Multicultural Ponies
Bilingual / ESL Newsletter
Interactive Word Walls - Supporting the ELPS in the Science classroom
"Interactive Word Walls" serve as visual scaffolds and a strategy to reinforce language arts instruction. They will increase science vocabulary in 5 easy steps. These word walls are planned by the teacher but created and updated by the students, who find objects or examples to display, prepare labels, write definitions, create illustrations and suggest relevant connections and patterns.
- Plan - Determine vocabulary needs based on your students and your grade level goals. Keep in mind what has been taught, what needs to be taught and what will be taught in next grade levels. The familiar words can be direct taught, while the new terms should be introduced through inquiry. Also, identify crosscutting concepts, multiple meaning words, affixes and root words related to the science standard. Then, the words should be paired with pictures or real objects. Sketch a concept map to organize content and connect the vocabulary. Patterns and connections related to the science standards determine the concept map or framework used to structure the word wall.
- Create a student worksheet that mirrors the concept map sketch. They will complete it as the unit develops.
- Place the word wall - They may be arranged on cupboard or classroom doors, walls, windows, or hung from the ceiling with wire. For maximum instructional potential, students are allowed to participate in the construction process, which will finish around the time the unit is also finished.
- Build the wall in class - Strategically introduce target vocabulary and highlight connections to previously established word or concepts during instruction. Once students have planned and carried out investigations, they (directed by their teacher) add the items to the column under the proper heading.
- Complete student record sheet and word wall together - As the word wall sections are completed, students also fill in their organizers. These sheets track daily instruction and may be used as a formative assessment and a guide to the teacher to adjust instruction. Students usually glue the organizers into their science notebooks at the beginning of a unit. When it is finished, the teacher takes a picture and give a copy of the completed word wall to the students to glue it into their notebooks.
(Taken from "Interactive Word Walls, create a tool to increase science vocabulary in five easy steps" by Julie Jackson and Rose Narvaez)
We have time, books and other resources available!
We strive to support our ESL and bilingual ponies, which includes to make available a variety of books and other resources that will make your work with LEP students easier and more effective. We will put a list of what we currently have in your mail boxes, so you can borrow the items and PLEASE don't hesitate to let us know the best way to collaborate with you!
Here are some of the most recent books added to our library...
Learning Opportunities
- 01/20/16 - First Grade Oral Development for the Language Learner
- 02/11/16 - Spring SIOP training. Some spots still available!
- 02/24/16 - ESL Foundations
Multicultural Festival 2015!
Our second Multicultural Festival was on December 5th, 2015. It was an opportunity to celebrate and share the different cultures represented in our school. We had national displays, traditional dances, food and a cultural fashion show! Here are some pictures from that day, so you can still enjoy our school's diversity, even if you could not join us. Thank you to Club 21 and the Lewisville High School Chin Club for partnering with us once again, also big thanks to all our pony parent, student and teacher volunteers who made this day possible!
Albanian dances by our ponies
Chin Dance Club - LHS
Chin ponies singing
K-5 Students' work samples
ESL students shared their culture
Bilingual students wrote about their roots and family traditions
Bil/ ESL Team
Alicia, Danielle, Elda and Angelie
Join us in Facebook: Elementary BIL/ESL Educators (E-BEE) Group