Lau vs. Nichols

I mentioned that I participated in the National Title III Directors meeting last week. After leaving I felt much more knowledgeable on the educational law that supports ELL students. I know many of us skimmed/read/memorized the ELL manual, but just in case you didn't I wanted to touch on one of those landmark educational cases that helped frame what we do today.

Check out this page, especially the link to 'the bilingual education timeline' http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/roots_in_history/bilingual.html
This is a half-page summarizing the Lau vs. Nichols case. This is why we, as ELL teachers, in fact have a job :) So thank you 1974!
http://www-tc.pbs.org/beyondbrown/brownpdfs/launichols.pdf

In summary, Lau v. Nichols states that by simply allowing students access to curriculum does not ensure their quality of treatment.

NHA-Wide ELL numbers

Hello! Greetings! Happy (late) Fall!

 

I know you have been busy with the flurry that is the beginning of the school year. I myself am just emerging from the flood of compliance requirements. Whew!

 

So in an effort to start anew (even though it is the end of October....) I give you something that we just love to look at! Data :)

 

Totals	#
NHA Schools with an ELL Population	64
Schools with 1 ELL staff	17
Schools with 2-4 ELL Staff	8
Schools adding ELL Staff (in process)	3
NHA ELL Teachers	37

Totals	#
Languages	77
Current ELLs	2,828
Top 3 Languages	Spanish(1,586), Bengali (234) and Arabic (144)
Top 3 ELL Population at a school	Vista (263)
	Hamtramck (257)
	Walton (204)

Wow!

Regional Conferences Fall 2013

This year we introduced the first Regional Conferences specific to English Language Learners. We had more than 70 people participate at 5 different locations across 3 different States. I send a huge thank you to all those who participated. I left each meeting with a list of follow-up questions and a renewed motivation to tackle our biggest task: to better serve our ELL population and the teachers who teach them.

Thanks go to Forsyth Academy in NC, Pathway School of Discovery in OH, South Point Scholars, and Hamtramck Academy in MI for giving us room to host these events. Each one of these sites were picked because they are great examples of what an ELL-minded school looks like. I hope you, like me, will continue to use the teachers at these schools for inspiration and guidance.

West MI teachers discussing how to get our ELL families more involved at our schools

South Pointe's representation of where their kiddos come from 

marked by little jewels on the map

Team Central Michigan!

What Hamtramck teachers think the roles of 'ELL Coordinator' are

You gave me a lot to think about! 

My to-do list for the year! Stay tuned!

NHA-U and NTO

Welcome back to you (us)! I took a break blogging while you took a break (hopefully) teaching :) But now I'm ready to greet another year at NHA and am really excited to continue working with my favorite population of learners, the ELLs and the teachers that teach them!

So while I did get some down time this Summer I also had the opportunity to teach at NHA-U and NTO. Thank you so much to those of you that participated at these events! You truly helped focus my thoughts and ideas for the year to come. I hope we'll see more of you next year!

Our lovely view from DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, MI

NTO particpants hard at work!

Love it! There's something about chart paper that makes the teacher in me smile!







You Can't Say You Can't Play

In my search for relevant resources and information I ran across this snippet from Thia American Life. I really enjoy it because it makes the case for being direct with whatever you want to teach- in this case including anyone and everyone in play.

Check it out-  HERE

Prezi II

http://prezi.com/yutxtsr5g1fv/la-la-the-amazing-penguin/?kw=view-yutxtsr5g1fv&rc=ref-41970801

Our colleague Pam shared that she is an active Prezi-user! Take a look at her Penguin prezi here, what a great way to engage and do a little schema building for your students!

Want something to give your to your classroom teachers today? Pam put together a nice presentation on 5 things you can do today with your ELLs.

http://prezi.com/fsy97dh6kwto/five-things-to-do-tomorrow/?kw=view-fsy97dh6kwto&rc=ref-41970801
Thanks Pam!

Welcome to a Prezi!

Here's a fun technology to become acquainted with if you're tired of having your kids create PowerPoints or posters.

I created one in 10 minutes that gives you a little insight to my professional background, check it out here:

My History

Hit the arrows on the bottom to guide you through.

Why I love it:

• really easy to learn- don't give up!
• has a 1 minute teaching demo
• you can search many topics and see some great Prezis already created
• Fun and engaging!

Dancing!

I attended the MABE conference in Dearborn, MI this past week. I found a lot of useful tools and can't wait to pass them along. But this jewel from YouTube, highlighted by keynote speaker Rushton Hurley made me smile so much I needed to pass it along!

What a great sample of world cultures and the simple ways we can connect across continents. Take a look at his site www.NextVista.org, it's full of great videos and inspiration. Have fun!

Your Service Center Library

I recently hauled in my personal collection of teaching resources and thought, why not share them with you? I am no longer in the classroom using these materials, they should be working for somebody!

So, if you're interested in "checking out" a resource below, email me and I'll put it in your school's mailbox straight away (takes about a week to get to you I'm told). Want a peek inside the resource to see if it's for you? I can do that too!

I'll record your check out date and a month later you'll start getting gentle reminders to send it back my way! Hopefully this way we can share (what I think) are good materials!

Some Novel Ties, read why I love them here

And some workbooks

And some 'best practices'

Calling all Chatty Cathy's

Now if you haven't seen these handy dandy phones in use you are missing out!

These are great tools for students to practice speaking.

Let me demonstrate for you...

Get it? :)

You can speak at a whisper and have the phone magnify your voice right back up to your ear. I've seen these work well in classrooms when the teacher asks the students to revise and review their writing.

Lucky you, I have 4 of these ready to send off to the winner of this week's challenge.

In order to be considered for this amazing prize you have to email me an example of a lesson or activity that you did this year that went well.

I will randomly draw a winner and notify you. Plus I'll have a lot of great tips to share :)

Thanks for playing!

Get Excited about Language!

I had the pleaseure to visit our schools in Ohio this past week and picked up some great ideas to share with you!

What better way to engage a student and get them excited to play with words than to allow them access to your materials! Pathway Charter Academy makes it hard not to pick something out and take it home to play with!

Everything displayed was asking to be picked. From word games, to dictionaries and books.

A dictionary never looks as engaging when hiding away in a bookshelf.



Just like a birthday gift, these shiny bags are sent home containing stories and materials to be used and returned. From the schools experience it seemed the kids loved showing off their Book Bag of goodies.

So get your things off the shelves! Display them and encourage students to bring them home. And hopefully a little incentive will bring those materials back to you :)

Novel Study

For many of us we have rounded the ELL testing corner. Breathe a little sigh of relief.
So what is next for your ELL students?

I want to advocate for one of my all-time favorite things to do with any level any grade students; the novel study.

Here's why I love them:

1. student groups can pick/choose based on interest
2. we can immerse ourselves into the book (learn the geography and time frame of the book)
3. we can use a study guide, many of which are premade for us at http://store.learninglinks.com/novel-ties.html my favorite Novel Ties companions
4. we can be self-paced

Here's how I begin a novel study:

1. find 3-4 books that I think are interesting and engaging for my students (preferably I have pre-read them- with one noteable exception: I was reading a Boy in teh Girls bathroom to my 7th graders and could not stop laughing...it was a little embarrassing)
2. demonstrate to my small group how I preview books (look at cover, back of book blurb, first page)
3. have the group sit in a circle each beginning with one book in their hands
4. spend 2-3 minutes previewing the book
5. students write down a yes/no/thoughts about the preview on their notes
6. students pass the book along and preview the next (and so on)
7. students vote for which book we read
8. after the book is selected I gather a group set (maybe I have to visit the local libraries as well to get copies for each student)
9. I pace out the book with the amount of time I have (maybe 2-3 weeks)
10. I buy/borrow/create a novel study guide to go along with the book
11. the first lesson is always geography and time- get a map out, locate our story and discuss the contemporary events (if applicable)
12. get reading! *the books always stay with me-avoiding the 'lost book' issue

Here are some titles I have used in the past and LOVED!

What's in a Name?

When looking over your class roster for the first time, you might be a little nervous about stumbling through the pronunciation of names. It can be nerve-wracking for a teacher. You don't want to offend, you don't want to embarrass. But at the end of the day you have to say the child's name out loud for all to hear. So get ready!

A name is often much more than just that. It can represent family, culture and identity. It should be respected and all effort to pronounce and use correctly should be made. That being said, some names can be tricky. So be ready to correct yourself.

What to do:
-Think through a name. Do you know the culture or language of the name? How letters are pronounced in that language? Jorge should sound like George!
-Practice the several different ways a name could sound. (Is it Joel, or Jo 'el ?)
-Practice out loud
-Ask for opinions from a fellow teacher
-If you are unsure the gender of the name, look it up! This can be especially important for elementary classrooms that often color code their name walls.
- Take a moment before class starts as the student enters to ask for clarification
-Write their name phonetically next to their roster name to remember

What not to do-
-Not say it. Don't avoid using a the child's name, learn how to say it quickly and practice saying it!
-Mispronounce it purposefully (to either make it sound more neutral or Americanized)
-Respect a child's preference for nicknames (some people hate nicknames and by cutting the name in half it can change meaning immensely)
-Tell the child how unusual the name is (eek!)
-Make a confused face (be neutral and open!)
-Give them a different name

Obviously these rules are not hard and fast. My friend Jean Francois preferred to be addressed as 'Jeff', my friend co-teacher Megumi was not amused by being called Meg. Learn what your student's want and stick with it.

Practice makes perfect!

The art of asking a question

Have you even had that feeling, either during the middle of teaching or immediately after saying goodbye to a group of kids wearing befuddled looks on their faces, that maybe you are not getting through? This has happened to me more times than I care to admit. But similar to other shortfalls, I feel it is better to know you're missing the mark than to not.

So where to start? How to adjust?

I have found that a little self-reflection can go a long way. We as ELL teachers know we are constantly differentiating instruction. But are we differentiating our questions? Anyone familiar with the Socratic method of teaching and learning will tell you that the great bulk of learning is done through questioning.

The trick to asking questions to a group of multi-level learners is to understand the complexity of the question we are posing. Take a glance at Bloom's pyramid. Think of your questions as a ladder, you should start at the bottom if you don't want to tip over.

Want some more support with creating intentional questions? Take a look at this winner of a diagram!

Any questions? :)

Draw Write Color!

One of my all time favorite activities which I file under the heading "Laura's Go-to, no-prep needed, differentiated, all-subject, 5-minute, engaging, mini-lesson". I'd say that pretty much encompasses what it is all about.

Materials needed: scrap paper, pencils, crayons

1. Draw 1-5 lines on each paper (Kinde's get 1 line, upper grades get more)
2. Kids (and yourself- come on!) draw a picture in the blank space (maybe you want it on a certain topic, or simply a free-draw). Set a timer (2-3 minutes), stick to it.
3. Everyone write a few sentences (be clear on expectations) describing your drawing. I like to use sentence starters/stems with my younger grades ("In my picture I am..." "This picture shows..."). I also like having a white board handy to  quickly joy down proper spellings.
4. Color it in!
5. Share out, get and give positive feedback
6. I like stapling our pictures together with a construction paper cover to make simple class books.

Testing, Testing...

Whether you're a new teacher or a seasoned one, we all might harbour some fear of testing. Especially a big test like your state's approved English proficency assessment. A four parter! 

Where to start? How to divvy it up? Here's a quick list of best practices for you.

1. It might sound self explanatory, but read the Test Coordinator's Manual, or re-read it. This will answer the bulk of your questions and help frame your mind into testing mode.
2. Begin when you are able- with all the snow days, vacation days, and sick days it's best to get started when the testing window opens up. No one likes scrambling.
3. Divvy up responsibility- are there 2 ELL teachers at your school, 1? 3? Divide it up into a reasonable caseload.
4. Pick a grade level to start at, either work up or down from there. Finish a grade level before moving on the the next.
5. Don't burn yourself out with the Speaking portion- devote an hour or 2 per day where you'll do only this section. Bring a bottle of water to keep your mouth hydrated!
6. Prioritize. Many of our schools cannot find time for actual teaching during the testing window. Some can. If you fear test burn-out, or want to have a little more balance, decide which small group you will service regardless of testing. For example, I saw my high need 2nd graders each day for an hour during the test window. It broke up testing for me and also supported my most needed group.
7. Keep a record- know who you have left to test and on which parts of the test
8. Inform the classroom teachers- many of us wont be able to follow the agreed pull-out/push-in schedule. Let the teacher know this is an important test and it happens only once a year for these kids. 
9. Commander a classroom or quiet space- bargain if you have to!
10. Make sure your kids are well fed- keep a basket of nutritious treats around. Grumbling stomachs don't make for a great testing experience.

Good Luck!

Crossing Continents via the Mailbox

I have stolen yet another lovely idea from our friends at Hamtramck Charter in Michigan.

You know, for many of our kids, the world is what they see in a 10-block radius. Let's try and broaden that lens. Take a look www.postcrossing.com ,a site that allows you to participate in a more modern (less annoying) version of the "chain letter". Send and receive postcards from all over the world. It's a nice way to do a writing project in an unplugged way.

I'm excited about it, I think I'll join as well :) Start decorating my desk. Hamtramck had great wall art in using a map with push pins denoting where the postcard originated from. And I don't have to tell you, we could all use some refreshers when it comes to geography.

Craft-tacular

Whenever a holiday rolls around (whether it be Valentines or St.Patty's) I can be found reaching for the construction paper and glue. I love crafts. Tearing apart orange paper and gluing it together to make a knarly pumpkin for my bulletin board was always something to look forward to for me. How about you? From my experienc eyou either love it or it makes you wince :)

Nevertheless, I encourage you to whip out the scissors and glue sticks and peruse the fantastic site Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) for some inspiration. Not only is it engaging for students it falls under the "experiential learning" which we all could do more of.

Are you still lacking motivation?! If your class/small group crafts something for me (and sends it to the Service Center) I will return the favor by writing letters to your kiddos (basically allowing me ot get in on the fun too, even if it is from an office desk :))

A Living Word Wall

I've had the opportunity to have conversations with many of our ELL departments and a common theme in each of them is, how can we do a better job of addressing basic langauge acquisition while supporting classroom learning?

It's a hard thing to balance, and often the feeling is that we have to do more content support than direct language instruction. This can feel frustrating and worse, like you're really missing the point of being a teacher of English Language Learners.

Happily, many of our colleagues are finding creative ways to balance those two important areas. Instead of just displaying a word wall, they've made it a living, functioning place where students are expected to actively engage with and learn from it. What I love most about these examples is how organized and deliberate they are, and of course the illustrations!

How can we advocate to our classroom teachers the importance of living word walls like these? I believe a good place to start is to take examples from the schools below. Set up a wall in your room/area/cart(!) as a model for other teachers to get inspiration from. Do you have a crafty student? Have them be your illustrator.

*Hamtramck Charter, MI



Ridge Park, MI

Total Physical Response 101

If you enjoy getting your kids up and moving, you'll love using TPR. This is an introduction to the research behind the method by James J. Asher. Aside from it feeling fairly dated, it shows fun ways to engage students in a non-verbal way.

A To-Do List

I recently celebrated my birthday, yay, and completed writing my yearly __ Things to Do While __ Years Old. Basically making a list of things I want to accomplish this year, trying to keep myself accountable and focused on goals I might otherwise overlook (like finally committing to that marathon...).

Well, last week I asked us to think about where our individual ELL programs are right now. This week I want us to think about what we want our ELL programs to look like next year. How can we improve our ELL services? What are some goals you can set for your program, and how can you keep your staff accountable for achieving them?

Here are some goal suggestions for you to consider!

Classroom Decor Is your classroom ELL friendly? Do you have pictures and sentence stems up on your walls? Do you use them on a daily basis? How often do you do upkeep on your classroom library, is it leveled and clear for students to know what to pull (and where to put back!)?

Student Placement Do you have trouble pulling your students in a timely fashion, or are you losing minutes with transit time? Did you know that NHA suggests clustering our high needs ELL students into one classroom? If you have 4-6 high needs students at a grade level you might think about having these students in one classroom. This not only helps with push-in/pull-out support scheduling, but it also allows your ELL teacher/coordinator to better support the classroom teacher. Instead of supporting all three sections of third grade, your ELL teacher will be able to spend more time with the designated ELL classroom teacher. Many of our schools do this already and to great effect.

Student Engagement How often are you incorporating experiential learning in your teaching? What's holding you back from doing more? Set up a classroom barter and trade day. Go on a nature walk to discuss seasons and weather.

So, take a minute and create a little to-do list for your ELL program. Write them down and post your commitment. I encourage you to share it with me, I'm here to support you in shaping the best ELL program for your school!

Where are We At?

As instructors our central mission is to teach students what they need to know. This is the obvious starting point that we all share. However, where do we go from there? How do we know what our students need? How do we assess their strenghts and weakness'? Know when to move forward, when to review?

How do we plan for our kids? And how do you as ELL coordinators evaluate lessons? These questions are helpful as a self-evaluation tool. Do you know how you would answer these personally? How your ELL teachers would answer them?

The strength of our programs is founded on the clarity of understanding that our ELL teachers have.
Start really thinking about your program. Begin by evaluating your own knowledge, ask yourself those questions above. From there have a conversation with your ELL staff and see where they stand.

Next week I'll be writing about what foundational pieces make up a good ELL program. I will also introduce some simple baseline assessments that can be used to help guide our teaching.

Until then, start talking!

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a restful and recharging holiday season. I also hope your kids came back happy and ready to learn :)

The start of the new year is a good time to review how we as teachers and coordinators can welcome our new ELL students into our classrooms and into our schools. We're likely to recieve new students periodically and it can be a challenge for you as the teacher and the student who comes in halfway through the year. Imagine that scenario for a newcomer to the country. It is our goal and our mission to allow newcomers to feel safe and comfortable in their new environment.

Here are two great video clips that demonstrate the need for teachers to connect to their students and tips on how to make that transition as easy as possible for the student.

Welcoming Newcomers

Want more tips to pass along to your teachers of ELL students?
http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/reachingout/welcoming/

http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/cultureshock.php

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/38575/

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/33042/

Immersion

A fellow ELL coordinator referred this short film to us here at the Service Center. Many of our teachers find this is a reality during standardarized testing, I know I did. I always felt especially bad when covering all our classroom work during testing.

Perhaps not the most uplifting new years post, but a reality nonetheless.