Ms. O's Creative Toolbox: ESL Essentials

I have found that graphic organizers are extremely helpful in improving comprehension, acquisition and maintenance of information in content areas for my students. I have used them to serve many purposes for lessons of all ages and have found them to be an essential tool when teaching ELL students.

As a motivating tool for assisting students in learning new concepts and making connections in a fun productive way I have implemented graphic organizers in the following ways:

To offer visual aids in an organized fashion

To creatively organize thoughts

To activate prior knowledge

To maintain new key vocabulary learned

To generate similarities and differences

To improve comprehension skills by systematically identifying important story elements such as characters, plot, and setting

To distinguish the main idea of a paragraph

To create an effective study tool for reviewing major ideas for a test

Many websites offer printable graphic organizers, some of the ones I visit regularly are:

http://www.eduplace.com/

http://www.edhelper.com/

http://www.scholastic.com/

I have also found a love for creating my own graphic organizers to help identify and modify the strengths and weaknesses of an individual student and to facilitate whole-class participation.

Monday, May 21, 2012

ESL-Oral Language Development

STAGES OF ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

ELL's make progress in development of their oral language
through a devlopment process.
Students proceed along each process in phases.

Monday, May 7, 2012

ESL- Awesome Apples

Objective(s) of lesson:

Apples in Kindergarten: Students will participate in research, record
discoveries,and share their information (reports) on apples with others.

Skills that students will acquire:
(What students will do.)

1. Students will learn how to brainstorm for new ideas/words.

2. Students will use English to obtain, and process new information.

3. Students will use English in socially and culturally appropriate ways as they
explore the apples.

Concepts that students will acquire:
(What students will know.)

1. Students will begin to understand the process of how an apple grows.

2. Students will draw on any prior experience, to understand textual features.

3. Students will be able to adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual
language to communicate effectively.

Description of the learning activity:*Short Version

(What will I do)

1. Read a short book about apple growing. “Apple Picking Time”,
by Michele Benoit Slawson.

2. Create a KWL chart by asking students questions and record their
responses.

3. Divide students into pairs. Give each pair a different type of apple.

4. Help students to cut their apples in halves so that they can see the core.

5. Help students write words to describe how their apples look.

(What students will do):

1. Students will draw their apples in their journals and color them.

2. Students will remove and count the number of seeds in their apples.

3. Students will taste their apples.

4. Students will write words to describe how the apples taste.

Description of the learning activity
*Long Version:

1. Students may work alone, in pairs, or in small groups to participate in

exploring the apples and record their findings. (Each student will need

an apple.)

2. East student will need a copy of the report form.

3. Read through the reporting form with the students. Review how we learn

about things through our five senses. They will be using all five senses:

seeing the apple, touching(and measuring the apple), smelling it, tasting

it, and hearing the crunch as they bite into it. They will record the color

they see and draw a picture of the apple, the measurement they take, and

describe the way the apple tastes.

4. Have students try to identify their apples by variety.(Make sure there is an

Apple Display hanging in the classroom.)

5. Arrange for second grade reading buddies to come in and read several

chosen books. Students will read to their buddies for 20 minutes. Then

students will work together to draw and write about what they learned in

their kidnergarten journals. Some ELL's may only be able to draw what

they have learned, and this is ok! Guide those that can, to dictate their words

to their second grade buddy who will then write about their findings for them.

Literature Choices:

“The Apple Pie Tree” by Zoe Hall (big book)

“The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein

“I am an Apple” by Jean Marzollo

“Ten Apples Up on Top!” by Dr. Seuss

“The Story of Johnny Appleseed by Aliki

“Apples” by Gail Gibbons

Apple Farmer Annie” by Monica Wellington

“The Three Friends and the Apples by Tomie dePaola

6. Students will fill in and complete an interactive reading book by writing
their site words: can, yes, and no to complete the story "Apples."

7. The students can then report their discoveries by sharing their
reports with other members in the class, with other students in
the school, and bring them home to read them to their parents.

(Assessment):

1. Students will review the steps in the process of apples growing trees by using
sentence strips.

2. Students should be able to sequence the steps.

3. Students will complete a self assessment form.

Extra Practice:

Music/Movement

• “Apples” sung to the tune of
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

• “Apple Tree” sung to the tune
of This Old Man

• “Have You Ever Seen an Apple”
sung to the tune of Have You Ever
Seen a Lassie

Art

• Make paper plate apples.

• Make and decorate apple trees with finger paint.

• Sequence the different stages of an apple tree.

• Apple stamping.

• Decorate apple shapes with tissue paper.

Cooking/Snacks

• Apples with peanut butter cups.

• Try Apple Jacks cereal.

• Make or bring applesauce.

• Drink apple juice.

• Decorate apple cookies with frosting and eat.

ESL Adaptations:

Preproduction Adaptations-Students will share their favorite kind of
apple and illustrate a picture of it.

Early Production Adaptations-Students will be able to brainstorm ideas
about apples. How do apples look, feel, smell, sound, and taste. Together
as a class we will create a KWL-Chart: K (what the children KNOW about apples)
-W (what the children WONDER about apples)-L (and at the end, what the
children LEARNED about apples).

Speech Emergence Adaptations-Students will be able to discuss the similarities
and differences between a red apple, a yellow apple, and a green apple (all have
stems, leaves, shiny, round, but colors and tastes are different). As a class we
will make an apple shaped wall chart, students will come up with words that
describe apples. These words will be written on the apple chart (using real or
inventive spelling).

Intermediate and Advanced Fluency Adaptations-Independently students
will create a mini book describing apples:

Apples Apples smell_________.

Apples look_________.

Apples feel_________.

Apples sound________.

Apples taste________.

Homework Tiered for Language Acquisiton Stages:

Preproduction: Students will label the parts of an apple on a worksheet.

Early Production: Students will create a list of apple dishes they enjoy. They
will search through magazines to look for different types of pictures of apple dishes
to create a collage. Examples: Applesauce, apple pie, apple juice, apple muffin,
baked apple, candy apple, etc.

Speech Emergence: Review Vocabulary: round, sweet, tart, juicy, hard, crisp,
crunch ripe, shiny, delicious, skin, core, seeds, Mc Intosh, Golden Delicious,
Granny Smith, Red Delicious

Eat An Apple

Eat an apple. (bring hand to mouth)
Save the core. (close hand in fist)
Plant the seeds. (bend down and touch ground)
And grow some more. (extend arms out)

Applesauce
(tune: "Yankee Doodle")

Peel an apple.
Cut it up.
Put it in a pot.
When you do,
You will find,
It's applesauce we've got!

Intermediate Fluency: Students can choose to practice reading independent
or with a parent any of the following stories:

Ten Apples Up -Dr. Seuss

The Apple Pie Tree –Zoe Hall

The Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein

Apples-Gail Gibbons

Big Red Apple- Tony Johnston

I Am an Apple-Jean Marzollo

How Do Apples Grow? Betsy Maestro

Ten Red Apples-Pat Hutchins

Advanced Fluency: Students will conduct a survey with family members on their
favorite type of apples and apple treats. *More Advanced: In addition to the survey
students will build a case for why the apple should be given the title “Best Fruit”!