My first classroom observation took place on Wednesday, September 28th with Mrs. Cox, an elementary ESL professional. I chose to observe in this setting because all of my previous experience has been with adolescent English language learners. I was only able to observe for a little over an hour because I had to schedule my observation during my planning time. However, following this experience, I've decided that I would like to spend an entire day shadowing Mrs. Cox as soon as possible. In the short time that I was with her I was able to observe her working with three different groups of students. Her schedule is packed and I am sure that spending just one day with her will provide me with a great deal of insight into working with elementary ESL students. I truly enjoyed the brief time I had with Mrs. Cox and her students, but I have to admit that the time constraints that they were forced to adhere to left me feeling a little overwhelmed. Below are my notes and observations from the two lessons I was able to observe. I wasn't able to stay to observe the final group of students, but hopefully I will get a chance to see them in action next time.
Teaching
What was the purpose of the lesson?
The purpose of the lesson I was able to view in its entirety was to develop literacy skills including reading fluency and comprehension and to help students to use their imagination and evidence from the texts to make predictions.
How was the lesson structured –methodology, appropriateness,materials for second language learners, adaptations?
The lesson was a read-aloud session between the ESL student and a kindergarten student. The teacher chose an age appropriate text and took time to pause and model asking questions about the text. The purpose of the text was to encourage imagination. The teacher also took the time to point to visuals and illustrations for words that might be unfamiliar to a second language learner. In the next session the student and teacher will take time to go outside and use their imaginations to create sentences about the “animals” they can find in the clouds and trees around the school.
How did the second language learners react and interact?
This learner was very engaged and interacted enthusiastically with the teacher during the reading. Occasionally he needed to be redirected to the reading, but he seemed to enjoy both the literacy experience and the conversations that he engaged in with the teacher.
Community
What evidence of “community” in terms of the second language learner did you observe?
Each of the students seemed to have developed camaraderie as English language learners. They seemed excited to go to ESL class and were sincerely engaged in class activities. When I arrived, one student was having a tough day. She was a newcomer from South Korea and was sharing her frustrations and anxiety with a fellow student and her teacher. There was definitely a sense that the classroom was a safe space to share her burdens.
What is required to become a member of this classroom or learning environment—consider language, literacy, content instruction, materials, etc.?
The requirements for membership in this classroom vary depending on the schedule. All of the students are second language learners, but their language and literacy skills are extremely diverse. For example, the kindergarten students are not yet literate in L1 or L2, but some of them are strong English speakers. In other grades, students may be literate in L1 and/or L2, but their language skills may vary. All of the students receive services targeted at improving both their productive and receptive language skills. The older that the students are, the more likely that their lessons also focus on content instruction and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. The teacher utilized a variety of resources, but leveled readers are used most frequently.
Ethnographic Perspective
What events occurred during your observation – formal interactions and informal
interactions?
When I arrived to Mrs. Cox’s classroom I found that she had taken a break from her current lesson to address the needs of one of her learners. The young girl was crying , but trying desperately to hold herself together. The teacher took the time to explain to the girl that every student is allowed to have a “melt-down” and then wrote the word “melt-down” on a vocabulary card. She also handed her a box of tissues and encouraged her to cry if she needed to. She also encouraged her to tell her regular education teacher when she needed a little time away from class if she was feeling overwhelmed. While allowing the student a moment, the teacher turned to another young lady, and asked her to remember how difficult it was to come to the US as a newcomer. The girl shared about her experiences and both girls were then hugged and sent to class.
After dismissing the girls the teacher followed up with a 3rd grade boy that was working independently on reading comprehension questions from a reader. She checked his work, congratulating him on a job well done and then sent him to class with a fellow classmate that had stopped by the room to pick him up.
After sending these students to class, the teacher and I headed out to the playground to pick up three kindergarten students, two boys and one girl. The teacher had brought a stuffed hen and a big book with the letter “H” out to the playground. On the way in to the classroom the teacher held out the big book and asked students to repeat words beginning with the letter “H.” She gently corrected and redirected one of the boys as he pointed to the “chicken” in the book asking “Can you say “hen”?” Once, inside the classroom the students paused at the door beside a butcher paper cutout with a poem written on it. They recited the poem about rain with careful diction and motions to go along with the words. The teacher then directed the students to sit on the carpet, but was almost immediately interrupted by one of the mainstream kindergarten teachers. She needed two of the students to return to class because their class was scheduled to complete a health screening. One girl and one boy left with their teacher leaving another boy and the teacher to participate in the lesson. The lesson was about imagination. The teacher and the boy read a book about a young girl’s adventure on the walk to school as she imagines seeing jungle animals and trekking through the desert. The teacher often paused to ask questions and allow the learner to make observations and predictions. At the end of the story the teacher explained that the next day they would go outside to find their own adventure and then write a story about it together. The teacher then rewarded the student with a “bee-buck” (a school-wide positive behavior program incentive) for his attentiveness and participation in class that day.
What can an observer see if he/she entered the classroom at this particular time?
An observer in this classroom can see boxes full of books, small tables for reading groups and a carpet. On the wall the teacher has posted three poems, several word walls and other vocabulary visuals. Throughout the course of my observation I saw students seated at the tables working in groups and independently. I also saw students and the teacher seated on the carpet for reading circles.
What evidence of “acceptance and welcome” would a second language learner see?
The students are clearly welcomed by the smile on their teacher’s face when she greets them. The students can also see that the space is theirs to share as there are many manipulatives and classroom objects that they have access to.
