Sheltered Lesson for ELL's

Entry #8:

     While watching a sheltered lesson on youtube, I noticed the teacher using key components from the SIOP model in order to engage and teach ELLs.  The teacher activated their background knowledge by saying, "Remember when we went veggie picking?" and then showed them photographs (visuals) of the students picking vegetables.  She spoke clearly and used simple language, such as "We picked some vegetables."  Then, she provided a hands-on activity in which the students got to feel and smell the vegetables in the grocery bag.  The students sang a song about going to the market, and the teacher held up a picture of the corresponding word as it was said in the song, including vegetables, grains, and proteins.  The students were given opportunities to use language by saying "I like cheese." Or, "I like yogurt." The students were then allowed to play in the classroom grocery store and buy food.  The teacher did not indicate language or content objectives, but she did include key components to teach language and content effectively, and the students were engaged in the lesson.  This sheltered video can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsY0dVkeZSI&feature=related
    
     The SIOP model makes academic content comprehensible and encourages language learning by highlighting key features of the English language (Flynn & Hill, 2006). In order to provide sheltered instruction for ELLs academic achievement, teachers have essential components that must be present while delivering their lessons.  Including the following components in a sheltered lesson will make content more comprehensible for ELLs:

• Preparation:  Teachers first define the content and language objectives for students.  They state them orally and also write them on the board.  This provides a roadmap for ELLs and lets them know what they are to learn in the upcoming lesson.  They choose content objectives that are age appropriate and provide meaningful activities that integrate language practice.
• Building Background: Teachers strive to link new concepts to students' background experience and prior knowledge.  They also introduce key vocabulary and emphasize words that are necessary for understanding.  Teachers may use a Content Word Wall to display important words and empower students to use the appropriate vocabulary during lesson or unit of study.
• Comprehensible Input: Teachers must speak clearly and simply when explaining academic tasks in order to accomodate students' language proficiency level.  They use a variety of techniques such as modeling, hands-on activities, graphic organizers, visuals, gestures, demonstrations, and multimedia to make content concepts clear and accessible to ELLs.
• Strategies: Teachers use scaffolding techniques such as think-alouds, paraphrasing, explicit modeling, and cooperative learning groups throughout the lesson.  They use tiered questioning to provide opportunities for ELLs to respond and demonstrate their understanding.  Higher-order thinking skills are encouraged, and students with more language capabilities are asked to explain their thinking and support their opinions.
• Interaction: Teachers provide frequent opportunities for students to interact and discuss the content.  Teachers frequently group students to support language learning.  Teachers offer sufficient wait time for students to express what they know verbally and/or in written form. 
• Application: Teachers supply hands-on materials and provide engaging, meaningful activities for students to apply the content and their language knowledge.  Language skills are integrated, and students are given opportunities to listen, speak, read, and write while learning the content.  Teachers continually check for comprehension before moving on to a new activity or lesson.
• Delivery of Lesson: Teachers support content and language objectives while engaging students 90%-100% of the lesson.  Therefore, there is less "teacher talk" and students are actively working with partners, small groups, or independently.  The lesson is appropriately paced to students' ability level.  Teachers strive to provide opportunities to clarify in their native language by using bilingual dictionaries and, if possible, having more proficient students translate for their peers.
• Assessment: Teachers review key vocabulary and important concepts.  They may use graphic organizers to review content and give feedback to students by clarifying and discussing.  Students can demonstrate their understanding using a variety of informal assessments such as quick reviews, thumbs-up/thumbs-down, using dry erase boards to write or draw, and self-assessments.  Both formal and informal assessments are linked back to content and language objectives.

     Knowing that the population of ELLs in schools continues to grow, it is important for teachers to rethink some of their practices in order to best serve these students. Teachers who are not trained in the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP), myself included, must seek out professional development centered around best instructional practices for students acquiring English.  Although teachers have good intentions and want the best for all students, it is not enough to meet the needs of students acquiring English in a school setting.  Teachers need training in the SIOP model to maximize language development and learning for ELLs in mainstream classrooms.


Sources:

Echevarria, J., Short, D., & Vogt, M. (2008). Making content comprehensible for English learners:
     The SIOP model (3rd ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Flynn, K.M. & Hill, J.D. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners.
     Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision Development.



    

Running Records With Second Language Learners

Adrianna's Running Record:    
     Adrianna is a 2nd grader at Steck Elementary.  She is an ELL, and her first language is Spanish.  According to her ESL teacher, Ms. Brewster, her parents speak "just enough English to get by." She is new to the country and has been at Steck since the beginning of the school year.  Adrianna is presently reading at an instructional DRA level 3 and receives pull-out reading support with Ms. Brewster each day.  Adrianna's teacher feels that, although she is at a DRA level 3, she has made tremendous progress since August.
     After talking with Adrianna's ESL teacher, Ms. Brewster, and looking at Adrianna's running record, I recommend that Adrianna receive individualized instruction  around what good readers do when they come to an unknown word, specifically: "Good readers look at the picture, and say the beginning sound."  She needs more practice with sound/symbol correspondence and the understanding that she can't say "bread" if the word starts with a "t" and /t/ sound.  She could benefit from simple, pattern books that have a strong picture/word correspondence.
Mikayla's Running Record:
     Mikayla is a 2nd grader at Slavens.  She was one of my students last year, and she is bilingual.  Her first language is Chinese which she speaks fluently and is now learning to write.  She takes trips to China with her parents each summer.  Mikayla is extremely bright, and she does well in school.  She does not receive ESL support.
     Reading with Mikayla is a joyful experience! She is expressive and completely fluent in her reading. She is presently above grade level in reading, and it is one of her favorite things to do.  Mikayla devours books, at it is unusual to see her without a book in her hands.  Mikayla has excellent comprehension as far as retelling the story back to me.  She uses important language in the text, starts at the beginning, and retells the story in sequential order.  Mikayla can answer any question about what happened in the story, except: "What do you think the author is trying to tell us?" This requires Mikayla to infer which is difficult because she is quite literal.  She responds: "He didn't tell us that." or "I am unsure what you mean." Mikayla needs practice inferring with books that have an "Author's Message." With focus on this particular skill, I have no doubt that Mikayla will continue to soar in her reading abilities!

 

Learning vs. Acquisition

Entry #6:

     What is learning? Learning is about acquiring and storing information as well as being able to retrieve information as needed.  It is also about making meaning and creating understanding.  Learning is a process that can happen formally or informally.  There are many learning theories and models.        
     Krashen (2003) makes a distinction between the learning and acquisition views as the two ways of developing a second language.  He argues that people acquire the ability to read and write in the same way they acquire a first or second language (Freeman & Freeman, 2004).  Krashen describes Learning as a conscious process that involves studying rules and vocabulary.  Students acquiring language in this way try to memorize and practice the different parts of the language by doing various exercises and drills.  Learning is usually restricted to the school environment, and teachers correct errors to help students develop good language habits.  Acquisition, on the other hand, is subconsious.  Students acquiring language may not be aware that they are learning vocabulary or sentence structures.  Students use language in purposeful and communicative situations.  Rather than correct language errors, teachers keep the focus on meaning and help students understand and express their ideas.  Acquisition can happen in the classroom and also outside of school. 

Learning (L) vs. Acquisition (A)

The students:
    L   look up words in the dictionary to write definition: Using the dictionary is something that must be taught explicitly; it aids students in their learning of correct spellings and definitions. 

_A__ make a Venn diagram to compare to stories: Students are constructing meaning when comparing stories and making text-to-text connections; they are focused on making meaning and integrating information with background knowledge.

_L__ practice sounding out words: Students must learn to break words into parts and make learn to sound out letters and then blend the sounds to pronounce words; they are not making meaning as they practice this skill in isolation.

_L__ read in round-robin fashion: This type of reading situation is about reading aloud and the teacher is correcting errors as students read; it does not typically involve discussing meaning of text or checking for comprehension.

_A__ correct peers when they make a mistake during reading: In this situation, students are taking what they have learned and sharing it with a peer; they are applying their knowledge about a skill that they have learned to correct others' mistakes.

_L__ identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound: This is learning because identifying words is simply about identifying words and phonological awareness, not about constructing meaning or comprehending the text.

_L__ group cards with classmates' names by a criterion such as first or last letter: This activity forces students to pay attention to beginning or ending letters and to sort names into correct groups; it is about applying phonological awareness skills not about obtaining knowledge or improving comprehension.

_A__ write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound: When writing poetry, students are constructing meaning and thinking of rhyming words as they write.  When they discuss different spellings for the same sound, they are using their background knowledge about sounds and spelling.

_L__ ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know: The key words are "the teacher" that makes this learning.  The students are not doing any thinking about what they know about spelling, spelling patterns and rules, and they are not applying their knowledge to spell as best they can.  The belief is that giving the student the word helps him/her learn that word.  Invented spelling is not encouraged.

_A__ read a language experience story they have created with the teacher: Students are using language for a variety of purposes, and they may not be aware that they are picking up vocabulary or sentence structures. They are focused on making sense out of the language in the story.

_A__ work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences: This activity more student-centered as students are working in pairs to create sentences that make sense.  The students are playing with language and making meaning.

_L__ divide words into syllables: Breaking words into parts is an approach to word recognition and is called structural analysis.  Students can combine the meanings of word parts or syllables to determine meaning of words. 

_L__ on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound: This activity reflects the knowledge about language that the student has acquired; the student is applying his/her concepts about print without teacher help. 

_A__ make alphabet books on different topics: This activity involves using a student's background knowledge about topics to create new texts.  Students are expressing what they know in writing.

The teacher:

_L__ preteaches vocabulary: The teacher (key word) preteaches vocabulary that the students may not know so that when they encounter the words in the text, they will recognize them.  The students learn the meaning of words through direct teaching.

_A_  does a shared reading with a big book: Depending on the objective, this activity could be learning or acquisition, but I'm inferring that the objective is comprehension for this particular lesson.  As students read the big book together, they are working on comprehension strategies to construct meaning of the text.

_A__ makes sure that students read only books that fit their level: The teacher is concerned about comprehension and knows that if students are reading texts that are too difficult, they are focusing on decoding words and not on understanding.

_L__ has students segment words into phonemes: This involves sounding out words and the students are learning a specific skill to help with decoding text.

_A__ writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words: This is more student-led than teacher-led, and since the teacher is allowing the students to help with spelling (rather than just write difficult to spell words for them), he/she is concerned about their understanding about what they know about spelling.  (The teacher is probably a proponent of invented spelling, on a side note.  That's a good thing!)

_A__ asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter: Rather than tell the students things around that room that start with certain letters, the teacher has the students look around the room and use their background knowledge. 

_L__ uses decodable texts: Decodable texts are strictly for sounding out words and paying attention to beginning, middle, and ending sounds.  They are not typically used for teaching comprehension strategies and do not always give students a reason to turn the page. (i.e. The fat cat sat on the mat.)

_A__ sets aside time for SSR each day: Students are practicing comprehension strategies and studying word parts in their own reading.  They are applying their knowledge and practicing what they have learned in their own texts.

_A__ teaches Latin and Greek roots: The knowledge of Latin and Greek roots would enable students to figure out the meaning of unknown words during reading.  The purpose would be to help students become more independent at understanding the meaning of unknown words.

_A__ has students meet in literature circles: Teachers who use literature circles are focused on student talk, collaborative learning, and comprehension of text.

_L__ conducts phonics drills: Teaching phonics helps students develop the necessary skills to sound out letters and then blend sounds together into words.  Students then combine the meanings of words to make sense of their reading. 

_A__ chooses predictable texts: This is more of a whole language approach and about the student figuring out words based upon the patterned text rather than explicitly teaching words.  The students can be successful without much teacher support. 

_A__ teaches students different comprehension strategies: Teachers who teach comprehension strategies are committed to their students creating meaning, interacting with text, and becoming readers who ask questions, make predictions, infer, create mental images, make connections, synthesize information, and determine importance. 

_A__  does a picture walk of a new book: The purpose of a picture walk is to help with understanding before reading.  If students have thoughts about what a text may be about, they are more likely to listen attentively and create meaning.

_L__ uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills: When I think of the word "skills," I think of phonics, conventions, and more teacher-directed than student discoveries.  Worksheets are not typically uses for improving comprehension and higher-level thinking, and they have right or wrong answers.

Resources:

Freeman, D.E. & Freeman, Y.S. (2004). Essential linguistics: What you need to know to teach reading, ESL, spelling,
     phonics, and grammar. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Krashen, S. (2003). Explorations in language acquisition and use. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Children's Book Reveiw

Entry #5:

     Reading is an interactive process.  A reader uses his/her schema (background knowledge) about the subject in a text to comprehend. "Every act of comprehension involves one’s knowledge of the world" (Carrell & Eisterhold, 1983, p. 73).  Being familiar with the content in the text directly affects one's understanding while reading, and ELLs may not always have culturally-specific schema to understand the text.  Smith  (1994, p. 8) states: "Everything we know and believe is organized in a theory of what the world is like, a theory that is the basis of all our perceptions and understanding of the world, the root of all learning, the source of hopes and fears, motive and expectancies, reasoning and creativity." What does this mean for ELLs who have a different understanding of the world, are new to the country, and are reading texts that may be culturally-specific to the United States? It means that ELLs may not understand what they are reading due to lack of background knowledge that has to do with United States culture and customs.

    
     Bunny Trouble, written by Hans Wilhelm, is an example of a children's book that has culturally-specific content and vocabulary related to Easter that most English-speaking Americans would understand.  Even for those children who do not celebrate Easter, they would most likely comprehend the story if they have heard about the Easter bunny and Easter eggs.  Although many ELL may know about or even celebrate Easter, they may not be familiar with certain traditions in the U.S. associated with this holiday.
     The story is about Ralph, a bunny, who is much too busy playing soccer to help the other bunnies decorate eggs the day before Easter.  He gets himself into trouble and almost ends up in the farmer's stewpot.  His sister saves Ralph, making him promise to help with the eggs and not be such a nuisance.  When Ralph is set free, the farmer's animals say: "He must be the Easter Bunny...How else could he have gotten those eggs?" An ELL unfamilar with the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs would not understand the humor at the end of the story.  As a teacher, you could do pre-reading activities to build background knowledge about the tradition of dying eggs and the Easter bunny, and use pictures or movie clips to build their schema.  You might even dye eggs in a center to give ELLs this cultural experience.

     Another children's book, We Gather Together...Now Please Get Lost!, by Diane deGroat, is another text that is culturally-specific to the United States.  In this story, Gilbert, the hedgehog, and his class go on a field trip to "Pilgrim Town" the day before Thanksgiving.  Everything that could go wrong for Gilbert does go wrong. He wakes up late, misses breakfast, is late to school, gets stuck with the class tattletale, and then gets locked in the public restroom when everyone leaves.  More than Thanksgiving, it is a story about friendship and taking responsiblity for your own behavior.  Even so, ELLs may not have sufficient schema about Thanksgiving in the United States, and therefore they would have a difficult time following the storyline.  As a teacher, you would provide pictures of pilgrims and a Thanksgiving turkey, as well as background information about why many Americans celebrate Thanksgiving.  You would discuss with ELLs what it means to be thankful, share personal examples of things you are thankful for and allow them time to talk, write, or draw: "I am thankful for..."        

     Carrell & Eisterhold (1983, p. 80) contend that "one of the most obvious reasons why a particular content schema may fail to exist for a reader is that the schema is cultually-specific and is not part of a particular reader's cultural backgroun." Knowing this as teachers, we can help ELLs gain background knowledge and build their schema regarding particular customs, holidays, and traditions in the United States so that they have a better chance of becoming procient readers who comprehend in their second language!

Sources:

Carrell, P.L. & Eisterhold, J.C. (1983). Schema theory and ESL reading pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 17, 553-569.

Carrell, P.L. (1983). Some issues in studying the role of schemata or background knowledge in second
     language comprehension.  Reading in a Foreign Language, 1, 81-92.

Smith. F. (1994). Understanding reading. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associations, Publishers.

Annotated Resources:    

DeGroat, Diane. (2001). We gather together...now please get lost! New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

    This story features a little opossum named Gilbert and his animal pals. Gilbert and his friends go to
Pilgrim Town to learn about the daily life of early settlers.  Gilbert gets stuck with "tattle-tale" Philip as
his partner for the day.  He is not amused and tries to give Phillip "the slip" while on the field trip. 
Gilbert ends up getting locked in a restroom, and Phillip saves the day. Gilbert then begins to
appreciate Phillip and takes responsiblilty for his behavior.  This children's book is about friendship
and has Thanksgiving themes. 

Wilhelm, Hans. (1985). Bunny Trouble. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

     This story features Ralph, an Easter bunny who would rather play soccer than paint eggs for Easter.
He lives with other Easter Bunnies, who eventually get mad at him for playing so much soccer and
not helping out with the egg decorating.  When Ralph goes to play soccer elsewhere,he gets
captured and has to be rescued. He is rescued by his sister and a lot of Easter eggs, and eventually
makes it home in time to help decorate the Easter eggs just in time for Easter.

Making Meaning

Entry #4:
     My husband has family that lives in San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado.  The majority of the residents are of Hispanic origin, and most people speak Spanish even if English is their first language.  Although I love the people and the beautiful scenery, I always feel a little bit like an outsider when we visit, mainly because I do not speak Spanish.  I am unable to participate in some of the side conversations around the campfire or by the river, and I feel inferior at times.  My strategy is to smile and nod; occasionally, they will speak "Spanglish" or one of the cousins will translate for me, and I am able to laugh along with them.
     When we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant in the San Luis valley last weekend, I picked up one of the complimentary newspapers at the front of the restaurant.  It was a small Hispanic newspaper called "La Voz Bilingue." The article on the front page was about the San Luis Valley and the declining of family farms.  I recognized one of the names, Joe Gallegos, a farmer-rancher in San Luis and an old friend of "Uncle Ronnie's" who is also a farmer in the valley.  I was interested in reading about his farm and, with this assignment in mind, I tried to do so in Spanish.
     I do not speak Spanish.  I studied French in high school and lived in France for summer.  Some of the words in French are similar to Spanish.  So, I first searched for words in the article that I recognized like: del sol, las Montanans de Sangre de Cristo, familias, frio, decision, and amigos.  Still unable to make any sense of the article, I asked my husband who took Spanish in high school (and knows just enough to get by when we visit San Luis) to help figure out some of the words and sentences.  It would have been impossible to read without the English translation which I referred back to while trying to decipher the Spanish article.  I did make an effort, but in the end, it was the English translation that I needed to make meaning.
     Attempting to reading a text in a Spanish was an eye-opening experience.  The words that come to mind to describe this particular experience are: confusing, exhausting, and frustrating.  I didn't like it, but I learned a few things about what it must be like for ELLs who are asked to read in an unfamiliar language every day in school.  I imagine that they search for words they know, ask a friend for help, and, if given the opportunity, choose to read in their native language.  It is difficult to break the code of another language without appropriate and significant support.  Many ELLs are asked to break the code, figure it out, and create meaning for themselves.  They suffer in silence and are made to feel inferior, not around the campfire or by the river, but in classrooms all across the country.

Relationship between oral language and reading acquisition

Entry #3:

     The development of oral language is essential to a child’s reading acquisition, and it is a key indicator of children’s reading abilities (Dickinson, Cote, & Smith, 1993). Certainly, the need for oral language opportunities increases as many of our classrooms become more diverse. As a teacher, I strive enhance oral language development for all of my students by: providing authentic opportunities for children to engage in purposeful, focused conversations; having “song books” where children read and sing familiar songs while learning new vocabulary and experimenting with language; providing models of language through children’s literature and mentor texts; having shared reading of familiar texts, songs, or rhymes to enhance oral language; giving children predictable routines which allow them to feel safe to explore language orally and in writing; exposing children to new vocabulary through read alouds; and providing many opportunities to talk in cooperative learning groups. The amount of oral language that children have is “an indicator of their success or struggle in school” (Kirkland, L.D. & Patterson, J. 2005, p. 391). Knowing this, teachers must focus on oral language in order to successfully meet children’s literacy needs and facilitate their reading development.

Check out the website "Oral Language Development for Beginners" at Colorin Colorado for teaching strategies that help develop ELLs oral language in the classroom!http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/content/oral

Dickinson, D., Cote, L., & Smith, M. (1993). Learning vocabulary in preschool: Social and discourse contexts      affecting vocabulary growth. In C. Daiute (Ed.), The   development of literacy through social interaction. (pp. 67-68). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.


Kirkland, L.D. & Patterson, J. (2005). Early Childhood Education Journal: Vol. 32. Developing oral language in primary classrooms (pp. 391-395). Doi: 10.1007/s10643-005-009-3.

Reflecting upon My Writing Instruction

Entry #2

     As I reflect upon my writing instruction, I must admit that the instruction I received as a child wasn't that great.  If I'm being completely honest, it was far from a joyful experience learning to write.  I remember learning about grammar through countless worksheets; I recall formulaic structures that seemed pointless and rote, and the five-paragraph essays that never seemed to be good enough for my teachers.  I wrote to a lot of silly prompts such as: "If you were a pencil, what would you do?" I remember this particular prompt in fifth grade because I thought it was so dumb.  I still think it's dumb.  Prompt writing was never my thing.
   Looking back, I also remember a lot of handwriting practice and cursive writing.  That was considered writing back in the day.  Basically, I was copying and trying to make my letters look as nice as the ones on the worksheets.  I was successful at copying and received much praise on my neat handwriting.  Unfortunately, I was provided few opportunities to put my neat handwriting to good use and experiment with "real" writing.  Writer's Workshop? Forget about it.  Time to share or talk with other writers in class? Not a chance.  As I got older, the red pen became my dreaded feedback on my writing assigments. 
     I suppose one could say that my writing instruction can be described as the "empty vessel" model of teaching where teachers "deposit skills or knowledge into the empy memory banks of their students" (Gibbons, 2002, p. 6) My teachers gave me the writing skills that they thought I needed to become a successful, lifelong writer--spelling rules, grammer, handwriting, and formulas.  Writing was taught directly (Learning View) and about learning how to produce "good writing." My teachers did not teach the writing process or create conditions for authentic writing opportunities. (Acquisition View)  The teacher was responsible for correcting my writing (Learning View) and usually involved a red pen for marking errors.  Although I am certain their intentions were good, my enthusiasm for writing was squashed, and now, later in life, my reflection of the writing instruction that I received is...unfortunate.

Interview with Michelle DuMoulin

Entry #1:
Michelle DuMoulin has been teaching in Denver Public Schools for nineteen years. She taught Kindergarten at Bromwell Elementary for five years and has been teaching first grade at Slavens for fourteen years. To follow is my recorded interview with Michelle regarding her philosophies about teaching literacy.
Me: How do you define literacy?

Michelle: Literacy is a child’s ability to read and to write. To be literate, children must have appropriate literacy experiences at school and at home.

Me: How do children become literate?

Michelle: Children must be exposed to oral language, books, reading, rhymes, writing…at an early age. Exposing children at an early age to print in the environment is important. Giving children writing materials when they are toddlers and letting them scribble, draw, and write is important. And certainly, exposing children to lots of books even when they are babies is important to developing literacy.

Me: How can parents and teachers support a child as a young reader and writer?

Michelle: I think that both parents and teachers can model for children what it looks like to be a reader and writer. Watching a parent read and write lets a child know that it’s an important and meaningful activity. Teachers also need to be models of literate activities in the classroom. Children need to see that it’s purposeful and enjoyable, and…something they should do, too! We need to get them interested and engaged in their literacy development.

Me: I agree. Parents and teachers must be enthusiastic about reading and writing so that children are motivated to become literate as well. How have you taught literacy to six and seven year olds?

Michelle: Lots of modeling and explicit instruction is key. Children also need time in class to practice their reading and writing…with me, with other students, and independently. I expose children to many books, authors, genres, and try to find out their individual interests to get them hooked. I insist that children read books that are “just right” in class and not too challenging. I want my students to have strategies of what to do when they come to an unknown word, so that if I’m not sitting next to them or their parents are not next to them, they have something they can do to decode or make meaning. I am constantly talking about reading with fluency and model what fluent reading sounds like. I want them to catch the “reading and writing bug” and become lifelong, enthusiastic readers and writers! If I can do that, I’ve done my job.

Me: What is your experience with ELLs, and how did you teach them to read, write, and speak English?

Michelle: The majority of my experience with ELLs was at Bromwell.  I was a new teacher, and I had no idea how to meet their needs, to be honest.  I did not feel that I had the teacher training at CU to teach ELLs effectively and make a difference in their literacy development.  We had a lot of fun, but I'm embarrassed to say I am not sure how much they really learned from me in Kindergarten.  I did much of my teaching with pictures, visuals, and made learning hands-on as much as possible.  I tried to speak slowly, clearly, and I did a lot of hand-gesturing when I was explaining tasks to my ELLs.  I learned as I went along, and I got support from veteran teachers in my building.  I hope they remember me as a teacher who cared about them, and as someone who valued their language and cultural differences.

Me: You have done your job well for many years and helped create many literate children who do love reading, writing, and learning! Thanks, Michelle.