Use children’s stories to engage EAL learners.
This group of EAL learners ranged from phase 1 LAL to stage 4 (see Manitoba Grades 9 to 12 Curriculum Framework for English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Literacy, Academics, and Language (LAL) Programming). They were ages 14 to 19 and had been in Canada anywhere from one month to one year.
The class had been engaged in a unit about winter in Canada, where they learned about the season in Manitoba and compared it to their own experiences from their country of origin. Their goal was to write and share a children’s book about a winter day activity in Manitoba and compare it to an experience from their country of origin.
As part of the unit, the teacher worked with the learners to build key vocabulary related to weather and to winter activities in Manitoba. Learners learned frequently used words using the three-point approach to words and concepts. Using vocabulary visual cards and discussion, they created a list of words of increasing intensity to expand their vocabulary. For example, when looking for variations on the word cold, they developed lists of types of cold, such as frigid, bitter, icy, and Arctic, and discussed when they might use these words. They also developed a word bank of words related to the weather in their own country of origin. For each word, the learners created a graphic to represent the words visually.
Once the learners had a thorough bank of weather words and images, they needed to decide what winter activity story they would tell, both in Manitoba and in their home country. The learners collaborated in small groups to brainstorm ideas that would be of interest to them and to their audience (Kindergarten to Grade 2 learners).
The teacher shared a variety of books geared to Early Years learners. Each small group reviewed several books and determined what made the books appropriate for Early Years learners and what made them interesting. The learners developed a list together and then each group shared their thinking with the whole class. The teacher created a criteria checklist for the stories based on the learners’ observations. Each learner began to draft their story and sketch the visuals that went with them. Some learners used digital tools to create the stories while others preferred to draft them by hand.
As a class, they reviewed how to give each other feedback. The teacher provided different sentence stems to support constructive feedback, and the learners practised using the stems to provide “two stars and a wish” or two areas of strength and one suggested change. The class discussed the value of feedback when it is specific and intended to be helpful. After completing their drafts, the learners reviewed their works in their groups. They read their stories aloud to several different partners, and first made sure that the partner understood the words. Then they read the story again and, this time, the partner provided feedback using the “two stars and a wish” protocol.
The learners used the feedback from their partners to create their final versions to be read with the Early Years learners. The teacher modelled how to read with a younger learner, including reading with expression, pointing to the page that she was reading, and different ways to pace the reading. The learners practised reading their stories, first in partners and then with the whole class.
These stories were printed in colour so that the writer had a story to read and one to leave behind with the small group of learners in the Early Years class. On the day of the reading, they walked to one of the elementary schools in their area and were introduced to the class. Each high school learner was paired with two to five Early Years learners. The Early Years learner(s) found a spot to read with the high school learners (in hallways, corners of classrooms, and the library), and the pairs sat down to read together. The Early Years learners were prepared to ask the high school learners questions, and the pairs chatted about the stories for a few minutes. The high school learners presented the Early Years learners with their copies of the book.
After the shared reading, the high school learners reflected on the experience as a whole, and on what they learned about themselves and about writing and reading for a young audience. Finally, they shared their reflections in a class Sharing Circle.
