Happy Halloween Activities for ALL Grade Levels:)

ELL Teacher Pros Newsletter                                  October 2015 Halloween will be on every student’s mind this month; however, teachers can use this excitement to deliver fun academic activities that will lead to memorable experiences for their students!  (Remember that some religious groups may be  opposed to Halloween so some adjustments will be called for in some of the lessons.) How does one proceed here?  Well some background on the Halloween is necessary.  HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN – This site provides its ancient history, appearance in US, growth of candy treats, just to name a few.  The videos are short and to the point so they can be shown in classroom with ease.  Since this a general description of the holiday, teachers at each level will need to decide videos are appropriate for their students.   Below are some ideas for lesson plans for all students including English language learners. High School The New York Times learning log offers some incredibly innovative instructional activities for older students.  One sample suggestion that is quite creative is to have students explore the horror genre in film and literature.  Ideally, this might be approached in small groups with defined roles.  This approach brings in the English language learner or others with special needs since support is built into all interactions. Another activity might be to have students explore fears and phobias in an essay.  This lesson would easily bring in internet skills as students identify their fears and then describe them including here how accurate the fears are in describing themselves. Middle School Bright Hub Education is a site with great ideas for middle school students for this holiday.  Have them read The Tell Tale Heart.  Then have them identify all the vocabulary words that they find scary and note them on index cards for them later to use in writing their own skits using teacher starter sentences.  There are other ideas here also that teachers and students would enjoy. Teachers might also have students create masks of the scary characters the students created in their group horror stories. ESL/ELLs (at any grade level) This holiday may be new for them so introducing them to the holiday and all the activities that come with it is well worth the time (and will probably benefit others in the class as well).  ESL LIBRARY offers many fun (building language and content development while having fun). For fun and as a great opener, try Michael Jackson’s song THRILLER.  The lyrics are also available.  Print out copies so that ELLs can fully benefit from the video. Well, we hope you find some great ideas from these sites and have a fabulous Halloween! Denise, Marnie, and Cheryl ELL TEACHER PROS Please don’t forget to follow us on TWITTER (@ell_teacherpros  3,682 followers), Pinterest (dmcyberteacher 4,369 followers), Facebook (ELL Teacher Pros)

California Association of Bilingual Educators--My Presentation on Social Media in the Classroom:)

Edmodo, Twitter, Pinterest

The Common Core will demand building higher literacy skills for English language learners if they are to academically survive in school and beyond.    For this to be realized, teachers should become familiar with the technology that students are already well versed in:  Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (to name only 3).  Imagine how more engaged students could be if the "known" became part of class routines.

This workshop will demonstrate how EDMODO (FACEBOOK for classrooms), TWITTER, and PINTEREST (academic themes here) enhance instruction for all students.  We will explore options each offers in building literacy, conducting academic research, delivering academic arguments, and writing with conviction--goals of common core as well.

I.  Introduction: 

Social media is very popular with many students.  With such popularity, I decided to start making it work for me in the classroom--students (with strict rules) are allowed to use their cell phones in the classroom!

For TWITTER, I use it with my university students.  It provides a lively feed on what students wish to share on concepts taught in class.  Such feeds may help students who struggle or offer crucial information to me on what to reteach.  Also responses are no more than 140 characters which prevents wordiness on anyone's part (including me).

II.  Pinterest -- it is not just cooking and fashions:).  Think of this site as one of VIRTUAL bookmarks.  You find pictures (which lead you to links) tied to subject areas you created with your boards.

I have 32 boards covering social studies, science/space, English literature, mathematics, diversity, Spanish, French, etc.  To date, I have over 1,250 and climbing.

How do these boards help?  I use selected pictures to provide background information on topics that may be new for students.  Remember that a picture is still worth 1,000 words.

If teachers want students to have access to boards (just to see them), teachers can create private boards that only their students can see.

PINTEREST (English Language Learners' Support)

III. Twitter -- I use this link to stay on top on what fellow educators are doing in teaching ELLs, working with the latest technology, keeping up with science, etc.  It is very useful in my university classes.

Go to my favorites to explore anything and everything on teaching.  

To date, I have 2,225 followers (@ell_teacherpros).   To see my awesome retweets and favorites, you will need to create an account and then look for @ell_teacherpros:) 

I look for links to teaching resources or to colleagues around the world dealing with the same issues I am trying to address with my students.

Though I have tried TWITTER with high school students, I found EDMODO more effective since I have total control on what gets posted:)

IV. Edmodo -- think of this as an awesome virtual classroom which students can access from anywhere with an internet connection.  Since the cell phone is popular, I have students actively use their phones in class when we are not in the computer room (if in the computer room, we are using computers to access EDMODO).  You will need a school email address to access it.  Further, your students' parents can access the site to see what their children are doing.  They can only observe though.

What can teachers do with EDMODO?  Almost anything!

1.  Set up differentiated classrooms within the same class.

2.  Allow students to TWITTER (all safely within EDMODO only) in a safe environment.

3.  Set up assignments with lock out dates.

4.  Create quizzes (multiple choice, true/false, short answer, matching) that can be timed no less.

5.  Take in class polls (great exit ticket).

6.  Keep parents informed on what their child is doing (students must give parents an access code first).

7.  Network with teachers around the world on Edmodo.  International collaboration is possible with this tool.

Try out anyone of these tools and be prepared to be amazed:)

Denise

http://www.ellteacherpros.com

http://www.teachingsuccesseswithells.blogspot.com

Pinterest Offers Access To All Content Classes AND It is FUN:)

Well the summer is finally here, and with it comes a time to recharge our "batteries.":)  That being said most teachers are almost always looking for different approaches to more fully engage their students in learning.  Often teachers reflections focus on several issues including such ideas as looking for new techniques, practical ways to integrate technology, strategies to more fully engage struggling students, etc. As instructors face these challenges, they must still deal with limited school budgets.  So free tools for our teaching kits must be the focus. 

With that in mind, this post will explore a website that will serve as an excellent supplemental tool for any grade level or content area.  That site is PINTEREST.  Setting up your own account takes a few seconds.  You will then want to build boards based on your subject, your lessons, and your interests.  Here is one of mine (I have 32 boards on many content areas and personal interests).  The theme here is TEACHER HUMOR (a fun way to interest the site).  Of course this one is just for teachers:)  In a more serious vein, here is my board on SPACE/SCIENCE.  The use of the material here would easily provide context for all students (especially English language learners) and that should provide better access to language and content for all students.  Further, you can send "content boards" to students to review as needed.  They do not have to have an account to access them (if they are over 13, they can create their own accounts, but I would suggest you assign their usernames and passwords to make monitoring easier as well as providing parents access).

Another use of this site is to create lesson "boards" to store all your links, visuals, pdfs, etc.  Think of them as visual bookmarks/favorites.  This approach provides a quick route to all your plans for that a class with just a few clicks.  Of course, nothing takes the place of a well ordered lesson, but with this tool, all of your websites and other support materials will be on a virtual "board" with a picture of the theme of each website saved.

So, if you have some quiet time over your vacation, play around with the site.  Let me warn you ahead of time though that it can be addictive:)

Continue to enjoy your vacation:)

Denise, Cheryl, and Marnie

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TIMELINES OFFER POTENTIAL AS EXAMPLES OF ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS FOR ELLS

Mainstream content teachers may like this form of an alternative assessment--a timeline.  Students in teams or with partners could opt to generate a detailed timeline on a topic of their choice which is tied to the content lesson or theme.  This can be done on paper, in a power point, via a student designed website, etc. 

Once the timeline is created, teachers can proceed to having students do research on each of the elements included in the timeline.  With the use of a graphic organizer, ELLs (and others) can select the key points for each item that they will later have to develop into a sentence or two which will be added to the timeline.  Since ELLs with be working with partners or in small structured cooperative groups, writing such sentences should proceed along without many, if any, glitches.  After all, the teacher will be facilitating as needed.

After the timeline is complete, students could be required to complete an essay graphic organizer around a central theme in their timeline.  Once they decide on a theme, they would move on to generating a thesis statement on the importance of their event, invention, etc. selected.  Again, especially with ELLs, allow ELLs to create this essay as a member of team.  Eventually, they will need to produce their own, but initially, this type of support builds skills and self-confidence.

Below is a timeline I found fascinating:

THE EVOLUTION OF CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY
As a teacher, I could not resist this one:)  Technology has definitely improved over the last 362 years!  Imagine using this as a example of what students should be aiming for in creating their own.   Further, teachers can model the process of creating a timeline so students will know what is expected of them in designing their own.  If students select topics of importance to them, they are more likely to experience success:)

Denise

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Blended Learning--Re-Inventing the Traditional Classroom For ELLs and Others:)

Technology is slowly transforming the ways in which students learn and how teachers interact with them.  Though the whiteboard will still be in the classroom, it will take second place to the smart board, document camera, laptops, iPads, kindle fires, project-based learning, etc.  Students now come to school with far more experience in using technology than many of their teachers.  They are also quite skilled in using social media while many teachers are not.  So students enter their classrooms with 21st century knowledge, but use 20th century tools to learn.  There is a gap here which teachers are working hard to bridge.  Though there are opportunities for professional development in technology in many districts, many teachers tend to talk to colleagues who are quite comfortable with using the latest piece of technology available for ideas (I do this regularly).  After all, every school has a few teachers who seem to be tethered to the internet and all the wonders it holds so they should be the first contact when a teacher wants to try something different:)

So what are some changes that are coming your way? 

Imagine students putting their own math videos online for others to use?  How about the same math lesson being offered in different languages for newly arrived ELLs?  What about students studying top online lectures in content that the teacher will use in class as a basis for project-based learning activities?  Then there are the students who struggle.  With this approach, teachers would be able to spend time with students who still need additional support while the others go deeper into the topics with practical application to the real world.  When the weaker ones catch up with the other students, they would then join the various projects and approach them on an equal footing with the other students. 

How about adding educational games to class time?  ELLs are just like other kids.  They have preferred learning activities just as the mainstream kids do.  Bring in options for them to master academic content.  With the use of educational games either for the individual or for small groups, ELLs will not only become proficient at learning the content, but also grow in their English skills.  Another plus is that you may find some students who can develop their own educational games for others to use:)


BLENDED LEARNING  Here is another site you may wish to bookmark:)

Denise
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TWITTER, iPads in the Classroom? Why Not! GREAT WAY to Involve ELLs in Mainstream Classes:)

As the common core standards work their way into classrooms around the country, teachers will need a variety of tools to successfully implement them.  Technology will play a key role here.  As educators prepare their students for careers which do not exist, they must use 21st century tools to make that jump from the concepts in the text to real world application.  Teachers must encourage students to use all the tools at their disposal to prepare them for the future that lies ahead of them.  The more experience they have in solving real world problems using technology that may even be new to their teachers, the better their chances are of doing well beyond high school/college.

So what might a teacher's options consist of for starters?

50 WAYS TO USE TWITTER IN YOUR CLASSROOM 
Most students are quite familiar with it.  Many adults?  Not so much.  Adults know of its existence, but rarely use it.  Well, it is a teaching tool and one that would support ELLs since here content knowledge can be addressed by the ELL without getting bogged down in language (that is important, but not with twitter where abbreviations and symbols serve to illustrate understanding).  Imagine being in a history class studying world war 1.  The teacher puts up a picture of a soldier in the trenches with a question such as "What is going through the soldier's mind in your opinion?  Tweet your answer to @___________.  Since twitter limits a writer to 141 characters, lengthy responses are not needed.  Your ELL can easily respond without worrying about sentence complexity.  S/he can demonstrate understanding in only a few words.  A teacher can save all the tweets and print them out for students to use in essays or discussions later on in the lesson.  This site will offer other ways to use a program that most of the kids are already quite familiar with:)


TWITTER IN A COLLEGE CLASS
Here is a video of Twitter in a college class.  As in the example above, the students are more familiar with it than the instructor.  She shows her creativity in using a tool that she may not be as skilled with as her students, but she proceeds along confident in her ability to try it (and she does succeed).

TECHNOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM
You may already be using technology in your classroom.  This video should just affirm that you are on the right track.  Quote from video ""Teachers will not be replaced by technology, but teachers who don't use technology will be replaced by those who do."  Nothing could be further from the truth.

IPADS IN 2ND GRADE
Seeing students this young embrace the iPad so naturally underscores the need to re-evaluate current teaching practices.  Students come to school already tech savvy so why aren't schools using this experience as a jump-off point to accelerate learning?

Denise


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Primary Source in US History--Virtual Tour Of White House

Thousands of visitors pour through the White House every year, but they only see a select handful of rooms (probably for security reasons).  On this site, you will be able to explore over 140 areas in and around the White House thanks to photographs and illustrations which date back over 200 years!  

Here you will be able to explore the EAST WING, WEST WING and RESIDENCE with the click of a mouse.  Each section offers a look at that section over time (1857 to date with most) and provides some data on key events of the time associated with that section.  Part of this tour also includes little known facts about its residents of the time and the activities they pursued there.  For example, the history of the family theater has quite a past.  It was originally a long coat room.  Another tidbit is the first film ever shown there was "Birth of a Nation" which was a racist film depicting the Klu Klux Klan as America's saviors.  President Wilson showed this film to repay a debt to southern democrats and that act sullied his repetition.  


How might this site support ELLs in their study of American history?  As often mentioned in my blog and on my website, ELLs need supports to access knowledge.  Visuals are crucial tools that every teacher must utilize (as all of you know) if ELLs are to be able to connect to the material thereby making sense of it.  Another support is the use of timelines.  Everything is new to ELLs when it comes to US history.  Providing them with timelines brings some order to the "chaos."  With timelines and photos/images, students can take notes in ways that work for them.  Provide them with graphic organizers or outlines to enable them to save (and eventually remember) key data.  As with every content area, decide on the most important events ELLs must know and teach to those.  Everything else can be dealt with as needed, but not tested otherwise the lesson will consist of dates and events with no building of deep knowledge.

WHITE HOUSE

Your students will definitely develop an interest in American history with this site:)

Denise


ELL TEACHER PROS

Incredible PRIMARY SOURCE for World History!

Queen Elizabeth II has offered the world access to Queen Victoria's journals online.  This collection covers the years 1832 to her death in 1901.  Included with the journals are drawings, sketches, photos, and more.  The queen kept writing until she passed away.

 Queen Victoria was on the throne from 1837 to 1901 and was  Empress of India from 1877.  In total, her surviving volumes number over 43,000 pages. This unique record covers the day to day routines and insights of a monarch in her reign over the world's largest empire in the 19th century. 

What areas are specifically addressed throughout those 68 years?  Culture, empire and exploration, military, politics and society, royal family, science and technology, and sport are all covered in great detail within.  Use the timeline to search out specific details for any of those 7 areas. 

If you searching for a specific month, day, and year, use the time index.  If your world history is studying the British empire, you could assign different dates to students to research (or if they are familiar with the index, let them select the time periods most important to them in doing their research--PRIMARY SOURCE material).  

If you wish students to explore science and technology, have them use the timeline to guide them or get them started.  On the timeline, they will click on the icon associated with the area they wish to explore.  For example, if they want to research scientific advancements over her reign, they would click on the light bulb icon over any year where it is visible (each year or months within a year highlight a new invention).

If you teach art, take a look at the section on her illustrations.  It could easily be woven into any art appreciation class.  Students could focus on how her skills evolved over time. 


This is an overall recap of the online resource:
QUEEN VICTORIA'S JOURNALS

This link provides the overview of the journals:
INFORMATION ABOUT THE JOURNALS

Here you will find an index to all the journal entries:
TIME INDEX TO SEARCH FOR SPECIFIC DATES

Finally, here is an index to all of her drawings:
QUEEN VICTORIA'S ILLUSTRATIONS

As schools move to COMMON CORE STANDARDS in the coming year, the need to be to identify and use primary resources will be the focus of all the non-elective classes.  Here is a primary source that spans English language, world history, science, art, and mathematics.  It is a gem!

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

Be Prepared to Be Amazed! Visit the Google ART PROJECT!

Google has done it again in its mission to make the wonders of humanity available to everyone with a computer and access to the internet.  Their current project, which is the subject of this post, opens the doors to major museums from across the globe.  Here, 40 countries make their treasures available to all for free online.  

This site offers all of us the chance to do the unthinkable--visit EVERY major museum here on the planet in our lifetime and view over 30,000 pieces of art from over 150 collections.  Imagine how this will excite your students as you weave in works of art into your English, social studies, and math classes.  For English, it helps to capture life of the time of the novel being read.  Students learn to appreciate the tone and setting of the novels a bit more as they study the artwork of the period.  Social studies students are offered artist interpretations of major historical events and this makes the content more vivid and accessible to ELLs and others.  For math, students might study how math was used to design architectural masterpieces. 


Below are three major sections of the site:

GOOGLE ART PROJECT 
Provides an alphabetically arranged list of every museum.  Click on any one and you will be instantly transported to that museum!  I tried the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).  Click on the little orange human icon on the bottom left and you will be transported to the floor in which the exhibit you selected is exhibited.  It is the next best thing to actually being there walking around on your own.


ART WORKS VIEW
Here, type in the artwork you are specifically looking for and you will be sent there.  I picture art teachers really enjoying this link. I typed in photojournalism and selected photos from the 1930s.  Here is a photo (with notes) on General Miaja's militiamen writing letters.  World history students would definitely benefit for this tool in studying World War II for example.

MUSEUMS BY CONTINENT
This link maps out museums by continent.  Click on the yellow balloon in the country you wish to explore and you will be presented with all the museums in that area.

Great site!  Maybe it will help you plan out your well deserved summer vacations:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Explore EDSITE'S Library of Great Lesson Plans in Humanities!

I know that the school year is drawing to a close, but this site is one worth exploring for future lesson planning in the coming school year.

You will find lessons arranged by subject, theme, and grade level.  Subjects covered include anthropology, art history, folklore, mythology, religions, world languages, AP US history, world history, civics, literature, language arts, and much more.  Activity sheets are included as well.

Further, you will find a collection of approved websites for teachers.  I found one on SHAKESPEARE.  Here students have several options as to what they would like to learn about him.  How about "10 ways to be Shakespeare expert"?  If they find words fascinating, why not have them check out words coined by the Bard?  If they are curious about the time period he lived in, they will find the answers here.  Please note that this is only 1 highlighted website here.  You will want to check them all out:)


 EDSITE:  HUMANITIES ON THE WEB

Have fun exploring this site!  I did:)

Denise

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Explore the Arts Through the Kennedy Center for FREE!

Dance, media arts, music, literary arts, and theater are all covered here as vehicles through which to teach all subject areas and all grade levels.  Outstanding arts-based lesson plans and projects for classrooms and after school programs are available whether or not teachers register.  Why register?  With registration, you can create folders in which you can store your favorite lessons.  This way you will have everything at your fingertips.    KENNEDY CENTER

Here is one lesson aimed at high school students.  It deals with analyzing political cartoons so the subject areas covered are social studies and visual arts.  In studying the political cartoon, students are also using critical thinking (the WHY behind the cartoon) and problem solving (HOW was the issue solved/addressed that the cartoon depicted).  Upon completion of the lesson, students would select a political issue of the day, take an opinion, and then create their own political cartoon.  If a visual arts teacher could team up with the social studies teacher, it would be an even more exciting project for all:)
LESSON ON POLITICAL CARTOONS GRADES 9-12

Remember that you can find lessons for ALL GRADES.  I only chose high school since that is the level that I am most familiar with:)

Denise


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Have Access to Vast Video Library on ALL Subjects and Grades for FREE!

If you are eternally looking for just the right short clip video to support student understanding of key concepts of your lessons,  you will be quite pleased with this site.  Teachers' Domain is for educational use and is free thanks to public broadcasting.  Along with thousands of media resources, instructional tools, and a wide range of classroom activities, you will also find sites offering professional development for classroom teachers.  Registration is free for full access.  If you don't register, you will only be allowed to access 7 sites.

TEACHERS' DOMAIN offers materials in all subject areas (Art, Physical Education, English language arts, Mathematics, and Social Studies) and at all grade levels.  You may browse for resources by your state standards, national standards, or Common Core State Standards.  The choice is strictly up to you.  This collection of outstanding materials will make core content less overwhelming for ELLs especially.  When teachers spend time building in tools to either help ELLs access prior knowledge OR build it when it is not there, they are setting ELLs up to experience success with the lesson.

For those of you looking for new teaching strategies, look no further.  Under Professional Development, you simply type in the lesson planning support you are looking for and click.  You will be presented with a wide variety of videos on teachers modeling the teaching strategies you need.  The videos are of exemplary teachers.  I took notes on WORD STORMING since I would like to share it with some novices at my site (I am an English Language Instructional Coach supporting teachers with ELLs or ESL students).  I believe it will provide teachers with a better view of what their ELLs actually know BEFORE a lesson is started.

Remember that to use this site you must register with a school name.  Please share this with colleagues.

Denise:)


ELL TEACHER PROS

            

Retronaut--A Look at the Civilizations From Their Earliest Beginnings to Present Day

If you teach art, photography, history/social studies, or literature, you will want to bookmark this site.   For teachers to help ELLs (and others) make connections to upcoming lesson themes before the lesson actually starts, teachers need to employ a variety of quick "activating prior knowledge" OR "building background knowledge" activities.  Such activities should not be any longer that a 5-7 minutes in general.  Here visuals help immensely since no reading is required.  This makes instant access possible for ELLs because they are reacting to the visual only.

How could this site be used for literature?  Think about Grapes of Wrath (set in depression of 1930's).  Photographs of DUST BOWL victims would add vital context to reading the novel.  Imagine how they would react to seeing that all ethnic groups have had struggles in society.  In fact, in some cases, students may have experienced similar suffering (there would be no need to have them share with the class here obviously).  Other students may personally know of friends who have encountered hard times in this day and age.  This might assist them in making those vital connections to the novel's theme.

World history connections?  See World War 1 soldiers in their trenches looking out for enemy fire.  Watch them wearing their mustard gas masks.  Ask students how they feel the soldiers felt living under such horrific conditions.  Have ELLs and EOs reflect and share their reactions to the plight of these men in small groups with chart paper.  This type of activity motivates everyone to contribute since the writing is kept to a minimum, but the content is grade appropriate.

Contrast technology in the 1950's with now.  ELLs and EOs would have much to draw vivid contrasts with using this site.  Look at the telephone then and contrast it with what we have now.  Visions of space travel then as opposed to the reality of now.  With this background, classes would be ready to enter the arena of quality science fiction and enjoy every minute of it!


RETRONAUT

Try it out and see how your students react to it.  My guess is that they will truly be amazed at how the world has changed over time.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Origami and Math--A Natural Fit:)

Wouldn't it be great for kids to see that geometry can be fun? How about showing them the connection with art? Won't they be amazed to learn how knowing angle measurements are a must to generate paper wonders of art?

When teachers include fun elements to subjects that may at times seem dull, they change student attitudes:) Math with a purpose can be fun. Giving students activities that will stay with them such as origami may alter their perspectives on the subject and that leads to their developing a "can do" attitude on the subject.

For ELLs, creating origami projects builds academic vocabulary. Here ELLs will develop a knowledge of all the geometric shapes used in this art. With this information, they will naturally learn about the need to pay attention to the angle sizes needed to successfully generate the objects in the video below.

Another plus for ELLs is that they will probably be working on these projects in small groups or with partners. In such a low anxiety setting, they will acquire more language as they try to create the project assigned to them. It may also happen that your ELL may already be familiar with origami but not the math behind it. With prior knowledge on the HOW, the ELL will be now ready to explore the WHY.

ORIGAMI VIDEOS

Enjoy:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Explore All Forms of Art-From the Comfort of Your Classroom:)

If you are often looking for visual supports for your subject areas, you will enjoy this site. The images address many time periods and cover many subjects. I would not let students look on their own since there are some nudes in the collection (after all, it is art). Instead, I would select images that could be used as an inspiration for writing, or background on a historical periods (ex. roaring twenties in the US right before the Wall Street Crash).

The instructions for its use are fairly easy to follow. Basically, as you zoom in with your mouse or touch pad, the picture you are focusing on becomes larger. Information on the painting or photo appears on the right side of the screen. I would hook my computer or iPad to my LCD projector and then I would have total control over the images my students would see. If you wish your students to look on their own, you may want parental permission since a few do address the beauty of the human body (and you know how immature some teenagers can be).

If you are an art teacher, you will want to bookmark this site for use in your classes. This would augment your instruction and motivate students to possibly entertain earning a degree in art! You never know:)

SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Have Fun Exploring DIVERSITY in the Classroom:)

Exploring the cultural mosaic of humanity is an enriching experience for anyone at any age. This is especially true of our students. Such exposure is a must in this new global economy. The more students learn to respect differences when interacting with peers from other countries around the world, the more likely they are to do well in a multicultural work setting. Though facebook and twitter are fun to use, they don't offer much in the way of any deep insight into the world's many cultures.

This site approaches the topic from several different angles ,and all of these approaches will be well received by your students: photos, maps, stories, games, and a range of activities at different levels of difficulty. No one will lose interest here:)


MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION THROUGH MINIATURES is a natural tie-in to geography and the study of humanity's diversity. Share it with colleagues and parents:) Have a multicultural appreciation day on campus where ELLs and EOs can both share the good things about each other's cultures. They could bring in special interest items which represent their culture's history. Of course, a food bazaar works, too:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Interactives for all Subjects Grades K-12! All FREE:)

Well, today was the first day of school for many teachers. As planning unfolds for the new year, many of us are faced with trying to find ways to assist students in remembering some of the items addressed before the break:)

ALL SUBJECTS ALL GRADES INTERACTIVES is a website from the Utah Education Network. This site offers instructional materials for all subjects (including probability at the high school level) and grade levels. It can't cover every point taught in school, but it hits on some of the big ones. The science section for grades 9-12 covers physics, chemistry, biology, genetics, etc. It also has many virtual labs (some tied to PBS - Public Broadcasting Station). The Language Arts section covers vocabulary development, spelling, grammar, writing, etc. I was also impressed with their ARTS section which many sites don't address. Here even architecture was covered including a section on designing your own building! Like MUSIC? Use the virtual keyboards to create music.

Grades K-6 are equally well thought out and easy to use (to supplement school instruction).

The K-2 section has a doodle pad (like a smartboard minus the internet) where students can write, draw, etc. You have a choice as a teacher to print in black ink or color. Kids will love it of course. Then there is the FLIP BOOK (Read Write Think). Little ones will delight at the thought of being an author. Again, all subjects are addressed here. I have pulled out one for the blog.

Grades 3-6 has a technology component which not only covers the keyboard and hardware/software, but also internet safety. I have never seen a site address this (one written for students that is). Parents and teachers should appreciate this one. There are many more subjects here as well.

I hope you enjoy the site!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Care to Greet the New Year With a Look Back at the Past? 365 Days Covering From 18th Century to Date!

With the start of a new year, we can't help but look back a bit at the past. Reviewing major events over time can open up the floor for lively "what if" conversations with students. For ELLs, such activities give them a chance to explore some of the nuances of English in these unreal scenarios:) Remember that ELLs need to have time to play with the language. Dr. Jim Cummins addressed this at the California Association of Bilingual Educators in March 2011. ELLs must have many ungraded opportunities to develop their English in all content areas. Through lively verbal interactions with peers on open-ended questions ("what if" discussions), ELLs learn to use the language to strengthen their use of academic language. As the oral skills become stronger, so do the reading and writing skills.

TIMELINES-WHAT HAPPENED ON offers choices of dates covering 365 days. Once you click on a date, you will see several topics surface over several centuries. In fact, I went to 12/31/1981 and found a story on my old hometown in the Hudson Valley (New York). It was one on the sitings of UFOs. I remember seeing strange lights which moved in patterns never before seen, but never thought much about it after the event....until I found it here on this site:)

What could your students do here? How about having them find the month and day of their birth? Then they could find one event of interest to them to share with the class. This would be low stress since they would not have to write on it. Also, as the teacher, you could take several events that they students uncovered of interest to them (key here), and have kids discuss in groups how that event could have been changed. For example, what if the Titanic didn't sink?

There are two other sections to this site which may interest you. Go to POPULAR TOPICS. If you want your students to zero in on specific people or wars and conflicts, go to this section. Once they click on the topic/person, a timeline is generated just on that topic/person. The readings are not overwhelming and might serve as a major support for writing for ELLs.

The last section is TRIVIA QUIZZES. I don't think it offers as much as the other sections of the site, but for those students who finish doing assignments early, this may give them something to do while the rest of the class focuses on completing their work.

Well, I hope you like the sites and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Bring World Myths and Legends In Art Into Your Classes:)

Validation of the many cultures that ELLs represent is a must in any classroom and especially mainstream ones. This can be done with ease through mythology and art and the Minneapolis Institute of Art's website does an incredible job of addressing both.

"Myths are stories that explain why the world is the way it is. All cultures have them. Throughout history, artists have been inspired by myths and legends and have given them visual form. Sometimes these works of art are the only surviving record of what particular cultures believed and valued. But even where written records or oral traditions exist, art adds to our understanding of myths and legends." (Minneapolis Institute of Arts).

In a mainstream class, students have the opportunity to learn about each other through myths and art. For ELLs, this is a moment to have the spotlight on them as their culture is explored as a part of the unit on myths. One feature of the site is that the myths are recorded so the entire class can listen if the teacher uses speakers or they can listen at their individual computers with ear buds.

To build writing skills, teachers could have students contrast/compare myths after listening to them. ELLs would most benefit from this activity if it is done with a partner. Working with others and using a note-taking graphic organizer would provide the necessary support for the ELL to do well. ELLs then could retell the story with a partner and then do a short recap of their favorite part or their favorite character in it.

Another fun activity is having students, in cooperative groups, creating their own original myths. Students could act them out, create cartoon strips, or write the story (differentiation of instruction).

Teachers could also weave in some short videos on popular myths if there is time. It might be considered a reward for a job well done:)


WORLD MYTHS AND LEGENDS IN ART

Hope you like the site!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

TWITTER AS A LEARNING TOOL IN SCHOOL-UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE:)

Nowadays, the social media is everywhere--facebook, twitter, delicious, myspace, etc. Students are using it constantly throughout the day-----except in school. Teachers spend a good amount of their time at the beginning of the year addressing this. The basic rule is "if I see you using your phone, I will take it." Why not take this technology and use it to a teacher's advantage by delivering instruction through tools kids know and love. If fact, the students are more likely than not more proficient in this area than the teachers!

Fortunately, this is slowly changing as more teachers experiment with bringing fully accessible technology into their classrooms. In this post, I will be addressing the use of TWITTER in the classroom. CNN (Cable News Network) did a report on how one teacher in LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) is working wonders in his high school history class through the use of TWITTER. Please note that all of his students are ELLs and that he teaches in one of the district's poorest areas-East Los Angeles. His enthusiasm for his subject area and the vehicle through which to pass his excitement about it to his students is present in every corner of the room. The kids love what they are doing and everyone--from the noisiest to the shyest--are fully engaged in submitting tweets on any subject area he elects to teach. A limitation of 141 characters lowers anxiety on the part of ELLs since they don't have to write a lot and here abbreviations are fine. Click on this link to see him in action: TWITTER AS A LEARNING TOOL.

What else could be done with TWITTER? How about vocabulary review games? Accessing prior knowledge before a teacher starts a lesson to see just how much students already know or don't. What about having students take on roles of characters in novels they are ready and having those "characters" send out tweets on their positions, feelings, plans, etc.? If it is geography class, what about tweeting reasons to visit a country, or scale a mountain, or save Antarctica, or save the planet, etc. ? Further, teachers can either save the tweets and print them out for future reference in the class OR, in the interests of saving trees, send students to the class twitter page to review tweets already submitted.

In this day of social media, teachers should be encouraged and supported by administration to step outside their safety zones and try something new and exciting.

Enjoy the video. I certainly did and will be giving a presentation at a high school on this after the winter break.

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

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