Subarea 2/Objective 8: Second-Language and Content Learning Flashcards
Apply knowledge of writing instruction and assessement for English language learners.
An ESL teacher has developing-level English language learners engage in daily freewriting, in
which students write as much as they can about a familiar topic without paying attention to
grammar or spelling. This practice supports the English language learners’ writing development
primarily by:
A. familiarizing them with patterns of written discourse in English.
B. promoting their writing fluency in English.
C. prompting them to use sentence variety in their English writing.
D. enhancing their written English vocabulary.
: B. Many English language learners are inhibited about writing in English because
they feel overwhelmed by attending to both meaning and form and/or they are overly concerned about
making mistakes in English writing conventions such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Consequently, they write very little or they limit their writing to simple or rote statements they know they
can produce accurately. Freewriting is an instructional strategy designed to help all students increase
their writing output by focusing primarily on meaning instead of form. This is especially effective for
English language learners because they are likely to feel more at ease about expressing their ideas in
writing when they are given opportunities to write without having to worry about avoiding spelling and
grammar errors. A is incorrect because frequently writing about a familiar topic will not help students
recognize patterns of written discourse (e.g., organizational structures of different types/genres of
texts). C and D are incorrect because to promote English language learners’ knowledge and skills with
different sentence structures and written (i.e., academic) English vocabulary, they need to be provided
with explicit instruction and guided practice using these language forms. Freewriting provides a safe
context in which students may choose to use previously introduced vocabulary or language forms, but it
is not an appropriate context for introducing students to new language or for prompting them to use
specific vocabulary or language forms.
An ESL teacher uses a writer’s workshop approach in which small groups of English language
learners regularly work together to brainstorm ideas for writing, conference about each other’s
writing, and prepare their writing for publication. Which of the following statements best describes
the most important benefit of this approach for English language learners’ writing development?
A. The collaborative nature of writer’s workshop promotes students’ understanding of writing as
a collective process.
B. Writer’s workshop boosts students’ self-confidence in their writing ability and reduces their
writing-related anxiety.
C. The interactive nature of writer’s workshop supports students’ progress through the various
stages of the writing process.
D. Writer’s workshop helps the teacher maximize the amount of class time students spend on
writing-related tasks.
: C. Writer’s workshop approaches typically involve regularly scheduled writing
sessions in which students participate in a mini-lesson, an individual student work period, and a shared
or closing activity. During mini-lessons and work periods, students learn about and engage in various
stages of the writing process (e.g., choosing an idea, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) in a variety
of genres. During the shared and closing activities, students have frequent opportunities to conference
about and share their writing at each stage, listen to the writing of other students, and offer and receive
constructive feedback. Thus, writer’s workshop is highly interactive in nature and provides multiple
supports for students as they work through the various stages of the writing process. A is incorrect
because, while students work collaboratively during the sharing portions of writer’s workshop, students
typically work independently during the work periods to produce individual writing projects. B is
incorrect because the sharing portions of writer’s workshop can induce anxiety in some students and
especially in English language learners who may be self-conscious about their English. D is incorrect
because students also engage in mini-lessons and sharing activities during writer’s workshop; thus, its
goal is not to maximize students’ time-on-task while writing but rather to guide and support students
through each stage of the writing process.
Which of the following should be the primary focus of instruction for English language learners in
the prewriting stage of the writing process?
A. helping students generate the vocabulary and language structures they need to express their
ideas
B. promoting students’ use of Standard English grammar conventions
C. providing students with clear guidelines regarding assignment expectations and grading
criteria
D. justifying for students the value of and purposes for writing
A. During the prewriting stage of the writing process, students generate ideas for
writing. Prewriting may consist of drawing a picture, writing questions, making a story map, or
developing an outline or list. In order to engage in these activities, English language learners may need
help developing vocabulary and language structures that support the ideas they want to express. B is
incorrect because the use of Standard English grammar conventions is not particularly important during
the prewriting stage; generating basic ideas is most crucial at this stage. C is incorrect because, if the
teacher wants students to follow certain guidelines related to a writing assignment (e.g., when working
with middle school students who are writing an expository essay for a content-area class), the teacher
should convey these expectations before students begin the writing process. D is incorrect because,
during the prewriting stage, students should be thinking about their particular topic, storyline, and/or
theme to help them generate ideas they may want to include in their piece. Reflecting on broad issues,
such as the overall value of writing or the purposes for writing in general, is not likely to help them
generate ideas about their particular topic. Indeed, it may inhibit or impede the brainstorming process.
English language learners are practicing producing simple descriptive sentences in speech and
in writing. All of the students are able to produce full sentences orally and most can write full
sentences with some teacher assistance. Some students, however, are at beginning stages of
literacy development and are unable to read or write full sentences. Which of the following
adaptations to the activity would be most effective for promoting these students’ beginning writing
skills?
A. asking the students to identify false statements in a set of true/false descriptive sentences
and then rewrite those sentences to be true
B. giving the students a short text and having them identify which sentences are descriptive
C. pairing each student with a more advanced classmate who can write and read back the
descriptive sentences the students dictate
D. providing the students with a set of descriptive sentences to copy into a writing notebook
C. Partnering the students who have beginning writing skills with more advanced
peers who can write the sentences that they dictate helps scaffold the students’ writing development by
taking advantage of their stronger oral language skills. The more advanced students can also provide
them with models of good writing. A and B are incorrect because they require the use of reading skills
that would be beyond the level of the students in the scenario. D is incorrect because the lesson’s
objective is for students to produce their own written and oral descriptive sentences. The task described
in D is simply copying descriptive sentences, not producing original sentences.
An ESL teacher introduces bridging-level English language learners to the poem “Where I’m
From” by George Ella Lyon, in which the author begins, “I am from . . . “ and goes on to list items
and phrases that characterize her background. The teacher asks students to choose a line from
the poem that they find interesting and discuss their choices in small groups. Then the teacher
has students create their own “Where I’m From” poems. Which of the following additional steps
during the lesson would best support the students’ writing development?
A. Students copy the poem from the board and practice reciting it in pairs.
B. Students arrange sentence strips of the poem to recreate the full poem from memory.
C. Students orally generate “I am from . . . “ statements and share them with each other.
D. Students prepare and present a dramatic choral reading of the poem.
C. Engaging students in an oral language prewriting activity can help them
generate ideas and access vocabulary and language to scaffold the writing assignment. Also, English
language learners need multiple exposures to and opportunities to use new vocabulary and language
structures. This activity provides both partners with opportunities for listening to and orally generating “I
am from . . . “ statements prior to writing, which allows them to practice and process ideas and
language to support their writing. A, B, and D are incorrect because these activities require the
students to work solely with the original poem. The tasks do not promote development of students’ own
ideas or writing.
As part of spelling instruction, an ESL teacher has English language learners go through the
motions of “painting” a word on the wall as they recite the letters of the word. This strategy is
likely to promote students’ English spelling skills primarily by:
A. adding variety to an otherwise routine memorization task.
B. helping students associate new learning with prior learning.
C. activating areas of the brain associated with literacy.
D. helping students internalize learning through kinesthetic activity.
D. Kinesthetic learning approaches involve students in tactile or movement-based
activities to promote recall and learning. In this scenario, students “paint” words on the wall as they
recite the letters of a word, using their arms and hands as if they were holding a paintbrush. This
painting movement helps reinforce and enhance students’ visual and auditory recall of the word by
involving their whole bodies in the act of spelling. A is incorrect because simply adding variety to a task
does not necessarily promote recall. The movement must be purposeful and directly related to the thing
the students are trying to remember, in this case the spelling of new words. B is incorrect because the
students are not using prior learning to achieve the objective of the lesson. Their prior knowledge of
painting will not help them learn to spell. C is incorrect because the areas of the brain activated by
movement do not necessarily correlate to the areas of the brain associated with literacy.
An ESL teacher is implementing a lesson on English parts of speech with developing-level
English language learners. The teacher prompts students to associate each grammatical
category with a different color (e.g., nouns are “blue words,” verbs are “green words”). Then the
teacher has students use colored pens or highlighters to mark words in simple English sentences
with their corresponding colors. In addition to reinforcing students’ knowledge of the vocabulary
used in the sentences, this activity best promotes the students’ understanding of English:
A. syntax.
B. mechanics.
C. pragmatics.
D. spelling.
: A. Syntax relates to the rules governing the way words are combined in a
sentence. By using colors to highlight the parts of speech (e.g., nouns, verbs) in the sentences,
students gain an awareness of syntax, the arrangement of these parts of speech, in an English
sentence. B is incorrect because the students do not highlight elements related to mechanics (e.g.,
punctuation, capitalization) in this activity. C is incorrect because pragmatics relates to the social
context in which language is used. The meaning of language can be altered depending on the context
in which it is used. Students do not gain experience with pragmatics by identifying parts of speech in a
sentence. D is incorrect because, in the activity described, the students do not pay attention to
individual letters or parts of a word, so it is unlikely that the activity would promote their understanding
of spelling or spelling patterns.
An ESL teacher is planning to have English language learners assess each other’s writing in a
peer-editing session. Which of the following teacher strategies would best promote the
effectiveness of this type of writing assessment?
A. encouraging students to give only positive feedback on their peers’ writing
B. providing students with a rubric or checklist to complete as they review their peers’ writing
C. asking students to base the grade they give their peers’ writing on the number of errors in the
writing
D. instructing students to focus on only one type of error at a time when reviewing their peers’
writing
B. Peer editing is a step in the writing process (at the editing stage of a draft) that
involves partners reading and correcting each other’s writing, usually in preparation for “publishing” a
final copy. At this stage, the draft should have already been revised for meaning (e.g., clarity,
organization, word choice), so the focus of this review is on mechanics (e.g., spelling, punctuation,
grammar). Peer editing allows “another set of eyes” to check over a piece of writing prior to finalizing it.
A rubric or checklist provides English language learners with a scaffold to help them focus on relevant
aspects of their peer’s writing and to offer suggestions for improvement. A is incorrect because
providing only positive feedback will not help students make needed corrections in preparation for
publishing their writing. C is incorrect because at no point in the writing process are students supposed
to assign grades to their peers’ writing. Also, peer editing is an activity that is intended to support
students’ writing by helping them identify and correct potential errors that the writer may not have
noticed on his or her own. D is incorrect because if students are limited to editing only one type of error,
other errors may not be noted and corrected, which would not benefit the writer as he/she tries to
finalize the draft in preparation for “publishing.”
A second-grade teacher slowly dictates the following sentence and asks students to write it down
in their notebook.
“Living things need food and water.”
One developing-level English language learner with limited literacy skills writes the following.
Livinthin gsn eedfudan WAter
Given this writing sample, which of the following conclusions would be most appropriate to draw
about this student?
A. The student is having difficulty with English letter formation.
B. The student has not yet grasped the concept of how word boundaries are represented in
print.
C. The student is having difficulty with aural discrimination of some English phonemes.
D. The student has not yet grasped the concept that written letters correspond to spoken
sounds.
B. Word boundaries are the blank spaces between written words that show the
reader where a word begins and ends. The writing sample shows that the student has not yet grasped
how word boundaries are represented in print. For example, the student writes, “Livinthin gsn.” The
student combines “livin” and the first part of “things” into one unit, leaves a space, and then writes the
ending of “things” plus the first letter of “need” as if it were a second unit, instead of appropriately
spacing each word so that the student’s writing and spelling would read, “Livin things need.” The
random placement of the spaces suggests that the student is aware that there are supposed to be
spaces in English sentences but is not aware of their function as word boundaries. A is incorrect
because the writing sample clearly shows individual letters and each letter is correctly formed. C is
incorrect because the writing sample shows that the student was able to accurately hear the dictated
sentence, including individual English phonemes. While the student changed /ng/ to /n/ in “living,”
he/she correctly identified /ng/ in “things.” Also, while the student omitted the final /d/ sound in “and,”
he/she included the final /d/ sound in “need.” Thus, the evidence does not support that the student
cannot discriminate some English phonemes. D is incorrect because it is clear from the writing sample
that the student understands that written letters correspond to spoken sounds, since the student used
phonetic spelling to write the words he/she did not know how to spell (e.g., food).
Use the information below to answer the two questions that follow.
(THE BELOW INFORMATION IS TO BE USED FOR QUESTIONS 10 AND 11.)
An elementary ESL teacher is co-teaching a language arts lesson in a third-grade SEI class that
includes English language learners representing a wide range of English proficiency levels. The
teacher engages students in the following collaborative writing activity.
1. One student in the class—the “interviewee”—agrees to be interviewed by class members.
2. Each class member serves as an “interviewer” by asking the interviewee a prepared question
(e.g., “What is your favorite food?”).
3. The interviewee responds to each interviewer’s question (e.g., “I love bananas”) or says
“pass” if he or she does not want to respond to a question.
4. Each interviewer paraphrases the interviewee’s response to his or her question (e.g., “His
favorite food is bananas”).
5. The teachers record each interviewer’s paraphrase on chart paper using correct mechanics
and grammar.
6. After each interviewer has asked his or her question, students discuss the sentences on the
chart paper and use a coding system to categorize the sentences by topic (e.g., personal
preferences).
Which of the following additional activities related to the sentences would most effectively
promote the students’ understanding of informational text structures in English?
A. Pairs of students take turns reading the sentences aloud and questioning one another about
the content of each sentence.
B. Each student writes a short autobiography, using the sentences as models for their own
writing.
C. Students participate in a whole-class discussion of how each sentence could be revised to
be more sophisticated and descriptive.
D. Small groups of students organize and rewrite the sentences into paragraphs with topic
sentences.
D. Informational texts typically are organized into paragraphs that each address a
subtopic or different aspect of the text’s main topic. Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that
tells the reader what the paragraph is about. In Step 6 of the scenario, the students organize the
sentences they have generated into categories (subtopics). By further organizing and rewriting the
sentences in each category into a paragraph and then developing a topic sentence for each paragraph,
the students have the opportunity to practice developing the basic structure of an informational text. A
is incorrect because reading the sentences aloud with a partner and questioning one another about
their content may reinforce comprehension of the sentences, but it would not promote an understanding
of how informational texts in English are typically structured. B and C are incorrect because they may
promote students’ writing development in general, but they would not contribute to their understanding
of basic informational text structures.
Use the information below to answer the two questions that follow.
An elementary ESL teacher is co-teaching a language arts lesson in a third-grade SEI class that
includes English language learners representing a wide range of English proficiency levels. The
teacher engages students in the following collaborative writing activity.
1. One student in the class—the “interviewee”—agrees to be interviewed by class members.
2. Each class member serves as an “interviewer” by asking the interviewee a prepared question
(e.g., “What is your favorite food?”).
3. The interviewee responds to each interviewer’s question (e.g., “I love bananas”) or says
“pass” if he or she does not want to respond to a question.
4. Each interviewer paraphrases the interviewee’s response to his or her question (e.g., “His
favorite food is bananas”).
5. The teachers record each interviewer’s paraphrase on chart paper using correct mechanics
and grammar.
6. After each interviewer has asked his or her question, students discuss the sentences on the
chart paper and use a coding system to categorize the sentences by topic (e.g., personal
preferences).
Which of the following adaptations of this activity would most effectively promote the writing
development of bridging-level English language learners in the class?
A. In Steps 2 and 3, bridging-level students translate for entering-level students the interviewer’s
question and interviewee’s response.
B. In Step 4, bridging-level students, rather than the interviewer, paraphrase the interviewee’s
response.
C. In Step 5, bridging-level students, with guidance from the teachers, record the interviewers’
paraphrases on the chart paper.
D. In Step 6, bridging-level students copy down the sentences on the chart paper into a writing
notebook
C. Bridging-level English language learners are approaching grade-level English
language proficiency. With appropriate support, students at this level can write in Standard English.
Thus, recording the interviewers’ paraphrases in correct English on chart paper with guidance from the
teachers is an appropriate task for this group of students. A is incorrect because students at this level
may or may not be fluent in their first language, or in the language of the entering-level students in the
class, making the task of translating not possible. In addition, translating would not promote the writing
development of this group of students because translating in this scenario is an oral task. B is incorrect
because paraphrasing in this scenario is also an oral task, not a written task, and thus would not
promote the writing development of bridging-level English language learners in the class. Finally, simply
copying down the sentences on the chart paper in a writing notebook is too simple of a task for
students at the bridging level, making D incorrect. This task would be more appropriate for students at
the entering and emerging levels of proficiency.
