![]() I had learned about all these strategies earlier in that school year, and I was thrilled to see their impact when used all together. The changes to my lesson and language delivery that day better positioned all my students to meet the lesson objective, but I was especially pleased to see how my English Language Learners benefited. Rather than asking them if they understood, I walked around and listened to how they were explaining to their partners, so I could address any misconceptions. Rather than just sitting and listening to me talk about rounding as a concept, my students did multiple think-pair-shares where they discussed how their families might use rounding to make life easier at places like the mall or the grocery store. Key vocabulary words and their definitions had been written on sentence strips, carefully pasted onto the board. The next day, when the class arrived, they were met with a color-coded anchor chart filled with visuals. ![]() I searched for ways to improve my content delivery, build background and provide more support for my ELLs. That night, I dug out some packets on language strategies that I'd received earlier in the year. Little about this lesson, and the input I was providing them, was clear to my students.Īs they made their way out of the classroom, I silently promised my students that I would do better tomorrow. My flashy worksheets were one-size-fits all, filled with text that was above many of their levels. My “off-the-cuff” monologue, despite my best intentions, was not clearly organized, didn’t include purposeful language, and did not provide any supports for my diverse learners. I asked another student, and then another, only to face similar results. Then, a wave of realization smacked me in the face. These kids needed more from me if they were going to truly learn this concept. It turned out that their nodding was more an affirmation that they loved to please their teacher than an indication that they understood the conceptual foundations of rounding. I asked one of my third graders to explain the “why” behind the answer on the board. It was truly a job well done – until I realized it wasn’t. I saw their heads earnestly bobbing up and down. At the end of my enthusiastic monologue (about an admittedly uninspiring topic), I looked at all of them expectantly. I dove headfirst into a rousing speech about rounding. I stood up a little straighter and smiled at the 30 eight-year-olds sitting in front of me, 85 percent of whom were designated ELs. “I need to get this lesson to stick, and I know how I’m going to do it.” I could see their eyes glazing over, their heads starting to nod, and some of them even playing with their pencils. They had been filling out their worksheets for 30 minutes, but I knew I wasn’t getting through to them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |