Blog #5

Review 2 children’s books and determine what components in the book might affect comprehension because of cultural aspects. List 4 per book and tell how this schema could be taught or introduced to an ELL learner.



  The first book I chose was A Weed is a Flower by ALIKI.  This book is about the life of George Washington Carver.  It walks the students through the humble beginnings that George Washington Carver went through to become one of the greatest scientists in the United States. It depicts his dedication to helping his people, which led him to find over three hundred uses for the peanut and over one hundred uses for the sweet potato.
1) The main issue for my ELL students, but also for most of my other students, would be background knowledge of how peanuts grow.  I would present this information as a PowerPoint with many visuals. 

2) Vocabulary will also play an important part in the understanding the book.   I might start the class off with a think-pair-share discussion of the following words and concepts pairing ELL students with students who might have some understanding of the following words:

  Slave, farm, insects, garden, plant doctor, chore, peanut, crop, sweet potato, menu, soap

Most of the words are accessible through context clues and the support of the illustrations, however, ELL students may not have any or enough background knowledge to truly understand the meaning of the specific vocabulary. 

3) The book starts out by talking about George Washington Carver as being a son of a slave.  It portrays his life as a young small weak child belonging to a slave.  The idea of slavery and the conditions of people as slaves will have to be described to ELL students.  This can be done in many ways, but the best way would be though visual elements. 

4) The story describes the many different ways Mr. Carver used the peanut to help people.  Students will need to have an idea of what a peanut is and how it grows in order to understand the significance.  Planting a seed would be a great way for students to understand the different processes he went through when growing the peanut and doing his experiments.  This would allow the students to understand the growth process it talks about in the book.


  The second book I chose was Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel.  “Tikki Tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari ruchi-pip peri pembo is the full name of the firstborn son in the Chinese family of this story.  As the firstborn’s, his name must be spoken completely and reverently.  It is an old folktale of what happens when the boy falls into a well and his younger brother attempts to get help.  I use this book in my class every year as an example of the importance of family and also the uniqueness of certain names that are often passed from generation to generation.

1) Because this is the story of a young boy in China, there is lots of background related to the Chinese culture.  I believe the story is one that children can relate to as most have heard stories from their parents and grandparents about their unique family names.  Introducing the Chinese culture will be very important for students.  This can be done by making paper dragons, wearing Chinese clothing, and looking at bamboo.   Photographs will help reinforce these items and their use for students.

 2) Again, I would introduce vocabulary to the students.  I might use photos to explain these vocabulary words. Here is a sampling of some possible words to discover together:
 China, Village, Well, Ladder, Moon, Stone

 3)   The main idea of the story is a boy falling into a well.  The students will have to have background knowledge of what a well is and what would happen if one fell into it.  This can be done by modeling through activity.  Students could work in groups to make a well out of playdoh.  Water can then be placed into the well.  A ladder can also be made of Popsicle sticks to show how it might or might not work.

4)Tikki Tikki Tembo will be seen over and over again throughout the story.  Echo reading will help reinforce the pronunciation of the name for the students.  Hearing and saying the name over and over will help pronunciation for all students.

      In both books, I would make sure I included on my vocabulary wall any and all words that are crucial to the understanding of the text.  Having them where the students can see them will be beneficial as a reference.  I would also try and find multiple opportunities for these students to hear, say, read, and write any frequently used words from both texts in different activities using photos or illustrations to support the words.  A great way to practice fluency would be to have the students chose a couple of pages that were the easiest for them to read and have them practice their fluency using those pages.   A small group activity would be to use the picture books with all the artwork that purposefully supports the text, to model and reinforce the use of pictures to deepen understanding in texts.