Keep It R.E.A.L.!
Relevant, Engaging, and Affirming Literacy for ELs
Mandy Stewart, Texas Woman's University
Why? Choose your reason.
Karina’s Living Through Experience
What?
The R.E.A.L. Test
• Is it relevant to students’ lives?
• To what degree does it engage students’ interests within a community?
• How does it affirm students’ cultural and language identities?
• Does it lend itself to asset-oriented literacy instruction?
How?
1. Reading in a Literature-rich Classroom
Do you have all of these texts in your classroom?
Picture books, Wordless books, ABC/Alphabet books, Bilingual books, Books in languages other than English (LOTEs), Novels (chapter books), Novels in verse, Collections of short stories, Graphic novels/comics, Narratives, Biographies, Poetry, Scripts, Engaging & accessible informational text (not a text book!)
Picture Books
Allegory
History
Limited Text, Big Ideas
Wordless Books
The Underground Railroad
of the Underground Railroad
speaks directly to our deepest sense
of compassion.
Cultural Similaries & Differences
The Immigrant & Refugee Experience
ABC Books
Rich Visuals
Informational Text
Read One or Many Pages
Graphic Novels
El Deafo
American Born Chinese
Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War
Novels in Verse
HIstorical Fiction: Vietnam War
Historical Fiction: Holocaust
Modern-day Realistic Fiction
Poetry
Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
We Came to America
Yes! We Are Latinos
Engaging and Accessible Informational Text
Model how to conduct research and then set your students free by using these texts as they conduct their individual research projects.
26 Women Who Changed the World
26 Men Who Changed the World
Example Text/Illustration
The Research
Students should be learning in a literature-rich classroom to increase:
- Academic achievement (Ivey & Johnston, 2015)
- Engagement in their learning (Guthrie, Wigfield, & You, 2012)
- Connections across content areas (Freeman & Freeman, 2006)
- Second language acquisition (Krashen, 2004)
- Empathy development (Youngs, 2001)
- Global perspectives (Short, 2016)
- Validation of one’s own lived experiences (Brooks & Browne, 2012)
2. Responding in a Literacy-rich Classroom
Write, Compose, Speak, Present, Create
Poetry Templates from ReadWriteThink.org
I Am From Poem
I Am Poem
Color Poem
Haiku
Name Poem
Bio Poem
Theme/Shape Poem
Acrostic Poem
Writing and Illustrating a Migration Journey
Responding to Narratives
3. Connecting to Students’ Countries & Cultures
Country Poems
Country Poem Example
Provide Structure through Directions
Template Created by Holly Genova
Biographical Acrostic Poetry
Student Whose Parents Are From Mexico
Student from Myanmar Shares His People Group
Student Shares Himself through His Name
I See The Sun Series
Series includes these countries: Mexico, Nepal, Myanmar, Russia, China, Afghanistan
Excerpt from I See the Sun in Nepal (I love how Nepali is first!)
4. Supporting Multilingual Students' Biliteracy Development
How can our writing instruction leverage their creativity and critical thinking as multilinguals? (even if we’re not…)
Mentor Texts for Multilingual Writing
Locate each of these categories of books to mentor multilingual writing.
LOTE=Language Other Than English
- Texts in English with LOTE words or phrases
- Bilingual Texts
- LOTE Texts (no English)
- Translanguaged Texts (Intermingling of 2 or more languages)
Most Common LOTEs Spoken by U.S. K-12 English Learners
•Spanish
•Arabic
•Chinese
•Vietnamese
•Hmong
•Haitian/Haitian-Creole
•Korean
Mentor Texts: Books in English with LOTE Words or Phrases
Excerpt of Burmese EL's How-To Essay with Words in Burmese
"In Burma, a lot of people use thanakha to make themselves beautiful. It costs a lot of money so many people make it themselves. Thanakha is a paste made from the bark, roots, and wood of thanakha trees mixed with water. It is very easy to make. First, you put some water on the thanakha dong, which is a special plate, to make the paste."
Mentor Texts: Bilingual Poetry
Bilingual Mentor Texts: Narrative Picture Books
Side-by-Side Bilingual Writing: Jordanian Student
Mexican Student’s Bilingual Poetry
Mentor Texts for Translanguaged Writing
Excerpt of Student’s Translanguaged Writing
Karen Student’s L1 Journal Writing
Keep it R.E.A.L.! Try Something New!
•First Book—Start an account.
•Worlds of Words—Commit to all students reading a book about their country and culture.
•LOTEs—Ensure all students have a book in their (or their parents’) first language.
•What will you do?