Field Experience Paper
In the school district, that I am interning for this semester, no longer does FCAT or FAIR testing. Instead, they have replaced the test which is now called FSA. FSA is the same test as FCAT and FAIR test. The only difference is that the questions have been worded differently according to some of the teachers here that I work with. Since it is the beginning of the year, students have not taken this test yet. I will say that my cooperating teacher did have a conversation about are ELLs taking standardized tests. According to research report by "College Board" called "Testing Accommodations for English Language Learners: A Review of State and District Policies" discourses that an aide is to read the passage, the questions, …show more content…
My cooperating teaching has been very informative this semester with answering questions about ESOL students and how to be an effective educator towards them. In the classroom, she has it set up where there are Spanish books in the library, labels throughout the room, and a special center just for her ELL students to focus on their work. I think that having Spanish books in the classroom is a brilliant idea. ELL students are learning a second language, but that doesn’t mean that we are trying to eliminate their first language. This will show ELL students that educators not only care about their education, but want to involve their first language into the classroom as well. I think labeling items in Spanish also helps ELL students recognize the item in their language and the second language that they are learning. These items are every day tools that they use, therefore it will be easy for the ELL students to remember because of the relation. The center area that is for the ELL students is an area where the teacher can give one-on-one support to help connect the dots when learning a new concept. Although, my cooperating teacher is doing a great job with supporting her ELL students, I recently read an article called "ELL Students in mainstreaming classroom" and it discusses what educators should do to support their ELL students …show more content…
According to “Supporting Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners in English Education” it states that I would slow down my speech and use shorter sentences when teaching a lesson or communicating. I would avoid expressions that are commonly used on a day to day bases. I would also use think-pair-share when asking questions because this will give time for ELLs to communicate with other students and brainstorm together. Another good strategy would be using bilingual handouts and use metaphors when comparing and contrasting. The instructional opportunities that would encourage ELL’s home language as a foundation to support the development of phonics and phonological awareness in English is to incorporate their home language and culture into the lesson plans. By doing this, it will show students and parents that we want them to know that their home language is just as important as the second language they are
In the school district, that I am interning for this semester, no longer does FCAT or FAIR testing. Instead, they have replaced the test which is now called FSA. FSA is the same test as FCAT and FAIR test. The only difference is that the questions have been worded differently according to some of the teachers here that I work with. Since it is the beginning of the year, students have not taken this test yet. I will say that my cooperating teacher did have a conversation about are ELLs taking standardized tests. According to research report by "College Board" called "Testing Accommodations for English Language Learners: A Review of State and District Policies" discourses that an aide is to read the passage, the questions, …show more content…
My cooperating teaching has been very informative this semester with answering questions about ESOL students and how to be an effective educator towards them. In the classroom, she has it set up where there are Spanish books in the library, labels throughout the room, and a special center just for her ELL students to focus on their work. I think that having Spanish books in the classroom is a brilliant idea. ELL students are learning a second language, but that doesn’t mean that we are trying to eliminate their first language. This will show ELL students that educators not only care about their education, but want to involve their first language into the classroom as well. I think labeling items in Spanish also helps ELL students recognize the item in their language and the second language that they are learning. These items are every day tools that they use, therefore it will be easy for the ELL students to remember because of the relation. The center area that is for the ELL students is an area where the teacher can give one-on-one support to help connect the dots when learning a new concept. Although, my cooperating teacher is doing a great job with supporting her ELL students, I recently read an article called "ELL Students in mainstreaming classroom" and it discusses what educators should do to support their ELL students …show more content…
According to “Supporting Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners in English Education” it states that I would slow down my speech and use shorter sentences when teaching a lesson or communicating. I would avoid expressions that are commonly used on a day to day bases. I would also use think-pair-share when asking questions because this will give time for ELLs to communicate with other students and brainstorm together. Another good strategy would be using bilingual handouts and use metaphors when comparing and contrasting. The instructional opportunities that would encourage ELL’s home language as a foundation to support the development of phonics and phonological awareness in English is to incorporate their home language and culture into the lesson plans. By doing this, it will show students and parents that we want them to know that their home language is just as important as the second language they are