Most recent public comments by Robert Ball https://nowcomment.com/users/40923 https://nowcomment.com/documents/101580?scroll_to=1013551 https://nowcomment.com/documents/101580?scroll_to=1013551 I have found that utilizing scaffolds that correlate with their English proficiency level have tended to be the most effective. Overall, I love to use Thinking Maps because they help the students connect to the topic but also demonstrate to me what they already know and lead into the writing piece we will be working on after the reading. For reading utilizing their guided reading level allows me to scaffold the strategies that they are needing to master by providing immediate feedback while they read which enables them to continue growing and developing their reading ability and comprehension. For writing, I tend to use graphic organizers that have the different parts of a paragraph outlined. I also use dictated sentences for my beginners and sentence frames or paragraph frames for my higher students to help support them in growing their writing abilities. Speaking is one area I want to work more on incorporating scaffolds specificallyI want to utilize academic conversations and talking frames. I want to be able to use academic conversations and talking frames to help support their speaking abilities so that when they are in class or taking ACCESS they are able to provide answers that consist of high quality sentences rather than single words or phrases. Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:51:17 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/101580?scroll_to=1013487 https://nowcomment.com/documents/101580?scroll_to=1013487 The culture I was raised in deeply impacted my own personal beliefs and understandings. My experiences have shaped my identity and knowledge. However, truly accepting other cultures requires that one acknowledge that one's own culture is not superior to someone else culture. For instance, my fiancé's family is Guatemalan but she was born in California. She was raised with more of the culture of the United States rather than more fo the Guatemalan culture that her older siblings were raised. The differences can be seen in beliefs, and accents, and how they interact. In addition, my fiancé's dad has been a pastor all her life which has played an impact on her identity and culture. I however was raised in Nashville, attended Lipscomb from preschool through my doctorate, and went to a Church of Christ. Our cultures are completely different but acknowledging that versus respecting, valuing and interweaving them are two completely different views. I realize that my own beliefs and culture are just as valuable as hers. Therefore we are walking through a blending of our two cultures. Similarly, our students cultures are just as valuable as our own. In fact, one thing I realized when traveling to Peru was that many countries in Latin America do not view North America and South America as two different continents but as one big continent called America. Which means a question like how many continents are their in the world completely depends on your what you've been taught. 6 and 7 are both correct answers but in the United States it would be considered wrong to mark 6. Furthermore, I learned that while we in the United States we call ourselves American but in Peru I was asked by my students why we called ourselves American because they viewed themselves just as much an American as we are because they live on the continent of America. Realizing that different cultures have different views then my own has impacted my own teaching to attempt to include and value the cultures of my students and their families as much as I do my own. Therefore, seeking ways allow my EL students to share about their cultures has impacted their classrooms by helping their peers understand and value the EL students culture. Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:31:21 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/101580?scroll_to=1013441 https://nowcomment.com/documents/101580?scroll_to=1013441 I love that you are incorporating your students cultures in your classroom. I taught in Peru for 3 months and fell in love with it and the family that adopted me while I was down there. Its like a second home to me. I have seen similar cases of students responding positively to seeing their cultures valued by their teachers and peers. In elementary many times the other students only have background knowledge of what they see and hear on tv which many times is not always the most accurate. Even more they could not tell you where the country that the EL students family originally immigrated. Many times the students are shy so I tend to bring items from their native countries that I have collected so that they can talk about them with the class. For instance my Guatemalan students loved knowing that my fiancé was Guatemalan and loved sharing the items her family gave me from Guatemala with their class when they were studying Latin America in social studies. Anyways about books, if your able to find bilingual books especially culturally relevant books that are in both English and the students native language those are wonderful especially if you can ones that are on grade level. Dr. Faine at Lipscomb is an expert in high quality engaging culturally relevant EL books and bilingual books. if you email her she can send you a list of books that might be of use based on the languages countries grade level of your students. Her email is jgfain@lipscomb.edu She also has done research on backpack programs which is fascinating way to engage families more on the elementary side though. Heres the link to that article. http://cccc.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/LA/0906-jul2013/LA0906Family.pdf Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:10:36 -0400