February 21st Post- Kelcie

This week I noticed a theme that has been recurring throughout our readings. The emphasis of re-vamping ELL instruction is a hugely popular topic, and I find myself wondering why this is a new revelation. In my first experience working in a classroom I was placed in an 8th grade ELL classroom. The teacher was phenomenal, and I felt like her instruction really aligned with what I am reading in these articles; especially the Avalos article. The modified guiding reading strategy is a large component of how she teaches her class, and I was lucky to be a witness to it. While the students read the basal reading book they were occasionally stopped and asked to identify the word they found most difficult to understand/pronounce. All of the students were encouraged to participate, and because they were all working in the same open atmosphere they were open and happy to share. As a strategy to encourage them to share and to participate in word work and responding to the text, myself and my teacher also shared out. The students found it comforting that their teacher and classroom aid were willing to participate, and were therefore more open to participating themselves. This reminds me of shared reading strategy that Avalos discussed.

I hope that what I experienced in this classroom is what is expected across districts. I understand the difficulty that faces ELL students, and wish there was a way to better incorporate the learning they need in a traditional classroom. There is no reason, however, that ELL students should not be fully integrated into their respective classrooms. I feel that the example provided in the Mohr article represents how an ELL student is thought to be a part of a classroom, but also shows how the teacher neglects her duty to said student. This is an example of a student who is included in a program that is only pushing her along rather than engaging her and pushing for her to excel in the acquisition of English. These articles, especially the Mohr article demonstrate that as teachers it is important to pay close attention and expect from an ELL student the same participation and dedication to work as an English speaking student. I hope that I will be able to use these strategies and help my future ELL students along as they come and go in my classroom. I hope to be able to work efficiently with my co-workers to provide the best learning atmosphere as suggested by Avalos and Mohr.