iBu4Qg2LBwEdo6m9RLqMMwZB0P3_tTTLXsQ/s1600/DSCN1753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoO0k6MyNmYFW9y-OZjNWlhhrcgLhjJ80TxvmbmGzx4SHoXMlZgxwAuwiXcAEQpfG-06GKzvbkBmjCF6v3lVPpx9l8Tj0lb3vKtLDVJn8iBu4Qg2LBwEdo6m9RLqMMwZB0P3_tTTLXsQ/s1600/DSCN1753.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
as a
chalkboard. I could see that the sun was in their eyes. When I asked if they’d
like to move, they responded with, “We can manage.” The teachers were very
teachable. They giggled when they answered questions correctly. Since this school
was the last training site, I left with them several of my training materials
and classroom supplies. They felt like it was a holiday; they weren’t used to
getting “things”. They were so grateful for pencils, stickers, and paper—simple
items that are plentiful in other parts of the world. I was reminded by these
teachers to be grateful for even the small and simple things that are often
taken for granted.</span><br />
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From these training experiences, I was reminded of the needs
that exist in the world—namely, physical and educational. These needs are intertwined—the fulfillment
of one need impacts the other. Effective education assumes that the physical
needs are in order first. In our classrooms, the needs may be less physical.
Perhaps the need is more of a social or emotional one. For example, a student
may need to feel a social or emotional connection with his or her teachers or
peers before effective learning can take place. Perhaps the need includes some
remedial instruction to provide the framework for subsequent learning to take
place. For example, I always preach the need to ensure that foundational
reading skills are in place for emerging and struggling readers before we can
expect them to read more complicated, connected text with fluency. Developing
an awareness in—and the habit of—evaluating student needs, and then working
toward filling the hierarchy of those needs, can increase the efficacy of teaching
and learning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-66173093448398319702014-09-25T18:47:00.002-06:002014-10-03T11:36:57.088-06:00Should Handwriting Be Taught?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5642UbexdQOtc1EihiLc2HWDa6jX9yimhzn218dTe0hzzr93EVNsUwKghPE5fXPYV4oP_2uixHVSUEbDT0PFkT5Xsw8spO0eFsf8gb7gWpcdzEsi9YpRkxQocNTMUlVK5U1VFa0JbHMg/s1600/2+boys+writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5642UbexdQOtc1EihiLc2HWDa6jX9yimhzn218dTe0hzzr93EVNsUwKghPE5fXPYV4oP_2uixHVSUEbDT0PFkT5Xsw8spO0eFsf8gb7gWpcdzEsi9YpRkxQocNTMUlVK5U1VFa0JbHMg/s1600/2+boys+writing.jpg" height="134" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Is handwriting an important component to literacy instruction? Is it really necessary to teach handwriting, especially when keyboarding skills are so requisite with the rise of technology in education and the use of technology in everyday life?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">The Common Core State Standards prescribe that legible writing should be taught in kindergarten and first grade only. Then in subsequent grades, the emphasis shifts to keyboarding proficiency. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">According to recent research, handwriting versus keyboarding may affect the brain and benefit specifically those who struggle with reading. Children who learn to write by hand at a young age learn to read more quickly, as well as retain information and generate ideas. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;"><a href="http://psych.indiana.edu/faculty/khjames.php">Dr. Karin James </a>of Indiana University compared the brain patterns of children who </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">physically</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">formed letters </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">with those who simply watched others form them. Her research suggests that the brain’s motor pathways are only engaged when children physically form the letters. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://depts.washington.edu/chdd/iddrc/res_aff/berninger.html" style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;" title="Staff page">Virginia Berninger</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">, a psychologist at the University of Washington, found in her research that children in second to fifth grade who wrote text by hand (versus typing on a keyboard) were able to produce more words more quickly than they did on a keyboard and were able to express more ideas. Those children with better handwriting demonstrated greater neural activity in the working memory areas of the brain, resulting in increased overall activation in the reading and writing networks. (See </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">"</span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html?_r=3" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">What's Lost as Handwriting Fades</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">" </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">published in the New York Times.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/">Tim Shanahan</a>, literacy expert, suggests the following with regard to the importance of teaching handwriting (the following is quoted below from his recent <a href="http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/2014/09/handwriting-in-time-of-common-core.html">blog post</a>):</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">Premise 1: Writing has a positive impact on the development of children’s reading skills;</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Premise 2: To derive this benefit, children have to engage in writing;</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Premise 3: If they can write well (quickly, legibly), they will write more and better;</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Premise 4: If children write more and better that will have a more positive impact on reading.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusion: Therefore, we need to teach young children to print and write—early on.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">So, what role does handwriting have in literacy instruction? Engaging students in handwriting, even beyond the first couple of years of literacy instruction, leads to better retention, increased ability to generate ideas, and overall improved reading ability. In literacy strategy teacher training, it is important to emphasize handwriting. As I conduct teacher trainings, I teach that <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/method">four things</a> should be taught as each letter of the alphabet is introduced: the name of the letter, the sound of the letter, uppercase formation, and lowercase formation. Explicitly stating the importance of providing students a variety of opportunities to practice letter formation is also key.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">(See the </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/english-sounds-and-letters/id858149892?mt=8" style="line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">English Sounds and Letters</a><span style="line-height: 16.8479995727539px;"> mobile app available for the iPad at the Apple App store </span><span style="line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">to provide practice with letter formation</span><span style="line-height: 16.8479995727539px;">.)</span></span></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-89267291513632991902014-04-22T17:18:00.001-06:002014-04-23T10:32:55.337-06:00Literacy Training in India at Pathway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgIRqQf77Zry4NxSgC-hO8SxSVAzJpTJE7f0ICixStrW2Uq7PUz3nBZIy3sTwZLl4znKuaWjHahw0A6PwoWuhFufzt3LsxMiO1-TOmuxn8Kgece-01m-Ph_9zJTExU2C6xHTqz16cmOU/s1600/IMG_4460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgIRqQf77Zry4NxSgC-hO8SxSVAzJpTJE7f0ICixStrW2Uq7PUz3nBZIy3sTwZLl4znKuaWjHahw0A6PwoWuhFufzt3LsxMiO1-TOmuxn8Kgece-01m-Ph_9zJTExU2C6xHTqz16cmOU/s1600/IMG_4460.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Last month, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to visit Pathway India, a non-profit organization located in southern India that serves underprivileged and handicapped children. Pathway educates, empowers, and enlightens the students they serve by providing vocational and academic training, rewarding students for their contributions, and sustaining an environment in which the students feel safe, loved, and confident in their abilities to contribute using their knowledge and talents.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQ1s1Aa7K_rwuZP-FuyhRVLlS9DW1mCmLvGZ7hTbxKxCGttkXxdSaQvfrSMMaCBquyY0ULbhfA_9qG7aBGY5Nr2rLOtaRcvS1XzM1igyDhsvujNPxMFU18qHeRM4LlMOKnfv2O6LHN8M/s1600/IMG_4529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQ1s1Aa7K_rwuZP-FuyhRVLlS9DW1mCmLvGZ7hTbxKxCGttkXxdSaQvfrSMMaCBquyY0ULbhfA_9qG7aBGY5Nr2rLOtaRcvS1XzM1igyDhsvujNPxMFU18qHeRM4LlMOKnfv2O6LHN8M/s1600/IMG_4529.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
We had an opportunity to train the teachers at one of Pathway's schools located in rural Chennai. We also had the opportunity to conduct a training for English teachers in the surrounding area and were privileged to have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._S._Swaminathan">Dr. Swaminathan</a> in attendance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMwLJya8OBiKIJzQCDLoNFjaF67E8BbdxSCZSz8rtzxduWGTx0BI1Aa9_1gsRvEJW5UtLM56nwh_k-ld2m6OZZbBeC3KawKz9y_U-auuS1O27G_cFz1iq3wIeSTSoPQXU5WLOU3akdOA/s1600/smallsize-273_zps436c432b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMwLJya8OBiKIJzQCDLoNFjaF67E8BbdxSCZSz8rtzxduWGTx0BI1Aa9_1gsRvEJW5UtLM56nwh_k-ld2m6OZZbBeC3KawKz9y_U-auuS1O27G_cFz1iq3wIeSTSoPQXU5WLOU3akdOA/s1600/smallsize-273_zps436c432b.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8zk8eCPq4TQquyerBSOAXCKGnC0NkJA35BtQurm_6W658hFEmx35Fe9quAPlt4_RqUdton2qfWPlnYIt9KwKU-675lJ-OQEqvpdRmfffqlOeEeWWQAILTASgeuwxKfgkW2hW7O-0lig/s1600/smallsize-464_zps772de391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8zk8eCPq4TQquyerBSOAXCKGnC0NkJA35BtQurm_6W658hFEmx35Fe9quAPlt4_RqUdton2qfWPlnYIt9KwKU-675lJ-OQEqvpdRmfffqlOeEeWWQAILTASgeuwxKfgkW2hW7O-0lig/s1600/smallsize-464_zps772de391.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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Pathway India recently published their latest newsletter article which documents our recent visit. It can be accessed <a href="http://goo.gl/iuXcNU">here</a>. To learn more about this organization, visit their website at <a href="http://pathway.org.in/">http://pathway.org.in/</a>, or visit their Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pathway-India/113917225349676?fref=nf">Pathway India</a>.<br />
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<a name='more'></a> Some photos of the students are included below:<br />
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I've written a blog post before about the difference between the acronyms ESL, ELL, ESOL, etc. (It can be accessed <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/02/whats-difference-esl-efl-esol-ell-and.html">here</a>.) This particular post has proven to be one of my most popular posts, standing as one of my most-accessed posts found organically via internet searches. Having a background in linguistics, however, I'm not naive to the fact that with time, terminology trends change. So, I'm curious: Which acronym/s do you use most often to refer to your non-native English speaking students? Take my poll at the right to share your opinion! I'll post the results after I close the poll at the end of the month.</div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-35310872199758552992014-03-28T15:53:00.002-06:002014-03-31T17:16:29.022-06:00TESOL 2014 in Portland, Oregon: Phonics in English Language Learning Contexts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlcQk7M9qyffcjEDDe2XV6Q6gDALyL4fRT3ej6vIIxZ9sT45VbZ4R1rXwHpV-GebnvUiwK3mUBvnaxky9e5qD3AFJioDCVhYz_lpW5sfVodAqmfA8tvzNDogeDw8s_8CwrEoGe_E0qJI/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlcQk7M9qyffcjEDDe2XV6Q6gDALyL4fRT3ej6vIIxZ9sT45VbZ4R1rXwHpV-GebnvUiwK3mUBvnaxky9e5qD3AFJioDCVhYz_lpW5sfVodAqmfA8tvzNDogeDw8s_8CwrEoGe_E0qJI/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0PdR4cYpKmZENl4akxEsYu-0cqpIlwchUPIx9KDIz7K9gceyU4QwKoUrd_7bBauWLcU4fgPFu-69_xWPApuC6i7W_XuaXCyxuIyel7RS2jCPZ9QPPZ-oU5oVCX0nVJbKe3aYDTfmS8k/s1600/TESOL+2014+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0PdR4cYpKmZENl4akxEsYu-0cqpIlwchUPIx9KDIz7K9gceyU4QwKoUrd_7bBauWLcU4fgPFu-69_xWPApuC6i7W_XuaXCyxuIyel7RS2jCPZ9QPPZ-oU5oVCX0nVJbKe3aYDTfmS8k/s1600/TESOL+2014+logo.png" height="84" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm currently attending the TESOL 2014 conference in Portland. It is common each year I attend to recognize "themes" or areas of growing interest based on the presentation topics and the number of attendees drawn to each presentation. One of the popular areas of interest I've noticed at this conference has been phonics as it relates to language competency and enhancing learning in various language skills.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAZ4QqR38WdMFxe2GPo3fv-81ikeb3Mri9Kg5PKhQ7uSuYghGEidVQ8dSLkl39rE5tCVUUAFBbFgMI3SeB5mhEq-9tBKp4N64M7etfAbhR7ydB-T8XhdST1k2F3tVJHzLIUQGkidF4bk/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAZ4QqR38WdMFxe2GPo3fv-81ikeb3Mri9Kg5PKhQ7uSuYghGEidVQ8dSLkl39rE5tCVUUAFBbFgMI3SeB5mhEq-9tBKp4N64M7etfAbhR7ydB-T8XhdST1k2F3tVJHzLIUQGkidF4bk/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
I attended a session yesterday by three TESOL graduate students from Florida State University. They presented on the use of an <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/">explicit phonics program</a> over the last year in their Intensive English Program at FSU. I was happy to see that the results of their implementation have been positive.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW_gPW8FQWCufra1PTwyv62I2FCC3Jw3zAxR2XBBKjS3y_5cTtl84NGlQKm5U9kiWFLvwXsSiQPWQcswyeI8cGnqxBklq0Z4I6vEA8xYhCW7Upfsv9y9pTBWwjsYtfcCMbCQ2NIxuwtI/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW_gPW8FQWCufra1PTwyv62I2FCC3Jw3zAxR2XBBKjS3y_5cTtl84NGlQKm5U9kiWFLvwXsSiQPWQcswyeI8cGnqxBklq0Z4I6vEA8xYhCW7Upfsv9y9pTBWwjsYtfcCMbCQ2NIxuwtI/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
One of the things they shared in their presentation was their training in the phonics methodology, which training I conducted for them at their campus about a year ago. I was pleased to see how they have retained and implemented the skills and rationale learned at the training. And they did an excellent job presenting their information!<br />
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I attended another <a href="http://heideologies.wordpress.com/presentations/focused-phonics-a-grammatical-approach-to-pronunciation-tesol-2014/">session </a>this morning in which <a href="http://heideologies.wordpress.com/">the presenter</a> discussed the use of phonics instruction to enhance grammar skills--specifically, the use of phonics to inform pronunciation in context of morphology instruction. She shared several activities that she has used in her classroom to reinforce these skills. The session was very well attended and generated much interest in the topic of phonics for English Language Learners.<br />
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I also attended a presentation on bottom-up strategies in context of listening. Again, the presentation was well-attended. I am amazed at the interest generated on the topics of phonics, decoding, and bottom-up strategy instruction.<br />
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My presentation at TESOL this year falls within the theme of phonics for ELLs and is entitled "Strategies and Tools for Enhancing Literacy Learning and Teacher Training." My handout can be accessed here soon!</div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-7120508113338581882014-01-31T11:19:00.001-07:002014-03-31T16:43:11.700-06:00Free, Engaging 2014 Winter Olympics Activities for ELL Classrooms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.sochi2014.com/en" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtontW49HFgxK-PNVe0l_EK-Bft_hZMIieYh_gaZN93vH6hgb88uI4OOFvEGkBHcu96fxLMXkl-K72yn1tfX1WoNJ6fmzfs2pKb_0Wxx66qEce2rIpZafRV-Sd1cDEPwSZOfE4KubqOs/s1600/olympics_logo_1278x958.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
With the <a href="http://www.sochi2014.com/en">2014 Winter Olympics</a> rapidly approaching, teachers are gearing up for ways to integrate the excitement of the games into their English Language Learner classrooms. A colleague recently informed me of a free Winter Olympics Activity Toolkit created by <a href="http://learningcenter.vifprogram.com/">VIF Learning Center</a> that can be downloaded on their blog <a href="http://www.viflearn.com/index.php/ourblog/entry/winter-olympics-activity-toolkit">here</a>. The toolkit provides engaging activities to bring global learning into the classroom. You can also upload photos and videos of students engaging in the activities onto the VIF Learning Center <a href="http://www.viflearn.com/index.php/password-reset?view=login">website </a>to be entered into prize drawings. You can learn more information by reading their blog post <a href="http://www.viflearn.com/index.php/ourblog/entry/winter-olympics-activity-toolkit">here</a>. The toolkit was developed for students in grades K-12, but activities are also relevant to older learners.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The toolkit includes a myriad of engaging, interactive activities that build skills in literacy, social studies, math, art, music, physical education, and science. Activities oriented around the paralympics are also provided. The toolkit includes a handy calendar highlighting some of the more popular events. Activity sheets and templates are also available. The activities are fun and engaging, and they can be adapted to students of all ages. Download this free resource here: <a href="http://bit.ly/1fi2XSm">http://bit.ly/1fi2XSm</a>.</div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-67211188562134450402013-10-29T12:02:00.001-06:002014-03-31T16:41:57.561-06:00Reading Fluency Webinar by Neil Anderson for ESL Teachers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LXKDeVEadhC9aeEUbL1pxtYZyZwb3bHCNgjP5I-bXLy9xUr9AjVrfn7fLQuhkbIPLbYHYNbhDcas2R1CHZs4RJfNUOB4RANjDSIHzZS48pwPzoUZ_f1v5oxnL4h6_o8HzLJpWTGnyEQ/s1600/MP900438678+(150x150).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LXKDeVEadhC9aeEUbL1pxtYZyZwb3bHCNgjP5I-bXLy9xUr9AjVrfn7fLQuhkbIPLbYHYNbhDcas2R1CHZs4RJfNUOB4RANjDSIHzZS48pwPzoUZ_f1v5oxnL4h6_o8HzLJpWTGnyEQ/s1600/MP900438678+(150x150).jpg" /></a>My colleague <a href="http://linguistics.byu.edu/directory/nja3/">Neil Anderson</a> recently presented a webinar hosted by <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/">Reading Horizons</a> entitled, "<a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/webinars/holding-in-the-bottom-while-sustaining-the-top-a-balanced-approach-for-l2-reading-instruction">Holding in the Bottom While Sustaining the Top: A Balanced Approach for L2 Reading</a>." This informative webinar is one of the most practical webinars I've ever heard with regards to maintaining a well-balanced, <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/04/ell-u-online-discussion-interactive.html">interactive reading curriculum</a> for English Language Learners. He discusses the use of both top-down and <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/02/esol-instruction-from-bottom-up.html">bottom-up</a> (phonics) instruction in the L2 reading classroom.<br />
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In the webinar, he refers to a low-level reading class he is currently teaching to English Language Learners at <a href="http://elc.byu.edu/">BYU's English Language Center</a>. He shares strategies and practical activities he is employing with his current class. I have the privilege of teaching a reading class down the hall from Dr. Anderson at the same hour in the morning, so it is not uncommon to see each other in the hallway and converse about our reading classes. Since I teach the reading class just one level above his, I am also employing <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/04/teaching-reading-to-beginning-level.html">bottom-up strategies</a> in my reading classroom and seeing great success.</div>
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This morning I implemented in my classroom some of the strategies Dr. Anderson shared in his webinar, and it went really well! In particular, I have been mindful of the fluency practice activities mentioned in the webinar. It is definitely worth watching the full-length webinar in order to benefit from Dr. Anderson's expertise, personal examples, and anecdotal evidence, but I will share two of the fluency activities mentioned in the webinar that I utilized today in my class with a description of how I used them.</div>
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1) Rapid Word Recognition</div>
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Students are given a page with ten or so vocabulary words in focus and a list of four or five other words used as distractors. Students scan each line on the page and cross off the word that is in focus. Students have 50 <span style="font-family: inherit;">seconds to complete a page of 50 words (10 unique words on the page, each repeated five times).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.56in;">For example, one of the words used in my class today was the word "gold" from my students' reading:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: -0.56in;">gold </span><span style="text-indent: -0.56in;">| good gold golf gild</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.56in;">The idea behind this exercise is to draw attention to unfamiliar vocabulary words to help with improving fluency. After engaging in this rapid recognition exercise, we decoded the words as a class to ensure that students learn proper pronunciation. We also discussed the meaning of each word. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.56in;">My students have learned in my class that to really "know" a vocabulary word, they need to know three things about the word: 1) the meaning of the word (including parts of speech and derivations [e.g., plural and past tense forms]); 2) the spelling of the word; and 3) the pronunciation of the word. After learning these three components of a new vocabulary word, my students should then be able to </span><span style="text-indent: -53.7599983215332px;">independently </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.56in;">recognize and use these vocabulary words in context. </span><span style="text-indent: -53.7599983215332px;">My students have learned that if they can attach the meaning with the sound and spelling of the word, the word "sticks" better.</span><span style="text-indent: -53.7599983215332px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.56in;">Teaching students the phonics skills needed to decode words helps them to learn both the spelling and pronunciation of the word. The goal is to help students learn how to decode unfamiliar words independently while reading on their own. Students are taught how to decode using the Reading Horizons software, and then we use class time to practice decoding strategies. As a side note, decoding practice is one of my students' most enjoyable class activities. They love to show me what they know!</span></div>
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2) Class-Paced Reading</div>
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The class was made aware of their goal for minimal reading rate. In my class, the goal is 200 words per minute (reading text that is appropriate for their level). For homework last night, the students read an expository text about dogs (<i>A Look At Dogs</i>) in preparation for reading the book <i>The Call of the Wild</i>. There are approximately 50 words on each page of the text. Students were instructed to read as much of the text on the page that they could in 15 seconds. On my "go," the students would begin reading the page, and after 15 seconds, I would tell the students to stop and turn the page. Students were encouraged to finish reading the words on the page before the 15 seconds were up. Throughout the exercise, we would pause for brief comprehension checks. This exercise helps students become more accustomed to moving their eyes across the page at an appropriate rate. (I reminded students before the exercise that fluency is reading at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension, which definition I attribute to Neil Anderson.) Of course, decoding comes into play here because if students can decode words appropriately, their fluency is not impeded.</div>
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Listen to <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/webinars/holding-in-the-bottom-while-sustaining-the-top-a-balanced-approach-for-l2-reading-instruction">Neil Anderson's webinar</a>, as well as other literacy webinars, <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/webinars">here</a>.<br />
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-72994546937551480312013-09-04T13:08:00.003-06:002014-03-31T16:43:38.024-06:00English Language Learner Strategies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2NVhI7AsmJwv91s0I9OAY5MvSUHjPkW9oCd64rJ6txRBknbsNn7AtC-o4VHiNYI3N-8q9pQ4kwSgmNaUsSsdPhdNs9eNwdO-sX5fI56GQhmtu5uvy57dVyt_9P37lv_l8bD_iGt23IkE/s1600/iStock_000016934184Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2NVhI7AsmJwv91s0I9OAY5MvSUHjPkW9oCd64rJ6txRBknbsNn7AtC-o4VHiNYI3N-8q9pQ4kwSgmNaUsSsdPhdNs9eNwdO-sX5fI56GQhmtu5uvy57dVyt_9P37lv_l8bD_iGt23IkE/s200/iStock_000016934184Large.jpg" height="200" width="145" /></a>Visit my <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/08/esl-teaching-tips.html">ESL teaching tips blog post</a> to learn about pronunciation, spelling, grammar, decoding, and listening strategies. Also, come back to my blog soon to see the launch of my new YouTube channel where I will be demonstrating decoding strategies using a tablet and screen captures!<br />
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Specific strategies taught elsewhere on my blog can also be accessed here:<br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">ESL Pronunciation Tips</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-three-sounds-of.html">The Three Sounds of the Suffix <i>-ED</i></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-pronouncing.html">Pronouncing Plurals</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-recognizing.html">Recognizing and Pronouncing Voiced and Voiceless Sounds</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/06/esl-pronunciation-tip-rising-and.html">Rising and Falling Intonation in <i>WH-</i> and Yes/No Questions</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/esl-pronunciation-tip-syllable-stress.html">Syllable Stress and the Schwa</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/02/word-stress-predictability.html">Word Stress Predictability</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/09/minimal-pairs-exercises-for-esol.html">Minimal Pairs (Part 1)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/07/in-previous-post-i-shared-examples-of.html">Minimal Pairs (Part 2)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/07/minimal-pairs-for-esol-students.html">Minimal Pairs (Part 3)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/09/free-online-pronunciation-tool.html">Free Online Pronunciation Tool</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/02/teaching-students-how-to-self-monitor.html">Teaching Students How to Self-Monitor to Improve Pronunciation</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/07/esol-students-potential-pronunciation.html">Potential Pronunciation Problems (Part 1)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/05/potential-pronunciation-problems-for.html">Potential Pronunciation Problems (Part 2)</a></div>
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<b>ESL Spelling Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/esl-spelling-tip-adding-suffixes.html">Adding Suffixes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/07/spelling-tip-one-syllable-words-that.html">One-Syllable Words that End in <i>S</i>, <i>F</i>, and <i>Z</i></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2009/09/tricky-words.html">Tricky Words: Usage and Spelling Help</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/02/english-sounds-and-corresponding.html">English Sounds and Corresponding Spellings</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/10/ten-consistent-spelling-patterns-in.html">Ten Consistent Spelling Patterns in English</a></div>
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<b>ESL Grammar Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/common-suffixes.html">Common Suffixes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/07/esl-teaching-tip-common-prefixes.html">Common Prefixes</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/07/esl-teaching-tip-when-to-use-comma.html">Proper Use of Commas</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/07/esl-teaching-tip-nouns.html">Nouns</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/12/direct-and-indirect-quotations-lesson.html">Direct and Indirect Quotations</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/10/parts-of-speech.html">Parts of Speech</a></div>
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<b>ESL Reading and Decoding Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/06/esl-teaching-tip-other-sounds-for-c-and.html">Soft Sounds of <i>C</i> and <i>G</i> </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/07/decoding-strategy-is-vowel-long-or.html">Is the Vowel Long or Short?</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/08/esl-teaching-tip-syllable-division-in.html#more">Syllable Division in Multi-Syllable Words</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/11/ideas-for-how-to-teach-sight-words.html">Ideas for Teaching Sight Words</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/10/free-games-and-manipulatives-for.html">Free Literacy Games and Manipulatives</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/10/free-phonemic-awareness-activities.html">Free Phonemic Awareness Activities</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/12/what-are-graphic-organizers.html">What Are Graphic Organizers?</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/08/sight-words-vocabulary-list.html">Sight Words Vocabulary List</a><br />
<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/p/engaging-activities-to-teach-sight.html">Engaging Activities to Teach Sight Words</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/03/what-makes-good-reader.html">What Makes a Good Reader?</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/02/dictionary-skills-for-esol-learners.html">Dictionary Skills</a></div>
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<b>ESL Listening Tips</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/10/esl-listening-strategies-for-english.html">Listening Strategies</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/08/esl-listening-and-speaking-activities.html">Listening and Speaking Activities</a><br />
<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/p/listening-strategy-training-activity_17.html">Listening Strategy Training Activity</a></div>
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<b>ESL Teaching Strategies</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2008/03/23-teaching-strategies-to-enhance-esol.html">23 Teaching Strategies for ESOL Students</a></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-54403524718644716792013-08-26T17:27:00.000-06:002016-04-20T13:56:12.235-06:00New Educational Literacy App for Children (Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/whack-a-word/id664822473?mt=8"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZN_D-uPrCtos8aJVX5l61fDYwFX32OodjDVBRgPfnWTEUts8JTdIDqBULjID4S4yD2E4zDdGr3tFPeOyydbPpSH4CMvUiW4rHygaYO2SfT7WETFA3NOsC5wz7CnliCbIE495CCQkOCH8/s200/Whack-a-Word.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I mentioned in a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7236264497426182767#editor/target=post;postID=4865893602907294548;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=2;src=postname">previous blog post</a> that <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/">Reading Horizons</a> developed an app for children called Card Match available in the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/whack-a-word/id664822473?mt=8">Apple app store</a> for use on iPads. Since that blog post, the company has now released an additional app for kids called <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/elementary-reading-program/discovery-mobile-apps">Whack-a-Word</a>, which was recently featured on the <a href="http://newswatchtv.com/distribution.html">History Channel and Ion Networks</a>. You can view the spot <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXmy7Ct1g4c">here</a>. Other Reading Horizons apps can be found <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/developer/reading-horizons/id646512481" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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A special shout-out goes to all who are helping to improve literacy efforts around the world!</div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-70535070207343361222013-05-17T16:37:00.004-06:002013-05-17T17:00:35.656-06:00Adapting Online Apps in the Classroom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Tjw9LH58z_80WpYDIxxiDelYbmnXptlatOo8X69uakGOjAImaunen7F3y1OqtawZ-CUytKWK1O8vgbP24-tiv5Etot2YOgsYY5g5LDgRgADS4sXG4RBnrfFkyRcQVDTVuGk28-cyy9Q/s1600/social_media.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Tjw9LH58z_80WpYDIxxiDelYbmnXptlatOo8X69uakGOjAImaunen7F3y1OqtawZ-CUytKWK1O8vgbP24-tiv5Etot2YOgsYY5g5LDgRgADS4sXG4RBnrfFkyRcQVDTVuGk28-cyy9Q/s320/social_media.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
With the rise of social media and online apps, an increased interest from educators in how to utilize these online resources in the classroom has surfaced. I have blogged before about using technology in the classroom. Two of these blog posts include <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2011/09/free-online-videos-for-esl-classroom.html">Free Online Videos for the ESL and ELL Classrooms</a> and <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2010/10/five-free-technology-tools-for-ellesl.html">Five Free Technology Tools for ELL/ESL Teachers and Students</a>. I am always interested in learning new ideas about how to integrate and adapt useful technology and online resources in the classroom.<br />
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A colleague reached out to me this week and inquired about whether I would be interested in sharing a link to an online article she authored which examines the use of the <a href="http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2013/04/vine-education/">Vine app</a> in classrooms. This app could be used in a variety of ways, including use for demos and tutorials. Links to tutorials and practical tips are included in the article, which can be found here: <a href="http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2013/04/vine-education/">http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2013/04/vine-education/</a>.<br />
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I have not yet used this app myself, but I am interested in your thoughts. Would you find this resource useful? What other online apps are you adapting in your classroom? Feel free to share your insights!</div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-48658936029072945482013-05-17T16:07:00.002-06:002016-04-20T13:56:42.489-06:00New Educational Literacy App for Children (Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OM9WcezGFkMGzM3634wLExFznMHC6-lOFdSZi_C9H787E2z5LxvSAUv2U1YK5PsneqIseDOzjX9E8_Mo4s_7q2KA-uqNb9kJ1uurhgkAht_5empp5rVy0RLb2tBW7RVSVxYuLE-7Xws/s1600/Card+Match+App+solo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OM9WcezGFkMGzM3634wLExFznMHC6-lOFdSZi_C9H787E2z5LxvSAUv2U1YK5PsneqIseDOzjX9E8_Mo4s_7q2KA-uqNb9kJ1uurhgkAht_5empp5rVy0RLb2tBW7RVSVxYuLE-7Xws/s200/Card+Match+App+solo.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OM9WcezGFkMGzM3634wLExFznMHC6-lOFdSZi_C9H787E2z5LxvSAUv2U1YK5PsneqIseDOzjX9E8_Mo4s_7q2KA-uqNb9kJ1uurhgkAht_5empp5rVy0RLb2tBW7RVSVxYuLE-7Xws/s1600/Card+Match+App+solo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/">Reading Horizons</a> just launched a new educational app available in the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/card-match-reading-horizons/id646512478?mt=8">Apple App Store</a> called <a href="http://new.readinghorizons.com/elementary-reading-program/discovery-mobile-apps">Card Match</a>. This game helps students recognize words by matching a word card with an image card. Card Match is one of the games featured in the <i><a href="http://new.readinghorizons.com/elementary-reading-program/interactive-reading-software">Reading Horizons Discovery</a></i> software that was released last fall. I admit that the game is a little addicting--even for adults. Challenge yourself to complete a level in as little time as possible for <i>three</i> stars (versus the one- or two-star alternative rewards). This app is available at the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/card-match-reading-horizons/id646512478?mt=8">Apple App Store</a>. Soon to follow is the release of an additional educational app: <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/08/new-educational-literacy-app-for.html">Whack a Word</a>. Stay tuned!<br />
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(See Part 2 of this blog post <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/08/new-educational-literacy-app-for.html">here</a>. Also, see other Reading Horizons apps <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/developer/reading-horizons/id646512481" target="_blank">here</a>.)</div>
Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-704157418721810462013-05-06T15:42:00.000-06:002013-05-06T16:18:31.510-06:00ELL-U Online Discussion: Interactive Reading Strategies for Emergent ELL Readers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvazRmm5g_1RoRFvtlHrw9U9uv_YZK_TeFci-uAuOHXdlXU7IlpBnZN-tMhkDQhF9-kyXU6iOFdk_hPxvsFPW_vbpwFVrkPGJ-WflMZialny1YvrFFYP475LndCLJPq9N1oGl8E-449E/s1600/ELL-U.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="54" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvazRmm5g_1RoRFvtlHrw9U9uv_YZK_TeFci-uAuOHXdlXU7IlpBnZN-tMhkDQhF9-kyXU6iOFdk_hPxvsFPW_vbpwFVrkPGJ-WflMZialny1YvrFFYP475LndCLJPq9N1oGl8E-449E/s320/ELL-U.png" width="320" /></a>Last call to participate in the online discussion on <a href="http://www.ell-u.org/">ELL-U </a>regarding <a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/#492">Interactive Reading Strategies for Emergent ELL Readers</a>. Part 1 can be viewed <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/04/ell-u-online-discussion-interactive.html">here</a>, and Part 2 can be viewed <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/04/ell-u-online-discussion-interactive_29.html">here</a>. Join the discussion at <a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/#492">http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/#492</a>. I would love to hear from you!<br />
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-87572500904045158062013-04-29T08:02:00.003-06:002013-04-29T08:37:16.383-06:00ELL-U Online Discussion: Interactive Reading Strategies for Emergent ELL Readers (Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome to Part 2 of the <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">online discussion hosted by ELL-U.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To join the Online Discussion:</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.3in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1) Watch Part 2 of the webinar below.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: -0.3in;">2) Post your responses on <a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">ELL-U</a> at </span><a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.3in;">http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/</a><span style="text-indent: -0.3in;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: -0.3in;">3) Visit </span><a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.3in;">ELL-U</a><span style="text-indent: -0.3in;"> before May 3 to view others’ feedback and participate in the online discussion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: -0.3in;">4) Watch <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/04/ell-u-online-discussion-interactive.html">Part 1</a> of this webinar on </span><a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/04/ell-u-online-discussion-interactive.html">www.ESLtrail.com</a><span style="text-indent: -0.3in;"> at any time to review.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The objectives of the webinar are as follows:</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 11px; text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Part 1:</span></b></span></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Provide examples of bottom-up, top-down, and interactive strategies for teaching L2 reading.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Offer rationale for the use of explicit, systematic bottom-up strategies instruction.</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Part 2:</span></b></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Discuss the role of students’ phonemic and phonological awareness.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Provide practical methodology and approaches to teaching bottom-up strategies in L2 reading.</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit;">Self-reflection Questions:</span></b></div>
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Was there at least one strategy you learned in this webinar that you didn’t
know before?</span></div>
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Which bottom-up strategies would you
like to implement?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit;">3)
When would be an appropriate time to implement bottom-up strategies?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">Join the Online Discussion </span><a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/" style="color: #2288bb; font-family: inherit; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -0.3in;">here</a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sources</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aebersold, J. & Field, M. L., (1997). <span style="font-style: italic;">From reader to reading teacher: Issues and strategies for second language classrooms</span>. New York: Cambridge University Press.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anderson, N. J. (2003). Exploring Skills: Reading. In D. Nunan (Ed.), <span style="font-style: italic;">Practical English Language Teaching</span> (pp. 67-86). New York: McGraw-Hill.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Birch, B. M, (2002). <span style="font-style: italic;">English L2 Reading: Getting to the Bottom</span>. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carrell, P. (1993). Introduction: Interactive approaches to second language reading. In P. Carrell, J. Devine, & D. Eskey (Eds.), <span style="font-style: italic;">Interactive approaches to second language reading</span> (pp. 1-7). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eskey, D. (1993). Holding in the bottom: An interactive approach to the language problems of second language readers. In P. Carrell, J. Devine, & D. Eskey (Eds.), <span style="font-style: italic;">Interactive approaches to second language reading</span> (pp. 93-100). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nunes, T. (1999). <span style="font-style: italic;">Learning to read: An integrated view from research and practice.</span> Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.</span></span></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-66918852466612514212013-04-19T13:57:00.000-06:002013-04-29T11:39:46.009-06:00ELL-U Online Discussion: Interactive Reading Strategies for Emergent ELL Readers (Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvazRmm5g_1RoRFvtlHrw9U9uv_YZK_TeFci-uAuOHXdlXU7IlpBnZN-tMhkDQhF9-kyXU6iOFdk_hPxvsFPW_vbpwFVrkPGJ-WflMZialny1YvrFFYP475LndCLJPq9N1oGl8E-449E/s1600/ELL-U.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="33" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvazRmm5g_1RoRFvtlHrw9U9uv_YZK_TeFci-uAuOHXdlXU7IlpBnZN-tMhkDQhF9-kyXU6iOFdk_hPxvsFPW_vbpwFVrkPGJ-WflMZialny1YvrFFYP475LndCLJPq9N1oGl8E-449E/s200/ELL-U.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Welcome! </span><span style="color: #222222;">I am pleased to be moderating the online forum hosted by ELL-U </span><span style="color: #222222;">from April 22-May 3.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To join the Online Discussion:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">1) Watch Part 1 of the webinar below.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">2) Post your responses on <a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/">ELL-U</a> at </span><a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/" style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/</a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">3) Visit </span><a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/" style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">ELL-U</a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;"> between April 22 and May 3 to view others’
feedback and participate in the online discussion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">4) Watch <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/04/ell-u-online-discussion-interactive_29.html">Part 2 </a>of this webinar on </span><a href="http://www.esltrail.com/" style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;">www.ESLtrail.com</a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.3in;"> beginning on April
29. (View Part 2 <a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2013/04/ell-u-online-discussion-interactive_29.html">here</a>.)</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz-_zFvG4uSDgq2W9bdSf9tHtBKDZWUs6XYyCjsD6IjfXhjgrk6nkWjIGB0MbzdiuhJnexyKqQtF7ENllFvbQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
The objectives of the webinar are as follows:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 90%; text-indent: 0in;"><b>Part 1:</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #0bd0d9; font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Provide examples of bottom-up, top-down, and interactive
strategies for teaching L2 reading.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0bd0d9; font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Offer rationale for the use of explicit, systematic
bottom-up strategies instruction.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Part 2:</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #0bd0d9; font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Discuss the </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">role of students’ phonemic and phonological </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">awareness</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0bd0d9; font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Provide </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">practical methodology and approaches to teaching
bottom-up strategies in L2 reading</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Self-reflection Questions:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1) What strategies do you use to teach reading?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">2) When you learned
how to read, did you learn both bottom-up and top-down skills?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">3) When you teach
reading, do you rely more on teaching top-down strategies? If so, why?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">4)
Are you an <span style="font-style: italic;">interactive</span> reading teacher?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Join the Online Discussion <a href="http://www.ell-u.org/forum/viewthread/279/">here</a>!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Sources</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Aebersold, J. & Field, M.
L., (1997). <span style="font-style: italic;">From reader to reading teacher: Issues and strategies for
second language classrooms</span>. New York: Cambridge University Press.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Anderson, N. J.
(2003). Exploring Skills: Reading. In D.
Nunan (Ed.), <span style="font-style: italic;">Practical
English Language Teaching</span>
(pp. 67-86). New York: McGraw-Hill.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Birch, B. M,
(2002). <span style="font-style: italic;">English L2 Reading: Getting to the Bottom</span>. Mahwah, New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Carrell, P. (1993).
Introduction: Interactive approaches to second language reading. In P. Carrell, J. Devine, & D. Eskey (Eds.), <span style="font-style: italic;">Interactive approaches to second language reading</span> (pp. 1-7).
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Eskey, D. (1993). Holding in the bottom: An interactive
approach to the language problems of second language readers. In P. Carrell, J. Devine, & D. Eskey (Eds.), <span style="font-style: italic;">Interactive approaches to second
language reading</span>
(pp. 93-100). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Nunes, T.
(1999). <span style="font-style: italic;">Learning to read: An
integrated view from research and practice.</span>
Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.</span></span></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-13433741000792787552013-04-08T10:09:00.000-06:002013-10-29T18:47:39.707-06:00Forum for Adult Emerging ELL Readers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvazRmm5g_1RoRFvtlHrw9U9uv_YZK_TeFci-uAuOHXdlXU7IlpBnZN-tMhkDQhF9-kyXU6iOFdk_hPxvsFPW_vbpwFVrkPGJ-WflMZialny1YvrFFYP475LndCLJPq9N1oGl8E-449E/s1600/ELL-U.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="33" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvazRmm5g_1RoRFvtlHrw9U9uv_YZK_TeFci-uAuOHXdlXU7IlpBnZN-tMhkDQhF9-kyXU6iOFdk_hPxvsFPW_vbpwFVrkPGJ-WflMZialny1YvrFFYP475LndCLJPq9N1oGl8E-449E/s200/ELL-U.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">I have written a </span><a href="http://www.esltrail.com/2012/04/free-online-professional-development.html">blog post</a><span style="color: #222222;"> before about ELL-U, a free online resource for professional development. I am pleased to be moderating a forum hosted by ELL-U later this month. Following is the information provided by ELL-U that has been recently disseminated</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">.</span></div>
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<strong>Be sure to stop by the ELL-U community forums to <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001CFDfLk0BSI1I4ykxfZuVZLssABwPMF0IFvDqGeCcH_ihB0_nWlfJNnNny2-Vag_C6LlDvv-54-OpgEu5e0Qsbc-QXL8RyLhiDqskCOfeq5uSzddHpJ3qjx7rvss7Un0jcwpNhZScdvtl1PRcSbeKPA==" shape="rect" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">join the online discussion with Heidi</a> from April 22 - May 3, 2013</strong>. ELL-U is excited to have Heidi join the community to share her expertise in first- and second-language literacy and reading, language learning strategies, learner characteristics, pronunciation, and computer-assisted language learning. </div>
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Heidi is the Curriculum and ESL Director at Reading Horizons where she oversees curriculum development, training, and research. In addition, she is also a current member of the international association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Inc. and has presented her research at the international convention. She also served as President of the Intermountain-TESOL (I-TESOL) affiliate from 2008-2009 and currently serves as Secretary on the I-TESOL Board.</div>
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Be sure to check the <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001CFDfLk0BSI0HbGw8h_wgFiaKeocjPXRuy2NbzQrLsGoCaxG5CE_zgl9aQEckqCfqS9tXA1z4DeoTZ4N7Oak7G3sfeg5YcbR9lcnYrKDvaKe0W0hpIHrXFiDMUn96fpXFa2WS-DydFlM=" shape="rect" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">ELL-U Forums and Discussion</a> page to participate in this special discussion. For additional information, email <a href="mailto:info@ell-u.org" shape="rect" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">info@ell-u.org</a>. </div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7236264497426182767.post-3530615253392590712013-04-08T09:49:00.001-06:002013-04-09T12:28:11.821-06:00Free Education Webinars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I first started working for <a href="http://www.readinghorizons.com/">Reading Horizons</a> six-and-a-half years ago, one of my first assignments was to conduct a webinar. A "webinar?" I asked. I hadn't heard the term "webinar" before. When I discussed this assignment with colleagues at the time, the term "webinar" was unfamiliar to them, as well. I felt like I was breaking new ground.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOxJKk-EEEgSe2353yZ6YNMaI1OwoHeWv9hMvy5vwlliwlswu5QP4KSZ25EkrtIlB59EDAfORkAKDEUtmrc7ZIdmJV3T5FvvbYKMJR9bLoji3al-mGGfmk32pyy2DW3ja6EZrIvnhD8k/s1600/Schwartz.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOxJKk-EEEgSe2353yZ6YNMaI1OwoHeWv9hMvy5vwlliwlswu5QP4KSZ25EkrtIlB59EDAfORkAKDEUtmrc7ZIdmJV3T5FvvbYKMJR9bLoji3al-mGGfmk32pyy2DW3ja6EZrIvnhD8k/s200/Schwartz.gif" width="200" /></a>Since that time, webinars have become a popular and effective way to provide free online professional development. Reading Horizons provides free webinars that can be accessed <a href="http://readinghorizons.com/community/webinars/index.aspx">here</a>. Webinar topics range from <a href="http://readinghorizons.com/community/webinars/past_webinars.aspx#joseph-torgesen">Teaching All Students to Read</a> by Dr. Joseph Torgesen, to Developing <a href="http://readinghorizons.com/community/webinars/past_webinars.aspx#neil_anderson">Fluent Readers</a> by Neil Anderson, to <a href="http://readinghorizons.com/community/webinars/past_webinars.aspx#using_learning_centers">Using Learning Centers to Meet Needs in Multilevel ESL Classrooms</a> by Dr. Robin Lovrien Schwarz. These webinars are just one of the many types of free online resources now available for professional development.<span id="goog_1983515161"></span><span id="goog_1983515162"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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Heidi Hytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694484025320042947noreply@blogger.com0