Prezi Presentation

This is the link to my Prezi presentation- the other one was not working
http://prezi.com/3xpwvw1v7ro2/present/?auth_key=9ettb6i&follow=avb7ouiirf7o

Prezi- Course Review

Sara Wieder
This is the link to my Prezi presentation
http://prezi.com/3xpwvw1v7ro2/present/?auth_key=a8oh6d3&follow=avb7ouiirf7o

Course Review

Sara Wieder

Course Review

As I look back to the beginning of the semester, I realize how much I gained and learnt from this course. First, I really enjoyed the video clips that provided a view of effective literacy instruction and classrooms. These teachers integrated various strategies and activities to build literacy and help all students learn how to read and write.

I have learnt various strategies to help teach English language learners. These are, a positive outlook, encouraging them to use their native language, connection to experience and background, multicultural literature, illustration and visuals, and journals. In addition, classroom libraries are essential in building literacy by providing a variety of texts available on different levels so that all students have opportunity to read.

Furthermore, I have learnt many comprehension strategies that I hope to teach my students in the future. For example, small group literature discussions, response logs, mini-lessons, and post-it strategy.

I have learnt and gained a great deal of knowledge of how to build literacy in all aspects, reading, comprehension, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and writing. I hope that all the knowledge and skills I learnt this semester will help me be the best teacher in an English language arts classroom. I truly aspire to meet the needs, abilities, and learning styles of all my students in the classroom and give them all an equal chance for success in literacy. Thanks for a great semester!

Keystone Unit Plan- taskstream

Sara Wieder
This is the link to my Keystone Unit Plan

https://w.taskstream.com/Unit/View/C9760C1BF14BB3EEC3EB4D9B4BA1B35E

ELL Case Study

Sara Wieder                                                                                                                                      April 23, 2012                         

ELL Case Study

The class in which I completed my field experience is a class in an English- speaking school in Jerusalem. All the students in this class speak and write English fluently because all the parents are either English or American. There were no students in the class that classified as an English language learner since all the children speak English. On the contrary, these students would be classified as a Hebrew language leaner because they are learning Hebrew. Therefore, I observed an English language learner in a different setting.

Simon Hus is six years old and lives in Jerusalem, Israel. His farther is European and his mother is American. Simon speaks Hebrew at home and to his peers and teachers in school. Yet, since Simon’s mother is American she does speak a little English. Furthermore, Simon overhears conversations that his mother has with family and friends in English. Simon attends a Hebrew speaking school which doesn’t teach any English at all. However, at the beginning of this school year, Simon’s mother decided that she would like her son to know English. She hired a private and bilingual English tutor/teacher that has many years’ experience teaching English. Simon learns English four times a week after school for a one hour session.

Simon is an extremely bright and gifted child. Speaking to his other teachers, I was notified that he is an almost 100% average student in all subjects. Yet, Simon’s command for English is really poor and his learning process is slow. He is way behind his grade level and the teacher had to start from the ABC’s. He has now completed all the letters and can recognize them and he knows their sound. After the teacher was sure that Simon was fluent in the ABC’s she moved on to words. I observed Simon learning words that end with “at” like cat, rat, hat, and bat. Then, she moved on to sight words. The teacher made the lessons engaging and interesting by providing a picture with each word. She also designed a learning plan that motivated Simon by giving rewards for his achievement.

Simon is extremely motivated and a pleasure to observe. He started learning English from the beginning and he never got discouraged. Simon confided in me that his dream is to learn how to read independently. He really enjoys reading and up until now he was only reading books in Hebrew, but now he wants to read books in English too.

I gained a lot of knowledge and insight from watching this teacher. She never pushed Simon too hard, but encouraged him in his learning . She gave him the feeling that he can do it, and always complimented him on his accomplishments. The teacher began the lesson with read aloud which I noticed Simon enjoyed the most from the lesson. This is because Simon has great difficult reading but, he comprehended a lot more. So, he was able to understand the story and experience model fluent reading. I realized that the teacher took great care in selecting the right materials for Simon without causing confusion or reading something that is way beyond his reading level. The teacher used “Animals at Night” and “Bedtime” to teach sight words.

It was interesting to observe how the teacher always engaged Simon in the lesson by connecting the story to his personal life or experiences. In particular, after reading “Bedtime”, the teacher asked Simon, “What are the things you do when you prepare for bed”? Then, she helped Simon write a list of the process of “bedtime” in his house. Simon struggles with writing, and currently can write the ABC’s and is now learning how to write words. Reading is also difficult for Simon and he many times mixes up “b” and “d”. After read aloud, the teacher asks Simon questions to ensure that he comprehended what was read. Usually, Simon answers all the questions correctly since comprehension is his strong point.

I personally had the opportunity to read with Simon a story that I selected with permission from the teacher. He loved the story so much that he asked for more, so I gave it to him to read independently. It was an amazing experience to read to this child who was drinking up every word. I learnt from the experience that with motivation and a love for learning anyone can learn English.

Then, the teacher moved on to guided reading. She selects a text that is easy enough for Simon to read. I observed that the teacher chose books that had a picture with very few words on the page. I believe that these texts were great for Simon’s and really catered to his needs and abilities. It was helpful in that he looked at the pictures to make sense of the book and then looked at the words and tried to decode them. Also, very few words on a page are helpful so that Simon should not get confused or frustrated. The teacher would then give the book for Simon to re-read during his free time. The teacher told me that she believed that giving Simon books to read independently that they have already read is an excellent tool to build literacy. She explained that Simon wants to read on his own, but is not ready to read most books independently. Yet, by giving him books they read during the lessons is great practice with reading and simultaneously boosts Simon’s confidence in his ability to read. I truly admire this teacher for her devotion and kindness.

Writing was usually practicing the ABC’s and writing some sight words. The teacher explained that Simon is having great difficulty with writing and the learning process is very slow. Therefore, she doesn’t want to push him too hard too quickly before he mastered how to write all the ABCs. She said, “ABCs are the foundation of all reading and writing, I must make sure he can identify them and write them”.

The teacher integrates spelling two times a week instead of writing. Since he can write only some words, she reinforces the spelling of the words. Once a week, the teacher does introduce a new word and helps Simon write and spell the word correctly. Simon often skips the vowels, (maybe because in Hebrew many words are spelled without the vowel, for example Rausman would be spelled in Hebrew letters as Rasmn), for example, the teacher asked him to spell the word “wink”, and he spelled it w-n-k. At the end of the lesson, the teacher would give Simon homework, either a worksheet to complete or review a book they read.    

Simon’s parents are very supportive and try their utmost to help Simon with learning the language.  In particular, his mother reviews with him and helps him with the homework. Also, Simon told me that since he started learning English his mother speaks to him in English as often as possible which really encourages Simon to try harder. In addition, his parents bought Simon books in Hebrew that has translation in English. This is a great way to help Simon transfer the knowledge from his native language to English. The teacher also purchased a Hebrew-English dictionary which is very helpful when Simon is stuck on a word that he doesn’t know and can look it up in the dictionary.

Simon is making slow but steady progress with his reading and writing. Even I realized the improvement he made since I started observing the lessons. Yet, Simon has some difficulties and weaknesses. Besides for his difficulty with reading and writing, Simon has great difficulty with grammar and word usage. He often mixes up singular and plural and skips words when he speaks. For example, one day when I was leaving he asked me, “You come again”? Sometimes the errors are so severe that I cannot even understand what he is saying.

 In addition, reading can sometimes be confusing for Simon and the teacher constantly reminds him were to begin reading a sentence. This confusion is because when reading Hebrew you read from right to left and English you read from left to right. The teacher used a great strategy for helping Simon with this difficulty be placing a paper clip at the left side of the page to indicate where to begin reading. Also, the Hebrew language uses a different alphabet then the ABCs so it is also very confusing and challenging for Simon to master the language.

According to the Student Oral Language Observation Matrix, Simon scored a 13 which places him in phase 2. Comprehension, Simon’s strongest point, was a score of five. I believe that Simon has a five in comprehension because his mother speaks English often, to him, and in conversation. Simon scored a 3 in fluency because he often can’t express himself well in everyday conversation and a 2 in vocabulary because of his limited vocabulary. He scored a 2 in pronunciation because he often doesn’t pronounce the words properly and usually has to repeat himself. Grammar scored a 1, which is Simon’s lowest score, because he makes so many errors in grammar and word usage that is so severe that it is extremely difficult to understand him.

Simon would benefit from further intervention in many areas. First, I would design a lesson plan the builds on grammar and word usage. Simon is so conscious of the way he talks that he rarely talks in English. I believe that in order for Simon to master English in all aspects he must be able to speak the language correctly and confidently. Also, I would build on pronunciation and vocabulary so that Simon will be able to speak the language while being understood.

Besides for these weaknesses, Simon has made progress in many areas. He can identify and write all the ABCs and knows many words and sight words. Also, he understands a lot more then he can read which is beneficial in read aloud activity. Finally, Simon can read some books independently though he comprehends much less then when something is read aloud to him.

The ELL case study was an amazing and uplifting experience. I gained a lot of knowledge and insights on teaching ELLs. This experience was really special because I had the opportunity to observe a student learning English one on one with a private teacher. This gave me the ability to view and internalize what I observed. Often, observing in large classroom can deny the observer from getting a close look of the student and the teacher. Also, in a classroom the teacher is teaching other children as well and in this experience the teacher was teaching this one child. I hope that all that I learnt from the experience will help me be an effective teacher to ELLs and all my students!

English Language Learners

Sara Wieder    4/10/12

Assignment #1: questions on the video:

segment #1

1)    How can teachers expectations of ELLs affect students learning? If teacher’s expectations of ELLs are the same as English speaking students then this gives ELL a positive outlook and the confidence to learn better. Higher expectations will encourage students to meet them and ultimately promote achievement.

2)    How can you use what you already know about literacy instruction and your English language learners to enhance their learning? All the strategies that I have learnt during this semester can be adapted to meet the needs of ELLs. In particular, small group instruction, visual activities, comprehension development and a variety of books that are interesting and exciting I hope to use to help my ELL learn and achieve better.

Segment #2: 

1)    Think about your ELLs, what ideas from the video might be useful in your classroom? Higher expectations, encouraging ELLs to use their native language, connecting student’s background, and cultures to the reading I will use in my classrooms to help my ELLs learn better.

2)    How can you ensure that ELLs and their English speaking peers have equal access to the curriculum?  Classroom libraries that use exciting books that are bilingual and exciting activities involving ELLs can help ELL have an equal access to the curriculum.

3)    How can you support students in maintaining their first language? By encouraging students to use their first language, and offering bilingual texts and bringing their backgrounds and cultures into the learning.

Segment #3:

1)    How can you use multicultural literature to support ELLs in your curriculum?  By providing a variety of texts and books on different topics that interests ELLs and providing texts that are bilingual encourages ELLs to read and supports them in the reading process. In addition, choosing books that are culturally familiar can give students the opportunity to relate it to their own lives and experiences.

2)    How does your classroom reflect the nature of the community itself as well as materials written by students? The classroom should reflect the community by having students write up different topics regarding the community and hanging it on the wall for all to see.

3)    How can you group students so that they use their native language to support their language and literacy development? By grouping students with other students that are culturally familiar with and feel comfortable with- students that understand each other or went through the similar experiences, support students to use their native language and literacy development.

Segment #4:

1)    What aspects of reading development are most critical to address when instructing ELLs? Comprehension and vocabulary are critical to address in ELLs because there are always new words that come up in reading books or texts that these students may not understand and have difficulty with.

2)    How can modeling oral reading support ELLs? Oral reading can build reading skills and develop comprehension by allowing the students to pay attention to the meaning of the words.

3)    What strategies can you use to teach students how to figure out and remember unknown words? Contextual clues- looking around the word to figure out the meaning of the word. Also, by creating a word wall and writing new words down can help students remember new words. Demonstrating the meaning can also help students retain the new word better.

4)    What are some strategies you might use to encourage students to maintain their native language as they develop literacy in English? By providing opportunities for ELLs to use their native language in class and with others while learning English can encourage them to use their native language. Providing bilingual dictionaries, grouping students with similar cultures and backgrounds, and showing that you value their native language and that many languages are valuable today will encourage them to maintain their native language.

Assignment #2: Strategies that I learnt that will help teach ELLs

·        Use a variety of books on the same subjects on different reading levels

·        Discuss new words prior to lesson – new words can be very difficult for ELLs

·        Journals – personal narratives

·        Pictures and illustrations that help clarify the text

·        Limited text on each page

·        Act out stories

·        Use visuals and manipulatives

I can use these strategies to help my ELL by building on comprehension which pictures and limited text support comprehension and help ELLs learn. I can also read the sentences at a slower pace and allow time after each sentence to allow the ELL to comprehend what we just read. I hope that these strategies will help me be an effective teacher to ELLs and all students.

Assignment #3: 3 things I learnt form the website:

1)    Recently arrived ELLs may be allowed to be exempt from one of the English language arts tests

2)    ELLs may undergo a “silent or nonverbal period” at the beginning

3)    ELLs should be held in the same standards and expectations as all students

2 things you can apply in your teaching:

1)    Provide high- quality vocabulary instruction

2)    Encourage and value ELLs native language in the learning

1 thing I still need to learn: how to provide equal access to the curriculum for ELLs and their English speaking counterparts without making the ELLs feel uncomfortable and drawing too much attention to their difficulty in English.

Running Record Assessment Lesson Plan and Reflection

Running Record Assessment

Mini lesson Plan:

According to the running record assessment this student has an accuracy rate of 92%. According to the miscue analysis this student relies on the visual and not the meaning. Therefore, I would design a lesson plan that will implement various comprehension strategies to build meaning in the words.

Activity #1: Read Aloud                                                                                                    Teacher will read aloud a story, and ask questions after a sentence or a paragraph- what did this mean or what happened in the story? Then, I will ask the student to predict what will happen and apply it to own personal life and experiences. In addition, I will cover words in the story and ask student according to the context and meaning of the sentence what word would fit in?

Activity #2: small group discussion- that will build comprehension with the use of a web and each student will write down their own feelings and share it with others

Activity #3: Journal or Response logs- student will write down their thoughts and respond to questions that will assess comprehension.

Reflection on Assessment Experience

This student has an accuracy rate of 92% and is a good reader. He is most definitely a slow decoder and therefore has difficulty with the meaning. Yet, he has proven to read accurately in most cases and hopefully a little help and intervention in comprehension the student will be a proficient reader.

I enjoyed administering the assessment. I believe that the running record assessment is a great way to gauge students’ progress and level of reading. It is an amazing tool in helping teachers to assess student’s level, strengths, and weakness. In this way, teachers are given the ability to design lessons according to the individual needs and abilities of the students.

In particular, it was wonderful experience learning and actually assessing a student’s reading level and ability. It gave me the opportunity to assess a student and learn to plan according to the needs of the student. I learnt a great deal from the experience and this course on a whole. I appreciate the knowledge and skill I have gained during this course and hope that this experience will help me be an effective teacher to all my students.