Strategy of the Week

Strategy-

Read-and-Retell

This strategy is designed to help students synthesize and retell what they've read about a topic, with a little assistance if needed.

While you are planning to read a selection with your class, go through it and determine which keywords most contribute to helping students understand the story. Before beginning to read together as a class or in smaller groups, have students jot down the key words on their paper or a piece of scratch paper. If possible, have them locate and underline these key words in the story. Read the story, then have students put the reading where they can't see it and use their list of keywords to retell the story to a partner. 

For higher level students, or for a topic that you are reviewing, you may wish to have students choose their own keywords after reading the story through once. If this is the case, then have them re-read the story after they've chosen the key words, then retell it to a partner using their keywords.

After students have retold the story to a partner, I like to have them use the same keywords to summarize. 

In case you're a little iffy on exactly how this strategy works, check out my FREE Chinese New Year Read-and-Retell Activity. Just click below to download from my TpT store!

Paul Felischman's Seedfolks

In today's world, and especially today's America, where our population is becoming ever more diverse, it is important to include multi-cultural literature in the classroom. Multi-cultural literature can serve to educate students about the cultures in their own community and around the world, as well as promote appreciation for cultural diversity in the school and classroom. This is especially true in an ESL classroom, where students from all over the world come together to learn English.

During my first year of teaching, I was given a copy of Seedfolks by the ESL department at my school. It was only a single copy, but I read it and decided that I wanted to use it in my classroom, so I put in a project on Donorschoose.org for a classroom set of Seedfolks and a few other titles. That first year, my students so loved the story, that I have used it every year since, even using it with 5th graders.

Seedfolks is a unique story, written as a collection of 13 short stories each told by a different narrator with a unique perspective on the world.  The story begins when a young girl from Vietnam plants seeds in an abandoned lot.  Others see her planting the seeds, and each, for his or her own reasons, also decides to plant in the garden.  A message of hope emerges against a backdrop of a neighborhood and neighbors who began with little hope.

The book is a wonderful piece of adolescent iterature, but also lends itself easily to be a way to teach content in science, social studies, and math.  Through the social and personal problems that these characters experience, we can examine societal problems that will give the students a more profound understanding of how social studies applies to their own lives and the lives of others. 

In addition, the various racial and ethnic backgrounds of these characters provide a means of examining other countries, their cultures and social institutions.  The history of Immigration to the United States can be addressed; the ways in which immigrants color and shape American society can also be taught. Another social studies theme that can be easily addressed is community. A study of plant life and growth can be incorporated, bringing science into the mix. 

If you're interested in incorporating this Novel Study into your classroom, you can increase the richness of your classroom reading program exponentially. My students always enjoy reading the book and find it easy to connect to the various characters and ideas. 

I have a complete, 138 page Seedfolks Novel Study Unit available at my TpT store, which will have everything that you need to help you use this wonderful piece of literature to its full potential in your classroom. This unit is aligned with the 6-12 ELA Common Core Standards in Reading and Writing. Head on over and check it out today!

New Year Giveaway Winners

I have been so excited to have so many new blog, TpT and Facebook followers! I hope you find the ideas, tips, and strategies I share useful for your ESOL students. It has made my week to watch my follower numbers go up all the way around! THANK YOU!!

Now for the part you've all been waiting for! The question everyone wants answered.....WHO WON??

Third Place Winners: (choose one item from any of the 12 stores listed below)

• Ali Giese
• Alissa Strauss
• Rachel Muniz

Second Place Winners: (choose two items from any of the 12 stores listed below)

• Janine at http://faithfulinfirst.blogspot.com
• Kim Kish

First Place Winner: (choose one item from EACH of the 12 stores listed below)

• Denise Becker 

CONGRATULATIONS!!

 Winners have been notified by e-mail on how to collect your winnings!

Winners, here are the stores to choose from below!

Classroom Confections Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Down Under Teacher Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Primary Inspiration Teachers Pay Teachers Store

I Love 1st Grade Teachers Pay Teachers Store

A Teacher's Treasure Teachers Pay Teachers store

Herding Cats in Kindergarten Teachers Pay Teachers store

Third Grade Bookworm Teachers Pay Teachers store

A Special Kind of Class Teachers Pay Teachers store

Mandy's Tips for Teachers Teachers Pay Teachers store

Hojos Teachers Pay Teachers store

Teacher Tam's Teachers Pay Teachers store

Tools for Teachers by Laurah J Teachers Pay Teachers store

Today is the big day!

Hello bloggers! Welcome to all my newest followers....I'm so happy you've joined me on my ESOL Odyssey.

So, today is the big day....the New Year Giveaway winners will be announced tonight at 8 pm. Stay tuned to see if you've won the big prize!!

Strategy of the Week

One of my resolutions this year is to get my strategy of the week back to being a weekly thing instead of a monthly thing. I'm sure you all understand how the demands of teaching are, so we'll see how long this lasts :)

It is that time of year when administrators want you to begin focusing more heavily on test prep. This week's strategy does not have a fancy name (except the one I'm about to give it!), and it is really common sense- and it goes along with that test prep that your administrator wants you to use.

Strategy-

Where did you find it?

When my students are taking reading practice tests in preparation for the big one at the end of the year, I like to slowly teach them little tricks and methods to help them. Each time we take a practice test, I introduce one or two new strategies. By the time we get around to testing, I hope that these strategies are second nature for my students since we do it so much. 

When I first began teaching, I often found myself frustrated that my students did not always go back to the reading that the questions were based on to look for the answers. When I would go over the test with them, and say "Where did you find it?" they would go back and look, say "Oh" and then give me the correct answer. I realized that they really do not look on their own. I don't know if it is because they forget, or if my ELLs are so overwhelmed that they feel they can only guess, but I knew I had to do something to change it.

When I first started this, I was working with 6th-8th graders, but I now use this same strategy with my 4th graders. When they have a reading passage, with multiple choice test questions, I require them to write the number of the paragraph where they found the answer next to the question. They use the paragraph symbol and the number. It seems so simple, but it has truly helped them to remember to go back and look, and their scores have improved.

I also use this with chapter or comprehension questions when we are reading a novel or using their leveled readers. They simply write the page or paragraph number that helped them to answer the question. The other great thing about this strategy is, that if they missed it, I am often able to use the information about which paragraph or page they were looking in to help me understand where they went wrong.

Just before Christmas, I was plugging into a 4th grade language arts classroom where they were doing a practice test on non-fiction text. I reminded my students to use this strategy, and the mainstream teacher thought it was such a good idea, she asked her students to do the same. She told me later that she noticed that the students took more time with the activity, and overall had better scores than previously. I know this is not an extensive or definitive study, but it certainly helped these kids!

I hope this helps you and your students as much as it has helped mine!

New Year Giveaway!

 We're Ringing in the New Year with a Ring of Bloggy Giveaways! 

PLEASE READ- NOT ONLY CAN YOU GET AN EXTRA ENTRY HERE, BUT I AM MANAGING YOUR ENTRIES A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY HERE. DO NOT LEAVE COMMENTS, SIMPLY USE THE entry form.

1.  Follow my blog (or already be a follower). Instead of leaving comments here, just use this entry form.

2.  Follow my Teacher Pay Teachers store and indicate that when you fill in the entry form

3. Blog about this contest and indicate that when you fill out the entry form.
4.  Follow my Facebook site and indicate that when you fill out the entry form.

5. Visit the other blogs and stores, and enter according to their instructions. 

This entry form is only good to enter the contest here. You only need to fill out one entry form and just indicate all of your entries for my sites on the same form. However, there are still MORE ways to enter! You can also follow the blogs and stores of ALL the blogs participating in the list above to increase your chances of winning!  There are at least 24 chances to win even if you DON'T blog!!!! 

 

Are you looking for new ideas to revitalize you and your students for your return to the classroom? Look no further- inspiration is straight ahead!  The New Year has arrived and to celebrate its arrival we are celebrating with a HUGE giveaway from a Ring of Elementary blogs!

Twelve blogs have joined together for a MEGA New Year Giveaway!  The winners of the giveaway will be able to choose any item (winter themed or not) from any of the Teacher Pay Teachers stores listed below.  Nearly 100 items will be given away in this HUGE event!

Each blog will have 6 winners.

Each blog will select and post 6 winners for that blog.

Third Place: There will be THREE third prize winners that will be able to choose any (of the winner’s choice) ONE item total from any of the blogger’s Teacher Pay Teachers store listed below. 

   Second Place: There will be TWO second prize winners that will be able to choose any (of the winner's choice) TWO items (total)  from any of the blogger's Teachers Pay Teachers stores below. 

First Prize: ONE grand prize winner from EACH blog that will win any (of the winner's choice) ONE ITEM from EACH blogger's Teachers Pay Teachers stores listed below!

 Here are the participating blogs/ stores: 

 Classroom Confections Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Down Under Teacher Teachers Pay Teachers Store

 

Primary Inspiration Teachers Pay Teachers Store

I Love 1st Grade Teachers Pay Teachers Store

A Teacher's Treasure Teachers Pay Teachers store

Herding Cats in Kindergarten Teachers Pay Teachers store

Third Grade Bookworm Teachers Pay Teachers store

A Special Kind of Class Teachers Pay Teachers store

Mandy's Tips for Teachers Teachers Pay Teachers store

 

Hojos Teachers Pay Teachers store

Teacher Tam's Teachers Pay Teachers store

Tools for Teachers by Laurah J Teachers Pay Teachers store

PLEASE READ- NOT ONLY CAN YOU GET AN EXTRA ENTRY HERE, BUT I AM MANAGING YOUR ENTRIES A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY HERE. DO NOT LEAVE COMMENTS, SIMPLY USE THE entry form.

1.  Follow my blog (or already be a follower). Instead of leaving comments here, just use this entry form.

2.  Follow my Teacher Pay Teachers store and indicate that when you fill in the entry form

3. Blog about this contest and indicate that when you fill out the entry form.
4.  Follow my Facebook site and indicate that when you fill out the entry form.

5. Visit the other blogs and stores, and enter according to their instructions. 

This entry form is only good to enter the contest here. You only need to fill out one entry form and just indicate all of your entries for my sites on the same form. However, there are still MORE ways to enter! You can also follow the blogs and stores of ALL the blogs participating in the list above to increase your chances of winning!  There are at least 24 chances to win even if you DON'T blog!!!! 

All winners will be chosen on January 6^th, 2012 by 8:00pm Eastern time.

Good luck!  Maybe YOU will be one of the big winners!

Touching History: A field trip to the Newseum

One of the things that I love about living and teaching in the DC Metro area is the abundant choice of field trip destinations. Yesterday, we took our 3rd-5th grade ESOL students into downtown DC for visit to the Newseum. If you don't know about the Newseum, it is a fascinating museum dedicated to the history of the media in all its forms: newspaper, broadcast and radio.

First, let me say that my students do not often get to go on field trips, so this was a rare treat for them. They felt especially special because it was only for the ESOL students (this is not because we felt exclusionary, but because the trip was paid for with federal funds which can only be used for ESOL students).

Our visit to the Newseum started out with a 4-D movie. This means that not only was the movie in 3-D, but they had moving seats and wind and other effects. The kids loved this! I'm pretty sure that was their favorite part of the entire field trip (except for maybe going to the gift shop!). Here's a picture of the theater:

We spent the rest of the day wandering around and checking out the exhibits. There were lots of wonderful things to see, and I don't feel like I really got to see much because I was so busy herding 9 and 10-year-olds around. Here are my favorites:

The Berlin Wall and Guard Tower:

The 9/11 Exhibit:

The Unabomber's Cabin:

One of the things that really struck me was the realization that each of these events, which I remember vividly in my life, happened before most of my students were even born. While looking at the 9/11 exhibit, I asked my 4th graders how old they were, and one told me that her birthday was on September 6,  2001. That means she was five days old when 9/11 happened!

What a wonderful learning experience this was for these students, especially where 9/11 was concerned. That is not something that we yet cover in school or in history classes as part of the curriculum, so many students don't really know what it is all about. The museum also has a mini-theater in the 9/11 exhibit that shows some footage from that day, as well as interviews. For the only time during the entire day, the students were all quiet and focused on the video. They were so engaged and interested in this little piece of history. The 9/11 exhibit was a very emotional one for me to look at, because it really takes you back to that day and that moment, and the way you felt when you heard.

All in all, the kiddos learned a lot about the 1st ammendment and the media, and had a great time. They kept saying how it was "the best field trip ever". We're planning a zoo trip for the primary grades in the spring, so we'll see how that goes!

Strategy of the Week

I guess at this point, I might more honestly be called a strategy of the month. But, I promise, this one is a good one that can be used (HONESTLY) for almost any grade level.

Strategy-

CUBING

This strategy gets students thinking about an issue, idea, item, or topic at all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. This strategy can be good as a post-learning activity, or to build background on a familiar topic before connecting that to new learning. For example, I used cubing to activate my students' prior knowledge on water before beginning a lesson on the Water Cycle. 

On each side of the cube, have a different prompt. 

Describe it: Look at the subject closely (perhaps with your physical senses as well as your mind).

•Compare it: What is it similar to? What is it different from?

•Synthesize it; What does it make you think of? What are some ways that you can change it?

•Analyze it: Tell how it is made. What are it is traits and attributes?

•Apply it: Tell what you can do with it. How can it be used?

•Argue for or against: Take a stand.

Believe it or not, I have used this strategy for students in grades 2-8, and I know it works well in high school as well. It's all in the presentation, my friends! When I did this with water for my second graders, I first wrote specific questions for each category. Then, I talked them through each side of the cube, read the questions, and gave them 1 minute to talk with a buddy. With middle school students, you can write your questions and then let them complete the cube on their own. With high schoolers, I have seen colleagues give students the general categories and let them come up with their own questions to discuss. You can also use the cube to explore different parts of a story (characters, setting, plot, climax, conflict, resolution).

Click HERE to get the free templates from my TpT store!

Author's Purpose is more fun than a bucket of cookies!

Have you ever taught a lesson that went so well that it made your whole day? Well, I taught that lesson today!

We've been working a lot on author's purpose lately. We've practiced the purposes for writing, had a gallery walk to expose us to examples of each purpose, and used an organizer to break down a text and determine the purpose. That means that today, it was time to assess.

The original plan was to give each student a doughnut and a purpose. I wanted them to use their doughnut as inspiration to write a paragraph to fit their assigned purpose. However, it was so late by the time I got to the store last night to get doughnuts, all they had left were doughnut flavors that were less than kid-friendly. So, I got bucket of M&M cookies instead.

I used index cards and wrote "persuade", "inform" or "entertain" on each card. Students chose a card randomly and then used their cookie to write a paragraph to fit that purpose. Our number one rule was "I may not eat the cookie until AFTER I have finished my final draft".  I was surprised, but students were very diligent and did not eat their cookies until they were done. After they completed their rough draft, I checked it for conventions, and then they wrote their final drafts. 


Students really had fun with this activity and were so engaged!! (Or maybe they all just wanted to get done so they could eat their cookies!) The students were so focused on what they were doing and they did a great job! I could tell after reading their paragraphs that they really understood each purpose. As promised, here are some pictures of the kids working and the final products:

  Can you guess the purpose of each one? (Persuade, Inform, Entertain). These are too good to just display in my trailer, so I'm going to find some hallway space in the main building for this awesome work! (I don't know about you, but I totally love the one about the cookie giving him a wedgie!)

Don't forget that this activity is available in my TpT store as part of my Author's Purpose Teaching Pack and also as part of my Author's Purpose Activity Sheets. Click the button below to purchase from my TpT store!












Also, don't forget to click the button below to download my FREE (yes FREE) Author's Purpose Anchor Charts!

Teaching Author's Purpose in 4th Grade ESOL

To us as teachers, author's purpose is a relatively simple concept, and it is easy for us to pick out the author's purpose of just about any text we encounter. The same cannot be said for our students, and since this skill is so easy for us, it can be easy to forget how challenging it is for our students.

On Monday, the mainstream language arts teacher for 4th grade introduced the topic, had students take notes, and then showed a short video. I realized that this was certainly not going to be enough for my students to grasp the concept, and doubtful that it is enough for even the mainstream kids.

So, I made a plan for my pull-out day and decided we would get down and dirty with author's purpose this week in our pull-out groups. We began on Tuesday by going through a short powerpoint on the skill, reviewing the three main purposes for writing, and doing a few examples. I also introduced 4 distinct steps that the students should take to determine the author's purpose. I'll post that anchor chart later!

Next, we did an author's purpose gallery walk. (I've heard of doing this for genre, but adapted the idea for author's purpose). I located two texts that fit each purpose, and placed them around the room. The students had a gallery walk sheet where they wrote the title, author, and purpose. For each book, they also had to write three pieces of "evidence" (like text features) that helped them determine the purpose. I was able to circulate while they worked and rotated through the various books, and was able to talk them through the process when they struggled. It also gave each student a chance to be exposed to each type of text.

During our Thursday pull-out session, we continued to work on author's purpose by using the leveled readers students are currently reading in their mainstream class. We used a graphic organizer that helped students determine the purpose based on the story's main idea, text features, and the way they felt when reading it. All in all, the students have worked very hard and seem to be getting it. Next Tuesday, we're going to do an author's purpose writing activity involving DOUGHNUTS! I'll definitely take pictures and post them.

All the activities and organizers I used to teach this skill are now available in my TpT store as my Author's Purpose Activity Sheets. You can also get the Author's Purpose Powerpoint Presentation and Cloze Notes. Even better, buy the Author's Purpose Teaching Pack, which includes both. Save a little by buying them bundled. Stop on by and check them out!

Update: Please see Author's Purpose is More Fun Than a Bucket of Cookies to see the writing activity!