Key Ideas

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l am admluedly noL Lhe blggesL Sean Caln fan, buL l quleL en[oy
hls LhoughLs on !&'()'*+ "-.// #&0)1 $)&102'3)/ %./4! All
sLudenLs, especlally our LLLs, need ume Lo process and verballze
Lhelr learnlng and undersLandlng. Caln says we should pause
aer Len Lo een mlnuLes of Leacher-drlven dlscusslon, or aL
Lhe compleuon of a ma[or lnsLrucuonal concepL (whlchever
comes rsL)", and leL small groups of sLudenLs dlscuss Lhe seed
quesuon relaLed Lo Lhe lnsLrucuon or Lhe lnsLrucuonal acuvlLy."
Someumes l Lhlnk l [usL llke Lo run my mouLh! (l know you are
surprlsed!! ) 8uL l have learned over Lhe years, LhaL when l do all
Lhe Lalklng, l geL Lhe lerrls 8uler" looks. urool on Lhe Lable and
all! Lven lf lL's my llulesL frlends, Lhey are Lurned around, ngers
ln nose, halr playlng, or shoe dlgglng wlLhln 3 mlnuLes of
lnsLrucuon. My polnL here ls, lf we wanL paruclpaung, acuve
learners, we have Lo plan for lL and oer Lhe opporLunlLy. My
favorlLe parL of lSC1, ls lL allows my more umld sLudenLs a safe
place Lo Lry ouL" Lhelr Lhlnklng. When Lhese momenLs of Lurn
and Lalk" are planned and sLrucLured, Lhe reLurn raLe on sLudenL
learnlng ls C8LA1! lf you haven'L used lSC1 ln a whlle, glve lL a
Lry Lhls week. (lf you have LLLs who prefer Lo dlscuss ln Lhelr
home language, don'L dlscourage lL durlng Lhls parucular ume.
Lncourage Lhem Lo process ln nauve language wlLh llke speaklng
peers, and Lhen LranslaLe lnLo Lngllsh) ---
---now lf you acLually read all of Lhls, send me an emall wlLh
your favorlLe LhoughL from Lhls weeks newsleuer, and l wlll buy
you a Sonlc urlnk soon!
A Word about VOCABULARY...
Framing the Lesson..... We will ...... I will.....
Ok lets put the brakes on for a moment. Is this just another thing
we are being made to do? Perhaps, but on the days I ACTUALLY
read my lesson frames, AND we quickly discuss what they mean, my
students REALLY do, do much better. (I know I said dodo!) I found
this week that while I need to make the language kid friendly, I also
have to be cautious of the age of the student and what language
they will see in testing. I cant always call the reading a story, if
they will see the word text. I cant always call characters, setting,
plot, conict, and theme the parts of a story, if they will be see
Literary Elements. With ELLs and all kids, it is so important to
start the correct terms early on. Build in scaffolding so that you link
the big words to words they know. Use academic vocabulary
along with kid friendly language. Switch back and forth, making
sure that your learners know that English has many words for the
same thing! If you read this box, Ill even add a avor to your Sonic
Drink if you like!
FOCUS For the week of Sept 22nd to 26th
The Language & Learning Post
Weekly News, Tips and information for the classroom teacher of English Language Learners!
Idiom/Figurative Language of the week:
We need to leave in ten minutes, so we are working
against the clock! Lets stay focused and get done
quickly!
by, Alissa Tubbs
ESL Teacher at Lawrence
EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY!
kinder First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth
We will understand
the main point in
spoken directions
and conversations.
We will
demonstrate of
understanding of
English by retelling
the most important
thing we read or
heard from the
teacher.
We will use pre-
reading supports
and activities to
help us understand
text.
We will use English
to analyze (think
closely about) the
parts of ction text.
We will use more
complex English to
ask and answer
questions about the
text.
We will
demonstrate
expanded
understanding of
English by making
inferences that are
supported by the
text.
We will
demonstrate of
understanding of
English by
summarizing key
points in text.
I will re-tell
directions given by
my teacher and
responses from my
friends.
I will write a
sentence that tells
the most important
idea or part of the
text.
I will write about
how text features
help the reader
understand and
make inferences.
I will write about
how one of the
story elements was
important to a
specic text.
I will write and
discuss questions I
have before, during
and after reading.
l wlll make
lnferences, and draw
concluslons abouL Lhe
sLrucLure and
elemenLs of cuon.
I will write a brief
summary of the text
and discuss with a
peer, why I chose
the items I put in
my summary.
ELPS 2G ELPS 4I ELPS 4D ELPS 4K ELPS 4G ELPS 4j ELPS 4I