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Ashley Chapman

655 Practicum

Fall 2012

During my practicum, I completed roughly 75 hours of in-class time in a variety of classroom settings in Lexington, KY. I spent 20.5 hours at Tates Creek Middle School working with students in grades 6-8. I spent 21 hours at Mary Todd Elementary School working with the Migrant Early Start Pre-K program. I did my final 30 hours at Julius Marks Elementary School working with Kindergarten through 5 th grade students. Additional planning hours were done with each school.

Demonstrate your knowledge and skills in helping ESOL students acquire and use English listening, speaking, reading, and writing for social and academic purposes (1a).

The most effective way I have found to teach listening, speaking, reading, and writing is to teach them in conjunction with one another. Activities that hit all 4 areas really reinforce the usefulness of these skills to language learners and provide the most practice. For example, when I worked with the Pre-K students we tried to make every activity focused on language learning and useful to the student—following directions, saying please/thank you, reading names of stations around the room to find fun activities, and working on simple motor skills and drawing. All four elements above were included in these simple activities, and the students didn’t even realize they were learning.

Activities containing listening, speaking, reading, and writing can be done at all grade levels. At the elementary level you could do simple activities like I did with a scavenger hunt. Since I had students work in pairs, they had to not only recognize objects in English, read the directions and signs on the wall, and write the answers, they had to communicate the findings to their partner as well.

I try to integrate as many skills into each activity as possible. The more I learn and teach the more I am able to make the most of each assignment and the most of class time given. I work with teachers of all content areas to integrate as much content as possible. I feel that ELL students have enough catching up to do, so I try to make the most of my time with these students.

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Demonstrate how you applied concepts, theories, research and practice to facilitate the acquisition of a primary and a new language in and out of the classroom setting (1b).

I learned so much more than I thought I would during this practicum. I had taught regular English, and I had taught a year of ESL, so I knew I had some of the basics down. However, getting to work in numerous different grade levels was so eye opening and I learned many more techniques.

I knew going into the practicum that learning English would require students to be successful in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students would need to understand the importance of the language in their social and academic life. Modifications would be necessary to meet the students were they were in the secondary language learning. I also knew that their knowledge of the rules of their primary language would affect their success with a second language—if they were missing crucial language learning gaps in their first language, it would be hard for them to learn a second language as quickly. Think of it as “muscle memory”—they just wouldn’t have the brain connections and patterns formed for learning language as well as they could if they were very fluent and schooled in their native language.

Research and personal experience has shown that when students understand the importance of what they are learning, they are more interested and apply their knowledge to a wide base of circumstances. I also believe theories and practices that discuss the importance of cross-curriculum learning. For example, with my middle school students, we were reading a book about drought in Africa. We did pre-reading discussion and writing. Students were practicing speaking, reading, and writing and learning about historical events and current events. Many of the students I was working with were from refugee areas, so the book also touched a personal note with them. This made the book more “real” and relevant.

Most of the work I did was in the classroom setting, but I also always have tried to talk to students in the hall, at lunch, on the playground, before class stars, etc., to get to know them better. I believe students truly will work better for a teacher that takes a personal interest in them as an individual. I try to get to know the family and community so I can understand the priorities and values of my students.

You recall that there are a variety of standard-based language proficiency instruments in the textbook and online resources for methodology courses. Based on those resources, discuss your knowledge of standard based language proficiency instruments and how you used a variety of standards based language proficiency instruments to inform your instruction and understand their uses for identification, placement, and demonstration of language growth of ESOL student (4b).

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4.b.1-Show evidence of colleague discussion of identification, reclassification, and ELL exit

Discussing identification of ELL students, reclassification, and exiting is something that we ELL teachers do daily and endlessly. It’s critical to make the right decisions for our students’ educations. Sometimes it’s hard to decide if a student is ready to exit the program or if a student needs to be brought into the program. My host teacher and I discussed the issues involved with identifying and exiting middle school students (our grade level). A big problem is that students are not exiting. As Ms. O’Daniel said, and I agreed, many of our students seem to want the security of staying in the ELL class, the fact that there is help offered, and perhaps an “easy” way to get by. Identifying students can also be hard, as some students have such large educational gaps in their schooling that they can come across as having language or learning barriers that would simply disappear over time—this is a phenomenon that was noticed at the elementary level as well. One positive step toward proper identification of ELL need and exiting is that there is more data available for us to analyze than ever, such as WIDA testing, MAP testing, etc.

Performance-based language proficiency instruments such as WIDA are invaluable to the ELL instructor. WIDA standards are used as a basis of what must be taught to catch the student up to his/her peers. Using these standards provides the ELL and content teachers with a basis for creating classroom instruction. ACCESS testing is done every year to see if students have met the requirements needed to exit out of the program. ACCESS, like the other language-based assessments, focuses on reading, writing, listening, and speaking in English. This data is then looked at to see where the student stands in preparation for deciding if the student is ready to exit the program. Constant evaluation and precise records can be the best ways to keep abreast of issues and needs with ELL students.

4.b.2-Show evidence of discussion of norm-referenced discussion

Norm-based references can be a challenge for ELL students. On October 3, Ms. O’Daniel and I discussed how hard it can be to catch ELL students up to the same assessment level as their peers. So much schooling has been missed in many cases, even in the primary language. Sometimes students are years behind grade level in every language they speak. Ms. Kourtauer and I even discussed a student that had come to school Selectively Mute. Students with a lag in education can be so hard to catch up because the knowledge base in any language doesn’t exist. Even when students are competent and on-level with their primary language, they are often frustrated trying to catch up in their second language. The students may be used to being at the top of their classes and suddenly find themselves way behind because of language barriers. It’s hard to keep up student morale.

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There is no easy answer to fixing these assessment problems. The quicker students learn their new language the quicker they will be able to catch up to their peers. Assessments should be modified to meet student needs, but as we discussed in all grade levels, that does not always happen.

4.b.3-Create 3 performance-based tasks to assess language skill and communicative competence

1. Novel Q and A-TCMS 10/3/12

Name_________________________ 10/2/12

Novel Questions

1. What is the name of one character in this story?

2. Write down one fact about this character.

3. Draw one scene (something that happened) in this story so far.

4. Ask a classmate what their favorite part was in this story so far. Write their answer below.

5. Do you think this story is exciting? (Circle yes or no) YES NO

6. What page number are you on in this story?

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7. Write or draw one funny part of this story so far

2. Scavenger Hunt w/Peers, JME 10/30

I created a scavenger hunt to be done with newcomer elementary students grades 1-4. They were to find objects and take turns identifying the objects verbally to their partner and doing tasks like counting objects and writing answers in English. This would assess their communicative skills and also their written, spoken, and listening skills.

3. Following 2-Step Directions, MTE, Pre-K

Students were to follow 2-Step Directions to show knowledge of English, listening skills, direction following, and demonstrate knowledge of shapes

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Lesson Name: Shapes

Objective: To listen to and follow spoken directions in English; to identify correctly the shapes circle, square, triangle; to draw and cut out the three shapes; to verbally answer questions and pronounce shape names in English with minimal Spanish; to correctly distinguish one shape from another and trace shape letters; to remember past lessons on shapes and implement previous knowledge

Time Frame: Short sessions conducted over a two-day period, with prior knowledge used as a foundation

Materials: Construction paper, scissors, markers

Steps:

1. Students will have spent previous class time working on their shapes through modeling/identification by teacher, songs/games, and repetitive lessons.

2. Pre-test students by showing the various shapes and asking names, asking for identification, asking students to point out the correct shapes, repeat shape names in English, draw the shape and cut out correctly

3. Review results, modify as needed for better assessment

4. Re-assess students using modifications such as: assistance with cutting, Spanish for prompting, use drawings instead of only oral when asking questions, having a review of shapes and modeling before asking students questions

5. Post-test students using modifications

6. Review results to assess student growth

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(Pictures below.)Rubric created in Section 4.c.5)

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Demonstrate your knowledge and skills in implementing a variety of standards based teaching strategies and techniques for developing and integrating English listening, speaking, reading and writing (3b).

It’s been discussed over and over how all four skills-listening, speaking, reading, and writing-must be taught together to really be comprehended. When teaching ELLs, I did my best to integrate these concepts even more than I would for native language speakers. Standards-based teaching (http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/csos.html) demands that certain elements must be taught at certain levels. I was careful to lesson plan around standards to teach my students, while also recognizing that levels would be different in ELL classrooms than in classrooms of students that were the same age. In Kentucky, where I taught last year, there is a “Common Core” (http://www.corestandards.org/). These standards are based on a “ladder”—for example, every year the skills build upon the skills learned the year before, but are the same basic skills. You may learn to write a sentence in third grade, and then a paragraph in 5th grade, and then an essay, etc. I used my knowledge of the common core to develop lessons that were hitting the same standards, but appropriate for the level of language learning in the classroom. In a 5th grade Reading ESL class, the host teacher and I were working on a text that would improve reading skills, comprehension, and vocabulary. However, these students were not yet ready to read at the 5 th grade level in English, so we used a story called “Across the Pond” in a text in a lower (around 3 rd) grade level. This way, the students were still learning the same concepts and practicing reading, but were doing so at a level they could handle.

I created a “Cloze” organizer to work on vocabulary (see below). We were still hitting content goals according to the Common Core, but just at a lower level.

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I made sure I was familiar with the state and national standards so I could adapt them to my students’ levels. This is a challenge, but it just took some planning ahead. I also tried to make sure every activity had as many aspects (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) as possible—such as, do a short writing after listening to a story, then present or discuss it.

I feel that it is up to me to be knowledgeable about standards-based practices and be as creative and time-efficient as possible. When teaching at the elementary level, we had only a few students at a time, so this was easy. The students were also at roughly the same level. When I taught at the middle school, we had around 10 students in each class at varying levels. What I had to do then was create an activity that would interest the higher-level students while also being manageable for lower level students. So, one example would be, I created a worksheet that included drawing and short answer, but the answers could be expanded. So students with a lower degree of reading ability could

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do more drawing, while other students could expand their written work. All were able to share (example of “Outsiders” work below).

Demonstrate how you chose, adopted and used standards based materials, resources, and technologies to effectively teach ESL students (3c).

I had to work within the confines of the schools where I was placed, but I was lucky enough to have a good amount of resources.

Tates Creek Middle-We were able to use laptops to work on projects for other classes (I helped tutor/assist). We also had multimedia like projectors to make materials for introducing novels that I then worked with. The host teacher was using novels as the main teaching tool, so I created worksheets and paper-based activities that met the language-arts criteria for improving reading comprehension grades 6, 7, 8. I chose to use the “KWL” chart, along with a pre-test and a few other paper-based tools because I felt those were the most efficient use of my time and would give me a quick look at where the students stood. I was also able to create activities for a wide range of abilities, since that was the way the classes were set up. My host teacher was a huge resource for me, providing guidelines and examples of ESL teaching strategies, discussion, and ideas.

Mary Todd Elementary-Technology was used in the classroom in the form of music, a SmartBoard, and computers for the teachers, but I myself wasn’t able to work much

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with technology (It was a pre-K class, so a lot was tactile hands on). I had to learn to adapt graphic organizers like I had created at Tates Creek to a pre-K level. I used the resources in the classroom to decide what we would focus on—play-doh, construction paper, scissors, markers, etc. I focused on language acquisition, so a lot of what I did was verbal and modeled for the students. For example, I read a book to them and then had them point out objects in the book. Part of their curriculum was to be able to work with shapes, with their hands to use scissors, to use proper hygiene and good manners, etc. We worked on all of this verbally and by modeling. It was definitely a challenge and much different than I was used to doing with the older grades. My host teacher and her assistant were big resources in showing me the standards for ESL/Migrant pre-K. They helped me scale down the assessments I was used to doing and make them work for emerging learners.

Julius Marks Elementary-At this school we worked mostly in pull-out so I did not really see a lot of technology used. We focused on language acquisition standards on the Common Core ladder-that is to say, we didn’t focus on what grade level the students “should” have been on, but we were working on advancing them up to the correct level based on their current abilities. We used a lot of great resources I wish I had had in my middle school classroom—resources like sequencing cards, rhyming cards, picture cards, etc. I really was interested in the sequencing cards, as they helped students learn not just vocabulary, but made the students have to actually show they understood the sequence of events in what they were looking at or hearing.

Performance based assessment requires a student to create a solution or a product that demonstrates his or her knowledge or skills. Demonstrate your knowledge and how you used performance-based assessment tools and techniques to inform instruction by creating a performance based task (4c).

4.c.3-4 Instruments and techniques to assess content learning at 4 levels of proficiency

1. KWL Chart, TCMS

I worked with 8th grade students on this Know, Want to Know, Learned chart. We used it with the novel “Holes”. The class consisted of students leveled 1.0 to close to exiting (4.0).

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KWL charts shown below, 2 different levels of language learners.

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2. “Cloze” for “Across the Pond”, JME

5th grade students at mid-level (2.0 to 3.0) used the “Cloze” model to fill in vocabulary and show reading comprehension about a story read in class.

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3. Photo/Rhyming Cards-JME

Newcomer students (Level 1.0) used rhyming photo cards to match in a matching game. This helped them build vocabulary, and worked on their speaking skills. This was done with kindergarten students in pairs.

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4. Grammar Skill Books, JME

We used various skill books on our newcomer/emerging learner group (1.0 to 3.0) students. These books provided lessons in grammar and written English. We completed the activities together and discussed the answers, providing practice in writing, listening, speaking, and reading. We also used the grammar books in our 5th grade class (2.0 to 4.0) to do cross-content work with science and diagramming.

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4.c.4-2 Self-and-peer assessments and model

1. Rosetta Stone Language Learning Program-Middle School (available for all grades and levels)

Rosetta Stone language program provides self-assessment for the language learning student. The student is able to pick an appropriate level for language development and build on his/her skills as they grow. They can assess progress and pick out problem areas.

www.RosettaStone.com

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2. “Read Aloud”, “Around the Pond”, JME

This assignment was done with two 5th grade students. They were reading a short story from their literature book. The stories were generally read by the ELL teacher, then re-read by the students and teacher together.

To work on the peer-assessment, we had the students read the story out loud, taking turns. As reading was going on, they were self-correcting and peer-correcting, in a manner that was not offensive. Since the boys were at slightly different levels, but fairly close in ability, they were able to help each other with pronunciation and comprehension. They seemed to enjoy “teaching” their friend without realizing they were improving their English communication skills at the same time.

4.c.5-2 Rubrics to assess ELL Language Development

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Rubric #1

Following “2 Step” Directions, Pre-K

Performance Indicators Competency Levels Maximum Score out of

Approaches Meets Standards ExceedsElement: Fine Motor Skills

Is not yet demonstrating fine-motor strength and coordination (5)

Cannot use writing and drawing tools(5)

Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination(9)

Uses writing and drawing tools(9)

Uses fine-motor skills above age-level norms(10)

Uses tools to perform advanced tasks(10)

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Element: Persistence and Attentiveness Interest is not

sustained when working on a task. (0)

Adult suggestions, questions, and comments are not noticed(5)

Sustains interest in working on a task, especially when an adult offers (2)suggestions, questions, and comments(2)

Persists-Practices an activity many times until successful (9)

Seeks adult suggestions(2.5)

Sustains interest on own(2.5)

Successful on first try many tasks but does not show frustration when needing to persist (10)

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Element: Receptive Language

Does not follow directions completely(0)

Follows less than two step directions or follows two step directions

Follows directionsFollows directions of two or more steps that relate to familiar objects and experiences(9)

Follows multi step directions pertaining to familiar or unfamiliar objects and experiences (10)

Comprehends more than one

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incorrectly(5)

Cannot fully comprehend language(5)

Comprehends language(9)

language (10)

Element: Receptive English Language Skills

Progress is not being made in listening and understanding English(0)

Demonstrate progress in listening to and understanding English (18)

Above average and faster progress is being made in listening and understanding English(20)

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Element: Expressive Language Skills

No progress in speaking English is being made(0)

Demonstrates progress in speaking English (18)

Fast and above average progress is being made in speaking English (20)

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Rubric #2

Photo Cards Identification, Elementary

Performance Indicators Competency Levels Maximum Score out ofApproaches Meets Standard Exceeds

StandardRLA.O.K.1.8 Meaning Does not

fully recognize that print conveys meaning(5)

Recognizes that print conveys meaning.(9)

Recognizes and comprehends meaning conveyed in print (10)

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RLA.O.K.1.7 Learns new vocabulary but does not use in speaking(5)

uses new vocabulary in speaking.(9)

Uses new vocabulary in speaking and understands new vocabulary quickly as it is introduced (10)

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RLA.O.K.1.1 Is not fully able to segment words into phonemes(5)

segment words into phonemes (cat = /c/ /a/ /t/) (9)

Is learning multiple phonemes at the same time (10)

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RLA.O.K.1.2 Has knowledge of phonemes but cannot blend into words(5)

blend phonemes into words (/p/ /l/ /â/ = play)(9)

Is blending and creating new phonemes at a rapid pace (10)

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RLA.O.K.1.4 Still obtaining basic elements of phonetic analysis(5)

use basic elements of phonetic analysis (e.g., common letter/sound relationships, beginning/ending consonant sounds, short vowel sounds, word patterns) (9)

Uses advanced elements of phonetic analysis(10)

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RLA.O.K.1.6 Is reading below-level

Read level-appropriate sight

Is reading above-level

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pertaining to sight and decodable words(5)

words and read decodable c-v-c words. (9)

appropriate sight words(10)

Demonstrate your knowledge of history, research and current practices in the field of ESL teaching and how you applied this knowledge to improve teaching and learning

I have included my Review of Literature from my Action Research assignment, as I believe this demonstrates my knowledge of history, research, and current practices in the field. I have also added in new information and how I applied this knowledge to improving teaching and learning during my practicum.

Review Literature

The history of ESL is something that I hadn’t thought much about until I decided I wanted to teach ESL as well as content Language Arts. I had long been interested in ESL, as a college student teaching English in Madrid, working on a trip to Honduras teaching English, and in my general interest in multicultural education. I (mistakenly) thought, as do many people I meet, that if you could teach English to English speakers, then it must be just as easy to teach English to non-native speakers. My assumptions came from lack of experience in teaching non-native speakers, and I’ve found a lack of knowledge to be very common even among my teaching colleagues. As our population becomes even more diverse, ESL services and training are becoming more important and prominent in our school systems. This is great news for ESL students and their families, but we still have a lot to learn to overcome challenges in this relatively new educational field.

To briefly go very far back in history, the start of teaching English to those of other cultures began in the late 15th century as Britain began expanding their kingdom (and language) out into the world. English became the common language of those doing trade with the British, but it would be a long time until formal English language instruction came into play.

By the mid-19th century, new learners of English were developing as immigrants left Europe to come to the United States. Therefore, bilingual and English instruction became necessary throughout the United States. For a time, local languages and cultures of immigrants stayed heavily influenced by the native language of the local population (such as French being spoken in Louisiana, etc.). However, by the late 1800s, the United States grew fearful of losing cultural identity and power and declared English as its official national language. The Naturalization Act

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of 1906 made learning English even more imperative, as the ability to speak English was a requirement to become a U.S citizen.

By the mid-1920s, most schools had begun an English-only curriculum, which was difficult for foreign language speakers to learn, as they were basically being thrown into the new language without much assistance. Interest in ESL education and foreign language in general rose after World War II, when foreign language was no longer seen as something to fear. From the 1950s to the 1980s, linguists and educators began to research language and the learning and teaching of language. This produced a variety of ESL teaching methods, some of which are still used today2.

In 1964 the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. In 1974 the Equal Education Opportunities Act was passed. This civil rights bill prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, race, nationality, or color. The statute prohibited states from denying an equal education to students by failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that stop equal participation of students in instructional programs3.

ESL education has support from the federal and state government, but even with growth and acceptance in the schools, there are still many hurdles and stereotypes to overcome in the field of teaching ESL students.

There have been a number of different teaching methods and strategies used over the history of ESL education. The direct method of instruction is done all in the target language without any use of the native language allowed. Emphasis is on oral pronunciation. The structural approach sees language as a complex set of grammatical rules that must be learned one at a time in a set order. The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) focuses on teaching the learner to communicate effectively in situations they may find themselves in. Immersion corresponds greatly to the school environment—students are immerged in the English language and expected to learn the content area skills in English. These are just some of the strategies that have been and are used to teach ESL to language learners4, 5.

One of the most highly regarded current practices of ESL instruction is the Whole Language approach. This approach views language as a whole entity, with reading, writing, listening, and speaking are integrated while learned (this is what we have been practicing in this course). Basically, it is argued that to be really learned, all four language skills must be learned together, not alone. Using these skills together promotes real communication6.

My philosophy of teaching ESL lines up with the Whole Language approach. I believe that my students will not learn the language enough to function unless they are actually using the language for communication, in ways that are useful to their daily lives. Anyone can learn a few

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words in a classroom, but I want my students to be able to functionally use language. When learning a first language, we hear our parents speak, are immersed in the language from the time they are physically able to produce words themselves. That is how we must, to the best of our abilities in a school environment, teach a second language as well. I don’t just want to teach them to read words, or understand words in a conversation. I want them to be able to read, discuss what is read, understand and comprehend, and be successful outside of the classroom.

More-How I applied this knowledge

It is easy to read about teaching strategies and understand their importance. It is much harder to put the correct practices into place in an actual classroom setting. Much of what I worked to accomplish were the same things I worked on in my classroom last school year when I taught ELL.

I worked to improve student/teacher relationships, both between myself and my fellow content teachers. I made it my mission to break down misconceptions and confusion, and ease the frustrations some teachers felt. I always tried to provide classroom teachers with the tools they needed to work with ELL students, even if it was as simple as providing some background information on students or giving tips for modifying assignments.

I worked to improve learning for my students (and the students I worked with in the practicum) by assessing frequently and using knowledge of their other teachers to determine where students were, ability-wise. I helped to create assessments and assignments that were at-level to ease frustration and encourage learning. I tried to always treat students as individuals and appreciate where they had come from—that they had a wonderful unique culture all of their own. Most of all, I tried to always have a positive attitude even when the work was hard and to demonstrate and model a love of learning, even when the work got tough.