Jigsaw activities are research-based cooperative learning techniques which were invented and developed by Professor Elliot Aronson and his students in the early 1970s at the University of Texas and University of California.  Since then, jigsaw activities have proven to be successful strategies used in thousands of classrooms which allow students to become experts in focused information along with collaboration and full understanding of a topic with a final product. 

I chose to create a jigsaw activity on chapters 2 and 3, from the textbook Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning by Pauline Gibbons.  In a classroom of 25 students, I would group them into five groups of five.  The groups would be diversified in terms of gender, ethnicity, race and their abilities.  Next, I would appoint the most mature student in each group as a leader (students A1, B3, C2, D4).

Group A which consists of six students:

Students: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5

Group B which consists of six students:

Students: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5

Group C which consists of six students:

Students: C1, C2, C3, C4, C5

Group D which consists of six students:

Students: D1, D2, D3, D4, D5

Once the groups and leaders are established, I will divide chapter 2 into five sections to be studied.  Each student will have only their assigned section of information available to research. Students now will need ample time to read over the section at least twice to become familiar with the content, as there is no reason for them to memorize it.  Students will now form temporary “expert groups” by joining other students who read the same section.  This will allow students to collaborate, think, and share the main points and ideas in order to create a presentation for their jigsaw group.

Now, it is time for students to return to their jigsaw group to present his or her section to the group.  All members of the group should be encouraged to ask questions for clarification.  Finally, a quiz could be given to check for complete understanding of the topic. Although, this can be a fun and exciting assignment, students will begin to take the activity serious as they come to realize the advantages of covering such a wide amount of material in a shorter amount of time.

Chapter 2 Assignment

Students A1, B1, C1, D1 will be directed to find the answer why learners need to understand what is said to them and what the read and why it is important for learners to use the new language themselves.

            Students A2, B2, C2, D2 will be assigned to explain why learners need opportunities to use “stretched” language.  They will also provide explanation of the importance of models of new language, and which model of language is most important.

            Students A3, B3, C3, D3 will describe how opportunities of learning a new language can build on the resources of their mother tongue.  Students will be able to identify that second language learning can be facilitated when students use the new language to learn other things, such as subject content

            Students A4, B4, C4, D4 will compare and contrast the advantages versus disadvantages of both the IRE pattern and the dialogic approach.  They will teach their fellow group members why teachers should practice talking with children and then role play using the “message abundancy” approach.

Finally, after the group discussion and creation of the final products, students will return to their original groups to share what they have learned.  Jigsaw activities are positive strategies that help students learn cooperation within a group of peers who share responsibilities for one another’s learning by using critical thinking and social skills to complete an assignment.  This type of strategy can boost and improve listening skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills.

Another example of a jigsaw activity for chapter 3:

Chapter 3 Assignment

Students A1, B1, C1, D1 will create a brochure with information explaining the principles for effective group work.

            Students A2, B2, C2, D2 will design a poster which including a list of main points why talk is necessary for collaborative group work and second language learning. 

            Students A3, B3, C3, D3 will create and direct a skit of an example vs a non-example of groups of students knowing how to work in groups.

            Students A4, B4, C4, D4 will develop a plan of action to present to the group on how they can best develop and maintain relationships within the group.

When students are allowed to collaborate on a group task, they tend to perform at a higher cognitive and language levels that they would be working individually.  Proper collaboration within groups provides opportunities of language development for English learners. 

Gibbons, P. (2015). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching English language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH, NH: Heinemann.

Building connections with students and their families are essential to the child’s educational success.  When we take the time to really get to know them, how they live day to day, what they do for a living, and how they celebrate their cultures we make an emotional deposit into the developing relationship.  It is not always as easy as it sounds, however, if we tap into the “funds of knowledge” our students and their families possess, it would make a better and stronger connection within the classroom.  Cobb and Kallus defines “funds of knowledge” as the cultural knowledge and skills accumulated by students within their family settings that enable the household to thriven and build diversity in the classroom.  Begin playing games or asking questions about their parents, siblings, and grandparents.  Then ask what makes each one of them special and their talents.  Showing interest in their loved ones presents an idea that you care to know about them and their families.  Students can draw pictures of what their parents do for a living. 

I have used opportunities of the funds of knowledge of my students and families during lessons, such as when we read a social studies text on different cultures and clothing, I asked families to send their children dressed in their culture of clothing for the day.  The students were so excited to wear Sari’s, embroidered Mexican dresses, a mariachi suit, and silk linen Pakistani dresses.  We took pictures and displayed them all on our concept board.  Each student had stories they shared of when and what occasions they would dress in the clothing.  The events would open opportunities for deeper conversations of what type of foods and drinks were at the events. 

By investing the time into students’ cultures and family beliefs, they become stakeholders in their student’s success.  We could invite families to participate in family literacy events by reading books which entail their cultures and background.  They could share a recipe and directions on how to make their family favorite dish.  Families could display a cultural dance dressed in their cultural garb. 

One explicit memory I have of a teacher gaining funds of knowledge of my family and lifestyle was when my kindergarten teacher visited my home before I started school.  It created a strong relationship throughout the year.  I vividly remember her referring to our family parrot we had and my father being a mechanic.  I recall that wonderful feeling as if she ‘really knew’ me and my family.

It is very important to get involved with not only our students, but their families too.  Including them to teach and share their skills and resources with one another and with the children builds a great fund of knowledge and a deep classroom culture within itself.

                                                            Reference

Cobb, J.B., & Kallus, M.K. (2011). Historical, theoretical, and sociological foundations of reading in the United States. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.students

As I study “Words Their Way,” I continue to learn more about the English writing system that I had not known before.  I now view spelling, also known as orthography, in a different light.  Word study is an effective and necessary tool which guides students how to search and analyze words in order to construct a complete, in-depth understanding of how spelling words represent sound and meaning. I wonder if my school teachers utilized my spelling tests as a means to investigate orthography, or were the tests used a tool as a repetitive drill and memorization assignment.  The purpose of word study examines words in order to reveal the logic and consistencies within our written language.  There are three layers of orthography, alphabet, pattern, and meaning.  As students learn to read and write, they form the layered record of orthographic history.  Word study give students experiences they need to progress through these layers of orthography. 

Therefore, I chose to assess a second grader, Joslynn, who happens to be a former kindergarten student of mine.  As I recall, Joslynn struggled with phonemic awareness in kindergarten, but was determined to become a better reader.  It was a privilege to be able to spend some one-on-one time with her again and see how far she has improved.  I was amazed at her strategic processes as she stretched out words during the spelling test and as she questioned and corrected herself.  She was calm throughout the assessment nor did she stress when she was confronted with challenging words. 

Joslynn’s final results show her spelling stage is “Middle Within Words-stage” which is the third stage of spelling development, which coincides with the transitional period of literacy development.  This confirms she has mastered the basic letter-sound correspondences of written English, however, she needs improvement with letter sequences that function as a unit, especially long-vowel patterns that include silent letters.  She spelled 9 correct words out of 26 words.  She scored 36 feature points out of a total of 56 which resulted in a total of 45 points out of the total of 82. 

Joslynn would benefit from targeted instruction in common long vowels such as:

• long vowel a letter patterns:  /ai/ and /a_e/
• long vowel o letter pattern:  /oa/
• long vowel i letter patterns:  /igh/ and   /i_e/
• long vowel e letter pattern: /ea/
• and other vowels such as /ew/, /aw/, /ou/, /oi/, and /ir/

There are several teacher-directed and individual activities to assist students who require improving their word spelling.  I suggest Joslynn should get a carefully planned systematic word study in supplemental interventions such as word sorts to guide her mastery of vowel and consonant patters in the within word pattern stage.    First, I would use words she can read, such as words that start with consonant blends.  The spelling inventory have me a good idea of what type of words would be easier vs more complex for her abilities.  Next we would sort words by sound and pattern to contrast vowels by how they sound.  At this time, I would not teach rules, but encourage her to sort words by finding reliable patterns within words.  Including oddball words in sorts which don’t usually fit the CVCe pattern can be difficult for students, but should not be avoided.  This will allow them to experience the challenge of the English writing system as they learn that not all words follow the same rules, but are required to be recognized as high-frequency words.

Once students have had the opportunity to sort word patterns, blind sorts may be assigned between 2 student partners where a partner read words aloud as the other partner distinguishes the vowel sound but also associate it with a visual orthographic pattern.  

I would like to see Joslynn begin a word study notebook divided into sections which will provide an organized structure in addition to her documented work.  In the notebook she would record her weekly sort and phonics/spelling activities in the word section.  In another section she can list vocabulary from content area instruction, and an ongoing list of homophones, homographs, and other words with multiple meanings in another section. 

Learning is at its best when a student is able to ‘play’ while they gain new concepts.  Some games found in “Words Their Way” are Vowel Spin on page 233.  Players spin for a featured vowel sound or pattern and then remove pictures or words form their game board that match the feature.  Another fun game is Vowel Concentration (p234).  This games is played very similar to the traditional, popular concentration game but students look for pairs of words with the same sound and pattern.  The Jeopardy game (p235) is available for groups of four to five students to recall and spell words that follow a particular pattern.  Finally, Hink Pink (p239) is a traditional language game that involves solving riddles by a pair of rhyming words. 

As a reading specialist, I now will be more aware of what to look for as an effective language curriculum which provides hands-on opportunities for students to manipulate words and features in ways that allow them to generalize beyond isolated, individual examples to entire groups of words that share the same spelling patterns and provide texts which contain the spelling patterns as well.  By explicitly teaching and practicing word study at least 10-15 minutes daily students will learn phonics, spelling, and vocabulary based on their developmental or instructional levels.  Students’ learning then will be based on ways they are naturally inclined to learn by comparing and contrasting word features and discovering consistencies.   I am excited to create many of these games and sorts not only for my English Learners, but for our struggling readers throughout elementary.  I recommend elementary through secondary teachers to learn the great advantages all students could benefit from word study.  “Words Their Way” is a great resource to assess and focus instruction for struggling readers to learn their way. 

Sociolinguistics vs Psycholinguistics

Language barriers can be challenging when delivering instruction to struggling English learners.  It is important that ELL educators understand both sociolinguistic and psycholinguistics to best meet the needs of ELL students.  Sociolinguistics is the study of variations within a language or across languages with a view toward describing that variation or toward writing rules which incorporate it.  Basically, it is the relationship between language and society.  It may describe how dialects differ from one region to the next or one social group to another.  Psycholinguistics includes both psychology and linguistics.  It is how children and adults have different capacities or abilities to acquire their second language (www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-sociolinguistics-and-psycholinguistics).

Understanding sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics can have a large impact on language acquisition for English learners.  It is important to take the first language and culture in consideration when teacher English as a second language.  Psycholinguistics can be misleading when educators hear the word ‘linguistics’ attached to it.  When teachers truly understand the relevance of psycholinguistic theory and research, they will recognize reading materials for their true value.

Cobb, J.B., & Kallus, M.K. (2011). Historical, theoretical, and sociological foundations of reading in the United States. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-sociolinguistics-and-psycholinguistics

Activating and acquiring schema are 2 different things altogether.  Activating schema is the ability to make a connection to a preexisting experience of knowledge previously developed at one time or another.  Acquiring schema requires an experience or a clear, defined explanation of what we want the student to interpret.  We cannot expect students to understand concepts that they have never approached or experienced.  It is important we create an environment for opportunities to provide visuals and explanations of new concepts and vocabulary in order for students to comprehend literature they read.  As an ESL teacher, I take every opportunity during read alouds to encourage conversation to make connections.  During these conversations is when I discover whether the students have an understanding of the concept or if it is necessary to further go into detail so that they may acquire schema from activating prior schema. 

Several psychologist have contributed much of their lives to research in depth how our cognitive development of abilities occurs.  Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and B.F. Skinner are three influential and well-known researchers who shared the passion of their own theories on how humans learn.  The study of these three theorists describe a foundation of ideas that can help educators better understand student learning and behaviors. 

Jean Piaget’s theory of knowledge was often misunderstood by many.  Piaget was compared to empiricists because he talked about objects.  However, he stated that object are nothing unless we do something with them.  Then he was compared to an innatist, like Chomsky, who gives importance to action.  Again, Piaget reminded others that our actions are only carried out on objects.  Therefore, he came to the conclusion of constructivism, where knowledge is not ready made, it must be constructed.  Knowledge is an assimilation or interpretation of an experience.  Piaget believed conservation is not achieved or constructed until 7-8 years old because younger children are not able to think abstractly.  Structure, a child’s coordinated ability, is what a child knows what to do and not what he thinks.

               

Along the same time period, there was Lev Vygotsky who was working to understand the cognitive development of learners.  His work continues to significantly impact the education as we know it in the United States.  Vygotsky’s most well-known and influential educational philosophy today is the zone of proximal development in reading.  ZPD is the gap between the child’s level of actual development determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development determined by problem solving supported by an adult or through collaboration with more capable peers.  My campus uses the ZPD within our online reading programs to advance children from the independent level of learning, their comfort zone, to the potential level of learning.

               

Finally, B.F. Skinner researched and practiced his theory of operant conditioning.  Operant conditioning is the belief of reinforcing students with tangible and intrinsic rewards will increase independent learning patterns and behaviors.  Many stressed that operant conditioning is a behavior-management theory and strategy, Skinner believed that all actions of learning are found within oneself.