#5thchat is for people interested in chatting about topics in education, especially as they relate to Grade 5. The goal is to connect people who enjoy learning & sharing, plus supporting & creating partnerships worldwide!
IT'S TIME!!! Welcome to this week's #5thChat! I'm so excited to guest host for @PaulSolarz. Let's kick things off with introductions! My name is Carly Spina and I'm an EL/Bilingual IC in Glenview, IL! Coming to you tonight from beautiful Denver, CO! Who's with us tonight?
#5thchat Welcome everyone!! So glad we have a great group tonight! Here we go!
Q1: ALL students are learning language, therefore ALL students are language learners, even monolingual students! How does this notion impact your instruction? #Languagelearning
A1: One way I have had to modify instruction are metaphors and simile - I like to ask "is there anyone who doesn't know what a ____ is" before I go off and compare something that might be language/culture dependent. #5thchat
A1: In our district we try to make learning centered around the child the best we can- voice & choice-so no matter the Ss levels we hope to reach their needs #5thchat
This is awesome! I love the way you worded that- so much of our language is culture-dependent! English is an awfully difficult language to learn- there's so many words with multiple meanings, and context really makes a difference! #5thchat
A1: Learning and development go hand in hand but are different. We designed for full inclusion, our classes are small (13 & 2 staff) so we don't have to draw the distinction when it comes to program or placement. #5thchat
A1- Strategies that work for ELL kiddos are just good teaching strategies in general. They help all kids pull from prior knowledge and experiences to better connect with concepts. #5thchat
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Q2: Our current political climate can definitely impact our students in different ways. We all know that our students can't learn if they don't feel safe. In what ways do you create a positive learning environment for our ELs?
Something that has really helped me is learning a second and third language myself. As a native English speaker I had a LOT of trouble learning Danish - gives me a little perspective on ELLs! #5thchat
A1- Strategies that work for ELL kiddos are just good teaching strategies in general. They help all kids pull from prior knowledge and experiences to better connect with concepts. #5thchat
A2: I'm lucky where I live my Ss safety doesn't have to do with the political climate. We worry about parents coming in that aren't supposed to, bomb threats, shootings, etc. so couldn't imagine having to deal w/that too #feelingfortunate#5thchat
A2- One thing I have been more intentional about is providing opportunities for students to discuss their learning at multiple points throughout a lesson. Let them do lots of quick turn and talks throughout to continue building their ideas and practicing language. #5thchat
A2: I have less experience with ELL in general, but i've done two things- asked kids to teach me name pronunciations, and started conversations about their favorite ways to think about terms. i.e. is there a word in their 1st language that is more efficient to write? #5thchat
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Q3: Sometimes we can fall into the trap of noting what students can't do (yet)- let's talk about the assets! What assets do our linguistically & culturally diverse students bring into our classrooms?
A2: a feeling of safety is what we all want so by building relationships with our Ss we can hope that they trust us and will follow our lead in no matter what we teach them then hope the negative things going on won't affect them #5thchat
Totally!! Name pronunciations matter. There's a great children's book published by a teacher (meant for primary, but great for all) called Teach Us Your Name by Huda Essa. & WOW!! -What a powerful way to promote metalinguistic awareness, Jason!! #5thchat#Superstar
A3: I think no matter what language we speak, we all bring different things to the classroom! Everyone has something to offer. So teach Ss to celebrate each other for their talents and learn and grown from each other #5thchat
A3: Creativity. Engineering. Math. Problem solving. Sports. Kindness. What would your day look like if you didn't talk. What good to great things would you still do? Those things. #5thchat
A3: 1)Exposure to language itself is huge as a young person. 2) Feedback for Ts on their academic language use, i.e. we may not realize we're using very high context 3)Fun one: Food! I have tried so many diverse foods from culturally diverse students and friends. #5thchat
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Question 4: Strong listening & speaking skills have significant correlations to literacy skills & development. What are your favorite ways to get students talking?
A4: I love having my students do Talk, Read, Talk, Write; use Seesaw & FlipGrid videos to record themselves and listen to each other; Conversation Circles/Lines & Conversation partners! #5thchat
A4: "pair and share" works really well for me when there's a student I know an ELL is comfy talking to. I have also observed another T who placed ELLs together so they could help each other use language correctly. #5thchat
A4: we are lucky the Ss are 1:1 w/technology so we use a lot of different things to share our ideas @Flipgrid@mywriteabout@padlet Ss can share, comment and it's wonderful way to learn and fits with needs of learners #5thchat
#5thchat Here comes Question 5!!
Q5: ALL students are OUR students. What ways do you promote a shared ownership of our language learners in your school?
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A5: https://t.co/fN52HgLYuq In this webisode, I talk about shared ownership. It is disheartening to see when some Ts abdicate responsibility for language teaching to just the EL specialist! We are ALL teachers of ELs!
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Q6: Our ELs have varying levels of proficiencies in their native language(s). How do you invite the use of native languages in your classroom and/or school?
A5: our school is into @responsiveclass where it's all about building community and treating others with respect. We also recognize Ss for showing care for others through our Archer Actions & #40developmentalassets all help with ownership in class #5thchat
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A6: I love checking in and doing a language inventory of our school's hallways & common areas. It's so powerful to see various languages throughout the school in an authentic way. It's a great way to elevate the status of other languages!
A6: I like to tell students that in personal note-taking I don't really mind if they use language 1. I have tried small things too, letting students write their name in L1 (along with English) on assignments where their name spelled in L1 comes "first". #5thchat
A6 by the time I do have ELL Ss they are almost fully speaking English. But we would use our Morning Meeting to have them teach us something from their culture #5thchat
A6: I also love having Ss do their think-pair-shares in their native language if they have common languages. I also invite students to reflect on Seesaw in their native languages! Cognate posters are also a nice, easy way to bring in native languages! #5thChat
A7: usually my S will translate for their parents or our ELL teachers will make sure they know what they need to. At conference time, our district will bring in a translator for us so we can talk to the Ps directly! #5thchat
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A7: We've noted that while some families don't have Internet at home, many do have data plans on their cell phones. We invited families in to hook them up on Instagram & Twitter. A picture's worth a thousand words, so families are able to see what we're learning!
#5thchat Can you believe it's our final question already?!?
Q8: What are your most successful linguistic scaffolds that you use in your instruction to support your EL students?
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A8: I think this graphic has always helped me understand that even while students advance into higher levels of proficiency, the linguistic demands go upward & outward, so scaffolding is STILL HELPFUL! We'd just lesson the amount of scaffolding!
Thanks for letting me join tonight even though I have limited # of ELL Ss. It's always refreshing to see no matter the child we all have the same goal in mind! 😊 #5thchat
