Embedded Reading

Simplify, Scaffold, Succeed!!

Archive for the category “Teachers Talk About Embedded Reading”

Justin Slocum Bailey on Twisted Embedded Readings

For you to enjoy!  A fantastic post at www.indwellinglanguage.com on

Twisted Embedded Readings

You’ll love it!  Thank you so much Justin!

Scaffolding Knowledge, as well as Reading: Todos Somos Excalibur

I found a wonderful editorial piece that I wanted to share with my Spanish 4/5 class, but a)  it was above their reading level and b)  there were a number of historical and social references in the article that they could not relate to.      I decide to scaffold both the reading and the references using an Embedded Reading.    It worked better than I could have hoped!   You can find the original piece here:

TODOS SOMOS EXCALIBUR

 

Here is the base reading:

                                                                    Todos Somos Excalibur                  OPINIÓN

Llama la atención que, aunque Madrid fue víctima del terrorismo en 2004, la pública no quería organizar después del ataque a Charlie Hebdo. Nuestra reacción no fue nada.

Llama la atención que, en un país que recuperó las libertades hace menos de 40 años, nadie quisiera demostrar.

Llama la atención que españoles se reunieron usando un hashtag —#salvemosaExcalibur— para ayudar a un perro que nadie quisiera salir a la calle ahora.

Llama la atención que continúe el aislamiento de España.

Llama la atención a los españoles.

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It’s almost poetry.    My students understood the words…but not the piece, or half of it anyway.

THEY DID UNDERSTAND the first sentence and its reference to the terrorism in Madrid.  We had just finished the song “Jueves” by Oreja de Van Gogh, written in remembrance of the victims of that terrorism and had read/watched a few short pieces on the bombing.

THEY DID UNDERSTAND the references to the attack on Charlie Hebdo because we had been following that as part of our current events studies.

The rest were words and phrases that they understood, but really had no meaning.

There were three pieces that they needed a deeper understanding of in order to understand the author’s references:

1.  How the Spanish Civil War separated Spain from the rest of the world.

2.  How that separation was maintained throughout much of Francisco Franco’s rule.

3.  What “Salvemos A Excalibur” was.

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The first two were worthy of a few years study, but I wanted to just give them an overview.  We’ll be doing a more in-depth study in a month or two and it is a very complex topic.   It was tempting to go deep, but I tried to just outline the basics and answer any follow-up questions.   VERY BASIC.

To do that I created several statements for them to read and ask questions about:

A.  The Spanish Civil War was incredibly violent and affected nearly every facet of life in Spain.

B.  Francisco France ruled Spain until the late 1970’s, sometimes with an iron fist.

C.  Since his death, Spain has re-entered the global scene financially, culturally and socially.

The students worked in groups and created 3-5 questions.  Each group asked me their questions and took notes on the answers from all of the groups.   They then had time to create 1-2 more questions based on the new information and we repeated the process.  At the end of the class they wrote any remaining questions on an “exit ticket”  I picked three of those and provided the answers, in writing, the next day.

It’s amazing how, when a teacher will only provide a limited number of answers, how many students have questions!

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As for “Salvemos A Excalibur”, I modified an article and the students worked in groups to list what they understood.  It was a great opportunity for them to realize how much they truly do understand!!  Here is the piece:

salvemosaExcalibur

Frankly, we could have spent a long time on this story alone!!   Many of my students are pet-lovers and this really struck a chord with them.   Because they were fired up it led to great discussion and a willingness to write!!

Then we re-read the base story.

One student asked: Why would they get all excited about a dog…but not about people?

Bazinga!!!  The magic question.

*************************************************************************************

Todos Somos Excalibur Opinion Version 2

I dealt with the left hand side of the page differently with different classes.  Here are some options:

1.  Have students work in groups to answer 2-4 questions and then share answers.

2.  Do the above but have period 1 answer some questions, period 2 etc. and then share answers with all classes.

3.  Provide the answers in 1-2 sentence, but out of order (in a list, on cards, on the board) and have students read and match answers to questions.

The students then read the newest version of the article.  They underlined all of the text that they understood, then highlighted the parts that MADE SENSE TO THEM.

Then we formulated questions (using the left hand side as a model) for the information that they didn’t know.

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Then it was time to go to the computer lab.  They had questions.  They needed to find answers.  They could search in either language, but if they found the answer in an English post/article, then they had to find a corresponding one in Spanish to verify it.  (Great practice for using Google etc. in the target language!!  Especially for upper levels!!)

The following day, in groups, they listed in Spanish, using the articles/posts, in language they truly understood, what answers they found.  (in large poster format)  By then going around the room, they came back to their own posters to add details, additional information etc.   Someone then took a pic of the poster on his/her phone, shared it with whoever else had one and emailed one copy to me.  I then printed copies for students to use if they preferred paper or did not have a phone.

These are now resources!   The following day we played a favorite: Volleyball, and questions about the posters earned the right for each team to serve.  They were allowed to use their phones/posters as resources!

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After a few days of other activities, we came back to Version 3.

Todos somos Excalibur OPINIÓN Version 3

First they read and highlighted the next level of the article…indicating what they understood.   Then came the “treasure hunt” for the words on the left.  One class is very competitive and wanted to race.  So they did.  :o)  The next class didn’t care to, although I gave them the opportunity to.  In the third class, they decided to divide into groups.  Two competed against each other for time/accuracy and the others just worked at their own pace.

Observing this work allowed me to make decisions about which words/phrases would be good to use in Personalized Questions and Answers and/or story-asking.

Next week I’ll let them create short, short stories using 2 or more of the vocab/structures and we will have some fun with those!

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By now, these students have really understood this article, acquired some new vocab and felt very successful.  I have two additional versions to use later in the year…..if I choose to.  We will be starting that Post-Franco unit in a few weeks so I may pull them out.  I also like to pull out the original version to show them how far they have come from reading the very first, base reading.

Todos somos Excalibur OPINIÓN Version 4

Todos somos Excalibur OPINIÓN Version 5

Will I?  I don’t know.  The truth is sometimes I am way more excited about these readings that my students will ever be.  But I work with high schoolers.  I need to be careful not to let my excitement with multiple levels become stronger than my ability to keep them interested!!!!!

If I don’t use them for classes (and I may not!), they make great work for kids who are out for an extended time or a student who needs “quiet time” outside of class with quiet work.

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All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2015 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

A few ideas..for any level…for any reading

Many of you, particularly Spanish teachers, are familiar with the song/video Camarero.  (If not, and you are in the mood for a fun trip back to the 80’s, check it out!)   We posted an Embedded Reading by MB to go along with the song/video not too long ago.    The timing was perfect, as I had been waiting for the right moment to do the song with my Spanish 3 students.

For three decades I have taught this song to freshmen.   It’s catchy, it’s goofy and it has a lot of very useful phrases:  Queremos beber (we want something to drink),  Dese prisa (Hurry up!),  Me muero de sed (I’m dying of thirst), not to mention the easiest way to get students to remember the word for waiter (camarero).    Here are some of the activities I’ve done with the song/video that could easily also be done with the readings:

  • Gestures :  The majority of the song is easy to gesture!
  • Mural :  The students are in small groups, each with a large piece of paper and draw a mural of as many things in the song/reading that they can fit on the paper.   We hang them up around the room and they point out each item as I (or a very confident student) read the song/story out loud.  Then they move to the next mural and repeat!!!!
  • Flash cards :  Key phrases are illustrated and put on flash cards. (Sometimes I draw and Xerox, sometimes students draw their own, or I “commission” an artist to draw them.)  Students put the flash cards out in random order on their desks and put in order as I (or a very confident student) read the song/story out loud.
  • “Readers’ Theater” :  In small groups, students identify which lines each will act out as the song/story is read.  Groups can perform for each other or for the entire class.
  • Rewrites (Advanced) : Students rewrite the song changing “Camarero” to a different profession/person and any other elements that then need revising.

Because I haven’t taught freshmen for several years now, neither my Spanish 2s nor my Spanish 3s were familiar with the song.   We could have done any of the activities above, but we had actually just finished a different song (Jueves by Oreja de Van Gogh) and had done several of those activities with it.

So….I used MB’s reading and here is what we did:

1.  I created a PP to use to ask questions of the class using new vocab and structures.   For example:  La playa no se ve.  I simply had two pictures, one of a beach covered with people and one that was empty of people.  I asked them, in the target language, in which picture the song probably took place, which type of beach they preferred to be at and why, which one represented our local lake spots in the summer/winter etc.   There were about 5 phrases that were new to them and I made sure that we had used each in personalized conversations with the class before handing out lyrics and listening to the song.

2.  The video has lyrics on it, so simply watching the video was worthwhile!!

3.  We also then did a “Movie Talk” lesson with the sound muted, discussing, in the target language, what else we saw in the video, naming different individuals, giving them backstories etc.

4.  The base reading of the story was done as a simple translation.  I wanted to see how much they understood from the very beginning.

5.  The second version looks like this:

Había un chico que se llamaba Enrique. A Enrique le gustaba bailar.  Bailaba mucho.  También a él le gustaba ir a la playa.  En la playa hay mucha gente y el sol está brillando.   A Enrique le gustaba bailar a la playa.

Un día, Enrique fue a la playa.  No llevó su traje de baño.  Él estaba bailando en la playa todo el día y tenía sed.  Enrique quería algo para beber.  Enrique vio a un camarero y le dijo, “Me muero de sed.  Por favor, dame algo para beber.  ¡Dese prisa Ud.!”

El camarero salió y regresó con un vaso de agua encima de una tortuga.  Enrique todavía tenía mucho calor.  Enrique le pidió “Llévame al agua” a su amigo.  Su amigo lo llevó y lo tiró en el océano.  Enrique estaba contento.

I typed up with a Side A and a Side B so it looked like this:

Side A:                                                                                             Side B:

Había un chico que se llamaba Enrique.                                 A Enrique le gustaba bailar.

Bailaba mucho.                                                                             También a él le gustaba ir a la playa.

En la playa hay mucha gente y el sol está brillando.            A Enrique le gustaba bailar a la playa.

Un día, Enrique fue a la playa.                                                  No llevó su traje de baño.

Él estaba bailando en la playa todo el día y tenía sed.         Enrique quería algo para beber.

You get the idea.   I cut the papers in half and half of the students received a Side A and the others a Side B.

Partner A started and read the first A sentence out loud.  Partner B read the first on his sheet.   They continued to read through the story.  Then, they switched papers, found a new partner and repeated the process.   When everyone was finished, they put their papers aside and I read the story with random errors ( Habia un presidente que se llamaba Timoteo.    No llevo sus sandalias.  etc.)  

For the third version of the story, I gave the students options.  (Remember, these are Level 3 and 4 students)

  • Create a stick figure story board with 25 boxes, each box including a sentence from the story.
  • Write 10 multiple choice questions (with 3 responses each) about the story in Spanish.
  • Add 10 sentences with interesting details that fit well with the story.  Write the sentence that precedes it or follows it from the story and then your new sentence.
  • Write a 15 sentence story in Spanish about Enrique’s dancing career, beginning with “So You Think You Can Dance”

Hope that these ideas can help you design activities to go along with other songs and Embedded Readings!

All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2015 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

Embedded Reading Workshop in Colorado

ccflt mini conf

SPRING CCFLT CONFERENCE

Toda-lly Awesome: A Latinist on Embedded Reading

Keith Toda is a fantastic Latin teacher who also writes a great blog for Latin teachers!  In two separate posts, Keith writes about his experiences with Embedded Reading.  What he writes about can support anyone who is working with Embedded Reading.  Check out these two posts below…and Keith’s blog while you are at it!    Thanks Keith for permission to share!!

( Dr. Robert Patrick of Georgia and a brilliant team of Latinists have been working for several years with Embedded Reading in the Latin classroom.  Latin!!  While each of them has the ability to create readings on their own, they are working together to create materials to share with others.  This collaboration has lead to professional support, collegiality, and a focused goal to provide comprehensible input for Latin students.    Learning to create and use Embedded Readings is a process and Keith shares some of his “ahas!”  in these useful and insightful posts.)

Keith first addresses why he was interested in using Embedded Readings and how he got started.  He shares a short example in Latin AND his thoughts about how his students responded.

Read his first blog post here!!   

Then Keith reflects on the needs of his students and what he would like to do next.  THIS is the heart of a great teacher.

Read his second blog post here!!

Thank you Keith for being part of the Embedded Reading community and for all you do in the Latin community!

All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2014 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

Welcome to NTPRS 14!!

We are so glad that you have come to see us at NTPRS 14 in Chicago!!   Embedded Reading was originally created for a TPRS class and so we are extremely grateful to the entire TPRS community for helping us to organize and to share this approach.

Below you will find the PowerPoints used for both the Introduction to Embedded Reading session and the Advanced Reading session.

NTPRS 14 Beginning Embedded Reading PP

NTPRS 14 Embedded Reading II

 Alma   Embedded Readings and Game

All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2014 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

First Week of Spanish Embedded Reading!

 

Wow!!!!!  This post highlights a wonderful embedded reading written by Elizabeth Dentlinger for her beginning Spanish students!!  It appears in Spanish and English and her students loved it.  Teacher AND student-approved!!   It doesn’t get any better than that!

Sra Dentinger talks about how this worked with her students .    Find out more about this reading here!!

 

She just posted the slideshare link for the story….Click here..it’s fantastic and very current!!  High school students will love it.  (Since it is about Miley Cyrus Cuidado con the younger ones!)

 

Here is the real beauty of sharing…..not only could you use this story as is, you could adapt it for your own students.   Thanks so much Sra!

 

 

All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2014 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

El Hombre de Globos and Paperman

Eric has sent another reading that he used as a parallel story for the short film “Paperman.”  Here is a link to Bryan Krandel’s blog piece on Paperman.

Enjoy!!!

Hay un hombre.

El hombre tiene globos.

Hace figuras de animales con los globos.

Pasa un globo enfrente del hombre.

Una mujer corre al globo.

La mujer atrapa el globo y camina al hombre.

Al hombre le gusta la mujer.

La mujer se va en el bus.

El hombre está triste.

Camina a su casa.

Mira arriba y mira la mujer en una oficina.

El hombre hace figuras con los globos.

La mujer no mira los globos.

La mujer se va de la oficina.

El hombre está frustrado.

Hay muchos globos y los globos representan muchos animales diferentes.

Los animales corren al hombre.

El perro corre a la mujer.

La mujer entra al bus con el perro.

El hombre y la mujer se miran.

EL FIN

Hay un hombre.

El hombre tiene globos.

Es un payaso.

Hace figuras de animales con los globos.

El hombre está en el parque.

Pasa un globo enfrente del hombre.

Una mujer corre al globo.

La mujer atrapa el globo y camina al hombre.

La mujer es bonita.

El hombre mira la mujer.

Al hombre le gusta la mujer.

El aire levanta un globo que tiene la forma de un perro.

El globo le pega a la mujer en la cabeza.

La mujer se ríe.

Se ríe porque la boca de la mujer está en el globo.

El hombre mira el globo y se ríe.

La mujer se va en el bus.

El hombre está triste.

Camina a su casa.

Mira arriba y mira la mujer en una oficina.

El hombre necesita una idea.

El hombre hace figuras con los globos.

El hombre hace un perro y el aire levanta el globo.

El globo pasa enfrente de la oficina de la mujer.

La mujer no mira el globo.

El hombre hace otras figuras con los globos.

La mujer no mira los globos.

El hombre tiene un globo más.

Es el globo que tiene la boca de la mujer.

Por accidente, el globo se le escapa del hombre.

La mujer se va de la oficina.

El hombre está frustrado.

El globo con la forma de un perro flota a los otros globos.

Hay muchos globos y los globos representan muchos animales diferentes.

Hay globos que tienen la forma de perros, de jirafas, de ratones, y de elefantes.

¡Los globos están vivos!

Los animales corren al hombre.

Los animales le obligan al hombre que entre al bus.

El perro que tiene la boca de la mujer corre a la mujer.

La mujer quiere atrapar el perro.

La mujer entra al bus con el perro.

El hombre y la mujer se miran.

EL FIN

Hay un hombre. El hombre es alto. Tiene 30 años. Tiene pelo castaño y ojos cafés. El hombre tiene globos. Hace figuras de animales con los globos. El hombre está en el parque. Trabaja en el parque. Hace sol. Pasa un globo enfrente del hombre. Es el globo de una mujer. Una mujer corre al globo. La mujer atrapa el globo y camina al hombre. La mujer es bonita. Tiene 28 años. Es baja. Tiene pelo rubio y ojos azules. El hombre mira a la mujer. Al hombre le gusta la mujer. El aire levanta un globo que tiene la forma de un perro. El aire lleva el globo. El globo le pega a la mujer en la cabeza. Le pega en la cara. La mujer se ríe. Se ríe porque la boca de la mujer está en el globo. El hombre mira el globo y se ríe. La mujer se va en el bus.

gl5

El hombre está triste. Quiere hablar con la mujer. Quiere invitarla a comer. Camina a su casa. Mira arriba y mira la mujer en una oficina. La mujer está trabajando. El hombre necesita una idea. El hombre hace figuras con los globos. El hombre hace un perro y el aire levanta el globo. El globo pasa enfrente de la ventana de la oficina de la mujer. La mujer está ocupada. La mujer no mira el globo. El hombre hace otras figuras con los globos. El hombre permite que el aire lleve los globos para arriba. La mujer no mira los globos. El hombre tiene un globo más. Es el globo especial porque tiene la boca de la mujer. Por accidente, el globo se le escapa del hombre. La mujer termina su trabajo y se va de la oficina. El hombre está frustrado.

El globo con la forma de un perro flota a los otros globos. Hay muchos globos y los globos representan muchos animales diferentes. Hay globos que tienen la forma de perros, de jirafas, de ratones, y de elefantes. El globo del perro se mueve. El globo del perro comienza a bailar. Todos los globos comienzan a bailar en un círculo. ¡Los globos están vivos! Los animales buscan el hombre y lo encuentran. El hombre va caminando y los animales lo persiguen. Los animales corren al hombre. Los animales le pegan en las piernas del hombre. El hombre resiste, pero los animales tienen más fuerza que el hombre. Los globos lo llevan. Los animales le obligan al hombre que entre al bus. El perro que tiene la boca de la mujer busca la mujer y la encuentra. Corre a la mujer. La mujer persigue el perro. La mujer quiere atrapar el perro. Lo persigue y la mujer entra al bus con el perro. La mujer se baja del bus. El hombre se baja del otro bus. El hombre y la mujer se miran. Los globos de animales ayudaron para que se encontraran.

gl1

EL FIN

 

All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2014 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

La Prodigiosa Tarde de Baltazar from Mike Peto

Below is an amazing collection of work from a very generous teacher.   In this blog post, Mike Peto shares his work and his insights.  From Mike Peto’s blog:

“Embedded readings helped me scaffold this story:

I have always loved this story by García Márquez but, until now, I never quite managed to find the right approach to teaching it. This is such a delight to read and discuss, yet the high-level vocabulary threatens to derail the conversation from the interesting ideas presented in the story to incomprehensible trivia (i.e. what are the “eaves” of a house, and why do i need to know that word in Spanish?). Here is how I approached this story for my AP language class:”

You can find the rest of his post….the Embedded Readings…and much more here on Mike’s blog.

When I asked Mike if I could post his piece here he sent this response: ” Of course! It was a lot of work, I´d like as many people as possible to benefit 🙂

Thank you so much Mike!!

 

All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2014 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

Embedded Storyboard 100th post!!

It’s quite fitting that this, the 100th post, comes from the blog of Martina Bex, Michele Whaley’s Alaskan colleague.   Tomorrow we’ll post a corresponding chart that aligns with the Common Core strategies.   This is just brilliant.  Thank you Martina!

Click here : Embedded Storyboard

100

 

All content of this website © Embedded Reading 2012-2014 or original authors.  Unauthorized use or distribution of materials without express and written consent of the owners/authors is strictly prohibited.   Examples and  links may be used as long as clear and direct reference to the site and original authors is clearly established.

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