EDS 205A ~ Sewall

OBSERVATION REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

Name: Karolinka Peterka Date: 1/26/14 Grade Level: 2 Focus Subgroup: Latina Girls FINDINGS What I Noticed and/or Learned about My Focus Students
During transitions and free time there is a trio of Latina girls that group together. They tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the class, usually congregating at a distance from the other students.

EVIDENCE Sample Evidence from Notes to Support My Claim

1/16 11:35am: AB, ET, and JM are talking by the drinking fountain after PE class. The rest of the class is already lined up to go inside. 1/16 12:50pm: During lunch AB, ET, and JM are sitting by themselves at the table farthest away from the rest of the students and the lunch duty supervisors. 1/21 1:30pm: During math the teacher asked the students to make groups of three. AB, ET, and JM immediately grouped together.

REFLECTIONS Thoughts, Questions, Insights About What I Noticed/Learned

This trio of Latina girls is the easiest group to spot within the class. While the rest of the students mingle during transition times or free time, AB, ET, and JM always separate themselves from the rest of the class. Although it is good that they have such a strong friendship, I wonder if they feel isolated from the rest of the class or if they prefer to physically isolate themselves. If they do feel like they dont belong, maybe the teacher or I should do some community building activities with the class to increase their feeling of belonging. As further described below, whenever AB, ET, and JM are together, they speak Spanish. I wonder if the isolation is language based. Is there a stigma at the school against Spanish? I have not perceived a negative attitude towards Spanish, in fact I have always felt a positive attitude towards second languages among the students. This is an area that I wish to explore further.

The three Latina girls that group together always speak Spanish to each other. They only switch to English if they are speaking to a teacher or another student in the class. None of the other students in the class speak Spanish at school even though they

1/16 11:35am: AB, ET, and JM are standing by the drinking fountain after PE class. They are speaking Spanish to each other. 1/21 10:00am: I call AB and JM to read

The three Latina girls that I have noticed gathering together are all English Language Learners and Spanish is their native language. I believe that conversationally they are more comfortable with Spanish, therefore they switch to Spanish whenever possible. I think these

EDS 205A ~ Sewall

may do so at home.

with me during morning reading groups. JM who is closer to me comes over quickly. When she notices AB did not hear me, she calls to her in Spanish to come over. They then proceed to speak English with me. 1/21 1:30pm: During math AB raises her hand to ask me a question. She asks in English and I respond in English. As soon as I turn to leave, she leans over to ET and repeats what I said to her in Spanish.

three girls are friends because of the language they have in common. Because all three of them seem to prefer speaking Spanish over English, they naturally gravitated towards one another. I also wonder if they use each other as a support system in the classroom. Because they are still learning English, they may not understand everything that goes on within the classroom to the fullest extent. Therefore, they help each other out by translating the instructions and discussing the activities with one another.

Not all the Latina girls in the class are in the aforementioned group. There are five Latina girls in the class but only three of them isolate themselves in a separate group. The other two girls have friendships outside of their Latina ethnicity and do not speak Spanish at school.

1/16 12:50pm: AB, ET, and JM are sitting at a separate lunch table away from the rest of the students. SH and MS, who are also Latina, are not isolated but rather sitting in the center of the cafeteria with most of the second grade students. 1/21 1:30pm: While AB, ET, and JM grouped together for the math lesson, MS partnered with KH and AM. KH and AM are not Latina and they do not speak Spanish. MS converses with them in English.

I have noticed that not all of the Latina girls hang out together or speak Spanish. I believe this might be because AB, ET, and JM are still at the beginning stages of learning English, while MS and SH are more proficient English speakers. Speaking English allows them to fit in better with the rest of their classmates because they have a strong means of communication. This means that they have more friends outside of their Latina ethnicity. Although AB, ET, and JM speak enough English that they can communicate with their classmates, they prefer speaking Spanish so they stick together. I wonder if as AB, ET, and JM learn more English if they will continue to isolate themselves from the rest of the class or if they will eventually integrate themselves as MS and SH have.