Lauren Ottomanelli

EDUC 359

Observation Questions for ELL/LEP student(s)

1. What techniques/methods/strategies do you see being used with the ELL/LEP student(s)?
Are they effective? Why or why not? (Either specifically for the ELL student(s) or in
whole class/small group instruction)

The teacher tries to get the student to participate in class discussion by asking questions that
are not just yes or no questions. When the student spoke, the teacher asked her follow up
questions to expand the conversation. This is effective because it encourages the student to use
the English language more. While I observed the student, the class was taking a practice ELA
test. The teacher would go around and point things out to help her follow along on the test. The
teacher also used a lot of little songs and phrases throughout her lesson. The teacher uses whole
brain teaching which could help the ELL student, as well as the other students in the class. The
teacher would sing little songs or say phrases and chants and the students would respond back to
her. This is effective because it helps keep the students engaged and also helps them to know
what they should be doing.

2. Do you notice any student behaviors that you would consider “out of the ordinary”?
Please describe in detail. (This applies to both the ELL student(s) and other classroom
students)

The student tends to be a lot quieter than most of the other students. The teacher engaged the
class in a group discussion and asked the students what they did that weekend. Most of the
students raised their hands but the ELL student did not. The teacher did ask her anyways to try to
get her to participate in the discussion. When the class went to sit on the carpet to listen to a
story, the ELL student isolated herself from the rest of the class and sat in the back. The teacher
did say that at the beginning of the school year, the ELL student barely spoke at all but now she
speaks a lot more in class. The teacher said that the ELL student’s mother does not speak English
at home, but her two older brothers in high school do. The teacher has difficulty communicating
with mother. For example, there was trouble getting the mother to check student’s folder and
sign permission slips. The mother also did not understand how gym works and how the student
had to come dressed for it.

3. What type of interactions do you see between the ELL student(s), other classroom
students, and the teacher(s)? Please describe in detail.

There was not too much interaction between the ELL student and the other students in the
class. When the teacher first tried to get the student to participate in class discussion, the ELL
student did not respond. The teacher had to continue to ask questions to get the student to final
respond. However, the teacher said that the student speaks to her a lot and always has stories to
share. During the lesson, the teacher played a GoNoodle video for the class. The ELL student
danced and sang along to the video with the rest of the class. During snack time, the ELL student
did talk to her peers a lot.

4. Identify resources/materials that are being used with the ELL student(s). Please describe
in detail how the ELL student is using them. Do they appear to be effective? Explain.

There are not many resources and materials being used with the ELL student. From what
I observed, the student receives and uses the same resources/materials as the rest of the class.
The classroom does contain many posters and visuals for the student to use as academic
resources though.

5. Does the classroom environment seem to be comfortable for the ELL student(s)? Please
describe the environment and explain how you made your decision.

The classroom environment is very comfortable for the student. There are a lot of visuals
around the classroom. Some of the visuals include letter charts, a calendar, a days of the week
chart, a weather chart and pictures of the colors. The students sit at tables in small groups of four
to five students. This allows the students to engage in discussion because they are in groups,
rather than desks. The ELL student also sits almost right next to the teacher’s desk. This is
helpful because the teacher can easily help the student if needed since she is closer to her.

6. What’s the “comfort” level of the ELL student(s) in regards to the English language?
What observations help you arrive at your decision? Refer to the Vocabulary
Performance Indicators. At what level would you place the ELL student? How did you
decide on that level?

The student does not seem to be that comfortable speaking aloud in the classroom. She rarely
raised her hand to speak. However, when the class was reading a story, she raised her hand to say
her mom’s name is Anna because the story was about a girl named Anna. When taking the
practice test, the ELL student kept looking at her neighbor’s paper. The teacher also had to point
things out to help her because she got lost at some points throughout the test. When the teacher
asked the student what she did that week, she would nod yes or no rather than verbally
responding yes or no. The teacher kept asking the student yes or no questions until she nodded
yes. From there, the teacher asked the student open-ended questions to encourage her to speak.
When the teacher asked the ELL student if she played, she said yes. The teacher then asked who
she played with and the student replied, “My brother baby.” The teacher asked the student how
big her brother was, and the student used her hands to show how tall he his. During the practice
test, the ELL student also raised her hand and said, “My baby have this” and pointed to a picture
of a bib.

7. If you feel comfortable enough to ask, ask the cooperating teacher (or ESL teacher) what
type of accommodations/modifications they have to make for the ELL student(s). Please
describe the types of accommodations/modifications that were discussed. Do they appear
on the checklist? Why/why not do you think they are present/not present on the checklist?
 The student gets pulled twice a week to meet with an ESL specialist for 40 minutes. The
teacher also works one-on-one with the ELL student during ELA instruction. The student
does not know most letters that she should know, and the teacher shared her concern with
me. The teacher makes many accommodations/modifications for the ELL student that appear
on the checklist. The student sits close to the teacher and the students sit in groups of four to
five at tables. The teacher allows the ELL student to express key concepts in her own words.
The teacher also uses simple language is used when needed and she provides many visual
cues to accompany oral directions. The tests are not able to be modified because they are
from a specific curriculum, so the tests are not able to be shortened. The teacher provides
repeated reviews and drill and goes over concepts to enhance the student’s comprehension of
the content. The teacher also monitors for individual student comprehension. She stood near
the ELL student during the practice test and pointed things out when it was needed. I feel that
that accommodations/modifications that the teacher makes definitely help the ELL student,
especially since the teacher said her language abilities grew tremendously since the
beginning of the school year. Some of these accommodations/modifications also benefit the
rest of the students in the class, not just the ELL student.