#3 AbelsM_Recipe in Spanish_ LT 2

I looked up a recipe in Spanish. It is as follows. My guess of what the words mean are to the right of the recipe in red.

Tiempo de preparación: 20 minutos Time for preparation: 20 minutes
Tiempo de cocción: 40 a 50 minutos Time for concoction: 40 to 50 minutes
Rinde: 4 a 6 porciones Yields: 4-6 portions

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Lo Que Necesita You will need:

1/2	taza de azúcar, DIVIDIDA 1/2 teaspoons? of sugar divided
1/3	taza de cacao en polvo sin azúcar 1/3 of chocolate... without sugar
1/4	de harina multi-usos
1/8	cucharadita de sal 1/8... with salt
1	taza de leche 1... of milk
1/2	cucharadita de vainilla 1/2... of vanilla
4	CLARAS DE HUEVO, a temperatura ambiente 4 clears of an egg? the temperature should be like the ambiance (room temperature)
1/2	cucharadita de crema tártara 1/2... cream of tartar
4	YEMAS DE HUEVO 4 yellows/yolks of egg

Cómo Prepararlo How to Prepare

1. CALIENTE el horno a 350°F. Heat the oven to 350. MEZCLE measure 1/4 taza de azúcar, the sugar el cacao en polvo, the chocolate and ? la harina y la sal ? and the salt en una cacerola mediana, in one medium casserole dish mezcle con la leche poco a poco hasta que quede suave. with the milk and a little of ? COCINE a fuego medio, cook? a medium fire revolviendo revolve constantemente constantly, hasta que la mezcla with the measuring dish hierva y se espese. AGREGUE la vainilla. add the vanilla Retire del fuego.retire/end the fire
2. BATA las claras de huevo y la crema tártara en un tazón para batidora, bata a alta velocidad hasta conseguir una textura espumosa. put the clear eggs and the cream of tartat and other ingredients together until they have a smooth texture. Bata constantemente, añadir el restante 1/4 taza de azúcar, 2 cucharadas a la vez, batiendo después de cada adición, hasta que el azúcar se disuelva. let the sugar dissolve (Frote un poco de la mezcla con el pulgar y el dedo índice, debe sentirse completamente lisa.) Seguir batiendo hasta que la clara esté brillante y cree puntas suaves.
3. REVUELVA las yemas de huevo en la salsa, hasta mezclarlas. VOLTEE, suavemente pero completamente, la mezcla de yemas en las claras, hasta que no se observen vetas blancas. VIERTA cuidadosamente en un plato para soufflé engrasado, de 1-1/2 a 2. Para decorar la parte superior, sostenga una espátula metálica en forma vertical y haga un anillo en la parte superior de la mezcla de soufflé, a 1 pulgada del borde del plato y de 1 pulgada de profundidad, si lo desea.
4. HORNEE a 350°F hasta que el soufflé se hinche, cook at 350 degrees so the souflee is done dórelo un poco y muévalo suavemente hacia delante y hacia atrás, 30 a 40 minutos. SERVIR INMEDIATAMENTE. serve immediately.  

When translating this recipe, I started by looking for words that were familiar to words I already knew in English. For example, "inmediatamente" was similar to immediately, so I was able to deduct its definition. I also have a little knowledge of French, so I looked for words that were similar to words I knew in French. "Servir" is the same verb as "to serve" in French, so I was able to figure out its meaning by relying on my backgound information and experiences with other languages. I relied on techniques that "help[ed] to activate prior knowledge" so that navigating through this text was not as difficult (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p.7). This scaffolding is important so that I wasn't completely overwhelmed with the experience or what I needed to do.

I then went through the recipe and thought about words that I already knew in Spanish. I knew, for example, through experience, that leche is milk and that huevos are eggs. This helped me become more familiar with the recipe because I was able to retrieve "what I already [knew] about a topic" to help me understand the text at hand even more (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p.7). I knew that all the terms would have something to do with cooking or food.

For the words that I did not know, I knew that they would have to do with baking or cooking something with this souflee. I was able to guess that "agregue la vainilla" meant add the vanilla, since it was the last step in a sequence and it was located all by itself. I am not sure if this guess is correct, but it would make sense in the recipe itself. This step of generating and testing hypothesis was very useful for me throughout this experience, as there were many parts of the recipe that I was unable to translate due to language barriers (Hill and Flynn, 2006, p.11). 

As the recipe became more complicated, I was unable to decipher what the steps were asking me to do. I would not be confident making this souflee, but I do understand that pictures, other visuals, and talking out ideas with others is very beneficial for students who are not native English speakers.

This was a very eye-opening experience, since I had such a hard time reading and translating this text.  ELL students need multiple ways of understanding texts that are unfamiliar to them so that they have a way to access the lessons or the texts without becoming overwhelmed or frustrated.

#2 AbelsM_Oral Language and the Reading Process_LT 1

         When thinking about the relationship between oral language and the reading process, the five components of reading play a huge role in this. Children need to develop phonemic awareness where they understand that sounds and language are one unit. This first step is completely oral. After phonemic awareness, children must acquire phonics where they understand that for every written letter, there is a speech sound that accompanies it. Putting these letters together to make words is what creates sentences, paragraphs, and more complex language.Once children have practiced reading words, they must do so fluently. Fluency is the ability to read quickly but also accurately. A child must have a deep understanding of phonemic awareness and then phonics because they will be fluent readers only when they can understand what sounds letters, blends, and words make and sound them out quickly as they read. Fluent readers also need to take into account vocabulary, which is the process where they learn new words and investigate how these new words affect the meaning of a text. Vocabulary is the component that introduces new language and new ways to communicate to readers who are already familiar with the process of reading itself. Students that read with fluency and are able to use strategies to understand new vocabulary are able to comprehend what they read, which is the essential goal of the reading process. Without the four other components in the reading process, comprehension would not be possible, yet essentially, the reading process itself all depends on the acquisition of the oral language, since the phonemic awareness step is the first building block to the five components of reading.
           This oral development of language is essentially important in ELL students so that they are able to make the growth in more than one language that they need to make in order to be proficient speakers. As Pauline Gibbons writes in Scaffolding Language Scaffolding Learning, "the development of the spoken forms of language are essential for second language learners as a bridge to the more academic language associated with learning in school, and with the development of literacy (2002, p.14). As students develop oral language, their reading processes and academic language will benefit from this, since the two are so closely linked.

#1 AbelsM_Philosophy About Teaching_LT 1

There are many elements that different teachers believe are essential to a great literacy classroom. Many teachers have their own opinions and philosophies about these elements, yet there are bound to be some similarities among these ideas. I talked to a 4th grade teacher about her ideas about what is crucial to a balanced, effective literacy classroom, and she felt that many things needed to be present so that students were receiving the best instruction possible.

Anne, the fourth grade teacher I discussed this topic with, believed that in any writing class, the most important element for children to succeed as life-long writers is that they enjoy writing. To foster this enthusiasm and enjoyment in the classroom, we discussed that the teacher should present any writing assignment eagerly and show students how engaging writing truly can be. In any writing environment, students should be allowed to be creative with their work, which allows them to take ownership in whatever they may be writing about. Sometimes writing curriculums are so limited that the creativity in writing can be lost, which is sometimes present in our school with our own writing curriculum, yet this element is actually so important for young writers. When they are able to come up with a topic and expand on any details they may add, their enjoyment for writing grows. When students are creative, the teacher must set up an environment where all ideas about writing are welcomed and accepted. This helps the students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and taking risks, which is an integral part of learning. This also helps to show students that their ideas are valued, and when their final pieces are complete, they should feel excited about sharing their work with their classmates.

I definitely agree that when students see their teacher passionate and excited about writing, they, too, are excited and interested in that same subject. Motivating students in this way is so important  so that each student feels that their ideas and their work is important and valued to the class. They should see writing as a way to express their opinions and their feelings instead of another subject throughout the day.

In reading, Anne felt that students should be able to read books that interest them and that they want to read so that they are interested in reading. This helps students develop an early love of reading, which is something that so many people lose.If we give students the opportunity to read books that they choose or are interested in, this will help them read for pleasure. Anne believes that students should also read books based on their level so that they are receiving the appropriate reading skills and learning from the text that is placed in front of them. If a student's instructional text is too difficult where they are not able to read any of the words on the page or too easy where they are not having to think about what they are comprehending, they will never make growth. Anne told me that she believes reading is an important balance between the two types of reading so that children grow to be better readers.

In both reading and writing, students should see the work that they produce hanging up on the walls of the classroom so that they know their work has a purpose, is valued, and is appreciated. This also is important because others will be able to acknowledge the great work the kids have been doing, and the kids will feel a sense of pride and ownership in their work, knowing that the intended audience was impressed. It also helps the students feel as if they are a part of their classroom, too.

Anne and I also talked about how students should receive instruction in reading and writing that is differentiated for each student. All children work at different paces and different levels, and giving students different books to read or different steps of the writing process to work on depending where they are academically, is very helpful so that each child can continue to push themselves and grow. The teacher should always be aware of what each student needs and how each child can succeed even more. The teacher should set his/her standards high for all students and then differentiate the instruction for the individual kids to help them all meet their specific goals.

I definitely agree with Anne in all aspects of her literacy philosophy. It is so important that students see their work displayed around the classroom so they feel a sense of pride and ownership. I also think it is crucial that students read for pleasure so that they understand why learning the reading strategies can truly help them as a reader. I believe that every classroom should encourage reading for fun in addition to reading for instructional purposes. Differentiation is also a key element, ensuring students can make gains at any academic level they may be at. Literacy is absolutely essential to our academic curriculum.