RTI

Among my first grade team, we are departmentalized and ability grouped. As a result, my first block is all 10-20%. As a result, 90% of my class is in RTI (response to intervention). It discusses cultural considerations that need to be noted when working with response to intervention.

http://www.wce.wwu.edu/Depts/SPED/Forms/Kens%20Readings/RTI/RtI%20Cultural%20considerations%20with%20RtI%20Klinger%202006.pdf

The SIOP Method

This post is a little lengthy- but definitely worth your time. Just like in teaching a mainstream classroom, there are many methods that can be used. After reading "Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods", I have personally found the SIOP Method the most influential. To be honest- most teachers in my building do this anyways when making modifications for their students. Make sure to check out the video clip at the very bottom!

When designing effective learning for ELL students, I turn to the SIOP (Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol) method. This method combines philosophies, strategies, and techniques that recognized challenges faced by ELL students. The SIOP method is hands on, relevant and interactive for students. Some indicators of this variation includes “language and content objectives; supplementary materials; connections between content and the prior knowledge and experiences of the students; vocabulary development; appropriate speech; learning strategies; interaction with teachers and other students; activities that require students to apply knowledge of content and language; and a cycle of review, feedback and assessment” (Herrera & Murry, 2011).

In the SIOP method, there are 3 critical aspects of the teaching process. The first aspect is in planning. There are many different factors that need to be taken into consideration when planning. As an educator, you need to drive instruction based on students’ needs and characteristics.  When planning, there are 5 steps a teacher can do to prepare. This includes integrating content and language objectives. Content objectives clarify what the student will learn from the lesson and are standard based. Language objectives focus on acquiring the academic language for ELL students. The second aspect is using the objectives to develop content concepts. As a teacher, you need to know the basic understandings on which the content is covered. The fourth indicator is supplementary materials. ELL students need to have the opportunity to use these materials. “This can include many hands on or visual materials. This helps practice and more fully understand key content concepts. Supplementary materials also give students the chance to practice new vocabulary and language structures” (Herrera & Murry, 2011). In the SIOP method, scaffolding on grade level is important. There needs to be an adaptation of the context. Finally in the planning aspect is providing ELL students with many opportunities with meaningful activities. “Teachers can make activities meaningful by considering the language proficiency. Then, teachers need to adapt their activities accordingly” (Herrera & Murry, 2011). When planning, you as an educator need to make the lesson relevant to the students.

The second aspect of the SIOP method is instruction. Teachers need to consider how to deliver instruction. Teachers need to take into consideration how it is going to help all students meet the language and content objectives. This includes building background knowledge, clarifying content concepts, students taking an active role by constructing their own meaning through opportunities to practice, interaction with others for academic purposes, and application (e.g., hands on activities, requiring students to apply knowledge of content and language).

The final aspect of the SIOP method is reviewing and assessing. Teachers need to review key vocabulary, review content concepts, continual feedback to students, application of new content concepts, and formative and summative assessments of the student’s progress. Teachers need to analyze the information they collected to review and revise lesson plans to guarantee students meet content and language objectives.
As noted in the lesson plan modification and assessments, all three critical aspects of the SIOP method were taken into account when planning and delivering the lesson plan.

In the link below, you will see the differences between instructional strategies and learning strategies in the SIOP model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhYI3w5I0EA

Herrera, Socorro G., & Murry, Kevin G.  (2011). Mastering ESL and bilingual methods: differentiated instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

WIDA Consortium. (2007). English Language Profociency Standards and Resource Guide. Board of Regent of the University of Wisconsin System.

Subject/Verb Agreement

As a first grade reading and language arts teacher, grammar is a HUGE component of our content. There are days in my mainstream classroom where I feel my students really struggle with subject/verb agreement. When I see some of my students struggling, I think about the language differences and how this can be a large challenge for ELL students.  I have read that ELL students (along with other students) benefit from hands on, relevant activities. So I went on a search for activities to help with this content area. I found this game that consists of throwing a ball to each other. There are a few variations listed on the site, but it was a great starting point to get ideas of other ways to incorporate engaging activities with grammar.

http://www.ehow.com/info_12146263_activities-teach-esl-students-subjectverb-agreements.html

I also found this link on subject/verb agreement. Growing up, I always sat on the living room floor playing battle ship against my dad or sister. It was one of my favorite games. This online version has an academic twist than the version I grew up playing. This version incorporates subject/verb agreement.

http://www.quia.com/ba/144044.html?AP_rand=649876959

Kentucky Laws and Requirements

This website is a wonderful resource for any teacher! Colorin Colorado has provided a list of resources for Kentucky state laws. The website also provides flow charts of the activities that must occur for identifying, assessing, providing programming, and exiting students. This is very helpful. Sometimes as teachers we may get overload on required information- a flow chart helps put it in a format that is easier to read. If you don't live in Kentucky- thats okay, it contains other state laws and requirements too!

http://www.colorincolorado.org/web_resources/by_state/kentucky/

Language Difficulties

Spanish differentiates from English because Spanish uses the Latin alphabet. Spanish students may make mistakes with the English vowels a,e,i. The consonants h,j,r,y may also cause trouble, since they have significantly different names in Spanish. The phonological system of Spanish is significantly different from that of English, particularly in the aspects of vowel sounds and sentence stress. This often makes English pronunciation harder on Spanish speakers. As a mainstream teacher, this isn't something I took into consideration before reading. The link below provides resources for teachers, administrators and parents of ELL students. It is especially useful for teachers because it also shows other challenges faced that teachers may not consider.http://esl.fis.edu/index.htm

Building Background Knowledge

Building background knowledge is necessary for CLD students. Understanding a student’s prior knowledge affects their ability to understand new information. “Instruction that helps CLD students connect new concepts to their prior life and learning experiences improves their language comprehension” (296). The SIOP method encourages teachers to consider 3 indicators. These include students’ life experiences, students’ prior learning experiences, and key vocabulary. This helps CLD students create a constructivist context for understanding new concepts. Putting an emphasis on vocabulary helps connect what they already know to new words in L2.
This link discusses the importance of building background knowledge.
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po0lKqVELPk

This link discusses explicit details for building background knowledge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytXeEFCTMbg

Herrera, Socorro G., & Murry, Kevin G.  (2011). Mastering ESL and bilingual methods: differentiated instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Higher Order Thinking

Higher- Order thinking is based off of Bloom's taxonomy. Currently, it is our school-wide goal to incorporate higher- order thinking questions into our lessons. The connections students make and apply are outstanding when presenting them different questions. One area I stumbled with was incorporating higher- order thinking with ELL students. However, the benefits outweigh the challenges. On page 238, it states, "Incorporating opportunities for higher order thinking using the ICB method develops a wider range of discourse skills among CLD students than does traditional segregated skills language instruction."  That is when I came across a wonderful blog. On it, it discusses the importance and strategies of higher order thinking with ELL students. It is definitely worth a look!
http://esl-methods.wikispaces.com/Higher-order+Thinking

Running Records

As a first grade reading teacher, I am constantly assessing my student's reading levels by running records. Running records allow for educators to find their students' independent and instructional reading levels- which forms guided reading groups. Running records also allow you to see where your students tend to make errors. These errors are either in meaning, structure, or visual. However, I never consciously thought about cultural and language barriers for ELL students until I read the article WIDA posted. It has helped put their miscues into perspective.

http://widaatwcer.blogspot.com/2013/03/running-records-and-ells-miscue-analysis.html

Technology Resources

I have attached a pdf of a list of wonderful technology resources that can be used in the classroom. It not only has a list of these resources, but also includes the cost, uses wih mainstream teachers, interfacing with TESOL standards, relationship to common core, and collaboration value. I connected it to first grade common core standards since I am a first grade reading and writing teacher. However, this doesn't mean it won't connect to your grade!!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/syaajctzteofenp/technology1.pdf

History and Methods: The Grammar Approach

As a 1st grade reading/Language arts teacher, I found the history and methods of the grammatical approach to be very interesting. It was interesting to see the changes that were made over time. There were no connections to experiences or prior knowledge. It appeared to be grammar drills- which wasn't effective for CLD students. I found a link below that went into more detail regarding the 3 different approaches mentioned.
http://moramodules.com/ALMMethods.htm

Dominant Approaches to Second Language Instruction

In this week's reading we read about different approaches to CLD students. This included the grammatical approach, the communicative approach, and the cognitive approach. I found a link that was very useful in defining these approaches.

http://moramodules.com/ALMMethods.htm