READING FOR FUN AT MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR ELLs

Day 1
Educator introduces Big Books. Students form groups of three. Each group selects a big book to review and read. Students discuss the large print and pictures in the book. Students are encouraged to discuss and share their opinions of using Big Books to learn a second language. Students are allowed to move around the classroom and share their books with other students. Students visit the school library and review relevant books and articles appropriate to their grade level.

Day 2
Educator models by reading from a Big Book, three or four pages at a time. Students list words with which they are familiar and explain how these words and topics are related to their personal experiences. Small groups discuss the words and topics and report to the whole group. Each group selects a Big Book. Students takes turns reading to each other (one page or one paragraph at a time). Students discucss what they have read.

Day 3
Each group selects a Big Book. Students take turns reading to each other (one page or one paragraph at a time). Students discuss what they have read and associate it with real-world experiences. Students list familar words and new terms. New terms are discussed and defined. Each small group reports its findings to the whole group.

Day 4
Educator selects another Big Book. Students volunteer to read paragraphs or pages from the big book. Students discuss the familar words and new words in small groups. Students connect real-world experiences to the topic of the book. Students identify synonyms from the lists of familiar words and new words. Small groups report synonyms to the whole group.

Day 5
Small groups create a Big Book using real-world experiences.