Log #1: Tuesday, September 27
I decided to use my prep periods to observe teachers as they work with ELL students in my school. Some of the ELL teachers co-teach in the English Language Arts Labs, some co-teach in content area classes, and I found out just this week that two of the ELL teachers also teach sheltered English language and content classes to ELL students who score 1, 2, or 3 on the LAS test.
Today, I observed Ms. H, an ELL teacher, as she co-taught in a grade ten English Language Arts Lab with Ms. G, an English teacher. Ms. H and Ms. G are one of two grade ten English/Language Arts Labs teaching teams. When grade ten students are in Academics, Ms. H and Ms. G teach English class; when grade ten students are in Shop, they teach the same students, but following the Language Arts Lab curriculum. Language Arts Lab is essentially a remedial English class intended to provide additional – and when necessary, remedial – literacy instruction for all grade nine and grade ten students. The Language Arts Labs are also a vehicle for delivery of special education and ELL services.
Ms. G is the lead teacher when students are in English class, as she is an experienced English teacher. Ms. H has more experience in teaching the Language Arts Lab curriculum, therefore Ms. H takes more of a lead role in teaching the Language Arts Labs.
This being the first day of a new B cycle, it was a transition day from English class to Language Arts Lab class. I noticed that both teachers directed students to settle in and prepare for the twenty minutes of Accelerated Reading that is a required part of the Language Arts Lab program. As I watched, Ms. H moved from student to student, ensuring that each student received his or her Language Arts Lab folder and engaging with students as she moved around the room.
She pointed out “J” who is the one ELL student in this class. “J” was not reading, so Ms. H first conversed with him to find out where his book was, and why he wasn’t reading. She then escorted “J” to the library so he could get a new book.
Ms. H was very active in this class; she assisted students in signing in to the Renaissance computer program to take Accelerated Reader quizzes on the classroom computers, she passed out papers, and she answered student questions. I noticed that she modeled to demonstrate a paper that needed to be stapled into each students’ folder, then followed through by checking each student’s folder to see that they had the correct paper. She also went on the computer to check the title of a book to see if it was an Accelerated Reader book, at the same time checking the reading level and point value of the book.
On this day, this class had no clear learning objective; Ms. G explained to students that this was a transitional day, with students transitioning from English class to Language Arts Lab class. This class was primarily to allow students to finish up any unfinished English class work prior to beginning new instruction. In our school, with its unique scheduling demands, this is probably a good use of instructional time, as students tend to “forget” about Academics when they are in Shops. By allowing students to complete their English class work, Ms. G and Ms. H will probably find that they have more accurate assessment results.
Even without a clear learning objective, students all seemed to know precisely what was expected of them, and they were engaged for the entire period. I am hoping to revisit this class next week so that I can observe an actual lesson.
Log #2: Wednesday, September 28
Today, I sat in with a newer member of our staff. Ms. S has been at Eli Whitney for a few years now; she is starting her fourth year this fall. She teaches grade nine students; like Ms. G and Ms. H, Ms. S teaches English or Language Arts Labs, in alternating cycles, following the cycle calendar for our school. At this point, because the grade nine students are going through the Shop Exploratory phase, the students for Ms. S’ Language Arts Lab classes are constantly changing. Her English classes, however, remain the same students. Ultimately, when the Shop Exploratory phase is complete, Ms. S will have the same students in both her English classes and in her Language Arts Labs. The students will be grouped differently; the same in English class as they are right now; different in Language Arts Labs depending upon which Shops the students choose at the end of the Exploratory phase.
This is obviously far less than ideal for grading purposes, and the two grade nine Language Arts Labs must work in close cooperation to ensure fairness in assessment of students. Ms. S showed me her online grade book for her Language Arts Labs; every grade nine student is on her grade book. The two grade nine teachers apparently share this grade book, and so must also enter Language Arts Labs grades in collaboration. Fortunately, they have extra preparation time during their Language Arts Labs cycles in order to collaborate.
Ms. S teaches the “ELL” cluster of students. Any students who are English Language Learners will be in one of her English classes. Students with Special Education needs are scheduled with the other grade nine English teacher; this is known as the “Sped” cluster. In this way, the school is supposed to be able to provide support services to ELL students and Special Education students more efficiently. Each Language Arts Lab, in both grade nine and grade ten, has a co-teacher who is certified in either ELL or Special Education. Differentiated instructional strategies are used to support student learning in the Language Arts Labs.
Unfortunately for Ms. S, while she has six identified ELL students in this class, and has asked repeatedly for ELL support, she does not have a certified ELL specialist assigned to her classroom. She does, however, have a background in teaching special education, and has found that using strategies she used when teaching special education, she is able to manage.
I noticed that Ms. S states her objectives very clearly to the class, as well as her expectations. She also has visuals prepared, and makes use of her Smart Board to demonstrate while she is explaining. She has a very good rapport with students; she has used her knowledge of anime to create a motivational program to encourage students to achieve in the Accelerated Reader program. As students gain points in the program by reading and quizzing, they move up from a “green” belt to a “purple” belt in Ms. S’s “dojo.” She also handles student cell phone use with aplomb, telling students they’d better not be playing Clash of Clans or she’ll log in and battle them.
Ms. S was showing students how to log into NoRedInk.com, a program we have been successfully using to help students learn grammar skills, and also to join her Google Classroom. The students have been issued Chrome books; although two students still have not completed their paperwork, and the computers in the room do not work yet, Ms. S had paper versions available of the assignment. Students were writing a response to the short story Thank You, Ma’am.
I was able to revisit Ms. S’ class the next day, and she showed me some of the students’ responses. While many of the students have adequate writing skills, there are some who obviously struggle, and who would benefit from additional ELL support. Ms. S was curious about how ELL levels are determined for grade 9 students, as well as what the exit requirements
for ELL are, and whether or not we are meeting the legal requirements for supporting ELL students. These are questions I hope to find answers to!
Log #3: Friday, September 30
Ms. B is my go-to ELL person in the ELL department. We co-taught together for a year before she was moved into the Language Arts Labs, and she is a gold mine of ELL knowledge. I went to her after observing Ms. H., Ms. G, and Ms. S. I asked her about the SIOP model, and about the way that services are provided to ELL students in the model used by our system.
First, I asked Ms. B about the SIOP model, and I asked her if she were familiar with it, and if she used it. Ms. B felt that SIOP is for sheltered instruction; she has seen Ms. C and Ms. R use SIOP method when teaching ELL students who scored a 1, 2, or 3 on the LAS test. The students take this class instead of having study hall once or twice a week. I am going to talk more to Ms. C and Ms. R about this class next week. I was going to sit in on Ms. C’s class today; however, because it was a half day schedule, she felt I would not get a true idea of what goes on in the class, and so I will visit next week.
Ms. B explained to me that sheltered instruction does not have to be in a pull-out classroom, however. In fact, as she reminded me, she had used it with a group of juniors in my own classroom a few years ago when we co-taught. She would explain new concepts in multiple ways, and find ways to help students make connections between new knowledge and what they already know. This type of sheltered instruction was made possible when we split students up into small groups; Ms. B would focus on the ELL group(s) and I would focus on the rest of the class; however, we both moved freely among and assisted all students in the class.
Ms. B does not feel that the Language Arts Lab model adequately serves the ELL population in our school. The exception to that is when she is able to work with the ELL students in small groups, as she was able to when she co-taught in my classroom. It is her experience that her role as a co-teacher has been minimized to that of a para-professional, and she feels frustrated because she is not able to implement ideas and the strategies that she knows would support the ELL students in the class.
We also discussed the intellectual demand that learning a second language puts upon the learner. They must translate everything from the second language into their first language in order to comprehend it, and then translate back again into the second language to answer questions or respond to prompting. I told Ms. B that it sounded exhausting, and she agreed that it did take a toll on students and their learning.
I did not get a chance to ask Ms. B the questions Ms. S had raised about determining grade 9 ELL levels, or about the exit requirements; however, she was quite clear that she does not feel we are meeting either the needs or the legal requirements for the ELL students in our school. As I am working next on that section for the KWL chart, I hope to find clarification on that. It seems to me that we may be meeting the letter of the law, that is, it may look good on paper…but in practice, we may be falling short.