Proposition 4
Teachers Think Systematically About Their Practice and Learn from Experience
NBPTS Indicators
- Teachers model what it means to be an educated person.
- They read, they question, they create and they are willing to try new things.
- They are familiar with learning theories and instructional strategies and stay abreast of current issues in American education.
- They critically examine their practice on a regular basis to deepen knowledge, expand their repertoire of skills, and incorporate new findings into their practice.
Rationale
Artifact # 7 – ELLs: Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is recognized as one of the five essential components of reading instruction. Although it is considered in the National Common Core State Standards for the literacy development of elementary school students, many English language learners continue to struggle with the ability to work with individual sounds past those elementary years. It is critical for educators to understand the role phonemic awareness plays in reading comprehension and in the new language acquisition. The explicit teaching of these seemingly basic skills can transform a child’s attitude towards reading in the new language. Phonemic awareness will improve their decoding abilities and thus the overall comprehension of written text. For literate linguistically and culturally diverse students whose native language assigns just one sound to a letter or letter pattern, this becomes a major issue if not explicitly taught. Teachers of English language learners must provide opportunities for students to engage in word study lessons to support literacy development and students' reading achievement.
Artifact # 8 – Creative Writing: Understanding Character, Setting, and Plot
A large number of our linguistically and culturally diverse students tend to be very creative when engaged in activities that require little or no production of the English language. However, when confronted with creating skillfully crafted pieces of text that require them to employ of a variety of grammar structures and more grade level appropriate word choice, they find themselves at disadvantage for lacking both a richer repertoire in their vocabulary and a clear understanding of how grammar functions in the new language. In addition, many ELLs are unaware of the interconnectedness of all literary elements in a story. This lack of knowledge also hinders their ability to comprehend the more complex fiction texts that make part of their English Language Arts Curriculum. Teachers of ELLs need to model and challenge their students to experiment with creative writing as means to promote English language development and to involve students in establishing a personal connection to the basic elements of a fictional piece. "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn" (Benjamin Franklin)
Artifact # 7 – ELLs: Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is recognized as one of the five essential components of reading instruction. Although it is considered in the National Common Core State Standards for the literacy development of elementary school students, many English language learners continue to struggle with the ability to work with individual sounds past those elementary years. It is critical for educators to understand the role phonemic awareness plays in reading comprehension and in the new language acquisition. The explicit teaching of these seemingly basic skills can transform a child’s attitude towards reading in the new language. Phonemic awareness will improve their decoding abilities and thus the overall comprehension of written text. For literate linguistically and culturally diverse students whose native language assigns just one sound to a letter or letter pattern, this becomes a major issue if not explicitly taught. Teachers of English language learners must provide opportunities for students to engage in word study lessons to support literacy development and students' reading achievement.
Artifact # 8 – Creative Writing: Understanding Character, Setting, and Plot
A large number of our linguistically and culturally diverse students tend to be very creative when engaged in activities that require little or no production of the English language. However, when confronted with creating skillfully crafted pieces of text that require them to employ of a variety of grammar structures and more grade level appropriate word choice, they find themselves at disadvantage for lacking both a richer repertoire in their vocabulary and a clear understanding of how grammar functions in the new language. In addition, many ELLs are unaware of the interconnectedness of all literary elements in a story. This lack of knowledge also hinders their ability to comprehend the more complex fiction texts that make part of their English Language Arts Curriculum. Teachers of ELLs need to model and challenge their students to experiment with creative writing as means to promote English language development and to involve students in establishing a personal connection to the basic elements of a fictional piece. "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn" (Benjamin Franklin)
Collaboration
Artifact # 8
English Language Arts Teachers and ESL professionals in other middle schools in the district.
Artifact # 8
English Language Arts Teachers and ESL professionals in other middle schools in the district.
Reflection
Artifact # 7
Even though creating lessons targeted to teach word study can prove to be a challenging exercise, it is a rewarding one. Assigning class time to word study throughout the year has caused my English language learners to start using their knowledge of word parts in a variety of thoughtful ways. Not only their reading fluency has improved but their content subject comprehension has grown as well. Students in the English as a Second Language classroom are applying what has been learned about words and word parts into their content areas reading. Being able to comprehend the more complex text has created more excitement in my ESL students as they see their grades improving.
Artifact # 8
The Wiki I designed for my EDU742 served as the road to teach my ESL students about the importance of each one of the elements of fiction as separate parts and then as a whole in a story. This lesson reminded me that no matter how many years my students have been schooled in the US school systems, they still struggle Tier 1 and Tier 2 words, which hinders their overall comprehension of the language required to be successful learners. The multiple times I had to adjust the lesson confirmed the basic gaps in most of my students. It also reminded me of the importance of being flexible when teaching and that no matter how well-designed I might think my lesson is, I may have to recur to additional resources if I want all your students to achieve.
Artifact # 7
Even though creating lessons targeted to teach word study can prove to be a challenging exercise, it is a rewarding one. Assigning class time to word study throughout the year has caused my English language learners to start using their knowledge of word parts in a variety of thoughtful ways. Not only their reading fluency has improved but their content subject comprehension has grown as well. Students in the English as a Second Language classroom are applying what has been learned about words and word parts into their content areas reading. Being able to comprehend the more complex text has created more excitement in my ESL students as they see their grades improving.
Artifact # 8
The Wiki I designed for my EDU742 served as the road to teach my ESL students about the importance of each one of the elements of fiction as separate parts and then as a whole in a story. This lesson reminded me that no matter how many years my students have been schooled in the US school systems, they still struggle Tier 1 and Tier 2 words, which hinders their overall comprehension of the language required to be successful learners. The multiple times I had to adjust the lesson confirmed the basic gaps in most of my students. It also reminded me of the importance of being flexible when teaching and that no matter how well-designed I might think my lesson is, I may have to recur to additional resources if I want all your students to achieve.
Artifact # 7 ELLs - Phonemic Awareness and Literacy |
Artifact # 8 - EDU743: Understanding Character, Setting, and Plot |
|
Click on text below slide to open presentation in
a new window. |
