How do I know what I think until I see what I say? ~ E. M. Forster
How do I know what I think until I see what I say? ~ E. M. Forster
WELCOME TO OUR BLOG SPACE!
We will use this space for posting responses to discussion points, literature, links and anything we would like to share. Hopefully, it will become a valuable tool for archiving materials and ideas. I look forward to getting to know you better through our classes and on-line. So, let's begin now by jotting down initial thoughts about this course. Listed below are a few prompts which will hopefully spur your thinking.- What is your position at your school and how might this class be helpful?
- What motivated you to enter this program and what do you hope to learn (e.g., skills, concepts, explorations) by taking this course?
- What concerns/questions, if any, do you have?
- What experiences, if any, do you have with blogs? To what degree do you incorporate technology into your classroom and how is it used in your school?
- Is there anything that would be helpful to share?
- Is there anything that you might like to ask your classmates?
We will use this space for posting responses to discussion points, literature, links and anything we would like to share. Hopefully, it will become a valuable tool for archiving materials and ideas. I look forward to getting to know you better through our classes and on-line. So, let's begin now by jotting down initial thoughts about this course. Listed below are a few prompts which will hopefully spur your thinking.
I took an on line course which required us to participate in a forum. We had to post a comment or a question which reflected our personal point of view on each of the lessons we had viewed on line.
ReplyDeleteMy students have access to a laptop every week. There's a reading program the principal purchased for the lower grades. It's a great program for the ELL population. I also have a smart board in my room,but I need to become more familiar with it. I have used it to teach some math and science concepts.
Hi Everyone! It was great getting to know everyone a little more last night! I feel less alone in the world of teaching ELLs! My position at my school is as an ESL Teacher. It requires two responsibilities; planning for and teaching the students, and also providing resources and professional development workshops for the staff at my school. I enjoy both aspects, but I rarely get to sit at any of my colleagues' workshops because I am always one of the presenters! I am hopeful that the BETLA Program will further my knowledge as a teacher so that I can both improve my own teaching and learning and can also add to the menu of topics I have been presenting to my colleagues. I think I can get new ideas and information to try with my students and to present. I must admit that I was very nervous before and throughout the first evening of classes. I haven't been in grad school for 10 years and I need to accept the responsibilities of completing course assignements while also continuing at the current pace my school expects! It's a bit overwhelming, but exciting also. I am used to being the only ESL Teacher at a site, with no one to refer to in the building as a recource, so I am looking forward to making contacts with you, my fellow classmates, and the instructors. I hope I can keep up with the work at the level that is expected. Do any of you feel the same why? Oh and I never blogged before. This is my first time so I was terrified when I found out this would be part of the class grade! I feel very accomplished and in the loop of the technology age after this entry... ha ha.. It still is a little scary though... Do any of you feel overwhelmed and excited at the same time? Good luck to all of us on this professional adventure. I think we can survive? Do you?
ReplyDeleteLucy, I think you are very lucky to have access to technology. My school installed Smartboards for classroom teachers in Grades 3-8, but I did not get one as a pullout ESL Teacher. I am hoping that I will get one in the near future. I use Google Images often when my students need a visual for words that come up in discussions. They all just crowd around my one little desk that has the computer. It would be great to do that with a smartboard instead! I look forward to hearing about the great stuff you are doing in technology with ELLs. Maybe I can bring some ideas back to my school!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! I feel very fortunate to share this journey with each and every single one of you. I must admit feeling overwhelmed and worrisome as I read the syllabus and then thought about the list of things I would also have to accomplish at work as a second grade classroom teacher. Still, I look forward to all the fresh and new ideas that will be shared throughout this course. Like Lucy, I too have a smartboard in my classroom except I don't have a projector which really defeats the purpose. I have, however, borrowed a projector from my collegue to use with the smartboard and found it to be an exceptional tool for ELLS. I guess my students are also lucky enough to have laptops. Right now my major concern is considering my final project. Although its just the start of the semester I'm drawing a blank. Does anyone else feel the same way?
ReplyDeleteHey guys! It was great meeting everyone last night. I’m really looking forward to getting to know everyone and also to learn some new strategies for working with ELL’s. It definitely seems like I can learn a lot from you all. Nicole, like you I am looking to improve my own teaching. This program seems like a great way to do it. Although, I must admit I felt a little overwhelmed as I looked over the syllabus!
ReplyDeleteMy only other experience with blogs was while getting my Master’s in TESOL. I didn’t mind blogging but it was set up in a way where you didn’t get a ton of feedback from your peers. Hopefully this one will be a little different.
As far as technology goes, this year I have a laptop cart with a laptop for every student. It’s been really great to incorporate more technology into my lessons. We have a grant for a math program called “ST MATH”. It’s really visual and the kids love playing because it’s set up almost like a video game. We also use Study Island. Lucy, I am jealous of your Smartboard!
Hi everyone, I am glad I join in this journey with such wonderful group of people. I won't lie. I do feel overwhelmed and a little confus, but I know I'll pull this one out too. There are a few smartboard at my school. There is one in the library, one in the science room and one in the conference room. I attended a training on it and I was impress with all the thing you can do with a smartboard. I have no experience with blog. So I will be calling some of you for help. I enrolled in this program to enhance my teaching knowledge and to learn how to work smarter not harder. I hope to become a better educator by understanding how a school is run and what can I do to reachout to students, teachers and parents.
ReplyDeleteI’m a Kindergarten Bilingual teacher at PS 94 in the Bronx. This is the only Bilingual class in the school. The rest of the ELL population is serviced by ESL teachers in our pullout program. I hope this class might be helpful in guiding me towards better teaching practices, giving me a better perspective of scaffolding and differentiating lessons and effectively using teaching strategies that will help my students become proficient in their native language as well as in English.
ReplyDeleteMy goal is to sharpen my teaching skills while at the same time understanding and developing the dynamics and characteristics of an effective leader. I want to be able to develop strong teachers that will be essential instruments in the education of our students.
I became interested in the BETLA program 2 years ago when I attended a workshop at NYSABE. At that time I did not apply but this year I decided it was time to further my knowledge of the strategies used to educate ELL’s. I am excited and a bit fearful as well.
This is the first time I blog, however, I have a Smartboard in my classroom and two computers. The Smartboard makes learning exciting, interesting and most importantly, interactive. The children are working on a literacy program called Imagine Learning that is geared towards second language learners.
I would like to ask my classmates to continue sharing their experiences because what I have heard already helps put all the pressures of being a teacher in perspective.
I have taken this educational challenge and feel that I this time I am ready to take the journey. Are you? I anticipate an exciting and rewarding year.
I decided to apply to BETLA for several reasons; but the most important reason is that there is no ESL leadership in my school. There are two teachers (one other plus me) and we service the entire two hundred plus student ESL population in a school of six hundred. I am only in my second year at the High School of Law and Public Service but I am the fifth person to work with our ESL coordinator in the last ten years. While she is a good teacher, she is older and is not as concerned about advocating for our ELLs. She teaches her class and does the coordinator stuff for our department. There it ends.
ReplyDeleteSince I have been at the school I have other teachers bemoan the fact that they do not know how to work with ELLs. They have the desire to reach out to these students but do not have the tools in which to do so. Therefore, I decided that I wanted to do something more to improve the lot of our ELLs. From the reports I received from friends who did the program, I realized that BETLA might be the opportunity I was looking for. I hope I can find the means to bring more teachers into the ESL fold as a first step in making our ELLs a larger part of the school community. From there we can work on improving the grades and pointing them on a positive direction in life.
Oh, yeah, this is my first blog. I’m not sure how I feel about it….yet. Let’s see what happens with Blog Number Two.
Hello everyone! I wanted to add some more information about myself and why I joined the program.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am a third grade teacher of an ESL self contained class. By taking this Literacy and Leadership course I am going to have a better understanding of the instructional practices that have been successful in the development of literacy with the ELL population. I was persuaded to participate in this program by the ESL coordinator at my school. She captured my interest by sharing with me her wonderful experience of this program. Just want to let you know I'm not sassy with technology. My daughters have to record the TV programs for me. My 11 year old daughter has presented several power point presentations. She's enjoying the fact that Mommy is asking her for help. I thought I was the only one feeling nervous, so thank you for sharing what you are feeling. Caitlin, we are also using ST Math at our school. I love the program. How do you feel about it? Nicole and Erika, there's a website that teachers can use requesting materials that they need or wish to have in their classroom. There are companies out there willing to purchase things for teachers. See me on Monday. Maria Diaz, I do think it will be an exciting and rewarding journey.
Hi again...Lucy I'm looking forward to meeting with you on Monday to get some information about these companies that purchase materials for teachers. I would really be interested in a projector to use with my smartboard. I really do appreciate your help.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited that we are going to blog for this class. During my Literacy Master's courses, we had to blog for a technology class about what we were learning.
ReplyDeleteI am a 5th grade Dual Language teacher. What motivated me to enter this program was its focus on ESL students. I also saw the opportunity to improve my leadership skills if I ever want to pursue an Administrative Degree. I feel that the majority of NYC Schools have become more and more like a business.
Like some of you said on here, my school has 5 laptops in all 3-5 classrooms and 1 smartboard in each grade. There are 2-4 desktops in each K-2 classroom. I would like to learn more about what resources teachers use for the smartboard. In my classroom. the laptops are used for students to do independent reading on websites that I have placed on a portaportal. I would be happy to share this great tool with you all. My school also has subscriptions to may reading programs online.
Some concerns that I had after the first session was the workload. I am happy to be in a class with a lot of smart teachers.
Hi, everyone!
ReplyDeleteI am an ESL teacher at P.S. 48 in the Bronx for three years. This class will be very helpful to me because most of my Emergent Bilinguals right now, who have been in the country for three years, are still struggling in reading. I tried to do different things and strategies to help them however, they are still below grade standard. I was so excited when I saw the title of our required text, When Kids can't Read.. what teachers can do.. because this is my situation. With this class and with the insights and experiences of my colleagues who are in the same boat can show me different and innovative ways in teaching reading to my ells.
Our math coach showed me the BETLA website last year. Yet I did not apply because of personal reasons. Nonetheless, opportunity knocks again when Dr. De Jesus spoke to one of the conferences at Fordham University about BETLA. After the conference, I decided to apply because I feel that I still need to know more on how to address the learning needs of my students. I also want to support my colleagues in the school who have ELLs in their classroom.
Lucy,
ReplyDeleteI like ST Math a lot. I was a little hesitant at first because there are no directions. The kids sometimes get frustrated when they can't figure out how to play. I wish they had a book for us teachers explaining the games!
Martin,
I'd be interested in seeing what sites you use for independent reading with your fifth graders. A few years ago, the computer teacher set up one for our school that I still use. The kids like having lots of links to choose from!
Rob. The goals you have are reputable. Good for you for understanding the importance of advocacy. I look forward to learning an effective way to advocate like Candido said at the orientation... without emotion. Lucy I appreciate your offer and look forward to talking to you about it. I really got a warm and fuzzy feeling reading the blogs. I feel fortunate to be in classes and a program with people who seem very sweet and eager to learn. I look forward to more of all of your kindness and knowledge. I agree with Martin about the workload and think Lucy is lucky that her daughter can help with the power point. I also need to learn that. I'm old fashioned and still present with packets for participants or an Elmo board.
ReplyDeleteI kind of feel a little lost, I teach visual arts and so I am the only non-language teacher in the group. On the other hand I understand much of the daily struggle most of you go through because I teach bilingual students middle school and high-school level who have recently arrived to NY from Spanish speaking countries. Actually, most of them are not bilingual, they are just L’s, and since I can teach content in their native language, the acquisition of English language becomes an extension of any new knowledge. I have been designing and presenting PDs in my field for a while, most of them integrating either English or Social Studies. At my school I have designed a few units integrating both fields but I have been able to work with just a few teachers because most are more concerned with their regents scores than actually teaching, even knowing from the very data that integration works from the results we get with their colleagues. I guess one of the challenges of a teacher leader is to bridge those differences but without the support of the administration there is little hope.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteIt was nice meeting you all. It'll be an interesting journey, I am sure. In case you wondered about my accent; I am originally from Germany. I've been in NY for 28 years, but since I came after the age of 15, I will forever have an accent. Bilingualism has been and is my life. I can't imagine it any other way.
I work at MS 391 in the Bronx. We have a lot of technology, laptops, smartboards, LCD projectors (which I love)...This year we are working with Achieve 3000, anybody familiar with it?
The reason why I am taking the class is to go back to the beginning. Why did I choose ESL? What are the fundamental differences between ESL and ELA? Where is my passion? What's the big picture?
I feel that as ESL teachers we are gobbled up by the ELA people. What happened to true ESL teaching? Shouldn't they be able to write a sentence before they learn to "Unpack Performance Indicators?" and what about the "data." I have data that contradicts other data! I have too much data that I don't even know where to begin. I think that subjecting the children to all these tests, stress, and telling children how poorly they did should be illegal. It borders child abuse.
So, I guess that's my passion :)
I am a bilingual kindergarten teacher teaching at P.S. 169, Sunset Park School. This class will be very helpful in increasing my knowledge of literacy development with English Language Learners. My school places a big emphasis on reading and writing. I want to make sure I can work with these children using effective instructional practices in literacy.
ReplyDeleteI was motivated to enter this program through an assistant principal from my school. She was familiar with the program and she shared a lot of information about what the BETLA program entailed. I realized I was interested in becoming an effective teacher leader who can share best practices with the rest of my colleagues at my school. Therefore, this is a program that will help me accomplish this. I am also interesting in determining what other routes as a professional I can go in with the wealth of information I will gain through this program.
I am concern about completing the reading assignments but I will do my best to make sure I do them. This will be first experience blogging. I have two computers in my classroom and my students are starting to use a reading program called RAZ kids in a literacy center. I was informed I would be getting a Smartboard in my classroom. I do not know when but hopefully soon. I know what it is but I hope I can use it effectively too. Therefore, if you are very familiar with the Smartboard technology, your tips/suggestions will be very helpful and appreciated. I can’t wait to hear from you all!
Julie J. said...
ReplyDeleteI am the self-contained ESL Kindergarten teacher at PS 249 in Flatbush, Brooklyn. We are a K-3 school and have 9 Kindergartens (four bilingual, three 'regular', one ESL and one special ed.). My class consists of Haitian-Creole, Spanish, Fulani, Bengali, Arabic and Vietnamese speakers. I am also a Kindergarten grade leader and lead the ESL/Special Education Inquiry Team at the school.
I am in my fourth year of teaching in the NYC public school system and feel that, while I will always have the space to grow as an educator, I am at a point in my teaching career where I am ready to take a 'next step'. I had heard about BETLA last year but wasn't in the place in my personal life to commit to a program. But now I am, so here I am!
My biggest concern with this course in particular is that it seems geared toward older students. It will be good to broaden my base of understanding about *all* learners and I'm sure I will come away with information that is applicable to my own current class, but my concern still stands, especially because I love teaching Kindergarten and have a hard time envisioning myself in a different role for a long time coming. :)
Both of my (biological) children have dallied with blogs in the past. So I am familiar with blogs, but haven't as yet used them in my teaching (most of my families do not have personal computers). My daughter's class (2nd grade) has an EXCELLENT blog. If anyone's interested in looking at it and getting ideas, I'd be happy to share the address with you.
I have a smartboard in my classroom which I use religiously. I design most of my own stuff (powerpoints for shared reading that align with our social studies/science curriculums, letter review sheets, the calendar routine). My pen drive is my lifeline. :) I also have four computers (although only two work...) which the children use during center time.
I guess the only other thing to share is that Kindergarten at my school eats lunch at 10:15 (which means my lunch time is at 10:15, too) so I will always be ravenous during class and will likely be stuffing junk from the snack machine into my body at a terrifying rate. Just FYI.
Julie I can't believe how big your school is! I think you will benefit from the information in the classes. Kindergarten lays an important foundation for the rest of school. Vertical planning is essential. You will most definitely gain insights from the readings and activities. Also you will get reminders of language development and linguistics and Kindergarten kids go through stages and milestones almost daily. Hang in there. The info you learn can spread your leadership wings beyond your grade and your school will appreciate and need you once the core standards are mandated.
ReplyDeleteTo everyone else who has blogged I agree about the workload of both BETLA and teaching. We can do it together!
To our only Art Teacher I think you have the greatest job. Art is important for bridging broader understandings of curriculum for all students and especially those who are not yet comfortable or capable of communicating orally. Your class and approach is allowing ELLs to be successful and to build confidence and those are essential for second language learners. Don't let the system get you down. As long as you make change in your classroom and consider beyond that you are doing a world of good.
For the newer teachers in this program I think you will go far in the world of education. To have the goal of developing as a leader in your early years as an educator when getting used to the curriculum and the system is admirable and will open many doors.
The workload for this class is reasonable but I am not quite sure if I can manage the assignments for the second class. That took away from my excitement about the program a little...
Silvia,
ReplyDeleteMy principal just told use that we will begin using Achieve 3000. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Is it any good?
Hello to all! This is my first time blogging. Other than the basic technology tools such as email, shopping online, texting, sending picture mail, and using the regular computer programs, I don't venture out too often. I don't use facebook or my space. I don't even have an iphone "yet" but I guess it's time to keep up with my students or the younger generation even though I'm not that old. So, this will definitely be a learning experience for me. I do use the smartboard in class on a daily bases and access various educational programs with my students. It does make teaching easier. I also place my students on the computer to complete different tasks such as ACUITY, research, or writing.
ReplyDeleteI've been teaching at PS 25 in the Bronx (The Bilingual School) for 13 years. I've taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade. I was out of the classroom for 5 years as an AIS math provider. I was also math coach during 2 of those 5 years. Due to the budget cuts I was asked to go back into the classroom. Only one problem! Although, I enjoy being back in the classroom and I was given the opportunity to work with a very good class, I needed to brush up on teaching literacy skills. Teaching just math for 5 years made me a little rusty when it came to teaching reading and writing. Furthermore, so much had changed in my school in those five years I wasn't teaching literacy. At first, I felt quite overwhelmed but I'm happy to say that I did get my groove back with support of some very special colleagues but I still had a lot more to learn. As educators we never stop learning. Therefore, when a teacher (Ms. Feliciano my classroom neighbor) told me about the BELTA program and that it focused on ELL and literacy I had to go for it. Hence, here I am.
Hello Everyone! I hope you are enjoying a chilly weekend here in the city. I actually have my own blog (that I love to promote unabashadly) - www.teachingaworldofdifference.com and am working on getting my copywright license to start copywrighting my own curriculum that I work on at my school - ELLIS Preparatory Academy. As I confessed to Julie and Rhonda the other night, I LOVE writing curriculum. True story. I also love writing in general. My blog is sort of a way to annotate my curriculum as I create it this year. In the past, I worked with a coach at my school who really helped me to start understanding how to scaffold work for my students, many of whom are above age (around 19 years old) and some of whom are SIFE. When I said that curriculum should be "multi-accessed and multi-layered," I was referring to the fact that I aim to have a variety of entry points for students - through art, music, film, text and writing. I believe it builds critical thinking for students, especially with ELLs who may not have certain language skills, and even more so for SIFE students. My coach was a SIFE specialist and helped me to understand how creating building blocks in a curriculum can really build skills and content knowledge for SIFE students. I would be happy to share these thoughts with all of you!
ReplyDeleteCurrently, in addition to blogging and yogasizing, I am the co-leader of our Senior Institute team at ELLIS. I started out kicking and screaming (not literally, but you know what I mean) and now enjoy being a part of our school leadership. One of my goals is to have more unity within the structures of the curriculum at our school - such as similar writing templates - to allow students to have a scaffold for writing that permits them to feel comfortable with organizing their thoughts and ideas while creating arguments in their writing. I am hoping these courses at BETLA will give me some ideas on how to implement this for my team.
Sometimes I wonder how I came to be where I am today with teaching at ELLIS - I am actually from a Spanish/Latin American literature background and planned to continue on to my PhD a few years ago. Then I taught my first Spanish class at UCLA... now I realize that there was no going back. I really love teaching, creating material and researching interesting topics for my students. Sometimes I think about returning to my studies... but I think that will happen all in good time.
Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!
Misspelling - *copyright* - this is why I need an editor!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone. This is not my first time blogging, but it will probably be more consistent than my previous ventures! I'm an ESL teacher at the High School of World Cultures in the Bronx. This year I'm teaching mostly first- and second-year new arrival students. I'm looking forward to adding new strategies to my literacy toolkit, sharing ideas with the group, and finding better ways to engage SIFE students (and students with low first language (L1) literacy in general). This last issue, to me, is urgent -- one of my burning questions as we begin this course. Transfer from the L1 plays such a pivotal role in second language (L2) development, yet so many of my students lack experience with academic reading and writing in their L1. What can we do? What are people currently doing that's working??
ReplyDeleteLike Stephanie, I also love writing curriculum! I am excited about incorporating what we learn in this class into some brand new units targeted toward first-year students. I have some experience with writing Learning Experiences (unit plans) and stand-alone UBD units, but I would like to expand my expertise into the writing of larger (semester-length) themed units. The development of more writing templates and standardized, school-wide writing rubrics are definitely on my to-do list, as well.
I'm so encouraged and inspired by the things I'm reading on here and hearing from everyone in class. Our group is truly a diverse one that brings to the table both a breadth and depth of experience in teaching and leading. That said, I know the program is going to be demanding, and it will be a challenge to stay balanced throughout its duration. But BETLA's rigor and applicability is what drew me to the program, after all. If this were easy, we wouldn't be doing it. :-)
As I read this article I couldn't start thihnking of the students sitting in my classroom who are Spanish second language learners and the things that I could do for them. It was interesting to see how important oral proficiency is not only for Second language learners but to native speakers as well. Sometimes we take for granted prior knowledge for students. We need to think on ways to teach our children vocabulary explicitly in order for them to fill that gap that may be the cause for comprehension difficulties. The piece on language development is also associated with English reading comprehension and writing skills. The reason I found this so interesting is because I have second grade students and we focus most of our reading lessons on comprehension. I would like to know how other teachers deal with language development at their schools and maybe have a discussion on how to improve this piece for our second language learners as well as for the native speakers.
ReplyDeleteHi again everyone. It was nice to meet everyone on Monday. I am looking forward to sharing our expertise in order to make this process engaging and productive. The main reason I joined this program was to help my shyness in large groups of people. As a matter of fact my supervisor has been suggesting the program for the last three years. I have very little experience withblogs and it took me a long time to be able to get this one going. My school uses technology but it is not something that we are encouraged to do. One thing that I would like my classmates to know is that I may not know much about everything but I am always willing to learn new things and to share with others the little that I can offer. I am looking forward for this experience to be a good a nd productive one. as you can see from my first blog I am very interested to try new things in my classroom that will help my students succeed. I am a Spanish Teacher at a Dual Language school and I teach non spanish speakers. Being that Spanish is a Secondary language in NYC this makes my job evenharder to try to engage my students,I need all the help I can.
ReplyDeleteARRG, I am new to blogging, in fact this is my first attempt. The ARRG…. is due to the unfortunate incident that just occurred. I was previewing my blog and hit a key which sent it into cyber space, erased it, or placed in an unknown location. I will do my best to recreate my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI am the ESL coordinator at TAPS (MS 391) in the Bronx. We have a student population of approximately 600 students with over 200 ELLs. Presently I am also teaching 6th grade ESL. The largest challenge is addressing the needs of the students who have had 5,6,7,8 years of ESL/TB instruction yet remain an ELL. The social (home and school) environment does not encourage second language acquisition.
I may be new to blogging however I do have a passion for using technology in the classroom. TAPS has a litany of resources available; Smart Boards, LCDs, 5 COWS (Computers On Wheels) carts, 3 computer labs, a document reader, Flip recorders, in addition to providing laptops for teachers.
I have been fortunate to be a participant in Project Kim grant coordinated by Bronx OIT (Office of Instructional Technology). The objective of this grant is to infuse project based learning into classrooms. The training has wonderful yet intensive from week long institute in the summer to several day long PDs.
Utilizing the availability of computers the 6th grade ESL classes are using the Achieve 3000 program. It is a huge learning curve to have this as the curriculum base however the increase in Lexile Scores are off the charts! Okay maybe I am exaggerating a little but my students did make incredible strides in reading. The average was a full year’s growth from September to December.
I am looking forward to the courses at BETLA. There are three teachers here from my TAPS and I feel we will be able to have an impact on the curriculum for our ELLS. I look forward to interacting with other educators as we all continue on our life long learning journey.
Hello all! It has been so interesting to read everybody's entries - I feel like I can relate to so many of the issues that you have presented. I wish I could write a comment after each of your posts! I am a 5th grade ESL teacher at P.S. 503 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where about half of our student population are ELLs. Since we are an elementary school of 900 students, that makes more than 450 ELLS! I work mostly within the push-in model of teaching, where I push in to 3 different classrooms during the day, mostly parallel teaching during Reading and Writing Workshop. I also pull one group of newcomer ELLs out at the end of the day for balanced literacy instruction. I must say I find very limiting the fact that almost all of my ESL instruction has to take place within the framework of the Workshop Model. Does anyone else feel similarly? I often wonder if it's the best way to engage our ELLs who have so many language needs on top of literacy needs.
ReplyDeleteOnly one of the classrooms I work in has a Smartboard, and although I have used it a few times for lessons (and dream of the possibilities of its use with ELLs!) I would really like to improve my knowledge and skills with it.
I wanted to mention that this is only my 3rd year teaching, and I feel very excited by the prospect of learning from so many wonderful teachers. (Also a little overwhelmed?) I really feel happy to be a part of a program where I can find colleagues who share my concerns, and whose I ideas I can benefit from. I hope to grow in my own practice, but also as a teacher leader in my school, advocating for the needs of ELLs.
As a participant in this program, I hope that I become even more aware of the areas where my ELLs need support, and develop the skills I need to ensure that the curriculum we teach addresses their needs more thoroughly.
I look forward to getting to know all of you - hey isn't this blog fantastic?
Hey everyone! I’ve been reading some of your postings and I am very excited to have such a kaleidoscope of people in this class. It’s the first word that came to mind, as I was reading and embracing everyone’s differences in the teaching field, your experiences, and goals. This is a real motivation for me to not only learn about what this class has to offer, but from each and every one of you!
ReplyDeleteI have been teaching for a little over 5 years now and have always been in a Collaborative Team Teaching Class. I have mostly worked with the lower grades: K, 1st, and now 3rd. I am responsible; well for the whole class, but in particular the Bilingual Special ed. portion of it. Overall, I have always found special education very challenging, not only as in the means of instruction, but also in the means of figuring out how to meet the needs of all the different types of learners it encompasses, especially when the child has a learning disability. However, when there is also a language deficiency involved, the challenge is taken to a different level. Most of my students in my current class have both an IEP and are ELL’s. This year I have tried to really focus on how to incorporate bilingual instruction and their ESL “time” into their overall class time and curriculum…well, I’m trying. Since 3rd grade is a crucial one, where they begin testing, there is SOOOO much to do, not only during instruction time, but also with all the paper work involved! Therefore, finding time to “fit” everything in is sometimes impossible. Which leads me to say that the use of technology is greatly facilitated in my school with a smart board in at least 5 classes in each grade (about 8 in each grade), 2-4 computers in each class and availability for about 25 laptops when they are required for each grade. However, since there is hardly anytime to fit in everything, I have also found it hard to incorporate the use of technology as often as I would like.
I would love to hear ideas on how people integrate things to be able to accomplish everything that is required of us and from the curriculum for the students.
Good Afternoon!
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I am the ESL coordinator and the only ESL teacher at Grant Avenue Elementary School, X449, located in the South Bronx. We are a new public school that recently opened in September 2009 and grow every year by adding on a grade level. I service children at all levels of proficiency ranging from beginning, intermediate, and advanced in grades K-2. I work as a push-in ESL teacher and meet in small groups in the back of the mainstream classrooms. I have lived in 10 Spanish-speaking countries and am fluent in Spanish. I have found that through language, specifically Spanish, I have been able to conduct interviews in the native language, help with written and oral translations, and most importantly, personally connect to the Spanish speaking families so that they feel comfortable and have access to all the information, curriculum, and activities that we offer as a school community.
Fortunately, I was part of the founding team of educators at Grant Avenue Elementary School and it has been a powerful experience to help write our community standards and mission statement when we opened last year. At my school, I play an integral role in the leadership of the school. I serve on the School Leadership Team and the hiring committee. I often lead parent workshops and professional development workshops for my colleagues. I also help with our family literacy and kindergarten recruitment. At Grant Avenue, we work together as a collaborative team on all functions and facets of our school community. However, the fact still remains that I am the only ESL teacher serving 57 children and I am in need of an ESL sound board so to discuss key curriculum content and essential questions related to our ELLs. My hope and motivating force is that BETLA will provide this valuable opportunity. My impressions of our first meeting give me confidence that I will have newfound access to a team of ESL/Bilingual teacher-leaders that are intelligent, passionate, and compassionate teachers leaders in their own settings. I sincerely look forward to sharing our collective wisdom and learning from each other’s experience in the professional field.
In this course, I hope to refine my skills as an educator, learn leadership skills, and collect a toolbox full of practical literacy strategies that can be directly implemented in the classroom. My interest is in helping children reach communicative competence and develop literacy skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. My instinct is that this course will provide this and help troubleshoot struggles that learners encounter throughout the process of language development with a special focus on reading. Although I have not yet chosen a subject to follow, I am excited by the child study project because it will help me reflect on my practice, meet the needs of the particular student, and give feedback on how to further help him/her succeed.
In regards to blogging, I have limited experience. However, I do think it is interesting that we can publish thoughts and ideas to the general community without being in the same location. I think the concept of blogging helps us teachers connect to our students in that they publish their work and now, we will too. I always tell my students to publish their proudest pieces and I am sure we will publish our proudest thoughtful reflections that are positive, negative, or simply a critical analysis of literature.
Lastly, I would like to generate a list of school roles, placements, and settings in which the 2010 BETLA team of teacher-leaders work so that we can find similarities, “uncommon commonalities”, in order to facilitate future collaboration on projects and curriculum ideas. Is it a feasible possibility to generate a streamlined list to be distributed to all BETLA, Network 10, educators? Finally, I want to convey that I am thrilled to be a part of this talented team!
I’m currently the ESL teacher within a Second Grade CT classroom. This model is new to my school (P.S. 46 in the Bronx) and was implemented in an effort to improve student achievement. We currently have 1,200 students of which 70% are ELLs. We service them using a variety of methods (i.e. Dual Language, Bilingual, Self-Contained ESL, CT ESL, and Pull-Out ESL). Unfortunately, even with all of these different models and strategies implemented, our students are still not meeting AYP (Annual Yearly Progress).
ReplyDeleteAlthough our school is very ambitious to try new programs to help the ELLs, we really don’t have any one administrator leading the teachers of those programs. Since I started at my school 4 years ago, I’ve been asking that the ESL teachers meet on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this has not happened yet. I was motivated to join this program so that I can be that person in my school that brings the ESL teachers together. I strongly believe that if “we”, the ESL teachers, were communicating regularly about best practices and curriculum concerns, our students would see progress.
As for blogging, it was a requirement for a graduate class a few years back. I found it helpful to read about other teachers’ experiences in the classroom. I believe that we have a lot to teach each other. In my classroom, I use a smart board every Monday and my students have a rotating schedule for two desktop computers in the classroom.
I’ve been an ESL teacher for 6 years, in two countries, and within 3 models. Each year, the student population is different from the next and I find myself having to adjust my teaching practice to target and engage my students. I’m excited for this class because I’m currently struggling to get my emergent readers on standard in reading. Most of them are reading at a Kindergarten level at Second Grade. My hope is that this course will offer me the strategies I need to be successful with my students.
hello,
ReplyDeleteI'm Jennell Tirado. I have been teaching 1st grade for 5 years now.2 years of 1st grade general education, 2 years of 1st grade collabrative team teaching, and this year 1st grade gifted.
This class will help me learn, overall, to meet the needs of ELL's in literacy, but most of all to sharpen up skills in leadership and being more assertive.My motivation for applying to the BETLA program is the uniqueness of the program and the fact that it is a scholarship that will save me money and the amount of credits I will receive will qualify me for a raise.
in terms of technology, I find it easy to incorporate into my daily rountines, I use a reading program with computers during readers workshop. I have a variety of software for all subjects and use them often. I also have a smart board in my classroom. I have yet to masterusing it but I use it for basic research and review of tests. I have a fully equipped listening center with books on tape that match my units.I am always open to ideas on how to incorporte technology into the classroom
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm a teacher at MS 391 for the last 8 years, before that I taught in DR for about 10 years. While in DR I was in charge of receiving and evaluating documentation for new students at a school,that follow the Southern states curriculum and also the Dominican DOE. I also taught all English subjects to 5th and 6th grader. Before that I was a teacher at JHS 118x where I taught Spanish, Science and Social Studies in the Bilingual Program, for about 11-12 years.
I am sorry but I have a problem with technology, and this is my first time blogging, I think my age is affecting me. I'll try to do my best in this new episode of my life. I think this would help me and others to learn from others experiences, and like a support gruop give us another opportunity in life to improve and become better person and a better teachers.
I've been an ESL teacher for the last 8 years and also teaching SS and E Skills to an 8th grade class.
This class would help me enhance my practices and be able to help my fellow teachers, by leading them by example and showing them how to do certain things.
I'm glad to know all of you and I think this would be a very good year, for friendships to develop and grow.
love you all cristina
I am currently the ESL teacher at Fordham High School for the Arts in the Bronx. I have mixed classes with 9-12 graders as well as special ed. students in each class. 98% of the students are from the Dominican Republic. I initially started teaching ESL in CUNY and then switched to the public schools. This class has been helpful already since it forces me to go back to basics in many areas of my teaching.
ReplyDeleteSince I have been teaching for quite a few years, I feel I am ready to take on the challenges of supervisory responsibilities. I'm hoping that this course will help me achieve that goal. I'm also interested in being an advocate for ESL students and making their learning experience as comprehensive as possible.
I initially felt awkward about blogging, but after reading everyone's open responses, I feel comfortable about it.
I have a cart of laptops in my room and the students use them quite frequently. We use Achieve 3000 for ESL and ELA. We have a good competition going with the English classes for most points scored. The students seem to like the program, and I think they are moitivated to use it. We also have SMART boards, but I don't have one in my room this year.
I like hearing about everyone's classroom situations. It's been an eye-opener for me. I hope to learn a lot more from everyone.
Hi Cailtin,
ReplyDeleteRegarding Teenbiz: It's so practical. You level set your students first and then you assign non-fiction reading passages to them. You can search by theme/interest or by reading strategy. Letitia and I finished a unit on compare and contrast and now we're doing cause and effect...
I find it especially helpful in managing my classroom when you're working with small groups. Let's say you are working with a group on writing, then the others can work on Teenbiz. No more, "What do I do now??" It gives them instantaneous feedback, and when they get a 100% on their quiz, they get so excited! It's fun!!
The only disadvantage is that it's all non-fiction. Also, for the lower level readers the passages are not as thrilling. And of course, anytime you give students a computer, you have to watch them or else they go on game sites.