Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies Ch. 8-10

SQUARE:

“Our ELLs have been really successful when given access to a variety of strategies to communicate, and art is a great way for them to express their ideas. This is particularly true for emergent writers. Although their vocabulary and grammar may not yet be as sophisticated as it is in their native language, they are able to add to the words by using art as a means of communication” (Burhow and Garcia, 2006, p. 106)

This text really squared with my thinking because from my experiences with English Language Learners I have noticed that art is the best way for them to communicate themselves because even though we may not verbally say the same things, we visually see the same things. I have found this to be an awesome means of communication for me and my ELL students and even some times when they are saying something to me that I cannot quite decipher, I then draw a picture on a sheet of paper and allow them to engage in a back and forth pictorial conversation with me.

TRIANGLE:

“Instead of lists of vocabulary words or labels of innate objects, we use content-based word walls with images. These thematic words walls are often very useful for new English speakers. Instead of thinking of them as isolated vocabulary words, imagine a mural of exquisite art. Each and every piece is interrelated and creates a mosaic on the classroom wall that is useful and purposeful. Word walls based on the theme of study for a specific unit help children access new and prior schema, which allows them to write about what they know or what they are learning” (Burhow and Garcia, 2006, p. 133)

I really love this idea! In thinking about the quote that squared with my thinking, this one really pointed me in a new direction because by interrelating everything in our lesson while simultaneously including the use of pictures could create so much meaning for my students. The thing that I really like about this text is because the techniques are not only beneficial to my ELL students, but they are also beneficial to the class as a whole. Considering the fact that I teach Pre-Kindergarten students, I really see how a lot of the things that are discussed in the text coincide with strategies that can be beneficial for emergent learners as well.

CIRCLE:

“Differentiating instruction takes place in every classroom; however, in  a classroom where there are ELLs, two kinds of differentiation must take place: for complexity of content and for complexity of language. One easy way to facilitate this is to keep blocks of time open for inquiries” (Burhow and Garcia, 2006, p. 140)

While reading this quote, a lot of thoughts were still circling in my head. Although I think that this is an awesome idea and something very critical to consider during instruction, I am still wondering about how I can actually implement this in my classroom. I have no doubt that considering both these aspects while differentiating instruction can be accomplished; however, I think just the juggling act of it all and remembering to consider both content and language simultaneously during instruction will definitely be something that I will have to navigate through. All in all, I think that I am up for the challenge!

November Theory in Practice Connections

Wow! I cannot believe November has come and left! It seemed so very short of a month mainly because Pre-K had a week long break from school (which was much needed lol). Besides that, November was an extremely transformational month for me! I started out with one group of students and transitioned to a totally new batch toward the end of the month! My TiP connections consisted of tracking my "highs" and "lows" with both groups of students. I noticed from recording these that although my classrooms had changed, my patterns within a classroom setting were still very similar!

I'll begin with my lows... I noticed that a lot of the moments where I noted my lows were during Morning Meeting! I didn't understand how one of my favorite parts of the instructional day was such a low point for me during the month of November! The more that I looked over my reflections I noticed two things were missing: classroom culture being established and routines!

Thinking back to Becky Bailey's Conscious Discipline, I really was starting to see the negative effects of not starting the day off on a positive note and allowing children that down time to really get settled in for the day's lesson. 

“To build a school family you must focus on the following: physical environment, social environment, school routines, rituals, rules, and expectations” (Bailey, 2000, p. 60)

This quote became very evident to me in both classes and I was able to note why I was noticing so many lows during Morning Meeting and it was because I had not yet began building our school family and Morning Meeting is the perfect place to see that flourish.

As far as my highs go, I noticed that the trend that I saw across the board was really giving the children exciting and engaging lessons to look forward to. All of the lessons, read alouds, and activities in which I incorporated my students interests and/or a real world aspect to seemed to really make a difference in whether or not they cared about what I was teaching. All of these activities went so well mainly because students felt like they were in their natural element of discovery and I think that was really important for them. 

“We are learning all the time, so anything we engage in we learn about- provided we are interested and not confused. How they learn and what exactly they learn depends on whom they are doing these things with and on their perception of themselves and of what they are learning about” (Smith, 1998, p. 56-57)

This quote was very evident in my classroom through these activities were students interests were really valued and the objective was not overwhelming or confusing for students. 

All in all, I feel as if I have grown so much and really learned a lot about myself in the month of November. I've noticed the things that I am really great at and the things that I still need to continue to work on. I really love reflecting back on the month because even though day-to-day I might not always be able to see the progress being made by students, reflecting back always shows you how much not only have your students grown but yourself as well. I'm really looking forward to ending this year strong and taking on whatever new challenges the new year brings!