THE PRACTICE: Teachers demonstrate how writing and reading are tools for thinking and learning.
Content Presented By:
The Education Alliance at Brown University

What Is It?
Implications for ELLs
Strategies for Supporting ELLs
Glimpse of the Classroom
Questions to Think About

What Is It?

Writers need to learn that word choice, sentence structure, use of descriptive language, and other facets of writing help the reader better comprehend text. Through regular writing routines, writers learn the importance of editing and revision. As authors write, they learn new ways of gathering information, stating facts, explaining situations, and understanding the world about which they are writing. Simply put, writing helps us to learn. Eventually, writers begin to view their world more perceptively.

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Implications for ELLs

Early on, English language learners (ELLs) need to write frequently and become accustomed to the idea that writing is an iterative process. With skillful teacher modeling and a sequence of manageable steps to follow, ELLs can use writing and reading as tools for thinking and learning. Effective teachers demonstrate how writers read their writing and get more ideas about what else to write. They model some of the questions that writers ask themselves to evaluate what they have written.

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Strategies for Supporting ELLs

There are many ways that teachers can support students' reading, writing, and thinking skills. English language learners (ELLs) can learn how to write from sources (e.g., two different fire engine books), to conduct and write up research (e.g., stories from their grandparents, a survey of classmates' pets, or school staff members' favorite foods), and to write persuasively about their opinions (e.g., "I think football is better than baseball because..."). Effective teachers show students how to use graphic organizers such as timelines, Venn diagrams, semantic webs, and lists of pros and cons for decision making. Teachers demonstrate how they evaluate their own writing and prompt students to do the same.

To show students how to review their writing, teachers say things like:

• Did I introduce my main character, the person that the story is about?
• Did I tell where my story happens?
• Did I tell when my story takes place, night or day, summer or winter?
• Does my title fit my story?

Some teachers encourage ELLs to review their writing portfolios and to think and talk about what they have learned (e.g., Students make reflective comments such as, "I learned to use periods." "I use more capital letters now." "I didn't know how to spell school." "My daily journals were very short. It didn't have details."). ELLs are often amazed to see their own progress. Some teachers ask their students to select a paper from the portfolio to revise and edit once they have learned more.

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Glimpse of the Classroom

Glacie is one of the more prolific writers in her second-grade classroom. She is also an avid reader. Through her reading, she has learned how books are designed and how authors sometimes include a dedication page. She has applied that knowledge to her latest project, a book she has written entitled The Day My Mom and Dad Took Me to the Beach. As she turns to the second page of her book, she beams from ear to ear. It's her dedication page. It reads, I dedicate this book to my mom and dad.

She turns the page and begins to read. Each page is vividly illustrated in bright colors.

I was excited that I was going to the beach.
First we packed up the sandwiches and juice. We put them in the cooler.
It took a long time to get to the beach.
Finally, we got to the beach.
I had fun. I built five sand castles.
Then I had to eat. I ate one sandwich.
After eating, I went to play. I built a big hill.
When I went to the water, my dad built a sand castle on top of my hill.
Then we had to leave the beach because the water was getting up to the beach.
I had to leave my sand castle. My dad said the sand castle would stay.
It took a long time to get home. Finally we got home.
I had fun playing on the beach.
When it was night, I went to bed.
The next day, my father said, "Tomorrow, we are going to the beach."
We packed our lunch. We packed up sandwiches and juice.
My dad said that we were going to another beach.
We got there on time.
I played and played. I had fun.
The End.

Glacie has come to understand many things about the formatting of books; the logic of story; and the need for stories to have a beginning, middle, and end. Not only that, her story has voice. What makes this story so incredible is that for Glacie, a second-grade English as a second language (ESL) student, Portuguese was her primary language before she entered school.

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Questions to Think About

1. If reading and writing are tools for learning, how might these two areas be best assessed?
2. What can students learn about themselves as readers as they engage in self-selected reading?
3. What can students learn about themselves as writers and thinkers as they engage in personal writing?
4. To what extent can English language learners (ELLs) help each other to become better writers? What are some effective ways for ELLs to assess their own progress?

This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu