This document summarizes a presentation by Marisa Russo on foundational literacy skills for English learners. The presentation covered common phonetic difficulties English learners face, strategies for building vocabulary, and using music to help acquire grammar and vocabulary. It noted that approximately 5.1 million US students are English learners, with most from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, and discussed the importance of phonological awareness, decoding, encoding, and vocabulary for reading comprehension.

1. Key Foundational Literacy
Skills for English Learners
Presented By: Marisa Russo, M.Ed.
District Manager, California
SPLASH 2016

2. Current Facts:
• Approximately 5.1 million or 10.5 percent of the U.S. students are
ELLs
• 79% of ELLs nationally are from Spanish-language backgrounds
• While ELLs reside throughout the United States, they’re heavily
concentrated in Arizona, California, Texas, New York, Florida, and
Illinois
• These 6 states contain 61% of the nation’s ELL population
• Dropout rates for ELL students were 25 percent, compared to 15
percent for non-English learners

3. Goals for Today’s Session:
• Common Phonetic Difficulties Linked to L1
• Support for Decoding and Encoding/Spelling
• Strategies for Building Academic Vocabulary

4. Common Phonetic Difficulties
• English Digraphs
• Omitting Ending Sounds
• Initial Consonant Blends
• English Vowel Sounds/Spellings

5. English Digraphs:
• 2 or more characters used to write one phoneme
/th/ thin
Transfer Error
sin, tin, fin
/sh/ shop
Transfer Error
chop, sop
o Some students can’t hear and distinguish sounds
o Watch My Mouth (to see what your lips are doing)

6. • The National Reading Panel identified phonemic awareness
as one of the primary components in acquiring reading.
• Phonological awareness is the best predictor of reading ability
and is given more of a greater predictor than IQ scores.
Phonological Awareness

7. Common Errors
Ehsleep instead of sleep
Chruck instead of truck
jress
Beginning Consonant Blends
/s/…leep /t/…ruck /d/…ress
/b/...right /k/…risp /g/…rab

8. Common Eliminations
He runs so fas.
I want to stan by you.
Can I go firs?
Final Sound Elimination
fas…/t/ lam…/p/ stan…/d/
cris…/p/ tas…/k/ twis…/t/

9. “If students can say it, they can write it.”
Alphabetic Languages-SPEECH to PRINT

11. Systematic Teaching. Systematic Learning.
Reinforce Phoneme to Grapheme

12. Systematic Teaching. Systematic Learning.
Reinforce Phoneme to Grapheme

13. Speech to Print
t r i ck

14. Speech to Print
s n a tch

15. Speech to Print
b r igh t

16. Speech to Print
sh ar p er

17. Header
“Perhaps the single biggest
pronunciation problem for
English Learners are English
vowel sounds.”
-

18. 18
acorn
apple
also
alive
art
air
aisle
English Vowels
a

19. 19 vowel phonemes

20. • Poorest readers have the weakest vocabulary.
• After grade 2, many…[ students]…at the 25th percentile in reading
comprehension have language comprehension levels that are too low to
profit from independent reading of most “grade-level” textbooks, (Chall
& Conard, 1991).
• They lack the vocabulary needed to understand grade-level texts, even if
they can identify the printed words (Biemiller 1999).
Vocabulary

21. Current Facts:

23. 3 Levels of Text
Complexity
Comprehension
Vocabulary Cards
Photo Activity Cards

24. It works! There is considerable scientific
evidence that demonstrates how music can help
second language learners acquire grammar and
vocabulary.
Why Learn English Through
Songs and Music?

25. Warm Up Chant
I love myself.
I feel so good.
This is my nose.
I smell with my nose.
I blow my nose.
I have holes in my nose.
I love my nose.
Here are my ears.
I wash my ears.
I hear with my ears.
I have holes in my ears.
.
These are my teeth.
I brush my teeth.
I floss my teeth.
I chew with my teeth.
I love my teeth.
This is my chin,
my chinny-chin, chin
I don’t know why I have it.
I love my chin!

26. Hands and Fingers
Hands up. Hands down.
Hands twirling ‘round and ‘round.
Fingers up and fingers down.
Fingers dancing on the ground.
Dance your fingers through the
air,
On your knees, and in your hair.
Dance your fingers here and
there.
Dance your fingers everywhere.
Hide your hands between your
knees.
Fly them out like buzzing bees.
Behind your back – one, two, three
Where, oh where can your fingers
be?
Bring your fingers back in sight.
Fly them left and fly them right.
Around and around and around they
go.
Now place them in your lap just so.

27. Work with the what they know and
Slowly add new vocabulary
Let’s Practice!

28. Frog Street Pre-K Read-Aloud Support:

29. Beginner
Did the shoemaker think the shoes would be made
again during the night? (yes)
Early Intermediate
Did he think the shoes would be made during the night,
or in the morning? (during the night)
Intermediate
Why did the shoemaker go to bed without making shoes?
(He knew the shoes would be made that night)
Comprehension Precedes Production

30. “We must remember that every
student yearns to be successful.”
—Audrey Boynton

31. Key Foundational Literacy
Skills for English Learners
Presented By: Marisa Russo, M.Ed.
District Manager, California
mrusso@frogstreet.com
SPLASH 2016