Mariah Jessen

ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

Even though my limited past experiences with teaching ELLs has been with mostly adult

learners in community center job preparation programs or college preparatory classes, my target

group for this assignment is EFLs in their undergraduate teaching program who are planning to

teach English in K-12. It is for this reason I selected an informational authentic text from NPR, a

national (and international) source of world events and hot topics relevant to many areas of life.

In addition, the text I selected makes use of charts and research that could be used to inform a

research paper they may be writing. The text I selected was found online at:

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/02/23/512451228/5-million-english-language-learners-a-v

ast-pool-of-talent-at-risk. Appendix 1 is a transcript of this article and contains the charts they

used.

This text could be helpful for my group of learners in several different ways. It could be

used: 1) to practice summary writing; 2) observe and discuss how to incorporate charts and other

visual aids into articles; and 3) to analyze and critique the similarities and differences between

their home country and America’s.

Even though this text is largely informational, the author has written if for those who are

not experts in the field of ESL or ELL. Therefore, it provides several links and graphics to help

explain the basics of the more complicated concepts presented such as the three most common

approaches to teaching ELLs in K-12. This means this text has, at the least, a starting point for

building content schemata of this topic. On the other hand, the entire topic of K-12 education is

packed full of cultural references as ‘simple’ as “public schools” and “federal funding.” These

are terms they would need to understand within this context in order to appropriately understand

and make conclusions and/or comparisons with other texts. Discussing either of these concepts
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

among the students could be a great way to build their understanding of the similarities and

differences between their countries’ schools and federal funding and America’s. This could be

accomplished by having them group up and do a mini research project and then give a small

presentation to share what they found as well as compare their findings with classmates in whole

class discussions. Considering my own knowledge may not be vast in these topics in the country

I could be teaching, this would also be an excellent opportunity for the learners to become the

teachers and should help lower the potential of a high affective filter. Lastly, the author assumes

that the reader will have formal schemata knowledge of reading the different charts/graphs used

as well as the understanding of the genre of journal writing they engage in. More attention and

explicit instruction may need to be given to the charts and graphs than the genre of journal

writing, but both would be topics that may need to be further discussed and practiced. One way

to practice the genre of journal writing, would be to find similar texts from their country(ies) to

compare the movements made and the overall structure of the text. They could compare and

contrast how graphs and charts are used in their country’s journal writing and the information

that is disclosed to the reader and in what order.

Considering what little experience I have had studying abroad in Germany and what I

was able to observe from my ELL classmates is that there would potentially be some vocabulary

they would struggle with. A few examples of such vocabulary would be words like “tailored,”

“enrolled,” “designated,” “transitional,” “gifted,” and bigger concepts such as “U.S. Education

Department” and “Office of Civil Rights.” I’ve found that one of the more effective ways of

introducing new vocabulary is to try and provide as much of a visual representation as possible

as well as relating it to something that is similar in their language/culture/country. While the kind
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

of journal writing presented in this text is different from academic articles, it would be a

productive place to start showing students how to incorporate different information and organize

ideas using graphs/tables. I could help them understand the content schemata of these by

providing more information about when to use which kind and if you even need to use one like

one can find here: ​https://writingcenter.unc.edu/figures-and-charts/​ In addition, it presents a

simple approach to creating an introduction, identifying main points, and writing a conclusion in

a text that is not complicated with high level vocabulary terms found within the fields of

ESL/ELL. In way, the whole lesson would be built around the intention of helping students see

the movements within this genre.

Following is an instructional outline of a lesson plan that could be used to facilitate

students’ schemata knowledge using an authentic text.

Topic- Improving Authentic Text Schemata

Grade Level- Undergraduate Adults in an English Teacher tract

Content and Language Objectives

● SWBAT develop their understanding of content schemata of a sample informational text

● SWBAT develop their understanding of cultural schematic content of a sample text

● SWBAT develop their understanding of and learn to identify formal schemata related to

journal/article writing
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

● SWBAT produce an original piece of journal/article writing using graphs/tables

effectively and develop a piece of writing using introductions, synthesis of the main

points, and a conclusion.

Key Concepts and Vocabulary

Schemata scaffolding, journal/article texts, graphs/tables

Public school,

Supplementary Materials

Link/print out of online article written by Claudio Sanchez, link/print out of an informational

page about when to use charts and figures

Preparation

● Have the articles ready to be read in the media of choice (online or printed)

● Be prepared to discuss unfamiliar graphs/tables used in the text and have clarification

link/handout ready

● Have links to sites to help describe federal funding, U.S. Education Department, and

Office of Civil Rights and potential definitions for words such as “tailored,” “enrolled,”

“designated,” “transitional,” and “gifted” prepared in handout and electronic form

Introducing the Topic

Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

● Facilitate discussion on journal articles written in their country identifying how the

graphs and tables are used (if they are) by writing either a list or using a venn diagram to

compare and contrast them.

● Facilitate discussion on how English language learners are taught in K-12 in their country

and what they know about how it is taught in America (introduce vocabulary word:

Public Schools)

● Students will read the online authentic informational text individually

● Students will be paired up to discuss their thoughts about what they read (topic) and how

the graphs or tables were used

Presentation

● Invite students to ask vocabulary questions and teach vocabulary as needed by helping

them use either context clues or discuss other methods of finding the meaning of a word.

For vocabulary that is culturally situated, such as Office of Civil Rights or U.S.

Department of Education, we could quickly conduct a google search and see who can

come up with what they are the fastest. Competition can make learning more engaging

and fun for some students.

● Students will pair up and discuss what they think the main idea is and what the

supporting details of the article are and why as well as where the introduction and

conclusion begin and end.

● Facilitate discussion as a whole group and clarify any questions they had with activity

and identifying these concepts

Practice
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

● Over the next few weeks, students will research the topic further for both their country

and America and bring their findings to class as well as one article they have identified

the topic, supporting details, introduction and conclusion. They will also discuss how the

graphs and tables were used and if they found them effective or not. Lastly, they will

discuss if there were any articles that they would like to emulate the structure of or they

found more effective.

● A couple of weeks later, they will prepare their own journal/article paper outlining (or

writing briefly) each of the components of this genre previously discussed and indicate

where they would use a graph or table (if they would) in their paper and why.

Review (assessment?)

● Students will then compare and contrast the teacher provided text, one of their articles

and their original text in order to determine if they have correctly emulated the genre for

their purposes. This will be in the form of a 2-3 page reflection paper.

Extension

● Students will have the opportunity to finish writing the text they outlined in detail adding

in the graphs and tables where indicated/needed.

Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

References

Figures and Charts. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2018, from:

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/figures-and-charts/

Sanchez, C. (2017, February 23). English Language Learners: How Your State Is Doing.

Retrieved August 28, 2018, from:

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/02/23/512451228/5-million-english-language-learn

ers-a-vast-pool-of-talent-at-risk
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

Appendix 1

English Language Learners: How Your State Is Doing

February 23, 20176:00 AM ET

Claudio Sanchez

About 1 out of every 10 public school students in the United States right now is learning to speak

English. They're called ELLs, for "English Language Learners."

There are nearly 5 million of them, and educating them — in English and all the other subjects

and skills they'll need — is one of the biggest challenges in U.S. public education today.

As part of our reporting project, 5 Million Voices, we set out to gather up all the data and

information we could find about who these students are and how they're being taught. Here's our

snapshot:
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

The vast majority — some 3.8 million ELL students — speak Spanish. But there are lots of other

languages too, including Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Arabic and Vietnamese.

Most ELLs were born in the United States, and are U.S. citizens.
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

The state with the most ELL students is California — which has 29 percent of all ELLs

nationwide. Texas has 18 percent, followed by Florida with 5 percent and New York with 4

percent.

From 2000 to 2014, the growth of the ELL population was greatest in Arkansas, Kentucky,

Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Based on the most recent data available, NPR found that no matter where they go to school, most

ELLs are struggling because they have little or no access to quality instruction tailored to their

needs. Although 90 percent of these kids are enrolled in designated ELL programs, at least one

recent study argues that the quality of these programs is suspect.

Funding for ELL programs comes almost entirely from local and state sources. That's because

federal education funding on average represents about 11 percent of what local school districts

spend overall.
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

Still, the U.S. Education Department does focus on how ELLs are treated. The department's

Office of Civil Rights has singled out 121 school districts in which not a single student is even

enrolled in an ELL program. Overall, as many as half a million do not receive any special

instruction to learn English.

Identifying ELL students

Identifying and screening ELLs is tricky. In most states, school districts use the simplest and

lowest-cost method: a take-home survey. An overview of how the screening differs state-to-state

can be found here.

In districts with large ELL populations, schools typically test students to determine how much

English they speak, read and write. This allows teachers to pinpoint their needs.

Take, for example, a 12-year-old who still can't read in English. Rather than placing that student

into a first- or second-grade class with much younger kids who are learning to read, that 12-year

old is placed with her peers in sixth or seventh grade, but is pulled out for intense English

instruction.
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

Another option is transitional bilingual instruction. In this model, a teacher who is fluent in both

English and the student's native language builds on that child's language for at least 2-3 years.

The goal is having the student become fluent in both English while retaining a native language.

A third option is "dual-language immersion," which requires that a classroom be made up of both

ELLs and native English speakers. In this approach, all subjects are taught in two languages

during the school day. English speakers learn a second language and ELLs learn English. The

demand for dual language immersion has grown significantly in recent years.

Achievement

As a whole, English language learners still lag behind in terms of academic achievement.
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

Most are not making the transition to English quickly enough. Many ELLs remain stuck in

academically segregated programs where they fall behind in basic subjects.

Only 63 percent of ELLs graduate from high school, compared with the overall national rate of

82 percent.

In New York State, for example, the overall high school graduation rate is about 78 percent. But

for ELLs, it's 37 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Of those who do graduate, only 1.4 percent take college entrance exams like the SAT and ACT.

Teacher shortages

ELLs are often concentrated in low-performing schools with untrained or poorly trained

teachers. The shortage of teachers who can work with this population is a big problem in a

growing number of states.

Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis
Mariah Jessen
ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

Gifted ELLs

Only 2 percent of ELLs are enrolled in gifted programs, compared with 7.3 percent of gifted

non-ELL students.

According to the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), a gifted ELL student is

likely to know much of the curriculum content on the very first day of school. But NAGC

researchers have found that most gifted ELLs are not on anybody's radar.
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ESL 6063
Assignment 1: Application Activity 1.2 - Schematic and Rhetorical Text Analysis

Researchers say that, even when ELL students are identified as gifted, the impulse is often to

keep them out of accelerated programs despite evidence that they would benefit from more

challenging work while they're learning English.

In his book, Failing Our Brightest Kids: The Global Challenge of Educating High-Ability

Students, Chester E. Finn Jr. argues that school policies for identifying gifted ELLs are

inadequate. Finn, a former assistant secretary of education, says schools need to train teachers to

be more like talent scouts, so that they can spot gifted ELLs.

Otherwise, says Finn, "We're losing talented kids from immigrant families who don't know their

way around the American system."