Classroom Tips

Classroom Tips for Teachers of ESL in the Content Areas

Advocacy Assessment Listening Speaking Reading Writing Technology Thinking

Advocacy
	Classroom Tip: Bilingual Benefits Bulletin Board To help my ESL learners feel like they are not behind, but are in many ways advanced learners, I keep a bulletin board entitled Benefits of Being Bilingual. It contains current events, news clippings, and photos of bilingual celebrities and famous leaders. News clippings often relate to the global economy and how being bilingual has many advantages. At the beginning of the year, I begin sharing the articles and clippings I've brought in. Students love adding to the collection on the board. We discuss additions to the board brought in by students. A cluttered bulletin board plastered with news clippings about the benefits of being bilingual sends a messy but powerful message to my students. Get busy...start clipping.
	Classroom Tip: Virtual Community Volunteers I recognized how important it was for my students to have good role models of business professionals that have "made it" in spite of having to learn a second language. I contacted the Hispanic Business Alliance, Chamber of Commerce, and the Hispanic Republicans organization. I sent members an e-mail asking them to be a Virtual Volunteer in Public Schools. (V.V.I.P.S.) I explained that they would never have to visit my school or classroom unless they chose to, but they could inspire and encourage young Hispanics by responding to my e-mail requests. The response has been unbelievable! First, I determined what role each of the volunteers could play. I wrote a list of whom I would contact and how they would benefit our classroom learning. It's just a simple use of e-mail, but it helps my students feel connected to something bigger outside our classroom.
Assessment
	Classroom Tip: Formative Assessment I used to take grades, and if students did poorly, I would just drop the lowest grade at the end of the six weeks. I didn't know much about formative assessment. Teachers who provide students with some protection from adverse consequences for failure to meet standards on initial tries and some opportunity to test their knowledge and skill without facing humiliation if they fall short are more likely to get students to pursue and achieve high standards than are teachers who fail to provide such protection. Now I give students an opportunity for formative assessment on big projects. We look at their work together. They self-assess. I make recommendations, then they go and revise their work before turning it in for a summative grade.
	Classroom Tip: Assessment Planning For fifteen years I planned instructional units in pretty much the same thing I did fifteen years ago. Although the amount of content has changed, my planning style had not. The stakes are higher now that I have ESL students that must master the content standards. I needed a planning method that was guaranteed for results. I now have a new, improved approach and I use the Backward Design Process consistently. 1. Identify Desired Results; the knowledge, skills and standards students need to master 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence: design quizzes, tests, prompts, observations and performance tasks that will prove students have mastered the standards. 3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction; weeding out the "cute" but irrelevant activities giving more time for addressing the standards. Then I sequence and teach the plan.
	Classroom Tip: Alternative Assessment I use a Four Box Assessment - Focus on what your students can do in English, not on what they can't do. Make notes and record samples of language on a single sheet of paper divided into four boxes, each box labeled with one of the broad language skills areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Have a scale line across the bottom of each box where you can circle a number between 1-10 to quantify your estimate of your student's comprehension and production. Set up situations where you can observe the student following classroom directions, interacting with students, and having spontaneous conversations during less structured times of the day.
Listening
	Classroom Tip: Listening and Storytelling I've always been a pretty good storyteller, and my students love it when I start telling a story, especially if it is a little bit strange and is something they can relate to. I'll be half-way through a good story and students will be asking, "Is this for real?", but they keep listening to see how it ends. I've taught complicated concepts through stories like the steps in photosynthesis as an adventure story from the plant's perspective. You can make learning essential content really exciting if you make it into an interesting story. Sometimes I have a small group of students come to the front. I'll tell them the story, and then ask them to go back and retell the story to everyone at their table. It's a great listening strategy for ESL learners and it is supported by research data on storytelling.
	Classroom Tip: Listening and Categorizing I have many sets of Laminated 3x5 Listening Cards that I give to students. Each card set has a theme like, Ways To Ask for Help, and each card usually has 6 to 8 typed English phrases like, __ Excuse me, do you know... __ Could you tell me where... __ Have you seen... __ Would it be all right if I... __ May I please ... __ Would you mind if... As I tell a story using some of the phrases, students listen and place a crayon check beside each written phrase they hear. Next, we review and students check the accuracy of their cards. We discuss what all the phrases have in common. In this example students would determine that the phrases are all nice ways to ask for help. When we are through, students wipe off their cards and they go back in my files to use next year. Sometimes students like making up the story and using the phrases appropriately.
	Classroom Tip: Gestures and Charades I learned very quickly when I started teaching ESL students that the meaning of gestures and body language vary from culture to culture. At first I was concerned that my students from the Pacific Rim countries would rarely make eye contact when I would speak directly to them. Later I learned that avoiding eye contact was a culturally reinforced form of respect for me, their instructor. Now I understand how important it is to provide direct instruction in the use of nonverbal communication. I use games like Charades and Gestures so students can learn the cultural meanings of the many forms of nonverbal communication. This strategy is supported by research data on role play, drama and charades.
	Classroom Tip: Visualizing and Chalk -Talks I am NOT an artist, but I always have a few students in my classes that are exceptionally talented. For years I discouraged "doodling" while I was giving direct instruction, but it is a powerful way visual students to learn. Whenever I use direct instruction to teach history concepts, I have one of my classroom artists draw while I talk. They draw icons, graffiti, and cartoon caricatures that support the ideas I'm presenting. They can use the chalk board, overhead projector or flip chart paper. When I finish, I allow the artist to summarize my instruction by explaining the meaning of the icons, symbols and drawings. I praise the artistic efforts making sure the main points are clear. ESL students really benefit from the chalk-talk approach. Sometimes students want copies made of the overhead transparencies to study from. When using flip chart paper, we usually leave the drawings up for everyone to review until test time. This strategy is supported by research data on using visuals.
	Classroom Tip: Bingo Vocabulary Game I discovered that my first through third graders love playing Bingo with vocabulary words. Instead of having the students copy vocabulary words in a list, I give them a Bean-Go! card and students copy one pair of English and Spanish words in each of 16 squares. Each square has two so students can copy the Spanish and English translation. Since students copy the pair of words in any square, no two Bean-Go! cards are exactly alike. Each student gets a handful of beans to use as markers while we play Bingo, or in our class, Bean-Go! I ask different students to call out a pair of words that everyone can cover with a bean. The first player to get four in a row, column or diagonally yells, "Bean-Go!" Use the Bean-Go! Template and print as many cards as you need.
	Classroom Tip: Total Physical Involvement I have always been a tactile/kinesthetic learner, so I know by experience how physical responses and activities can help students develop English language skills by associating kinesthetic movements with words. In elementary classrooms, when students are first learning English, I try to initiate as much movement in the classroom as possible. I like to do "worksheets in motion" where I give each student a command or request before asking them to come join the reading circle. I use commands or requests like, "Carlos, please shut the door.", "Bring me a pen, Maria.", "Juan, would you bring me my book?", "Sophia, I need my glasses." etc. When everyone has joined the circle, I do the reverse and ask a different student return the pen, open the door, or put my book back on the desk. Everyone listens, observes, and learns.
Speaking
	Classroom Tip: Formal and Casual Register To emphasize the difference in formal and casual language, I use a bulletin board to display a running list of words or phrases that are common in a casual register, but should never be used in the formal register. Since I was raised in East Texas, I'm the first one to add a phrase I'm trying to drop from my conversation, "I'm fixin to..." Students love catching me if I let it slip...old habits are hard to break. The students add to the list throughout the year, and they check their written assignments to insure they have not used any of the casual register words. Every time we add something new to the "Casual Register Word List," we take time to generate formal register words or phrases that can be substituted instead. Peer pressure to change old habits can be a good thing.
	Classroom Tip: Speaking Skills Follow Ricardo Gonzales' s recommendations for improving my ESL students' speaking skills by using these four strategies: 1. Have students repeat words often for a long period of time so they become cemented into long-term memory. 2. Give ESL students vocabulary words with a proper balance of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. 3. Have ESL students copy vocabulary words in their native language first, then the English translation. 4. Focus on learning vocabulary words that are more universal in nature; words from the main areas of speech that most people engage in.
	Classroom Tip: Lights, Camera, Speak, Write, Read I believe learning that begins with the learner is always the most effective. I have students bring in several photos from home that they would like to tell and write about. Our department buys the 12 shot throw away cameras that we use in several content areas. Students that do not have photos to bring in take a camera home to take pictures. My English speakers help the LEP students identify and categorize words the pictures represent like nouns, adjectives, and action verbs. After listing the vocabulary words they want to use in the story, the students write a story that the photo illustrates. Then they read it to peers or parents pointing to the image to which each word refers.
Reading
	Classroom Tip: Mind Maps and Semantic Maps One of the most effective strategies I have found to assist ESL learners with reading in the content areas is to first create a mind map or semantic map with students to show how the major ideas or terms in assigned text relate to each other. I draw a mind map on the board and they make their own copies as I explain how ideas or terms are related. It provides my students with detailed information in a concise form, and it helps them organize and categorize information. Inspiration is a simple software program that can be used to create mind maps, and this strategy is supported by research data on semantic webs.
	Classroom Tip: Labeling in the Classroom To assist both ESL and English speaking students, I label items in the classroom with pairs of note cards. One note card has the Spanish word and the one beside it has the English equivalent. for example, the classroom door has two cards. One says "door: and the other says "puerta." After a designated period of time, say two weeks, I take down all cards and have students re place the cards from where they were removed, like a reverse Scavenger Hunt. It helps my ESL students become teachers to my English speakers and vice-versa. Here is a copy of the Classroom Labels I use. Print them on a color copier if possible.
	Classroom Tip: Checklists Support Reading in Content Areas My high school course requires a significant amount of reading. Instead of assigning a large chunk of text for students (including LEP) to struggle with, I periodically give all students checklists to complete on their own. This helps students develop strategies for overcoming misunderstandings. Since every learner is unique, we discuss the students' responses to the Checklist questions like: __ I look for word patterns to help me read. __ I take notes or make flash cards to help me review new information. __ I make word associations when learning new terms. __I use visualization or graphic icons to help me remember ideas I have read.
	Classroom Tip: SQ4R Reading Technique SQ4R (Survey, Question, Read Recite, Record, Review) is a technique ESL students can use to comprehend content reading. First, students survey the chapter by skimming it, looking at headings and visuals. Second, students question, writing down any questions they have about the pictures, charts, or subheadings, etc. The third step is to read the passage. The fourth step is reciting, where students answer their own questions from what they learned in the reading. The fifth step is recording, when students write down their answers. Finally, the students review what they wrote. (Richard-Amato & Snow 1992)
	Classroom Tip: Reading - Reading in the Content Areas My subject requires a lot of independent reading. In the past, my instruction was like a pyramid with a little discussion before, (tip of pyramid), then independent reading, (middle) then a big base of discussion after students finished the reading assignment. Now I have turned my pyramid upside down. We spend a lot of time before reading. We identify prior knowledge about the topic. We skim the text, predict, generalize, and form our own set of questions about what we will be reading. Then we read. It's amazing how much better their understanding is when they have a strong knowledge base before they begin the reading assignment. It is a much more effective strategy, especially with ESL learners.
	Classroom Tip: Bulletin Board I use a bulletin board to promote peer teaching with my students. The board title is "You say ___ and I say ___." Students write on paper strips a word or phrase they would like to learn in a second language. Then they place it under "I say." Another student completes the board by writing the second language equivalent. At the end of a designated period, all of the paper strips come down and are placed face down at the front of the room. We break into three teams and one student holds up a card. The first player form each team to answer in the second language earns a point for his or her team. It helps all students see the challenges in learning new vocabulary in a second language. It also gives my ESL students a chance to teach others.
	Classroom Tip: Building Vocabulary I use vocabulary as a primary means of instruction. I use different approaches to teaching vocabulary and rarely use the same method twice in a row. I often give individual students a chance to choose the method they would prefer to study the vocabulary terms. Whichever method I use, I NEVER have students copy terms and definitions from a textbook or glossary, and I NEVER have them memorize canned definitions. Although I manage to include important words, many of the terms added to a vocabulary list come from the students, and each student's list of new unit terms is unique. I lead each student to set goals for how many new words they want to add to their working vocabulary during a semester, then I praise individual students as they master the use of new vocabulary terms and reach their own goals.
	Classroom Tip: Reading Response Groups To emphasize that learning language is an integrated process, I have my students form groups to respond to prompts about the reading sections I have assigned. Instead of having a few students participate while the majority of students are passive, students in small groups respond more often. I just walk around observing the student-led discussions. Sometimes I have students respond to prompts in journals and then share their journal entries with peers or family members. I encourage students to invite others to read their entries and add written comments and questions to keep the journals very interactive.
	Classroom Tip: Post Reading Activity For post-reading practice, I use a strategy suggested by Elina Raso called an Information Gap Activity. Students are paired up with each having an information chart about the reading. Each student’s chart has information on it that the other student’s chart is missing. Students have to ask their partner questions to complete their own chart. This encourages communication through questioning, reading a chart, and oral language skills. Raso also encourages teachers to create information grids for students to fill in after reading text passages. This helps the students to organize the information. After practicing with the material that has been read, it is time for both the student and the teacher to evaluate the students’ level of understanding. With information grids, students can compare their information with others in the class( Raso 1996)
Writing
	Classroom Tip: Written Response Groups To emphasize that learning language is an integrated process, I have my students form groups to respond to prompts about the reading sections I have assigned. Instead of having a few students participate while the majority of students are passive, students in small groups respond more often. I just walk around observing the student-led discussions. Sometimes I have students respond to prompts in journals and then share their journal entries with peers or family members. I encourage students to invite others to read their entries and add written comments and questions to keep the journals very interactive.
	Classroom Tip: Dialogue Journals I have found dialogue journals to be an effective use of time because they provide information about individual students' interests and concerns in a way that is not constrained by the curriculum topics, or by a pre-set schedule of genres that must be covered in sequence. Students have the opportunity to use English in a non-threatening atmosphere, in interaction with a proficient English speaker. Because the interaction is written, it allows students to use reading and writing in purposeful ways while providing a natural, comfortable bridge to other kinds of writing. Dialogue journals focus on meaning rather than form and on real topics and issues of interest to each student. Students write at least three sentences each day in their journals, and at the end of the week I write back to each student in ways that promote increased vocabulary and acknowledge each child's communication efforts. I takes time to read and respond to their entries, but I consider it personal time invested in each child. Research data on using Dialogue Journals is available at http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed354789.html.

Technology
	Classroom Tip: Technology for ESL The Internet contains many sites that can be used directly by students. Teachers just need to know that they are available. I have a computer for student use in my classroom, and I keep a, 8.5 x 11. paper above the computer listing the Websites students can use while we are studying a particular unit. As students finish their work, they go to the computer alone or in pairs to see the sites I've recommended. I often have the first students share what they learned on the Internet site. ESL and other students obviously prefer the online games. There are some great ones! You will probably want to print the Instructional Resources A-Z for ESL since it lists 26 great learning sites. When we go to the computer lab all students get a change to play/learn at the same time.
Thinking
	Classroom Tip: Culturally and Age Appropriate Analogies Analogies are powerful instructional tools to help learners understand concepts. It gives students a familiar "hook" on which to hang new information. The most effective analogies are age and culturally appropriate. This requires teachers to know their students' interests and cultural influences. I use basketball for every concept of mathematics. Three-point shot: parabola. Three-second violation: absolute value, more than, less then or equal to. Rebound, blocking shots: parenthesis, removing exponents, etc. You cannot divide by zero; that's illegal defense. "Facemask" means the kids have to start the problem again step-by-step. The ball has to go back 10 yards and begin again. And the kid gets familiar with that. Get the concept first, just like when you play basketball. I say, "Focus, concentrate, get a picture, and you get a concept." That's what I'm trying to teach. ~ Jaime Escalante