Blogpost: How might you incorporate differentiation and translanguaging strategies in using/teaching one of Tovani’s reading strategies?
So, this week we really tried to focus on the ideas of Translanguaging and Differentiated learning. We also kept in mind some of the different reading strategies that Tovani writes about in her book. These two things can go hand in hand and we really should take the time to put them together to help our students learn as best as possible.
One of my favorite ideas that I heard recently, from Maria actually, was the idea of having books in the classroom in different languages. Say for example, my class is reading Catcher in the Rye together, and I have one or two emergent bilingual students. If I kept a copy of this in Spanish, or other languages even, I could use this to help my students gain understanding of the reading itself. To grab out the main ideas and to connect them to what I want to teach about the book itself. But of course, just this alone won't do all the work, I would have to take it a few steps forward.
Now, we have a version in Spanish and English for our bilingual students to work with. Now what? So after a little bit of research I found these awesome videos on youtube that have a visual representation of The Catcher in the Rye. This is huge for our bilingual students! Without the idea of words and language in their way, they can start to understand things through visual aids that can help them to get into the deeper meaning of things. These videos are an awesome filler to help them out in that aspect!
Another one of Tovani's strategies that would work really well for Translanguaging is the idea of creating summaries after reading for comprehension. Allowing our students to read the text in their native language is great, but what if they are not understanding what they read? How do we assess the learning here? Having students write out a summary in their native language and then translating that into English can be a great way to assess learning. They should be allowed to use Google translate to help them too, because that should be something we encourage, not suppress. It is not cheating, in my opinion. Once the summary is complete, you can assess what they did or did not learn and go from there.
In the end, we should remember to not suppress the use of students home languages and cultures. It is a part of who they are. And it adds a little something extra to them as people. After all, how many of us can say they are bilingual? Not as many as these students, for sure!
So, this week we really tried to focus on the ideas of Translanguaging and Differentiated learning. We also kept in mind some of the different reading strategies that Tovani writes about in her book. These two things can go hand in hand and we really should take the time to put them together to help our students learn as best as possible.
One of my favorite ideas that I heard recently, from Maria actually, was the idea of having books in the classroom in different languages. Say for example, my class is reading Catcher in the Rye together, and I have one or two emergent bilingual students. If I kept a copy of this in Spanish, or other languages even, I could use this to help my students gain understanding of the reading itself. To grab out the main ideas and to connect them to what I want to teach about the book itself. But of course, just this alone won't do all the work, I would have to take it a few steps forward.
Now, we have a version in Spanish and English for our bilingual students to work with. Now what? So after a little bit of research I found these awesome videos on youtube that have a visual representation of The Catcher in the Rye. This is huge for our bilingual students! Without the idea of words and language in their way, they can start to understand things through visual aids that can help them to get into the deeper meaning of things. These videos are an awesome filler to help them out in that aspect!
Another one of Tovani's strategies that would work really well for Translanguaging is the idea of creating summaries after reading for comprehension. Allowing our students to read the text in their native language is great, but what if they are not understanding what they read? How do we assess the learning here? Having students write out a summary in their native language and then translating that into English can be a great way to assess learning. They should be allowed to use Google translate to help them too, because that should be something we encourage, not suppress. It is not cheating, in my opinion. Once the summary is complete, you can assess what they did or did not learn and go from there.
In the end, we should remember to not suppress the use of students home languages and cultures. It is a part of who they are. And it adds a little something extra to them as people. After all, how many of us can say they are bilingual? Not as many as these students, for sure!
I also loved Maria sharing in class about having texts in different languages. I always thought of translating texts, but I didn't realize that many books have translated versions. Using video is another great source that I love, providing a visual and audio for the learner. Personally, I learn best by watching videos sometimes!
ReplyDeleteI like that you mention that even if studetns read in their own language, that doesn't mean they understood it any better. As we see, students who speak and read English don't always understand what they read. Reading in their own languae may hlpe them, but doesn't solve all problems.
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