Helping English Learners to Write-Meeting Common Core Standards, Grades 6-12

by Carol Booth Olson, Robin C. Scarcella, Tina Matuchniak, Steve Graham, D. Ray Reutzel

Overview

Using a rich array of research-based practices, this book will help secondary teachers improve the academic writing of English learners. It provides specific teaching strategies, activities, and extended lessons to develop EL students’ narrative, informational, and argumentative writing emphasized in the Common Core State Standards. It also explores the challenges each of these genres poses for ELs and suggests ways to scaffold instruction to help students become confident and competent academic writers. Showcasing the work of exemplary school teachers who have devoted time and expertise to create rich learning environments for the secondary classroom, Helping English Learners to Write includes artifacts and written work produced by students with varying levels of language proficiency as models of what students can accomplish. Each chapter begins with a brief overview and ends with a short summary of the key points.

Readers can use this book to:

• Help ELs meet the writing demands of the Common Core State Standards.
• Plan and set goals for instruction.
• Supplement existing English language arts or English language development curricula with teacher-tested strategies, activities, and lessons.
• Develop a community of learners.
• Create safe classroom spaces in which students are encouraged to participate, even those with less-than-perfect English.
• Design and implement culturally responsive instruction, building on students’ strengths.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807756331
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	03/13/2015
Series:	Common Core State Standards in Literacy Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Carol Booth Olson is an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, and director of the UCI site of the National Writing Project. Robin C. Scarcella is a professor in the School of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine, and director of the Program in Academic English. Tina Matuchniak is the director of research for the UCI Writing Project and a lecturer at California State University, Long Beach.

Table of Contents

Foreword Steve Graham ix

Preface xi

1 English Learners: Who Are They, and What Do They Need to Meet the Common Core Standards for Writing? 1

Who Are English Learners? 2

What Are English Learners Expected to Know and Be Able to Do in Secondary School? 5

Examining the Constraints Faced by English Learners 8

Juggling the Constraints 21

Instructional Considerations 22

Connecting Reading and Writing to Meet the Common Core State Standards 24

To Sum Up 26

2 Best Practices for Teaching Writing to English Learners 27

Research on Writing Instruction for English Learners 27

Best Practices for Teaching Writing to English Learners 28

Creating Culturally Relevant Writing Instruction in a Community of Learners 29

Strategy Instruction 33

Connecting Reading and Writing Through Strategy Instruction 38

Modeling with Mentor Texts 46

Explicit Instruction of Academic Language 48

Scaffolding Instruction for English Learners 55

Formative Assessment 58

Opportunities to Practice 60

To Sum Up 61

3 Narrative Writing and CCSS 63

Why Prioritize Narrative Writing with English Learners? 64

The Language Demands of Narrative Writing 66

Challenges of Narrative Writing for English Learners 67

Teaching the Elements of Narrative Writing 69

Putting It All Together: Writing Narratives About The Arrival 80

Writing the Personal Narrative 82

Blending Genres: The Saturation Research Paper 85

Providing Students with Feedback on Drafts 87

To Sum Up 88

4 Informative/Explanatory Texts and CCSS 89

The Language Demands of Informative/Explanatory Writing 89

Informational Talk to Read and Write Informational Texts 91

Teaching Text Structures to Read and Write Informational Texts 92

Teaching Sequencing: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Activity 100

The Oreos and Fig Newtons Comparison/Contrast Text Structure Activity 101

Introducing English Learners to Informational/Expository Writing Through the Podcast Activity 103

Summary Writing Activities 104

The Saturation Report/Activity: Helping English Learners Become Investigative Journalists 109

Using Project-Based Learning to Teach 21st-century Skills and Informational Text Structures 113

The Design Your Perfect Science Classroom Activity 115

To Sum Up 118

5 Argumentative Writing and CCSS 120

Types of Arguments 123

Elements of Text-Based Argumentative Writing 124

Using Quotations and Commentary to Support a

Text-Based Argument 127

Color-Coding for Revision 132

Image Grammar 134

Teaching the Toulmin Model of Argument Using a Crime Scene Investigation Report 137

Scaffolding Instruction to Teach Argument: The Superhero Unit 141

Transforming Informal English into Academic English with Opinion Argument on Informational Text 147

To Sum Up 151

References 153

Index 169

About the Authors 176

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"These authors are at the very forefront of scientifically testing and validating instructional practices for improving the writing and reading of adolescents who are English learners. Why is their research so good? It is informed by years of experience in the classroom and working with hundreds of teachers across California. What a powerful combination. My advice: ingest, consider, and employ the strategies described here. Your students will become better writers if you do." — From the Foreword by Steve Graham, Warner Professor of Educational Leadership & Innovation, Arizona State University

"This book is a tour de force. It’s up-to-the-minute in offering what teachers and administrators need, and what parents want. With examples of classrooms in action, it incorporates what research tells us about effective teaching and learning, and what the Common Core Standards and related policy are demanding, into successful and engaging activities that the authors' extensive research shows works. Helping English Learners to Write is a must-read. You will dog ear many pages for future use."
—Judith A. Langer, Vincent O’Leary Distinguished Research Professor, Director, Center on English Learning & Achievement, University at Albany