Join us now for #ELLCHAT to discuss Part 2 of Teaching students with limited or interrupted formal education. (SLIFE). Q1) Please share your name and where and what you teach.
Join us now for #ELLCHAT to discuss Part 2 of Teaching students with limited or interrupted formal education. (SLIFE). Q1) Please share your name and where and what you teach.
A2) Many of our SLIFE are living with trauma. We need to make them feel that they belong and that they are safe. Building a sense of community where SLIFE know you care about them is key. #ellchat
A2) This is extremely hard. I am not a fluent speaker of anything except English, so that limits my deep conversations with new SLIFE students. Opportunities to share/create projects. Asking questions as they come up. Taking time to talk to kids. #ellchat
A2- I find starting the year with personal narrative gives such a great view inside a SLIFE/EL student’s world.. I also learn so much by asking lots of questions and chatting when conferring! #ellchat
A2) Parents are always a great resource! Also, projects that allow students to share without writing, for example Flipgrid, encourage students to participate #FlipgridFever#ellchat
It's difficult to make connections with others when you don't speak their primary language, but it sounds like you're reaching them in other creative ways! #ellchat
A2) It takes time! So much time! I try to learn more about students- through them, their parents, and fill in the missing pieces to get a better picture. #ellchat
A2 Is there any better way to get to know students’ backgrounds than talking with them? I think it’s important for lessons to be flexible and allow for conversation and connections. Let students talk about what’s important to them (especially in ELD class) #ELLCHAT
A2)I've taken into myself to find books/articles about my SLIFE's cultures. A bigger picture is provided by the students themselves when getting to know them. Non-academic conversations with them during lunchtime makes me the student and them the teachers. #Ellchat
A2. I think allowing these students a platform to tell their stories is extremely valuable. This also allows us as educators a way to determine and see their unique strengths. #ELLCHAT
Yes! So much trauma it’s very daunting at times. I have referred many students for bilingual counseling...they have experienced more in their 12 years than I have in my lifetime #ellchat
A2. I love having Ss write/draw about themselves, but it’s important to let them lead the way. I never want a child to feel nervous by asking too many questions too soon. Ts don’t know what Ss have experienced. Show interest and caring, but don’t come on too strong. #ELLCHAT
A2: I take time to really get to know my students with multiple activities the first week of school. I also would say just conversations throughout the school year with my students helps build that trust and relationship is extremely important. #ELLCHAT#EDUC502@harryhanna
A.2- Again, home visits are critical.Healthy school climate is also vital to building trust and inviting exchange.Students so often our very best teachers and are usually so eager (and proud!) to share their culture.Encourage this through language, art or other means. #ellchat
Yes if the SLIFE speak Spanish, many of us would be able to communicate with Ss. I taught children from Haiti and communicating with Ss who speak Haitian Creole was much more difficult. #ELLCHAT
It's difficult to make connections with others when you don't speak their primary language, but it sounds like you're reaching them in other creative ways! #ellchat
A2 Is there any better way to get to know students’ backgrounds than talking with them? I think it’s important for lessons to be flexible and allow for conversation and connections. Let students talk about what’s important to them (especially in ELD class) #ELLCHAT
Great idea - narratives are a great way to share personal experiences. Has anyone been unwilling to share their story? Writing can bring up a lot of past trauma in students. #ellchat
A2) At the elementary Level, i always have them start with drawing me a picture of their family. It is so nice to return to the picture once communicating becomes easier! #ellchat
#ELLCHAT a lot of "all about me" activities and sharing on their backgrounds/families/interests, etc. Also, different team bonding activities are great as well.
That balance is really important. Some students may not be ready to share their past experiences with others, especially with a stranger. T's need to read body language and engagement to gauge comfort, especially when S's are still learning English. #ellchat
A.2 DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) Houses are also very useful. They are great for working through trauma but can also be used to explore students' cultures. Here are some examples. https://t.co/EwjmsB787U#ellchat
A2. I feel like a project choice could work great, maybe do an example of yourself to model, have them create their nationality flag and add symbols to represent how they identify, or narratives #ellchat
A2. I google things about their culture. A few years back I had a student from EL Salvador. She looked so sad all the time. I googled pictures of foods and asked her about her favorites. I also googled songs and when she heard a familiar song her eyes would light up! #ellchat
A2) Love this. I have seen some beautiful murals that SLIFE made about their trip from the violence in thier home countries. These Ss didn't need words to communicate. #ELLCHAT
A2. I love having Ss write/draw about themselves, but it’s important to let them lead the way. I never want a child to feel nervous by asking too many questions too soon. Ts don’t know what Ss have experienced. Show interest and caring, but don’t come on too strong. #ELLCHAT
Yes I had a student who didn’t want to tell his story- he told me it made him too sad- he just arrived at the end of October-of course I didn’t push and told him he could come back to it and tell it if he changed his mind 😢#ellchat
I always leave it open for students to tell a true story from their lives or make one up. Even the made up ones tell so much about their experiences and ideas! #ellchat
A2 Do you know about Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services? https://t.co/ptJjqIbA4F provides updated information about refugee experiences throughout the world #ELLCHAT
A2. I google things about their culture. A few years back I had a student from EL Salvador. She looked so sad all the time. I googled pictures of foods and asked her about her favorites. I also googled songs and when she heard a familiar song her eyes would light up! #ellchat
I have found small group instruction to be very beneficial, differentiated text,teaching and learning new content/concepts in L1 first if possible, as well as peer tutoring #ELLChat
A2) Hello all. I am a bilingual teacher in science at High school. I like to share experiences between Ss that let's them know part of their culture #ellchat
A3) We have to provide background knowledge, as well as connecting it to the new lessons. Simplify texts, but not water it down. Work on reading skills. #Ellchat
A3) Ts can connect learning to practical applications. For example, instead of random math equations, talk about perimeter of a building or how to determine the number of sq feet of flooring you need. #ellchat
A3 cont'd) Allow opportunities to demonstrate learning in groups, oral or written, in artistic form. Give Ss a chance to show their strengths so they aren't afraid to express their knowledge. #ellchat
A3. Provide SLIFE Ss with choice for showing what they've learned. My students can draw a picture, make a slideshow presentation with visuals or make a video. I let them write in their native language and then I cut and paste into #googletranslate to read it. #ellchat
A3. Providing different avenues for language output (signs, gestures, art). A challenge I have would be teaching Ss skills that they haven’t mastered b/c of interrupted schooling, but that are associated with much younger learners. I want to teach with dignity in mind. #ELLCHAT
A3. Meeting social emotional needs in conjunction w/ teaching scaffolded content & providing opportunities to develop language. Start w/ determining what the most important skills are that the student needs to know. What can they take away & apply in all areas/classes? #ELLCHAT
A3 Make the lessons as visual as possible (assessments too). Group work is a must to develop oral language. Provide topics that are relevant to students and assign authentic tasks. #ellchat
A3 For young children, learning objectives can be met using many different materials - it should be easy to choose examples or hands-on supplies that are meaningful to each child. Observe their interests & ask families to bring the most intrinsically meaningful supports #ELLCHAT
A3 I agree with everyone saying routines are important for SLIFE. I also think modeling is very important. Providing a model for assignments lets students take what they need from the model so the task isn’t overwhelming. Then hopefully they use less and less over time #ELLCHAT
A3) Many SLIFE come from collectivist cultures. We need to teach in a collective manner using small group and pair configurations in the classroom. #ellchat
A3 This is so true but many teachers are not prepared to think this way and they need coaching to really adopt this collaborative, collective approach. And then, after all that, our U.S. grading system works against them! #ELLCHAT
A3) Many SLIFE come from collectivist cultures. We need to teach in a collective manner using small group and pair configurations in the classroom. #ellchat
A3 I agree with everyone saying routines are important for SLIFE. I also think modeling is very important. Providing a model for assignments lets students take what they need from the model so the task isn’t overwhelming. Then hopefully they use less and less over time #ELLCHAT
Hand signals to communicate with teacher and others. Well developed sentence frames to help them share their ideas by only adding a few words. #ellchat
Q. 3 First, it IS important to differentiate. But it is also important to hold SLIFE and ALL students to high learning expectations. We should know and understand the label, but also have the capacity to view the student apart from it, as whole and capable achiever. #ellchat
Hi, Melissa - don’t forget to start your tweet with the answer number indicating which question you are answering - this helps people follow the chat - and I love this strategy! #ELLCHAT
Hand signals to communicate with teacher and others. Well developed sentence frames to help them share their ideas by only adding a few words. #ellchat
Q. 3 First, it IS important to differentiate. But it is also important to hold SLIFE and ALL students to high learning expectations. We should know and understand the label, but also have the capacity to view the student apart from it, as whole and capable achiever. #ellchat
A3) #ellchat Differentiate questioning.
Use sentence frames to include #SLIFE & set all Ss up for success.
Sometimes use W.I.T. if you think Ss can do more:
W-hy do you think that?
I-s there another way to say that?
T-ell me more about that.
A4 Allow students to give responses orally, especially when assessing reading or content (science, social studies, etc). Writing is often difficult so allowing students to say their answers. #ellchat
A4 Sometimes I give the assessment orally, provide speech to text tools, or use sentence frames since writing can be extremely difficult at the beginning. #ellchat
A4)One thing that I do when assessing is to read the questions/answers to students I know have challenges in regards to reading. As soon as I read the items, their eyes show me that they know the answers immediately. #Ellchat
A4: Accommodations for any EL are based on their needs & may include reading a test aloud to student, extended time for testing, L1 resources where appropriate. #ELLChat
A.4 Especially when it comes to classroom or unit assessments, take the time to ask SLIFE students to share knowledge that did not appear on the test or to share relevant background knowledge (orally, in wiring or using graphic organizers). #confianza#ellchat
A4) I have been known to rewrite test questions. I often provide sentence stems to support verbalizing answers. At the elementary level it is essential not to visually overwhelm students. #ellchat
A4) Yes
I allow any type of response to gauge what Ss actually comprehend or have mastered. (Oral, illustration, etc...)
Pull back on accommodations to get benchmark data.
But accommodate all over the place to get formative assessments that will drive instruction #ellchat
A3) Yes to the "Tell me more about that"! My Ss know that after they give me an answer, I wil ask them the famous "Why?". By expanding their answers they show me if they truly got it. #ELLChat
A5 If I was the queen of education (which, apparently, I am not) I would decree that reducing dependence on tests and grades would be good for every student, allow them to show what they know and can do in their own way. Maybe that’s why I haven’t yet been named queen ;) #ELLCHAT
A4) I am concerned about my younger students taking state assessments. They are allowed to use bilingual dictionaries- but that itself can be overwhelming! #ellchat
A5 People often respond to my “decree” by asking how can we document progress without grades? I propose that documenting progress has not made American schools as successful for all as they should be… especially for SLIFE Maybe we’re just in a habit. #ELLCHAT
A4) I am concerned about my younger students taking state assessments. They are allowed to use bilingual dictionaries- but that itself can be overwhelming! #ellchat
A3) Some of our ELA teachers use NEWSELA articles. They are written on different levels, but they have the same pictures and topic. The students don’t realize that the articles aren’t identical. #ELLCHAT
A.5 What a great question! I love having my kiddos create and publish Heritage Books with information about their life and culture, and then reading them with and for students/teachers from mainstream classrooms. Here's the description & pics. <3 https://t.co/xdLSSxVQM1#ellchat
A5)I tell my colleagues that they must really know their Ss in order to tap into the Ss' funds of knowledge. They may have interrupted or limited schooling, but their survival skills are in occasions superior than of their Ts. #Ellchat
A5- Always stay positive and focus on what S can do and what we need to do to move them forward. The @wida can-do descriptors are useful tools in helping mainstream Ts focus on what is possible #ellchat
A.5 What a great question! I love having my kiddos create and publish Heritage Books with information about their life and culture, and then reading them with and for students/teachers from mainstream classrooms. Here's the description & pics. <3 https://t.co/xdLSSxVQM1#ellchat
Yes, something like @SLNazario Enrique's Journey can be a point of connection without ELLs having to reveal too many personal details https://t.co/XWcuSK1Sri#ELLChat
A5 It seems that all of this depends heavily on relationship building - teacher to student, and teacher to teacher. Both take time, attention, patience. Helping gen ed colleagues takes more than one workshop to help them understand ways to unleash abilities of SLIFE #ELLCHAT
A6: PD that starts with strengths-based teacher mindset for working with SLIFE is critical! Also must contain practical strategies & lots of models so Ts can see how to work with SLIFE. #ELLChat
A5 I teach high school, so it's a good idea for me to check in with individual teachers to discuss the students' progress, share successes, or brainstorm solutions to challenges they (teachers as well as students) may have. #ellchat
A5. We don’t assign grades to our POEs or SLIFE for the first few marking periods to allow them to acclimate and provide Ts with time to assess needs (academic, emotional, social). We provide add’l intervention and support for these Ss. #ELLCHAT
A6 I’d like PD with resources and strategies for teaching foundational reading and writing skills to older learners. As a high school teacher, I’m not aware of many elementary strategies that could be useful with SLIFE. #ELLCHAT
A6) Teachers of #SLIFE benefit from PD that shows them practical techniques to include #SLIFE in mainstream classes while they gain literacy & language.
I'm biased but @Seidlitz_Ed trainings offer many great PDs. All are practical. #ellchat
One of the best PD programs that I arranged in my school district was a panel of parents that answered some of the questions I was hearing about ELLs in my school. The staff loved it. #ellchat
A5. We don’t assign grades to our POEs or SLIFE for the first few marking periods to allow them to acclimate and provide Ts with time to assess needs (academic, emotional, social). We provide add’l intervention and support for these Ss. #ELLCHAT
A5. I share their stories. I share their accomplishments. I share examples of their resiliency and grit. I try to make sure they know them like I know them. #ellchat
A6) I highly recommend #Ellchat_BkClub & participating in #ellchat each week. We also do a Thursday #BoostingAchievement chat.
Self directed PD is very powerful & this chat is a great example of how much we can learn to suppose #SLIFE
A6 But many elementary resources are too babyish. I love @SDLBACK books and @newsela for appropriately leveled reading material. I wish I had more resources like that! AND more knowledge about how to use them to teach foundational reading skills to SLIFE #ellchat
A6. PD that addresses the reasons why education is disrupted for some students (trauma) is helpful for Ts. Adapting instruction of primary skills for older learners is crucial. #ELLCHAT
A6: As a teacher with experience in secondary settings, I think teaching older students foundational literacy skills like phonics is a huge shift for most teachers. #ELLChat
