1	Leadership Institute for Latino Literacy (LILL) Considering Learners and Literacy in the Classroom
2	In this session Discovering Student Characteristics! Literacy Characteristics and Implications for the Classroom! A First Step toward Rethinking Instruction!
3	"What have you discovered about..." What have you discovered about these students by reviewing this information? What else do you need to know to better plan instruction for them?
4	English language learners differ in important ways that include: Level of English language proficiency and stage of English language acquisition Home and school literacy backgrounds Prior knowledge/experiences
5	Level of English language proficiency, stage of English language acquisition Students’ level of English proficiency may differ by different domains. Students may be at different stages of English language acquisition. .
6	Read Changing Lives: Teaching English and Literature to ESL Students in your binder. Stage I – Preproduction Stage II – Early production Stage III – Speech emergence Stage IV – Intermediate fluency
7	Literacy in the home or primary language Students’ home or primary language is associated with their literacy development. Students’ home literacy experiences may or may not match the literacy expectations of school.
8	My Mother Never Read to Me
9	Prior knowledge and life experiences Students’ prior experiences with school or immigration shape their behavior in different ways, including their understanding of school routines, and their social or academic language/ vocabulary.
10	"We had no front yard" We had no front yard, backyard, next door, or neighborhood. We did not sweep or shovel walks. We had no shelves, attic, cellar, or basement. For years I owned no hairbrush, toothbrush, nail file, or pajamas. - former migrant child
11	Literacy Characteristics and Implications for the Classroom Examine your assumptions and questions about your learners. How might culture or background be affecting your understanding of their literacy? Consider ways to learn more about your students in these areas, just as you may already be assessing their age, their interests, their learning styles and learning attitudes.
12	Literacy Implications (cont.) Identify the oral language and literacy demands of your content area, and plan activities that support students’ academic and social language development as well as knowledge of content. Provide REPEATED opportunities for students to read, write, and present ideas about themselves and the content they are learning.
13	A First Step to (Re) Thinking Instruction From your perspective, what strengths does this student have that would help him/her develop academic literacy? What are your concerns? List your ideas for how you might (re) think instruction so that this student is best able to learn the content that you teach.
14	"Development of academic knowledge and..." Development of academic knowledge and skills in the majority language will not “just take care of itself;” it requires explicit teaching with a focus on the genres, functions, and conventions of the language itself in the context of extensive reading and writing of the language (Cummins, 2000, p. 23).
15	Exit Ticket After thinking about this session and what you have learned, write a 1-2 sentence summary.