How would the teacher address this learning barrier with the students with ELL and autism

ELA EA #520

Instructional Context

31 students in grades 7 and 8, 12 to 15 years old in a Reader's and Writer's Workshop course. 25 are White, 2 are Black and 4 are Asian. 1 student is from Russia and learned English as a second language. 2 students are autistic. 5 students have an IEP or a 504 plan due to reading or writing issues. 1/3 of the class is high achievers who read and write at grade level or higher. Students are mostly motivated, interested in learning, and engaged in class. This class is extremely social. It can be a challenge to get them to focus after being distracted. Students range from a 5th to a 10th grade reading level. It is challenging to create lessons and assignments appropriate for all. This was also my 1st year teaching the social issue book club unit with the book club books that were selected. The 1st group of students (7th graders Henry, Ellie, and Cassidy and 8th grader Canon) featured on the video are all motivated, high-achieving students. However, they tend to veer off topic easily and can have a tough time focusing. The 2nd group of students include Mara, a high achieving 8th grader, Emma, a shy 7th grader with a 504 plan in writing, and Rowan, an average student who sometimes has trouble getting homework in on time. The challenge in this group is ensuring that all students have a voice in the group. The 3rd group includes Zan, a high achieving 8th grader, Sasha, a 7th grade ESL student, Adi, an 8th grader, who usually loves to talk, but is uncomfortable in this group, and Madi, an artistic 7th grader.

The challenge in this group is ensuring that all students work together well. 1 autistic student is very opinionated and gets worked up easily during discussions. I grouped her with students who are laid-back and good at keeping discussions focused and calm. 2 IEP students get distracted easily. In order to separate the 2 parts of class (the mini-lesson and work time), the large room is divided into 2 parts. 1 part is the carpet area with the document camera that is our class-meeting place, where I teach my lessons. The other 1/2 has tables where students work on their reading and writing in groups. During small group discussions, students sit with their groups at the tables. When I confer with groups, I pull a chair up to the end of the table if there is not a seat open.

Planning

My long-term goals for this class are: 1) Students will better understand the world around them and themselves through reading various texts that give them multiple perspectives. 2) Students will be able to both express themselves creatively through writing and write for various purposes. 3) Students will be able to analyze and interpret text independently in their writing and engage in discussion around these texts in both whole class and small group discussions. These goals align with district and state standards for reading and writing, including the district standard that students expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing information and ideas, students use style appropriate to the audience and purpose and the state standards that students will be able to demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension, and students write in a variety of forms for different audiences and purposes.

The thematic connections for this class are shown through the order and the connection between units. Students began the school year by learning how to express themselves through both the reading and writing of poetry. We then moved on to a character study unit where students learned how to study characters, empathize with them, and make generalizations about them. It was important for students to understand the characters in their books in order to be able to understand the social issues in their lives and how they deal with them. Before Winter Break, we finished a Memoir unit where students were able to express themselves through writing about their most important moments. We are now studying social issues in book clubs, which will lead directly to a Literary Essay unit, where students will analyze and interpret their book club books through writing. These goals and themes are appropriate for students because these students are very interested in social justice and learning about the world around them. They were extremely engaged in previous whole-class discussions where we talked about social issues in short stories and related them to recent news stories. They also enjoy expressing themselves through writing and need to learn to write for various purposes to prepare for high school and their future careers. The thematic connection between units is that social issues come up in almost every unit.

My instructional goals for this lesson were 1) students will be able to analyze and interpret the social issues in their book club books and discuss how the characters react to these social issues in book clubs. This fits into my long-term goal that students will be able to analyze and interpret text independently in their writing and engage in discussion around these texts in both whole class and small group discussions 2) Students will be able to connect the story to the world around them and to their own lives. This fits into my long-term goal that students will better understand the world around them and themselves through reading various texts that give them multiple perspectives. 3) Students will be able to express their thoughts and opinions respectfully with their classmates in book clubs. This fits into the discussion portion of my long-term goal that students will be able to analyze and interpret text independently in their writing and engage in discussion around these texts in both whole class and small group discussions.

My rationale for choosing small group discussion was because it was the best way to assess if students were able to express their thoughts respectfully and articulately with their classmates, while reading a book that they selected and is of interest to them. My students also enjoy talking to each other about their books and often ask me for class time to do this. Small group discussion also allowed me to see how groups were able to respond to the text and to each other. It was a way for me to see the various directions that groups went in discussing the social issues in their books. I put students in groups based on the books they were interested in reading. I had each student write down a list of their top five choices to read in book club. I also grouped students based on ability. I wanted each group to have a variety of abilities so that high-achieving students could help students who struggle. I also grouped students based on my knowledge of their personalities. I wanted every student to be in a group they felt comfortable in and a group where they would not be easily distracted so they could get their work done. My rationale for this method was that it puts students in groups where they would be interested in the book, feel comfortable enough to talk, yet not get easily distracted.

Analysis

I used several procedures and teaching strategies to foster student participation in the small group discussion. Before students were put into groups, I gave a book talk for every book available for book clubs. Students then wrote a list of their top 5 book choices and I put them into groups based on their selections. Before the discussion, I had each group select a group leader to lead the discussion. I gave each group leader a "Group Leader Handout" to fill out that asked them to plan out how they would lead the discussion. The "Group Leader Handout" asked students to find another source that would lend to the discussion (newspaper article, magazine article, book, etc.), make copies of this source for their group members, and describe how the source was relevant on the handout. The handout also asked group leaders to write a list of five discussion questions and to anticipate problems in the group and to brainstorm how to solve them.

In the 1st group, Henry (black jacket) uses these questions in the video when he asks his group members how they think their families would feel if they were killed by a drunk driver or if they had been the drunk driver that killed someone. During the previous 2 lessons, I asked students to analyze and write post-its on how characters react to the social issues in their books, paying special attention to whether or not their reactions reinforced or went against social norms. They used their thoughts and post-its to discuss how characters react to the social issues during the discussion, which fostered participation. The reason I made these choices was because I wanted to give each student a chance to show their leadership skills by leading a discussion. I thought it was important to relate their books to the real world, which was why I had the group leaders find secondary sources. I also wanted them to analyze the characters during the discussion and think about societal norms in order to further relate their books to the real world.

An example of how I fostered student participation was when I asked Canon (grey shirt, 1st group in the video) if he saw any connections between the book they were reading, Wrecked, by E.R. Frank, and the new story that Henry (black North Face jacket) had brought in. Canon made the connection that the drunk driving accident in the book and in the news story happened after the characters and people were leaving a party and that the people in the car in the book and in the news story were both in relationships. Another example was when the last group on the video was discussing how their characters react to the social issues. The group was reading the book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. The group members came to the conclusion that the characters were ignoring the social issue when a white store owner was being racist by serving all the white customers before he served them. I asked Adi (white cardigan) why the characters were ignoring the racism. She responded that they ignored it because "they didn't want to deal with it." This led to further conversation about the retribution that the characters knew they would have to deal with if they confronted the store owner.

I ensure fairness, equity, and access for all students in my class in several ways. Each book club group has students with mixed ability. For example, in the 2nd group I put Mara, an extremely high-achieving 8th grader with Rowan, an average student who has been falling behind lately; and Emma, a shy student who has a 504 plan for writing. I also give each group a "To Do" list to keep their discussions on track and to help IEP students who have trouble focusing. During the group discussions, I go around to different tables and listen in and contribute to the discussions. 1 thing I am looking for when I am doing this is that everyone is contributing to the discussion. If I see that someone in the group hasn't gotten an opportunity to speak yet, I make sure that I prompt them to speak with a leading question. I did this in the previous example of Canon and of Adi. By assigning a different group leader ever week, I ensure fairness and equity. Each student gets to be the group leader at least twice during book club. This allows everyone to take on a leadership role and take charge of the discussion.

For example, in the 2nd group that I worked with on the video, Emma was the group leader. Emma is a highly motivated student, but she is also shy and rarely speaks out in class. When I put students into their book groups, I made sure that I put Emma in a group with students who she would feel comfortable with and would give her time to voice her own opinions. As evident on the video, Emma contributed a lot to the discussion and brought in an interesting secondary source. They are discussing the book, Burned by Ellen Hopkins. Emma (long, dark blonde hair wearing an eggplant fleece) discusses how she thinks the main character's aunt will help her a lot. She also brought an article about the Latter Day Saints (the main character's religion) so that all the group members could better understand the culture that the main character is coming from. She began by talking about Joseph Smith and the group began expressing their surprise that Joseph Smith was from New York. Emma said, "we were surprised because we figured that it was a pretty accepting place that was very new with all its ideas, so at least it is right now." Emma got the opportunity to express her opinions and be a leader in a group, which was an opportunity that she rarely had before.

I used various materials and resources in this lesson. The book club books themselves were very important. I developed a list of various young adult books on various social issues ranging from bullying and racial identity to eating disorders and drug and alcohol abuse. I also gave each group a "To Do" list to help keep their discussion on track. This list gave students a direction for their discussion and told them what to do if their discussion started to lag. It asked students to 1) Go over the secondary source. 2) Go over the group leader's questions. 3) Discuss how the characters react to the social issue. 4) Talk about evidence of the social issue. And 5) When discussion lags, get a discussion dice. The list also included a list of things to do once the discussion was ended. This list ensured that students could discuss their books for an extended period of time. The discussion dice was another important resource. When the discussion lagged, students got a discussion dice to keep the group going. Each group member would roll the dice and receive a different prompt. For example, one of the prompts asked students to make a personal connection to the book. At the end of the book club discussion, I gave each group a rubric that asked how the discussion went. It asked them to write 1) The best thing about our discussion was: 2) We went. It asked them to write 1) The best thing about our discussion was: 2) We want to talk more about: 3) We're wondering about. It also included a portion that asked the group to score themselves based on their follow up questions, leading questions, and evidence of social issues to help them effectively monitor their own progress as a group.

The day before this discussion, I read aloud the story "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes. During the reading, I stopped several times and asked student to turn and talk to each other and jot down notes about how the characters in the story react to the social issues going on and whether or not their reaction reinforces or goes against social norms. We discussed these topics and I asked students to think about their book club books and as they read during class and at home to think about how the characters react to the social issues and whether or not their reaction reinforces or goes against social norms. I told them to write post-its about this to use in their discussion the following day.

The rationale for teaching this lesson before the discussion was to teach students another strategy for thinking about social issues and to allow students to practice the reading strategy with a short text in a whole-class environment before discussing it using their books in book clubs. The day after the discussion, I reread "Thank You, Ma'am" and we discussed how the secondary characters in the story react to the social issues. We also looked at what their reactions say about the secondary characters and how we think these characters feel. I asked students to look for evidence that showed this. Again, students were asked to write post-its on these topics about their book club books. The rationale for teaching this lesson after the discussion was to reiterate the previous lesson's strategy by having them look at other characters in the story and in their books. It also asked students to go deeper into the book by looking at characters' feelings and textual evidence to support these feelings.

This lesson reflects the integration of all 5 of the English language arts strands. Students had to read their book club books in order to be prepared for the discussion. They also had to read carefully in order to analyze and interpret the various social issues that arose in their books. Students wrote post it notes about the social issues and how their character reacted to them. Students also wrote reflections on what went well in their discussion and what they wanted to talk more about and wondered about. Students spend the majority of the lesson speaking about their book club books and the social issues that arose in them. They listened to what each other had to say and responded with follow up questions and leading questions. Students also had the opportunity to view various sources that the group leaders brought in to add to the discussion as it related to their books.

Reflection

My instructional goals for this lesson were 1) students will be able to analyze and interpret the social issues in their book club books and discuss how the characters react to these social issues in book clubs. 2) Students will be able to connect the story to the world around them and to their own lives. 3) Students will be able to express their thoughts and opinions respectfully with their classmates in book clubs. I met my first goal. Students were able to analyze and interpret the social issues in their book club books and discuss this in book clubs. Evidence of this is was when I was working with the 2nd group. Mara (black hair, polka dot shirt) says the character is reacting to the social issue by getting physical. Mara said, "She's gone physical. She's breaking windows and noses." Emma (eggplant fleece) said, "She's so different from the Pattyn we originally met when we started this. It's really depressing." Rowan (purple sweater and hat) said, "She's like, shooting tin cans with her gun." The group then started talking about how all of this behavior goes back to the social issue of religion.

I met my second goal. Students were able to connect the story to the world around them and to their own lives. In the 1st group, Henry asks the question, "How would your family feel if this happened to you, if you were the driver who was killed or was the driver who didn't get killed...or was the driver...who kind of caused it?" Canon talked about how if he were the driver who was killed his family would be very sad and would press charges against the other driver and if he were the driver that caused the accident his parents would be very mad at him and not ever let him drive again.

I met my third goal. Students were able to express their thoughts and opinions respectfully with their classmates in book club. All 3 groups listened to each other respectfully, didn't interrupt, and felt comfortable enough to share their thoughts and opinions. Students even went above and beyond this and complimented each other. Evidence of this is shown in the 2nd group. Rowan said, "I think this was a perfect article." Mara said, "Yeah, I thought it was great." The most successful moment of the lesson was the entire discussion between the 2nd group. They talked non-stop the whole time I was with them, as if they had almost too much to say about the book.

This was especially impressive because Emma, who I mentioned earlier, is usually so shy and rarely speaks up in class. All members of the group were engaged when they discussed how the main character of their book, Pattyn, reacted to their social issue of religion. They discussed how she reacted violently and how this was very different from how she was at the beginning of the book. They were also interested in learning more about the social issue in the book: religion. Emma brought an article about Mormons for them to read and discuss. Both Rowan and Mara complimented Emma on her choice of article, which was very nice to see. The group also discussed how the main character's aunt is changing her and making her better. Rowan asked a very good leading question. She asked, "I'm wondering if and when she's going to come back? That's going to really impact her again. Emma said, "Her life is not surrounded by this church anymore. She's kind of free to do what she wants. This aunt is even inviting her to go shooting again". Mara adds, "Yeah, and drive. She's teaching her to drive. Her dad said that of your husband wants you to learn how to drive, he will teach you." The group then began discussing what the book was saying about religion. This group was able to have a deep and respectful discussion about the social issues, how the social issue affected the main character, and how they felt about the social issue.

One thing that I would change about this lesson would be my knowledge of the books. In all of my classes, students are reading 12 different books in book club. I have read about 2/3 of the books at some point. If I were to do this lesson again, I would make sure that I have read all of the books in book club before starting book club. All of the books selected were either books I read or books recommended by the school librarian. However, I would have been able to have more meaningful discussions with students if I were more familiar with the text. In the 3rd group I talked to, Zan (black shirt) even asked me if I had read the book, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I had to admit that I had read the book years ago. Another thing I would change about this lesson is that I would take notes as I went around to each group. This way, the next time they met in book clubs, I could follow up with them about what they had discussed in their last meeting. It would give me an accurate picture as to how their discussions were progressing from day to day.

I would also remind groups to make sure that they have their books out as they discuss. I have reminded them in previous lesson, but forgot on that day, although 2 of the groups remembered on their own. It is important that students have their books out when they discuss so that they can page to different parts of the book and discuss specific sections. This would help students have a deeper discussion of the text. Another thing I would change is the rubric that I gave students to self-asses how each book club meeting went. Although monitoring follow-up questions and leading questions are important, I think it is more important for students to self-assess their participation.

There was a major influence on my future instruction based on the outcome of the lesson. I realized that students really enjoy talking to each other about their books purposefully. I plan on keeping book clubs going throughout the rest of the year on a smaller scale. Students will only meet in book clubs once a week or once every other week to discuss their books and plan for their reading and agenda for the next meeting. They will be able to choose their own groups with my approval. I think that this is important for some students because it will allow them to feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions about their books if they are in a group they are more comfortable with. For example, in the 2nd group, Adi is usually very talkative during class. She was relatively silent during the book club meeting. I think she will participate more if she is in a book club group with some of her friends or people that she has a lot of classes with and feels comfortable talking to. I will also allow them to self-select their books, with a check-in with me. Along with formal books clubs, I will give students informal time to talk about their books during class. Students can give recommendations, book talks, and reviews of what they have been reading. They can talk about new books that are coming out and that they are excited about. It is important to give students this time ' to discuss their books because it helps them with their reading comprehension and makes them more excited about reading.