Literacy+&+ESL+strategies+&+resources+CRC+StA

==== With the majority of CRC St A students from an ESL background, and 17% of these students from a Sudanese background, the literacy programs and literacy curriculum that Hanya has overseen for the last 12 months have been considerable. Hanya’s expertise and teaching experience, both primary and secondary, have been critical to the success of the program, along with school-wide support and collaboration. With College leadership vision and values clearly espoused to all, Hanya has worked collaboratively and regularly with all teams and teachers in the school, including Library team. In reflecting on Hanya’s presentation, I think such an extensive, customized literacy curriculum at CRC St A could be summed up by Hough & Paines’ ‘Creating Quality Learning Communities’: ==== ==== “A school as a quality Learning Community is one in which the various stakeholders are working together to create the school which best meets their needs. .. There are five key ingredients for creating such a community. They area shared vision; shared beliefs; personal mastery; team learning and systems thinking.” ====

· Analyse NAPLAN results in order to identify at-risk students in need of further assessment
==== · Implement a secondary intervention program, including a customized Reading Intervention program based on the work of Dr. John Munro (Melb. Uni.), the ERIK program and early years literacy strategies  ====

//‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’// Chinese Proverb
==== //‘Nothing succeeds like success.’// The reality is that no-one likes persevering when they don’t feel successful. A lot of these students don’t experience success, and in reading and literacy, they need to experience success. Success builds on success. Success and access are critical. ====

· Teacher collaboration, team-teaching, modelling with literacy co-ordinator and key literacy staff
==== · Daily after-school Homework Club – very important when little/no home support. All teacher aides and Library staff are present. Includes: exam preparation; proof-reading; teaching paraphrasing; general support for tasks. ====

**__ Oral language __**
==== All staff use the **reciprocal teaching strategy**, which aids in comprehension by using prediction, questioning, clarifying, summarizing. It is an oral strategy and enables students to each have a voice and rotate key roles. Oral language supports comprehension – children learn by talking. It is so important to talk about the text before reading it – mobilize prior knowledge and helping students contextualize the text. In the last five minutes of the lesson, a ‘whip-around’ is conducted, asking each student ‘What did you learn today’ and having them articulate their learning. ====

** Co-operative reading/Reciprocal teaching **
==== Students are divided into groups of four, each with a copy of the reading text. Each student is given an allocated letter. Students then read the passage individually, or one person is nominated to read it aloud. Depending on the letter they have been allocated each student undertakes one specific task: ====

Each skill needs to be taught/modelled beforehand….
==== [|//http://englishonline.tki.org.nz/English-Online/Teacher-needs/Pedagogy/Cross-curricular-strategies/Teaching-approaches-and-strategies/Reading/Co-operative-reading-Reciprocal-teaching//] ====

**__ Specific individual intervention __**
==== · Pre and post testing to identify specific gaps for each individual in reading/literacy skills, to group students and to measure growth and identify further learning needs. Results from NAPLAN and in-house PAT Reading and PAT Maths are used to identify at-risk students. At-risk students are then given one or more relevant further testing to determine their specific literacy needs e.g., DART, BURT word test; South Australian spelling test; NEALE analysis; reading running records (Marie Clay); PROBE; dependable rimes test; etc. ==== ==== · Work with small groups of students (2-4 students per group); teaching the targeted reading skills using the Reading Recovery Model (primary school Year 1 intervention program) and /or the ERIK model (primary school Year 3 intervention program). Intervention is targeted to the entry point of each student. ====

· Work with families on strategies to support reading in the home
==== · Develop strategies that support and encourage independent reading at home and in class, including paraphrasing, visualizing, RIDER, colourful semantics, and so on. A customized ‘bookmark’ prompts students with cues on what to look for when reading Fiction and Non-Fiction: ‘//Before Reading// - Activate your knowledge’; ‘//During Reading -//Monitor your comprehension’; ‘//After Reading// - Respond and make connections’. ====

· Give feedback to class teachers on how best to support students in mainstream classes
==== · Each group has 4 x 50 minutes sessions per week. In order to establish good patterns these are in the same lesson each day. The customized small group ‘reading intervention’ program covers 50 lessons. ====

**__ Student Outcomes __**
==== The program has been conducted for around 12 months or less. Self-esteem, self-worth, self-efficacy is tied to literacy success/progress, and students are showing increased confidence and risk-taking. ====

CLANS members also shared successful literacy strategies:

 * ==== Podcasts of simple content point-outlines for topic revisions/overviews in subjects such as History (Robyn Knowles): Teacher uses Audacity recording program to record - narrate from a simple outline of notes; 7 mins max; convert to MP3 file. Persist till you become proficient, it’s worth it. ====
 * ==== For some class response questions, allow ESL students to give oral response which is recorded, instead of written response. (Robyn Knowles). Easy speak microphones with USB connection > download onto Audacity > turn into MP3 file (Jill Diedrich) [] ====
 * ==== e-how to do everything: teacher tube/youtube [] ====
 * ==== range of wide reading books – easy reading displayed as ‘quick reads’ ; popular series books listed as ‘flip charts’ or posters ====
 * ==== high-interest, low-reading level resources were shared, and are listed below ====
 * ==== other Tips and Technology were discussed - see our Tips & Technology page ====

[] Melbourne store specializing in these texts [] Also, your regular book suppliers will be able to advise, and online/direct purchase can be cost-efficient as well.
 * HIGH-INTEREST, LOW-READING LEVEL RESOURCES **
 * Recommendations for borrowing:**
 * Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC)** – situated in Carlton – for borrowing ESL/Multicultural resources

Fast Forward – Nelson, CENGAGE - has been developed for students in the middle years who are experiencing difficulty with literacy. These students may be from non-English speaking backgrounds, experiencing learning difficulties, disengaged or simply require further reading practice. Whatever the reason, Fast Forward aims to engage and increase reading ability and confidence by appealing to the student's interest level and reading level. [] Gr8 Reads Series - Titles such as "Coma", “The Chain” and "Alien" - dark-looking covers, published by Barrington Stoke – fantastic [] Orca [] Blake education [] e.g., Good Sports series
 * Recommendations for purchase:**

Graphic novels – wide variety available Very easy reading includes DK Graphic Readers - [] Verse novels – highly recommended for wide reading or as an English book-listed novel at Yrs 9 & 10: excellent Australian author (and guest speaker) - Steven Herrick

Macmillan - Fast Zone series is a packaged remedial reading program, with attractive layout, font, easy-reading and interesting topics. []

Hawker Brownlow: Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies (CARS) [|www.hbe.com.au/PUBLIC/HBEItemImages/pdf/CA1002.pdf] Reproducible book for levels 5, 6, 7 or 8. Author: Deborah Adcock The HBE catalogue nos.: CARS REPRODUCIBLE BK 5 #6066 BK 6 # 6067 BK 7 # 6068 BK 8 # 606 This title is only available on approval if the school goes direct to the supplier however they only have two weeks to view the product and are liable for the freight charge (postage) that the supplier charges. If the school purchases the $32.95 reproducible - a teachers guide is included and they can photocopy the book as much as they want to create their own student workbooks. There is also a STARS program. Scholastic FX books – Phonics Fluency for Older Readers is a collection of 24 high-interest, age-appropriate texts for struggling readers and English-language learners in middle and high school who need to practice and review essential phonics concepts. []

DIRECT LIBRARY SUPPLIES Free fax 1800 006 046 Customer Service 02 9986 2123 PO BOX 525 TERREY HILLS NSW 2084 $8.95 freight (free if order $300+) All prices GST inclusive [] and Creative Teaching Aids NSW PH. 02 9986 1605 These companies have been very good to deal with and has the following at ‘specials’ prices – DK Graphic Readers eg Level 4, not many words, but great topics eg The Curse of the Crocodile God (Ancient Egypt) Fast Track Classics – shortened versions of classic novels with accompanying CD – very good! Eg Dracula, Mark of Zorro, Frankenstein, Call of the Wild [] Ancient Greek Myths Graphic novels Set of 6 or can buy individually Then there are these: • After Dark series – Lothian – eg The Barn, The Well, The Crow, The Stray Cat, The Pipe (can be available as a set very cheaply), only about 32pp, written by popular Australian authors in the Thriller/Suspense genre • Livewire (Factual) Excellent – Hodder • Livewire Chillers • True Stories (Factual, no longer in print but may still be in Libraries/Op Shops) – Excellent - Allen and Unwin • It’s True (Factual) – Excellent, about Gr 5 reading level - Allen and Unwin • Shorts series- Omnibus • Penguin Graded Readers – can select titles which boys like, eg The Fugitive • Surf to Success series and Winners Basketball series – Hawker Brownlow • Extreme Sports series – Lerner Publishing - [] • Amazing Athletes- readable biographies on popular sports champions [] • The Life and Times of... Series – Heinemann Library – []