Technology Integration for an ELL Reading Skills Lesson Plan

ED5742

Paul DeGennaro

Capella University

September, 2023
 Technology plays a major role in our lives today. From the moment we wake up
and swipe the screen on our smartphone until we finally close the screen on our laptop
to fall asleep at night. We spend most of our days interacting with advanced technology
in one way or another and so do our students. Today's world provides an excellent
opportunity to utilize the vast array of technological resources that are available to us as
an advantage in our classrooms. Technology helps us in many ways as instructors to
create more effective lessons that challenge our students. What follows is a detailed
lesson plan that is designed to assess the reading skills of a diverse group of ELLs. This
lesson plan will integrate modern technology as well as utilize traditional lesson delivery
components. The purpose of the lesson is to assess the reading and comprehension
abilities of a diverse group of ELLs. The students participating in the class are from
various cultural and ethnic backgrounds and ages. Since this lesson will be aimed at
elementary school students (3rd to 5th grade), I have selected a short excerpt from the
timeless classic “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White. This lesson will focus on building
phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. The selected
passage is as follows:

Excerpt from "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White:

"Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly,
none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by
herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.
Charlotte was both."

After the students have spent time reading the passage, the teacher can begin to
discuss the writing in detail to enhance the understanding and meaning of the writing to
see if the students understand the main idea and vocabulary within context.

Critical Vocabulary Words:

1. Dearly - Morphological features: adverb (root word: dear). Semantic features:

with deep affection.
2. Class - Morphological features: noun. Semantic features: a category or group of
people or things.
3. Quite - Morphological features: adverb. Semantic features: to a great degree or
extent.
4. Place - Morphological features: noun. Semantic features: a particular position,
point, or location.
5. Writer - Morphological features: noun. Semantic features: a person who writes.
Language Phrases and Patterns for Teaching:

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics:

● Practice recognizing and pronouncing individual sounds within words (e.g., the
"ea" in "heart" makes the /ɑrt/ sound).
● Identify words with similar phonetic patterns (e.g., "heart" and "smart").

Vocabulary Building:

● Explore synonyms and antonyms for critical vocabulary words (e.g., "dearly" -
synonyms: affectionately, dearly; antonyms: hatefully, coldly).
● Use the critical vocabulary words in sentences to illustrate their meanings (e.g., "I
cherish my toys dearly.").

Comprehension:

● Teach students to identify the main idea of a passage or paragraph (e.g., "What
is this passage mainly about?").
● Encourage students to make predictions based on context (e.g., "What do you
think 'She was in a class by herself' means?").

Fluency:

● Focus on proper intonation and expression while reading aloud.

● Practice reading phrases and sentences smoothly, emphasizing punctuation.

Expressing Understanding:

● Teach students how to summarize key points from the text using their own words.
● Encourage students to ask questions about the text to deepen comprehension
(e.g., "Why do you think Wilbur loved Charlotte so much?").

Selecting a meaningful text and identifying critical vocabulary words and

language patterns is essential for effectively addressing the reading and comprehension
skills of each student. What follows are more instructional methods using both
integrated technology and traditional classroom delivery components to activate the
prior knowledge of the students as well as assessment and differentiating for student
comprehensibility that aligns with the reading skills of the student.
Objective:

● Students will analyze the text to understand the character of Charlotte and her
significance to Wilbur.
● Students will identify and use adverbs within the text to describe character
qualities.
● Students will receive language support to enhance comprehension.

Activating Prior Knowledge

1. Show a picture of a spider on the whiteboard or screen and ask students to share
what they know about spiders and their webs. Then view a short video on
YouTube about spiders and continue to discuss the topic.
2. Discuss the concept of friendship and ask students to recall a memorable friend
they've had and what made that person special.
3. Connect this discussion to the essential question: "What made Charlotte a
unique and cherished friend to Wilbur in 'Charlotte's Web'?"
4. Have the students provide any examples from their own cultures that relate to the
topics outlined in the reading sample.

Practice

1. Engage students in a group activity where they work together to identify and
highlight adverbs in the excerpt (e.g., "dearly," "quite").
2. Use visual aids (images of spiders and friends) to encourage students to
describe Charlotte's character and qualities using adverbs. For example,
"Charlotte was truly a friend," or "She was uniquely talented."
3. Students can use digital devices with bilingual dictionaries or translation apps
such as Google Translate or Triplingo to look up translations of adverbs to their
native language for better understanding.

Assessment

1. Provide each student with a blank sentence and ask them to complete it using an
adverb from the text (e.g., "Charlotte was ________ a unique friend to Wilbur").
2. Students can have bilingual support if needed or use the internet.
3. Collect and review the sentences to assess their understanding of adverbs and
their ability to apply them in context.

ELL Differentiation:
 ● Students will have access to bilingual dictionaries or translation apps during the
practice and assessment phases.
● During group discussions, pair students with proficient English speakers to
facilitate language support.
● Students can create digital presentations summarizing Charlotte's character
using both English and their native language to ensure comprehension.

This lesson plan aligns with the academic content of character analysis,
vocabulary development, and adverb usage, while also focusing on reading skills and
comprehension. It provides ELLs with additional language support to enhance their
understanding and participation. It utilizes both traditional teaching methods and
techniques while allowing for the integration of technology such as websites and
software applications. The application of technology is crucial in modern classrooms,
especially with ELLs. Our students deserve the absolute best instruction we can offer
and I firmly believe the integration of technology can give them the instruction they
need.