Carrie Settles

Initial thoughts, ELL Report, Final Reflection

Initial Thoughts What do teachers need to know about students who are learning to speak English?

From my ESL endorsement training, I learned that teachers need to know that ELL students come to us with a wide range of

backgrounds in education in their home language and also that they may seem to understand conversational English, but

academic English in our classroom is much more difficult for them to learn. A lot of times teachers will hear students speaking

conversational English in the hallway, so have very high expectations of what an ELL student can understand. Many incoming

freshman taking biology are overwhelmed with the new vocabulary, and these are native speakers. So, even more support

should be allocated for sheltered ELL Biology.

What are some general instructional practices that can be beneficial to students who are learning to speak English?

It is helpful when you give ELL students as many visual cues as possible to help them understand what you are requiring of

them. Also, each unit we would create a word wall of new vocabulary words and my power points had many pictures and

animations to help with the content. Since such a high percentage of people are visual learners, it would make sense that ELLs

will learn quicker if images are used as much as possible.

What should teachers consider when testing students who are learning to speak English?

Again, the more pictures that are used the better for the ELL learner. Also, whenever possible it is important to NOT use

idioms or other slang. We need to be very careful of any context clues they will not pick up on because of them being new to

the United States. Many of my tests were created with matching a vocab word to a picture. Sometimes I would read aloud the

questions and rephrase the question if I was getting a blank stare, sometimes they just dont understand what we are asking even

if they know the content.

ELL

Report Template

1. Description

a. The setting of the field experience (e.g., in a classroom, at a community organization location, etc.).

The field experience took place in my classroom during the school day for six forty five minute sessions during our lunch

period.

b. Student with whom you are working:

Student chosen for extra help was a female 10th grader (well, most of her classes were Audited last year, so she is still in

9th grade) Sheltered Biology Class. This student took Sheltered Environmental Science with me last year. Student chosen is

somewhere between a level 2 emerging and 3 developing student. Student is very shy and she doesnt feel comfortable

interacting in English. Below is her access scores from last February:

c. The days and times that you met with the student.

10/21, 10/22, 10/23, 10/28, 10/29, 10/30, 4th period: 45 minute sessions

d. Ways in which you interacted/engaged with the student (including pedagogical strategies). I tried to utilize as much of the SIOP model in her sessions as possible. I started out with Lesson Preparation.

The content and Language objectives were clearly defined and the concepts are age appropriate. I tried to build

background by trying to make the content relevant when we learned about Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic female astronaut:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1058265/Ellen-Ochoa

she then showed me where her home town of Tegucigalpa, Honduras is located.

I was able to find out how much school she had in Honduras (she actually had a lot of formal education). I then

tried to make the Input comprehensible by using speech that was appropriate for her level.

I used many opportunities for her to learn the material. We completed a web quest that can be found at:

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1201149

On this webquest are many video clips showing the structure/function of organelles, Cells Alive which is an animation of the cell parts, This was as close to realia as I could get since Cell Biology is tricky to manifest in a secondary classroom setting. Included in the resource for the Webquest is also a Wiki-Book http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Human_Physiology/Cell_physiology where once again the organelles and their

functions are listed.

For the practice and application portion student created a Tagxito utilizing the vocabulary learned in this unit including some of the key descriptions. To help with her reading comprehension skills we used our media centers research resource landing page to access article that covered the same content as the other classes but after I adjusted

for a lower Lexile level, she felt more comfortable practicing guided reading with me (they are preparing for

Gwinnett County Gateway test all of ninth and tenth grade year).

For review and assessment strategies we used Quizlet as a mini-assessment, she was able to read and listen to the

definitions before I assessed her understanding.

2. Objectives and Assessments

Write 2-3 learning objectives and state how you will assess each. Provide evidence for meeting the objectives.

Objective Assessment Was the objective met? Evidence

of student learning.

Content:

Student will observe and

identify common cell

organelles and will describe

cellular structures and

functions.

Summative

Used Quizlet to formally assess student

comprehension. See Below

Formative

Used questioning throughout the webquest

to assess if she could describe the organelles

Yes. She scored an 80% on the Quizlet

assessment, and I think if the T/F had

been matching, she would have had less

trouble identifying the key words that

made those definitions different.

Language: 8d student will orally explain the role of cell

organelles (including the cell

membrane) in maintaining

homeostasis and cell

reproduction for both

prokaryotic and eukaryotic

cells (GPS) using some

general and some specific

language.

Formative

After the activities were completed and one

final round of Quizlet flashcards, I asked

student to describe Student to explain role

of organelles in eukaryotic cells

No, student was able to tell me that the

Prokaryotic cells (prokaryotic cell took

guidance to say, she pointed to the picture

of the cell) did not have them and

eukaryotic does. However, she struggled

with producing the correct vocabulary

words in spoken form.

Content:

Student will analyze the

relationship between

structures and functions in

living cells.

Summative:

Used Quizlet to formally asses student

comprehension of

Yes, however, the type of formal

assessment I used was very wordy, the 80% pass didnt show how well she actually knew the type of organelle.

When I would point to an organelle she

could name it. I would recommend an

assessment that utilizes more pictures

instead of words. She seemed to struggle

more with the T/F questions.

Language:

Student will read the

definitions on the websites

and describe how plants and

animals are similar using

graphic organizer

Formative:

I will assess reading and writing

comprehension while she is filling out the

Venn Diagram

Yes, she was successfully able to fill out

the Venn Diagram, and the pdf that went

along with the Web quest.

Language:

Student will read age-

appropriate article and be

able to describe the use of

data.

Formative:

I would ask her where to find the data that

was tested in the article and why they were

testing for hemoglobin.

Yes, she was able to locate the graph and

tell me that they were testing hemoglobin

levels.

Assessment: Score 78%

7 Matching questions

1. concentration

CORRECT: d the mass of solute in a given volume of solution, or mass/volume

2. pinocytosis

CORRECT: a process by which a cell takes in liquid from the surrounding environment

3. centriole

CORRECT: f one of two tiny structures located in the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nuclear envelope

4. nucleus

CORRECT: c the center of the atom which contains the protons and neutrons; in cells, structure that

contains the cell's genetic material (DNA) and controls the cell's activities

5. vacuole

CORRECT: e cell organelle that stores materials such as water, salts, proteins, and carbohydrates

6. exocytosis

CORRECT: b process by which a cell releases large amounts of material

7. ribosome

CORRECT: g small particle in the cell on which proteins are assembled; made of RNA and protein

1. a process by which a cell takes in liquid from the surrounding environment

2. b process by which a cell releases large amounts of material

3. c the center of the atom which contains the protons and neutrons; in cells, structure that contains the cell's

genetic material (DNA) and controls the cell's activities

4. d the mass of solute in a given volume of solution, or mass/volume

5. e cell organelle that stores materials such as water, salts, proteins, and carbohydrates

6. f one of two tiny structures located in the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nuclear envelope

7. g small particle in the cell on which proteins are assembled; made of RNA and protein

7 Multiple choice questions

1. double-layered sheet that forms the core of nearly all cell membranes

. ribosome

a. equilibrium

b. CORRECT: lipid bilayer

c. cell wall

2. threadlike structure within the nucleus containing the genetic information that is passed from one

generation of cells to the next

. CORRECT: chromosome

a. lysosome

b. INCORRECT: chromatin

c. ribosome

3. energy-requiring process that moves material across a cell membrane against a concentration difference

. concentration

a. cell theory

b. CORRECT: active transport

c. centriole

4. when the concentration of a solute is the same throughout a solution

. nucleolus

a. CORRECT: equilibrium

b. eukaryote

c. nucleus

5. cell organelle filled with enzymes needed to break down certain materials in the cell

. chromosome

a. ribosome

b. CORRECT: lysosome

c. tissue

6 True/False questions

1. eukaryote organism whose cells contain nuclei

CORRECT: This is true.

2. cell group of tissues that work together to perform closely related functions

INCORRECT: This is false, but you marked it true.

It should be cell collection of living matter enclosed by a barrier that separates the cell from its

surroundings; basic unit of all forms of life.

3. diffusion group of similar cells that perform a particular function

CORRECT: This is false.

It should be diffusion process by which molecules tend to move from an area where they are more

concentrated to an area where they are less concentrated.

4. prokaryote unicellular organism lacking a nucleus

CORRECT: This is true.

5. organ specialized structure that performs important cellular functions within a eukaryotic cell

INCORRECT: This is false, but you marked it true.

It should be organ group of tissues that work together to perform closely related functions.

6. organelle group of tissues that work together to perform closely related functions

INCORRECT: This is false, but you marked it true.

It should be organelle specialized structure that performs important cellular functions within a

eukaryotic cell.

3. Resources

You are required to use 2-3 ELL-specific resources to help inform your understanding of ELLs and

increase your pedagogical strategies to assist students who are English Language Learners (ELLs). You

may use the resources listed within the module or other resources available to you. Briefly describe how

the resources were used to assist in your experience.

I used the IRIS module to develop the strategies I would implement to help with English language and

content acquisition. In particular, I used the SIOP model for sheltered instruction. I tried to be culturally

responsible and infuse her cultural background knowledge into the lesson, I used as much realia as possible (not always easy when dealing with macromolecules) by infusing many web visual aides as

possible, I tried to use differentiated instruction with utilizing different Lexile numbers, I used

repetition, slow yet moderate pacing in our discussions, I used think-aloud, I had her practice speaking, I

re-emphasized key vocabulary and had her create a Tagxito end product utilizing the key vocabulary.

Himmel, Jennifer 2012. Language Objectives: The Key to Effective Content Area Instruction for

English Learners Retrieved 10/15/14 from: http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/49646/

I was having a difficult time figuring out how to get started in creating my lesson, this article provided

invaluable insight on how to even get started and it showed me how to go to the WIDA website to find

the standards I would need.

Short, D. (2013). Training and Sustaining Effective Teachers of Sheltered Instruction. Theory Into

Practice, 52(2), 118-127. doi:10.1080/00405841.2013.770329

This article was used as a resource as it stressed the importance of implementing the SIOP protocol

which is helpful in specifying and targeting specific language goals in addition to the content. What is

important about this is that the language goals must be specified for each students language level. Also, this paper was helpful in showing the importance of teacher development for using the SIOP model

more effectively.

WIDA http://www.wida.us/standards/eld.aspx

The WIDA website was used to help me assess what language objectives would be appropriate for a

level 2-3. According to the WIDA site, level 3s can do a lot of describing.

Final Reflection

What do teachers need to know about students who are learning to speak English?

Well, it was serendipitous that the very first topic discussed on IRIS.com was indeed that we need to understand that our students are

coming to use with a vast variety of background knowledge, educational experiences, and English Language exposure. Many assume

that children learn new languages faster than adults, but in reality adults have more background knowledge which gives them the

ability to make connections to the new language. I did not actually know that math was just as difficult to learn as the other subjects; I

always assumed that math was easier for ELLs to learn because it was just numbers, which explains why the percentage of 4 th grade ELLs not passing the math was still high compared to the native speakers, according to the IRIS site. Teachers need to know the stages of language acquisition in order to have the best support strategies possible in place for each student, also so that they are not

mistakenly recommended for special education.

What are some general instructional practices that can be beneficial to students who are learning to speak English?

The IRIS website references the SIOP Model for sheltered instruction and according to Short (2013), All teachers must be able to engage ELs in rigorous instruction that focuses on academic vocabulary development, content area literacy, and critical thinking (pg 118). The SIOP model was intuitive and the strategies they listed were not overly complex, really they are just a bit more time

consuming as you must think about all of the different levels of English proficiency in one classroom and all of the different home

languages that are represented as well as their own educational backgrounds in their home language. When you think about all of

those variables in one classroom, it is difficult to differentiate instruction. However, once you get the cultural component down for

each student, and their correct level, you can use technology, such as a Wiki page, to group your students and have them go to the

specific group and assignments designed just for their level of proficiency.

What should teachers consider when testing students who are learning to speak English?

Teachers need to be mindful of the instrument they are using to test content knowledge for their ELL students. It is

recommended that teachers use a variety of informal assessments to gauge content mastery instead of accidently assessing

English language knowledge. In my own experience, I noticed that when I informally would ask questions about the organelles,

she was able to identify which was which. When I used the Quizlet assessment, it seemed like she no longer knew the

definitions and structure/functions, but in reality the sentence structures were more formal and there were no pictures on the

Quizlet assessment. Lastly, it is important that when teachers are assessing, they understand that an ELL may be much stronger

in conversational English than in Academic English. Many teachers make the mistake of assuming an ELL is at a higher level

than they actually are. I would recommend during an assessment, if you notice a high level of missed items, you re-word or

explain the question differently (I use CPS/clickers, so I can see immediately if there is a high percentage missing an item).

Briefly describe what you would have done differently (now that you know)

Before I began the process and in many years past, I struggled with the amount of time to let my students use their

translators. I had the thought process that I was enabling them and this would actually impede their ability to learn the

English language faster. I now regret that and next year when I once again teach the sheltered ESOL environmental

science class (we are on a rotation), I will remember that the IRIS institute recommends allowing them to learn the content

in their home language as much as possible, as does the dual-language model, and since I in no way will ever be able to

accommodate the different languages in my classroom, allowing them to access translation websites will be the best way

for me to help them have as much of a dual language model as possible.

Briefly state what questions you still have.

Making content relevant to different cultures is tricky even though I tried to make science seem less foreign by showing her the

Hispanic female scientist, I will try to research a better way to make that seem less forced and more natural. I also think it is difficult

to know when a language barrier is the problem versus when it is actually cognitive function that is impeding the natural progression

of language acquisition, how do you know when it is time for a referral?