EL Happenings
What's going on in the world of EL!
Imagine Learning
Don't forget about this great program for our EL learners! It's an independent activity and most of our students used it daily last year (except for kindergarten) so they know what to do. I've given you all your usernames/password (which is 'go' for everyone) and most of you are using it on a daily basis. If there's anything you're having trouble with, please don't hesitate to call or send an email, and I will be down to help you out! As I said, most of our kiddos are very familiar with the program (and they like it!) It's definitely a huge asset for our lower language students! Don't forget to send me emails about new kiddos--I can get an account created for them very quickly!
Book Talks
I've been in several rooms for book talks and read alouds! I've also loaned out several of my books to students! I would love to come to your rooms on a more regular basis to read aloud (especially younger kiddos) and to do book talks with some of our older kiddos! This is a great way for me to share my love of reading and to also get our students excited about reading! Just email me and we can set up a time!!!! Some of my most recent 'great reads' are listed below! Would love to come talk to your class about them!
A Handful of Stars
I just finished this book and it was a great, quick read. It's the story of a little girl who makes friends with a migrant worker in their town. Her dog Lucky is blind and both girls work hard to earn money for Lucky to have an operation---a great story about the power of friendship and how important great friends are!
The Honest Truth
This is the book I'm reading now and it's really good so far! Mark is sick, so he takes off with his dog to climb Mt. Rainier and prove that he can do it. Definitely full of sadness at points, but also shows just how powerful the human mind and spirit can be!
El Deafo
Another graphic novel that kids will love! The main character is deaf (it's a memoir actually!) and tells the story of her life in school---the good and the bad! Great book!
Student Profiles
Thank you so much for filling these out and getting them back to me! I'm looking them over now and will send out a reflection of some of our trends. I think you'll find that these are a very helpful resource in planning for your students.....it also helps to focus on what they CAN DO instead of what they can't. We should always be able to come up with those positives about our students! These are also a great tool for parent communication---I hope that you'll see the benefit and start filling them on out on a more regular basis. Let me know if you want any help or would like to sit down and do some together!
EL Classroom Happenings!
It was great to get into everyone's classroom before Thanksgiving break! Thanks for letting me come in and watch our EL students. I'm working on getting my reflections to you---what was working well for ELLs and other thoughts I had while watching them. Remember....I will always make the Doc 'comment' accessible, so please feel free to add your own thoughts and responses. This is a great way for us to keep in touch and for you to let me know what's going on. (As well as great documentation for RISE.) I love seeing all the great stuff going on in your classrooms--not just our ELLs, but for everyone! During the month of December, I'm going to be scheduling some time to come into your room and 'cover' so that you can go watch one of your colleagues! Be looking for more information on that to come very soon! One of the best ways we grow is by watching, learning from others, collaborating, and reflecting---I'm excited for this!
SCAFFOLD, SCAFFOLD, SCAFFOLD!!!
A few thoughts about scaffolding for our ELs! Don't forget to use those language functions that I gave you and that you can find in your WIDA Can Do booklet. As I've been in classrooms watching and coteaching, I've seen some awesome scaffolding techniques and wanted to share a few.....they are listed below as a picture, along with a description.
Envisions Math Interactive Videos
I was in a couple of classrooms before break that were using the Envisions Interactive Videos to support the new topic being introduced. While we don't want these replacing our instruction, they are a GREAT tool for that scaffolding that a lot of our students need. Having that visual is SO important for our ELLs, along with the 'touch and manipulate' aspect that these videos offer. I loved watching the students interact with this in the classroom!
I also saw teachers pausing the video throughout in order to have that time to discuss and reflect---another great strategy to increase understanding and to make sure that everyone is 'getting it!'
I also saw teachers pausing the video throughout in order to have that time to discuss and reflect---another great strategy to increase understanding and to make sure that everyone is 'getting it!'
Sentence Frames
We've talked about sentence frames many times and I'm seeing them being used more and more in the classroom! These are a great way to help our ELLs organize their thinking--whether we're having them write it down or say it aloud. I use these all the time with my groups---Kindergarten-5th grade. They have to add the 'meat'; however, sentence frames just help them to get organized. I would definitely recommend using these! They're also very easy to scaffold---starting with a lot of support and then pulling away. Let me know if you would like some help coming up with these!
Coteaching
This is such a powerful technique to use with students! Mrs. Hazlett and I in first grade have really refined and planned this out and it is going so well!!! During their 40 minute writing block in 1st grade, we have moved our ELs to Mrs. Hazlett's room (those that need support) and then she has sent some of her kiddos to other rooms. We have quite a few students; however, there are two teachers. We are able to provide for those lower level language students the instruction that they need and they are learning and feeling successful---it's awesome! We are working to get some videotaping done and will add it to the dashboard. I would love to do this (to this degree) with more grade levels! Just let me know if you are interested!