Saturday, May 26, 2007

THE BIG ASSIGNMENT

I'm curious about the reaction and execution of this assignment.

Not one person has asked or commented about it since it's been posted.

I can't believe no one has asked how much of it you're expected to do...there are so many links to more to read and think about.

What are you doing?

Are you reading every page of every section?

Skimming?

Thinking about it or barely getting through it?

Are you really going through every link on every page?

Warning: if you don't think it's a lot, then you're probably skipping much of it (knowingly or not...)

Reminder: On Tuesday when we meet, I'm expecting some comprehensive discussions between you students--on material you've learned about directly from this site...which again, is:

http://www.state.nj.us/education/njpep/pd/ell_mainstream/index.html

Another activity will be groups of you deciding what the one written assignment will be; (grade=1/3 in-class participation; 1/3 Blog participation, and 1/3 the one written assignment.

Hope you enjoy your long weekend--see you Tuesday.

6 comments:

Kathryn Greves said...

The website is A LOT of information. All the information however is very helpful. One particular link I found helpful was the link of definitions. Not only does it give the complete definition of an ELL student, it gives the meaning of the abbreviations. It also gives some characteristics of an ELL student, such as what kind of family they may come from. Everyone should look at this link, it truly is helpful.

Jeremy said...

Yes, I must agree, lots of valuable information. I feel that it is a lot to take in all at once and as Ms. Tomich said, many sessions! I personally am doing my best to skim it over and take in as much as possible. The glossary is definitely a valuable resource like Katie said.

One interesting item that I read is that there is close to 300,000 PreK-12 students for whom English is not their first language in NJ.

This website gives an in depth look at how ELL students should be treated when coming to a new school, I personally hope that it is being done at the school where it is needed!

Christine M said...

The information is extensive but important. The quiz in part two is particularly eye-opening. After taking the quiz and reading the explanations for the answers I realized how little I knew about the ELL experience. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle these students in your class and if you are not knowledgeable or informed about ELL students than they may not get the attention they need. By familiarizing yourself with the tools on this site you can make your experience and the new student’s a more pleasant one and help to ease their transition into another culture.

Unknown said...

I started looking at the website. I actually find it overwhelming, because I don't know what I am actually supposed to be looking for. I think that there is tons of informative information. I don't know what type of paper I would write on it. I never commented about the site, because from my understanding we were going to review the details in class tonight, May 29.

Athena said...

I absolutely find this website to be extremely useful. There is so much valuable information. This website is great for all teachers, especially ELL teachers. My favorite section of the website was Part Three: Sample Teaching models and strategies. I really enjoyed watching this video on the teacher Sandra Nahmias from Harrison Elementary School in Roselle, N.J. I learned so much from listening and observing her teaching strategies with her ELL students. She brought out many helpful points to remember as an ELL teacher. We must remember that these ELL students are basically learning the English language all by themselves because when they go home they have no one to help them with their homework since no one at home speaks English. Learning a new language for the first time is not easy and it takes a lot of time, effort, and practice. As teachers it is our job to help them feel capable and help them achieve their goal to learn the English language. In my sophomore field classroom there was a little girl whose native language was Hebrew and she spoke very little English. I had the opportunity to work with her during my field experience. When I would work with her I would teach her how to says different words in English. Like the video on the website with Sandra Nahmias, I used visual aides, which she recommends for teachers to use because it helps the student get a better understanding. For example, for the word flower I would show her a picture of a flower and the word written underneath it. Next, I would demonstrate with my mouth how to pronounce the word. Afterwards, I would have her repeat the word with me and then have her say the word by herself. This would allow me to hear if she is pronouncing the word correctly. Over time, I saw little improvements. I noticed in the beginning she was very shy, but she my cooperating teacher and I notice she was trying to speak with her classmates more. What a wonderful experience it was working with her. As teachers we must be patient with our ELL students and strive to make them feel comfortable. Even though, it is may be challenging at times it is also such a rewarding experience.

Anu Zachariah said...

This website offers so much information in a well organized manner. As a teacher I can go to each section and research on further topics such as students, the theory of second language acquisition, sample teaching models and strategies and other valuable information. The section inquire further has great links to other websites. I would use this website as a valuable tool.