The ESL Student.

The English as a second language student brings many different needs to a classroom, such needs are not the same for all students. There are many factors that need to be consider in order to meet the need of ESL students. At one point or another we are all prone to having ESL students in our classroom, and it is our responsibility to find the information, training and knowledge needed to deal with students that have different needs, so that those needs can be met. There are different types of English language learners not only are there different cultures but some are born in the US but do not speak English at home, such type of group is very popular among the Latino population, there also is the type of ELL that came to the US at a very young age, the ELL that came to the US at an older age such as Junior HS or High School, even college. Each group needs to be addressed differently.
I found a very helpful website that provides with techniques/strategies that teachers can use to help ELL receive the benefit of a good education, that web site is: http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/ctl/handbook/carro.html

(CAL) Center for Applied Linguistics

As the number of English language learners continues to grow, educators are seeking effective programs and instructional strategies to serve them.
CAL conducts projects and offers a variety of research-based resources related to the education of English language learners in a variety of settings, kindergarten to 12th grade, universities and community colleges, and adult programs. The project work is central to serving CAL's mission of improving communication through better understanding of language and culture. There are many projects that you may find interesting for English Language Learners. Check it out and let me know what you think.
http://www.cal.org/projects/index.html

New Website to Check Out...

I found this website, but I have to admit I'm a little offended by the address of it. It lists as:

www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/pigs/pig19.html

I tried to figure out the "pigs" part, but can't. Maybe you can help me out. It has a lot of good information on it. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Kathi

Silent Period

After listening to the audio clip of Junko discussing the silent period, I was reminded of a couple ELLs in my class during my junior field experience last semester. The students were extremely quiet, and rarely even spoke to the teacher. Unaware of the silent period at that time, I had just assumed that the students had shy/unfriendly personalities or were uninterested. Now I realize it’s likely that these students were not shy or uninterested, but were just taking in and studying the language. Now that I am aware of the silent period, I will not make the mistake of pushing or forcing a student to speak out loud just because I assume that the student is withdrawn or disinterested. I would never want to make a student feel uncomfortable or embarrassed by forcing them to speak an unfamiliar language in front of the class. Learning about the silent period has enabled me to respect this crucial period of time in an ELLs life. ELLs should be encouraged, and given the support needed so that eventually they do feel confident enough to begin taking risks in the class and speaking out loud. This big step should only be taken however, when the student is ready.

Culture Quiz

In relation to the quiz we took in class about the gestures. I found another quiz that gives you scenarios about children in an American classroom and the other student's reactions to them. They are many and the answers at the end. This could clear up many behavioral issues that the students may be having in the classroom. I found them to be pretty interesting.

http://www.everythingesl.net/downloads/culture_questions02.pdf

Coexisting With Different Cultures

In the world today we have to learn to exist with people who are different than us. When I was in grade school this wasn't too much of an issue yet. However now-a-days it's become an everyday part of life. Children today need to learn how to respect and understand people who are different from them. We all know that children can be cruel to those that are unfamiliar, however with our help they can be redirecting into understanding the unfamiliar and maybe they won't seem so different. I remember when I was in elementary school we had a day set aside where we all brought in foods and materials that represent our culture. I remember there being only one person who wasn't born in this country and to this day I remember learning about her culture. We should still recognize the backgrounds of every child in various ways. This not only means having a culture day; this includes recognition on an everyday basis. This article, though long, is useful to create a learning environment that will help the children co-exist with diversities. If we can help the children of today learn about various cultures, imagine how easier it will be for the children tomorrow to understand diversities.
http://www.mothercraft.ca/uploads//docs/Institute%20Documents/Valerie%20Rhomberg.pdf

Helping Children from Other Cultures With Possible Learning Disabilities

I found this article that really caught my attention. As teachers we have to look out for children with learning disabilities. But how do we know if a child has a learning disability if they don't speak English. This article gives teachers tips about how to help those students as well as their families. It explains how to be sensitive to those families and how to understand their needs as well as to help them understand their child's needs in school. Check it out. We're all going to have go to through it sometime or another.
http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=618

Multiple intelligences

I was reading the part of chapter 4 on multiple intelligences and just it was sucha great reminder that there are so many diferent things teachers can incorperate into teaching to help their students learn. I had previously learned about catering to multiple intelligences in a different class, but I'm glad that it is reitterated here. Sometimes when teachers get caught up in catering to a special population such as ELLs they forget that aside from being ELLs they are still normal students. ELLs will have different intelligences as well. Another reason I'm glad that this we brought to my attention again is that it is so easy to neglect the intelligences that seem boring or uninteresting to me, but I knwo I can't do that. For example, even though I don't learn through music I have to remember that some of my students might and it is about them not me. This was also very beneficial because while I was going over this section it gave me the opportunity to think of diferent strategies to incorperate into my class for each of the intelligences. As a Phys Ed teacher some of the intelligences will be easy to cater to in the gym such as kinesthetic and social and others will be accomodated better in the classroom for health such as linguistic and individual. Even though some are easy to work into a lesson there is a way to work them all in to a classroom or a gym.

Immigrant or refugee? which one will you teach?

My friend's sister is an ESL teacher for the Elizabeth public school system and she came home one day with a very shocking story. She had an email saying that several teachers were trying to work together to welcome a new refugee student to their school. One teacher seemed very eager to get some books together for this student and to also inform teachers about the village where the child came from. She was anxious to help the new student and volunteered to help as much as she could. She later stated that she was once a refugee and her experience was very traumatic. She gave very little info about her background but I do remember her expressing how difficult it was being in the U.S. as she prayed for the rest of her family back home. I didn't think I'd ever have to think about this but after our class, I have realized that I need to educate myself on this as much as I can so I can be prepared. I've started skimming through some great websites and found some excellent info. Must read: http://www.refugees.org/uploadedFiles/Investigate/Resettlement/Teaching_Tools/MH_esl.pdf
I had to read this with my hand over my mouth because it's really unbelievable when you learn about the struggles and hardships certain people go through in order to come to the U.S.-it really helped to put things into perspective for me. Just think this could be the parents of our students.
Check out and learn:
http://www.cal.org/topics/rc/profiles.html
this valuable website gives short intro on the history and cultural background of several refugee populations.

"Correcting Errors"

In part four of "the big assignment," I found it very helpful when it discusses and suggests how to deal with errors from ELL students . I think that these tips should be used on every student because I think it is hard for any student when they have been told their answer was "not correct." I know I hated when a teacher would make me feel bad if I made an error. It can really traumatize a child! However, it is most important with the ELL students because they are in the middle of developing a new language. It also discusses that errors and mistakes are normal and expected. It is also important to know that all errors do not need to be corrected. I think this section is very important because these ELL students are dealing with a lot as it is, we do not need to make them feel anxious or stressed about making an error. Some of the tips I found useful were to search for a cluster or errors in their work and then do a mini lesson on the grammatical errors. This way the students are not being singled out and they may have been wanting to ask questions pertaining to such misunderstandings but may not have known how. Also, I thought it was helpful when they say to never ask, "Do you understand?" That question does not really make a student feel comfortable and it is kind of demeaning to them in a way. If the student does not understand, they might not want to tell you if you ask like that. This section is significant because it stresses the fact that errors are a part of language development, but as a teacher you need to know how to deal with them. Some errors may not be a big deal and can be left alone, but others need to approached in a certain way to avoid any future problems for these children! This allows us to put ourselves in their shoes. Suppose you were learning a new language, you would want all the positive support you can get right?

I learned something important today....

I learned something I felt was very imporatnt today in my junior field placement. As I've said before there are no ELL students in the entire school but we do have Special Ed kids. The class that I'm in is half Special Ed and half low performing. Today I was doing the vocabulary words for the book we are reading. There were only 8 words so I dint think it would take that long. OMG was I wrong! The students were supposed to read the sentence with the word in it and then write down their guess as to what the word could mean. The idea was that they would use the sentence to figure this out. We read sentence one together and then I gave the students a few minutes to write down their answers. Well what I had was 18 faces looking back blankly at me. The teacher came over and bailed me out. Thats when I immediatly recognized my mistakes. Most of the students weren't even looking at question #1, being Special ED students the teacher has to make a point to check if everyone is on the right question. I just figured they were following along. I also only explained the directions one time. The teacher usually explains them twice and then puts them in words the kids will be familiar with. The teacher also gave them additional sentences using the same word so they could find one that they understood. Then the students gave some suggestions out loud so if you didn't know one yourself you could pick one of the suggestions you thought went best. I tried to continue the lesson on my own and then I realized I was also going to fast, we were on #3 but the Special ED students were still on #1. Those 8 vocabulary words took about 30 minutes. I was terribly embarrased at first but then I realized that it was more important that I recognized my mistakes, corrected them, and remember them for the future lessons.
I learned that I need to be extra aware of the Special Ed students and their different needs. To explain the directions multiple times in many different ways. To ensure that students are following along at the correct point on the paper and to slow down so that students on different levels can keep up. I think that this was valuable information to learn not only for teaching Special Ed students, but even for regular ed students and imagine how that information I now know will help me when teaching ELL learners!

No "accent" Puerto Rican

I was reading the post from Brendee about Culture Shock, and I must say, that indeed it is very hard to communicate or "fit in" like an American with out the language. I am from Puerto Rico and I was not afraid to speak English when I came, but most Americans expect me to understand their lingo and speak clear concise English. They expect this because I supposedly do not have a "Puerto Rican accent," therefore assuming I am an American or at least someone raised here. I am not, So when I hesitate or stop mid-sentance searching for the write word, or when I'm reading I cannot pronounce the word correctly, I feel stupid. I feel embarrased because I do not have that strong Spanish accent that sort of "shields" others when they misspell, or can not find the correct word to plug into their speech. Their accent "guards" them from the critics because it is understood that they are learning the language. Me on the othe hand, either tell them I was born and raised in P.R. (so they would not judge me) or I could walk away and let them think I am somewhat "slow". My primary language is Spanish therefore I find myself thinking in Spanish to find the correct word or term and translate it to English in order to express myself. Even our professor in class, asked me if I spoke English growing up, but the truth is, that the little English I spoke (only to my mom), was very limited and did not last. I am still learning, and of course I cannot compare myself to the people who come here with NO English at all, but I just wanted to say that I do understand their struggles and I am very happy that now there are many ways to help the ELL's.

Everybody Loves Baseball!

Every year I organize a group trip to a Somerset Patriots Baseball Game for my daughter's elementary school. This year, because of this class, I had English printed on one side and Spanish on the other. I received so many more responses than I every would have thought possible! I had no idea how many Spanish-speaking families we had in our school and I am so glad that I did this to include them. This class is such an eye-opener for me. I can only imagine how many fun opportunities some of these families missed out on - especially if it was from a language issue.

Culture Shock Part Four of Big Assignment

I listened to the "Ramirez" audio section of the big assignment. The woman narrating the audio talked about the range of emotions associated with "culture shock": anxiety, depression, excitement etc. On a personal note, My when my mother-in-law came over from Romania almost 20 years ago she went through a period of depression as well. I spoke with her briefly about her experience and she said for about 2- 2 1/2 months she tried not to speak any native English speakers in fear that she would get ridiculed or put down. She was basically living in fear of the unknown.

After she started to make friends that helped immensely but when she first arrived everything was intimidating, even the people. I asked her what finally broke her out of her shell and she said in addition to her new friends, two language teachers that she had been studying with told her that pretty much all ELL's share the same emotions and this consoled her...

A tip I took away from this were that as teachers we need to be willing to listen, not just for academic related issues but for emotional concerns as well. any similar stories?

The NJDOE Website

I am working on Part three of the unit and am finding it to be very helpfull. In Part two there is a section that shows the stages of second language acquisition. I found this section interesting because it breaks down the English Language Learner into five stages which are preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. I have the preproduction stage to be of most interest since I have not working with students in this stage. It offered tips for helping and teaching these students such as, using visuals and manipulatives, allow students to listen and observe, and to use cooperative learning and pair this student with a more advanced ELL. I think it is important for me to realize that a student in this stage needs to observe and listen rather than talk and participate in class discussion. For this stage I think it would be important to use books that the student could listen to while he or she follows along. It may also be important to make sure the student is listening to what is going on to class and is paying attention to his or her work. This may be difficult for the mainstream teacher since the student may not be able to contribute to the class.
Overall I find this section to be helpfull because it gives the teacher the different stages as well as ways to teach the ELL students. And it also helps the teacher evaluate what level a ELL student may be at.

Multiple Intelligences: Howard Gardner

As I was rereading the Chapter 4 packet I became interested in Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory. The packet describes a learning style as the preferred way in which an individual received and processes information. While I was reading the variety of intelligences something occurred to me. Only one of my elementary school math teachers changed their lessons for me because I was more of an visual, kinesthetic learner. All throughout school I struggled with mathematics and I came to think that I was just awful when it came to math. I excelled in all other areas of the curriculum but when it came to long division and things of that nature I thought I was better off not even trying after years of disappointment, struggles and stress.

In seventh grade a teacher, (the only teacher) changed her explanations just for me. She noticed that I wasn't grasping the formulas and I was sure to fall further behind if she didn't change something. After a week of after school sessions she was able to transform my thought process into one that associated numbers with pictures spatial proportions. With this new frame of mind I was able to work more efficiently and effectively.

This links to ELL students because these intelligences are demonstrated in a wide variety of cultures , they may manifest themselves differently in different cultures.

My teacher and all teachers should focus on giving students time to nurture and develop their own intelligences. Students & teachers need to realize their strengthens and weaknesses. If my teacher hadn't taken the time to sit down with me and discuss where my issues were stemming from I might still be in the math rut I lived with for so many years. I am still not a math whiz but I no longer let myself get stressed out and anxious anytime someone mentions algebra or fractions.

anyone have a similar story? Have you ever felt lost and not understood why?

Learning English Through Music

During my search to find fun and unique ways to help learn English I found a few websites that explain how music helps ELLs. This means of teaching is helpful for children of all ages. The rhyme and repeatition enable the children to learn, repeat, and understand.When I was in school I had a difficult time remembering what I was learning. I used to always to try to put the material into a song that I liked in order to remember better.

Check out the site.

http://www.caslt.org/research/music.htm#teaching

Website for mainstream teachers of ESL students

I found this great website which answers a lot of frequently asked questions for the mainstream teacher and also gives helpful ideas with subjects such as science, humanities, math, and english.
Hope it helps: http://esl.fis.edu/index-fp.htm and click on teachers.

New Technology

A news story caught my attention tonight regarding the use of a new type of technology in the classroom. A school in New York is trying out a program which teachers claim has increased class participation up to 100%. Each student was given a handheld device, (similar to a video game control) that is used to punch in responses to questions asked by the teacher. When students enter their answers they are recorded into a computer anonymously, saving students the embarrassment of giving a wrong answer out loud. The teacher can then view the responses to determine if students have understood the lesson. I thought something like this would especially be helpful to ELLs, who might want to participate in class, but do not yet feel comfortable speaking out loud. I think this is a great way to get every student contributing and it also enables teachers to determine if changes or clarifications need to be made. Teachers claimed that with these new devices, students are eager to participate and it allows the quieter students a chance to contribute while alleviating the stress of speaking in front of the class. The school officials testing the program explained that when used correctly the devices are intended to enhance class discussions, not take away from. A student who was interviewed stated that he along with other classmates enjoyed using the keypads and felt that they encouraged participation. While the cost of these devices is expensive, they appear to be a really good investment- although I know it depends on the school district and their funding as to whether or not this technology could even be a possibility, it is something to be aware of and keep in mind. I think ELLs would really appreciate and benefit from this technology as would all students in the classroom.

Culture Split/Successful Acculturation

I have been working on part two of the big assignment. So far, my favorite part of the assignment has been the audio clips. They have really been good examples of how scary it can be for a non-English speaking student to come to the United States where no one speaks their language. I could imagine that it would be very difficult for me to jump into a new culture and country without knowing the language. I would feel lost and alone.
I am interested by the terms culture split and successful acculturation. A culture split is when the child practices their own culture at home but only practices the American culture when outside of the home. I have seen a child do this while working at my daycare. One day, several of the Chinese students were teaching me some Chinese words. Many of them were eager to teach me because it made them feel proud of their culture. One of the boys however, when asked how to say Don't Cry in Chinese, told me that he's not allowed to speak Chinese at school. He said, "I speak Chinese at home with my dad, but I speak only English here with you." His father didn't want his son speaking any Chinese at school. I'm not sure if this was because of shame or just that his father really wanted him to learn English, but I thought it was sad. Many of the other students at the daycare have successfully blended their own cultures with American culture. I think these children grow up proud of their own culture and American culture. They are proud that they can be a part of both. No child should be ashamed of their culture. Has anyone else had an experience with a child making a culture split?

This Course can help our "Regular" Education students

I have learned that eventhough I do not currently have any ELL students in any of my classes this year at Rahway Middle School. But I still wanted to be able to apply what I have been learning about in teaching English language learners. One way to do this was to use and understand the diverse cultures in my classroom. So when I was introducing the novel The Outsiders to my sixth grade language arts students and teaching them about stereotypes and finding out the students did not know what a stereotype is I had about 8-10 studnets tell me and the class about their culture and then asked them questions. For example a student was tell the class that his mother and father came to this country 13 years ago from China. Then I asked him what are some things that people say about his culture. And he said that because he is from Asia he is very smart. Then another student raised his hand and said because I am Mexican people may think I am dumb. I told them that these where both great examples of stereotypes. I thought this was a great way for students to learn about eachothers culture and for them to realize that what they say about people because of ones culture can sometimes be considered a stereotype. By having the students use their own cultures to learn about stereotypes I find that I made them very motivated and it was easy for me to teach them a brand new concept.

An exciting experience with Junior Field

My junior field already took place last year but it was a very exciting 3 weeks. I was placed with a teacher who had mostly fifth grade Language Art students but a few periods here and there with 6-8 grade students. I was extremely nervous to be in the classroom. I couldn't believe that in just a few days I had to stand in front of the class, teach, and oh my goodness--be observed. For the first few nights, I would just go home and cry to my husband and let him know that after so many years of part time college,I was ready to quit.
Thankfully,I didn't give up. I took deep breaths and just tried to focus on one group of students at a time. As I now learn about the stages of learning a 2nd language, I compare it to the stages of learning to face my fears and do what I have always wanted to do-teach and make a difference in the lives of children. I can understand the "silent stage" oh so well because that's all I wanted to do when I entered the classroom for the first day of junior field. I knew in order for me to get through it, I had to change, and I had to change quick. I found the "will" to speak and get involved with the students but the anxiety and the sweaty palms were there. I'd get anxious and frustrated with myself because I knew deep inside I had it in me to do a good job but I was letting my nerves get in the way. I later ran into another teacher who invited me to observe his class and as I observed him, he reminded me of a skill that I often forget about--the talent of having a good sense of humor. With no doubt, he had an excellent setting-organized, neat, and welcoming with posters, colors, and special quotes all over the classroom. But it was his skill of knowing the children and keeping a good sense of humor that hooked the students and made them feel motivated to learn. I even noticed that a "silent" student who was in my daily class was actually smiling and paying more attention than before. I made it through those 3 weeks because I believed in myself as so many ELL students need teachers to believe in them and not give up. Sandra Nahmia from the audio clips within the NJ dept of Ed website for our big assignment certainly does an excellent job with informing us with teaching strategies and tips but she ends with the emphasis on how important it is to understand the difficulties these children are facing and she reminds us that we need to be patient with our students, encourage them, and "help them feel great." I left junior field with a much more positive attitude which I will in turn bring with me as I experience my internship this fall.

Reviewing the website for the big assignment

I am in the process of completing part 3 and have found a lot of information that is going to be useful for future use. I have printed checklists that refer to classroom climate and parental support. There are lists that contain excellent tips and strategies on how to reach ELL students at all different levels of their language acquisition. Perhaps there is a student who is going through the "silent stage" because they have yet learned how to express themselves. You learn that a child should never be pushed to speak until they are ready and comfortable.
The strategies give simple tactics that teachers can model daily that will help all students. Examples such as: enunciate clearly, don't yell(ell's can hear), use visuals, never ask "do you understand?"-the answer will always by "yes" ....etc... These are all great examples that teachers should keep in mind. There is a glossary which defines many terms and acronyms that seem to appear frequently throughout our reading materials. There is also a list of texts that the mainstream teacher can refer to as we learn how to implement different styles and methods. Part 3 gives exciting clips on teachers in action. You can actually see all these strategies and techniques in process. It's great to hear how teachers prepare, execute, and reflect upon their lessons. All levels (Elem.,Middle, H.S) teachers seem to agree on the extreme importance of using visuals,manipulative's, cooperative learning, and most importantly giving students the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions with support.

"Working With English Language Learners"

While I was reading through part two of our "3903 Big Assignment" I found one of the websites that it leads you to very helpful. The website titled "Working With English Language Learners: Strategies For Elementary and Middle School Teachers", was extremely helpful I found. It is difficult during my field experience right now because I am not faced with the challenge of having ELL students in my classroom. My students are in seventh and eigth grade and all speak English very well. Most of them also speak Spanish as well.
I found this website very helpful because the information given is so true. One of the things that really caught my attention was that these students are coming from diverse backgrounds but they have the same needs as every other student. I also found it easy to relate with the questions they ask on this site, like "Who are they?" and "What do I do?" I noticed that some people had been commenting on the fact that they might not have been exactly sure who the ELL students were in their class until the teacher had pointed them out. I also would be feeling the same way because I do not speak Spanish very well and I would not know what to do. This information is scary because so many of us will be dealing with ELL students and I want to be prepared and know exactly what to do, and most importantly how to help them! It is so important because we need to make them feel comfortable in the classroom and not make them feel like the only place they can feel comfortable is in an ESL classroom. I can't even imagine going to a school and not knowing anyone, then not even knowing the language! How do you even feel comfortable if you cannot even communicate?
This website really provides some excellent points and strategies. It makes you think and want to help in any way possible. Most importantly it made me want to be prepared for the challenge of making these ELL students' transition into the school system as comfortable as can be.


Site: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/pigs/pig19.htm

ESL Students

After a few weeks being with my teacher and her sixth grade language arts classes I was unable to notice which of the three students where the English Language Learners. So after she pointed them out to me my response was that thoses are some of the students who participate all the time and are the ones who are always want to write the answers on the board. My teacher told me that they are the hardest working students out of all her classes. In a way it seems they are showing off (in a good way) all that they have learned in the ESL program. These three students always call me or my teacher over to check their work and they are always trying to write new vocabulary words in their essays. So now I understand why I would have never noticed that English is their second and sometimes third langauge. It is because they work very hard. Some of the other students who I would have guessed as being ELL are in fact just quiet or don't do the work because they don't want to. I found this out because once I started working one on one with them they where able to do the work just fine. So from this experience I have found out the the ELL students work hard and are involved in this class for most of the time. This desire for them to work hard may come from their parents or they like the positive attention they get from me and my teacher when they participate and say or write correct words and sentences. Beacuse of this and the fact that they are in sixth grade the teacher and myself never have to worry about these students falling behind.

Differentiated Attempts

Throughout our years in the education program one of the main topics of focus has been on differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction I believe is particularly important in reaching the ELL students in the classroom. I encountered an example of this first hand the other day and realized the value of differentiated instruction. In my class I have a young student from Puerto Rico. He has not been involved in the ESL program at the school, but I know that sometimes he struggles with some of the concepts due to language barriers. As I said in one of my other blogs I taught my first lesson last week. I taught a science lesson on the Abyssal Zone in the ocean. I went through a PowerPoint presentation and had the students simultaneously fill out a worksheet. I felt the lesson went pretty well and most of the students were pretty engaged except for this one student. Finally it was time for me to assign the homework for the lesson. I had the students create a fish from the abyssal zone that has not yet been discovered. They had to draw it, diagram it, and create a caption to describe its adaptive features. This student, who had not participated at all and quite frankly I was particularly worried about, ended up drawing a truly magnificent picture. His diagram and captions had a few spelling errors, but I worked with him one on one to fix them and the finished product he turned in was really amazing. I am actually strongly considering including it in my educational portfolio. I was really proud of the effort that this student put forth for the assignment. He is truly a great artist and I was very impressed. It seems as though he does not get much of chance to "shine" in the classroom, but he really nailed this assignment. I will keep this in mind when I become a teacher. It is important to vary your instruction and assessment techniques in order to focus on the different abilities of the different students. Has anyone else considered adding student work to their portfolio?

THE BIG ASSIGNMENT

I'm curious about the reaction and execution of this assignment.

Not one person has asked or commented about it since it's been posted.

I can't believe no one has asked how much of it you're expected to do...there are so many links to more to read and think about.

What are you doing?

Are you reading every page of every section?

Skimming?

Thinking about it or barely getting through it?

Are you really going through every link on every page?

Since we don't meet until a week from Monday, June 5th, I'm looking forward to some very comprehensive discussions between you students regarding the material from this site...which again is:


http://www.state.nj.us/education/njpep/pd/ell_mainstream/index.html

you also have to come up with your idea of what the one written assignment (related to this specific assignment) will be.

Remember the formula: 1/3 in-class participation; 1/3 Blog participation, and 1/3 the one written assignment.

Hope you enjoy your long weekend and your last week in junior field--see you all on Monday June 5th.

Report Card on NCLB

Hi Everybody!!!!!!!!
The issue of Time magazine for June 4 demonstrate the pros and cons of the NCLB law and grades it with a C. The writers agree that the law has reshaped public education but it still needs to be better since the problem according to the writers is that the law’s reliance on a single, pass-fail system for assessing AYP is one of the weakest points.

It is a very strong point and I totally agree since statistics show that schools are getting better but what about when they have raised the bar in reading and math? What are they supposed to do then?
Take some time to read the article is pretty good.

Conditions for learning

After reading the section on page 47 about "Cambourne's Conditions for learning", I realize that every little thing in a classroom can help develop English skills not only for ELL but even for students whose primary language is English. Aspects as simple as having lots of writing posted on bulletin boards can greatly improve students langauge skills. Cambourne refers to this pratice as "immersing" or "surrounding" the students with written words. Another technique that is pointed out is the importance of including a "classroom library", which can include books, periodicals, and even poetry or short stories. Cambourne points out that no matter how large or small the "classroom library" is it will encourage students to read on their own and practice their language skills. It is these simple things that some people may consider "significant" that help to maximize student learning. Also this is not only applicable in the lower grades, where the students are still just learning to read. Techniques like word immersion are important for all grades and I will keep this in the back of my mind for when I become a teacher. My cooperating teacher for my Junior field has tons of reading materials on the wall including fun facts and interesting information. She also has a lot of inspirational poster throughout her class room. I would say that she definitely successfully immersed her students in written words.

Webquest for ELL's

http://instantprojects.org/webquest/webquest.php?AuthorID=5281

This is a great way to incorporate technology with English Language Learners. It is a webquest designed to help English Language Learners.

Also if you have never checked out the website, Starfall.com, you should take a look at it. It is an amazing site to use with young children.

Chapter One Side Note

I was reading through Chapter One and one of the side notes interested me. The note said, "Reflect and then describe one instance in which you made a difference in the life of one student." Two years ago while working in a daycare, there was this girl who never spoke to anyone. She was a three year old who only spoke Chinese. She never played with the other students or with the teachers. Most of the time, she just sat in a corner quietly.
I decided to try to get her to interact more. I started paying more attention to her and talking to her. Soon she was sitting next to me everyday and after a couple of weeks she began to talk to me a little and respond to my questions. Three months later, she was speaking full sentences to everyone, playing with the other children, shouting and running with the students outside, and teaching me a few Chinese words. Her mom came up to me one day and thanked me for paying attention to her daughter and helping to open her up and make her more outgoing. Her mother also said that she always talked about home how much fun Ms. Kristen was. It made me feel like I made a difference to her.

2010 Statistic

http://www.bnkst.edu/literacyguide/ell.html

This is a great website with tons of links about English Language Learners.

"By the year 2010, over thirty percent of all school-age children will come from homes in which the primary language is not English."

I thought this statistic was especially interesting. Thirty percent is a lot. That means that if there are 20 children in your classroom, 6 will be students who do not come from English speaking homes. As teachers, we are going to have to find ways to communicate with parents. It will make parent/teacher relationships more difficult, especially if the teacher does not speak the language that the parents do. By 2010, most of us will be teachers, and I'm sure as we continue to teach the number of children who's primary language is not English will go up. How do you think we can find ways to communicate with families who do not speak the same language as us?

Corsets

After reading about foot binding and neck stretching, I became more interested in other cultures and what they believed in to become more beautiful. While researching, I came across something about corsets. Corsets were underwear that made the waist smaller. In Crete, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Assyria are known for corsets.
A girl would start to wear corsets around age 14. After years of pulling corsets tighter and tighter, they dislocated internal organs. Everything shifted down and up so the waist would be left empty. Women who wore corsets could not sit down straight. A woman's waist was about 18-19 inches around.
Because we are not familiar with other cultures it is extremely interesting to research about them. Please take a look at this website and tell me what you think about corsets.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111742/corsetspage.htm

What language do you think in?

There is a student in one of my Inclusion classes that came here in 1998 from Haiti. I asked her what path she followed within the ESL program and she didn't tell me anything different than I've read in our packet or different from what anyone has already written about. I had this urge to know what language she thought in. She told me Haitian. She said that she hears English, translates to Haitian, and then is adept enough to answer back in English. I was truly amazed. I think that these students, or anyone else that is fluent in both English and another language, are incredible because they have to use more parts of their brain in order to function here. I think during my break I'm going to start taking lessons to speak another language - I am totally inspired by this girl!

This is different side of ELL

I've been talking with my cooperating teacher about our class and she gave me a different story than I've read so far. She told me that she had a student a few years ago that spoke limited English, but enough to be mainstreamed from the ESL class. She had taken Spanish, and was pretty fluent, but she noticed that the more she spoke his language, the less he spoke English. Do you think it's possible for a student to regress like that? Was he being stubborn and thinking that it was easier for her to speak Spanish than for him to learn English? She said he managed to pass and go on to the next grade, but it's something that still makes her wonder about. It makes me wonder if he had a learning problem beside the language barrier. Any thoughts?

My Experience with ELL students

My experience with ELL students is for the most part nonexistent. I am doing my junior preprofessional internship at Rahway Middle School in a sixth grade English class and most of the ELL students have "graduated" from the ESL program. Though there are students in my class whose first language is not English they write and read at grade level or higher. But I did learn at a meeting of the sixth grade English teachers and the fifth grade Language Arts teachers in Rahway that in preschools there are programs that have students in a classroom where Spanish is only spoken and a classroom where English is only spoken and they switch every two weeks. I thought this was very interesting because the students are learning two languages at the same time at a very early age. I also believe it helps take away the lable of ELL since Spanish speaking students have the opportunity to be taught in Spanish. And I think it is great to get children at a young age learning two languages and cultures.

Multi-Cultural Day

Yesterday at my school, Westminster Academy, they had multi-cultural day. It was really amazing to see how many different cultures were actually coming together in one community, and also in one school. The students wore their countries colors, different types of costumes, and had flags that represented their country. I noticed just how many students were from Puerto Rico, Columbia,Peru, Dominican Republic, Portugal, Haiti, India, China, and even England! It was also amazing to see all these students celebrating all their different cultures, but they were doing it as a whole!
I am in the seventh and eigth grade classrooms so I do not experience any ELL students. But the multi-culural day allowed me to see just how many students were coming from different countries. The whole day was filled with students embracing their cultures. They even had their parents come in to watch them perform many different dances and music from their cultures. Another perk was that the children brought in different types of food from their countries. The food was delicious! Overall, I think that having this day allows the children to embrace their cultures and show pride for their countries. It was really great to see! Just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar?

Communicating With Parents of ELL Students

I read the blog titled Family and Community Resources about communicating with parents of ELL students and decided to look into the issue myself. It is so very important that a teacher have a good relationship with the parents of the students in their class. Having a good relationship in which both parties are working together as a team is in the best interst of the child and will help make their educational experience more pleasurable, meaningful, and worthwhile. ELL students and their parents should not be excluded from this because of a language barrier. I found the following article online that gave some really good suggestions for communicating with parents who do not speak English. Knowing that there are ways to deal with the issue makes me feel a little more comfortable about it myself. Hope it helps!
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/speakinglanguage.htm

National Council of Teachers of English

I was going through the Internet and I found this website. It's the website for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The NCTE encourages the improvement of teaching and learning English at all levels of education. The NCTE encourages teachers with ESL students to become familiar with bilingual education and methods of teaching. The website also has some useful teaching resources and articles. I think that it's a useful site to look at.

http://www.ncte.org/

Neck stretching

After seeing the pictures of the Chinese foot binding it made may also think of other customs that people practice. In a few African and Asian cultures multiple neck rings are worn usually to stretch the neck. A long neck is considered beautiful. The Kayan people from Asia start to put rings on girls as early as five years old. Gradually additional rings are added to their necks. They even wear metal rings around their calves. Each ring that is added to their neck elongates their neck. I was horrified to learn that the pain that these women must endure for the sake of beauty. Their collarbones are pushed down from the weight of the brass rings which stretch the neck muscles. Women who were these rings after many years may have pain and infections. I also read that a full stretched neck could go to 10-15” long. If a woman’s rings are removed someone would have to hold her neck up for her, or she could chock. It’s hard to understand this culture because of the pain that these women endure. When I learned of their pain and sacrifice these women go through I wondered why. In their culture a long neck is associated with beauty. It is part if their culture which is important to them.

Teaching Latino students.

I was doing some research and came across a study conducted on teaching students of Latin American Origin, I think it can be very helpful since it gives clear explanation on approaches to be taken in the classroom to support and enrich ELL. Here is the site hope you can find it useful: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/reports/literacy/results.htm

"How Culture is Failing Young Black Males"

I thought this was an interesting article on how culture affects a black male's education. It was posted this past Sunday in the Star-Ledger. There are very few ELL at my school, so the principal shared this article. This is a problem at the middle school where I am teaching at. Maybe some of you can relate. However, this article took some interesting and perhaps controversial standpoints. The image came out small, I was hoping to find a copy of it online but I couldn't. I scanned it hoping that maybe you can enlarge it in your browser if you click "view image." I hope this is of interest...
If the image doesn't work, here are some of the main points:
1) "Black youths, and black boys in particular, perform more poorly on standardized tests than white and Asian youths, regardless of income."
2) The authors trace underachievement to the breakdown of the family, when he reported that 25% of black children were born to single mothers in 1965. Nowadays, the percentage has jumped to 70%.
3) "[The report] quotes a Cleveland boy who said he ceased to be taunted at school when he let his grades fall. And it includes the observations of a youth mentor, who said he has been told by children he is the only adult in their lives excited to see their report cards."
*4) The report calls that the federal NCLB act be amended to treat black boys as a distinct category deserving special attention, including a longer school year.

I'm impressed with the relevant links, postings, comments and general observations about the reading material many of you are contributing. You guys

School Report Card

I am sure many of you have already heard of the NJ School Report Card, but just in case you have not heard of the site, I figured I would post it. This is relevant because in class we were speaking about contextual factors. In the school report card, it lists all different kinds of information and statistics such as test scores, suspensions, expulsions, teacher salaries, township information, and most importantly for this class... languages spoken, student backgrounds, and how many limited english proficient students there are. I think this tool is great because there is a Report Card for each individual school, not just the overall district. By viewing my schools report card I got a much better sense of the student population and township overall.

http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc06/index.html

Here is the website- if it doesn't work you can google "NJ School Report Card"

Language Learning Tasks and Education

Hey everybody I was browsing around the internet and I found this great article about teaching English for those who are English majors and for those who are not just keep it in mind in case you need it in the future.
The article is from Andrew Littlejohn and is called Language Learning Tasks and Education is short so you can read it in minutes.The link is: http://www.cambridge.org/elt/ces/magazine/articles/languagelearning.htm

What really caught my attention in this article are his principles 2 and 3 in which he declares that the progress the students get out of learning comes from content worth learning and for the teacher to use the student’s intelligence.
I am doing my junior field experience and my subject area is Spanish. During the first week I noticed that the students were not interested in the class. The topic was “emotions” and instead of practicing the language the teacher had them drawing. I had my first observation this past Tuesday and I knew I had to do something different so they could learn more instead of just drawing. One of my activities was the creation of a puppet show where I brought some puppets and student had to talk about emotions using the puppets. The class became more active and I made use of the students’ intelligence, creativity and motivation. I know I will not teach English but I will teach a second language and I think that Andrew’ s article and his four principles can be adapted to any second language learning.

Family and Community Resources

After reading the section "Family and Community Resources" on page 15 of the packet I became a little annoyed about their suggestions for promoting parents as partners with teachers. I understand that in order to make learning easier for ELL it is important for teachers to understand the child's family culture and background. However on several occasions it states to speak with the parents in their home language. I know it's important to get the parents involved with school however after reading this I felt as if a teacher time is so demanding. How is it possible for us to be there for everything and everyone? We can't go out and learn several languages in order to communicate with parents. Though interpreters are sometimes available; they're not always. This just worries me because I don't know if I can handle the pressure of being a good teacher.

No Child Left Behind

I was curious to see how the No Child Left Behind Act can be taken into affect with the English Language Learners. I found a site that explains how the act will help these children and how it is important for parents of ELL to become more involved in their child's school work. However I wonder how those parents are able to read and understand what their child is doing in school when they probably don't understand the language or material themselves. Parents are unable to help their children if they themselves don't understand what it is they are learning or how important it is to be involved in their child's school life.

http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2003/12/12022003.html

Developing a Positive Climate

"I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor; hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or dehumanized."
--- Dr. Haim Ginott, Between Teacher and Child.

This quote has such a powerful meaning that we usually wouldn't recognize. We all have our good days and our bad days. But it's how we react to the bad days in front of children who are so impressionable that makes the difference. How do you feel about this quote?

Teacher Diary: Chronicle Of A First-Time ESL Teacher

"It's hard because I don't know how much they understand. And it's hard because while I'm teaching, I still have to follow the curriculum. When I'm teaching math, I have to follow the curriculum that all first graders are doing. I don't want to confuse them too much and I don't want to bore them. I find myself just talking and talking and talking."

copy and paste this address to read the whole article.
http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2005/sep_oct/ELLOutlookITIArticle4.htm

I thought this article gave a great account of what it's like for a first time teacher dealing with the issues of an ELL classroom. It's evident that she has some of the same concerns we may just starting out.

Junior Field--First Day

Today was my first day at Conackamack Middle School in Piscataway. I was nervous but also felt somewhat comfortable at the same time because I met with my cooperating teacher twice prior to this day. My cooperating teacher is very helpful and very informative which definitely helps ease my nerves. Today went pretty smoothly. The classes I am working with are all seventh grade English classes. I helped my cooperating teacher file her students' paper work early this morning and then interacted with the second block students as they were preparing for "Poetry Slam". The students write seven of their own poems (three of which are to be different forms of poetry) and they will present them later on in the week. I walked around helping them figure out what to write about and answered questions about different forms of poetry. I enjoyed helping the students out with their poetry because I enjoy reading and writing poetry myself. After that I had a two hour break!!! That was great! At this time, teachers get together for "Shared Planning". During this time, teachers share ideas on different subject matter as well as share lesson plans. We also eat lunch during this time frame. The last two periods of the day went by quickly. I basically reviewed my cooperating teacher's lesson plans for the next week, looked through textbooks, and thought about my own lesson plans. Overall, I had a pretty good day. I didn't notice any ELL students in any of the classes yet. The
students were well-behaved for the most part and most importantly, I didn't go home with a headache :)

Posted by NatalieH at 3:06 PM

Interesting story from my field experiance

As I stated in a previous post there are no ESL or bilingual learners at the school I am placed in, but I did hear an interesting story today about one particular student. There is a girl in 4th grade who just got here about 2 months ago from an African country ( the teacher couldn't remember which one). She spoke and understood enough English to "test out" of the ESL program. She was placed in the 4th grade as that's appropriate for her age and they thought her ability but it was quickly obvious that she was far behind the other students in her class. She has a very heavy accent, often hard to understand, and the teacher is not sure how much schooling the girl has had but, she always raises her hand to answer questions even though she hardly ever has the right answer. The girl also has some interesting cultural habits one of which is to stand whenever she answers a question or is called on by a teacher. Unfortunately the girl is so far behind academically and really lacks an understanding of American culture. She is being "retained" ( kept back) and will repeat 4th grade again next year. I found it fascinating that she still wouldn't qualify for ESL classes and that keeping her back is considered the best alternative. I agree that it will give her the opportunity to catch up academically, learn about American culture and feel more comfortable in this country butI can't help wondering if ESL classes would be even more beneficial to her.

Other Benefits

I currently am not doing any field work but I am taking an adapted education class that works with communication handicapped children. These student are not ELL students, but they do have a problem either receiving and processing information or expressing themselves. I found this somewhat similar to dealing with ELL students because they are both challenging to interact with. I found myself using words they did not understand and having to use trial and error until i found a word that made sense to them. I also used demonstration which i feel could be useful with ELL students as well. Gestures and facial expressions were also very important in my opinion. If students aren't picking up on the verbal communication, odds are good that they are picking up on atleast some non verbal communication. I just found it interesting that there were similarities between ELL students and communication handicapped students and the methods that can be helpful in dealing with both groups.

Helping English Language Learners.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Helping English Language Learners.
As an ELL I feel that there is a lot that needs to be changed in the educational system of this country. When I first came to this country back in 1993 (7Th grade) I was not interested in learning what was presented to me, it was not interesting or relevant. Now I understand that i was used to a different style of teaching and coming here i had to adjust to the way teachers teach here. But is that the way it should be? Well, I strongly believe that it is the teacher responsibility to create a learning atmosphere that is welcoming to everyone, maybe becoming more familiarized with the culture, background and education style that ELL had being previously exposed to before coming to the US, speaking to the parents, doing some research that will educate the teacher in what is expected from students in different countries, how are students taught in different countries and very important how are students approached in different countries.I have found a web site that can be very helpful to us as future teachers of ELL, it gives ideas on how to help ELL in English and language arts. http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/help_ELL_lit_la.phtmlAll students have an equal right to be well prepared for a successful life!! after all that is why most immigrants come here for.
Posted by Lissette at 9:35 PM

Field Experience

I am Physical Education major in my junior year. I haven't really had the opportunity to work with children that I wasn't related to or known through friends. I chose this major because I am very athletic and want to pass my skills and passion for sports on to future athletes. Though I haven't really thought about it up until now, I too will still have to teach English Language Learners. This brought on a huge challenge for me. How do you teach physical education to a child who doesn't speak English? In some countries they have sports that are the same name as ours however it may be a completely different concept. It would take a lot of research and patience to teach the rules and objectives to an ELL. Although it may be just a game, to that child it would be a whole new experience.

Understanding A New Culture

In the first chapter of the packet it explains how teachers need to gain background information of their students in order to help them progress and succeed. This not only refers to their culture but their family life as well. Not only for ELL,but for all students. I would be hesitant to ask questions and pry into their lives, which may be a sensitive subject for some. I would be afraid that many parents would become angered or frightened of me trying to take a motherly role for their child. Although I know is some cases, prying and becoming personal with the students and their families may have a huge impact on their lives. However I still fear being rejected from families and in turn becoming further away from the students.

My Experience

During my Junior Field Experience I had the opportunity to observe the Pre-K classroom in the day care center that I worked at. During my work hours, I primarily taught in an Intermediate class which contained 2 1/2-3 1/2 year olds. Therefore as I observed the Pre-K class I worked with many children whom I had as Toddlers. This helped to make the field experience much easier due to the fact that the children were comfortable with me and I was familiar with their families. It helped to already know many of their home life situations, backgrounds, and culture before entering the classroom. However during that time I did not experience working with ELL students.
Although, within the center there are many Asian families. Most of the children spend their first couple years of life living in China with thier Grandparents while Mom and Dad working here. Once they come here, they usually don't speak English and have never been in day care. The other teachers and I talk to the ELL children just as we do the others because at this age they usually pick up the language really quickly. We have also adapted to their culture by learning key words and phrases in Chinese in order to help with the transition. Most children eventually adapt to speaking English in school and Chinese at home. Even when asked they become shy about speaking their Native Language to us.
However I was confronted with an unusual experience this past year. We recieved four children in our classroom that only speak Chinese and never experienced day care. They quickly clinged to each other, speaking only Chinese and not associating with the other children. Although it was a pleasure to see them so happy, they weren't adapting to this culture and they weren't learning English. We found it better to split them up every so often in order for them to have new experiences outside their new pact.

Chinese foot binding

Some cultural practices may be easier to understand than others. Do any of you know the history behind foot binding?

General Principles for Teaching ELL Students

Hi Everyone,
I was looking around and I found this article on General Principles for Teaching ELL Students. If you look on the right of the screen you can also see other links regarding the topic. It expands on what we talked about on Monday.
Instructional Methods and Program Models for Serving English Language Learners: An Overview for the Mainstream Teacher is an interesting link as well...

Enjoy~

http://www.nwrel.org/request/2003may/general.html

Aspects of Culture (Chapter 1 packet)

After reading this section of our chapter 1 packet I realized that teachers have two responsibilities in a multi-cultural classroom: 1) trying to understand and be sensitive to the diverse cultures students bring with them & 2) helping students understand and adjust to the new cultures of which they are now a part. This article reiterates some of the topics we spoke about in class Monday night. Culture isn't only holidays. It's values and beliefs, everyday ways of doing things and special events. In two of my other classes we spoke about how new teachers sometimes tend to focus more on holidays than actual values and beliefs of the multi-cultural classroom. Veteran teachers have said that this happens because we don't know enough about our classroom family dynamic or surrounding area. In some cases new teachers shy away from learning about values or beliefs because they are not sure if it's their place or priority to delve into the personal lives of the student. I feel that if we know our students and their families we will be able to give our students better opportunities. Just as we said in class, students who have just come into the US may have left everything & everyone they know behind in their homeland. We must be patient and observant and realize the sacrifices that have been made. We need to try & understand that these students are probably going through a very scary time in their lives and be there with open ears to listen.

Interesting Video

This is a very interesting video I found that illustrates the steps that an English Language Learner goes through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoca1Ou_6TE

Field Experience in a Duel-language environment

I have already completed my Junior Field experience. Last semester, I was placed in Donald Stewart Early Childhood Center in Elizabeth. I taught students ages 3 to 5. The entire school had a duel-language program! The school was divided into quads. Each quad consisted of two classroom on either side of the hallway. One classroom on each side was an all English speaking classroom. The students in this classroom learned everything in English. The other classroom on each side was an all Spanish speaking classroom. The students in this classroom learned everything in Spanish. This all sounds great, but what was even more amazing was the fact that every two weeks the 15 children in each class switched classrooms so for two weeks all the children learned everything in English and for the next two weeks, learned everything in Spanish. Every child coming out of that school would speak both Spanish and English fluently. There were also several students in my class who's first language was not English or Spanish but a completely different language. One little girl was completely fluent in English, Spanish and Polish. There are a lot of English Language Learners in Elizabeth, so this way of teaching the students really helps them to feel at home in a classroom becuase there will always be someone else learning the language as well. Everyone is included in learning a new language. It really was an interesting experience working there. All the teachers spoke Spanish, and I kind of felt left out since I don't speak it. It still was a lot of fun, and I did pick up a few words while I was there.

My Field Experience

I have had an interesting week and a half at Quibbletown Middle School. I'm working with 8th grade language arts students. My first observation in on Thursday, the last class period that I have. I'm kind of nervous because they are the lower level class and do not engage in as much group discussion. They are also chatty and do not like to listen because it is the end of the year and they know they are just going to the HS anyway. The majority of the student have just stopped working. I wish they wouldn't be so lazy. My main concern is that they will be chatty and not cooperative while my supervisor is there.
Other than that my junior field has been going so good! My cooperating teacher is great! She has helped me so much and gave me so many tips! The three other classes that she has are all very good. I haven't worked with her first period class yet because they are accelerated and are working on a different story. Her other three classes that I am working with are reading Flowers for Algernon. I taught one day last week and this week I'm teaching every day. I feel that it is so invigorating! I'm going to be so sad when these 3 weeks are over because I absolutely love being in the classroom.
I will say that the first activity I did with the students was a gallery walk, which introduced them to Flowers for Algernon. It was a great way to engage the students and get them to think creatively. Yesterday I did a phonics lesson, which allowed the students to relate to the main character of Flowers for Algernon. Today, I did a lesson also relating to the story that dealt with punctuation. I think it is important to bring other elements of Language Arts into your lessons when reading a short story, poetry, novel, etc. Otherwise, the students tend to learn one thing and then just move along to the next item on the curriculum. When you constantly incorporate things from all areas into your lessons it lets the students see certain things over and over again. I think that it makes it easier to build, relate, and remember things such as grammar, the writing process, sentence structure, punctuation.

Zone of Proximal Development

The Chapter 4 packet talks about the zone of proximal develpoment, which is the idea that teachers should teach material that the student is not capable of alone, but can do with the help of the teacher. A majority of the teaching in my class is centered in this zone. Although the students can read the assignments, they are usually unable to understand them from a literary point of view. With just a little help though, they understand difficult concepts such as themes, symbols, etc. I think this is important because it relates to native English speakers just as much as ELL students, because all students, no matter what their background, have areas that they need assistance in order to succeed.

Experience that I had

This morning I had a meeting at school with a group called our " school climate team". It's a committee in which promotes character education throughout the school. We were discussing a few ideas on what to do for our next pillar (citizenship) and all I could think about was our activity we did last night with the 4 most important things to you and the garbage can. I actually had to interject into the conversation and say," Let's not forget the population of our school and their cultures and beliefs." After I said that, everyone stopped for a moment and then the whole conversation we were having went into a totally new direction. I just wanted to share this with you because it was definitely a great activity we did and as you can tell it had impacted my thinking in some way.

Miami Beach economic break-down & classroom manageability

I lived in South Beach Miami not too long ago and had the opportunity to observe a class in North Miami for the whole semester. North Miami Beach was vastly different from South Beach by all accounts. The lack of wealth and resources made me think twice about my high rise apartment with 3 pools and maid service. (it was enough to ground anyone)
My 1st day of observing was pretty much a culture shock for me. Most parts of Miami have a huge Spanish population but this area of North Miami was pretty much all Haitian and Spanish. Thinking back there were only two Caucasian children in a class of 34 students. Not only was the class overcrowded, there was not enough in-class help. The teacher was an experienced veteran of the Miami School district and knew ALL her students strengths and weaknesses. Her commitment to each student really amazed me and each time I see an overcrowded classroom I think of her top notch classroom manageability techniques. The class day started at 8:25 and this teacher was in school by 7:00 each morning. Throughout each day I was there she conducted parent teacher conferences in Spanish and Haitian. This really blew me away, here was this 40 something little Italian woman speaking all these languages all the while holding her own! I remember my last day of observations clearly, I asked the teacher how long it took her to master all the languages and she told me that she had never taken a language class in her life. She started teaching in that area when she was 23 years old and from all her exposure of the languages she slowly but surly caught on. She told me that when your immersed in a social situation such as North Miami you have to acclimate.

From my blog last week...

I was placed in a 7th grade English class in Hillside.
The schedule of classes is not the standard period. Instead, they have block scheduling that lasts about an hour and twenty minutes as opposed to a 45 minute period. This means that we only have three classes a day. In each of the three classes, there are students from many different cultural backgrounds. However, I did not notice any that were ELL. I asked my cooperating teacher and he said that he did not have any in his classes. However, there are 2 students that come from another country in one of the classes. They are both African American. One is a male whose parents were born and raised in Nigeria, but he was born in London so his accent is very interesting. The other is a female who I am unsure which country in Africa she came from. For some reason they don't get along with one another at all. The male student is always getting beat up by the girls. Other students make fun of him when he reads because of his accent. That really makes me feel bad. Its sad that they cannot embrace the differences and appreciate them. Instead they have to judge everyone thats not exactly the same. Hopefully, they will learn their lesson sooner rather than later.

EMSE 3903 THE BIG ASSIGNMENT

The NJ Dept of Ed has put together a very comprehensive unit on teaching ELLs.

Your assignment is to go through the entire unit. It's entirely online, and includes quizzes, voicetracks and some videos. It has many links to a great deal of useful information and material. Be sure to use your back button as well as going through all four parts.

At this point I'm thinking of our one writing assignment and it will probably have something to do with this unit...we'll discuss that together.

Meanwhile, here's the link. Don't expect to complete this unit in less than 6 or more sessions; it's not short--but I believe it covers just what you need.

http://www.state.nj.us/education/njpep/pd/ell_mainstream/index.html

Wondering About Evaluations by Your Supervisors?

Tomorrow morning I am being evaluated by my supervisor. All week long I have been working with the students and feeling extremely comfortable with them. However, I am a little nervous about being observed and evaluated because I know that someone is watching and waiting to critique me. I know that her criticism is only going to help me and meant for me to improve. I am excited also though because I have formed such good relationships with my students and my teacher and I know everything is going to run smoothly, or at least I hope! I was just wondering if anyone else has been observed by their supervisors? If so, how do you think you did? Wish me luck!

All youtube.com links must be copied & pasted into the address window in order to view them

Ask or Ax?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlWOu9FHm-I

Why do different groups speak a "special form" of English?

Field Dependent v Field Independent

These terms are used as learning styles and more. Do a little online research and let us know what field dependent v. field independent means in a classroom. What are the general characteristics of each? What are the ramifications in lesson planning? Which are you?

BICS and CALP in English Class

One of my classes, a 9th grade standard(lower level) English class, is learning Romeo & Juliet. About 3/4 of the class is Hispanic, and many of them are ELL students. More than a few of them speak Spanish to each other before class. However, when the class starts,and they are called on in class, they speak perfect English. Despite their perfect English, they still struggle with the language in the story. Obviously, any freshman struggles with the difficult language used in Shakespeare's plays, but they seem to struggle more than the others. I don't think that this has to do with their intelligence as much as it has to do with BICS and CALP. The students who speak English well have aquired BICS, and therefore have mastered English in everyday situtations. But these students have yet to learn CALP, which involves the use of language skills academically, and takes much longer to learn than BICS. I believe that it is that lack of language skills that contribute to their difficulty with the readings. These childen likely excel in other subjects, like science and math, because there is much less language used.

NY Times Article

The New York Times recently published an article entitled "Students Search for the Words to Go With Their Cultural Pride" in which it discusses how many students are going back to school to learn their native language, which they decided to put aside when they came to this country.

I am providing a link to the article, however I think you may need a username and password to read the article. Enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/nyregion/07heritage.html?ei=5070&en=19f5812bde6107f3&ex=1179633600&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1179461067-9+pGaNgrO11BseQn0xAV/w

Students Communicating in their L1

On page 14 of our Chapter 1 packet there is an important checklist entitled "Empowering the Language Minority Student in an English Dominant Classroom" and the third bullet quickly caught my eye. What I have observed the past four days of student teaching is how often my students speak in their native language. They switch in and out of it openly and without shame. I have mostly been hearing a lot of Spanish and Portuguese between the students. I even pointed out to one of the students, jokingly of course, that anything she said in Portuguese to the others I could understand. It was funny to see her face suddenly glaze over in shock and then just as quickly a warm smile appeared on her face. All the Portuguese students like to think we share a bond since we speak the same language and we understand our culture. However, more importantly is the fact that they can have that openness in class. They feel comfort discussing life at home or their friends in their native language because it is what is familiar to them. Fortunately, my cooperating teacher, along with the other 8 teachers in the building (as I mentioned previously, it is a small school), also feel comfortable allowing the students to communicate in their L1.

I am the Minority

The middle school I am taking my junior field experience at is in an urban area. The majority of the school's population are of African and Portugese backgrounds, but mainly African. I noticed today that these students see "color." Because I am white, a few of them told me that they assumed I did not like them because they are black. Some of those students are still convinced that I do not like them for the same reason, no matter what I say, but they are starting to warm up to me. I cannot believe that there are such feelings of racism that take place in children as young as 11. Unfortunately, three weeks is not enough time to get to know these students well, and change their opinions, but I am still going to try my best to show them that they are wrong. Furthermore, everyone asks me what race I am. I think some were even placing bets. I cannot believe that race is so central in many of their lives.


Is anyone else experiencing a similar situation?

Today was my third day at Calvin Coolidge and I have found out that there are no ESL or bilingual classes in this school. Hillside has 3 schools that are grades 3-6 so any children needing ESL or bilingual classes have to go to one of the other 2 schools because that's where the programs exist. I am in the only special ed class in the entire school. It is an inclusion class with 18 students, half of which are special ed and the other half are low performing for their grade level.The teacher is dual certified and there is a special ed teacher co-teaching for most of the day.I don't have any experience with special ed students so I am having a bit of a difficult time trying to write out my lesson plan.I am presenting a small group guided reading lesson on Monday and then the follow up on Tuesday. My first draft was too involved and presented too much for the type of students I have.I think I was expecting them to be capable of more. The teacher helped me tone it down a bit but now it seems simple and dull to me. The lesson wound up concentrating on vocabulary words from the story using photocopies of a handout to accomplish this.The teacher said its perfect and is exactly what they are use to. I was thankful for the help but I know the lesson doesn't fit my personality or the teaching style I'm trying to develop.I really wanted to be more myself and not a copy of the teacher. Guess I just wanted to "shine" during my first presentation.Oh well, my visions of grandeur will have to be saved for a later date!

I enjoyed my third day at Conackamack Middle School in Piscataway. We were in the media center/library the whole day listening to students present their poems. The 7th grade English classes that I'm working with had a poetry project to do which was to create a book of 4-6 poems using at least three different types of poems. All of the presentations went well and the students' books were amazing! I love this idea because it allows the students to display their creative and imaginative sides. It also teaches them about various types of poetry as well as helping them build confidence to talk in front of groups of people.

Jillian's first day of Junior Field

My first day of my Junior Field experience went really well but I will admit that I was nervous. I was nervous that I was going to oversleep and I was nervous that these seventh grade students were going to tear me apart! I am doing my internship at Westminister Academy in Elizabeth New Jersey and I live in Ocean, so it is definitely a drive for me! I woke up so early this morning because I was pretty nervous but I still managed to be running late because I felt like I had all the time in the world! I hate that! So I left my house at six in the morning because I was going to show up early and try to look good on the first day. Of course I hit traffic but I managed to still make it in time to buy a chicken caesar wrap and my sugar free red bull, of course, at the Quick check! I have to eat something for lunch and it wasn't half bad! I had already met my teacher and my supervisor previously and they were both so sweet, so I felt at ease.
My cooperating teacher's name is Mr. Nick Demarco and I think he is absolutely perfect! He was so good with the students and he made it seem so easy and enjoyable, which was extremely encouraging. He made me feel so at ease and showed me around introducing me to everyone and anyone, even the janitors! I met so many of the teachers and staff and everyone seemed so nice and welcoming, which felt really nice. He also knew every student and had some cute little anecdote about them. He was filling me in on the gossip already, I knew right away we were going to get along great. We began the day doing the morning routine and the students were extremely curious as to who I was. Mr. Demarco introduced me to the class and everyone seemed to calm down and get started on their work. The first class is very diverse and the students are arranged in assigned groups. Mr. Demarco explained to me that the school stresses the importance of group work so he likes to keep them in their groups. I did notice that some students really did not seem interested in doing anything though. This was sad to me but my cooperating teacher said that sometimes it happens. He explained to me that some of the students do not care and are impossible to reach. This makes me want to try and work extra hard and maybe get them to do something at least.
The next period we were working with the "on track" students in the library. These students were so sweet but they just did not want to do any work. It was really a struggle for Mr. Demarco to get them to start working. However, once they got started they really buckled down and got the work done. He explained to me that some days it is extremely hard to get them to work but some days they want to work, it depends on how their mood is. After this period was over we had some lunch and then proceeded to our "prep time." We were hanging around with some of the other teachers and it was good to see them all working together and getting along. They all made me feel so comfortable and everyone was so nice. After prep time, we went back to the room for our last two classes of the day. These our the eigth graders! I was a bit nervous because they were extremely rowdy. Apparently their was a fight between two students the period before and that is all they wanted to talk about. Some of the students were a bit fresh and had a bit of an attitude but after a little settling down everyone got to work. We were reading "The Magican's Nephew", and then the students are working on their greek myths.
Overall, the day was very interesting. I had a really good time there because the teachers, students, and staff made me feel welcome. I love working with the students and trying to help them. I am extremely excited for the next couple weeks and look forward to the challenge.

Choose from the following...

As asked in your reading packet: what are some ways that background information will serve as a practical purpose in your instruction? (p. 6)

Elem Ed majors, let us know from your perspective. Subject-secondary majors, let us know from your specific discipline. Be creative. And you know you have to keep the standards in mind...

Secondly: Time for some introspective analysis...(p.9) Where are you in the development of your cross-cultural skills? Review each item on the list and rank yourself.

Also read and share observations (if you like) on Leanna Traill's quote on p. 11.
What do you have to say about the "Hidden Curriculum?"

Please address the difference between BICS and CALP.

First Day

I had a rocky start to my junior field. Up until 7:15 this morning, my cooperating teacher had no idea that she was in fact participating as a cooperating teacher. I had emailed her a few days ago to hopefully meet with her, but she told me she had no idea who I was or what I was doing. Needless to say this morning was a little crazy. Fortunately, she seems to be very nice and I got to meet all the other faculty members in her "team" and they also seem very nice. We didn't do too much today. The students were all out for testing so it gave me a good chance to get to know my cooperating teacher and to go over the Junior Field packets that we were given. When the students returned I got to meet all of them and we went over a brief math lesson and then the students had the rest of the day to work on their History Expo Projects. The projects all focus on the Civil War and they seem pretty interesting. Some people are recreating famous battles with army men and some are recreating scenes of camplife with miniature tents and they all seem really creative. Unfortunately, the Civil War is not really an area that i studied extensively, but I have to prepare a lesson introducing Reconstruction by the end of the week. Hope everyone enjoyed their first day!

First Day of Junior Field Experience

Today was the first day of my Junior Field experience. I had previously met with my cooperating teacher some time last week so that I could know what to expect and how my day would operate. I strolled in at 7:15am, bright and early, and I found that I had my own sign-in spot along with the rest of the teachers. It was my first time feeling extremely welcomed in a school. The school I will be in for the next three weeks has only 150 students and it only houses (as they refer to it in the city I am doing my field work in) 9th graders. This also means that there are only about 7-8 teachers in the building and most of the time the teachers are travelling back and forth between buildings (they actually have to get into their cars and drive for a few blocks and past several traffic lights to reach the other buildings). Luckily, I got placed in a school with Gifted and Talented students that really do show a high level of excitement when learning new things. What is even more impressionable is that these students have really high future long-term goals. It was extremely encouraging!
Three of my classes today took an exam on the book that they finished reading, Things Fall Apart, and tomorrow we will begin the play "A Dolls House" with them. My cooperating teacher and I are a little concerned about the receptivity that we will receive from the students concerning the book, therefore it should be an interesting three weeks. The other two classes were not related to English, a Philosophy class and a Bible Studies class, however I still learned a lot about those students. Especially since most of them are also in my English classes. I can only hope that the next few weeks can go well and run smoothly.