I really enjoyed Eve and Stephanie’s article discussions on 10/27. I found myself rethinking about Eve’s first question after class because I have been a substitute teacher for ELL students recently. Eve’s question was: How can early childhood educators enhance comprehension learning for ELL students? My thoughts focused on word sorts. I found some research to support this thought: “Word sorts are effective for English learners because students build skills to understand how English differs from their native language, and they develop knowledge to help them predict meaning through spellings” (Bear Helman, Invernizzi & Templeton 2007).
The three basic types of sorts that “reflect the three layers of English orthography” are sound, pattern and meaning and there are variations of these sorts that students can perform by themselves, with a partner or under teacher direction (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2008).
Sound sorts using pictures are great for ELLS to develop phonological awareness and teach phonics. Word sorts are also effective to draw attention to sound and help beginning spellers identify spelling patterns. With pattern sorts students use the printed forms of words to sort by group of letters or letter sequences and meaning sorts are also a critical component. The two major types of meaning sorts are concept sorts and meaning sorts related to spelling (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2008).
After reading about the role of word sorting and the types of sorts presented in Bear’s 2008 book, I think that concept sorts tie in perfectly with Eve’s 10/27 class discussion on compare-contrast teaching strategies. Concept sorts can be used throughout the curriculum in an interdisciplinary fashion. They are good for all ages and stages of word knowledge and in all content areas, not just literacy units. The possibilities seem endless when thinking about math terms, science concepts, and social studies vocabulary words in K-3 curriculums. In addition, concept sorts help with assessing and building background knowledge – one of Eve’s reflection points to help ELLs make connections to content. ELLs tend to know very little English terms when they enter Kindergarten and if they can do concept picture sorts that utilize compare-contrast exercises then ELLs are starting to expand their vocabulary. One of the book’s examples was sorting pictures of animals into various categories and then contrasting them with pictures of flowers, or fruits and vegetables – all examples of plants (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2008).
Sources:
Bear, D.R., Helman, L., Invernizzi, M., & Templeton, S.R. (2007). Words their way with English learners: Word study for spelling, phonics, and vocabulary instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S. R., Johnston, F., (2008) Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Lisa, I have used sound sorts from Words their Way in whole group lessons and as literacy center activities, but I don't use concept sorts as frequently. However I think it can be a very effective instructional strategy to help students make connections and compare and contrast different topics. Concept sorts can be used in various content areas independent from each other and can also be used to point out connections between different disciplines. I really like the idea of using pictoral representations to assist English Language Learners (ELLs). One way to provide more rigor is to ask students to complete follow-up activities explaining how they categorized the cards or why a particular topic fits under a "rule." Furthermore, children can challenge themselves by comparing and contrasting the different pictures, which is a higher-order thinking skill. Children can complete any of these follow-up activities orally or in writing, depending on their oral language abilities and writing fluency.
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