Alondra's Instructional Plan

In order to make Alondra’s instructional plan an authentic one, it must be noted that as a resource teacher, I will not be implementing the strategies listed below, but rather sharing and encouraging Alondra’s teachers to implement these strategies and activities to the greatest extent possible.  It should also be noted that Alondra’s plan contains specific strategies geared toward her, but will also include some general strategies that will benefit Alondra’s classmates as well.

Alondra’s L2 language development shows signs of continued growth over the years to come.  Over the last three years, there has been constant and consistent growth in Alondra’s oral, reading and writing proficiencies.  However, Alondra  has still not yet achieved the level 6 (which is considered fully proficient in our district)  With this in mind it is imperative to encourage her teachers to consider various factors during reading and writing instruction with Alondra. 

According to Chapter 3, Struggling Learners and Language Immersion Education, “To extend the literacy skills of all readers, not just those that struggle, adopting an interactive approach to teaching reading is valuable.”  I will recommend to Alondra’s language arts teacher that she and other students be allowed to read texts that are at a level appropriate to them and also of interest to them as an individual.  This idea is not only best practice in considering the use of guided reading, but is addressed in the CAL Digests article Reading with a Purpose as well.  According to the reading, Krashen argues that “pleasure reading is an important source of comprehensible input for acquisition.”  I believe in this case Krashen is not only referring to language acquisition, but reading acquisition as well.  Further, I will train my colleagues through staff development of SIOP – (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) on the importance of building background, filling learning gaps, and teaching new vocabulary.  According to the same CAL article, “A reader’s background knowledge with respect to text topic and genre is recognized as a significant factor in text comprehension.”  By making connections to students’ previous experiences, and allowing them to share their experiences with others, teachers can create an environment rich with information and enthusiasm toward reading together and independently.     

In regards to writing, Alondra’s skills in her L2 are strong, but could be reinforced by practice using new vocabulary and honing some basic grammar skills. Just as with reading, writing too must allow students to write with a purpose.  According to Freeman and Freeman, the two characteristics that create the most effective process writing programs are providing students with ample time to write and allowing them to choose topics from their own backgrounds and interests.”  However, just as the article states, it is unrealistic to think that students will all be able to produce the same amount of language on a given topic just by giving them free range to roam.  Alondra and her classmates would benefit greatly from the strategies laid out by Gibbons, 2002, p.57 to present a curriculum cycle as a way to help students be able to write independently on a given topic in a given genre in their L2.  What I like most about this strategy is that it is not just geared toward language arts teachers, but could be used in a content area classroom with the right guidance.  Any teacher could “build the field”, “model the text type”, and then have students write both collectively and independently.  This type of writing would lend itself well to a science, or social studies class if the teacher was willing to cross curriculum and work hand in hand with a language arts teacher.  By exposing Alondra’s teachers to this type of instruction, she and her classmates would benefit from learning new vocabulary and enriching their writing skills. For Alondra and her classmates, it would model a variety of grammatical structures that they have not yet to be exposed and allow them each to practice at a level geared toward them individually.    

Based on the synthesis of Alondra’s reading, writing and oral language proficiency in her L1, I will continue to advocate for a Spanish for Spanish speakers class founded in Spanish literacy skills for Alondra and her classmates. A venue where Alondra would be free to read a variety of genres in her L1 and learn new ways to write and express ideas both in a personal and professional capacity would be the ideal setting for this young learner. 

In order to best support Alondra in her quest to be truly bi-literate she will need a place to practice her reading and writing skills in her L1.  Alondra needs to be exposed to a variety of texts in her native language and be given the opportunity to express herself in a number of different writing venues. 

If in the near future a Spanish literacy course is offered, I would be first in line to teach it and would implement the following strategies to reach Alondra and other young learners.  First, I would use thematic units to authenticate the reading and writing used in the classroom.  I would try to connect daily reading and writing to events that affect my students lives.  This would allow students to work at their own level, structuring language they are capable of at any level, from sentences to full essays, letters, both formal and informal, poems and other expressive ways to write.  Reading would include not only fiction, but non-fictional texts, newspaper articles, and other authentic items appropriate to student levels. Offering Alondra the opportunity to read and write based on authentic experiences, would allow her to see when, where, how and why she would use her Spanish literacy skills in the real world.   

One challenge to teaching Spanish literacy is finding authentic texts.  The internet has become an invaluable resource, and through my mini-research project, I was able to find several web-sites that would help with this including sites like elnuevodia.com, a Puerto Rican based newspaper and eric.ed.gov a site helps find full copies of authentic texts in Spanish if you search authentic texts in Spanish.  Beyond these sites, America Reads Spanish 2.0 offers lists of the best 20 books in Spanish on a weekly basis and full descriptions to peak student interest.  It is imperative that Alondra and her classmates have authentic texts to work with. For Alondra specifically, current events found in Spanish newspapers and books such as Paolo Coelho’s El Alquimista which carries the message of following your dreams would be examples of text with purpose.    

Reading for purpose would be the main focus of Alondra’s reading plan.  As stated in the Reading for a Purpose article by CAL, students need to find purpose in their reading in order to make real connections.  Alondra reads in Spanish because she likes to.  She reads mostly for pleasure, but even this I believe needs to be explicitly taught.  There are many students who only see reading as work.  Reading for information is listed as a second purpose in the article, but I would contend that the two could go hand in hand.  Whether students are geared to read for pleasure, or to find information, they need a clear purpose to keep them engaged.  “When readers are asked to read a text with a particular focus or angle, both their reading interest and retention of text material are heightened (Schraw and Dennison, 1994).      

“Whole real-world tasks that offer other kinds of communicative purpose convey to students the value of reading for message.” Alondra as well as her peers need to be aware of the reality of being bilingual.  It is not enough to speak two languages.  If you plan to pursue higher education (which most of my students tell me do), work in a professional field, and continue to be knowledgeable about your language and culture you must not just be bilingual, you must be bi-literate.   

Most likely, Alondra and her classmates will have to wait until high school for the opportunity to begin, polish, or perfect their Spanish Literacy skills.  In the meantime, the ideas below may be another avenue to encourage the further development of Alondra’s skills in her L1: 

·         Spanish Literacy Club

·         After school forum to discuss current event topics

·         After school or tutorial time creative writing in Spanish

·         Reading incentive program in Spanish

·         Volunteer peer reading group to read aloud to elementary students

Alondra's Biliteracy Development Across Domains

 Alondra Reyes Ponce’s language development has been influenced by numerous factors.  She has been a student in the U.S. for five years and knows that her family came here for the sole purpose of offering her and her brothers a better education.  Alondra takes this seriously.  She has lofty goals and is a highly motivated student.  She invests herself wholly in her learning and values the information her teachers share with her.  She has been taught these values by her parents who attach great importance to her education, literacy and being bilingual.  Alondra began her journey to becoming bilingual at the age of seven.  The majority of her learning has been in English which is evident in the patterns and work she demonstrates in both English and Spanish. 

In analyzing Alondra’s language development there are clear patterns that have presented themselves.  Across the domains of reading, writing and oral language development, Alondra’s academic skills are strongest in English. This seems logical given that she has had more formal instruction in her L2 over the last five years.  Alondra speaks to her teachers in English, including me, even though I am bilingual and her reading and writing analyses demonstrate higher level skills in her L2 as well. 

With the limited amount of formal academic Spanish instruction that Alondra has received, her literacy skills in her L1 are remarkably strong.  Though not as strong as her reading and writing skills in English, Alondra shows the potential to maintain and improve the base skills she has with appropriate practice.  At home and in her free time Alondra likes to read and write in Spanish keeping her heart and mind connected to reading and writing in her native language.   

Specific patterns or in this case lack thereof are found across the domains.  Throughout the three there is very little evidence of code-switching.  Alondra code switched the most when we spoke in Spanish.  She interjected a few words in English as we talked about favorite pastimes and daily life.  She told me she prefers to speak to her friends in Spanish:  “A veces, digamos, most of the time me gusta más hablar con ellas en español.”  Throughout six pages of hand-written text, (2 in English and 4 in Spanish), Alondra only used one instance of code switching when she stated “mi escuela es bilingual”.    

More evident is the use of cross language transfer in Alondra’s oral and written language.  Alondra’s written and oral language assessments both demonstrated use of cross language transfer. Alondra’s misuse of the preposition of in both her oral and written language is a clear example of this transfer.  During her oral language assessment, Alondra told me:  “I am reading a book of a girl who finds out her sister is sick.”  She also wrote in story in English: “I told my mother of it right away.”  Another example of language transfer found in Alondra’s English writing is her misuse of “after” for later.  “After her mother and her mother’s friends came to see Alondra.  She was covered in Atole.”  The writing Alondra shared in Spanish showed no evidence of language transfer, however, the sentence structure and vocabulary usage was more simplistic. 

Alondra’s vocabulary usage is richest in English in both reading and writing.  When I asked Alondra which language she prefers to read and write in she told me Spanish, but added, “but I do both more in English.”  Interestingly enough, the story that Alondra is writing at home just for fun, she is writing in English.  The vocabulary is not outstandingly rich, but does offer a variety such as “poke a hole” and “amazingly”.  Syntax errors also made an impact on Alondra’s writing in English.  She needs further practice using past tense verbs for example.  In Spanish, Alondra’s writing sample was an affidavit which used less descriptive and more redundant vocabulary, such as bueno/a and me gusta repeatedly.  There were less syntax errors if discourse pattern is taken into consideration as many sentences were run-on.  During her reading analysis it was evident that Alondra’s comprehension of the texts in both languages was strong.  However, she shared that she found the words in Spanish more challenging because they weren’t words she uses very often.  In English she was able to tell me what the words petticoats, rueful and tolerantly all meant which was very impressive for any student her age.  Alondra told me that she found the text more difficult in Spanish due to vocabulary she wasn’t very familiar with.  It did not diminish her comprehension, but did impact her fluency. 

In the article Teaching Literacy in Spanish by Escamilla, she states that letters and letter combinations that have the same sound create spelling problems for Spanish speakers.  The “Monster Letters” were Alondra’s biggest obstacle in her L1 writing. I believe this can be directly linked to Alondra’s lack of direct instruction, and practice reading and writing in Spanish.  How is her language meant to develop without guidance and reassurance?  As motivated as this young lady is she cannot do it all on her own.  For her, English language development is another story. 

The improvement in Alondra’s MAP reading scores (783 in 2010 and 878 in 2011) are a testament to the  impact that her language development has had on her reading and writing skills.  Alondra’s strong ability to read, write and speak confidently in English are all directly impacted by her language development over the last five years in English.  Instruction in her L2, along with Alondra’s positive attitude and strong work ethic, has paved a road to her continued success in the three domains.  According to the article “Struggling Learners and Language Immersion Education” Brown & Yule, 1983; Collier, 1987, 1992; Cummins, 1981)  “Academic-transactional language and literacy skills are fundamental for long-term school success and take … usually between five and seven years (to develop).”   Alondra is a testament to this statement.       

Though it was not discussed during our 30 minutes sessions, as Alondra’s resource teacher, I have observed that Alondra’s exposure to new academic terms in English far outweighs her exposure to the same academic vocabulary in Spanish.  This concerns me.  As I see Alondra’s skills continue to flourish and grow in her L2, what is happening to her literacy skills in her L1?  At the middle school level no formal instruction is offered to Alondra and her classmates in Spanish.  As a student in the transitional stage of writing, according Rubin and Carlin, and at the instructional level for reading, according to Colorín Colorado, instruction and guidance is what Alondra needs to her to the next level of her Spanish language development.  Thankfully, this thoughtful and hard working young lady will sustain her own literacy skills by reading and writing outside of school until she makes it to the appropriate programming at the high school level.

Alondra's Reading Analysis

Alondra Reyes-Ponce is a rarity; a middle schooler who loves to read and will admit it.  She reads in both English and Spanish.  At home Alondra reads for pleasure in both languages, but at school Alondra is only exposed to text in English because our program is a support model.  Alondra has shown continued growth over the past two years in her reading scores and is a recent graduate of Read180, a remedial reading program.  In order to graduate from the class Alondra had to show a fluency rate of 195 words per minute and score a proficient lexile level of 850 or higher on three separate occasions.  Alondra’s ACCESS reading score for 2009-2010 was a level 5.  Her MAP score of 783 in 2010 climbed to 878 in 2011.    

As a reader, Alondra is aware of the importance of reading to become a better reader and says that she “practices her reading at home”.   Alondra’s attitude toward reading is positive.  When I asked her why she reads at home she said “because I like to read and it’s good to read.  It makes you smarter.”  I asked her what she thinks a good reader looks like and she responded with a puzzled look.  I pushed a little further asking what kinds of things do you think a good reader does?  Alondra responded by telling me that “A good reader reads books at their level.  Then, when you get to be a better reader you read more, harder books.  You have to read a book that you understand to be a good reader.”   These are concepts strongly encouraged in Read 180.  Students are discouraged from reading books that are too difficult for them, but encouraged to read books just beyond their lexile level.  I then asked Alondra:  “What strategies do you think a good reader uses?”  Alondra told me that students could look up words in the back of the book (if there are any), ask someone about words they don’t know and write summaries.  I asked her if she writes summaries about what she reads and she said “sometimes, but not that much”. 

Alondra reads more in English than she does in Spanish because there are more books available in English that she likes.  She reads the most at home and likes to read in the car to pass time.  Alondra’s favorite genres are humor, horror and social issues.  Alondra read chapter 2 of Tuck Everlasting in English and chapter 3 of the same book in Spanish.  The lexile level of Tuck Everlasting in English is 770.  The book is not lexiled in Spanish.  I chose a book slightly below Alondra’s lexile in English because I wanted to be sure it would be appropriate for her reading level in Spanish which she has much less practice with. 

Alondra’s comprehension of the text in both English and Spanish was very strong.  She understood words and phrases in English that I took for granted would be very difficult for her to understand such as petticoats, rueful and tolerantly.  She answered a series of comprehension questions with a significant amount of detail and was able to make inferences and predictions based on what she had read.  She did not comment throughout the reading, but did express her thoughts and ideas clearly while summarizing and answering questions. 

Surprisingly, Alondra told me that the text she read in Spanish was more difficult to understand than the text in English.  She said that many of the words in the text were words that she recognized, but were not words she was accustomed to using or reading.  This made an impact on her fluency, but not on her comprehension.  Again, Alondra was able to articulate easily what happened in the story and answer a series of comprehension questions.  She did not make the same inferences or go into as much detail in Spanish as she did in English.  I think it should be mentioned however, that this is a translated text vs. and authentic one.  When I asked Alondra about the setting (specifically the weather) she was forced to make an inference because the text was literally translated as “en un día que también parecía a punto de hervir”.  When I asked her “y cómo fue el día”? she responded by saying “no sé, creo que soleado, sí con sol porque (ella) estaba afuera.  Overall, I think Alondra’s comprension in both languages was very strong.

Alondra’s fluency in English shocked me.  I have not heard her read since last year and it is evident that she has made some true gains.  She read the passage in English with ease.  According to the criteria set forth by the Assessing Fluency Rubric by Colorín Colorado, I would place her at the Independent level in terms of her accuracy and rate.  Alondra read 199 words in 1 minute with only 3 significant error and not counting her self corrections.  In terms of her expressive reading I would place her at a level 4 according to the same rubric.  Alondra read using much expression in English and chunks phrases appropriately. 

Contrary to what I expected, Alondra’s fluency in English was stronger than her fluency in Spanish.  She did not have the same control over the words in Spanish as she did in English.  I believe this is due to the lack of materials and opportunity to practice in her L1.  Alondra read 151 words in one minute, with 7 errors not counting self corrections.  This places her at the instructional level according the Colorín rubric.  Alondra’s expressive reading was impressive for not having had the opportunity to read aloud for quite some time in Spanish.  Somewhere between Level 3 and 4 would be an accurate assessment of Alondra’s expressive reading in Spanish.  Although she reads in smaller word phrases in Spanish, strong expressive interpretation is still evident.  She understand the text adding intonation, but stumbles over some of the words. 

It is truly enjoyable watching a student with Alondra’s positive attitude and work ethic make such tremendous gains in reading over such a short amount of time.  I hope that will she continue to practice reading in Spanish so that she experiences similar growth to what I have observed her make in English.  What an amazing kid!