Last ELL Teach

Today, I met with my ELL student for the last time. I  had a worksheet with reading material about apartheid and Africa. We started off by doing a vocabulary worksheet to establish an understanding of the vocabulary that is relevant to apartheid. We did a vocabulary table that consisted of him writing down the definition and then using the word in a sentence that he created. Loaded with our new vocabulary, we took turns reading the packet. While we read, we did a graphic organizer of the main points; it was a bubble graphic organizer. We took the headlines from each section and added the relevant info beneath it.

Todays activity went off without a hitch. My student was very focused and was already familiar with this type of activity, considering we have done it before. Without much instruction he drew out the graphic organizer, only occasionally glancing over at mine as I modeled the activity throughout the reading. Going over the vocabulary in the beginning made the reading process a lot more understood. It was not very often I had to explain what a word meant.

In reflection, I see good things for my ELL’s future. In the same sense, I also see good things in my future of working with ELL students. Taking the time to describe some basic things concerning the English language will make all the difference in teaching ELL students. I expect this experience and training to work well for me in the field. Another reinforced idea I’ve learned throughout the block was that modeling and routine are key structural elements that make teaching and learning easier for both the student and teacher. I could tell my ELL student got more comfortable around me the longer the semester went on; he more openly spoke Spanish to describe English words and I translated to English. This type of comfort level will be important for not only ELL students but also the majority of the population of students. My ELL experience was well-rounded  and I feel more prepared to take on the responsibility of ensuring all students learn in my class.

Last Video Teach

Today, for my last video teach, I plan on lecturing about conditions that soldiers were exposed to during the vietnam war. I plan on lecturing with the use of a powerpoint with pictures. I am going to include conditions such as disease and environmental issues. After I lecture, I will ask the students to read two letters I have provided for them. The letters are from vietnam soldiers during the war; they are letters home. I will ask the students to write their own letter home as if they were a vietnam soldier afterwards.

I expect the students to do fine participation in the lecture and the readings, but I have doubts that the students will want to engage in the writing activity. When constructing my lesson plan, I felt hesitant to assign such an activity. To me, it sounds a bit like an activity for younger kids.

In reflection, I think trying to reach out and try new things is important, especially as a beginning teacher. I often see teachers get stuck in one certain way of teaching. Its important for me to set good habits and always challenge my students. Even if this video teach fails, it will still serve as a good interest assessment tool I could use for other classes. I want to keep my students engaged and I can do this by tending to their interests.

He Speaks Well

Today, for my ELL observation, I went to a teen leadership class. Teen leadership is a class that helps high school freshman develop a better sense of themselves and makes them more comfortable with public speaking. today, the students presented 2 minute speeches based on whatever topic they wanted. My ELL student gave his speech today. His speech was based on his move from South America to the United States. He spoke very clearly and articulated his position very well. The teacher gave much praise and the class voted his speech the best out of the 10 or so speeches given.

The classroom environment was very safe. The kids in this class were very informative and were extremely personal in their speeches. They disclosed personal histories that best friends seldom hear. The teacher gave his own speech before the kids did. His speech was interesting and very personal as well. The students really take to his personality because he shows them the respect that he wants from them. He spent a good amount of time praising my ELL student for the progress he made over the semester.

In reflection,  I am going to build that same safe environment that I saw Mr. M build today. I can see why he is so successful. The kids trust him and he trusts his kids. He is honest with the kids and he is willing to accept their honesty as well. It doesn’t seem like many teacher except students opinion of their environment. If you believe in your students, they will believe in you and any message you send them.

ELL Geo Review

Today, My ELL students and I worked on a geography test review. I had my students read the question and take turns answering the questions. I often pointed out words and asked if they knew what they meant. After we filled out the entire review, I played a game with them. I would randomly choose questions and pose them.

The process I used was a bit repetitive and boring. The review was very fact based and did not utilize a higher order thinking method of learning. I found out today that one of my students is failing all his classes and frequently gets frustrated with class and leaves. I believe he is frustrated by the language barrier. While one my students was very active in our review, he really did not want to participate. The last half our meeting was a bit more interesting as we played a game.

In reflection, I expect that the students will or have not done well on their tests. The teachers in their class may be not paying attention to the ELL students’ special circumstance and need for a specialized curriculum. Next time, I  am going to try to include more Spanish in my tutoring time. I noticed that they often struggled to find words to describe what they meant. When I prompted them to answer in Spanish, they elaborated very well and their eyes lit up a bit more. Their circumstance is not easy. I feel a lot more understanding and I am empathetic to them. I know It will be hard to  help these students succeed in school but they deserve that effort and I will make the effort.

second video teach

On Wednesday, I taught my second video teach. I started the class with an engagement activity that had students predicting what the purpose of my lessson would be. I showed the kids two videos: a video of mlk jr. and a video of malcolm x. The kids made predictions about malcolm x’s agenda as a civil rights leader. afterwards, the I lectured on malcolm x while we answered a lecture guide together. Afterwards, I showed the kids a video about Cesar chavez, a civil rights leader they knew little about. Again, we answered a video guide together and the students asked additional questions about the civil rights leaders I discussed.

I found that the engagement activity I used worked well. The students tend to like any activity that feels like a game. I figured that out after my first video teach; we played jeopardy. the students were intrigued also by the obscure, at least to them, civil rights leaders. they were very inquisitive as to the nature of celebrity they were. I also added malcolm x’s personal background knowledge. His life was filled with drama and the students liked the story of a conflicted life.

In reflection, I see how important it is to engage studnets personal interests and background. the students found it easy to pay attention when they wanted to learn more. Changing up my approach from lecture to video also kept their attention on the tasks at hand. I know, personally, that I enjoy a variety of learning methods. I feel as if my delivery is still a little rusty, but I expect to get better with practice.