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When I started teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), I had between seven and 13 different languages in my classroom because our district was in an area with a lot of recent immigration. It was a starting point to start thinking about how rich the teaching profession is, along with how students develop their early reading skills, especially when learning multiple languages at once.
Today I am director of Literacy first, a program that the University of Texas launched nearly 30 years ago with the mission of teaching students to read in the early grades. Literacy First fulfills its mission by offering a variety of support services, with a particular focus on achieving successful outcomes for growing readers, including individual literacy interventions, teacher and staff training, instructional coaching, data-focused counseling, and bilingual services and resources. and culturally sustaining reading interventions. One of the things I have learned a lot about along the way is how to run an effective summer reading program for emerging bilingual students.
Here are three best practices that are effective regardless of the languages your students speak at home.
1. Encourage students to read at home in their native language.
At Literacy First, we have always taught in Spanish. In fact, ours is the only program of its kind in the country that offers early reading intervention and Tier II instruction in Spanish. We know for a couple of decades investigation that when children learn to read in their primary language, they can learn to read in additional languages more effectively.
If a teacher works on foundational skills such as phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension in Spanish with a student who is more comfortable in that language, those skills will transfer, generating better results in English with the time and offering that student all their skills. the incredible benefits that come with being bilingual.
It is also important to remember that most emerging bilingual students in the United States are already learning languages simultaneously. Many of them were born in the United States and now all live here in this English-oriented country. Most of them aren't starting from scratch, so I suggest a nuanced approach to thinking about the strengths students bring with them. What is your complete linguistic repertoire? How can we assess and understand those strengths across languages to teach more effectively? Ultimately, it means understanding that the goal is bilingualism and not just English proficiency, and that means there is no rush to move to English without instruction in other languages. Students will progress, including in their ability to read in English, as they develop their native language skills.
Students in Texas schools speak more than 120 languages, and 88 percent come from the Spanish language. Beyond formal summer school that teaches multilingual development and encourages families to cultivate home languages, access to books in those languages or to books that reflect students' cultural backgrounds (such as those in the Capstone virtual library ) can also support their reading development.
2. Provide a constantly updated diet of new books.
When I worked at the Austin Independent School District, we really held on to this study by literacy intervention expert James Kim which found that sixth graders could overcome the summer slump by reading just five books over the summer. Today, in Austin there is still a campaign telling students and families to “beat the summer slide and dive into all five books” as they distribute books throughout the city. Even that small number of books has a big impact, especially for students who don't have access to enrichment opportunities.
However, if you look at the youngest students, they really need more than five books a week, and they must devour them voraciously. They need appropriate reading material at their fingertips in any form possible. Sixth graders need thick chapter books, but younger children will read books that are sometimes only two or three dozen pages long. I also see with my younger children that when we come back from the library, only 10 of the 20 books we brought are really interesting to them and sometimes only one is interesting enough to read with a parent and then alone. . Younger children really need a constantly renewed diet of new books.
Weekly trips to the library are a great way to introduce new books, but not all parents have the time or opportunity to visit the library regularly. Digital libraries are also a great solution that doesn't require anyone to leave home. My children's school district offers pebblewhich they love because it has a great selection of books and articles, and because it provides built-in support, such as word definitions and the ability to switch between English and Spanish.
3. Create touchpoints to maintain momentum.
It's important to build excitement about your summer reading program before school ends. However, no matter how well it goes, students' reading momentum will slow after the first few weeks of summer. To keep students and their families focused on reading, be sure to plan a few touchpoints. Mailing a few more books is a great option, and a book bus that travels around the district can be a fantastic way to bring members of the school community together over the summer. Teachers who have strong relationships (and shared language knowledge) with their students can be instrumental in encouraging and inspiring them to read over the summer by sending planned messages or hosting events. However, teachers' efforts must be compensated and complemented with school, district, and community support.
When I was in Austin ISD, we partnered with a local bookstore who did promotional work for us and offered discounts to families. We also partnered with district libraries, as well as a digital library provider, to ensure that students had an extensive library at their fingertips, no matter where they were located. Donations and other support from those partners were really instrumental in making our summer reading programs work.
Finally, many schools wait until spring to plan their summer reading program, but making it a year-round project is the most effective way to make sure your students have as many books as you can get their hands on, take time to generate enthusiasm. , sign up to keep the momentum going and help all your students avoid the summer slide, no matter what language they speak at home.
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