Reading is all about understanding. How do we know our kids are getting it―and what do we do when they don't get it? Authors Juli Kendall and Outey Khuon believe that small group comprehension lessons have a key role to play in advancing students' understanding of texts. Making Sense: Small-Group Comprehension Lessons for English Language Learners , they provide answers to many common questions asked by teachers of ELL. It is an easy-to-use, practical resource for ELD, ESL, and ESOL teachers.The book's five main sections are geared to the stages of language proficiency, and lessons span kindergarten through grade 8. The authors outline 52 lessons that teach students how to make connections, visualize, infer, and determine importance. Each lesson follows a four-part teaching framework:
Start Up/Connection: Helping students build background and use prior knowledge to connect to the lesson Give Information : Explicitly telling students what they are going to learn and why they are learning it Active Involvement : Students practice what they are learning while the teacher monitors and adjusts instruction accordingly Off-You-Go!: Opportunities for students to practice what they learned with peers or independently.
Making Sense will appeal to experienced teachers seeking to expand their repertoire of lessons, as well as new teachers just beginning the adventure of teaching comprehension to English language learners.
Outey Khuon began teaching in Cambodia in 1969. Since 1992 she has taught elementary students in Long Beach, where she is currently a Literacy Specialist. She has presented at many state and national conferences and workshops and is a lecturer teaching Khmer language and Culture (Heritage Language) in the Linguistics Department at California State University, Long Beach. In addition to her degrees from Cambodia Outey has a Masters Degree in Multicultural Education and a BCLAD credential specialising in Khmer (Cambodian). Juli Kendall has been working and learning with Outey Khuon for the last 15 years. She has taught kindergarten through eighth grade and is currently a Literary Specialist. A NBCT, she holds a Masters Dress in Multicultural Education, a Bilingual Specialist Credential in Spanish and is also trained as a Reading Recovery Teacher in English and in Spanish. Juli writes a Reading/Writing Journal for MiddleWeb.
