Question of the Week
Mar 3rd, 2008 by basicskills
Question of the Week:
What resources do you use in your classroom other than your textbooks? What are some of the best materials that you have used to supplement your curriculum? Talk about specific activities you have done with your class.
Respond at the bottom of the page ↓
How do you address the Multiple Intelligences. There are 9 intelligences in the Multiple Intelligence Theory. Do you ever talk about values or social issues in the classroom to address the intrapersonal intelligence? Do you ever bring nature into your lessons to address this intelligence? What about the existential intelligence, do you have any ideas for incorporating this into your curriculum? Talk about specific activities you have done with your class.
Respond at the bottom of the page ↓
Do you prefer to address reading, writing and vocabulary using a whole language literature based process or thematically by singling out a specific topic or skill? Do you think students learn best when the vocabulary and grammar structure are tied to literature? Is it best to teach vocabulary in thematic units such as occupation or household items? How were you taught? What are the pros and cons of each?
Responses at the bottom of the page ↓
Have you taken any information from the blog that has been particularly successful in your classroom? How have you practiced the strategies emphasized in basic skills? What have you found to be the most useful to your students? What areas are exciting you the most? What do you find to be most challenging?
Responses at the bottom of the page ↓
(Week of April 28, 2008)What is the most successful activity that you do with your students? Talk about the objective of the lesson/activity, give directions and discuss assessment. How do the students react?
Responses 9-10 at the bottom of the page ↓
(Week of April 14 and April 21, 2008):What good low level books are appropriate for adult second language learners? What books have you read with your Beginning 2 and 3 students? How about ABE? What lessons have you used to teach reading and literature to your students?Responses 6-8 at the bottom of the page ↓
(Weeks of March 31 and April 7, 2008):What lessons and activities have you used to teach your students how to write sentences, paragraphs, poetry, essays, short stories or anything else?
Michele Volz:
I like to use the questions we’ve been practicing in the chapter. (I’m using Side by Side right now).
I have a smart board in my class, so I write my personal response on the board and we read that. Then, using that as an example, the students write their own. We also sometimes write our responses, and questions, to another class-a level up or the same level. They respond, which makes it fun!
Ann Bernal:
I think that the basic skills classes should have one class for advanced GED students as they study the advanced reading/vocabulary in the GED books and have to learn to write an essay and advanced math….or will there be classes that will be appropriate for them? ( I teach GED and the students who are really ready for these advanced classes are mostly on their own now since they are lumped in with students who are not as advanced.
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Chris Robinson. Dept. mtgs. are always great. (I remember the monthly ones I attended while in C-BET for 2 years.) My own thought for improvement was echoed by the contribution above with regard to a forum (e.g. flex workshops, or even an accessible web despcription – a map or flow chart – demonstrating the interrelations among adminstrative functions. (Maybe this is something I’ll need to get in a graduate program, but it would be convenient. Or, if someone could let me know of some resources to find such info, that’d be “swell.”
I always learned best by using mnemonic devices. I was fortunate that one of my middle school teachers was into learning strategies. She taught us to put information into songs, actions and lists associated with other familiar things. I still use these strategies today, and try to teach them to my students. I use TPR (total physical response) to teach things like the Bill of Rights. Students will mimic using a typewriter for freedom of the press, hands in prayer position for freedom of religion, and hands make a gathering motion for freedom of assembly. I also teach my students with music, role-playing activities and learning games. I learn best when learn is fun.
For maintaining and tracking goals, I have always been a list keeper. I would make detailed charts to keep track of academic process and college requirements. I listed every class I needed to or planned on taking on note cards and got advice from college classmates and friends about which classes and teachers were best. By doing this, I was able to take a lot of fun classes that kept me motivated and pertained to my hobbies like sailing, ceramics, guitar and yoga.
I was a perpetual add/drop student at Santa Ana College. All of us were expected to leave from our local high school and then go to the college or work full-time. Those of us who couldn’t afford to go away to college, would go to what we lovingly called UCSB (the University of Seventeenth and Bristol. I learned best in small classes. I hated the big POLI SCI classes with hundreds. I never felt accountable. Eventually after being there and not getting enough credits, I would like to believe that I started to grow up and get serious. I started to classes at SAC that seemed to connect with me. One class/ one teacher made the difference. I took a counseling class about relationships- I think it was Marriage and the Family. I loved it and found my passion. I also found child development classes and loved that and education classes. Pulling it together, I graduated from SAC went to Chapman and went into Social Work. Missing education the field and for myself classes to continue to grow, then studied at USC and Chapman. Found passion again in Ed Psych and Counseling at a higher educational level.
I like to use the questions we’ve been practising in the chapter.(I’m using Side by Side right now).
I have a smart board in my class, so I write my personal response on the board and we read that. Then, using that as an example, the students write their own. We also sometimes write our responses, and questions, to another class-a level up or the same level. They respond, which makes it fun!
I think that the basic skills classes should have one class for advanced GED students as they study the advanced reading/vocabulary in the GED books and have to learn to write an essay and advanced math….or will there be classes that will be appropriate for them? ( I teach GED and the students who are really ready for these advanced classes are mostly on their own now since they are lumped in with students who are not as advanced.)
Some lesson activities that are useful in teaching reading to students at begininning levels are the DRTA, LEA, reading conferences, and the Experiential Approach.
The DRTA (Directed Reading Teaching Activity) encourages students to make use of their tendencies to make and confirm predictions. The teacher asks only three questions:
1) What do you think this story is about?
2) What do you think will happen next?
3) What makes you think so?
The lesson materials need to be put together by the instructor and have flexibility in the content and level of language profiency.
The Language Experience Approach
1) Students are asked to relate stories to the teacher. The stories can be about anything appropriate for the language proficiency level.
2) Students’ stories are recorded verbatim by the instructor.
3) The student reads the story aloud. The teacher also reads the story aloud.
4) The story is reread and discussed. This can be done on a subsequent class day. If the student dictated new words, these are written on flashcards and made a part of the students’ word bank.
5) Students’ dictations are put into “book” form, each individual stapling his or her own “stories” into a “book” which in turn becomes a record each individual student’s development.
6) Students can read the stories to each other or in another configuration, discuss them, and so on.
The Experiential Approach can be implemented in may ways. An instructor may wish to front-load a class with new vocabulary related to the lesson. Field trips, an event (rain storm, 9/11, etc.) are types of experiences shared by the students. Intructors gather materials related to these experiences and organize lessons appropriate for the language profiency level of the students in the class. This can be as simple as planting seeds in pots or a garden, cooking something, following directions on a field trip, and so on. The approach is useful with beginning level ESL students as well as more advanced students. Grammar can be integrated into the lesson with sentence writing, description, and so on. There is a wide range of flexibilty in this method regarding content as well as the previous ones.
Recipe making is excellent with beginning one level ESL students. I made colorful layered Jello one time; the recipe and the experience generated a great deal of interest and language use.
Of course, vocabulary instruction is a basic to all reading activities.
Judith, Thanks for those three great summaries. I especially like the Experiential Approach. It ties in with what others have been saying about writing about what is meaningful. Also, an experience leaves neural pathways in the brain, or “hangers in the closet,” where new information can be absorbed or “hung up.” This allows the thinking process to move to higher levels, making connections, rather than just collecting facts.
The DRTA and Language Experience Approach are straightforward and should be fun for the students, as they receive personal recognition and attention. I would like to know how you manage this time-wise in a classroom. I am sure this personal touch helps student retention in your classes.
I have used the below website for many stories appropriate for my age of students, Adult ESL. We then answer questions that I write out on the board, sometimes we answer orally. But we learn to “dig” for the answers and use the words in the questions to help us to write a complete sentence in answering the question.
http://www.rong-chang.com/qa2/index.html
Michele Volz, I really love your idea of having your class write to other classes. I think that would be fun and would help the students to get to know each other. They could write to classes a level up and ask what the coursework is like. This might relieve anxiety. Mary Polychrome
One of my activities that has had success is Sara’s newsletter for Family Literacy. There are questions posed about certain topics of interest to students. We discuss possible answers and do a rough and final draft. students really like to see their name on something published for family, friends, and classmates to see.
There was an item on the blog site requesting information on how to integrate math into ESL lessons. I intend to provide photocopies of some ESL math materials. In the meantime some of the ways that I use math in ESL lessons are:
1. Basic shopping on a budget using dollars and cents to create a menu or party plan.
2. Checkbook and banking lessons.
3. Paycheck and budgeting.
4. Just plain adding and subtracting practice using English.
5. Money terminology and use.
6. Timecard issues, calculating and adding hours.
Gunderson, L., (1991), ESL literacy instruction, a guidebook to theory and practice, Prentice_Hall, Inc., 65-69,125.
Reading Activity #1
The book suggests several reading activities to teach older English learners. One of these is the DRTA (Directed Reading-Thinking Activity). It makes use of students natural abilities to make and confirm predictions as they read. The teacher asks only 3 questions:
What do you think this story is about?
What do you think will happen next?
What makes you think so?
The DRTA begins with the teacher cover all of the text except the title and asking the students to look only at the title then ask: What do you think this story is about? then
What makes you think so?
The teacher next reveals the author’s name and asks the same 2 questions again.
After that the teacher uncovers some of the text and asks:
What is this story about?
What makes you think so?
What do you think will happen next?
What makes you think so?
The process continues. Students may read portions of text to confirm their predictions, even returning to previous pages. The activity also works with wordless books.
Reading Activity #2
Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading (USSR) or (SSR)
This reading activity makes use of a regularly scheduled block of time when students and teachers, acting as models for the behavior, silently read books each has selected. The teacher must demonstrate the behavior as the students read. Ideally, all on campus should be doing the same thing.
[The amount of time for reading can be 15 minutes up to an hour or whatever is suitable to the teaching schedule. Students can also keep a journal and write responses after the reading time is completed.]
Reading Activity #3
Language Experience Approach (LEA)
This is considered appropriate for students who have L1 literacy instruction and are limited English proficient.
step 1: Students in groups or individially are asked to relate stories to the teacher. The stories can be about their experience. Sometimes the teacher provides field trips so that students have some background knowledge.
step 2: The students’ accounts are recorded verbataim. The teacher ats as the recorder and nothing more. The student relates the ’story’ as the the teacher writes or ‘records’.
step 3: The student then reads the story aloud. The teacher also reads the story out loud.
step 4: A few days after the story has been dictated and recorded, the story is read again and discussed. New and difficult words are written on flash cards for the student’s word bank.
step 5: Each student’s dictation is stapled into book form thus creating a permanent record of the student’s development.
step 6: Students rehearse their stories and read them to the teacher and others, in pairs, groups or the whole class.
I feel there is a greater need to do more reading comprehension activities. I do use the DTRA approach for predicting and understanding. I feel it really helps to have many discussion questions about topics since being able to discuss,analyze, and form opinions is necessary in language use. Although this is an advanced skill even lower levels can benefit from these exercises with the use of easier and basic information questions.
After reading varous blogs, posting some, I am so much in tune with the word Basic Skills. When beginning a new activity, I can’t help but think, “Now is this ok or should I be doing it a different way?” I will give a simple example. We have an open entry/exit program. towards the end of the semester it is a challenge to incorporate a new student with very little schooling into what material is covered at the time.
Groping studens to do quite a few activiites and including new comers seems to be an AHA experience! I believe it very effective. The newcomer feels very comfortable, as people in the group are so helpful and things get done faster.
I know I have commented how good working in group is but this was sort of a recent experience and I had to mention it, since it yielded such positive attitude and results!
On covering math in a classroom, the chapters on food items and shopping for food are quite good for some math exercise. In Claudia Lamb’s workshop, there were very interesting books on basic math.
To introduce the concept of budget, one can talk about how food prices continue to rise, sky rocket, as some economists like to call it. An example is, and I believe a very important concept for all in the classroom to understand is how you save money when items are on sale. They answer questions on who buys food at regular price and who at discount price. Then, how do you calculate discount? It can simply be a $ amount or a percentage. Now this may sound a complicated affair for beginning students. But without going into complicated ideas about %age, if I simply do basic multiplication, there is my answer, my students, at least the majority of them have it! Depending on what level one teaches, we have to tailor it appropriately.
It is also very important to keep in mind that so many of them are very bright in simple math. I remind them that you are here to learn English, a new language. Many of you have had some education in your countries and are very good in many different subjects. As for Math, if you haven’t learned any in your country, here’s a beginning, and if you have, your are doing it in English. Students who are very bright in math, just light up! And doing a given assignment, they just fly with it. So here is a basic example of approaching math at a base level. The very positive feeling of self worth enhances the students’ enthusiasm. And I really believe that is also reflectd then in subsequent non math related learning.
As we target an adult group, learning money management automatically becomes an integral part of a classroom. This should be covered at all levels. We do or maybe we don’t know how very valuable this is and how thankful the students are.
This could spill into the budget of a family, banking, and shopping in general. As to how these could be approached, in a different blog.
I am so into the process of writing with my students that they have become my experimentation sample. I watch them when they write, and I ask them how they write. I watch them take a writing test . We talk together to discuss how they start writing.
I am developing many theories on how they write and I am trying to convince them on ways to write more successfully. I’m trying to convince them to use English patterns that they know in their writing rather than always trying to translate from their first language. The problem with the translation technique is that their first language vocabulary is much higher than their English vocabulary and thus they become stuck and frustrated in their writing.
I think it’s best to incorporate both methods to introduce vocabulary. Our textbooks deal with vocabulary and grammar in a holistic way. However, it’s definitely worthwhile to isolate specific skills and focus all of the assignments on teaching and reinforcing that skill. I find that students really recognize their growth using this approach. They also acquire the language well with this methodology.
I think that there are benefits in teaching reading/writing/vocabulary both as part of several lessons which deal with a central concept, as well as part of a lesson which focuses on single concept individually.
Surrounding specific grammar ideas and vocabulary around a contextual theme can allow for a more indepth covering of language concepts which can be presented as an aggregate unit. This will allow the students to associate a variety of language skills under one umbrella, and for the conceptually oriented students, it will enable them to retain a lot of what they are learning.
It can also be beneficial to interject grammar or vocabulary concepts as supplementary input. This can add variety to teaching a one to two week unit , such as one on “the family”. This supplementary material can include some pronunciation practice, reviewing grammar concepts with which students have difficulty but which has not yet come up in the text, holiday information sheets, songs, and more…
Other than adding some new flavor to the daily text’s routine, supplementary material can alleviate some of the students’ apprehension about the specific areas where they struggle in learning English which the class text may not address, or which it has not yet addressed. The teacher can choose some of the supplementary material based on the specific needs which she observes her students to have.
Both these blogs are on materials beside the pure text book instruction that seems to have worked well at the beginning level.
We are very fortunate at MEC, as I am sure many of us are at various locations. We have access to the computers for an hour. I take my class to the CLC once every two weeks. The students learn to move the mouse, click, move, you know the basic stuff. We have been studying the Easy English 1. The series has different competencies. Most of them study the same material. They listen, they see, they repeat and they learn.
We then go to the class and study the same material from the text book/handouts. This way, I have noticed, they learn quite faster. (Faster than just handouts, and reading and the teacher going through the material? Maybe.) When we finish the subject matter, they are given some simple questions and are expected to respond in whatever way comfortable for them. The results I have seen are quite good! The questions are sometimes written, sometimes they have to speak. This is very difficult for quite a few. But they want to try! What they just saw and heard on the computer, repeated to some extent. is reason enough for them to attempt to speak.
A few of the students who would never open their mouths to participate in anything, actually changed and started to respond. I think when a new student or a student with very little education in the native country mumbles when asked something, is scared. With this new apporach, they actually opened up and were willing to speak audibly. They are very happy being able to participate.
I think learning the same material from three different sources, the computer, printed paper and their teacher, must sink in the brain in a different way than just one source. The students are very happy and that makes the teacher happy too!
As math is an integral part of Basik Skills, I write about something interesting that took place in one class.
We were studying from a handout of Hands on English,Vol.17, No 6. The article was ‘Trash is Valuable’. Just because we are at beginning level, we were not going to be left out the mainstream and ignore environment, and the big word au courant – RECYCLE!
Before handing out the paper, we talk about trash, what happens to it, why we have so much trash, etc. The response I get is very good, very knowledgeable. The students surprised me with their different views, opinions.
We then proceed to study the article, and proceed to the questions at the end of the article. One question is: ‘If one city collects 50 tons (not pounds) of old newspapers in a week, how many tons is that in a year? ‘ So now we talk about the number of weeks in a year. In one week, 50 tons so in 52 weeks how much? I put different signs on the board (X, /, -, and +) and ask what function out of the four we are going to use. Some just don’t understand, some say divide and quite a few say multiply. Multiply it is.
I put on the board 50 tons/week
x 52 weeks (year)
100
+250
2600 tons
A student who never went to school in her native Mexico but who is a very keen learner and has some basic number knowledge, asked me that she just doesn’t understand the second line (250) and where do the numbers on this line come from. The whole class walked her through the multiplication of 5 x 0 , 5 x 5. Some used English and many used Spanish. What was remarkable was the fact, that this lady, who can never come to school before 10:00 a.m. due to her family obligation,who has no formal education, but never quits before she understands whatever it is we are studying, is beaming with joy because she understood how many tons of newspapers in one year.
This may seem like minor stuff to some, but look at it from her point of view! This opens up so much for her for future. Whenever we do any math exercise, I have not one person unwilling to try.
This was a rewarding experience for me, and, I am sure for the whole class. After such accomplishments, when they leave, they are very happy. How does one feel after solving a difficult math problem? That way.
The spacing didn’t work out for the math problem above because of the formatting limitations of comment writing, but I am sure you catch the drift.