Finding the Right text
Finding a text that has low enough vocabulary to be readable by an ESL student, but high enough content to be relevant and engaging is quite a difficult challenge.
The first book that we studied this semester was Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley. This book was incredibly well-suited for the students because it met the criteria of high content with low vocabulary. The graphic novel format was incredibly helpful for the students and allowed them to learn contextual as well as language cues. They connected really well with the story as it has plenty of relationship drama, a subject that I discovered the students were quite interested in. The story also contains many pop culture references which, while initially confusing, are good for the students to learn about in order to better understand Canadian culture. We also paired the study with the movie and audiobook, two more tools that helped aid in the understanding of the novel. The book that we studied is the first in a series of six, which serves as a good opportunity for further exploration if the students are interested. I found that the students engaged incredibly well with the novel and I struggled to keep them from reading ahead. You can find our class novel study website at www.scottpil.weebly.com.
The first book that we studied this semester was Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley. This book was incredibly well-suited for the students because it met the criteria of high content with low vocabulary. The graphic novel format was incredibly helpful for the students and allowed them to learn contextual as well as language cues. They connected really well with the story as it has plenty of relationship drama, a subject that I discovered the students were quite interested in. The story also contains many pop culture references which, while initially confusing, are good for the students to learn about in order to better understand Canadian culture. We also paired the study with the movie and audiobook, two more tools that helped aid in the understanding of the novel. The book that we studied is the first in a series of six, which serves as a good opportunity for further exploration if the students are interested. I found that the students engaged incredibly well with the novel and I struggled to keep them from reading ahead. You can find our class novel study website at www.scottpil.weebly.com.
The second novel that we studied was Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. I chose this novel as it was a good bridge between graphic novels and full-text novels; the book is a balance of picture and text. The story, while slightly younger than Scott Pilgrim in appeal, has a bit of a higher vocabulary. The students struggled with the language of this novel a bit more as the main character speaks from a middle-school perspective, using slang and terminology that was very foreign to the students. I approached this study from a perspective of self-expression and focused many of the accompanying activities on story-writing and personal journaling. We also watched the movie of this book which greatly enhanced the students’ understanding. The class website for this book can be found at www.dwimpy.weebly.com.
Other resources
In my search for my high content, low vocabulary texts I discovered two more helpful publishers.
Orca Book Publishers
This publisher puts out books specifically for struggling readers. On the website you can order books and access a bank of teacher-ready resources.
Lorimer Sidestreets
Another publisher that targets the reluctant readers. These novels tackle heavy content while keeping the vocabulary low and accessible.