Planting Seeds For a Diverse Community Let’s Be Ready! Sheryl Ferguson, ESOL Teacher Britt Elementary, Gwinnett County

As we become more diverse, we can choose for our diverse population to become a burden or we can choose to help them become an asset.

When you get your ELL students: –Learn to pronounce their names. -Learn about their backgrounds…Why are they here … for a better life, for a job, business transfer or promotion, for life?

When you get your ELL students … –Pay attention to social and cultural customs. –Use the same language … “We are going to the playground.” OR “We are going outside.”

When you get your ELL students… –Assign a willing friend and helper. -Choose small groups rather than large groups.

Remember how language develops! First – Listening Second – Speaking Third – Reading Fourth – Writing

Where are your students? Level 1 - quiet, minimal comprehension … listening! These students can: –listen, draw, point, copy, act, match, circle, color!

Where are your students? Level 2 - Increased comprehension, 1-2 word sentences These students can: -name, list, label, group, tell, say, respond, answer!

Where are your students? Level 3 - Increased comprehension, simple sentences, errors in speech These students can: -recall, retell, describe, summarize, role-play, compare, contrast!

Where are your students? Level 4 – good comprehension, more complex sentences, complex errors in speech, engages in conversation. These students can: -analyze, create, evaluate, justify, support, debate! …They’re ready for transition!

Teaching ELL students is simply good teaching! Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand!

Find your students and meet them where they are. All cultures do not think, believe, or learn in the same way. Home cultures may not have prepared students for interacting in their school community. Financial difficulties may interfere with home/school involvement.

“Children construct their own understanding of the world.” It is the teacher’s job to create appropriate learning contexts so students can construct, and take responsibility for, their own understanding of concepts.

Teachers must be willing to … Think flexibly. Explicitly connect school learning to children’s own life experiences. Differentiate between cognitive skills and social and cultural context in which the academic skills are set.

ELL students ARE at risk! “The challenge for teachers is to accommodate these students’ needs in classrooms where, in the end, all students must learn to work confidently, productively, and successfully.”

What are your students’ learning modalities? Visual Auditory Kinesthetic

Students learn best in classrooms that are student centered, with the teacher in the role of the facilitator! You don’t always have to be the teacher!

Make learning meaningful! Story Retelling Rich Illustrations or PhotosHands-On

Make learning meaningful! Create! Sing! Dance! Role Play! Totally Physical!

Teachers must … Model Academic Language!Think Aloud! Scaffold Lessons! Introduce Key Vocabulary! Love Your Children!

NEP Parent Communication Photographs tell a story in all languages! Save your students work in a portfolio!

Planting Seeds For a Diverse Community. Accept our diversity!

Planting Seeds For a Diverse Community. Celebrate our differences!

Planting Seeds For a Diverse Community. These students did not chose to learn a second language. Plant their seeds so they may become an asset to our school,to our community … to our country!

Now go and plant your seeds for our future!