Second grade ELL's emic perspective of an afterschool reading program: an interactional ethnographic study of reading opportunities and social construction of second grade ELL's read alouds
Abstract
Description
The purpose of this research was to uncover what counts as reading to second grade
ELLs (English Language Learners) in a non-graded, afterschool reading program. I used an
interactional ethnographic epistemological research approach. I video-and audio-taped twentyfour
afterschool reading lessons, took fieldnotes, conducted semi-structured interviews, and
collected artifacts. The thirteen participants were ELLs, from low socioeconomic backgrounds,
and of Mexican-American descent. First, I identified children’s opportunities on an event map.
Next, I analyzed moment-by-moment discourse analysis of read alouds from the beginning and
end of the program. Finally, I made visible what counted as reading from participants’ discourse
through domain analyses and taxonomy. Findings of the study demonstrate three key signals of
what counts as reading to the children: sharing knowledge, responding to texts, and recognizing
norms and expectations of the classroom. To students, reading is done collectively, texts are used
to do something, and reading is for making personal meaning beyond literal interpretations.
Students use classroom’s reading contexts as opportunities for student agency, for constructing
and reconstructing cultural and reading norms and expectations, and for understanding and doing
reading creatively in ways that extend beyond those beyond predetermined by the teacher or
influenced by policies and contexts outside the classroom. Informed by the research findings,
curriculum administrators, teachers, and students are encouraged to plan, implement, and take up
opportunities to promote opportunities for socially constructing reading.
PDF; 139 pgs.
PDF; 139 pgs.