Readers Come in All Languages

Learning to speak a new language is hard. So is learning to read. Trying to do both at the same time is doubly challenging. Understandably, this situation can end up crushing a kid's motivation and love of learning. 

The Reading Connection serves many kids who speak a language other than English at home and who may be developing their English language and reading skills at the same time. Our goal is to boost their reading motivation and fuel their love of learning, so we need to be mindful of their situation.

Feel Dumb

[My teacher] points to me, then to the letters of the English alphabet.

I say A, B, C and so on...

[My teacher] points to the numbers along the wall.

I count up to twenty...

I'm furious, unable to explain I already learned fractions and how to purify river water.

So this is what dumb feels like.

I hate, hate, hate it.

--Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

English language learners make up the fastest growing population of students in U. S. schools. How can you help English language learners become enthusiastic, motivated readers while building their new language skills at the same time? Here are a few ways to support literacy development for these kids.


Slow down and ante up

English language learners frequently coming from under-resourced communities and have to do much more with less. Under-resourced communities have fewer books available for kids, and the kids living there may also have fewer chances to build the background knowledge and vocabulary that will help them with reading comprehension. That's the "less." English language learners are also working not just to learn to read and write, but to do so (and also to speak and think) in at least two languages. That's the "more." 

To accommodate this multitasking, allow English language learners time to process what you are saying. Even if a child appears fluent in English, she may still be thinking in her native tongue. That means she may need to translate what you’ve said into her first language, interpret the meaning, formulate a response and translate it back into English before responding to you.

Provide opportunities to build background knowledge and vocabulary through life experiences and enrichment activities. Including nonfiction books in your Read-Aloud also adds variety and builds background knowledge at the same time.


Provide access to books in English language learners' native language and bilingual books with English and the English language learners' first language. Also valuable are books in English featuring characters and themes from the English language learner's native region that depict the characters in a positive, capable light.


Build the word bank

Passing Time

I study the dictionary
because grass and trees
do not grow faster because I stare.

I look up
Jane: not listed
sees: to eyeball something
Spot: a stain
run: to move really fast
Meaning:  ______ eyeballs stain move.

I throw dictionary down
and ask Brother Quang.
Jane is a name,
not in the dictionary.
Spot is a common name
for a dog.
(Girl named) Jane sees (dog named) Spot run. 

I can't read
a baby book.

Who will believe
I was reading
Nhat Linh?

But then,
who here knows
who he is?
--Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Many English language learners have limited English vocabularies, which directly affects their reading comprehension. Help kids put more words in their word banks by

• Encouraging talk at every opportunity,
• Pointing out cognates to ease vocabulary growth,
• Using pictures and real-life activities to build vocabulary and
• Teaching new words encountered in books you read together.

Be a super model

English language learners' reading comprehension develops more slowly than that of their monolingual peers. They benefit even more from modeling of comprehension techniques. 

When reading aloud with English language learners, consider including the following techniques:

• Model comprehension skills by thinking out loud and asking questions. 
• "Hmm, I'm confused. Maybe I should go back and read that sentence again." Or, "I wonder what that means. What do you think is happening here?"

• Define unfamiliar words within the context of the story and point out how you can use context to understand a new word. 
• If the book you were reading said, "The crab grabbed my finger in his pincer. It hurt!" You could say, "'Pincer' is another word for the crab's claw. We might be able to guess that because of the words 'grab' and 'it hurt,' and also from the picture."

• Make connections to other books or experiences and encourage the kids to do the same thing.
•  "What does this remind you of?" "Have you ever done that?"

• Model making predictions and encourage kids to predict what will happen next.  Retelling or summarizing what they have heard are also important skills to develop.

English language learners make up the fastest growing population of students in U. S. schools. We hope the strategies and insights we’ve provided here help you help the English language learners at your Read-Aloud enjoy reading and strengthen their language and reading skills at the same time.


Thanks to Jennifer Gray, Ph.D., of Marymount University, for her collaboration on this piece.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Unlocking the Rosetta Stone: How to Share Nonfiction with Kids

In a previous blog post, we opened up the wonderful world of nonfiction books for kids. Nonfiction is important because kids love it, it provides facts and it's plentiful.

Once you've selected some nonfiction books (using the tips and sample series provided in the previous post) you may want to think about how to read nonfiction aloud. It's different experience than reading a fictional picture book or a novel. With a little preparation, you can include nonfiction in your Read-Alouds with ease.



To share nonfiction with kids, think out loud to explain how nonfiction works.


With very young children, that could be as simple as pointing to a picture of a mother animal and its baby and then pointing to their names in the text as you say them. It's also a good idea to explain to young listeners that fiction books are made-up stories, but nonfiction books contain true information.

Mother and baby animal names "Deer and Fawn" and
"Koala bear and Joey" are in the top margin of this book,
I Love My Mommy Because... by Laurel Porter-Gaylord

With an older listener, say 7 years old or older, you could explain what a table of contents is (if the book you are reading has one) as you open the book. Demonstrate how to use it. Also explain features like the index or glossary.

Page through the book, pointing out graphs and sidebars. Explain that sometimes they contain important information not found in the text. Demonstrate how to use them.

Finally, explain concepts of comparison, sequence or providing examples. Show how sometimes the words the author chooses can signal that she is making a comparison, setting up a sequence or providing examples. Point that out when you see it in the text.



The Rosetta Stone, with text of the same
decree in three languages. provided the key
to understanding Ancient Egyptian  hieroglyphs.

By modeling how to read a nonfiction book, you are giving kids the Rosetta Stone--the secret to unlocking the knowledge they seek. Kids don’t know how to do this, but you can show them how if you point out design features, describe how you are looking at graphics, or model using tools like an appendix to find information. 












Ways help kids read nonfiction
By slowing down when you read nonfiction aloud, and spending time on the elements described above, you not only help kids understand what you are reading about, but also help them build their own skills to successfully navigate nonfiction text.

Before you share a nonfiction book with kids, see if you can find examples of some of the things listed below.

  

Vocabulary and Comprehension	Graphics and Illustrations	Design Features (table of contents, index, appendices etc.)
Teach new words in advance and define words while reading	Use visual thinking: Ask What do you see in this graphic? What makes you see that? What else does it show?	Use title and table of contents to get kids thinking about the topic and what they already know about it
Point out and define Signal and Academic words (compare contrast, sequence or examples of a concept)	Does this graphic give examples of what the words say or does it provide extra information?	Point out chapter titles, headings, subheadings and definitions
Find the main idea and point it out, then find supporting ideas and point them out	Where can I find the answer to my question? In the words? In the graphics? In my own head? By combining any of these?	Point out sidebars, insets and captions and explore the information they contain.
Ask questions to see if kids understand what you are reading along the way	Question the picture: Does it make sense? Is it accurate? Does it support the words? Could you make a better picture?	Search for answers to kids questions using the index and appendices

In addition to these elements, the format of the book will affect how you read it aloud. Some children's nonfiction reads like fiction, so you can read it straight through, like Groundhog Day! Other books are better suited to jumping around to answer kids' questions, reading bits and pieces here and there. Be sure to read through books first to get an idea of the best way share them with kids.

      

reads like fiction

reads like a reference book

             VS.

One way to ease into reading nonfiction with kids is to pair it with fiction books on the same topic. Here are two of our favorite books about ice cream.  

Joe runs a soft-serve stand in the summer, but no one knows where he goes in the winter. Rhyming text and double-page illustrations describe where people imagine him to be.








In which Elephant struggles with the dilemma:  Should he share his ice cream with Piggie?  The longer he dithers, the more his ice cream melts.  What to do?

For most kids, ice cream comes from the store.  By providing books about cows, milk, dairy farming and how ice cream is made, kids can learn about the different parts of the process.

Another way to get kids into nonfiction is to create a treasure hunt. Choose a variety of books on a single topic, from a series or by the same author.  Read through them to find a question or two that each can answer. Be sure the difficulty of each question is appropriate for the age of the children you are reading with. Write the questions on index cards, with the title of the book.  

What animal weighs the same as
a ping pong ball?
How long are the tentacles of
the sun jellyfish?
What is the strongest animal for
its size?

Which animals have dangerous kicks?
Which animal kills more people in Africa
than any other?

How many animals called
"Goliath" or "Pygmy" are
in this book?  What do the words
Goliath and pygmy mean?

In addition to specific questions for kids to find in the books, generate some general questions too:

• Which dangerous animal is your favorite and why?
• If you could be one of the animals in the book, which one would you like to be?
• Have you ever seen any of these animals?

When the kids choose a book they want to explore, work with them to find the answers to the questions. The questions you bring with the books are just a tool to get the kids exploring. If they start generating their own questions, follow their lead and look for those answers instead. 

Keep track of the answers to questions, so you can share them with the group at your Read-Aloud. Most kids like providing cool facts to their peers.
 

Kids are bound to get excited about all the things they can learn through a nonfiction book once they know how the books work. Whether you choose to do an all nonfiction Read-Aloud or just to include more nonfiction books related to your theme, be ready to follow the kids' lead, hunt for answers to their questions and provide more books for them to explore.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

The Amazing World of Children's Nonfiction

What do kids love to read, is abundantly available, feeds reading motivation and strengthens comprehension, all at once?  Nonfiction books. Kids love nonfiction and they benefit from reading it, and yet one study shows that first-grade teachers allotted only 3.66 minutes per day for reading nonfiction in the classroom.

  

Why read nonfiction with kids?
Kids are curious. They are hungry to learn facts about subjects that interest them (think dinosaurs, for example). In a recent survey by Scholastic, when asked what kinds of books they want, 43 percent of kids ages 6 to 17 said they want books that will teach them something new. Kids are asking for nonfiction! The great news is that half of the library is nonfiction. There are so many topics and formats to interest kids, literally something for everyone!

We can also see physiological evidence that kids like nonfiction. Brain scans show that the medial ventral orbitofrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with rewards, lights up when readers “get it." This is in addition to the part of the brain that reacts to pleasure, which also reacts when a kid enjoys a nonfiction book.

medial ventral orbitofrontal cortex

Reading nonfiction builds vocabulary and background knowledge, which play a critical role in reading comprehension. This is important for all kids, but for kids who are learning to speak English, exposure to nonfiction books is one of the best ways to build their vocabulary and background knowledge.

Background knowledge is like learning Velcro: it helps kids catch and connect what they know with what they are learning and also helps them retain new ideas. Sometimes it is hard for kids to build their background knowledge or hard for them to use it, so they need lots of practice. Reading nonfiction can provide that opportunity.

Reading nonfiction also helps kids learn complex sentence structure. In addition, it exposes them to academic language such as "compare and contrast" and "analyze," which they need for test taking. Those words almost never occur in fiction.

What qualities should you look for when choosing nonfiction to share with kids?
When looking through nonfiction books on your chosen topic, look for books that are engaging, accessible, multi-layered and accurate.

• Engaging: having high-quality writing, illustration, design and content, and featuring topics that interest kids

• Accessible and age-appropriate: gather multiple texts on the same topic to provide varying degrees of difficulty and different points of view

                 

One word and bold pictures
for babies and toddlers

Large font, simple text
and experiments
for preK-2nd grade

More information, headings,
and graphics for 2nd-5th grade

  

Small font, lots of text, complex
explanations and experiments
for 4th grade and up

• Multi-layered:  containing layers of information with degrees of difficulty, so you can learn from a quick first reading but also gain more knowledge by re-reading and digging deeper

From Steve Jenkins' Biggest, Strongest, Fastest

Here is an example of a book that provides information in layers.  You can read the large text on each page quickly with a young child.  You can read smaller text and explore illustrations with an older child. You can also dig deep into appendices and charts provided at the end of the book.

• Accurate: Look through books for obvious inaccuracies before sharing them with kids and point out inaccuracies or discrepancies if you find some when reading with kids. Science and countries' borders change quickly these days.

Some of TRC's favorite nonfiction authors include the following:

Byron Barton, Nic Bishop, Lois Ehlert, Steve Jenkins, Gail Gibbons, Anne Rockwell, Seymour Simon and Joan Sweeney.

                         
Favorite Series:

Books in the Let's Read and Find Out series, some of which are pictured above.           

    

DK has made nonfiction books its niche.  They publish nonfiction board books, early readers and formats for older readers. Some of their series are Eye Know, Eye Wonder, See How They Grow, Watch Me Grow, and Eye Witness.

Books in the Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen

Magic Tree House Research Guides by Mary Pope Osborne


Scientists in the Field series

Books published by National Geographic Kids, including board books, early readers, picture books and almanacs.





The children's librarians at your library can provide excellent guidance and suggestions if you are looking for nonfiction for a certain age range of kids or on a specific topic. From history to science, math, music, art and biography, there's a kids' book out there to feed your young readers' curiosity.

In our next blog post we'll explore the best ways to share nonfiction with kids.

 To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

More Summer Read-Alouds

Sounds too good to be true. Reading research has demonstrated that having fun doing new things makes you a better reader. Really. Going to the zoo, having a picnic, learning to swim or ride a bike, going to the county fair — they all make you a better reader. 

Everyone is talking about summer learning loss these days, but summertime can also allow for new life experiences and vocabulary that translate into learning gains. Long days and no school can mean more time for adventure and exploration. Summertime provides many kids with the opportunity to have new experiences, building their bank of knowledge and vocabulary, which, in turn, can strengthen their reading comprehension.

At The Reading Connection, we try to build on kids’ personal experiences, and provide some new ones, to build both motivation for reading and reading comprehension skills. Here are four more Read-Aloud outlines about common summer experiences for you to try with the kids at your site or in your life. 


Carnivals, fairs and amusement parks Read-Aloud
What do you think of when you hear “county fair” or “amusement park?” Thrilling rides? Sticky foods? Games of chance? How about crowds, bright lights and giant vegetables? Explore this summertime phenomenon at your Read-Aloud with books about roller coasters, fairs and contests, and then play some games of chance, learn about centripetal force or judge a contest.

Picnic Read-Aloud
Eating outside is fun. And risky. Do your Read-Aloud picnic-style, with a blanket and snacks. Outdoors, weather permitting. The books explore the ups and downs of picnicking and the activities bring picnics, and the books, to life.

Summer sports Read-Aloud
Do you remember learning to swim, ride a bike or play baseball? Read about all kinds of summer sports and then PLAY for a super sporty Read-Aloud!

Zoo and Aquarium Read-Aloud
Kids love wild animals. Explore the world of zoos or aquariums (the animals, the people who work there, and the visitors) at your Read-Aloud session. Learn about specific animals or endangered species. Then let the kids try their hands at feeding the animals or making their own aquarium.



Whether you are creating an experience for a child for the first time, or reinforcing an adventure they’ve had this summer, these summer Read-Alouds will be sure to please the kids and boost their knowledge at the same time.


To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.
 

Now boarding on platform 9 3/4...

Have you ever used a manual typewriter? Have you ever seen a tumbleweed or a coal chute? If you haven’t, it would be hard to understand some of our favorite Read-Aloud books:  Click Clack Moo:  Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion and Tumbleweed Stew by Susan Stevens Crummel.

To help kids get the most out of books you are reading aloud with them, it’s a good idea to read through the books, looking for words or situations with which the kids might be unfamiliar. Sometimes words or concepts will be unfamiliar because they are old fashioned—like manual typewriters or coal chutes. Sometimes geography (take tumbleweeds for instance) or simply opportunity will be the factor preventing understanding. 

This kind of broad vocabulary and life experience is called background knowledge, and it is crucial to reading comprehension. It is your job, as an experienced person and reader, to look for stumbling blocks to understanding in the books you've chosen, and think of ways to remove those blocks for the kids. Here’s an example:

King's Cross Station

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry is supposed to take a train to his new school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He instructed to go to King’s Cross train station where the Hogwarts Express, his train, will be waiting at Platform 9 ¾. If you've never ridden on a train, like an AMTRAK train, the idea of a platform for a train might not make any sense. After all, a platform can be a stage or a shoe or a political thing, too. And the fanciful idea that there could be a train platform 9 ¾ would be lost on the kids.  How can there be a 3/4ths kind of place?

If you were reading that passage to the kids, you’d need to stop and talk about train stations and platforms. You could ask “What is a platform?”  “How do you think Harry will find his train?” It might even help to have some pictures to show the kids. (Google Images is your friend.) 

In addition to explaining what a word means, it also helps to make a connection between the new word or idea and the kids’ experience. For example, you could say, “Have you ever ridden on the metro or on a subway? The place where you stand and wait to get on the train is the platform.” And then you could talk about how they might have figured out which train to take when they were standing on the platform. That kind of connection helps kids apply their new vocabulary word or experience not only to the current story you are reading with them, but also in other situations in their lives.

Sometimes when you are reading with kids, you'll stumble upon words or ideas they are unfamiliar with and you just need to take a minute to explore and explain. But it would be even better if you had a chance to prepare in advance, so take a minute when you are looking over books to read with kids and think about, not just how you might read it to them, but also how you can build their background knowledge.

 
To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

What do you know?

Years ago, I tutored a 4th grader in Washington, DC. DeShawn was still struggling with reading on her own, but she loved hearing books read aloud and having conversations about everything. We’d work on homework together and spend time reading aloud.

One evening, she chose a book about the solar system. The book dedicated a double-page spread to each planet and when we got to the end, DeShawn looked up at me and said, “Is that all the planets? What about the third world? I keep hearing about the third world on the TV.”

I was so proud of her question. She’d thought she’d known where to look for an answer—in a book about planets. When she didn’t find it, she was comfortable questioning what we’d read.

Lots of kids won’t ask questions. But to develop knowledge and build critical thinking skills, kids have to know how to ask questions and be able to communicate what they are thinking and understanding. Support them by:

• Modeling conversation skills and by asking good open-ended questions
• Reflecting on your own personal experiences and connections to information and text
• Sharing your own knowledge and asking kids related questions about their experiences
• Giving kids time to think before asking questions or answering yours
• Listening carefully and thoughtfully to what they have to ask and say

Listening carefully to DeShawn’s question about where to find the third world, I knew an answer of “in the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America” was not going to be helpful to her. A globe, an atlas, and several magazine and newspaper articles later, DeShawn was satisfied. And so was I. Her one question had turned into deeper knowledge of the world and got us exploring texts we’d never considered before.

Reading and listening to informational text can definitely help kids develop knowledge of the world, which in turn, will help strengthen their comprehension skills. What DeShawn and I learned is that while informational text is a type of nonfiction, it can be found in lots of places besides nonfiction books. Newspapers, magazines, brochures, and websites have interesting informational reading that answers questions kids are curious about and helps prepare them for life.

You can bet that if something is in the news, kids have heard about it, but often have little understanding. Some issues may not be appropriate for you to discuss with kids that aren’t your own, but knowing that those questions are out there, you can help them start building the knowledge they need to ask their questions and understand the answers.

Guest blog post by TRC Advisory Council member and Belle of the Book, Rachael Walker.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.