My Boys

A "Must Make" Recipe

APPLE BROWNIES

1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sugar
3 medium apples,pared and diced or 1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.  Cream together butter and salt,
then add the egg and sugar; beat well.  Stir in apples, nuts and dry
ingredients.  Blend well. Pour mixture into a greased and floured 8-inch
square pan.  Bake for 40 minutes. When cool, cut into squares.

What Teachers Should Know About the English Language

Tons of interesting information in this article. Many years ago, I took a class in linguistics and vaguely remember phonemes, morphemes, etc. Thank you for including these important facts about language in our readings. As teachers, we need to have a basic understanding of grammar to accurately correct the Ells writing. We need to know the basic language mechanics and teach them to our students and give them timely feedback on the assignments. Taking this measure will help them deepen their understanding of the English language and give them confidence in their growing ability to understand the subject. I am very interested in this study. I read that there are at least a quarter of a million words in the English language. Americans have a speaking vocabulary of about 20,000 words. There are no exact numbers, but considering our ELLs, they have a lot of challenges in terms of their language acquisition. The article talks about repeated exposure to a word to really deepen the understanding of its meaning and then finding ways to apply it in the subject. We can help the student by providing lessons involving group work, conversation and reading that will reinforce the words . We need to get to know our students well enough to help guide them into the proper programs in our schools. A recent statistic shows that about 375 million people have English as their second language. About 750 million people speak English as a foreign language. About 1-in-5 U. S. (nearly 47 million) residents regularly speak a foreign language at home.
(http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censusstatistic/a/foreignlang.htm)
There are about 309 million people in the United States as of today. In what ways do these numbers impact our work with ELLs?

Myths and Misconceptions about English Language Learners

This article was a real eye-opener for me. I had always heard that younger children learn second languages quickly and easily. The research from the late 50s and 60s proposed that "children are superior to adults in learning second languages because their brains are more flexible (Lenneberg; Penfield & Roberts.) The other research indicated that the children do perform less well than adolescents and adults other than in the area of pronunciation. As teachers, we must use appropriate criteria to evaluate the progress of our students who are learning a second language. The level of difficulty is the same for children as well as adults. Another myth states the younger the child the more skilled they are in acquiring a second language. The article states that younger children do not have an advantage over older students. Teachers can support the ELL by supporting their first language, while helping them to stay current in their content areas. We can provide additional resource material, welcome the child into group activities where peer tutoring can support understanding of vocabulary and use varied sheltering techniques. The third myth promotes immersion in the English language. The teacher can provide a classroom where both languages are supported resulting in the student learning just as much as in the immersive environment. Using the home language "acts as a bridge for children, enabling them to participate more effectively." Myth 4 states that children have acquired a language if they can speak it. There is much more to the story as speaking a language does not necessarily equal a deep understanding of content area information.Teachers and administrators must not assume the child is ready to navigate through school on their own just because they have mastered the spoken language. Their vocabulary and ability to analyze content information can still be limited ,thereby, impacting their success in the classroom. The last myth states that all children learn a second language in the same way. Different cultures have different ways of talking. Some children are raised by siblings or peers and can more readily understand when spoken to by a non-adult. American children are given instructions verbally, while children from other cultures are taught by doing with less verbal coaching and more visuals. As teachers, we must be aware of cultural differences and respond to the student in a way that is sensitive to his/her background. So we must learn all we can about our students to be most effective.

Teaching English Language Learners

The three factors that have the strongest effect on my students' second language acquisition process are:

1. Language attitudes - I have a sense of pride in my ability to speak and use the English language. I feel confident that I can effectively communicate with my peers and students. Zap me into a remote village in China and my insecurities grow as I am unable to effectively communicate my needs for food, clothing and shelter. It would seem that time would slow down until I met someone who spoke English. And then if they challenged my use of vocabulary or dialect a challenging situation might take a turn for the worst. In other words, my native language and dialect are very personal to me and I would not want them challenged - especially when I was feeling vulnerable. As ELL teachers, we need to avoid being critical to the speaker about dialect. Language dialects are regional and taken very personal by many people. The use of standard dialects and formal registers keep the level of instruction more objective. I believe this would reduce the negative response from peers and provide the best learning situation for the ELL student.

2. Home support - This is a challenging contextual factor for a few important reasons. The ELL teacher may not speak the student's native language and cannot communicate well with the student. Efforts to contact a parent have failed or are sporadic. Days and weeks can pass when contact with a parent about classroom issues is not made, so the student remains in a holding pattern of hit and miss attempts to learn. Once communication is established, the teacher can be reassured that the teacher's efforts are being supported at home. The child is taught the value of their native language as well as English as stated in the article. This may be happening, but if the parents and teachers cannot find a way to communicate this important support, the efforts may have seemed one-sided. This year we have had two instances when using a translator expedited the solution to some problems a student was having. The parents supported the school's efforts, but we did not know it until communication was made through translation. That was a wonderful day.

3. Learning styles - When working with an ELL student, we must do our best to determine the individual's learning style. I would check previous academic records and review teacher comments about the student's learning style. If the records did not provide enough information, I would use an online tool to help with the analysis. Once we determine whether the student is an auditory, visual or kinesthetic learner, lessons and activities can be planned to differentiate instruction.

Acquiring a new language is a rewarding experience. Respecting the experiences and challenges facing our ELL students will give them the confidence and courage to realize success in school.

Happy New Year ! Welcome 2010

From my kitchen to yours ...


I spent this Christmas in Montana with my daughter and her husband.  It was a wonderful time.  We stayed with her new in-laws on a ranch amidst horses, bald eagles, deer, and a variety of birds.


What did you do this Christmas?

Christmas cards
   Christmas cookies
      Christmas Midnight Mass
          Christmas candy

                                                                    Christmas pies   


The air in Montana is clean, crisp and clear.  Driving along the highways is an adventure in many ways.  The mountain passes can be a slippery challenge.  Keep your eyes open to catch a glimpse of a bald eagle or deer.

Deer Tracks

Montana Highways

  Dress for the weather ...     

                                                         Looking from the inside out 

 Even the horses are wearing extra coats .....

natural beauty ...  all seasons

I love taking pictures of nature

until next time ......

              

Cultivating Relationships with Diverse Learners

"Learning something new gives us the opportunity to reflect upon the challenges and fears our students face daily; the stress and threat of failure, peer or teacher criticism, material presented outside of student learning styles, and grades given before the material is mastered." (Bonnie M. Davis)

I feel one of the best ways to welcome students into my class is to be prepared. as the students enter the classroom, I am ot organizing paperwork or otherwise distracting myself. I want my full attention to be on greeting students, measuring the emotional levels and actively listening during conversastions with students. I greet as many students as possible. A few years ago, our middle school began the tardy sign-in system. If the students enter late, they merely sign the ledger then the office will make attendance adjustments later. This helps the student enter the classroom without notice which allows a more welcoming attitude.

I understand that greeting the students is an important component of cultivating relationships. Leaning into a conversation helps me to focus on what the person is saying. I will look into having someone video tape my welcoming procedures, but that may be a challenge to make happen. People who I enjoy spending time with normally do not cross their arms, they listen without interrupting the conversation, they do not text friends when spending time with me, they are not judgmental and they smile a lot. I try to do as many of these behaviors as I can. I can improve by speaking louder and not interrupting the conversation.

Finding a way to measure the emotional climate in a classroom is important. I have a poster that says "How are you feeling today?" that was displayed in my classroom each year. I also have an 8 x 10 of the poster that I make copies of give to the students. There are faces on the poster that reflect different emotions and the students can look at them and give a word matching their feelings. Effective teaching and learning can be accomplished when emotional needs are met, so if the students come into the classroom after recess and are all charged up they need some down time. Teachers can provide that needed time if they consider the emotional needs of the students.

There are many ways to build relationships with students. I try to get to know their names as soon as possible and try to attend as many of their events as possible. Administratively, we post dates of games, events and activities and encourage attendance. Our service projects with community organizations, offer students opportunities to participate in authentic projects. They are given opportunities to serve the homeless, elderly and disabled. Within our school community, the Green Team paper recycling team gathers, sorts and recycles paper products for the middle school and high school library. Last year the campus recycled almost 15 tons of paper much of which is from the efforts of the students. Their accomplishments are given notice in the home-to-school newsletter, online newsletter and end-of-year celebration.