As your school year starts, you realize
that you have three ELLs who are newcomers to the United States. Discuss how a
comprehensive literacy program addresses their needs, drawing attention to
specific components of the framework that are particularly relevant. Then
discuss any additional scaffolding you would offer to support these children's
needs.
I have never dealt with
students who are ELLs during my two years of teaching. However, I believe these
three students would benefit from the comprehensive literacy program because it
is individualized and focused on the students’ needs. I believe the three
students would receive the most help from small group work with guided reading
and writing instruction along with individual conferencing. During my guided
small groups, I would introduce a skill with modeling. I could also scaffold
and guide these students to practice with their peers and eventually
individually. I would also pair these students up with not only each other but
also some stronger English speaking students who could act as role models or
assistants when they need help while they are at school. I would have these
students use a “listening center” during independent reading where they could
follow the words on the page while they hear someone else read as they read
along. This would help the students with their word recognition, fluency, and
comprehension skills. Also, I would model even more than usual during my
mini-lessons. Furthermore, I would incorporate more visuals so these three
students could comprehend the strategies and skills being taught in the
classroom.
I strongly believe in
assessing all students informally and formally throughout the year. I would consistently assess these three
students to show their growth to their parents during parent-teacher conferences,
and build their individual reading confidence. I appreciate seeing how much a
student has grown throughout the school year. Also, if I needed extra guidance,
I could always ask our ESOL teacher who is a full-time teacher at our school.
The ESOL teacher might even pull these three students out to be part of her
class. This would allow her to solely focus on more in depth strategies and
skills that would help students who are ELLs. She would be able to provide
extra assistance in making sure these three students become proficient readers
and writers.
Lindsey, you offer some great suggestions. I, too, mentioned the need for individualized instruction. Although ELLs and students with disabilities (SWD) each have their own needs, I do think that a lot of the strategies and approaches that I have utilized for SWD would work equally well for ELLs. This is definitely true for your suggestion about pairing an ELL student with a strong English-speaking peer. Sometimes ELLs or SWD can feel overwhelmed by inclusive classrooms due to the fast-paced coursework and sheer number of students, so providing them with a "buddy" is a great idea. I also like your idea for listening centers; what a wonderful way to improve students' reading skills through others' modeling!
ReplyDeleteSmall group work would really help students who are new to the country, especially if they could work together in that group. If they speak the same native language, they could really relate and help each other as peers. Individualized instruction would be very beneficial because students would have that one-on-one time to progress in reading comprehension and fluency. This time can also be used to track progress while using assessments.I like that you keep consistent assessments throughout the year, I think that shows how the child progress, stays the same, or regresses throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteLindsey,
ReplyDeleteI too agree and suggested in my blog, that small guided reading groups would be key in working with these ELL students. I think these groups would be the most beneficial in conquering specific skills verses particular reading levels. I know with Common Core, we will find ourselves doing a lot more grouping based on specific skills verses test scores/reading levels. I am excited about this type of guided reading, as I think we can differentiate better in order to meet the student's specific needs. Also, I like how you mentioned individual conferencing to assist the ELL students. This not something I thought about, but I could see how rewarding and important this would be to these particular students.