ABC PROJECT

Kalee Alter
ETE- 237.01
Fall 16
Autobiography
• I was born in Evanston, IL on November, 2 nd, 1995
• I live in Glenview, IL with my Mom(Amy), Dad (Harvey) and younger
brother (Josh)
• I was raised in a Jewish household where religion and tradition
were very important. I was a Bat Mitzvah at the age of 13.
 Student Biography
• Kara is a first grader in a 1 st/2nd grade Bilingual classroom.
• She moved to the US from Mexico when she was 5.
• She lives with her Mom, Dad, brother(Fernando,18) and two sisters
(Kristina 16 and Katia 14)
• Her first language is Spanish.
• She is learning English.
Student Biography (continued)
Cognitive and academic background:
Figure 6.1
Linguistic background:
Figure 6.1
Sociocultural background:
Figure 6.1
School based
• She started school in the US when she
was 5
• She is gaining academic proficiency
through her bilingual classroom (very
strong in math and science)
• Visual learner
• Learning strategies are repetition,
written directions and oral directions
• Fluent in Spanish
• Speech Emergence level in English
• L2-school experiences and speaking
English at home with sister
• L2- used when asking for academic
help, as a social language
• She is gaining L-2 academic language
in the classroom
• Parents educated in Mexico
• Cultural background mostly forming in
the US but family historical cultural
prevalent in the home
• English language experience mostly at
school (introduced to English at
school, learned Spanish in her home)
• Loves science and math
Community Based
• Resources include Spanish language
books, compute & desk at home
• Her academic hope is to age out of
ELL as she enters high school
• Mom & Dad solely literate in Spanish
• Working towards thinking and
working less in Spanish and more in
English utilizing books, computer
programs and social media
• L1- preschool in Mexico
• L2- learning in school at Lincoln;
utilizes L1 and L2 in school
• Actively engaged in learning L2
• She is learning English now in school, I
learned at home primarily by my
parents as a young child
• Family values- Mexican heritage,
Spanish language, traditional religion
in home, values school, family and
friends
• Cultural background- developed
through family and early experiences
• Community background- influenced
by school and neighborhood
• Influence by her peers
• Hopes/dreams- to be a heart doctor
Teacher Interview
• Ms. Q graduated from Bradley University’s College of Health Sciences and
Education
• Ms. Q chose to become a bilingual teacher because they are always in
demand and they typically have job protection. She was also fluent in
Spanish and wanted to utilize that skill
• She has been a bilingual teacher at Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, Glen Oak
and Lincoln schools
• She decided to become a bilingual teacher in 2009 when the Principal at
Harrison approached her and asked if she was interested
• She said by the time ELL students are in fourth or fifth grade, their school
day is completely taught in English
• She said normally Kara is very talkative and tries to complete her work
quickly. She is very smart and works very hard. Her goal for Kara is to slow
down and take her time when completing her work
• She said Kara is starting to use more academic language since she has
added onto her English vocabulary
Student Interview
• Kara’s family moved here from Mexico when she was 5
• She left her grandma behind. Her dream is to go back to Mexico
some day and live with her grandma.
• She loves to be surrounded by her friends and family at all times
• Her dream is to study to be a heart doctor in the US, but return to
Mexico.
• She loves to read, study science and her Lincoln School
• At home her family speaks Spanish but she speaks English with her
oldest sister
• She loves Christmas
Classroom Observation
• After watching Kara in the classroom I noticed that she works very
hard on her schoolwork but often rushes to finish first.
• She likes to know about and talk to everyone in the class
• Kara is very talkative and sometimes gets in trouble, especially
when she is disruptive and distracts her peers from their work
• She struggles with reading and writing in English
• She is very good at science and math
Assignment Analysis
• Kara only likes to write and read in Spanish
• She is in the Speech Emergent level in English
• Her writing is very scattered and she often goes off
topic
• Kara does not use punctuation and does not seem to know the
difference/when to use upper and lower-case
• She is very fast at completing her math assignments, which are
mostly correct, but she does not like to use manipulatives
• She uses more social language than academic language
Cross- Cultural Experiences
Cognitive and academic background
Linguistic Background
Sociocultural background
Similarities
• Both of us enjoy going to school and
learning
• Both of our families value education
• Both grew up in suburban areas
• Both of us speak Spanish (but to
varying degrees)
• Both live with our Mom, Dad and
siblings
Differences
• I started school in America, she
started in Mexico
• I learned English as a first language at
home and Spanish second at school
• Kara learned Spanish as a first
language at home and is learning
English at school.
• I am the oldest in my family, Kara is
the youngest
• Kara has lived in both Mexico and the
US, I have only lived in the US
• She left her grandma in Mexico, I live
down the street from mine
Cultural Difference Analysis
• We grew up in the suburbs but my community is very financially advantaged
while Kara’s is less so
• Both our families have instilled the value of education beginning at a very
young age
• Kara moved to a new country at a very young age, I have always lived in the
same place
• Cultural conflict- I was born as a citizen of this country, Kara is an immigrant. I
identify myself as an American while Kara speaks often of Mexico as her first
home. Kara is working to identify herself as an American by learning English
and the holidays and customs of her adopted country.
• I AM POEM-We both chose to focus on parents and the personalities that
make us who we are in the poem
• I did not experienced any discomforts working with Kara or her parents
during this process
• Impact- Watching a very young girl like Kara work so hard and sometimes
struggle to learn a new language was very impactful to me and made me think
about how a teacher should be especially patient with a student where
language and culture are new. Kara was positively impacted by this project
because she was given additional one-on-one learning time. We were both
able to meet and work with a person that has a different linguistic, cultural
and educational background then our own.
Recommendation
• Administration- I did not see the student’s various cultures included
in the classroom or the school as a whole
• I would recommend the school to have a culture day for all the students at
the beginning of the year.
• Classroom teacher- My CT did not incorporate any activities that
were not used in the book
• I would recommend her to teach by incorporating different strategies and
including more discussion in her classroom.
• ESL- I did not see the ESL teacher incorporate the student’s
experiences from their home cultures
• I would recommend she ask the students to write about their experiences
instead of always reading a story and having them complete an isolated
activity.
Action Plan
• In order for educators to communicate with parents, I would
suggest that teachers send home emails and letters. I would also
advise teachers to create a classroom website where lectures,
homework and due dates are posted daily.
• I would urge teachers to communicate with their students by using
a mailbox system. The teacher could put important news and
returned assignments in the students mailbox folders. These
folders would go home everyday with the students as another form
of communication with the parents.
Conclusion
• I learned so much by observing Kara and her classmates. I was surprised
how fast she picked up both social and academic language.
• All of the students are bilingual; speaking Spanish at home and English at
school.
• I learned how important it is to provide a variety of supports for ELLs.
• What I have learned from my practicum, seminar sessions and readings:
• Patience
• The need to be understanding
• Student repetition is key to developing language
• Repetitive exposure is critical
• Providing opportunities to use language is one of the best ways to master it
• Connections to real life make learn easier and more enjoyable
• The buddy system is great for creating friendships and enhances learning