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Avalos and her colleagues published an article in the December 2007 issue of the Reading Teacher that discussed how they modified guided reading groups (MGR) for English Language Learners (ELLs).
Certainly many of us follow a Balanced Literacy framework of Modeled Reading, Shared Reading, Guided Reading, and Independent Reading to teach reading in our classroom. The question now is how to accommodate for our ESL students in our guided reading groups?
ESL and ELL students can benefit from some very specific instruction (delivered by guided reading):
1. detailed vocabulary instruction,
2. information (variables) concerning second-language (L2) text structure (ie semantics, syntax, and morphology)
3. Targeted (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP, ie academic language vs colloquial / social language) instruction
4. cultural relevance
5. reading, speaking, listening and writing practice.
As teachers, the reality is that we have many Special Education students and ESL students integrated into our regular classrooms. Here is one way to modify a guided reading lesson for our ESL students:
1. Determine objectives based on instructional needs
2. Group students by name and oral L2 instructional reading level
3. Select guided reading book based on objective and reading level
4. Analyze the text and identify challenges for ELL students
a. Semantics: vocabulary, figurative language, homophones
b. Grammar: complex syntax, punctuation
c. Text structure: narrative, expository
d. Concept (cultural relevance)
e. Strategy instruction (think alouds, prediction, etc)
Although many of us with ESL training will automatically by finding ways to adapt our reading program for our Engilsh Language Learners, it's still important to remember that explicit instruction of reading strategies is best practices for everyone – ranging from ESL students to our Special Education students to our mainstream students in the regular program.
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Source by Kisu Kuroneko