Introduction

As we sat in class on the first day, I was sparked by the ever persistent question each classmate had written on their large post-it note papers stuck to the walls: How can we increase the comprehension of our English Language Learners when they read? Last summer I attended a week-long seminar called the Content and Teaching Academy at James Madison University. I attended sessions there under Solange L. M., and I saw many interesting presenters like Lisa Eggleston and educators from across the state. A middle school teacher from California came by the name of Stephen Cary. Mr. Cary presented two ideas: one about shoebox archaeology and the other on the CSA Method, Contextualized Storytelling Approach. CSA uses props, pictures, movement, audience participation, and dialogue to act out a story. Mr. Cary acted out a story from the Aymaran Native American folklore. It was called El Ojo de Dios (God’s Eye.) I was in love with the idea of using storytelling in my classroom. Coincidently I saw an inservice the week before school started about the using Reader’s Theater in the classroom. After this class, I was ready to learn how to combine using storytelling with strategies we learned in our present class. For my mini lessons I incorporated several graphic organizers, TPR activities, and visual supports that would help build listening, oral, and literacy comprehension skills. I hope our classmates will be able to gain some ideas for using storytelling paired with strategies learned in our class.

Participants

I presented my study to a first grade class in a low socio-economic school. Kasey and Jocelyn, my two first graders (names have been changed) whose families are from Mexico. Kasey’s language level was a two, and Jocelyn quickly jumped from a one to a two after a couple of months in an English school. Kasey was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and started at our school in kindergarten. Jocelyn was born and lived in Houston, Texas until this past summer. Each child’s exposure to English was minimal before they started at our school.

Jocelyn’s mother crossed the border soon after she found out she was pregnant with Jocelyn. In Texas Jocelyn received all of her daily instruction in kindergarten in a Spanish classroom. She began learning to read in Spanish, and she was the top reader in her class there. Each child’s exposure to English was minimal before they started at our school. Jocelyn learned a little English from an after-school teacher in Texas. She has a kindergarten age brother, Hector, and an 18 month old brother, Kalvin. Jocelyn lives in a two-room house with her mother and step-father. When I asked Jocelyn if it was hard to understand her weekly stories because the meaning of an English word was unknown, she eagerly nodded yes.

Kasey only heard English on the television and in public settings before she started last year. Kasey is an especially shy child. Her “silent period” lasted for a good eight months in the regular classroom. It was several months before I learned this, because in our two on one pull-out class, she would frequently copy speech and ask questions. About halfway through last year an extra spot opened in my schedule, and I began working with Kasey both in and out of the classroom. I found this to be an optimal combination, because Kasey could practice her English in a comfortable setting; as well, I could encourage participation with her peers and clarify the content-based information she received in a flexible group. Kasey has one little brother that started kindergarten this year. He was at an advantage, because we had him placed in the pre-school class last year. Kasey also has a three year old little sister who knows no English. Kasey’s parents are very limited in their knowledge of English, especially the mother who does not work outside of the home. Her parents are extremely receptive, and both parents always attend conferences. When I visit the home, often times they are listening to Spanish music or watching Spanish videos. In Mexico, the family lived in a very poor neighborhood. Even though their house here may be considered cozy in American terms, it is more than adequate for their needs. We had an enjoyable celebration on Cinco de Mayo last year when Kasey’s parents brought in a piñata and Mexican treats for the class.

Research Question

My guiding question in the beginning was how I could make the students’ weekly stories from the reading book more engaging and easier to understand. I expected that if we raised the level of interest and participation, they would not get as bored reading the same story over again and again each day. I expected that by acting out the stories in different ways, the reading test scores at the end of the week would increase across the class. Reading tests are usually about fifteen questions long. The first six are cloze items where students must select the appropriate vocabulary words. The next seven are comprehension questions about the story, and the final two are short answer questions where they child can produce illustrations to go along with their answers.

Contextualized storytelling incorporates several components of theoretical framework outlined by popular researchers. Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory has a comprehension-based approach. He says ELL’s learn the second language through understandable messages (Imput Hypothesis.) His Affective Filter Hypothesis states that ELL’s need lower anxiety activities. Additionally, Krashen’s theory of “wakeful relaxation,” also known as Suggestopedia, applies to storytelling. CSA also builds upon Smith, Goodmans, and Edelsky’s Whole Language Theory. It uses rich, natural language, authentic literature, language for real communication purposes, and story discussion. Building upon Rumelhart’s Cognitive Psychology Theory, CSA utilizes emotions that drive attention, imagination as a learning tool, stories as tools for semantics, and schema building. Pearson’s Proficient Reader Research outlines elements in storytelling such as finding main ideas, questioning, visualizing, making inferences, synthesizing, and using comprehension repairs via cueing systems (i.e. grapho-phonics, orthographic, syntactic, semantic, schematic, and pragmatic.) Finally, theories of Calla that are incorporated by storytellers are using content-based ESL curriculum, building academic language, and giving explicit instruction in learning strategies.

Mini-unit/lessons

This unit has been spaced out over a week’s time span. Monday’s activities are designed to frontload story vocabulary, define story characters, and listen to the story on tape that has lots of expression and character voices. First the students collaboratively brainstormed and chose an action to associate with each vocabulary word. Then I displayed and read the description of a frog and toad from an SRA card. Next we compared frogs and toads using a Venn Diagram. Finally, we listened to the publisher’s tape while students tracked and read along in their own book. Tuesday we re-visited the vocabulary by going over the motions again. I presented the stories using all the props, pictures, audience participation, and movements. My shoebox had a sun, rocks, grass, a piece of a pine tree, play tea and cake, a glass of water for rain, a river, a flower, and pictures of frog, toad, birds, spring, a meadow, and a lizard. I also drew on the board a stove, a corner, and a path in the woods. When we were finished I gave each student a story board where the first-graders made the events into a comic. On the third day, we broke into our flex groups to read the story again. While we read, I used the post-it note strategy to pick out the main idea from each page. The students then used these words to write a short narrative, which we mounted on a large piece of paper with their comics. On Thursday, the class made frog and toad puppets with accordion arms and legs. They then got with a partner to read the story together Reader Theater style. On test day, Friday, we took the test in small groups with the lowest group having the test read aloud to them.

Methodology

First I had to ask myself, “Why storytelling?” I came up with these reasons. Storytelling provokes discussion and inquiry in reading; it teaches the content; it builds oral, listening, and literacy comprehension skills; it develops “a sense of story;” it conveys the power and beauty of language; it develops respect and appreciation for other cultures, languages, and dialects; it connects school to home and community; and finally, it honors and promotes oral tradition. Next, I had to do the most important job-select a story. I only had three to choose from that I knew the first graders would be reading before our final class, and the section from Frog and Toad All Year had the most action in it. In general when picking a story, Mr. Cary said to use the following guidelines: pick a story with lots of dramatic conflict, choose a story that provokes emotional response, use stories that build upon prior knowledge, use a story with lots of objects and movement, pick a story with natural language, and choose a story that requires mental processing and predicting.

After choosing your story, the next step is to review it and pinpoint key vocabulary and potential comprehension trouble spots. Then you need to write a list of context items and pictures you might have to draw on the board. Next, enlist friends and family members to help you collect the items if you have a long list. Many good pictures can be printed from the internet and backed for visual effect. Finally, put your items, and any related books in a shoebox. I put in my box the full story of Frog and Toad All Year, Sapo y Sepo El Ano Eterno, Frog and Toad Together, and Frog and Toad are Friends. These books were put on display in the back of the room where students could read them and take Accelerated Reader tests on the computer afterwards for the week. Finally, I chose appropriate graphic organizers, introductory activities, and TPR activities that

What results did this study produce? We received higher test scores across the classroom. The class my ELL’s are in is a very needy class with several special education students. That is why when I say 15 of 17 of the students missed 1 or no questions, it is such great news. Even the two that did not get an A or B drastically brought up their test scores. Just imagine the possibilities if we incorporated storytelling into weekly reading every week.

I think I will continue to use the Contextualized Reading Approach as much as possible with weekly reading on all levels. I would like to use it to tell a story in Spanish or Portuguese at a faculty meeting on April 20^th to show them how they can contextualize stories in their own classrooms and experience what it is like for an ESL student. This study taught me many new ways to reach beyond the words on the page to find meaning that would connect to the students’ lives. This class has broadened my knowledge of appropriate ways to use graphic organizer, journals, and retelling strategies. I have also learned necessary techniques for scaffolding, activating prior knowledge, organizing components of literacy, and assessing student progress. Many of my classmates have given me great post-reading ideas as well. When I do this the next time the only thing I would like to change is the story I tell. This story evoked many emotions, but it didn’t have the meaty plot and dramatic conflict I was looking for. I think I would also like to find a story that is folklore from another country to show that children’s stories from around the world are not very different from our own. My Mongolian student was reading “The Boy who Cried Wolf” and said she they had a very similar story in her own country as have many of my other students. Promoting diversity within hearts of our American children has always been a primary goal for me. I am so happy to finally have an example of CSA that I can share with my colleagues and classmates.