English Update March 19, 2007. JAAL March 07.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. March, 2007.
This issue is devoted to electronic portfolios.

Curriculum….. Portfolios….. What are the values of portfolios? Portfolios support students’ reflection that can help them understand their own learning and document growth over time. HL Barrett. JAAL (Mar. 07), 436.

Curriculum….. Portfolios….. What can teachers learn from reviewing students' portfolios? Teachers reflect on the contents of students’ portfolios and are able to assess not only the students’ progress but also their teaching. T Hicks, et al. JAAL (Mar. 07), 450-458.

Curriculum….. Portfolios….. Here’s a wild idea. All student work is placed on a central bulletin board for all members of the class to comment on and make suggestions. What about students who do not want their work displayed for all to see it? K Fahey, et al. JAAL (Mar. 07), 461-469.

Curriculum….. Teacher Preparation….. Pre-service teachers put together electronic portfolios that are used in job interviews. What image do they want to create? HL Hallman. JAAL (Mar. 07), 474-485.

Curriculum….. Portfolios….. What is the effect on teachers who use portfolios assessment in their classrooms and to document their own progress as teachers? Does developing a portfolio as a teacher lead to/affect the teachers’ use of portfolios in their classes? SL Stansberry and AD Kymes. JAAAL (Mar. 07), 488-496.

Media….. Communication….. If we are going to have students use sound, pictures, video, text, etc. we need to help them understand how these media contribute to effective communication. BT Williams. JAAL (Mar. 07), 500-504.

Archive
Reading….. Comprehension….. What is the purpose of questions related to comprehension? “No question should be devised only to defeat a child or to embarrass his emerging confidence.” C Washburne. “Short Papers on Readiness, Reading Interests, Vocabulary Development and Comprehension.” 551.

Reading….. Content Areas….. How incorporate reading in the content areas into a basal program? Use chapter from a science text as a basal reading lesson. RE Sabaroff. 398.

Reading….. Definitions….. How does knowledge of phonemes affect learning to read? Inability to segment phonemes (i.e., unable to divide a word into its individual sounds); ineffective phoneme synthesis (i.e., unable to connect the sounds to form words). M Smith, et al. RT (Nov. 04), 302.

Reading….. English as a Second Langauge….. How prepare ESL students for reading? Emphasizes the importance of pre-teaching vocabulary and establishing questions to be answered for ESL students before reading. “One technique that is helpful in supporting ELLs’ reading and learning in academic content areas is ‘frontloading’ a lecture or assigned reading with activities that highlight key language. Such activities may include discussions aimed at eliciting and linking students’ related background knowledge, hands-on experiences that invite key questions, and highlighting of key vocabulary. In this way, important concepts, vocabulary and questions are identified before a lecture or reading begins.” C Harper & E deJong. JAAL (Oct. 04), 157.

Reading….. Fluency….. What role does fluency play in successful reading? “Reading fluency is one of the defining characteristics of good readers, and a lack of fluency is a common characteristic of poor readers.” Hudson, Lane and Pullen. RT (May 05), 702. [File] “…lack of reading fluency is also a reliable predictor of reading comprehension problems…. Once struggling readers learn sound-symbol relationships…and become accurate readers, their lack of fluency emerges as the next hurdle they face on their way to reading proficiency…. This lack of fluent reading is a problem for poor readers because they…focus on decoding at the word level that makes comprehension of the text difficult, if not impossible.” Hudson, Lane and Pullen. RT (May 05), 702. [File]

Reading….. Fluency….. How evaluate fluency of oral reading? Fluency should measure three components: oral reading accuracy, rate of oral reading and quality of oral reading—together, of course, with comprehension. JJ Pikulski & DJ Chard. RT (Mar. 05), 510-519.

JAAL = Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. RT = Reading Teacher.