Good evening friends! Welcome to tonight's #earlylang chat! Join me and @windycitysenora as co-moderator as we talk about Developing Independence in Early Language Learners
Hello #earlylang! I'm so excited to talk independence with @MundodePepita and you! I'm Valerie, from Chicago. I teach Spanish in a K-8 program(currently doing 4th-8th)in a #montessori school.
We will be using a Q1/A1 format during the chat. For ex, when answering Question 1, please include A1 in your answer. And don’t forget to use our hashtag so everyone can see your answers! #earlylang
A1: With the real littles, I see independence as learning how to take care of our materials, how to navigate social situations, how to be a productive member of our class community-these skills then lead to independence w learning #earlylang
A1: independence fosters student-centered learning, empowers studdents, engages them by putting them into the driver’s seat, builds 21st C skills. It should provide developmentally appropriate challenges, at all ages. #earlylang
A1 #EarlyLang: we Ts need to provide opps for Ss to gradually become more & more independent - otherwise we’re not helping them grown into good adults.
Furthermore, who’s going to take care of us when we get old?!
First thought that comes to mind is the importance of independence for using tech. @Seesaw activities show what they can do with the lang and uploading solo is so helpful #earlylang
Hey all! I teach high school levels 1 and 2H currently but am thinking about making a move to middle school, so I am here to listen to your ways! #earlylang
I might of gotten ahead of myself with the questions lol. In terms of the why, ultimately we are teaching the future, where independence is a core component of being a world citizen. It gives kids more options & choices in life #earlylang
A1 Independence generally, is a life skill--helping the littles to become the adults they will be. In the TL, it's about fostering life long learning, so the children will know how to get what they need to interact with the world. #earlylang
A1 #earlylang I teach a large span — Junior PreK (age 3) through grade 5 - I have to be strategic abt what opportunities I provide for them to comfortably work independently. Ea year they get a little bit more independence.
A1: Independence is also really i@portante to scaffold students toward tolerating and navigating ambiguity, unfamiliar situations in the language and in life. #earlylang
A1: Independence is also really important to scaffold students toward tolerating and navigating ambiguity, unfamiliar situations in the language and in life. #earlylang
A2: I frequently see a shift in academic independence in Third Grade; I see my students being more ready to take charge of their own learning; this allows me to design activities which provide some more autonomy #earlylang
A2: Totally depends on the age. The younger they are, the more scaffolding and structure the need, but they can still have opportunities for independence, like with supplies, cleaning up, managing how to take turns, choosing activities. #earlylang
A1: When? When either -
a) we want to let them take a risk or b) when we know we have given them the input and scaffolding they need and want to see how they can apply and extend. #earlylang
A2: I frequently see a shift in academic independence in Third Grade; I see my students being more ready to take charge of their own learning; this allows me to design activities which provide some more autonomy #earlylang
A2: Also, as they get older, reading & inquiry can take on a larger role, which allows sts more independence-they can do some of the "leg work" to discover content based info, for ex #earlylang
A2 #EarlyLang: with my 3 year olds, not a lot of independence yet. But with my 1st-2nd graders, I start using centers and empower Ss to work as groups with less constant monitoring. By 4th-5th, Ss can run activities on their own bc they’ve been practicing for years
#EarlyLang A2: It depends on the grade level and the student. Firs graders need modeling, positive reinforcement and explicit teaching of advocating for themselves
A2: I find it also depends on learning style. Some Ss don’t do well if having options or “freedom” it’s a skill some need to learn bc w/independence comes responsibility #EarlyLang
A2: Part of the scaffolding I think is also the amount of time. Shorter chunks with youger kids to build the skills, re-group, and try some moren longer chunks as they learn to manage it. #earlylang
A2 #EarlyLang: with my 3 year olds, not a lot of independence yet. But with my 1st-2nd graders, I start using centers and empower Ss to work as groups with less constant monitoring. By 4th-5th, Ss can run activities on their own bc they’ve been practicing for years
This! A student who is afraid of penalty for making mistakes will constantly put up their hand and ask for help, rather than trying on their own. #earlylang
A3 #EarlyLang: I want my Ss to leave my class with some sense of accomplishment, knowing and feeling in their hearts that they are capable and competent learners. It’s hard to measure or identify the exact moment it occurs, but we observe it in spurts.
A3: As I mentioned (prematurely lol) my primary expectations for littles is in taking care of our classroom & community. For ex, everyone cleans up their materials, I don't go around picking up after kids. #earlylang
A3: As I mentioned (prematurely lol) my primary expectations for littles is in taking care of our classroom & community. For ex, everyone cleans up their materials, I don't go around picking up after kids. #earlylang
A3: As we move through the grade spans, kids have opportunities to work in small groups or w partners, directing more of their own learning, and making choices about what they learn & what we do in class #earlylang
A3: To make the classroom their own, personalize their work, to feel comfortable w/spontaneity, to rely on their knowledge, to trust themselves is probably the #1 #EarlyLang
I really think this fosters a lot of self confidence, too! When kids are put in charge of things, we show them we believe in them & their abilities. #earlylang
A3: I want my students to learn to identify the resources at their disposal when they are working outside of class: their books, their notes, similar activities we have done in class. I want them to make connections between what we have practiced and the application. #earlylang
A3: As the children gain age and experience, they can work with partners on their own, choose work, and not wait for the teacher to get started. #earlylang
A3: This is one of my favorite Maria Montessori quotes: “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’” I keep coming back to it, when I feel like I'm doing too much for the children. #earlylang
A3: sorry, dealing with crazy dogs ... a big thing I am working on this year with my middle school students is allowing them independence, but making sure they are making the best use of their time in class. #earlylang
A1 I love seeing my kindergarteners play games we have already played as a class but in pairs on their own. Modeling social language for play is one of my favorite things! #earlylang
Yes! I run from classroom to classroom & am often a few minutes late and/or have left something on another floor (anyone else? 🐓 no Head?) I LOVE when I arrive and my students are set up and look at me and say, “we are being self starters”. #earlylang
A4: It is important to have clear boundaries about when you will help and when you will not. For example, I do not give vocab help during written assessments. Students know to just try to find a way to get their point across. #earlylang
A4: Showing trust in our students that we believe they can achieve their goals, as well as the goals we've set out in my mind is a huge one. Providing scaffolding & the skills/ practice of those skills gives them the tools to make that achievemt #earlylang
A4: Establishing norms, routines and responsibilities, so class is predictable. Then, be intentional for independence: expecting ss to develop a personal vocab list, teach them how to get information on their own(notebook, a classmate, wordreference/dictionary) #earlylang
A4: When a hand goes up during independent or group work,sometimes act like I don’t see it right away. It gives students a chance to mull it over a bit, and sometimes, the hand goes back down and students learn how to gesture or say “Never mind”. #earlylang
A4 As mentioned earlier, teaching kids how to use resources & how to advocate for themselves when they need help is another big one. For some kiddos, this is really hard, so knowing your sts well is so important so you can key in on those who need extra skill bldg #earlylang
A4: We addressed several strategies scaffolding, gradual release, age appropriate. I need to remind myself is that it’s ok to take a step back when things fall apart, instead of trying to push through it, build up the scaffolding again, and them another chance #earlylang
A4 As mentioned earlier, teaching kids how to use resources & how to advocate for themselves when they need help is another big one. For some kiddos, this is really hard, so knowing your sts well is so important so you can key in on those who need extra skill bldg #earlylang
A4: Teaching students how to find and use their resources well. Many students don’t know how to use a dictionary or wordreference properly, and it takes explicit guidance. #earlylang
At a workshop I was at last week, the teacher had created color coded tabs for desks, red, yellow & green. Red means urgent help needed, yellow signifies help needed but can continue to work until T gets there, green all is ok-I really liked the idea! #earlylang
A4: It is important to be realistic about what we can expect from the different proficiency levels. Lower levels must be given some tools and strategies to become independent learners. #earlylang
A4: Showing trust in our students that we believe they can achieve their goals, as well as the goals we've set out in my mind is a huge one. Providing scaffolding & the skills/ practice of those skills gives them the tools to make that achievemt #earlylang
A2 Realistically I expect students to take risks, use what they know, help one another, and problem solve without yelling “Señorita!!” (That last one is a struggle w K!!! #earlylang
Such a great point!! This is where I can get frustrated, too, b/c some kids are perfectly capable but lack independence, often due to parents not fostering it at home, & then I am unable to get to those who really need me #earlylang
SO true. For lower levels, I give a options for the language needed tasks so students can work independently, while getting the scaffolding they need. So when they hear ¿Cómo estás? They can look at a list of options and choose, without having to produce the language #earlylang
A4: It is important to be realistic about what we can expect from the different proficiency levels. Lower levels must be given some tools and strategies to become independent learners. #earlylang
And here's Question 5: How do you partner with other stakeholders (parents, teachers, admins) in fostering realistic independence in language learning? #earlylang
My dear #EarlyLang colleagues...just got the news of a childhood friend passing and need to disconnect 😔 Have a good night and thx! @MundodePepita & @windycitysenora for moderating.
It occurs to me also that showing expectations is helpful in this regard as well-rubrics or final examples of a project or piece of work helps kids know what to shoot for #earlylang
We'll post a summary of tonight's #EarlyLang chat on the NNELL site next week: https://t.co/rFkVMq60uR
In the meantime, you can check out some of our past chats!
We're on Question 5: How do you partner with other stakeholders (parents, teachers, admins) in fostering realistic independence in language learning? #earlylang
A5: The language learning experiences of many stakeholders was very different from what we now know to be best practices, so educating them about what we do, how, and why. For example, when I push into a room, and the teacher tries to translate for the Ss. 🤦🏼♀️ #earlylang
A5: tell parents during open house, back to school night , class dojo what the expectations are. My English partner and I do home visits and we share the expectations with families in person which is the best way to connect with them #EarlyLang
A3 I want my students to feel loved, welcomed, valued, and challenged in my class. They are interdependent by nature because they are still so young. But they know I have high expectation and care about them all very much! #earlylang
A5 #earlylang: I think the other stakeholders are generally supportive - esp. parents. But they don't know how to let go - or fear seeing their child fail. Since I don't give homework, I don't see a lot of interference.
A5: I think we can share with parents what their children can do--they are often amazed-then offer them some specifics on how to help make it happen at home. #earlylang
Totally seeing this become worse as the years go on. I talk explicitly with my students about 1) time to process 2) strategies for comprehension & 3) growth mindset. I talk about how struggle strengthens, just like in athletic endeavors. #earlylang
A4 I agree that setting routines allows for greater independence. Lately I’ve been using my namesticks to pick ss 3 at a time to greet each other. Como estas Charlie? Estoy asi asi y tu. This is becoming predictable. Soon a S will pick the names. #earlylang
or they even fear having their child struggle or grapple with anything that isn't easily obtained. I sometimes see a disconnect between giving kids opportunities to figure things out for themselves & the grit we say we are trying to foster #earlylang
A4 I agree that setting routines allows for greater independence. Lately I’ve been using my namesticks to pick ss 3 at a time to greet each other. Como estas Charlie? Estoy asi asi y tu. This is becoming predictable. Soon a S will pick the names. #earlylang
RA going to read through the resource @windycitysenora shared and talk to my colleague w #Montessori experience to continue to find ways to promote independence in my #earlylang classes!
A5 I think the more we can communicate with Ps abt things that are happening in our classroom the more realistic their expectations will be. One goal of mine is to tweet abt the fles program here in new canaan ct but I haven’t managed to make it happen yet. #earlylang
RA: There are always more opportunities for independence. When I feel myself getting stressed and "over teaching" I'm going to work to seek those opportunities more(even if they seem like little ways). #earlylang
RF: I will strive to strengthen relationships and trust so that when I do ask ss to be independent, they will know it’s because I care and because I know they are ready. #earlylang
