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 LITERACY INSTRUCTION FOR
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, PRE-K–2
 Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy
Cathy Collins Block, Series Editor

Recent Volumes

The Literacy Coach’s Handbook: A Guide to Research-Based Practice

Sharon Walpole and Michael C. McKenna
Comprehension Process Instruction:
Creating Reading Success in Grades K–3
Cathy Collins Block, Lori L. Rodgers, and Rebecca B. Johnson
Adolescent Literacy Research and Practice
Edited by Tamara L. Jetton and Janice A. Dole
Tutoring Adolescent Literacy Learners: A Guide for Volunteers
Kelly Chandler-Olcott and Kathleen A. Hinchman
Success with Struggling Readers: The Benchmark School Approach
Irene West Gaskins
Making Sense of Phonics: The Hows and Whys
Isabel L. Beck
Reading Instruction That Works, Third Edition:
The Case for Balanced Teaching
Michael Pressley
Narrowing the Literacy Gap: What Works in High-Poverty Schools
Diane M. Barone
Reading Assessment and Instruction for All Learners
Edited by Jeanne Shay Schumm
Word Sorts and More: Sound, Pattern, and Meaning Explorations K–3
Kathy Ganske
Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet Inquiry
Maya B. Eagleton and Elizabeth Dobler
Designing Professional Development in Literacy:
A Framework for Effective Instruction
Catherine A. Rosemary, Kathleen A. Roskos, and Leslie K. Landreth
Best Practices in Writing Instruction
Edited by Steve Graham, Charles A. MacArthur, and Jill Fitzgerald
Classroom Literacy Assessment:
Making Sense of What Students Know and Do
Edited by Jeanne R. Paratore and Rachel L. McCormack
Fluency in the Classroom
Edited by Melanie R. Kuhn and Paula J. Schwanenflugel
Reading Assessment, Second Edition: A Primer for Teachers and Coaches
JoAnne Schudt Caldwell
Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners Pre-K–2
Diane M. Barone and Shelley Hong Xu
 Literacy Instruction
for English Language
Learners, Pre-K–2

D IANE M. B ARONE
S HELLEY H ONG X U

THE GUILFORD PRESS

New York London
© 2008 The Guilford Press
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.guilford.com

All rights reserved

Except as noted, no part of this book may be reproduced, translated,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording,
or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

LIMITED PHOTOCOPY LICENSE

These materials are intended for use only by qualified professionals.

The Publisher grants to individual purchasers of this book nonassignable permission to reproduce
all materials for which photocopying permission is specifically granted in a footnote. This license is
limited to you, the individual purchaser only, for use with your own clients or students. Purchase by
an institution does not constitute a site license. This license does not grant the right to reproduce
these materials for resale, redistribution, or any other purposes (including but not limited to books
and handouts or slides for lectures or workshops). Permission to reproduce these materials for these
and any other purposes must be obtained in writing from The Guilford Press.

We are grateful to the following publishers for allowing us to reprint extracts from their books:
Baa Baa Black Sheep by Iza Trapani, copyright 2001 by Iza Trapani. Used with permission of
Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.
The Cloud Book by Tomie dePaola, copyright 1975 by Tomie dePaola. Reprinted by permission of
Holiday House, Inc.
Corduroy by Don Freeman, copyright 1968 by Don Freeman. Used by permission of Viking
Penguin, A Division of Penguin Young Readers Group, A Member of Penguin Group (USA).
Swimmy by Leo Lionni, copyright 1963 by Leo Lionni. Copyright renewed 1991 by Leo Lionni.
Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a
division of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Literacy instruction for English language learners, Pre-K–2 / Diane M. Barone, Shelley
Hong Xu.
p. cm. — (Solving problems in the teaching of literacy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-10: 1-59385-602-4 ISBN-13: 978-1-59385-602-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-59385-603-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-59385-603-8 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. English language—Study and teaching—Foreign speakers. 2. English language—
Study and teaching (Primary) 3. Bilingualism. 4. Language acquisition. I. Barone,
Diane M. II. Xu, Shelley Hong, 1964–
PE1128.A2L533 2008
372.652′1—dc22
2007028818
About the Authors

About the Authors

Diane M. Barone, EdD, is Professor of Literacy at the University of Nevada,

Reno, where she teaches courses in literacy and qualitative research meth-
ods and conducts research on young children’s literacy development and
instruction in high-poverty schools. She has directed two longitudinal stud-
ies of literacy development: a 4-year study of children prenatally exposed to
crack/cocaine, and a 7-year study of children, predominantly English lan-
guage learners, in a high-poverty school. Dr. Barone has published numer-
ous articles and book chapters as well as several books, including De-
veloping Literacy: An Integrated Approach to Assessment and Instruction (with
Donald R. Bear), Resilient Children: Stories of Poverty, Drug Exposure, and
Literacy Development, The National Board Handbook (with National Board
Teachers), and Teaching Early Literacy: Development, Assessment, and Instruc-
tion (with Marla H. Mallette and Shelley Hong Xu). She served as Editor of
Reading Research Quarterly for 8 years and is currently a board member of
the International Reading Association. In addition, Dr. Barone is the princi-
pal investigator of the Reading First grant in Nevada.

Shelley Hong Xu, EdD, is Professor of Teacher Education at the California

State University, Long Beach, where she teaches literacy courses in a gradu-
ate reading program and a teaching credential program. She previously
taught English as a foreign language and as a second language. Dr. Xu’s re-
search includes preparing teachers for teaching English language learners
and integrating multimedia texts into literacy curriculum. Her work has ap-
peared in literacy journals and edited books, and she is also the coauthor
(with Diane M. Barone and Marla H. Mallette) of Teaching Early Literacy:
Development, Assessment, and Instruction, and Trading Cards to Comic Strips:
Popular Culture Texts and Literacy Learning in Grades K–8.

v
Preface

Preface

The process of English language learners acquiring English

literacy is not a mere process of learning the linguistic codes.
Rather, the process is dynamic, cultural, and social, and it
involves not just the learner but, equally important, the teacher,
the text, and the context.
—XU (2003, p. 67)

This quote by Xu frames the content of Literacy Instruction for English Lan-
guage Learners, Pre-K–2. We believe there is a synergy required among Eng-
lish language learners (ELLs), teachers, text support, and the context of
classrooms and schools that is essential for the academic success of ELLs.
Not one of these elements can stand alone as the most critical to achieve-
ment. For instance, an ELL cannot succeed in U.S. classrooms without the
support of his or her teacher in bridging home and school cultures and fa-
cilitating the learning of academic content.
Throughout this book, we describe the connections among instruc-
tion, materials, assessment, and student support. Each chapter adds to a
multilayered, comprehensive approach for the literacy learning and instruc-
tion of young ELLs—students, we believe, who are capable of matching the
learning expectations of their monolingual counterparts.
Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of the comprehensive ap-
proach we believe supports ELLs’ learning. Chapter 1, “Creating Class-
rooms to Engage Learners,” centers on the context of learning. The chapter
includes numerous suggestions about arranging the physical space to sup-
port learning. There are recommendations for the social and emotional en-
vironment with an extensive discussion centered on the importance of the
teacher.
Chapter 2, “Working with Families,” shares numerous opportunities
to involve families in essential ways to support the learning of their chil-

vi
 Preface vii

dren. This chapter offers suggestions for learning about families and lan-
guage so that teachers can better support the in-class learning of ELLs. The
chapter concludes with many practical suggestions for welcoming families
to classrooms.
Chapter 3, “Assessment,” discusses the important role that classroom-
based assessment plays in identifying ELLs’ strengths and needs. The chap-
ter also provides teachers with specific details on the use of classroom-
based assessment, ranging from selecting an assessment focus to identifying
assessment materials to reporting assessment results to families.
Chapter 4, “Oral Language Development and Instruction,” provides
the foundation of oral language and its importance to other literacy learn-
ing. The chapter describes elements of language structure and then ex-
plores the requirements necessary to learn a new language. The chapter
suggests many activities that support oral language in classrooms and pro-
vides instruction centered on phonemic awareness.
Chapter 5, “Encouraging All Students to Become Writers,” moves from
oral language to a discussion of how children learn to write. From this
foundation, we build an extensive discussion about writing development
and how children come to learn to represent words. We then present read-
ers with multiple strategies and activities to support ELL writers. The chap-
ter concludes with the importance of having ELLs write about the content
they are learning.
Chapter 6, “Instructional Materials Supportive of Student Learning,”
tackles the issue of providing appropriate materials for ELLs. This chapter
is unique to many books written about ELLs in that it addresses the chal-
lenges presented by text, both narrative and informational, to the compre-
hension of ELLs.
Chapter 7, “Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary,” targets word-level
knowledge. Throughout this chapter we share language-rich activities that
support the word learning of ELLs.
Chapter 8, “Engaging English Language Learners in the Comprehen-
sion Process,” focuses on the meaning aspects of literacy. Teachers are pre-
sented with a multitude of ways to support the comprehension process in
narrative and informational texts before, through, and after reading. We
share book examples to show the complexity of text and the difficulties that
ELLs have in acquiring meaning.
Chapter 9, “Visits to Classrooms and Schools,” brings the book’s dis-
cussion to life by focusing on teachers and schools in action. There are
classroom examples for each level targeted in this book (pre-K through sec-
ond grade). Finally, we elaborate on an entire school’s goal of increasing
parent involvement in their children’s literacy. These examples allow read-
ers to see the application of many of the ideas presented in this book.
viii Preface

We wrote this book so that teachers can see the possibilities for sup-
porting ELLs in their classrooms and schools. We believe that teachers can
enhance the learning of all students in a classroom or school. We value
teachers who recognize the strengths ELLs bring from their home experi-
ences, including their language. We know that exemplary teachers of ELLs

do not wallow in the demographics associated with their students; rather,

they identify and extend the personal and academic potential within each
student. Students achieve the highest literacy expectations when they are
in a classroom with a caring teacher who has high expectations and uses ex-
emplary literacy practices. The synergy between a teacher and exemplary
strategies is what makes a difference in student learning. (Barone, 2006, p. 9)

Exemplary teachers of ELLs understand that their students’ literacy

achievement may be differentially affected by multiple factors such as their
family’s economic circumstances, immigration status, education, social
community, bilingualism, and/or level of acculturation (Garcia & Willis,
2001). Moreover, they understand that learning to read in English, a new
language, offers challenges and opportunities for students and their teach-
ers. They know that ELLs do not constitute a homogeneous group; rather,
they can range from students who are emergent literacy learners to profi-
cient readers and writers in their first language.
This unique book features:

■ Discussions of the processes of becoming literate, such as oral lan-

guage comprehension, phonics, and orthographic knowledge.
■ Discussion questions to guide reading or to use in discussion
groups.
■ Classroom examples.
■ A chapter devoted to assessment, as well as examples integrated
throughout the text.
■ Online resources in addition to print resources.
■ Inclusion of teacher and student voices.
■ “Take-a-moment” boxes that allow readers to reflect and make con-
nections to classroom practice.

We offer these features so that reading this book provides ways for
teachers to enrich their knowledge about the instruction and learning of
ELLs. They are meant to support discussion and reflection and to extend
this conversation through connections to classrooms and through online
resources. It is our hope that these discussions and explorations result in
enhanced learning for ELLs.
Contents

Contents

CHAPTER 1 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 1

CHAPTER 2 Working with Families 26

CHAPTER 3 Assessment 60

CHAPTER 4 Oral Language Development and Instruction 83

CHAPTER 5 Encouraging All Students to Become Writers 109

CHAPTER 6 Instructional Materials Supportive 137

of Student Learning

CHAPTER 7 Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary 171

CHAPTER 8 Engaging English Language Learners 199

in the Comprehension Process

CHAPTER 9 Visits to Classrooms and Schools 238

References 257

Index 274

ix
Chapter 1Classrooms to Engage Learners
Creating

CHAPTER 1

Creating Classrooms
to Engage Learners

Instead of looking at educational settings . . . as having

clear boundaries and identifiable contents, I look at
them as extensive in space and time, fluid in form and
content; as intersections of multiple networks shaping
cities, communities, schools, pedagogies, and teacher
and student practices.
—NESPOR (1997, p. xiii)

Just as Nespor (1997) views schools as having fluid boundaries, we de-

scribe preschool, kindergarten, and first- and second-grade classrooms
as also having fluid boundaries where the home lives of students influ-
ence their school lives and their school lives influence their home lives.
This chapter is grounded in this perspective and provides examples that
demonstrate what these permeable boundaries might look like in prac-
tice. We feel this first chapter in a book about English language learners
(ELLs) is critical to future discussions of teaching and learning in literacy.
We believe that the physical and emotional spaces created by teachers are
central to the literacy learning of all students and in particular ELLs.
ELLs are the fastest-growing student population in the United
States. According to the U.S. Department of Education (2002), between
2001 and 2002 the total K–12 enrollment growth was 12% whereas
ELLs’ enrollment growth was 95%. In 2000, more than 3 million
school-age children were ELLS with 57% of them Spanish speakers and
18% Asian/Pacific Islanders (www.ncela.gwu/edu/ellcensus90s.pdf). In 16
states there has been more than a 200% enrollment growth of ELLs be-

1
2 Chapter 1

tween 1992 and 2002. California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas
have experienced the greatest growth of all states. However, even in
states like North Dakota and Rhode Island, 10% of their students are
learning English as a new language (Freeman & Freeman, 2000).
Although there are certainly many configurations to support ELLS,
such as bilingual education classes or English-language learning sup-
port outside the classroom, most mainstream classroom teachers have
the primary responsibility for developing students’ competence in Eng-
lish as they teach these students to read and write (Au, 2002; Neufeld &
Fitzgerald, 2001). Perhaps not surprising is that most teachers have had
little or no professional training in facilitating English learning and lit-
eracy development for ELLs (Hadaway, Vardell, & Young, 2004). For
this reason and others, many teachers find meeting their ELLs’ learning
needs a challenge. They worry about how to teach a student who does
not speak the language of the school. ELLs experience a similar chal-
lenge as they are often required to leave their home identity, experi-
ences, and literacy knowledge at the classroom door. Once they cross
the threshold of the classroom, their home language and literacy experi-
ences are frequently not valued or are ignored as teachers attempt to
build oral competence and literacy knowledge in English (Smagorinsky
& Smith, 2002).
In this chapter, we discuss the physical and social/emotional envi-
ronment of the classroom. We share ways to build connections between
home and school cultures (see Chapter 2 to learn about more extensive
ways to engage parents), and we provide examples of activities that sup-
port a students’ home culture and language even when all or the major-
ity of instruction is in English.

At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

■ Describe the critical aspects of creating the physical environ-
ment of a classroom.
■ Describe the importance of the emotional/social environment of
the classroom.
■ Describe the important characteristics of exemplary teachers of
ELLs.
■ Describe the intersections of physical and emotional/social envi-
ronments.
■ Describe strategies to support ELLs in classrooms.
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 3

THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Why begin a book focused on ELLs’ literacy with a section on the physi-
cal environment? We believe that the environment of the classroom fa-
cilitates the comfort level of students who are learning English as they
enter school. As they come to school for the first time, they rely on the
structure of the classroom to provide clues as to what they are expected
to do and where. They learn that when in centers, they can quietly chat
with fellow students, for instance.
Teachers should think about the classroom environment long be-
fore school actually begins. Teachers plan the orientation of tables or
desks in the primary grades. Just where will they place all the furniture?
They then consider the other spaces within the room. How will stu-
dents access computers and where will the computers be? How will ma-
terials be placed so that students have easy access? Organizing a class-
room space may sound very simple—just look at a room and decide
what goes where—but it isn’t. The physical organization of a classroom
can result in a structure that supports learning or interferes with it.
First, teachers need to think about the instruction they will provide
students and how the physical structure of the classroom will support
it. Instruction guides the placement of furniture and supplies. In pre-
school and primary grades, teachers need spaces for whole-class in-
struction, small-group instruction, and centers. Whole-group instruc-
tion often occurs either on the carpet or with students at their desks.
Teachers need to consider where they will configure:

■ Whole-class instruction with space at tables or desks and on the

carpet.
■ Small-group instruction, typically at a small table.
■ Centers for students.

As these places are determined, it is also important to not have centers

near the location for small-group instruction. When students work to-
gether in centers, they can get noisy and interfere with small-group in-
struction. In addition, centers in preschool often take more space than
those in first and second grades. In preschool, students may engage in a
housekeeping area or other dramatic play areas, block areas, and so on.
These require room for movement. In first and second grade, and often
kindergarten as well, centers are located on tables.
4 Chapter 1

TAKE A MOMENT
Use a paper that represents the configuration of your classroom
or a rectangular shape if you are unsure or do not yet have a
classroom. Plan where whole-class instruction, small-group in-
struction, and centers (plan for five) might be located. Be mind-
ful of noise level in centers. You might want to think about the
fixed aspects of the room, such as a sink, bathrooms, and so on.

Once the big areas for instruction are planned, a teacher can tailor
each area so that needed materials are included. Following are some
considerations for organization.

1. There should be an easel and an overhead projector near the

large-group instruction area. Often teachers have storage on the back of
the easel or on the overhead cart for letter cards, books, and so on.
2. The small-group instruction area needs storage for white boards
(for individual student writing), paper, books, pencils, chart paper, and
so on.
3. Centers need supporting materials where students can store
them efficiently. For example, in preschool, students know where to put
blocks when they are finished constructing with them. In primary
grades, students know where to place writing materials when they have
finished. Storage and organization vary as to the type of center. Play
centers require different organization than do literacy centers. Play cen-
ters may have tubs for large blocks whereas literacy centers may have
trays for papers and small containers for pencils and crayons.

The physical structure of a classroom is very important to all young

learners, and in particular to ELLs. The structure of the room provides
predictability for students. They know where activities occur and what
is expected during each activity. By having these parts of their class-
rooms as established places with predictable routines, they are able to
focus on instruction and learning.

Literacy Center
The literacy center or area is a very important place for young learners.
Here they can explore books and other reading materials. Guthrie
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 5

(2002) notes that an inviting space in the room focused on literacy re-
sults in students more interested in books and writing. Sometimes
teachers combine the more traditional reading center with a writing
center. They portion out a part of the literacy center with writing mate-
rials. However this space is configured, it is important for students,
even as young as 2 or 3, to have a special place to explore books and
writing. A goal for the literacy center is that it easily accommodates five
to six children at one time.
In our experience, we have seen teachers frame off this space.
They may have a bookshelf against the back wall and lower shelves to
the side, resulting in a U-shaped space. Thus they can observe chil-
dren in this center as they instruct or chat with children in other
parts of the room. They also find comfortable pillows or a sofa for
children to relax in as they read. And in some rooms we have seen
teachers who place stuffed animals in the literacy center so that small
children can read to their favorite bear. A stuffed animal helps make
the center a safe structure for ELLs to practice newly developed Eng-
lish oral language.
Once the physical space of the literacy center is established, teach-
ers collect books for students to explore. It is important to provide a
great variety of texts. These texts might include:

■ Board or cloth books. These are appropriate for our youngest stu-
dents. They also are engaging for students who are learning English as
they often center on simple concepts.
■ Concept books. These books generally have no storyline. They
just identify pictures with words. They help ELLs learn English equiva-
lents for objects with which they may already be familiar.
■ Environmental print. This is text that children see in their world,
home, and classroom. Students might create their own environmental
print books in English or their home language or a combination of both
for exploration.
■ Wordless books. These books have storylines without words to
support them. The young child creates a story to match the illustrations.
■ Catalogues, television guides, and newspaper advertising. Although
not typically on the list of materials for a literacy center, we consider
them important. They are frequently in homes and thus familiar. Stu-
dents can also identify the pictures within them. With the advertising
from newspapers they can pretend to shop for food for home.
6 Chapter 1

■ Children’s magazines. Magazines like Zoo Books or Your Big Back-

yard engage students in discussions centered on the illustrations.
■ Alphabet books. These books focus children’s attention on the
alphabet and often extend vocabulary as ELLs learn about items that be-
gin with each letter.
■ Number books. These books target children’s attention to num-
bers.
■ Books connected to television shows. These books again connect
television watching at home with a print extension. Children will be fa-
miliar with the characters and this familiarity should stimulate conver-
sation, especially for ELLs.
■ Traditional literature. Although many ELLs may not be familiar
with nursery rhymes or fairytales, these serve as reading for teachers to
students who then revisit the stories and rhymes in the literacy center. It
is helpful to have multiple copies so that small groups of students can
explore the same book. Moreover, once the teacher has shared a book, it
often becomes a favorite that children clamor to read.
■ Easy-to-read books. These are books that students with sufficient
literacy knowledge can read on their own. There should be predictable
text available as well as decodable text for independent practice.
■ Informational books. Such books serve as a stimulus for discus-
sion and are often the preferred books of young children. Similar to tra-
ditional literature, once read by teachers, they offer opportunities for
students to revisit them.

Teachers generally feature some of these books on bookshelves so that

children can see the covers for easy selection. Other books may be orga-
nized in tubs marked by category (animals, alphabet books, etc.) where
students can explore those they want to investigate. Later in the year,
the teacher might break the animal books up into groupings such as
pets, zoo animals, or farm animals. Later the books might be reconfig-
ured into mammals, reptiles, or insects. Each successive grouping rec-
ognizes the more sophisticated knowledge of students.
Within the literacy center or in another location in the room,
teachers also display books and materials related to the current theme,
author, or illustrator study. Students are welcome to explore these
books independently. It is important that many books focus on the same
topic or theme so ELLs can constantly revisit similar content to develop
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 7

their knowledge base, vocabulary, oral language, and reading and writ-
ing competence.
Other parts of the literacy center include a listening center, with a
selection of nursery rhymes and books for students to listen to. Within
this center is a computer or two for reading, exploring, and writing.
Students may engage with the computer to listen to a story, they may
explore a website, or they may create a story using a program to support
young students’ writing. Finally, to support writing, there would be an
area with pencils, crayons, and paper for student writing.

Play and Dramatic Play Centers

Although these centers are not frequently seen in first and second
grades, they are very important for preschool and kindergarten chil-
dren. If teachers organize the center around a theme, they increase chil-
dren’s opportunities for language and literacy play (Neuman & Roskos,
1993). For example, if the instructional theme is transportation, the
teacher might create an airport or a garage. Here children would dress
as flight attendants or mechanics. They would have props that support
literacy but are tied to the theme. They may have repair slips or plane
tickets (see Figure 1.1). They may have to list all the passengers on the
plane. They may need to take drink orders. As a mechanic, they would
note repairs and the costs of repairs. They jot down phone numbers so
they can contact the client when the work is complete. We include pic-
tures so that children who cannot read or do not know English have
clues to what is expected.
Teachers also want a supply of books related to the theme available
for students. They include realia (real objects) in the center, like a toy
wrench or hammer, so that students can pretend to repair a truck, for
example. Other examples of literacy-enriched dramatic play centers
might be a post office, a doctor’s office, a veterinarian’s office, a super-
market, and a restaurant, among others.
To extend the theme to home, teachers create boxes or plastic bags
with a book and artifacts related to the theme inside. For example, there
may be a book about trucks and a small truck with paper to record re-
pairs. Through these collections, parents and students are connected in
literacy-based activities that may not be typical experiences in their
homes. As students mature in their literacy knowledge, these containers
8 Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.1. Airport forms.

include text that they read to their parents as well as a book that a par-
ent would read or discuss with them (Neuman, 1999). Figure 1.2 shows
a child and her teacher as they investigate a collection that will be going
home. In this case, the school purchased these collections from a pub-
lisher (Lakeshore) to save preparation time.
These centers and take-home activities support students in literacy
play that is engaged in by adults. As students participate, teachers can
keep informal records of the conversation and activities of students.
They might also ask parents to record interesting observations about
their child’s engagement with these materials at home.

Labeling the Room and Activities

After the room is physically organized, teachers want to stand back and
think about other text support for young learners. They may develop a
bulletin board to support the first theme and they may also create a bul-
letin board or sign to indicate the literacy and writing areas.
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 9

FIGURE 1.2. Take-home collection.

Once students arrive, it is important to engage them in labeling

important parts of the room. We recommend that teachers participate
in this process with their students so that they connect the labels to
things or activities. For instance, they might label the door, sink,
teacher’s desk, and so on. It would be beneficial to students if these
objects also carried a label in their home language. For example, table
can be labeled with table in English, mesa in Spanish, teiburu in Japa-
nese, and in Chinese. Older students and parents can help
with these labels.
In addition to labels for things in the classroom, we have seen
teachers use labels to support children’s activities. For example, when
children play with blocks, they draw a sketch and label what they have
built in a notebook that is at the block center before the construction is
demolished. Students might also record the experiment they partici-
pated in at the science center. For almost every activity in the class,
there is a notebook or chart for students to record their activities. In this
way, students see real uses for literacy. See Figure 1.3 for an example by
a young preschooler, Micah, who drew a sketch and labeled his train
creation before it had to be cleaned up.
Teachers also take advantage of the importance of a child’s name.
Students’ names are placed on cubbies or book tubs, for example.
Children find their personal belongings here and they also use class-
10 Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.3. Sketch of train with label.

mates’ names in their writing. Often, preschoolers and kindergartners

take great delight in copying classmates’ names and reading these
lists.
Labeling in a classroom is a constant—not something done at the
beginning of the year and later ignored. The labels attached to objects
and activities provide instruction to students in how words are con-
nected to print. These labels, after a child’s name, become the first
words students can read and attach meaning to. ELLs in particular un-
derstand the connections between an object, its label, and its pronunci-
ation.
Although the classroom’s physical environment can be changed, it
comes with consequences. If tables or centers are moved, young chil-
dren struggle with where they are to be and what is expected of them.
This is even more pronounced for ELLs who rely on classroom struc-
ture to signal expectations. It will take a few days before the new config-
uration becomes automatic to students. Teachers often struggle with in-
appropriate behavior from students as they get accustomed to the new
organization.
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 11

THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The social and emotional environment of a classroom is one of the most

critical characteristics in students’ success. Unlike the physical environ-
ment, the social and emotional environment is not as apparent when
first walking into a classroom. However, there are parts of the social and
emotional environment that are observable. For example, observers can
note whether children are expected to sit quietly all day. They can also
observe to see whether student work is evident in the room. They can
observe whether students understand and respect the routines estab-
lished in the classroom. And, most important, they can observe and see
the relationship between the teacher and the students.
In this section we consider several important parts of the social and
emotional environment. They include the importance of the teacher, so-
cial interaction in the classroom, rules and routines, and differentiated
instruction.

The Importance of the Teacher

Much of the research centered on teachers in urban settings, where the
numbers of ELLs are the highest, reports that many don’t last through
their first year (Brown, 2002). Ladson-Billings (2001) noted that in Chi-
cago there are about 1,500 teachers hired each year, and in Los Angeles
about 5,000 largely because of teacher turnover. These teachers feel
frustrated with their teacher education programs and the circumstances
in which they find themselves as they enter their teaching career. They
discover they are not prepared to deal with the challenges of urban
schools and the students who attend them and, in particular, how to
support the learning of ELLs.
The students who attend these schools and their parents are in a
parallel situation. They find it difficult to work with their neighborhood
school when teachers infrequently stay. Students find it challenging to
learn when their teachers are short-timers and are not committed to the
school community.
The bleak circumstances just described do not have to permeate all
classrooms that find themselves rich with ELLs. We describe ways that
teachers can be change agents for students and provide them with an
environment that supports their learning. Teachers can come to value
diversity when working with students who come to school with rich lit-
12 Chapter 1

eracy traditions different from those supported in school and with lan-
guage backgrounds not represented in their classrooms.

Becoming Culturally Responsive

Not unexpectedly, the first task in becoming culturally sensitive to stu-
dents is to explore one’s own beliefs about teaching and learning (Xu,
2000a, 2000b). Before reading further take a moment and describe how
you learned in school and what you think about exemplary teaching,
especially as it pertains to ELLs.

TAKE A MOMENT
Who are you as a learner?
What are the characteristics that describe an exemplary teacher
of ELLs?
What literacy experiences do you value from your school experi-
ences?
How do ELLs learn best?

Once a teacher understands who he or she is as a learner and the

values attached to being an exemplary teacher of ELLs, this teacher is
ready to consider the ethnic, cultural, and language profiles of students
in his or her classroom. Some of these considerations might include:

■ What are the social relationships expected between students and

teachers? How does the teacher talk to students? How are stu-
dents expected to talk to teachers? Are these expectations vari-
able and based on learning situations? For example, can stu-
dents freely talk to teachers when they are in centers or is there a
protocol that requires students always to be called on to talk?
Can students use their home language in school?
■ What are the social relationships between students? Can they
work together? What language are they expected to use?
■ What is the best way to improve students’ English-language pro-
ficiency?
■ How much of a student’s culture should be recognized if he or
she is to succeed in middle-class America?
■ How much homework should a teacher assign? Should teachers
expect parents to support students with homework? What
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 13

should teachers expect of parents who do not speak, read, or

write English?
■ How do the books a teacher chooses represent or engage his or
her students?

Not all these questions have easy answers. They take time to reflect on,
and they certainly change as teachers have more experience and success
working with students who are learning English as they learn to read
and write. What is important is that teachers think about such ques-
tions as they begin and continue to work with ELLs. These are impor-
tant questions to explore with other teachers. This reflection and
decision-making process are necessary for teachers to be successful in
engaging their students in purposeful instruction.
In writing about culturally responsive teaching, Ladson-Billings
(1994) reiterates the importance of teacher expectations of student
ability—low expectations result in low achievement and high expecta-
tions result in high achievement for students, a statement that is still
important today. She sees culturally responsive teaching as a way to
seek excellence—where teachers, students, and families share responsi-
bility for learning. Teachers serve as conductors or coaches; they believe
that all students are capable of excellence and they assume responsibil-
ity to facilitate and coordinate learning opportunities. Ladson-Billings
(1994) values teaching as an art where teachers “see themselves as part
of the community. They demonstrate a connectedness with all of their
students and encourage that same connectedness between the students”
(p. 25). Expectations are critically important to ELLs literacy success. If
teachers and their school do not really believe that ELLs can be profi-
cient literacy learners then ELLs will mirror this belief—and the school
and its teachers would have to own this result.
The belief that all students can learn with appropriate support and
connections between home, school, and community is important to be-
coming a culturally responsive teacher. Further, culturally responsive
teachers engage in strategies to support individual student learning. A
few of these practices include:

■ Creating a classroom that values the voices of all—a community

of learners. Seeking ways to connect families with schools.
Valuing family involvement even when parents do not speak
English (see Chapter 2 for many practical suggestions).
14 Chapter 1

■ Treating students as individuals, and the willingness to revise in-

struction to meet individual student needs.
■ Appreciating student voices.
■ Facilitating knowledge and pride in various ethnic, cultural, and
language backgrounds.
■ Believing that all students are capable.

Throughout this book, we share specific ways to support these ideas.

Becoming a Caring Teacher

Gordon (1999) writes that the “best urban teachers show warmth and
affection to their students and give priority to the development of
their relationships with students as an avenue to student growth” (p.
305). This belief stands in contrast to the organization of many teach-
ers and schools that focus on discipline first. Although discipline is
important, so that schools are safe places that support learning, it can-
not be considered without focusing on building relationships with
students and families. For example, in one school we visited, the rule
was that no students were allowed into the building before the morn-
ing bell rang. This was a schoolwide rule to prevent student misbe-
havior without supervision. We witnessed students lining up outside
the classroom door, hoping to gain an opportunity to chat informally
with their teacher when he or she appeared. In this same school, one
teacher departed from the practice (with principal support) and in-
vited students into the room when they arrived at school. Students
helped prepare the room for instruction as they chatted with their
teacher. An interesting observation from this teacher was that none of
his students “received citations for inappropriate behavior.” He be-
lieved, “It is about the relationships. They know I will be disap-
pointed or angry with them if they disrupt learning or engage in inap-
propriate behavior on the playground or in the cafeteria. We have an
agreement that we are here to learn. They know I care about them
and they care about me.”
In School Kids/Street Kids, Flores-González (2002) discusses the
development of students who become school kids (those who succeed
in school) or street kids (those who may attend school but are not a
part of it). In her book she considers the school and classroom envi-
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 15

ronment as the most important factor for students. In particular, she

highlights the relationships students have with teachers. Throughout
her book there are quotes from students describing teachers who
made them want to stay and perform in school, similar to the teacher
previously described. Flores-González synthesizes these remarks and
highlights the importance of elementary teachers to students develop-
ing a school-kid identity. She writes, “These close and intense rela-
tionships with teachers fostered commitment to school” (p. 33). Stu-
dents chose to stay in school and become active participants in their
middle and high schools’ cultures by joining clubs or participating in
sports because of the relationships they developed with their elemen-
tary school teachers.
The literature is filled with documentation to support the need for
caring teachers. Following are a few examples:

■ Students become engaged in school when they feel competent.

To feel competent they must have a sense of belonging that is de-
veloped though meaningful dialogue with teachers and peers
(Newmann, Wehlage, & Lamborn, 1992).
■ Students’ attitudes toward literacy are shaped by classroom con-
texts and relationships with teachers (McCarthey, 2002).
■ Building rapport and relationships with children provides the
power to inspire children (Maniates & Doerr, 2001).
■ Teachers who make a difference are those who develop relation-
ships with students (Ogle, 2004).

Becoming a caring teacher is certainly about relationships. How-

ever, it goes beyond just relationship building. Caring teachers are will-
ing to work with students until they master a skill in a new language,
for instance. They do not allow students to fail. They find ways to scaf-
fold students’ current learning so that they can understand the next
conceptually challenging information or process. For example, a teacher
may search for picture support to help an ELL with challenging vocabu-
lary. Being a caring teacher means being responsible for student learning
by providing opportunities to support and engage students. It also
means acknowledging the difficult life circumstances that children may
live in but not feeling sorry for them. It means respecting them as capa-
ble learners (Weiner, 1999).
16 Chapter 1

Becoming a Teacher Who Builds Resiliency in Students

Benard (2004) writes, “One of the most important and consistent find-
ings in resilience research is the power of schools, especially of teachers,
to turn a child’s life from risk to resilience” (p. 65). Much of the re-
search on resiliency overlaps with work focused on culturally respon-
sive classrooms or caring teachers. We are presenting resiliency here, as
it is important for teachers to consider as they work with ELLs, many of
whom find themselves living in circumstances of poverty.
Resiliency often provides the explanation as to why some children
succeed in school when others do not (Waxman, Gray, & Padrón,
2004a). Resilient children find ways to cope with life circumstances and
look to the future. This view moves beyond language competency and
explores the life circumstances of ELLs.
Benard (1997) described characteristics of teachers who increased
students’ resilience. She noted that these teachers modeled three essen-
tial dimensions of resiliency: caring and establishing relationships with
adults, frequently students’ teachers; providing numerous opportunities
for students to participate and contribute to the classroom community;
and setting high expectations. She further described these teachers as
ones who do not judge students but understand that they are doing the
best they can. Therefore, they build on the strengths of students, are
student-centered, and motivate their students.
Besides just focusing on teachers, schools and districts have found
ways to create school environments that support resiliency. Waxman,
Gray, and Padrón (2004b, p. 52) described how the Minneapolis Public
Schools have developed resiliency policies. Their resiliency policies cen-
tered around five strategies:

1. Offer opportunities for students to develop personal relation-

ships with teachers.
2. Increase students’ sense of mastery in their lives.
3. Build student social competencies as well as academic skills.
4. Reduce the stressors that students do not need to face.
5. Generate school and community resources to support the needs
of students.

When taken together, there is an enormous research base centered

on teachers and their power in supporting ELLs and students of poverty
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 17

in achievement. Teachers do hold the power in creating classroom com-

munities that either support students or deter them in their academic
accomplishments.

Social Interaction in the Classroom

In order to learn, students need to construct meaning (Dillon, 2000),
and they do this through talking and writing. In all the discoveries
about exemplary teachers, especially exemplary teachers of ELLs, one
central discovery is that they provide language-rich classrooms where
children have opportunities to talk about and write about their learning.
In these rooms, students are often organized into pairs or small groups
to provide opportunities for language in support of learning. Language-
rich classrooms don’t just exist. Much thought goes into creating suc-
cessful ones. For example, teachers need to think through how students
respond in whole-class discussions. Young children need to understand
what is expected. Can they just talk when someone else finishes or must
they raise their hand? Are there limits to how long they can talk? What
happens at centers? Can they work with peers or must they be quiet?
It is important for teachers to find ways to actively engage students
in all instruction. Teachers might simply have all students respond with
a “yes” to a simple question, such as “Is Mary the name of the character
in the book?” For more complex questions like “What did Mary do to
show she is kind?” teachers could have students talk to a neighbor, and
then a few could share with the class. Teachers can also allow children
time to think before answering. For instance, all children think quietly
and hold up a thumb when they have an idea. Then they could share
with a partner or with the class. Archer (2007) provides a unique way
for children to share with the class. As children are talking with a
partner, she walks around the room and records what they say on an
overhead transparency. Then, when partner discussion is concluded,
she shares the overhead responses with students. For instance, she
might share, “Jose said, ‘Mary walked her dog, and that was kind.’
Guadalupe said, ‘Mary fed her dog, and that was kind.’ ” In this way
children’s voices are heard and the teacher maintains a fast pace.
Pappas, Kiefer, and Levstik (1995) describe language-rich class-
rooms as places where students and teachers see reading, writing, lis-
tening, and speaking as one large integrated subject with no boundaries
to separate them. In order to read, students and teachers must talk
18 Chapter 1

about the meaning attached to the text. In order to participate in the

conversation, students and the teacher must carefully listen in to learn
and appropriately respond. And writing is seen as a way to engage
thinking for more productive conversation. Pappas et al. (1995) see
teachers as supporting the efforts of students as they learn to use lan-
guage to learn.
In addition to building a language-rich classroom, teachers face
other challenges when they work with ELLs. They must help students
move from home to school language, and they must support students in
using English as a language for conversation and learning (Cummins,
2003). This is no easy task, however, as ELLs can be quiet or can re-
spond in single-word answers as they learn to converse in English.
Moreover, students’ conceptions of language, literacy, and culturally ap-
propriate ways of doing school are influenced by the experiences they
bring to school (Gutierrez, Basquedano-Lopez, & Turner, 1997, p. 369).
And these experiences are often very different from those routinely en-
gaged in at school. (See Chapter 4 for specific ideas about oral language
development.)

TAKE A MOMENT
Think about the language strengths of a child as he or she enters
school. What does he or she typically know about literacy? Now
think about what happens when this child can no longer use his
or her language to share knowledge in the classroom.

Gutierrez (2001) states, “language, the most powerful mediating

tool for mediating learning, in this case the children’s primary language,
is excluded from the students’ learning tool kit” (p. 565). She recog-
nizes that ELLs must build a new language tool kit to accomplish liter-
acy proficiency in English-only classrooms. This new tool kit takes time
to develop as children adjust the knowledge they have in their home
language to the new language expectations in school. In addition, this
means moving from the more informal language of home to the more
academic language of school.
The centrality of language to learning is an issue that teachers of
ELLs wrestle with as they provide instruction. Many ELLs, upon entry
into school, typically preschool or kindergarten, are expected to com-
municate only through a new language—English. With annual yearly
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 19

progress expectations from the No Child Left Behind Act, these stu-
dents are often expected to achieve the same literacy competencies as
their peers whose first language is English. Few of these students ever
have extra time in school to learn about reading and writing in English
as they learn the language. They are typically allotted the same amount
of time as students who come to school familiar with English to meet
grade-level expectations. This is an enormous challenge for students,
teachers, and parents (Nieto, 1999). Strategies to support language in
the classroom are more fully detailed in Chapter 4.

Rules and Routines

The best way to keep students focused on learning is to establish con-
sistent and predictable routines—routines that can be internalized by
students so their single focus is on instruction. Sometimes, teachers
complain that the day is too routine, and there is no room for sponta-
neity. We are not suggesting that teachers do not respond to occa-
sional once-in-a-lifetime occurrences (like a fire truck’s appearance at
school), but irregularity in routines and rules leaves students guessing
and insecure about what is expected of them, especially students who
must employ incredible energy to understand the messages of their
teacher.
In the United States, there is great variability in how schools and
teachers structure routines like transitions. In other countries, espe-
cially Asian countries, routines are discrete. Each daily routine is di-
vided by class periods, much like those in U.S. high schools. For exam-
ple, in China, for every 50-minute class, students get a 10-minute
break, which allows them to go to the bathroom and to get a drink. In
other countries, transitions from one event to another may be less struc-
tured. So students come to U.S. classrooms with little to no experience
with classroom routines to very specific experiences in how transitions
and other routines occur.
While many rules and routines can be jointly constructed with stu-
dents, some routines need to be established before school begins. For
example, how are students dismissed to go to the bathroom or get a
drink? How and when can a student interrupt the teacher during small-
group work? How do students enter and leave the classroom?
It is important that students know what the typical schedule is.
They know that the day begins on the carpet where they share. Then
20 Chapter 1

they go to centers. Following centers, their teacher shares a story, and so

on. These routines become the glue that holds the school day together.
When the routine is changed, children constantly wonder and question
what comes next.
We have seen teachers create a few important rules for young stu-
dents. For instance, they discuss how they might make the classroom a
safe place. Students suggest ways to do this and teachers record the re-
sponses on a chart. Figure 1.4 shows a chart created by kindergarten
students with their teacher’s help. The teacher has included the names
of the students, so that students can use these names to remember what
was said.
Students expect teachers to maintain order and to discipline stu-
dents who disrupt learning. They want teachers to:

■ Uphold classroom rules.

■ Privately discipline students who misbehave.
■ Apply a clear set of consequences to students who misbehave.
■ Involve parents or the principal when necessary (Brown, 2002).

Delpit (1995) asserts that effective classrooms are those where there are
clear expectations and inappropriate behaviors are dealt with consis-
tently and immediately.
In many early-childhood classrooms, discipline simply means teach-
ers redirect a child from a situation in which he or she is out of control
to a different one in which he or she can regain control. For example,
when John is pushing over the blocks in the block area and other chil-
dren complain, his teacher moves him to an easel where he can paint
alone for a while. Children quickly learn that when they have pushed
the expectations for an activity, they will be removed.

Be safe.
Maria said, “No one should push.”
Carlos said, “Don’t hit.”
Helen said, “Sit nice.”

Be kind.
Mike said, “Say nice things.”
Jasmin said, “Help my friends.”

FIGURE 1.4. Kindergarten rule chart.

 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 21

In first- and second-grade classrooms, we have seen teachers who

request that the child go to a table and write in a problem-solving jour-
nal as a way of decompressing the situation. We saw one child write, “I
was yelling and I am having a hard time.” Another wrote, “I hit Mario
and I had to go think.” These teachers are using writing as a way for
students to express their feelings appropriately while they settle down
before reentering the classroom community. As they develop writing
competency, ELLs often use drawings to convey these messages or they
may write in their home language.
While teachers often struggle with this part of their curriculum,
students want to know what to expect and the consequences if they
misbehave. They respond to teachers who are consistent and lessen
their anxiety about being a capable student in their classroom.

Differentiated Instruction
All classes have children with a wide range of ability and knowledge.
Classrooms filled with students who speak other languages are even
more diverse. Some children try English more frequently and become
conversant more quickly than others. Others have reading, writing, or
content knowledge that they bring to their classroom, while others have
limited worldly experiences.
Such varied backgrounds require teachers to organize a portion of
their instruction into small groups. These groups might be based on:

■ Individual or group assessment where the teacher targets certain

skills or strategies.
■ Interest assessments where small groups of students work to-
gether on a topic or project.
■ Personalities of students (e.g., not putting all shy students to-
gether).
■ Varied language backgrounds so that students can support and
scaffold the language of peers.
■ Knowledge or vocabulary background; the teacher groups stu-
dents to develop this background prior to a whole-class lesson.

Importantly, even when these groups are based on ability level, they
are never constant. Teachers regroup students when appropriate. They
also construct multiple groupings in their classroom so that students
22 Chapter 1

work with pairs, in ability groups, in heterogeneous groups, and so

on.
ELLs bring additional issues with regard to grouping. If a class con-
sists predominantly of children with a home language of Spanish, and
the teacher groups them together, they will speak Spanish. Although the
students are communicating, they are not moving to English communi-
cation. Thus teachers need to consider the purpose of the groupings
and how they will support students in communicating in English.
We have observed that groups of young children are very aware of
home language. For instance, they speak Spanish until an English-only
speaking child enters the group. They often test to see if the new child
knows Spanish. If not, they chat with each other in Spanish and trans-
late for the new student. In these groupings, students have an opportu-
nity to speak their home language but with the additional expectation
that they translate to English. In mixed-home-language situations, there
is often much talk about the differences in languages. Language be-
comes important and a topic for conversation.
Paley (1981) shares kindergarten children’s talk as they worked in
her classroom. In one of these conversations, the children engage in a
discussion about language. Here is a snippet of this conversation that
was triggered because many of the children in this room spoke other
languages.

DEANA: If you live in a different country, there’s a different language

there.
WARREN: Wherever your mother was born.
PALEY: Your mother was born in China, but you speak English.
WARREN: I’m going to go to Chinese school on Saturdays when I am six.
EDDIE: Someone has to teach you. My brother didn’t know one word
when he was born. Not even his name. (p. 117)

The strength of this conversation is that it allows students to focus on

language and issues related to it. These kinds of conversations take
place more easily in classrooms where multiple languages are spoken.
They allow children to explore language metalinguistically, and such
exploration leads to more sophisticated comparisons of language in
later grades.
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 23

Another grouping of ELLs is based on providing background

knowledge or vocabulary in a preteaching situation. Teachers consider
the whole-group literacy instruction that is scheduled to occur. They
analyze the text for unfamiliar language or content experiences and
group students whose comprehension may suffer because of these is-
sues. In this grouping they preteach important vocabulary and content
necessary for understanding. Then when the whole-class lesson is
shared, these students come to it as experts. They participate fully in the
lesson and are successful members of the class.
Teachers of ELLs also differentiate during whole-class instruction.
They tailor questions to the oral language competency of students. For
instance, if the class is learning about animals, the teacher may hold up
a picture of a cow. One child may be asked to point to the cow while an-
other may be asked to complete a language form: “This is a. . . . ”A third
child may be asked to describe the cow. Each child successfully partici-
pated in the lesson because of his or her teacher’s knowledge of each
child’s language strengths.
Differentiated instruction allows teachers to target instruction to
the strengths and needs of individual students. It facilitates having stu-
dents reach grade-level benchmark expectations.

INTERSECTIONS OF PHYSICAL
AND SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Not surprisingly, the physical and the social and emotional environments
in a class often overlap. Clearly, if the physical environment does not sup-
port learning, children become off-task and have difficulty participating
appropriately in the classroom. Similarly, the social and emotional envi-
ronment in the classroom may support small-group work with rich con-
versation, for example, but if the classroom is not configured to support
small-group spaces small-group work will not be very effective.
While it is important for both environments in the classroom to be
in synchrony, we believe it is most important at the beginning of the day
and the academic year. Bringing children into a new room and perhaps
their first school experience is critical to future comfort and success.
These beginning times also signal to parents how respected their child
will be at school.
24 Chapter 1

Beginning of the Year

To help at this important time, we offer several suggestions.

1. Have the room ready with children’s names when possible. Have
a sign on the door or outside the door that greets new students in multi-
ple languages.
2. Have the classroom door open so that families feel comfortable
entering and looking around before they leave their child. Be welcom-
ing even though there are many details that most likely need attending
to. If possible have another adult available who speaks the home lan-
guage of the majority of parents.
3. If possible, send a letter of welcome to families (at least in Eng-
lish and Spanish) and invite them to the classroom before school begins
so that children are comfortable in the new surroundings.
4. In some preschools and kindergartens, new students are invited
to spend a day at school before they formally begin. If this is possible al-
low one or two children a day to stay and get familiar with the class-
room. When students are too afraid to stay, encourage their parents to
stay with them.
5. Ask parents to share a literacy event with you that you can share
with the class. Later on, parents may bring samples of reading and writ-
ing their child does at home. Invite parents to become a part of the
learning community. They may share a tradition, read a story, or help
with writing.
6. Send home a booklet of important information about your
class. Parents need to know what the expectations are for the year. Be
explicit.
7. Make up plastic bags or some other appropriate container so
that children can carry books home and back from the first day of
school.

Beginning of the School Day

Once the first day of school arrives, there are many ways that teachers
can transition students into the classroom. They can:

1. Greet children and parents at the classroom door. Practice say-

ing hello in many languages and try these hellos out as you greet
 Creating Classrooms to Engage Learners 25

parents and children. If parents follow you into the room, let them.
However, stay focused on the children and their instruction.
2. Establish what happens when children enter the room. Do they
go to circle? Do they go to their desks? Create a routine that does not
change.
3. Have all materials ready for instruction, so there is no downtime
during the day.
4. Find time to learn about students’ out-of-school experiences.
Some teachers allow a few children to share each day orally. Other
teachers create a message that contains one or two children’s experi-
ences written together and then read. We observed one kindergarten
teacher who created home journals. Each journal had a copy of the al-
phabet and “word wall” words, words that the teacher had on the wall
and students recognized immediately. Each day children took their
journal home, wrote in it, and brought it back to school. The teacher
read each journal as a way to begin the day. Children listened closely to
the messages of their classmates. Later, as the journals were filled with
messages, she asked students to reread them and to discover what was
most important about their lives outside school.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In this chapter we explored the underpinnings of successful classrooms,

especially for students who come to school with a language other than
English. We highlighted the many environments that exist within a
classroom and how they can work together or in opposition. Without
this foundation, we believe that the literacy strategies shared in later
chapters will not be very successful. A well-managed, culturally sensi-
tive classroom is essential to the learning of all students and in particu-
lar ELLs.
Chapter 2with Families
Working

CHAPTER 2

Working with Families

Reading does not consist of merely decoding the written

word or language; rather it is preceded by and inter-
twined with knowledge of the world. Language and real-
ity are dynamically interconnected. . . . My parents in-
troduced me to reading the word at a certain moment in
this rich experience of understanding my immediate
world. Deciphering the word flowed naturally from
reading my particular world. It was not something su-
perimposed on it.
—FREIRE (1987, pp. 29, 32)

Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator and philosopher, in talking about his

own experience of learning to read and write, poignantly reminded edu-
cators around the world that the process of children’s becoming literate
in a language began with interactions with their own environment and
with parental guidance. As a rich body of research has documented
(e.g., Adams, 1990; Clark, 1976; Neuman, 2005; Purcell-Gates, 1996;
Taylor, 1983), parents have a critical impact on their children’s cogni-
tive, language, and literacy development. Parents are children’s first
teachers, which holds true for children who speak English as a native
language as well as those whose native language is not English (Delgado-
Gaitan, 1994; Goldenberg, 1987; Li, 2004). Furthermore, other studies
(Delgado-Gaitan, 2001; Paratore, 2001; Valdés, 1996) have identified
the contributions that family members (e.g., grandparents, aunts and
uncles, cousins, and siblings) other than parents make in children’s lan-
guage and literacy development. These two key points related to family
involvement with children are further discussed in the next section.

26
 Working with Families 27

Thus this chapter focuses on working with families of ELLs, not just
their parents.
In this chapter, our approach stresses an active and initiative role
that teachers must play while working with families. This school-to-
families approach is similar to a two-way parent–school involvement
model (Faltis, 2001) where teachers reach out to parents and commu-
nity; it is different from the families-to-school approach, which requires
families to work with the school in order for school–family partnerships
to happen. In our discussion, we begin with a need for teachers to un-
derstand the rationale for working with families. We then share differ-
ent ways for teachers to learn about ELLs’ culture and language. Teacher
knowledge of native culture and language and efforts to build teaching
on ELLs’ culture and language, we believe, is a crucial step to success in
working with families. Families are more likely to feel reluctant to work
with teachers who know little or nothing about their children’s experi-
ences with native culture and language but also make little effort to
learn about the culture and language. Another focus on working with
families is how teachers can welcome families to the school and class-
room. We conclude this chapter with a section on teacher–family col-
laboration to support literacy development in a native language and in
English.

At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

■ Understand the rationale for working with families.
■ Describe ways to learn about ELLs’ culture and language.
■ Describe ways to welcome families to the school and class-
room.
■ Describe different ways to inform families how to support liter-
acy development in a native language and in English.

UNDERSTANDING THE RATIONALE

FOR WORKING WITH FAMILIES

To understand the rationale for working with families of ELLs, it is im-

portant for teachers to learn about the similar and different roles that
families of native English-speaking children and those of ELLs play in
children’s language and literacy development. In addition, teachers need
28 Chapter 2

to understand how cultural values and beliefs affect ways that families
of ELLs perceive the role of teachers in U.S. schools and the role of fam-
ilies in their children’s education (Goldenberg & Gillimore, 1995; John-
son, 2004; Valdés, 1996).

Families of Native English-Speaking Children

The important role that families (and in particular parents) play in na-
tive English-speaking children’s language and literacy development has
been well documented (e.g., Landry & Smith, 2005; Smith, Landry, &
Swank, 2000; Snow, 1986). During early-childhood years, family mem-
bers scaffold a learning process by modeling effective language use for
children (e.g., using phrases like “please” and “thank you” while com-
municating with a child) and by providing feedback on children’s lan-
guage (e.g., saying to the child, “You mean ‘I went to Jo’s house yester-
day’ ” when a child said, “I goed to Jo’s house yesterday”). Family
members also direct children’s attention to functions and conventions
of print in children’s immediate environment. For example, a family
member points out the big M on the McDonald’s logo while saying, “We
are going to McDonald’s for lunch.” In so doing, the adult encourages
the child to pay attention to the beginning letter in McDonald’s. When a
family member reads aloud “Burger King” to a child, the adult is show-
ing the child that print in English is read from left to right. Such guid-
ance from family members extends from oral language to environmental
print and later to print literacy. Numerous studies (e.g., McCarthey,
2000; Neuman & Celano, 2001; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) have
shown that children whose family members read and discuss books
with them have more successful experiences with school literacy tasks
(e.g., having background knowledge of concepts about print, under-
standing story elements, and applying reading strategies) and also tend
to be more motivated to read. Another benefit of having experiences
with books and other print outside school is world knowledge gained
from reading, which provides a foundation for successfully compre-
hending texts on various topics.
Similar to a family’s guidance in children’s print experiences, the
family members’ role in children’s engagement with nonprint texts (e.g.,
TV shows) cannot be overlooked. Research conducted from a perspec-
tive of the New Literacy Studies (e.g., Alvermann, Moon, & Hagood,
1999; Dyson, 2003; Evans, 2005; Gee, 2003; Marsh & Millard, 2006;
 Working with Families 29

New London Group, 1996; Xu, 2004; Xu, Sawyer, & Zunich, 2005) has
shown that children also gain and apply literacy knowledge and skills
from interactions with nonprint texts. For example, through watching
their favorite TV shows (e.g., Arthur and SpongeBob SquarePants), chil-
dren develop knowledge of story grammar (i.e., characters, setting, plot,
and theme) (which is similar to story grammar in books) and literacy
skills (e.g., making a connection to background information, and mak-
ing inferences). When family members are watching TV along with their
children, they can provide support for children’s understanding the con-
tent of a TV show (e.g., offering an explanation for the background in-
formation related to the show) and in conventions of language used in
the show (e.g., pointing out that a character is using a question).

Families of ELLs
Like families of native English-speaking children, family members of
ELLs provide similar scaffolding to support children’s native language
and literacy development. In their study of Latino families, for example,
Paratore, Melzi, and Krol-Sinclair (2003) observed that family members
read books to their children and also modeled reading behaviors (e.g.,
reading words and looking at the illustrations in a picture book). Simi-
lar findings are presented in studies on families from various ethnic
backgrounds (e.g., Johnson, 2004; Li, 2004; Xu, 1999).
In addition to recognizing a similarity in family support in lan-
guage and literacy development between native English-speaking chil-
dren and ELLs, teachers also need to become aware of the unique roles
that families of ELLs play. It is important to remember that while all
families value their children’s education, not all families use the same
ways to show support for the children. For example, Latino families
view instilling their children with cultural values and moral standards
as a more important responsibility than teaching children about school
subjects. They believe that teachers are most qualified to teach their
children in academic areas (Paratore et al., 2003; Perez, 2004; Rodriguez-
Brown, 2003). This cultural belief and practice may mislead some to
think that Latino families care less about their children than other eth-
nic groups. In addition Latinos, as well as other families of ELLs, may
be less involved in ELLs’ academic tasks due to their limited English
proficiency. If family members are not literate in English, they cannot be
very helpful in working with their child to complete homework. This
30 Chapter 2

inability to help with homework, however, does not mean that the fam-
ily does not support this child’s literacy learning.
It is also important to remember that family support occurs in dif-
ferent forms. Studies (e.g., Gonzáles & Moll, 1995; Valdés, 1996; Xu,
1999) remind us that family members engaged children in practicing
and applying their native language. Such literacy practices in children’s
native language contribute, to some degree, to language and literacy de-
velopment in English (Cummins, 1979). Many linguistic features (e.g.,
the concepts of a sentence and a story) from a native language and liter-
acy strategies (e.g., linking background knowledge to a text and reread-
ing a text to clarify and/or deepen understanding) that ELLs use can be
transferred to children’s learning English (Krashen, 2004).
Household studies by Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzalez (1992),
Gonzáles and Moll (1995), and Gonzáles, Moll, and Amanti (2005)
have suggested that Latino families expose their children to rich life ex-
periences. For example, Moll (1998) observed that family members en-
gaged their children in selling candy they brought to the United States
from Mexico. This type of experience does not seem directly related to
school academic tasks, but in an indirect way, families have prepared
children for academic tasks. For example, buying and selling candy in-
volves concepts of math (e.g., money) and interpersonal communica-
tion skills (e.g., negotiation of prices). Children’s understanding of
these concepts helps lay a foundation for later discipline specific learn-
ing.
The notion of household literacy is very similar to the idea of ev-
eryday literacy practices from a New Literacy Studies perspective (e.g.,
Lankshear & Knobel, 2003; New London Group, 1996), which ac-
knowledges a wide range of literacy practices in which students are en-
gaged. This perspective is useful in our understanding of family support
for ELLs. As discussed earlier, a family’s effort to maintain the literacy
skills of their native language and to provide children with an opportu-
nity to experience different things in life also contribute to English and
literacy development. To work successfully with families, an acknowl-
edgement of family contribution at this level is needed.
The New Literacy Studies perspective further reminds us that
school literacy practices can be different from those in which students
are engaged outside school. This point helps us to better understand
that the children’s experiences with literacy practices that family mem-
bers encourage may not be directly related to school literacy practices
 Working with Families 31

and/or have direct impact on their school achievement. In her seminal

study with an African American working-class community and a Cauca-
sian working-class community, Heath (1983) discovered that the expe-
riences with being read bedtime stories prepared the children from the
Caucasian working-class community for school success while African
American children’s collaborating on an oral story did not contribute
much to school success. Heath’s findings are consistent with the New
Literacy Studies perspective that children’s literacy skills and knowledge
gained from their experiences with literacy practices outside school
(which involve a wide range of texts) may not be reflected in their
school learning (which mainly focuses on print texts).

TAKE A MOMENT
Think about the ELLs you had last year. Describe the household
literacy experiences of these students. How did they contribute
to their in-school literacy experiences?

Rationale for Working with Families

Only by working directly with families can teachers gain insights into
the following areas:

■ Families’ cultural values and beliefs about children’s education.

When teachers directly gain knowledge from families about their
unique values and beliefs, they minimize a possibility of obtaining ste-
reotypical information as possibly portrayed in media (Sleeter, 2001).
■ ELLs’ literacy practices in a native language. Families of ELLs
have knowledge of their children’s literacy practices, and they are more
likely to be able to explain to teachers these practices than children.
■ ELLs’ literacy practices in English. Families of ELLs can inform
teachers of their literacy practices and of children’s experiences with
these practices (e.g., success, enjoyment, and frustration).
■ Similarities and differences between outside and inside school liter-
acy practices. Only when teachers are equipped with knowledge of the
foregoing points, can teachers and families work together to make a
better connection for ELLs between home learning and school learning
and to make a smooth transition between a native language and Eng-
lish, and vice versa.
32 Chapter 2

LEARNING ABOUT ELLS’ CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

Developing knowledge about students’ cultures and languages is an-

other crucial component in a successful school–family partnership.
This school-to-family approach reflects teachers’ sincere efforts to en-
gage families for the benefit of students. Only when equipped with
knowledge of students’ culture and language can teachers develop an
approach of culturally responsive teaching advocated by many scholars
(e.g., Au, 2002; Delpit, 1995; Grant, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 2001).

Learning about ELLs’ Culture

Any language is closely connected to the culture in which this language
exists (e.g., Fitzgerald & Graves, 2004; Lessow-Hurley, 2005; Moll et
al., 1992). There is a unique set of ways with words in each culture.
Even within the United States, the American English used by people liv-
ing on the East Coast can be different from that used by those on the
West Coast. This difference is partly due to the subcultures on either
side of the United States. A person from the West Coast who is unfamil-
iar with the subculture of the East Coast may have trouble communicat-
ing smoothly with people on the East Coast. He or she may not use ap-
propriate words or may ask questions that sound strange to the locals
(e.g., “Am I able to buy a house with a big yard?”).
The impact of this subculture on language use seems pale in com-
parison to that of the native culture each ELL brings to a classroom. In
addition to the fact that culture affects the way a language is used, cul-
tural values can also influence how families exhibit their involvement in
their children’s education. As discussed earlier in this chapter, Latino
families may focus their responsibility of educating their children more
on teaching them to become a good person rather than on helping them
with school-related tasks (Paratore et al., 2003; Perez, 2004; Rodriguez-
Brown, 2003). In other cultures, families may expect teachers to have
additional homework for their children on a daily basis, including sum-
mer and winter breaks (Li, 2004).

Learning from People Native to the Culture

Families and community members can supply teachers with firsthand
knowledge about student culture. In addition, families are a rich source
 Working with Families 33

of the subculture most relevant to a child’s life experience. Teachers can

ask families about their culture during open house or at after-school
pickup time. They might suggest that families write down interesting or
unique things about their culture to share with the teacher or with the
class at a later time. If family members of a child speak limited English,
teachers can have other bilingual students, their family members, or
community members translate. If there are international students in a
nearby university or college, they can be asked for help. The students
often have updated information about the culture, which can be most
relevant to newcomers in a classroom. We suggest that teachers keep a
contact list (see Figure 2.1), they can update year after year and refer
back to when needed.

Visiting a Student’s Community

Another effective way to gain knowledge about the culture is to visit a
student’s community. These visits become more important given that
most teachers do not live in the same community as their students.
Visiting student communities can begin with a walk in an ELL’s neigh-
borhood to gain information about cultural practices (e.g., what food
students do or do not eat, or whether people like to gather together in
public places to talk). Another source of cultural practices is a commu-
nity event, including church services, festivals, and the grand opening
of a facility. During the event, teachers pay attention to what is on dis-
play (e.g., flowers, slogans, religious statues), what people eat and wear,
and how people communicate with one another (e.g., using gesture and
words vs. using mostly words). Finally, when teachers become familiar
with a student’s cultural practices and when the teacher’s presence in
the student’s community has won some trust from the student’s family,
it is time to schedule a home visit with the family. The focus of this visit
is on observing the presence of print materials, a place for study, and the
communicative style between family members and their child.

Learning from People Familiar with the Culture

Although it is ideal to gain information about an ELL’s native culture
from a primary source, this way is not always available to every teacher.
When family members and other community members speak little or
no English, teachers can try to gather information from people who are
Name of Language School year Name Phone
English the child I have the of contact number
language speaks child person or e-mail
learner address
Thi Dy Vietnamese 2004–2005 Le Dy 123-4567
Kevin Tran 765-4321

FIGURE 2.1. A contact list.

From Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners Pre-K–2 by Diane M. Barone and
Shelley Hong Xu. Copyright 2008 by The Guilford Press. Permission to photocopy this
figure is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for
details).
34
 Working with Families 35

nonnative to that culture but familiar with it. Such people may include
those who have studied the culture or who have visited or stayed in the
native country for a sustained period of time. In addition, such people
can share their experience of learning about the native culture. Their
perspective can be helpful for a teacher’s understanding of the native
culture.

Learning from the Media

Teachers can gain knowledge of student culture through books, Internet

resources, newspapers, and TV. But teachers must be aware of possible
biases and stereotypes embedded in these secondary sources. The biases
and stereotypes teachers bring to class, which can be reflected in how
they teach, could have a detrimental effect on children’s school learning.
When teachers have a question about one particular culture, they need
to make sure to check with people native to or familiar with that partic-
ular culture and compare information gained from multiple sources
(i.e., primary and secondary sources).

TAKE A MOMENT
Think about the ELLs from last year’s class. How did you learn
about their culture? Now that you have learned some ways to
gain knowledge about ELLs’ culture, what plans do you have to
gain this knowledge this year?

Learning about ELLs’ Language

It makes sense for teachers to become familiar with ELLs’ native culture
in order to work effectively with families. By contrast, a relationship be-
tween teacher knowledge of a native language and effective school–
community partnerships seem far fetched. We, however, strongly argue
that only when teachers have some knowledge of a native language can
they recognize native literacy knowledge, skills, and strategies that can
be transferred to children’s learning English. This knowledge allows
them to take into consideration the areas that might be difficult or con-
fusing to ELLs in lesson planning. Consequently, teachers can do a
better job communicating with families about ELLs’ literacy strengths
and needs and about suggesting to families some ways to support their
36 Chapter 2

children’s literacy development in a native language and in English.

Teachers’ sincere efforts to learn about a student’s native language send
a clear message to families of ELLs that teachers do care about the well-
being of their children.
While all languages have phonological, syntactic, semantic, and
pragmatic systems, the characteristics of each system vary, to a greater
extent, from language to language. In the section that follows, we
briefly list some examples of differences between a native language and
English in the areas of writing system, concepts about print, phonology,
semantics, syntax, and pragmatics.

Writing Systems
English, like many Western languages (e.g., Spanish, French, German,
Italian), uses alphabetic letters to represent sounds. Other non-Western
languages (e.g., Vietnamese, Thai, Korean) also use an alphabetic writ-
ing system. The alphabetic letters, however, look different from those
used in most Western languages. For example, the word book is written
as in Korean. In a nonalphabetic language, symbols (e.g., charac-
ters) rather than alphabetic letters are used to represent sounds. For ex-
ample, the word book is written as (a traditional version) or
(a simplified version) in Chinese. The word book is in Japanese, a
unique language which uses both Chinese characters and a Japanese al-
phabetic system. For example, the word ( eat) is a Japanese
equivalent, in which is a Chinese character, and is from
the Japanese writing system. With knowledge of the writing system of
a native language, teachers would understand that an ELL whose na-
tive language is an alphabetic language would probably grasp the con-
cept of the alphabetic principle (i.e., the letter–sound relationship) in
English better than another ELL whose native language is nonalpha-
betic. Teachers thus know why another ELL struggles with the con-
cept and can accordingly come up with responsive assistance for that
child.

Concepts about Print

Concepts about print (book orientation, print directionality, punctua-
tion marks, and book terminology) in English are common among
Western languages. Other languages, alphabetic or nonalphabetic, have
 Working with Families 37

their unique concepts about print particularly with regard to book ori-
entation and print directionality. For example, readers of Hebrew, Chi-
nese (used in Taiwan and Hong Kong), or Japanese open a book from
what is called a back cover in English concepts about print. While most
books written in Chinese (used in Mainland China) follow the concepts
about print in English, some books do not. Print directionality of arti-
cles in Chinese newspapers varies depending on space availability. For
example, a limited space only allows for an article to be arranged in a
way that it is read vertically from left to right or from right to left. ELLs
of some native languages may also experience difficulty with punctua-
tion marks in English. For example, a Spanish ELL may tend to put a
question mark at the beginning and end of an English interrogative sen-
tence as he or she does in Spanish. A Chinese ELL may put a tiny circle
° (a period symbol in Chinese) instead of a solid dot at the end of a sen-
tence. Knowing the differences in concepts about print between a native
language and English can help teachers identify sources of ELLs’ confu-
sion about English concepts about print and focus teaching on clarify-
ing such confusion.

Phonology
The characteristics of phonology (the sound system) in each language
vary greatly. First of all, not every sound in one language exists in an-
other language, and ELLs’ unfamiliarity with new sounds in English is
often a source of struggle and difficulty. For example, Spanish-speaking
ELLs often cannot distinguish between /sh/ and /ch/, saying chair for
share, and vice versa. The sound /th/, a common sound in English
which does not exist in many Asian languages, poses a challenge for
ELLs who speak an Asian language.
Another area of the English phonology difficult for ELLs to master
is phonemic awareness. Words in all languages cannot be broken down
or analyzed at the phoneme level like English words (except for the
words I and a). Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese, for example, are syl-
labic languages with a syllable as a smallest unit as opposed to a pho-
neme as a smallest unit in English. Thus any concepts of phonemic
awareness and activities focusing on these concepts pose difficulty for
ELLs who speak Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese. Even for ELLs who
speak a native language that can be analyzed at the phoneme level,
some phonemic awareness concepts can be hard to understand. For ex-
38 Chapter 2

ample, it will take a Korean-speaking ELL longer to understand the con-

cept of beginning, middle, and end sound in the word book. Although
Korean words are composed of phonemes, letters representing pho-
nemes are not put together horizontally as in English—for the word
book, it is in Korean.
Another source of difficulty for ELLs is the letter–sound relation-
ship in English. Not every letter in an English word has its correspond-
ing sound. A simple example is the word book, whose oo letters only
produce one sound, /û/. This is not the case for many languages. Both
consonant digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ph, and gh) and vowel digraphs (e.g.,
oo, ou, oa, and aw), and silent letters (e.g., e in cake, gh in light, and g in
sign) in English can be hard for ELLs to master. Teachers need to find
out if the concept of digraphs and silent letters exists in an ELL’s native
language in order to help ELLs master these sounds in English.

Semantics

In English semantics (the meaning system), vocabulary is a major

source of difficulty due to the characteristics of multiple meanings. A
closer look at the dictionary entry for the common word run would re-
veal at least 20 definitions for it as a verb and at least a dozen definitions
for it as a noun. Not all languages have words with multiple meanings.
In addition, the concept of homographs and homophones can be very
unfamiliar to ELLs. This is true for English idiomatic expressions (e.g.,
raining cats and dogs, pain in the neck, easy as pie, and a piece of cake).
While idiomatic expressions are not a unique characteristic of the Eng-
lish language, it is the relationship between the expression and its figu-
rative meaning that does not make sense to ELLs. For example, why
does the expression easy as pie have something to do with describing
the ease of doing something? Making a pie, after all, is not an easy task
to many of us. Some ELLs may feel that the idiomatic expressions in
their native language make better sense. For example, the equivalent for
easy as pie is easy as peeling a banana in Thai, and easy as turning your
hand in Chinese. Multiple meanings of a word, homophones and homo-
graphs, and idiomatic expressions are the key areas in semantics in
which differences between a native language and English exist. When
teachers have noted these differences, responsive teaching becomes pos-
sible.
 Working with Families 39

Syntax

Syntax (the structural system) in English is at the word level and the
sentence level. At the word level, syntax includes word structure—base
words and affixes (prefixes and suffixes). In English, many words have
a prefix and/or suffix, a syntactic characteristic that is not common in
every language, in particular, a non-Western language. For example, the
plural suffixes (-s, and -es) do not exist in Chinese, Japanese, and Viet-
namese, among other languages. Instead, plurals are reflected in the
number or quantity. The phrase two books in English is two piece (a
quantity word, like piece in a piece of cake, school in a school of fish) of
book in Chinese. Even with Spanish, the use of affixes is not as exten-
sive as in English.
At the sentence level, English has a set of rules regarding different
types of sentences—a simple, compound, and complex sentence, a
statement, a question, and a command. A statement in English, for ex-
ample, must have a subject and a predicate (a verb and an object) in this
order (e.g., “I go to school every day”). A statement in other languages,
such as Korean and Japanese, has a subject, an object, and a verb (e.g.,
“I to school go every day”). Verb tense is hard for ELLs of many native
languages whose verbs do not change in response to time changes. For
example, in Chinese and Khmer, all the tenses are reflected in a time
phrase. The sentence I went to school yesterday in English is I go to school
yesterday in Chinese and Khmer. The verb go is not changed for any
tense; the future tense of this sentence in Chinese and Khmer is I go to
school tomorrow. In a similar way, a verb in Japanese does not change
based on a tense. Instead, a word indicating a tense is added after a
verb. is added to a verb to indicate a past tense, and is
added to a verb for a present progressive tense.
In addition, articles (the, a, and an), which do not exist in some na-
tive languages, and many Asian languages in particular (e.g., Chinese,
Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese), are hard for many ELLs to under-
stand and grasp. The difference in usage between the and a is even
harder. Another source of difficulty is adding an auxiliary verb (e.g., do,
does, will, and would) to a sentence when it is changed from a statement
to an interrogative (e.g., “Maria likes reading.” “Does Maria like read-
ing?”). Third-person singular present verb tense, which is unique in
English, is another problematic area for ELLs.
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 France near Port l’Orient October 1, 1746
Cherbourg August 7, 1758
St. Malo September, 1758
Ostend May, 1798
Zuyder Zee September, 1799
Egypt March, 1801
Copenhagen September, 1807
Walcheren July, 1809
Bergen-op-Zoom March, 1814

EYLAU, BATTLE OF.—Fought, February 8th, 1807, between the

French and Russians.—It was one of the most terrible and bloody in
Napoleon’s wars. Napoleon lost 15,000 men, and the Russians
20,000, in slain alone. Both armies were dreadfully crippled by this
battle, and both had to retire.
 F.

FALCZI, PEACE OF.—This celebrated peace was concluded between

Russia and Turkey, July 2nd, 1711,—the Russians giving up Azof and
all their possessions on the Black Sea to the Turks. In the following
year the war was renewed, and at last terminated in the peace of
Constantinople, April 16th, 1712.
FALKIRK, BATTLE OF.—First battle fought between Edward I of
England, and the Scots under William Wallace, July 22nd, 1298; and
the second between the King’s forces and Prince Charles Stuart, the
Pretender, January 18th, 1746. Both are described in the following
extracts:
“Edward had been in Scotland for about a month. He had
advanced as far as Kirkliston, ten miles west of Edinburgh.
Symptoms of mutiny began to appear among his hungry soldiers. He
was compelled to give orders for a retreat to Edinburgh, meaning to
wait there till his fleet, laden with provisions, should arrive at Leith,
and then to advance again.
Things stood thus, when two scoundrels, the Earl of Dunbar and
the Earl of Angus, came at daybreak into the camp of the English,
and gave information that Wallace lay in the forest of Falkirk,
intending to attack the English in their quarters that very night.
Edward was filled with joy at the tidings. “Thanks be to God,” he
cried, “who hath hitherto delivered me from every danger! They
shall not need to follow me, for I shall instantly go and meet them.”
In an hour’s time he had his army in motion for the west. That
night they encamped on a moor near Linlithgow. Each man slept in
his armour, each war-horse was kept ready bridled beside its rider.
The king himself slept on the bare ground, like the meanest soldier
in his army. In the middle of the night the sleeping king received a
kick from his own charger, by which two of his ribs were broken. As
soon as morning dawned the march was resumed. The king,
wounded as he was, was among the first to mount.
Passing through the town of Linlithgow, they continued their
march, and gained a rising ground at some distance beyond. There
they halted, and the fighting Bishop of Durham said mass. While the
ceremony was performing the sun rose, and his rays, glancing upon
the array of spears, showed them the Scottish army taking their
ground on the slope of a small hill not far from Falkirk. Wallace
arranged his battle thus: His main force lay in his infantry, who
fought with long spears, and carried short daggers and axes for
close battle slung at the girdle. They were divided into four circular
masses, or schiltrons, as they were called in the military language of
the time. In these circles the spearmen stood compactly together,
with their long spears stretched out, and forming a ring of steel. The
spaces between circle and circle were occupied by the archers, tall
yeomen from the forests of Selkirk and Ettrick. The cavalry,
amounting to 1000 heavy armed horse, were placed in the rear.
Among them were most of the nobles who had joined Wallace; but
the jealousy which these proud barons felt towards him, and their
selfish fear of losing their estates, made them less than half-hearted
in the cause.
The English came on in three divisions, each division as strong as
the whole Scottish army. At the first clash of spears the entire body
of the Scottish cavalry, led by the traitor lords, turned bridle, and
rode off the field without a blow given or taken. While the battle
raged against the circles of spearmen, the English horse charged the
Scottish archers. The brave foresters stood firm to meet the rush of
7000 of the finest cavalry ever present on a stricken field. But what
could they, lightly armed as they were, do against mailed horse and
steel-clad knights? They defended themselves so bravely with their
short daggers that the very enemy admired them. But they died
there to a man. After the battle the conquerors remarked their tall
and handsome forms as they lay dead on the ground they had kept
so well.
 The four circles of the Scottish spearmen remained yet entire,
standing up like a wall, with their spears, point over point, so thick
and close together that no living man could pierce through. But the
cloth-yard arrows from the great bows of England fell thick and
deadly among them. The columns of archers advanced near and
discharged their shafts in perfect security, the Scots having neither
cavalry to scatter them by a charge, nor archers to reply to them.
Drawing their arrows to the head, they shot with all their force into
the circles, and quickly breached the living walls. Through the gaps
made by the archers the English cavalry charged, and having once
broken in made a dreadful slaughter. The battle was lost. One duty
alone remained to the Scottish leader, and that was to save the
remainder of his army from destruction by a retreat. Well and
soldierly he did it. Retiring slowly, and himself with his best knights
defending the rear, he was able to draw off the broken remains of
his circles, and to gain the shelter of Torwood forest.”
Second Battle.—“Being joined by Lord Drummond, Prince Charles
invested the castle of Stirling, commanded by General Blakeney; but
the rebel forces, being unused to sieges, consumed much time to no
purpose. It was during this attempt that General Hawley, who
commanded a considerable body of forces near Edinburgh,
undertook to raise the siege, and advanced towards the rebel army
as far as Falkirk. After two days spent in mutually examining each
other’s strength, the rebels being ardent to engage, were led on, in
full spirits, to attack the King’s army. The Pretender, who was in the
front line, gave the signal to engage, and the first fire put Hawley’s
forces into confusion. The horse retreated with precipitation, and fell
upon their own infantry; while the rebels, following up the blow, the
greatest part of the royal army fled with the utmost precipitation.
They retired in confusion to Edinburgh, leaving the conquerors in
possession of their tents, their artillery, and the field of battle.”
FEROZESHAH, BATTLE OF.—India.—Between the Sikhs and British.
The British attacked the entrenchments of the Sikhs, and carried by
storm the first line of works, December 21st, 1845. Night coming on
the operations were suspended till day-break next day, and their
second line was carried and their guns captured; the Sikhs advanced
to recapture the guns but were repulsed with great loss, and
retreated towards the Sutlej, December 22nd, and re-crossed the
river unmolested, December 27th.
FERROL, BRITISH EXPEDITION TO.—Upwards of 10,000 British
landed, August, 1800, near Ferrol, commanded by Sir James
Pulteney. Despairing of success, though they had gained the heights,
they re-embarked and returned to England, by order of the General,
and in opposition to the wishes and advice of his officers.
FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD.—Henry VIII embarked at
Windsor to meet Francis I of France, at Ardres, May 31st, 1520. So
much magnificence was displayed on the occasion, that the field
received that name, by which it is now always known in history.
FIRE SHIPS.—Used first in the 16th century. The first use of them,
in the English navy, was by Lord Effingham, in the engagement of
the Armada, July, 1588.
FLAG.—Acquired its present form in the 6th century, in Spain;
introduced, it is said, by the Saracens.
FLAT BUSH, BATTLE OF.—Long Island, America.—Fought August
27th, 1776, between the British forces and American colonists, when
the latter, after a desperate engagement, were compelled to retire,
with the loss of 2000 men killed, and 1000 prisoners.
FLEURIS, BATTLE OF.—Fought, June, 17th, 1794, between the
Allies, under the Prince of Cobourg, and the French revolutionary
army, commanded by Marshal Jourdan. The Allies had 100,000 men,
and having met the enemy on the plains of Fleuris, were signally
defeated. Between 8000 and 10,000 were killed, wounded and taken
prisoners, and Jourdan was able to form a junction with the French
armies of the Moselle—the Ardennes and the north. In this
memorable battle, the French made use of a balloon to reconnoitre
the enemy’s army—an experiment which it is said very materially
tended to their gaining the victory.
FLODDEN.—Fought on the 9th September, 1513, between the
English and Scots. Underneath is a graphic account of the most
disastrous battle that ever befell the Scottish arms.
“On the 22nd of August, 1513, James IV of Scotland, at the head
of a gallant army, crossed the Tweed, for the purpose of revenging
some injuries which he conceived himself to have received at the
hands of the King of England, who was then pursuing hostilities in
France. Immediately on his crossing that river, he laid siege to the
castles of Etel and Ford, and spent much precious time in
endeavouring to reduce those fortresses.
Whilst such was the course pursued by the King, the Earl of
Surrey concentrating the strength of the northern counties, soon
raised an army of 26,000 men; and marching through Durham,
received there the sacred banner of St. Cuthbert. He was soon after
joined by Lord Dacre, Sir William Bulmer, Sir Marmaduke Constable,
and other northern Barons; and on proceeding to Alnwick, was met
by his son, Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Admiral of England, with a
reinforcement of 5000 men. On advancing with this united force,
Surrey dispatched Rouge Croix Herald to carry his challenge to the
King of Scots, which was couched in the usual stately terms of
feudal defiance. It reproached him with having broken his faith and
league, which had been solemnly pledged to the King of England, in
thus invading his dominions—and offered him battle on the
succeeding Friday, if he would be content to remain so long in
England and accept it. Lord Thomas Howard added a message,
informing the King, that, as High Admiral, and one who had borne a
personal share in the action against Andrew Barton, he was now
ready to justify the death of that pirate, for which purpose he would
lead the vanguard, where his enemies, from whom he expected as
little mercy as he meant to grant them, would be sure to find him.
To this challenge, James instantly replied, that “he desired nothing
more earnestly than the encounter, and he would abide the battle on
the day appointed.” As to the rude accusation of broken honour
which had been brought against him, he desired his herald to carry a
broad denial of the statement. “Our bond and promise,” he
observed, “was to remain true to our royal brother, so long as he
maintained his faith with us. This he was the first to break; we have
desired redress, and have been denied it; we have warned him of
our intended hostility—a courtesy which he has refused to us; and
this is our just quarrel, which, with the grace of God, we shall
defend.” These mutual messages passed on the 4th of September;
and on the day appointed, Surrey advanced against the enemy. By
this time, the distress for provisions, the incessant rains, and the
obstinacy of the King in waiting upon his pleasures, and his
observation of the punctilios of chivalry, the hours which might have
been spent in active warfare, had created dissatisfaction in the
soldiers, many of whom deserted, with the booty they had already
collected; so that in a short time the army was much diminished in
numbers. To accept the challenge of his adversary, and permit him
to appoint a day for the encounter, was contrary to the advice of his
best councillors; and he might have recollected, that in
circumstances almost similar, two great masters in war, Douglas and
Randolph, had treated a parallel proposal of Edward III with a
sarcastic refusal. He had the sagacity, however, to change his first
encampment for a stronger position on the hill of Flodden, one of
the last and lowest eminences which detach themselves from the
range of the Cheviots; a ground skillfully chosen, inaccessible on
both flanks, and defended in front by the river Till, a deep sluggish
stream, which ran between the armies.
On advancing and reconnoitering the spot, Surrey, who despaired
of being able to attack the Scots without exposing himself to the
probability of defeat, again sent a herald to request the King to
descend from the eminence into the plain. He complained,
somewhat unreasonably, that James had “putte himself into a
ground more like a fortress or a camp, than any indifferent field for
battle to be taxed;” but James would not even admit the messenger
into his presence. So far all had succeeded and nothing was required
on the part of the King but patience. He had chosen an impregnable
position, had fulfilled his agreement by abiding the attack of the
enemy; and such was the distress of Surrey’s army in a wasted
country, that to keep it longer together was impossible. He
attempted, therefore, a decisive measure, which would have
appeared desperate, unless he had reckoned upon the carelessness
and inexperience of his opponent. Passing the Till on the 8th of
September, he proceeded on its east side to Barmoor wood, two
miles distant from the Scottish position, where he encamped for the
night. His march was concealed from the enemy by an eminence on
the east of Ford; but the manœuvre being executed without
observation or interruption, evinces a shameful negligence in the
Scottish commanders. Early on the morning of the 9th, he marched
from Barmoor wood in a north-westerly direction; and then turning
suddenly to the eastward, crossed the Till with his vanguard and
artillery at Twisel bridge, not far from the confluence of the Till and
the Tweed—whilst the rear division, under Surrey in person, passed
the river at a ford. Whilst these movements were taking place the
Scottish King remained unaccountably passive. His veteran officers
remonstrated. They showed him, that if he advanced against Surrey,
when the enemy were defiling over the bridge with their vanguard
separated from the rear, there was every chance of destroying them
in detail, and gaining an easy victory. The Earl of Angus, whose age
and experience gave great weight to his advice, implored him either
to assault the English, or to change his position by a retreat, ere it
was too late; but his prudent counsel was only received by a cruel
taunt. “Angus,” said the King, “if you are afraid, you may go home;”
a reproach which the spirit of the old Baron could not brook. “My
age,” said he, “renders my body of no service, and my counsel is
despised; but I leave my two sons and the vassals of Douglas in the
field; may the result be glorious, and Angus’s foreboding
unfounded!”
The army of Surrey was still marching across the bridge, when
Borthwick, the master of the artillery, fell on his knees before the
King, and solicited permission to bring his guns to bear upon the
columns, which might then be done with the most destructive effect;
but James commanded him to desist on peril of his head, declaring
that he would meet his antagonist on equal terms in a plain field,
and scorned to avail himself of such an advantage. The counsel of
Huntly was equally ineffectual; the remonstrance of Lord Lindsay of
the Byres was received by James with such vehement indignation,
that he threatened on his return to hang him up at his own gate.
Time ran on amidst these useless altercations, and the opportunity
was soon irrecoverable. The last divisions of Surrey’s force had
disentangled themselves from the narrow bridge; the rear had
passed the ford; and the Earl, marshalling his army with the leisure
his enemy allowed him, placed his entire line between James and his
own country. He was thus enabled, by an easy and gradual ascent,
which led to Flodden, to march upon the rear of the enemy; and
without losing his advantage for a moment, he advanced against
them in full array, his army being divided into two battles, and each
battle having two wings. On becoming aware of this, the King set
fire to the temporary huts and booths of his encampment, and
descended the hill, with the object of occupying the eminence on
which the village of Brankston is built. His army was divided into five
battles, some of which had assumed the form of squares, some of
wedges; and all were drawn up in line, about a bow-shot distant
from each other. Their march was conducted in complete silence;
and the clouds of smoke which arose from the burning camp, being
driven in the face of the enemy, mutually concealed the armies; so
that when the breeze freshened, and the misty curtain was
withdrawn, the two hosts discovered that they were within a quarter
of a mile of each other. The arrangement of both armies was simple.
The van of the English, which consisted of 10,000 men, divided into
a centre and two wings, was led by Lord Thomas Howard; the right
wing being intrusted to his brother, Sir Edmund, and the left to Sir
Marmaduke Constable. In the main centre of his host Surrey himself
commanded; the charge of the rear was given to Sir Edward
Stanley; and a strong body of horse, under Lord Dacre, formed a
reserve. Upon the part of the Scots, the Earls of Home and Huntly
led the advance; the King, the centre; and the Earls of Lennox and
Argyle, the rear; near which was the reserve, consisting of the
flower of the Lothians, commanded by the Earl of Bothwell. The
battle commenced at four in the afternoon, by a furious charge of
Huntly and Home upon the portion of the English advance under Sir
Edmund Howard; which, after some resistance, was thrown into
confusion, and totally routed. Howard’s banner was beaten down;
and he himself escaped with difficulty. Lord Thomas Howard,
dreading the consequences of a defeat, dispatched a messenger to
his father, Lord Surrey, entreating him to extend his line with all
speed, and strengthen the van by drawing up a part of the centre on
its left. The manœuvre was judicious, but it would have required too
long a time to execute; and at this critical moment, Lord Dacre
galloped forward with his cavalry to the support of his advance.
Nothing could have been more timely than this assistance; he not
only checked the career of the Scottish Earls, but drove back the
division of Huntly with great slaughter; whilst Home’s men,
imagining they had already gained the victory, began to disperse and
pillage. Dacre and the Admiral then turned their attack against
another portion of the Scottish advance, led by the Earls of Crawford
and Montrose, who met them with levelled spears, and resolutely
withstood the charge. Whilst such was the state of things on the
right, a desperate contest was carried on between James and the
Earl of Surrey in the centre. In his ardour, the King forgot that the
duties of a commander were distinct from the indiscriminate valour
of a knight: he placed himself in the front of his lances and billmen,
surrounded by his nobles, who, whilst they pitied the gallant
weakness of such conduct, disdained to leave their sovereign
unsupported. The first consequence of this was so furious a charge
upon the English centre, that its ranks were broken, and for a while
the standard of the Earl of Surrey was in danger; but by this time
Lord Dacre and the Admiral had been successful in defeating the
division led by Crawford and Montrose, and wheeling towards the
left, they turned their whole strength against the flank of the
Scottish centre, which wavered under the shock, till the Earl of
Bothwell came up with the reserve, and restored the day in this
quarter. On the right, the divisions led by the Earls of Lennox and
Argyle were composed chiefly of the Highlanders and Isle-men, the
Campbells, Macleans, Macleods, and other hardy clans, who were
dreadfully galled by the discharge of the English archers. Unable to
reach the enemy with their broadswords and axes, which formed
their only weapons, and not very amenable to discipline, their
squadrons began to rush fiercely forward, eager for closer fight, and
thoughtless of the fatal consequences of breaking their array. It was
to little purpose that La Motte and the French officers with him
attempted by entreaties and blows to restrain them; they neither
understood their language nor cared for their violence, but threw
themselves sword in hand upon the English. The squares of English
pikemen stood to their ground; and though for a moment the shock
of the mountaineers was terrible, its force once sustained, became
spent with its own violence, and nothing remained but a
disorganisation so complete that to recover their ranks was
impossible. The consequence was, a total rout of the right wing of
the Scots, accompanied by a dreadful slaughter, in which the Earls of
Lennox and Argyle were slain. Yet, notwithstanding this defeat on
the right, the centre, under the King, still maintained an obstinate
and dubious conflict with the Earl of Surrey. No quarter was given on
either side; and the combatants were disputing every inch of
ground, when Stanley, without losing his time in pursuit of the
Highlanders, drew back his division and impetuously charged the
rear of the Scottish centre. It was now late in the evening, and this
movement was decisive. Pressed on the flank by Dacre and the
Admiral—opposed in front by Surrey, and now attacked in the rear
by Stanley, the King’s battle fought with fearful odds against it; but
James continued by his voice and his gestures to animate his
soldiers, till he fell pierced with an arrow, and mortally wounded in
the head by a bill, within a few paces of the English Earl, his
antagonist. The death of their sovereign seemed only to animate the
fury of the Scottish Nobles, who threw themselves into a circle round
the body, and defended it till darkness separated the combatants. At
this time Surrey was uncertain of the result of the battle; the
remains of the enemy’s centre still held the field; Home with his
borderers hovered on the left; and the commander allowed neither
pursuit nor plunder, but kept a strict watch during the night. When
the morning broke, the Scottish artillery were seen standing
deserted on the side of the hill, their defenders had disappeared;
and the Earl ordered thanks to be given for a victory which was no
longer doubtful.
The loss of the Scots, in this fatal battle, amounted to about
10,000 men. Of these a great proportion were of high rank; the
remainder being composed of the gentry, the farmers and landed
yeomanry, who disdained to fly when their sovereign and his nobles
lay stretched in heaps around them. Among the slain were thirteen
Earls—the King’s natural son, the Archbishop of St. Andrews—the
Bishops of Caithness and the Isles—the Abbots of Inchaffray and
Kilwinning—and the Dean of Glasgow; besides fifteen Lords and
chiefs of clans. The body of James was found on the morrow
amongst the thickest of the slain, and recognised by Lord Dacre,
although much disfigured by wounds. It was carried to Berwick, and
ultimately interred at Richmond.”
FONTAINBLEAU, PEACE OF.—Concluded between France and
Denmark, in 1670. Treaty of ditto between the Emperor of Germany
and Holland, signed November 8th, 1785. Second Treaty of ditto,
between Napoleon and the Royal Family of Spain, October 27th,
1807. Concordat of ditto, between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII,
January 25th, 1813. Entered by the Austrians, February 17th, 1814.
Napoleon here resigned his imperial dignity, and bade farewell to his
army, April 5th, 1814.
FONTENOY.—Fought, April 30th, 1745,—according to others, May
11th, 1745—between the French, commanded by Count Saxe, and
the English, Hanoverians, Dutch, and Austrians, commanded by the
Duke of Cumberland. “The French entered upon the war with great
alacrity. They besieged Fribourg, and in the beginning of the
succeeding campaign invested the strong city of Tourney. Although
the Allies were inferior in number, and although commanded by the
Duke of Cumberland, yet, they resolved, if possible, to save the city
by hazarding a battle. They accordingly marched against the enemy,
and took post in sight of the French, who were encamped on an
eminence, the village of St. Antoine on the right, a wood on the left,
and the town of Fontenoy before them. This advantageous situation
did not repress the ardour of the English, who began the attack at
two o’clock in the morning, and pressing forward, bore down all
opposition. They were for nearly an hour victorious, and confident of
success, while Saxe, a soldier of fortune, who commanded the
French army, was at that time sick of the same disorder of which he
afterwards died. However, he was carried about to all the posts in a
litter, and assured his attendants that, notwithstanding all
unfavourable appearances, the day was his own. A column of the
English, without any command, but by mere mechanical courage,
had advanced upon the enemy’s lines, which, opening, formed an
avenue on each side to receive them. It was then that the French
artillery on the three sides began to play on this forlorn body, which,
though they continued for a long time unshaken, were obliged at
last to retreat. This was one of the most bloody battles that had
been fought in this age; the Allies left on the field 12,000 men, and
the French bought their victory with nearly an equal number of
slain.”
FORT DU QUESNE.—United States.—Famous in the French war of
Canada with the English. The following extract well describes the
expedition:
“Braddock, who had been recommended to this service by the
Duke of Cumberland, set forward upon this expedition in June, and
left the cultivated parts of the country on the 10th, at the head of
2200 men, directing his march to that part of the country whence
Major Washington had retreated the year before. Being at length
within ten miles of the French fortress he was appointed to besiege,
and marching forward through the forest with full confidence of
success, on a sudden his whole army was astonished by a general
discharge of arms, both in front and flank, from an enemy that still
remained unseen. It was now too late to think of retreating; the
troops had passed into the defile which the enemy had artfully
permitted them to do before they offered to fire. The vanguard of
the English therefore, fell back in consternation upon the main body,
and the panic soon became general. The officers alone disdained to
fly, while Braddock himself still continued to command his brave
associates, discovering at once the greatest intrepidity and
imprudence. An enthusiast to the discipline of war, he disdained to
fly from the field, or to permit his men to quit their ranks, when their
only method of treating the Indian army was by precipitate attack,
or an immediate desertion of the field of battle. At length Braddock,
having received a musket shot through the lungs, dropped, and a
total confusion ensued. All the artillery, ammunition, and baggage of
the army was left to the enemy, and the loss sustained by the
English amounted to 700 men. The remnant of the army, in this
emergency, was saved by the courage and ability of Washington,
who first here appears conspicuously on the theatre of this world’s
great events.”
FORT ERIE.—Canada.—This fortress was taken by the American
General Brown, July 3rd, 1814. Defended by only 170 men, no
wonder it yielded to the Americans with 4000 strong. On the 15th
August, General Drummond tried to retake it, but failed. September
17th the besieged made a sortie but were driven back, each side
losing 600 men. Evacuated by the Americans, who blew up to the
fort November 5th, 1814.
FORT NIAGARA.—Canada.—Captured by Sir William Johnston. In
the war of 1813 it was surprised and captured by the Canadians.
FREDERECKSHALL.—Rendered memorable by the death of Charles
XII of Sweden, who was killed by a cannon ball before its walls, and
while in the trenches leaning against the parapet examining the
works. He was found in that position with his hand on his sword and
a prayer book in his pocket.—December 11th, 1718. It is now
generally believed that some traitor shot the King with a pistol.
FRENCHTOWN.—Canada.—This town was taken from the British
by the American General Winchester, January 22nd, 1813. Retaken
by the British forces under General Proctor immediately afterwards,
when the American commander and the whole of his troops were
made prisoners of war.
FRIEDLAND, BATTLE OF.—Fought, June 14th, 1807, between the
allied Russian and Prussian armies on the one side and the French,
commanded by Napoleon in person, who signally defeated them,
with the lose of eighty pieces of ordnance and 50,000 men. This
victory led to the peace of Tilsit.
FUENTES DE ONORE, BATTLE OF.—Napier thus describes this
great battle: “On May 2nd, 1811, Messina crossed the Agueda with
40,000 infantry, 5000 cavalry, and about thirty pieces of artillery, to
relieve Almeida. He expected every day to be superseded in his
command, and he wished to make a last effort for his own military
character. Wellington could muster no more than 32,000 men, of
which force only 1200 were cavalry. He, however, determined to
fight rather than give up the blockade of Almeida; after much
fighting night came on and put an end to the battle. Next day
Messina was joined by Bessières, with a body of the Imperial Guard,
and on the 5th the enemy made the grand attack. The battle raged
throughout a vast plain, and in all the Peninsular War there was
never so dangerous an hour for England. The fight lasted till
evening, when the lower part of the town was abandoned by both
sides—the British keeping the chapel and crags, and the French
retiring a cannon shot from the stream.” Fought, May 5th, 1811.
 G.

GALWAY.—Ireland.—In 1690, Galway declared for King James, but

it was invested and taken by General Ginckel, immediately after the
memorable battle of Aughrim, July 12th, 1691.
GENERAL.—This rank has been given to commanders from very
remote antiquity. In the French army, Montmorency was the first
officer who was so called, in 1203. Cardinal Richelieu was the first
who took the title Generalissimo, having coined the word when he
assumed supreme command of the French armies in Italy, in 1629.
GENOA.—Bombarded by the French, in 1684, and by the British, in
1688 and 1745. Taken by the Imperialists, December 8th, 1746.
Sustained a siege from the British fleet and Austrian army, when it
capitulated, May, 1800. Surrendered to the French, after the battle
of Marengo. Next surrendered to the combined English and Sicilian
armies, April 8th, 1814, but was transferred to the Kingdom of
Sardinia, in 1826. The city seized by insurgents, who, after a
murderous struggle, drove out the garrison, and proclaimed a
Republic, April, 1850, but in the end the insurgents surrendered to
General Marmora.
GERMANIC CONFEDERATION.—When Napoleon determined that
the German or Holy Roman Empire should no longer exist, but that a
Confederation of States should be in its stead, the proposal was
adopted by the Allied Sovereigns, in 1815, which has continued ever
since.
GETTYSBURG.—United States.—This battle was fought between
the Confederates of the Southern States, and the Northern army.
General Lee was defeated by the United States’ troops. This battle
immediately followed the surrender of Vicksburg to General Grant.
Fought on the 4th July, 1863.
GHENT.—Taken by the Duke of Marlborough, in 1706. Several
times taken and retaken during the Napoleon wars. The peace of
Ghent, between Great Britain and America, signed here, December
24th, 1814.
GHIZNEE, BATTLE OF.—The British, under Sir John Keane,
attacked this place, and having blown up the gates, forced their way
into the city, and succeeded in fixing the British colors on the towers,
July 23rd, 1839. Ghiznee capitulated to the Affghans, March 1st,
1842. The following account gives the items of General Nott’s
entering it, September 7th, 1842:
“Ghiznee is situated on the base of a hill, which supports its rear or
main post, and commands a most extensive plain, and it is in the
midst of a rich, fertile country; it has ever held the most noble rank
as a capital, and is capable of being rendered one of the most
important fortifications in the Eastern nations; its adjacent hills are
great, and border on Dora and Bameean; it covers the routes of the
latter, as well as Loghar and Cabool; near the low hills which
command the city, are several cemeteries, and ancient buildings; at
a short distance is Rozah, in which stands the great sepulchre, and
shrine of Mahmood, the once famed Emperor of Ghiznee; and of
whom “Dow” speaks so much in his History of Hindostan.
The fortress in itself is of great importance; the town is walled
round, and contains several thousand houses; the former principally
of stone, and the latter of mud. It is surrounded by a deep trench;
the main entrance, being the one blown up by Sir John Keane, is in
ruins, and another was made to the right. In the centre of the town
stands the citadel, which had three tiers; the lower one had been
much improved since we possessed it, and a parade ground, or large
square, had been formed, as a park for the ordnance. A river ran
close by, which afforded good water, and rendered it almost
complete. All remained quiet, till within a short distance from them,
fortunately for us, as it enabled us to get up our baggage, and
cattle; close to the rear of the column the road was very difficult,
being over extensive fields of long grass, and the ditches very
numerous and wide, in crossing which the cattle were continually
falling, which greatly delayed us. General Nott directed the Light
Battalion to proceed with the Quarter Master General, to take up an
encampment opposite to Ghiznee, at a place some two and a half
miles from the fortress, known as Sir John Keane’s garden. I
accompanied this body, and as we proceeded, we discovered the
enemy in the citadel, and a great number outside, preparing to
advance. The Quarter Master General ordered a portion of his force
to man a small hill, which commanded their approach, and left it in
charge of Captain Adamson, of the 40th. The General dispatched, in
another direction, the 16th Native Infantry, under Colonel McLaren,
who were met by the enemy, and a smart action took place;
fortunately, however, after having rallied for some time, the corps
managed to get under cover, in a walled garden, about a mile from
the fort, and kept them off in fine style; the Colonel, finding the
enemy so numerous, feared a serious result, as the chances were,
the General could not send him a re-inforcement before the whole of
his ammunition would be expended, and a soldier without
ammunition is not in the most enviable situation. The Quarter Master
General’s party was attacked, but effected a complete mastery over
them, and drove them back. The General, perceiving the situation of
McLaren, dispatched the 3rd Regiment Light Cavalry, and two of
Anderson’s guns, who got up just in time to save them, as they were
getting short of shot; at length came up the General with the main
body; the cavalry made a grand charge after those outside the town,
and we lost a great number of our men, but not before leaving a
greater number of the enemy lying on the field; during all this time
those in possession of the citadel were not idle, but made some
excellent play with their guns from the square I named, as being
situated on the lower part of the citadel; but fortunately for us their
knowledge of the art of gunnery was so shallow that they did little or
no damage with their guns. One of the hills mentioned as adjacent
to the fortress, was called Balloon Hill, from its peculiar form, and
difficulty of ascent; this hill was literally crowded with rebels, and
their colours were planted in every direction; they now began to
emerge from the gates in great numbers, and finding, after the
charge of the cavalry, that they had no chance of overpowering the
front, Shooms-ood-Dien dispatched a large force round, to attack
the rear of our columns. The General had, however, taken the
necessary precaution, and reinforced the rear guard to 3000 men,
with six guns, including the heavy battery. Perceiving the object the
enemy had in view, he let fly a volley of grape to meet them, which
had the desired effect, and left numbers of them dead on the
ground, and the rest immediately made off; the next thing to be
done was to got possession of Balloon Hill. This hill was so situated
that it commanded all around it, and more particularly the square in
the citadel, as it immediately covered it. The General directed the
40th and 16th to proceed at once and take the hill. The order was in
itself easily given; my readers may imagine the position.
The guns from the citadel were in full play, the hill was in
possession of, and covered by several hundreds of the enemy, both
horse and foot; the ascent was considerable, and we were nearly
two miles from it. However, it is not for Britons to look at difficulties
in such a moment, for had we done so we should never have
accomplished it; we set forward, and those in the fortress seeing our
advance, opened a heavy fire upon us, which, Providence be
thanked, showed us that they could not hit their mark, and we
reached the foot of the hill with little loss. Those in possession leapt
for joy, at the apparent opportunity of cutting us off. We commenced
the ascent, throwing out skirmishers in every direction; our fire was
kept up steadily as on a parade, and every ball seemed to find its
desired billet; numbers fell, of course, but not near so many as we
had been anticipating. We were obliged to halt half way to gain
breath, and necessitated to keep up a heavy fire; we again
advanced, and the enemy began to show symptoms of retiring,
which greatly encouraged us, and we made a desperate effort, and
sent a volley into them, charged, and at length they retired; we
followed, and at last gained the summit. They rushed down the
other side, and made off in the direction of Candahar, where they
were met by a brigade sent round by the General for that purpose.
Having gained possession of the hill, those in the citadel began to
pour the fire of artillery into us, but as usual without success, and in
order to get out of sight we were ordered to lie down, that they
might imagine we had evacuated our position; as we lay there, the
balls were fast whistling over us, and the force under the command
of the General was making a clean sweep of all those outside the
walls, which, after he had effected, next repaired to the citadel. It
was, however, found impracticable to storm the fortress that day;
first, because the Sappers and Miners would not have time to
complete their operations; and secondly, in consequence of the
fatigued state of the troops. The 16th was to be left in charge of the
hill, and the 40th were ordered to return to the encampment; this
order was, if anything, even worse than the first, because all being
comparatively quiet, we should, on retiring, be the only targets for
them to fire at, and our utter destruction seemed inevitable; we,
however, had to obey, and as was expected, no sooner did we come
under cover of their guns than they opened a severe fire from all
their pieces, but their firing was always either too far, or too short;
and thus we reached camp in almost safety.
The followers had been all employed in pitching the tents, and the
cooks (natives) had prepared our scanty meal; the 16th were left in
possession of the hill; and the General ordered two guns, either
under Captain Blood or Anderson, to proceed to the top of the hill,
and dislodge them in the citadel, which, after some difficulty, was
effected, and most ably did they accomplish their duty; they soon
put a stop to them, and by their superior arrangement and
management of artillery, disabled nearly all their guns. We had
scarcely got well seated in our tents when we were suddenly
surprised by the whizzing of a ball over the camp, which lodged in
the officer’s mess tent of the 41st; after that came another and
another, and they kept up a fine string of them, aiming most
admirably. We soon discovered that they had a sixty-eight pounder,
which before had remained quiet.
Those shots coming so fast, and lodging just in our midst, doing
considerable damage, although we were nearly two miles from it,
compelled the General to shift camp a mile further off, and we were
at last out of the reach of the bull-dog; they most certainly in this
distance did put us to the rout. This piece was called “Chuppa Jung,”
of Persian manufacture, and as is usual in all the forts of importance
in Asia, was placed in the citadel; and a most powerful piece it was.
The General now began to arrange his plans for storming and
taking the fortress; the engineers were all busily employed in
preparing for the operation; and as the day began to draw to a
close, orders were issued for the troops to be in readiness to move
just before daylight on the morrow. The night at length came on,
and lights were ordered to be extinguished at eight P.M.; and at that
hour all was darkness, and enveloped upwards of 20,000 souls.
All was at length prepared for the attack, and about half an hour
before the day broke, the word was passed from tent to tent, to
form up. Each rose in sadness, and many shook the hand of his
comrade as for the last time; the cattle were dispatched with the
powder, to ensure the explosion, and platforms had been carefully
planted for the heavy battery to commence a breach. The troops
were slowly and silently advanced, and arranged ready to storm
immediately after the gates were blown up; and daybreak was to be
the signal. At length the day dawned, and lo! what was our surprise
when we saw floating on the highest tower the English colors. The
sight relieved each heart as though we had a fortune. The enemy
had during the night evacuated the citadel, having received certain
orders to that effect from Caboul. Colonel McLaren, who had kept
the hill, finding they had left it, took immediate possession, and
placed “The Flag that braved a thousand years” on the highest point.
Thus did Providence prevent the inevitable loss of some hundreds of
our force, and never was a force more agreeably surprised than
those at Ghiznee, on the 6th of September, 1842.”
GIBRALTAR.—A British fortress on the Straits of the same name.
From the circumstance of its immense strength and impregnability,
other great fortresses have also received its name, as Quebec, which
is called the Gibraltar of America. The height of the wall is 1437 feet.
Taken by the Saracens, in 712. In 1462, the King of Castile took the
fortress and town from the Moors; and the English, under Sir George
Brooke, the Prince of Hesse-Denmark, Sir John Leake, and Admiral
Byng, bravely won it, July 24th, 1704. It was surrendered, after a
dreadful cannonade, to the British by the Governor, the Marquis de
Salines, and has ever since continued one of the most brilliant gems
in the coronet of England’s Queen. Long may she reign to wear it.
The following are the different attacks which have been made upon
it since the British took it. On the 11th October, 1704, the same year
it was captured by the British, it sustained a siege from the
Spaniards and French, who lost 10,000 whilst the British loss was
only 400. Again the Spaniards attacked it in 1720, but were repulsed
with great loss. In 1728, they again attacked it but were driven back
with the loss of 5000 out of 20,000, while the English lost 300. After
this came the memorable siege of the Spaniards and French, whose
prodigious armaments astonished the whole of Europe. They were
the most stupendous up to that time ever brought before any city or
fortress. The siege continued from July, 1770, to February, 1783.
The allied army amounted to 40,000 men. The Duke of Crillon had
12,000 of the best troops of France, 1000 pieces of artillery were
brought to bear against the fortress, besides which there were forty-
seven sail of the line all three-deckers, ten great floating batteries
esteemed invincible, carrying 212 guns, an immense number of
frigates, xebeques, bomb-ketches, cutters, and gun and mortar
boats; while small craft literally covered the bay. For weeks and
weeks together 6000 shells were daily thrown into the town, and, on
one single occasion, 8000 barrels of gunpowder were expended by
the enemy, yet in one single night were all these immense batteries
destroyed by red-hot cannon balls, and their whole line of works
annihilated by a sortie of the garrison, commanded by General Elliot,
November 27th, 1781. The loss of the enemy in this memorable
night alone, amounted to upwards of £2,000,000 sterling. The grand
defeat by the garrison of only 7000 British, occurred September
13th, 1782. Since then the British have remained in peaceful
possession.
 GISORS, BATTLE OF.—In France.—Fought between the armies of
France and England, in which the former were signally defeated by
Richard I, who commanding in person, and whose parole for the day
was “Dieu et Mon Droit,” and from this it was made the motto of the
Royal Arms of England, A.D. 1193.
GLENCOE, MASSACRE OF.—The McDonalds of Glencoe, were
cruelly massacred, May 9th, 1691, merely for not surrendering in
time after King William’s proclamation perpetrated by the Earl of
Argyle’s regiment. 38 men besides women and children perished.
GOOJERAT, BATTLE OF.—India.—Fought February 21st, 1849. Lord
Gough with 21,000 men and 100 guns attacked the enemy,
numbering 60,000 men, with 59 guns. The Sikh Chief was strongly
posted between two river courses which protected his flanks, and
yet allowed him good manœuvring space to retire either on the east
or west side of the town of Goojerat, which afforded shelter and
protection to his rear. The battle began at 7 A.M. After a severe
engagement of nine hours, at 4 P.M. the enemy had been driven from
every post and was in general retreat, which the field artillery and
cavalry converted into a rout and flight. They were pursued for 15
miles, and next day another fresh force took up the direct pursuit.
Some of the guns and the whole of the ammunition and camp
equipage fell into the hands of the British. The Chief, Shere-Singh,
escaped with only 8000 men out of 60,000. The loss on the side of
the British was 100 killed and 900 wounded.
GOREE.—Taken by the English Admiral Holmes, in 1693—ceded to
France 1678. Again taken by the British, 1758—1779—1800—and
1804.
GOREY, BATTLE OF.—Fought June 4th, 1798, between the King’s
troops and the Irish rebels, in which, after a desperate battle, the
King’s forces were routed with great slaughter. They lost several
pieces of artillery, and retreated to Gorey and afterwards to Arklow.
GORGET.—An ancient breastplate. It was of great size, and gave
rise to the modern diminutive breastplate which was in existence at
the Restoration. It is now disused.
GRAMPIAN HILLS, BATTLE OF THE.—This was a celebrated
engagement between the Scots and Picts—the former under
Galgacus, and the latter under Agricola. Fought A.D. 79.
GRAND ALLIANCE.—Signed at Vienna between England and the
States General—to which Spain and the Duke of Savoy afterwards
acceded, May 12th, 1689.
GRANICUS, BATTLE OF.—Alexander the Great fought and won this
battle against the Persians—B.C. 334. The Macedonian troops crossed
the Granicus in the face of the Persian army, and totally defeated
them. Alexander’s army was only 30,000 foot and 5000 horse and
the Persian 600,000 foot, and 60,000 horse.
GRENADES.—A kind of bombshell invented in 1594. It is a small
hollow globe or ball of iron, two inches diameter, and filled with fine
powder and set on fire by a fusee at a touch-hole. The grenadiers
were those soldiers who were armed with a pouch of hand grenades
—established in France in 1667—and England in 1685. The latter
word is applied now, according to Gay, to the tall soldiers—of which
there is generally a company in every regiment.
GROCHOW, BATTLE OF.—Near Praga, Warsaw.—Fought February
20th, 1831, between the Poles and Russians. After a bloody battle,
which continued all day and almost all the next, the Poles remained
masters of the field. The Russians retreated, having lost 70,000
men, and the Poles, 2000.
GUADALOUPE.—Taken by the English, in 1759, and restored 1763.
Again taken in 1779, 1794, and 1810. At last, restored to France at
the peace of 1814.
GUARDS.—The custom of having guards was introduced by Saul,
King of Israel, B.C. 1093. Bodyguards instituted by Henry VII, 1485.
Horse guards by Edward VI, 1550. The three regiments of the British
service, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards, were raised in 1660, and
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