Supporting the English Language Learner: Put It Into Practice

Develop a Lesson Plan

In this activity, you will design a lesson using a multicultural book that represents the culture of one or more of your English Language Learners.

	Two Phases of Effective Literacy Planning Planning Phase factors: • The Students • The Reading Selection • The Purpose(s) of the Reading Implementation Phase factors: • Prereading Activities • During Reading Activities • Postreading Activities Graves, M. F., and J. Fitzgerald. Scaffolding Reading Experiences for Multilingual Classrooms.

1. Print the Lesson Plan Template (PDF) as an outline for your lesson plan.
2. Review Scaffolding Reading Experiences by Graves and Fitzgerald. Refer to the chart on page 102 for specific examples of prereading, during reading, and postreading activities.
3. Teachers can use existing teaching strategies to support English Language Learners. Identify a strategy you might use with English Language Learners. How would it support the learner? What enhancements would be required to address their specific needs?
4. Structure your lesson around a multicultural book. Consider your students, the difficulty of the text, and the purpose for teaching the book. Include instruction for the three reading activities.

When planning for your English Language Learners, consider their:

• reading proficiency in their first language
• reading proficiency in English
• proficiency in listening, speaking, and writing in English
• background knowledge and experiences with the text and topic (What do they need to know?)

		Multicultural Literature Multicultural literature is "literature that represents any distinct cultural group through accurate portrayal and rich detail." Criteria for Selecting Multicultural Children's Literature Cultural Accuracy (historical and present culture) Rich in Cultural Details (to enhance understanding) Authentic Dialogue and Relationships In-depth Treatment of Cultural Issues Inclusions of Members of a "Minority" Group for a Purpose Yokota, J. "Issues in Selecting Multicultural Children's Literature." In Opitz, M., ed. Literacy Instruction for Culturally Linguistically Diverse Students. Newark, Del.: International Reading Association, 1998.

When selecting a text, consider:

• books that represent the culture(s) of your students authentically
• themes that support the culture
• supporting features such as pictures, labels, repeated word patterns, and phrases
• clear and simple story structure
• appropriate reading level
• inclusion of more than one language

In determining the purpose, consider:

• what you want students to know and do
• how you want students to respond
• how you will group students for reading and response

	Submit your lesson plan.

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