Posts

Post #7 - Gamification

Going off of this weeks topic of MALL, gamification was on my mind. So I wasn't surprised when I saw the concept popping up when I searched for an ESL article for this weeks blog post. The article was titled "Technology for the ESL Classroom that Students cannot resist" and number 8 on the list was "gamification." They cited "The Oregon Trail," "Pokemon Go" and "The Sims 3" as great classroom games that can support our L2 students within the classroom. A lot of these games are familiar so implementation wouldn't be difficult and all provide story lines with English captions. L2 students can build on words they already know. Other tech that was mentioned in the article, would be familiar to us - podcasts, blogging, and translation software. Translation software is still the method that I am most comfortable using in my classroom. I have used Google Translate to help with email communication with parents and to translate worksheet

Post #6 - Notice and Wonder

 I finally got a chance to finish up the webinar that was sent to my inbox (unrelated to my Google Alerts) about routines for ELL students. The second presenter, Vanessa Cerrahoglu, comes from a multi-lingual family who speaks English, Spanish and Turkish. She, bravely, began her presentation with a non-descript graph and spoke to us in Turkish. It was powerful. I tried my best to interpret what she was asking - I used context clues: the word on the y-axis, "insulin (mikrogram)" looked like insulin and perhaps milligrams? I used prior knowledge: those are coordinates, perhaps I should find the line of best fit? I used her hand motions a little - she signaled a typing motion but I discounted it becuase my brain typically goes right to the math. Before I was done the math, she was moving on, and unfortunately she did not what the line of best fit.  In Turkish, she wanted us to write out (typing motion!!) what we notice and wonder about the graph. This is a popular math techniqu

Post #5 - The Summer Slide

 I am not sure if Big Brother is really targeting me or if this topic seems to be coming to the forefront but this week alone I got two "spam" emails to my school email address pertaining to engaging ELL students in the classroom. These were not from my Google Alerts! The first was an invitation to a webinar from the Global Math Department that was titled "English Learners: Routines that Leverage Stengths and Optimize Learning." I was able to tune it to the first half and am planning on watching the second half this week. I really enjoyed the first speaker and the way that he uses patterns and topics to dicussion to get students engaged at the beginning of a class. One of the examples he presented was a "Which One Doesn't Belong" activity where students would really have the discuss and be prepare to support their choice. I thought this is not only a great activity for engagement but could really help ELL students to collaborate with a group and listen

Post #4 - ELL-friendly Supports

I was surprised that when I went looking for edtech to help support ELLs in my classroom that a lot of the articles were not very ecent - as in not even from 2021. One was from 2016 and quite a few of the suggested apps were no longer working. I wondered if the big growth in Web 2.0 has left ELLs behind in terms of technology to support them in education. Apps like DuoLingo and Google Translate popped up on several articles and I know they are still in use today. Then one artcle from 2020 mentioned ELL-supports built into apps that we already know and may be using in our classrooms. Then it clicked - app creaters may not be coming out with edtech to directly support L2s in our classrooms, they are working on ways to improve already exsisting apps to be more ELL-friendly.  The one that jumped out to me immediately was Khan Academy. I use this as a supplement to a lesson often in my classes. I did not know that they offer lessons in 12 different languages. I will be sure to use this in t

Post #3 - An Inspiration!

 My Google Alert this week provided me with a spark of inpiration as I try my hardest to reach the finish line of this crazy school year. The article highlighted an ESL teacher who was born in China and had become a vital link between her ESL elemetary students and their culture. Ms. Huanmei Wang recounted a story where a AAPI student, who was born in the US, but need to spend an extended period of time in China with her grandmother, only to come back to school and not really speak to anyone. I got chills when Ms. Wang said that the student would speak - but only to her.  It is easy to forget in the midst of learning a new language that there are other elements to be aware of like culture. L2 students in an attempt to learn a new language and culture could begin to feel disconnect from their own culture. It was heartwarming to see Ms. Wang help students continue to feel connected to who they are.  Link to article:  https://www.whas11.com/article/news/community/moments-that-matter/jcps-

Post #2 - Switching my focus?

I am not getting a lot of hits on my initial rounds of Google Alerts. I am worried that I searched for something that is a little niche - "ESL in Secondary Math Classroom" and similar combos. I have to admit that I was a little afraid of this because I feel that a lot of times people assume that math is a "universal language" and L2s do not need additional support. Most of the ELL students that I see in my classroom are around the intermediate level with their language skills. In most cases it is because they are older and have had a lot of practice within their earlier schooling. I have even gotten a email notification here and there that a few of my L2s have "graduated" from their ESL support class at the high school level.  So after some reflection, I have decided to somewhat switch the focus of my Google Alerts to ways that I can support the PARENTS of my ELLs at this level. I have mentioned before that it can be sometimes difficult to communicate with

Post #1 - Intro to #bloglife

 When setting up this blog the first thing that comes to my mind is Ryan Howard from The Office. When Michael Scott is planning to propose to Holly, Ryan declares that "blogs are out but people are texting about it." I feel like I might be late to the game but do feel that it could be a positive way to reflect not only on this unprecedented year in education but also to share thoughts and musings on articles related to teaching secondary mathematics and supporting ELL's in my classroom.