SOTE Teaching English in The Elementary Grades Language Arts 1 PDF

Adaptive Community for the Continuity of Education and Student Services
National Teachers College

MODULE 2
Teaching English in the Elementary Grades (Language Arts)

YOUR GOALS

This module allows you to focus on the technological, pedagogical and
content knowledge and skills in teaching language arts to address the needs of
elementary learners towards developing communicatively competent and
multiliterate learners. At the end of this learning module, you are expected to
demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Explain the functions, forms, and conventions of print,
2. Determine the importance of teaching listening and reading comprehension,
3. Exemplify knowledge and skills in promoting grammar awareness, and
4. Create a reading and listening list of print, digital, and audio books appropriate
for elementary learners.

YOUR PROJECT

When you have finished going through the experiences contained in this
module, you will create the mechanics of an interactive game in teaching grammar
for later elementary learners (Grades 4-6). Please take note of the expectations and
criteria in designing your interactive game.

Instructional Effectiveness - Game reinforces meaningful and authentic 25 points

learning of grammar. Contents of the game can be applied in the learners’
real-life settings.
Rules Simplicity- Mechanics of the game are simple and easy to follow. 25 points
Creativity - Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in designing 25 points

the game.
Organization and Convention - Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points

clear, well-organized, and uses good choice of words with the right spelling
and conventions.
TOTAL 100 points
1
Course Code – Teaching English in the Elementary Grades-Language Arts
School of Teacher Education, First Semester, SY 2020-2021

YOUR EXPERIENCE
Be guided by the following schedule that you can follow in order to manage
your learning experience well:
WEEK TASK OUTPUT
1 1 List of learning activities in promoting book and print knowledge for
early elementary learners (Grades 1-3)
2
3 2 Flyer consisting of a reading and listening list of recommended print,
digital, and audio books for early elementary learners (Grades 1-3)
4
5 Mechanics of an interactive game in teaching grammar for later
3 elementary learners (Grades 4-6)
6

TASK 1: Read the following excerpt from Zucker et. al (2009) about Print Knowledge.
After reading, create a list of learning activities that promote book and print
knowledge for Grades 1-3 learners.

READING MATERIAL NO. 1
“Print Targets Addressed through Print-Referencing Read Alouds”
Tricia Zucker, Allison W. Parsons, Laura M. Justice
2
3
4
5
6
7
Reference:
Zucker, T. A., Ward, A. E., & Justice, L. M. (2009). Print Referencing During Read-Alouds: A Technique
for Increasing Emergent Readers’ Print Knowledge. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), 62–72.
https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.63.1.6
DIRECTIONS: Having understood important concepts and instructional strategies in

teaching and promoting book and print knowledge, create a list of learning activities
in promoting book and print knowledge for early elementary learners (Grades 1-3).
Give 3-5 interactive learning experiences, write them on the spaces below. Please
mind the following criteria in creating your list of learning activities.
Appropriateness of Conventions Organization and Creativity and
content (spelling, grammar, clarity innovation
(25%) word choice) (25%) (25%)
(25%)

8

TASK 2: Read the following article on “Understanding the Listening--Reading
Connection.” After reading, create a promotional flyer consisting of a reading and
listening list of recommended print, digital, and audio books for early elementary
learners (Grades 1-3).


“Understanding the Listening-Reading Connection”
Listenwise Blog

Careful listening is a valuable lifelong skill. It helps us learn language, integrate
stories from our past, forge human relationships, and succeed in school and the
workplace. Starting from a very early age, listening is a key skill in helping children
learn to read and become better readers.

With reading scores either dropping or holding steady on the National Assessment
for Educational Progress (NAEP), we see an important opportunity nationwide to
teach listening to support reading comprehension. Listening is a missing piece of
the literacy puzzle.

Research establishing the link between listening and reading goes back decades.
In a 2018 webinar, literacy expert Timothy Shanahan explained that many studies
have shown a large and significant relationship between children’s early language
development, including listening, and later reading achievement. Given the strong
link between listening and reading, it stands to reason that improving listening
comprehension skills leads to stronger reading skills.

What is the connection between listening and reading?
To understand the link between listening and reading, it helps to start with a model
of reading. The “simple view” (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) breaks reading into two basic
components: decoding and language comprehension. Researchers agree that
most differences in students’ reading performance can be explained by variations
in these two factors. Instruction in the early grades typically emphasizes decoding,
or sounding out and recognizing words to translate printed text into oral language.
But to become good readers, students also need listening comprehension skills, or
the ability to understand language and make meaning of those words and the
messages they convey.

9
How can listening help with reading?

As the academic emphasis moves from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,”
language comprehension assumes a more prominent role. Children who have
mastered decoding but lack strong comprehension skills – known as “poor
comprehenders” (Hogan, 2014) – tend to fall behind as texts become more
conceptually complex, containing more academic vocabulary and requiring more
background knowledge to understand.

Listening can support crucial skills necessary for improving reading. Dozens of
studies have documented the importance of two key areas influencing reading
level: vocabulary and background knowledge (Shanahan, 2018). Students with
larger vocabularies can read and understand more complex texts. And students
with background knowledge of a subject perform better on reading tests than
those who encounter the subject for the first time, even if they are lower level
readers (Recht & Leslie, 1988). With these factors in mind, education journalist
Natalie Wexler makes the case for asking students to take a deep dive into one
subject area rather than only practicing decontextualized reading skills. Building
knowledge and vocabulary around one subject, bit by bit, through different inputs,
motivates students and equips them with the foundation they need to continue
improving their reading. Educators are finding success in improving literacy with
curriculum materials that help students develop background knowledge,
vocabulary, and comprehension skills within an interdisciplinary context.

In many cases, students are able to listen at two grade levels higher than their
reading level, making listening an effective way to expose kids to complex concepts
and new vocabulary. Teaching with engaging, high quality audio stories offers
opportunities for students to learn academic language and build background
knowledge about a host of important topics. Struggling readers and English
learners can especially benefit from listening because it allows them to engage
with higher level content and participate more actively in discussions than they
otherwise might. Students can focus on developing comprehension strategies such
as making inferences and identifying the main idea, which apply to both listening
and reading, through the engaging medium of audio, without the cognitive load of
decoding.

Brain research is further illuminating the link between listening and reading.
Neuroscientists recently discovered that the same parts of the brain are activated
whether a person hears words or reads them on a page. The research has
implications for students with dyslexia, among others. But it also highlights the
important role listening plays in learning, as a helpmate and equal partner to
reading.

10
Reference:
Understanding the Listening and Reading Connection. (2019, November 24). Listenwise Blog.
http://blog.listenwise.com/2019/11/understanding-the-listening-reading-connection/

DIRECTIONS: Keeping in mind the connection of reading and listening comprehension,
as well as the techniques and strategies in teaching them, conduct a physical or a
virtual survey of audio-visual materials for children. Make sure to follow health
protocols if you choose to visit a bookstore. Nevertheless, you may opt to browse
available audio-visual materials in magazines, catalogues, or on online websites. You
may also choose to survey different educational shows being shown on Television.
From the materials surveyed, create a flyer with a recommendation of five (5)
audio-visual materials for early elementary grades (Grades 1-3). Please take note of
the expectations and criteria in creating your flyer. Create your flyer on the spaces
below.

Required elements Conventions Organization and Creativity and
(25 pts.) (25 pts.) clarity innovation
(25 pts.) (25 pts.)

11

12
FINAL TASK: Read the following article by Alison (2019) on “Best Practices for Teaching
Grammar.” After reading, create localized teaching strategies and learning
experiences on improving elementary learners’ phonological awareness.

“Best Practices for Teaching Grammar”
Alison, “Learning at the Primary Pond”

How to Find Time for Grammar Instruction
Grammar or language arts instruction is essential. But when do you teach it?
How do you find time for it all?

Why Grammar Instruction Doesn’t Have to Take Up Tons of Time
Good news – you don’t have to allow 30 mins a day for your grammar or
language arts instruction! Research shows that grammar instruction is most
effective when you connect it to your writing instruction and your reading
instruction. So you can integrate grammar instruction into your writing and
reading lessons – rather than always setting aside a specific block of time for
grammar. I do think it’s important to sometimes set aside time for specific
grammar lessons. But I don’t think you have to do it every day.

Scheduling Tips
Set aside 1-2 days per week when you’ll spend 10 or 15 minutes on a grammar
activity. For the rest of the days, plan to discuss your target grammar skill as
part of your reading and writing instruction.

If your grammar program does require more than 10 or 15 minutes for a lesson,
consider having A Days / B Days. On “A Days” you teach your required grammar
lessons. On “B Days” you don’t teach one – you just discuss the target grammar
skill as part of your other reading and writing instruction.

Remember that grammar activities don’t all have to be lengthy, fancy, or
extensive. It only takes 3 minutes to have students identify the verbs in stories
they wrote…or name the punctuation marks in a big book…or add missing
capital letters to their writing!

What Doesn’t Work in Grammar Instruction
“The study of traditional school grammar…has no effect on raising the quality of
student writing.” (Hillocks and Smith 1991, 248)

“The teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or, because it usually
displaces some instruction and practice in actual composition, even a harmful
effect on the improvement of writing.” (Braddock, Lloyd-Jones, and Shoer 1963,
37-38)

13
In a nutshell, grammar worksheets, sentence fixing, and sentence diagramming
don’t usually help kids learn grammar skills. In fact, they can actually have a
negative effect on students’ motivation and overall literacy learning.

So maybe your first reaction to this is: “Well, then, let’s do grammar games and
more hands-on activities!”

And I’m 100% on-board with you in wanting to make grammar fun! But we have to
be careful. It’s not just the worksheet itself that’s “bad.” It’s the activities ON the
worksheet that aren’t effective. Because they don’t help kids apply their
grammar learning to their writing.

If you look back at those two quotes above, they both mentioned writing as the
ultimate goal. I mean, that’s why we teach grammar, right? So our students can
learn to write well. (And of course, it can also help with oral language and
reading.)

So in trying to avoid the “traditional” grammar instruction that’s been shown to
be ineffective, we have to be careful not to accidentally replicate it. Taking a
worksheet and turning it into a game still doesn’t change the nature of the
activities that kids are doing.

So then, what should we do instead?

Best Practices in Grammar Instruction
We need to teach grammar so that kids can actually apply it to their writing.
That means that much of our grammar instruction should take place in the
context of writing instruction so that kids take what they learn and use it in their
own writing!

Here are a few examples:

- Teaching adjectives when you’re teaching students how to write more
complete descriptions of animals for their nonfiction books
- Introducing commas in a series to help students list out
ingredients/supplies in recipes or how-to books
- Having students identify verbs in their own personal narratives

Of course, before students can apply a grammar skill or a convention to their
writing, they have to learn it. And that’s where reading and mentor texts come in!

As I mentioned in the previous section, having kids fix incorrect sentences
(sometimes called Daily Oral Language) is not, by itself, an effective way to teach
grammar and editing. We don’t want to repeatedly expose kids to incorrect
examples, because then all those errors “stick” in their brains!

14
Instead, we want to show our students how authors use conventions
successfully! To fill their minds with good examples! We discuss grammar and
conventions in the context of real texts, so students can see how authors use
them correctly.

In a shared reading book or a close reading passage, for example, we can have
students identify verbs…find a capital letter…locate the punctuation mark. And
once we’ve discussed a correct example with students, we can also discuss how
the text would be different if the target grammar concept was not used (Ruday,
2013).

For example: What if the author hadn’t used this exclamation point? How would
that have changed the meaning of this paragraph?

In sum, grammar instruction is most effective when students see it used in real
texts and when students have an opportunity to apply these skills to their own
writing.

The Importance of the “WHY”
As we teach grammar skills in the context of real reading and writing, it’s also
important to help our students focus on the WHY. The English language might
seem a little nuts at times, but there’s always a reason why a convention or
grammar rule exists.

There’s a reason why we capitalize sentences, right? A reason why we use a
question mark…or an adjective…or a comma. Our students need to understand
reasons—not just memorize rules.

Asking our students, “Why did the author do x?” is a powerful question! So is,
“How can you get your reader to y?”

Both of these inquiries get students thinking about why authors use
conventions, as well as how they can use conventions to accomplish certain
things in their own writing.

Recognizing What Students Already Know About Grammar and Celebrating
Diversity
It might seem like our students have poor grammar skills in their oral
language…or just don’t know much about grammar when they arrive in our
classrooms. But they actually do. If a child can speak (or even just listen), they’ve
subconsciously absorbed a whole lot about how our language works!

And this is true even of our students who are learning English as a second
language or who speak a “nonstandard” dialect of English. Even as we teach our
students conventions and grammar, we need to recognize and welcome
students’ home languages and ways of speaking.

15
I think these quotes say it best:

“Upon entering school, those who speak language and dialects other than
standardized English (Hudley and Mallinson 2011) are often asked to disconnect
from them in favor of mastering the “correct” way of speaking. Rather than
building on students’ prior knowledge, celebrating linguistic diversity and the
wonder inherent in multiple ways of speaking, grammar programs all too often
silence home language and dialects; in the process, they also silence children’s
lullabies, jokes, and family stories” (McCreight, 2016, xvii).

“Does it not smack of racism or classism to demand that students put aside the
language of their homes and communities to adopt a discourse that is not only
alien but has often been instrumental in furthering their oppression?” (Delpit,
1994, 297) (McCreight, 2016, 45)

Teaching grammar is complicated and nuanced, and we have to find ways to
celebrate and acknowledge what students already know. We can discuss how
people speak differently to their friends, their families, authority figures, etc. We
can discuss how characters in books speak differently than we do to our peers.

5 Tips for Helping Students Apply Their Grammar Learning

It’s one thing to teach a grammar skill or a writing convention … and another for
students to actually apply it!

Getting kids to apply their grammar learning isn’t easy. It takes time and careful
intention. But it IS possible! In this post, I’ll share my five top tips for getting kids
to apply their grammar learning to their writing.

- Tip #1: Show students how grammar concepts apply to real reading and
writing. Kids need to see how authors use capitalization, punctuation, and
other grammar rules in their work. And they need support with applying
those same skills to their own writing. Traditional grammar drills and
sentence editing are not effective instructional methods. If we want our
students to apply their learning, we have to show them real-life examples
of grammar and conventions in texts. And we have to get them to practice
those skills in their own writing.

- Tip #2: Make sure students understand the WHY, not just the HOW. At first
glance, the study of grammar and conventions seems mostly about
memorizing rules. You always need to capitalize a sentence. You always
need a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. The subject and verb
need to be in agreement. etc. But in reality, there are REASONS why these
conventions exist! When we present a grammar or conventions concept to
students, it’s important that we first focus on the WHY (Feigelson, 2008).
Why is this convention important? What does it accomplish for us as
16
readers and writers? We can also apply the “why” to our conversations with
kids about their writing. Instead of saying, “You need a period at the end of
this sentence,” we can say, “Where do you want your reader to pause and
take a breath on this page?” When kids understand why they need to use a
certain convention, they’re more likely to actually use it in their own
writing.

- Tip #3: Provide editing practice AFTER you teach students about the
convention—not during the initial instruction or instead of the initial
instruction. Even though our grammar instruction should be closely tied to
our writing instruction, we need to hold off on editing practice for a bit. We
should wait to provide editing practice until after students have learned
about the convention and had some opportunities for practice that don’t
involve editing (Anderson & La Rocca, 2017). We have to build a
foundational understanding before our students can really apply the skill.
It’s hard for kids to see errors in their own writing, and it’s even harder if
we haven’t provided enough appropriate instruction in a concept before
we ask them to make corrections to their writing.

- Tip #4: Give kids opportunities to see the convention used correctly in
multiple contexts. Give kids practice editing for the convention in multiple
contexts. Published texts (like the books we read during read-alouds or
shared reading) are great for showing kids examples of conventions and
grammar rules used correctly. And when we ask our kids to edit for a
specific convention, we can’t expect them to practice once and then be
able to do it independently from then on. We need to give our kids
supported opportunities for editing practice in multiple contexts—multiple
pieces of writing (Anderson & La Rocca, 2017).

- Tip #5: After you introduce a grammar skill or convention, don’t
immediately add it to an editing checklist. It just takes time for students to
really master a concept. It’s not reasonable to teach them a skill one day
and then expect them to use it correctly in their writing the next day. It’s
great to have a growing and changing editing checklist, but we have to
give our kids enough time to master a skill before we make them
“responsible” for it by adding it to the checklist.

Conclusion
If your kids are struggling to apply the grammar skills and conventions that you
teach them, you’re not alone!

But the good news is this: you don’t have to teach them ALL the things in one
year. It takes kids time to learn these skills. We can support them by grounding
our instruction in real texts, presenting multiple opportunities for learning, and
giving kids time.

17
Grammar instruction doesn’t have to be something we dread; we can really
bring it to life for our kids by focusing on how it matters in real books and their
writing!

Reference:
Alison. (2019, July 15). Best Practices for Teaching Grammar in K-2. Learning at the Primary Pond.
https://learningattheprimarypond.com/blog/best-practices-for-teaching-grammar-in-k-2/

DIRECTIONS: Keeping in mind the best practices in teaching grammar, on the following
page, write the mechanics of an interactive game in teaching grammar for later
elementary learners (Grades 4-6). Please take note of the expectations and criteria in
designing your interactive game.

Instructional Effectiveness - Game reinforces meaningful and authentic 25 points
learning of grammar. Contents of the game can be applied in the
learners’ real-life settings.
Rules Simplicity- Mechanics of the game are simple and easy to follow. 25 points
Creativity - Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in 25 points

designing the game.
Organization and Convention - Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points

clear, well-organized, and uses good choice of words with the right
spelling and conventions.
TOTAL 100 points

18

CONGRATULATIONS! You have finished the second module for Teaching English in the
Elementary Grades - Language Arts. It is hoped that you have learned substantially
and meaningfully from this module. Carry these lessons as you go on to the last
module. All the best! :)
19

SOTE Teaching English in The Elementary Grades Language Arts 1 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SOTE Teaching English in The Elementary Grades Language Arts 1 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

SOTE Teaching English in The Elementary Grades Language Arts 1 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Adaptive Community for the Continuity of Education and Student Services

National Teachers College

Instructional Effectiveness - Game reinforces meaningful and authentic 25 points

Creativity - Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in designing 25 points

Organization and Convention - Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points

TOTAL 100 points

DIRECTIONS: Having understood important concepts and instructional strategies in

How can listening help with reading?

Creativity - Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in 25 points

Organization and Convention - Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points

TOTAL 100 points

You might also like

SOTE Teaching English in The Elementary Grades Language Arts 1 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SOTE Teaching English in The Elementary Grades Language Arts 1 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

SOTE Teaching English in The Elementary Grades Language Arts 1 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Adaptive Community for the Continuity of Education and Student Services

National Teachers College

Instructional Effectiveness - ​Game reinforces meaningful and authentic 25 points

Creativity - ​Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in designing 25 points

Organization and Convention - ​Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points

TOTAL 100 points

DIRECTIONS: ​Having understood important concepts and instructional strategies in

How can listening help with reading?

Creativity - ​Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in 25 points

Organization and Convention - ​Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points

TOTAL 100 points

You might also like

Instructional Effectiveness - Game reinforces meaningful and authentic 25 points

Creativity - Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in designing 25 points

Organization and Convention - Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points

DIRECTIONS: Having understood important concepts and instructional strategies in

Creativity - Student utilizes innovative and relevant practices in 25 points

Organization and Convention - Writing of the mechanics remains to be 25 points