Search found 14 matches
- Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:52 am
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: Problems with group work
- Replies: 7
- Views: 5287
Group Work
You will always have an activity that does not appeal to all of the students in your class. However, I feel that group work is one of those strategies that need to be taught and practiced in the classroom. After all, these students will be expected to work cooperatively as adults when they are done ...
- Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:39 am
- Forum: Secondary School Education
- Topic: Listening Skills
- Replies: 1
- Views: 5512
listening
My students really benefit from having access to content related materials in an audio form. Sometimes, you are able to find the books on CD or free downloads of the books. However, oftentimes the students struggle with reading much more than just the literature read in class. Textbooks are often wr...
- Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:00 am
- Forum: Secondary School Education
- Topic: Teaching Listening
- Replies: 0
- Views: 4422
Teaching Listening
I have two students ELL students who have hated doing cooperative group work all year long. Actually, they didn’t mind working together. They simply hated having to converse with each other. Both students had difficulty understanding each other during listening contexts. Each student had very strong...
- Tue Jun 26, 2012 1:58 am
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: Reading and Writing
- Replies: 0
- Views: 1831
Reading and Writing
Reading and writing are two of the four domains that ELL students need to practice inside and outside of the school environment. The past year, I have been surprised at various things that have come up in the ESL classroom. I had two Level 1 (Entering) students based on the WIDA English proficiency ...
- Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:16 am
- Forum: Assessment
- Topic: Creating and revising tests
- Replies: 2
- Views: 5072
Turning existing tests into more effective procedures
You are correct in saying that the ESL teacher will often have the responsibility of taking traditional tests and converting them into authentic, interesting, and appropriately challenging for the current ELL students in the class. Even if a test is not modified for the ELL students, I think it is e...
- Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:59 am
- Forum: Assessment
- Topic: ELLs and Standardized Tests
- Replies: 2
- Views: 5912
Standardized testing
I have a student who had to take the math portion of the NJASK test this year. She had only been in the country for several months. The entire testing time, she complained about the fact that she had to take a standardized test that assessed her knowledge and skills in a language that she couldn’t y...
- Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:07 pm
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: Self-esteem and identity
- Replies: 2
- Views: 2814
Developing student self-awareness of learn styles/strategies
I believe that a student's self-esteem is connected to his own perceptions about the language he is learning. At the beginning of the school year, it is often beneficial to have your students complete an informal self-checklist to help them develop the self-awareness necessary for the students to wo...
- Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:26 pm
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: Teaching Multiple Proficiency Levels
- Replies: 2
- Views: 2654
Teaching Multiple Proficiency Levels
This past year, I found myself teaching students with a wide range of proficiency levels. I expected the challenge of teaching students ranging in English skills from a level 1 to nearly a level 6 on the WIDA English Proficiency scale. I knew my position responsibilities included teaching ELL studen...
- Mon May 28, 2012 3:01 am
- Forum: Texts
- Topic: Texts for Middle Schoolers
- Replies: 1
- Views: 5077
Texts for Middle Schoolers
I am finding the process of selecting appropriate textbooks, materials, and resources for the classroom to be quite daunting! I currently use the National Geographic Reach series for my students in grades 4 & 5. I believe this textbook series actually fits in well with the curriculum map already est...
- Mon May 28, 2012 2:57 am
- Forum: Computer Assisted Language Learning
- Topic: How to make CAll effective in middle school teaching?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 9547
Benefits of CALL
I believe that CALL can be beneficial for students of all ages. I actually took a course called "Games as Learning Tools" where we became the ESL student for the entire 15 weeks. I saw first hand how the use of Games can make two dimensional materials in a textbook come to life. However, one of the ...
- Mon May 21, 2012 10:53 pm
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: Maintaining L1
- Replies: 3
- Views: 2648
maintaining L1
I, too, have had similar conversations with teachers in general education classes. I have had many “breakthrough” moments with several of these teachers. Unfortunately, I have received the most resistance from one particular administrator. This administrator has asked the student, on multiple occasi...
- Mon May 21, 2012 10:51 pm
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: Student Speech Comprehensibility
- Replies: 1
- Views: 1562
Student Speech Comprehensibility
I currently teach ESL in an Intermediate school (grades 6-8th). I have been working with a student for most of the school year who came to the country just a little over one year ago. She is from China and originally had no English receptive or expressive skills. At the beginning of the year, she En...
- Mon May 21, 2012 10:48 pm
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: new teacher dilemma
- Replies: 5
- Views: 5073
New Teacher Dilemma
I agree with all of the information you have received from previous posters. Trial and error is something that all teachers have to experience regardless of how many years they have been teaching. Every year brings new students, different issues, and influencing factors that will challenge approache...
- Mon May 21, 2012 10:46 pm
- Forum: Elementary Education
- Topic: Positive motivation
- Replies: 3
- Views: 2622
positive motivation
I work with both elementary school students and Middle school students. I agree with your observations about student motivation and the correlation to the students’ grade levels. My students in grades 4-6 (six is part of the elementary school) seem to have much more intrinsic motivation than my olde...