Dawn Feliciano

10/17/2011

GEDU 546-50:

Textbook Review I hereby affirm that I have neither given nor received assistance on this assignment. Signed, _DAWN FELICIANO___________________

SHINING STAR: Introductory Level [Teachers Edition] Author: Kaye Wiley Copyright 2004 by Pearson Education, Inc. Target Audience: English Language Learners, Low Beginning to High Beginning, Grades 6-8. Type of Text: Develops Cognitive-Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) through the use of learning strategies Skills addressed: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking Types of activities: Reading, Listening and Speaking, Extension activities, Writing Linked to Grammar, Writing Process, Dramatic Retelling (Short Play) Reading Instruction Components: Strategies for previewing and making predictions, understand chronological order, looking for cause and effect, asking questions, taking notes, making inferences, finding the main idea, using diagrams, summarizing, drawing conclusions, understanding the authors purpose. Writing Instruction Components: Strategies for freewriting, sequence-of-events chart, personal narrative, timeline. Layout/Organization: (arranged in 8 Thematic Units plus Introductory Unit) INTRODUCTION: Getting Started, UNIT 1: Journeys, UNIT 2: Hidden Forces, UNIT 3: Play Ball!, UNIT 4: Family Ties, UNIT 5: The Power of Words, UNIT 6: Exploring the Senses, UNIT 7: The World of Plants, UNIT 8: Wings.

Shining Star: Introductory Level, part of the series known as The Shining Star Family, was adopted by the World Languages department at Dundalk High School for EFL I students. Even though the target audience seems to be Grades 6-8 (judging from the Language Arts and basic science component), the textbook would suit a wide range of English Language Learner (ELL) proficiency levels, from Low Beginner through High Intermediate. The introductory unit, Getting Started, overlaps in content with the first book of the series, Keys to Learning, which is designed specifically for newcomers to the United States. Basic greetings, numbers, shapes, colors, parts of the body, and basic science and math expressions are introducedan enticing view of the utility of learning the target language. The primary aim of Introductory Level is to jump-start the ELLs school career by priming the student for the cognitive academic-language proficiency (CALP) that he or she will need to thrive academically. By the time the student reaches the final unit, Wings, she would be prepared to handle the more challenging reading, writing, and cross-curricular activities that would be expected of students using the higher level textbooks, Shining Star A, B, and C. Shining Star: Introductory Level in and of itself accomplishes basic proficiency level goals that make it suitable for first-year high school students. (Second-year students at Dundalk High use a textbook from another publisher, which suggests that Shining Star is a useful springboard text.) The reading instruction component does not require any supplementation; as a starter text, there is ample previewing and background material, and even extension reading (in which case, additional student research is encouraged, but certainly not necessary). In each unit, it addresses the four skill areasreading, writing, listening, and speakingalthough the learning

strategies are more directly tied to reading and writing, as the organization and comprehension of texts are emphasized. Listening and speaking skills are primarily accomplished in small-group discussions or pairings as Retell and Review activities. An added dimension in the textbook series is continued attention to phonics, something that would be expected in an EFL/ESL reader. There are several outstanding features in this textbook that make it attractive and useful. Each unit is a two-page spread that opens with a colorful montage, unit title, an overview paragraph, and bold outline of objectives set in the right hand corner. Every unit may be previewed with guidance, according to the teachers annotated edition: Viewpoint (discussing the theme suggested by the pictures in the montage), Discuss the theme (discussing the possible meaning of the words of the unit title), Objectives (reading the listing of concepts under the two outline headings, Language Development and Academic Content), Quick Write, (prompts for spontaneous writing i.e. journaling), and Extend the Lesson, (encouraging students to make connections between the theme and their everyday lives). Furthermore, each reading selection is previewed with another two-page spread titled, Prepare to Read. In the preview section, four sections complete with colorful photos and images prepare the reader: Background, Use What You Know (an inset box that activates students minds by encouraging them to access prior knowledge or experience), Vocabulary (key words in inset box), and Reading Strategy (inset box). Some features are specifically designed for teachers such as Assess and Check Your Understanding. These are questions at various checkpoints of the reading or lesson that the teacher may ask the students to assess their understanding. A suggested answer is italicized and

put in parentheses below the question. There is an array of assessment options that are suggested: Portfolio or strictly textbook-based, which would be simply asking students to

complete the Check Your Knowledge section (Traditional) that would address the Language Development and Academic Content components previously outlined in the objectives, or oral assessments (Performance), in which students would be called upon or conferenced with the teacher to answer checkpoint or vocabulary questions. There are also two sections that address learning styles called Reaching All Students and Metacognition. The former section is

always in an inset box for the teacher that provides learning exercises suited to a particular learning modality, (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic); in this way, teachers may ensure that they are differentiating their lessons. Metacognition, on the other hand, encourages students to be mindful of learning strategies that work best for them. The teacher may ask them which activities were most helpful to them in their learning and keep their responses in mind for future lessons. Although this textbook has enough leveled activities to satisfy proficiency levels up to Low Intermediate, it is meant to serve only as a beginning text requiring a fair amount of teacher facilitation. The Vocabulary mini-lessons and Learning Strategies are superior and may be useful at any proficiency level, however, the grammar sections does not reach Intermediate levels, which should include the use of modal auxiliaries and conditionals. Indicative of the introductory level of this text is a set of four handbooks placed at the end the textbook: Phonics, Grammar/Usage/Mechanics, Reading Resources, and Writing Process. Of all the books in the Shining Star series, only the Shining Star: Introductory Level has this built-in feature, presumably for an added level of support before students are independent enough to seek additional resources. I would recommend this textbook because its methodology primes students for a successful school careeracademically and socially, and across content areas. Students are

given tools for further investigation in not just language arts, but the broad bases of math, science, literature, and social studies. Shining Star: Introductory Level is an appropriate springboard for ESL learners to enter, with confidence and continued guidance, into their expected grade-level curriculum.