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Equitable Access for English Learners, Grades K-6
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Equitable Access for English Learners, Grades K-6
Strategies and Units for Differentiating Your Language Arts Curriculum

  • Mary Soto - California State University, East Bay, USA
  • David E. Freeman - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA, University of Texas at Brownsville
  • Yvonne S. Freeman - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA, University of Texas at Brownsville
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200 pages | Corwin

Plain and simple: until our English learners have equitable access to the curriculum, they’ll continue to struggle with subject area content. And if you’re relying on add-on’s to fit in from your language arts basal or a supplementary program, Mary Soto, David Freeman, and Yvonne Freeman are here to equip you with much more effective, efficient, and engaging strategies for helping your English learners read and write at grade level.
 
One assurance right from the start: Mary, David, and Yvonne are not suggesting you reinvent your curriculum. Instead, Equitable Access for English Learners, Grades K-6, focuses on how to fortify foundational practices already in place. First, you’ll learn more about the Equitable Access Approach, then it’s time to dive into the book’s four units of study. Drawing on each unit’s many strategies, you’ll discover how to apply them to any unit in your own language arts curriculum and start differentiating:

  • How to draft and implement language objectives to help English learners meet academic content standards
  • How to make instructional input comprehensible, including translanguaging strategies that draw on your students’ first languages when you don’t know how to speak them
  • How to utilize the characteristics of text to support readers, along with a rubric for determining a text’s cultural relevance
  • How to build students’ academic content knowledge and develop academic language proficiency

Each unit addresses a commonly taught topic in today’s language arts programs and comes with ready-to-go review and preview activities, key strategies, grade-level adaptations, reflection exercises, and printable online resources. Taken as a whole, they constitute an all-new approach for providing that equitable and excellent access our English learners so rightfully deserve.

 

“When you adopt our Equitable Access Approach, your students will not only thrive, they’ll also find your language arts curriculum much more meaningful and engaging.”

 

—Mary Soto, David E. Freeman, and Yvonne S. Freeman 

 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
PART I: The Equitable Access Approach
 
Chapter 1. Foundations for the Equitable Access Approach for English Learners
Mandated Language Arts Programs

 
Key Practices for Working With English Learners

 
Conclusion

 
 
PART II: Example Units
 
Chapter 2. Language Objectives: A Seeds, Plants, and Plant Growth Unit
Language Objectives

 
Putting the Unit Into Context: Rosa’s Seeds, Plants, and Plant Growth Unit

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activities for Plants and Seeds Unit

 
Your Turn: Unit Reflection

 
Outline of Plants and Seeds Unit Strategies

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activities for Plants and Seeds Unit

 
 
Chapter 3. Making the Input Comprehensible: A Habitats Unit
Making the Input Comprehensible

 
Putting the Unit Into Context: Robert’s Unit on Habitats

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activities for Habitats Unit

 
Your Turn: Unit Reflection

 
Outline of Habitats Unit Strategies

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activity for Habitats Unit

 
 
Chapter 4. Characteristics of Texts That Support Readers: Our Amazing Oceans Unit
Characteristics of Texts That Support Readers

 
Putting the Unit Into Context: Felipe’s Our Amazing Oceans Unit

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activities for Oceans Unit

 
Your Turn: Unit Reflection

 
Outline of Our Amazing Oceans Unit Strategies

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activities for Oceans Unit

 
 
Chapter 5. Teaching Academic Language and Meaningful Content: Our Earth, Natural Disasters Unit
Teaching Academic Language and Meaningful Content

 
Putting the Unit Into Context: Gloria’s Our Earth, Natural Disasters Unit

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activities for Natural Disasters Unit

 
Your Turn: Unit Reflection

 
Conclusion

 
Outline of Natural Disasters Unit Strategies

 
Preview Activities: Drawing on and Building Background

 
As We Engage in the Unit: View Activities

 
Review Activities for Natural Disasters Unit

 
 
Professional References
 
Index

Supplements

Mary C. Soto

Mary Soto, an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department at California State University East Bay, prepares teacher candidates and masters students to work with diverse learners. She is a co-author of ESL Teaching: Principles for Success (Heinemann, 2016) and has published articles on the topic of bilingual/ESL teaching. She presents at national and international conferences. Her research interests focus on best practices for long-term English Learners. More About Author

David E. Freeman

Dr. Yvonne Freeman and Dr. David Freeman are professors emeriti at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Both are interested in effective education for emergent bilinguals. They present regularly at international, national, and state conferences. They have worked extensively in schools in the U.S. They have also worked with educators in Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Mallorca, and Sweden.       The Freemans have authored books, articles and book chapters jointly and separately on the topics of second language teaching, biliteracy,... More About Author

Yvonne S. Freeman

Dr. Yvonne Freeman and Dr. David Freeman are professors emeriti at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Both are interested in effective education for emergent bilinguals. They present regularly at international, national, and state conferences. They have worked extensively in schools in the U.S. They have also worked with educators in Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Mallorca, and Sweden.      The Freemans have authored books, articles and book chapters jointly and separately on the topics of second language teaching,... More About Author