Annotated Bibliography

I have put together an Annotated Bibliography consisted of three trade books and two websites to supplement a unit on Spanish food. This is a series of lessons taught to an average 8th grade Spanish class. (It should be noted that the students in middle school Spanish tend to have higher academic performance than most of their peers.) During this unit the students learn a large quantity of food vocabulary in Spanish. The class also uses verbs that have to do with ordering, liking, and eating foods. As part of the assessment the students choose from different traditional Hispanic dishes and make one for the entire class to sample. The websites contain many of the vocabulary the class learns and also some information about Spanish cuisine. The texts are a small series of children’s books written in Spanish pertaining to different categories of food.

Websites

1. Website: Lemon, D.R. (2011). Food Vocabulary: In Www.drlemon.com homepage (Grammar). Retrieved from http://www.drlemon.com/Grammar/food/Food.html.

The Food Vocabulary part of this website is a fabulous tool for teachers. It appears the site was designed by a teacher (Deborah Lemon) for her students. After giving an introduction about Hispanic foods, she offers the following vocabulary lists: restaurant vocabulary, table setting vocabulary, meals, drinks, meats, vegetables, fruits, fish and seafood, cooking, desserts and condiments, and breads and pastries. The left part of the screen has a fixed panel with many different links. The first few links go to various other sites with games for practicing food vocabulary. Other links direct to BBC videos that come with a transcript of the video and a post-watching worksheet.
I am so thankful to this teacher for creating this website! She has a great comprehensive list of different categories of food. One of the sites she links to includes online Java games that she has put together herself using the vocabulary. The benefit of this is that I know exactly what words will be in the games so I don’t run the risk of my students running into words they don’t know. I also love the different BBC videos. My classes enjoy watching videos, and it will be very helpful to have the transcript. Giving the worksheet will help motivate my students to pay attention during the video.

2. Website: U.S. Institute of Languages (2011). Traditional authentic Spanish foods and cuisine. Food vocabulary: In Learn Spanish today (Cultural Information). Retrieved from http://www.learnspanishtoday.com/learning_module/food.htm.

This website has many great resources for different topics in Spanish, but for this lesson I am interested in the food topics. The site has an excellent article about Spanish foods. It discusses customary actions when eating and also talks about different traditional dishes. Elsewhere on the site there is a good list of food vocabulary words, which would work well to supplement the list I give from the textbook. Finally, there is a very fun game called “Burrito Builder” in which different words of foods start at the bottom of the screen and go up. The player has to type in the Spanish name of the food (article included) in order to build a burrito.

Aside from using the food vocabulary list, I would love to play the burrito builder game in class with my students. They are always asking to do something “fun” despite my assertions that “grammar IS fun!” I see two possible ways of using this in the classroom. The first would involve the teacher doing the actual typing of the vocabulary words while the students call them out. The second is to have students get into groups of 4-5 students and each group has a turn to try to “build a burrito”. My hope is that students would enjoy it enough that they might use the game to help them study at home. We could also read the article (either a hard copy or on the projector) as an introduction to the cooking assessment. The dishes mentioned could be options that the students sign up to cook in pairs. They would also be required to bring in a recipe and name (in Spanish) some of the ingredients.

Trade Books

The trade books I have selected come from a series of children’s books on food and nutrition. Originally written in English, they have been translated for Spanish-speaking children. For a second language reader, these would be at an average-advanced Spanish I reading level. They use only present tense verbs, and each book uses the same verbs and structure. I teach Spanish I spread out over 6^th-8^th grade, so these books would be best suited for 7^th-8^th grade. Since we approach the food unit in 8^th, the books will be perfectly suited for them. There will be some challenging words, but after introducing the food vocabulary, the students will be able to read most of the books. These are only three of the books, but there are others entitled “Las Verduras” (Vegetables), “Las Carnes y Las Proteinas” (Meats and Proteins), and “Las Grasas, Los Aceites, y Los Dulces” (Fats, Oils, and Sugars). Ideally they could be used as a set.

I would start with Las Frutas because if my students have been exposed to any food words before, most likely they will recognize some of these words more than the others. I would use this as a starting point for getting used to the book structure, as well as some of the unfamiliar vocabulary. (There is a glossary in the back that gives the definitions for a few of the larger words that are in all of the books.) I would walk through this book slowly with the class so that my students don’t feel lost reading from an entirely Spanish book. Los Cereales would be the second book in the series that I approach. This also has some more common foods, as well as some challenging words. I would create a reading guide to go with this book that students could complete in pairs, groups, or independently, depending on how the class is going and each student’s skill level. We would also look at the food pyramid in the back of the book and discuss the parts. (The pyramid is the same in each book.) In Los Productos Lacteos, we would look at new vocabulary as a class. By this time the students will understand the structure of the book and most of the vocabulary words (nutrition, healthy, etc.) Some words like “lacteos” will be new here, so we will need to look at them and define them. As a closing activity with these texts, I would like the students to attempt to translate parts or all of the text, depending on how well they have adapted to using the books. I could either assign the translation in groups or independently, making copies of the pages. I’d like these translations to be shared with the class.

3. Trade book: Las Frutas

ISBN: 978-0822550624

Nelson, R. (2003). Las Frutas. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group.

Las Frutas is a cognate for Fruits. The book begins by telling children that we need to eat many kinds of foods to keep us healthy, and one of those is fruits. It then explains where fruits come from (plants) and what fruits do (help us grow) and give to our bodies (vitamins and minerals.) It gives a suggested amount of fruits to eat each day (at least two portions). Then the book gives some different examples of fruits, such as apples, kiwis, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, pears, grapes, and orange juice. The book then shows the food pyramid and gives a summary. On the next page are bullet points (the bullet points are little apples) with details about fruit. At the very end is the glossary and index. The glossary defines (in Spanish) fruit, minerals, portions, health, and vitamins. With the exception of the pages after the food pyramid, all pages have photographs. Each pages giving examples of fruits have photographs of that fruit, while the other pages mostly contain photographs of children either eating fruit or reaping the benefits of the fruit.

4. Trade book: Los Cereales

ISBN: 978-0822550631

Nelson, R. (2003). Los cereales. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group.

Los Cereales is a book about grains that we eat. The first few pages contain color photographs of different foods like muffins, pasta, bread, waffles, and oatmeal. The book explains that we need to eat grains for our health, which include bread, cereal, rice and pasta. The book then talks about how grains move nutrition around our body and gives us energy. The photographs in this section show children eating grains and playing outside. It suggests that we have six servings of grains each day. As with Las Frutas, the book then has a series of pages of examples of grains with accompanying photographs. They include bread, waffles, tortillas, corn flakes, oatmeal, rice, spaghetti, and pretzels. After repeating that grains help keep us healthy, the food pyramid is shown followed by a summary. Next are two pages of bulleted details about grains; the bullet points are tiny loaves of bread. Finally, the glossary defines grains, minerals, portions, health, and vitamins. The final page is the index.

5. Trade book: Los Productos Lacteos

ISBN: 978-0822550600

Nelson, R. (2003). Los productos lacteos. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group.

As with the other two books, Los Productos Lacteos opens by saying that we need to eat many kinds of food to keep our bodies healthy. One of these groups is dairy products. The photographs accompanying these pages contain different kinds of cheeses, yogurt, and milk. The next two pages explain that dairy products are made from milk, which gives us calcium. Calcium makes our bones strong and our teeth healthy. The book shows smiling children to illustrate these statements. The next page has a picture of two bowls of yogurt to represent the two servings of dairy we should be consuming each day. The next eight pages are examples of dairy products with corresponding photographs: milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, Swiss cheese, cheddar, mozzarella, and cream cheese, and ice cream. The characteristic final statement of eating these foods to keep us healthy is present, as is the food pyramid on the next page. After the summary page is the details page; this time the bullet points are little milk glasses. The glossary defines calcium, portions, dairy products, and health. This is also followed by the index.

Inquiry Topic #4

As the inquiry project is coming to a close, I'm going to once again look at factors defined by Lori Helman, because I feel that she does a thorough job of identifying different areas of difficulty for ELL literacy. She names categories of factors, some of which I have already looked at: linguistic, sociocultural, psychological, and educational. Here on my blog I've already looked a little bit at some of the linguistic factors, and two weeks ago I talked about the sociocultural factors. Today I want to spend some timing probing the depths of educational factors.

The first of these is opportunity to learn (OTL). OTLs depend on three other factors, teaching approaches, structures and programs, and professional development. Opportunities to learn basically means that the student has had quality teachers who are trained well and use excellent and effective instruction that is grade-level appropriate and challenging. The materials must be adequate and the teachers must be prepared.

A well-prepared teacher is the main character in the next two factors, teaching approaches and structures and programs. Studies show that interactive approaches should be used in the classroom. The teacher should be engaging with the learners and have 'instructional conversations' which are dialogues between the teacher and student to develop complex thinking skills. Some examples of effective teaching approaches and structures are: explicit teaching, sheltered English instruction, interactive teaching, vocabulary development, and phonemic awareness and decoding instruction. Additionally teachers should make it a goal to build on students' bilingual experiences (instruction in the students' language, use of cognates, etc.)

The last factor is professional development, which also pertains to the teacher. Teachers need to be aware of how the cognitive and affective processes of learning operate in the brain. Researchers and educators need to collaborate to provide the best education for teachers of ELLs. This will help the teachers develop quality lessons and involve the students' backgrounds. Professional development should be a process spread out over time.

Source: Helman, L. (Ed.). (2009). Literacy development with English learners: Research-based instruction in grades K-6. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Spanish Websites Post #3

Univision: http://www.univision.com/portal.jhtml - Univision: Entretenimiento, Música, Deportes, Noticias, y Comunidad

Univision is actually a Spanish television network in the United States, and this is its website. It has a plethora of Spanish articles on multiple topics. The website functions similarly to a newspaper website, such as the New York Times. There are news articles, videos, healthy and beauty articles, recipes, sports, etc. This would be a great website to show videos from in the classroom, whether on a specific topic or just to hear the language. I could also create question and answer guides to go with the videos. For homework, the students could look for related articles on the site, and attempt to read them and give a short summary. During my food unit, we could translate recipes and possibly cook some of them in class or outside.

Notes in Spanish: http://www.notesinspanish.com/ - Learn Spanish with Notes in Spanish Podcasts!

Notes in Spanish is a fantastic grammar tool to change things up a bit in class. There are three sections: beginner, intermediate, advanced. There are podcasts and worksheets. The worksheets have to be purchased, but there are free podcasts. They come on a variety of useful topics and can be streamed from the website or downloaded. The speakers go over information, provide audio exercises, and sample conversations. Some topics include schedules, por and para, shopping, music, and ser vs estar. I would like to play these podcasts for my students so they hear other Spanish accents AND a different way of explaining some of these concepts. As with Univision, I could make up my own guides for students to fill in while they listen.

Inquiry Group Presentation

During our 15 minute presentation, this is what I have planned:

A) Focus area: Factors influencing ELL literacy

B) How this area relates to the overall topic: These are the challenges that ELL students face in literacy

C) How I will transition smoothly to next speaker: Since ELLs struggle with limited background knowledge, building that knowledge is crucial, as Anna is going to show us next.

Inquiry Topic #3

Just to review, I am looking to answer the following questions this semester:

• What are some factors that influence ELL literacy development?
• How is English language literacy challenging for ELL students?

Today I'm looking at sociocultural factors. L. Helman says, "Teachers who wish to support the literacy development of their English-learning students cannot ignore the role of sociocultural aspects of teaching and learning, such as the extent to which students' backgrounds are valued in the classroom" (7). She also notes that ELL students are bringing different mores and values, shared languages, and interpersonal interactions to the classroom. Both teachers and students bring expectations into the classroom, and Helman believes the majority of elementary school teachers are female, white, and have a middle-class background. It can be hard for them to see that they are not embracing other cultures in the classroom.

Students' different backgrounds should be seen as "funds of knowledge". When teachers work to utilize students' multi-cultural background experiences, languages, heritages, etc, the students feel more empowered to learn. There are three attitudes that will influence what occurs in the classroom: the social atmosphere of the classroom, the attitude of the school or school system, and the ideologies of language, culture, and politics. While teachers may not have much control over the latter two, he or she does impact the atmosphere of the classroom. It is up to the teacher to establish an open learning environment in which different views are encouraged and sought out. As a Spanish teacher, I frequently teach vocabulary sections, and I try to engage our many Korean exchange students by asking them how to say one of our new words in Spanish. One of the middle school math teachers does something similar by asking her Korean students if they know a different method of completing a math problem. She then has the Korean student show the whole class and openly compliments them. This creates an atmosphere of interest and admiration for other ways of doing things. Empowering our ELL students to show off their backgrounds, communication, and languages will encourage them in their English literacy.

Source: Helman, L. (Ed.). (2009). Literacy development with English learners: Research-based instruction in grades K-6. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Spanish Websites Post #2

Spanish Poems: http://sonnets.spanish.sbc.edu/- Golden Age Sonnets

The first website I want to look at today is Golden Age Sonnets. This is a great site with poems from the Golden Age of Spanish literature. It claims to have 110 sonnets with English translations. I could do a lot with this depending on the skill level of my students. For beginner students, we could read the sonnet out loud just to practice reading and listening, and then look at the meaning. Intermediate students could be given both translations and have to find familiar words. For advanced students I would assign a sonnet and have them translate parts, then compare what they came up with to the actual translation.

Spanish Vocabulary and Verbs: http://www.vocabulix.com/- Learn Spanish Free Online

The next site is a Spanish and German Vocabulary website. I especially love the Verb Drills section of this because I can select different tenses of the verb that I want to drill. There are also so many options. This is another site that I can use either in the class or have my students do at home either as a homework assignment or if they want/need more practice. The Vocabulary section is great because it has pre-arranged lists of different vocabulary words. I can also create my own lesson that students can access from home.

Inquiry Question # 2

As I noted a few weeks ago, I will be looking at factors that influence literacy development in ELL students. This week I read a journal article looking at the relationship between oral language proficiency and literacy. There is a definite link between oral English language proficiency and English language literacy. Despite this fact, there are differences in the skills that each requires; oral language involves vocabulary, syntax, phonology, and morphology. Reading centers are decoding and comprehension. Altogether, though, listening, speaking, reading, and writing share many of the same features of acquiring English. A study of ELL students who spoke either Spanish only or English and Spanish at home showed that the students who spoke both languages in their homes did better on literacy tests.

Raising literacy levels for ELL students is difficult for many reasons. First, the student is working in their second (or sometimes third or fourth) language. They already have cultural and syntactical knowledge of their own language, as well as vocabulary. Although they may have never had direct instruction about their native language, they instinctively understand the rules. English has many of its own anachronisms and language structures. Students have to learn new sounds and phonemes in English. For example, many languages do not include the /th/ sound, and ELL students will often mispronounce it as a /f/ sound or /s/ sound. As English speakers, we do not realize how much we rely on context clues to help us comprehend a reading. An ELL student has little to no background to help him or her decode in this way. Additionally, once the amount of unknown vocabulary words rises too high, comprehension is upset.

Source:

August, D. (2003). Supporting the development of english literacy in english language learners: key issues and promising practices . Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk, 61, 1-57.