Interaction for All: Strategies for Increasing Interaction in the Classroom

I have taken a great interest over the last year in how to support English Language Learners (ELLs) in Reading. I felt the need to equip myself with instructional strategies & techniques that I could use in the classroom to advance their academic language proficiency. This became a hot topic for me because in the Fall of 2016, I found out I had two ELLs in my classroom, two months into the school year, when the ESOL teacher popped in to pickup said students for pull out. I stood their in awe as I was totally unaware that they were classified as ELLs. I began to question whether or not I was meeting their academic needs and was I making the necessary accommodations for them to access the curriculum. 

I knew something had to be done. I knew that this could not happen to me in the future, as my job as an educator was to ensue that all scholar's needs were met academically. No where in my studies where there any dialogue around ELLs and how to include them in the learning process. There was a constant struggle, as I did not know who to turn to. I did my best to ensure that they were making progress but I knew I needed to do more. This is where my journey began.

While searching for Professional Development to continue my learning as an educator, I came across a Continuing Professional Development course that was designed to assist mainstream teachers in supporting ELLs across multiple content areas. I knew that this was going to only be the beginning in not only understanding ELLs but learning how to include them in the learning process strategically. 

In this course, I learned so much, that it left me hungry for more. I learned how to create an ELL friendly environment, how to plan engaging instruction for whole group & small group instruction, understood the importance of vocabulary instruction, how to structure reading & writing blocks, and what homework & assessments would look like for ELLs. Finally, I was able to put it all together, by creating a lesson that incorporated the strategies and skills I learned throughout the course. 

"Learning is more effective when students have an opportunity to participate fully."

To my surprise, the strategies & techniques that I learned & studied, throughout this 8 week course, could benefit ALL students not just ELLs. All scholars, including ELLs, can benefit from meaningful dialogue between each other and engaging in critical thinking. Providing opportunities for students to access the thought process of another and solidifying their own bring meaning to their learning.

Here are some activities that I fell in love with and was very eager to implement in my classroom.

Pass the Plate
For this activity, all is needed is a plate & markers. The teacher will write a related word to a particular topic being studied on the plates (all plates have the same word). Scholars are then divided into groups and each group receives a plate and a marker. Allow students to "pass the plate" for two minutes, writing down anything they can think of related to the word on the plate. This great for building background knowledge.

Go to Your Corner!
Label two or more corners of the room with responses, such as true & false, agree & disagree, always/usually/sometimes/never. The teacher then poses questions and scholars go to a corner that is labeled with their responses. Then they will discuss with a partner about their answer. This is great for building background knowledge & reviewing learned material. 

Take a Stand
Much like "go to your corner" but with less movement involved. Scholars remain in their seats as the teacher poses questions related to the unit of study. Scholars who agree with the statement, stands up and then talk to a partner about their answer.

Read & Retell
Scholars are given a reading selection on their level. The teacher identifies 10 key words related to the topic from the reading. As scholars read the selection, they write down the keywords in the order that they appear in the text. Scholars then use the keywords to retell what they read to a partner. After each partner has had a chance to retell, scholars individually use the keywords to write a summary.

Jigsaw
Jigsaw reading task into manageable chunks. The teacher would number the scholars in each group (1-4 or 5). Each group will have a specific section to read. These expert groups then discuss their reading and share ideas. The original group reconvene, discuss the whole text and share their expertise.

Number Heads Together
Just like jigsaw without forming expert groups.Each scholar works on a portion of a text and then share out what they have learned with the group. 

Roundtable
This is great for open-ended  questions & grammar practice. Scholars are grouped in groups of 4-5 at tables. Scholars will need a piece of paper and pencil/pen. A question is posed by teacher and scholars pass the paper around the table, each writing their own response. 

These strategies really stood out to be because it required little to no preparation and can be implemented in various stages of the learning process. Students are thinking outside of the box, collaborating with their peers & utilizing their academic vocabulary all at the same time. 

Give one a try and see how the learning in your classroom is shifted from teacher centered to more scholar centered. Scholars begin to take ownership for their learning. All scholars can contribute in each activity regardless of their academic abilities.

I would love to hear anymore strategies that you use in your class to have students interact with each other across content areas. Leave them in the comments below. 

3rd Grade: The BIG Beast!

Everyone knows that entering kindergarten, middle school, and high school are major milestones in a scholar's life. But there is one transition that occurs that people rarely talk about. The one transition that parents freak out over. The transition level from 2nd to 3rd grade is a major transition and nobody is talking about it.

I have been teaching 3rd grade for 3 years now and many of my parents express how they were not prepared for this BIG transition. Scholars are being introduced to standardized testing, there is an increase in responsibilities and their social development is shifting. Third grade is deemed the "beast" of all grades. Let's take a look at what's really going on!

Parents are getting a glimpse of the young adult their scholar is becoming. Scholars at this time, want to learn what it means to be independent but don't want to be too far from mommy and daddy. Social media and their peers, become a BIG influence in the choices that they make when it comes to the types of clothes they want to wear, the kind of music they listen to and also the kind of extracurricular activities they want to get involved in.

Let's put this into perspective and look at this through a closer lens. Scholars are experiencing a newness and parents are not clear of what this newness is. So, I have summed it up for us. 

Challenging & Complex 

The level of work becomes challenging and complex, as students are beginning to prepare for standardized testing. The reading passages become tougher and the writing becomes longer. Students are now "reading to learn" instead of "learning how to read". Scholars are expected to use multiple reading strategies to navigate through difficult texts and synthesize information learned to answer a prompt of some sort. They are "writing to communicate" instead of "learning to write". Assignments now are requiring your scholar to be proficient. 

Sense of Independence & Being Responsible 

Scholars are learning how to take ownership of their learning by being responsible and paying attention to details. The way scholars work, has shifted from teacher led to student led. Scholars are expected to use strategies learned in class more independently to make meaning of their own learning. There is the pressure of doing well and meeting high expectations. Because of this, many scholars become caught up in wanting to become perfectionists. Some begin to believe that everything they do is a measurement of their level of success. Scholars learn how to overcome a hurdle that if they fall behind it takes a lot more work to catch up. Scholars are beginning to learn consequences from their lack of effort. 

Parents ask me all the time how can they help their scholar with this BIG transition. There are many ways parents can help their scholar counteract the frustration of 3rd grade and bring a balance at home and at school. The one thing that I stress to all my parents is to not be the problem solver but to help their scholar find solutions to help navigate through 3rd grade. Here are some tips that I have shared with my parents over the years. 

• Offer your scholar words of encouragement & praise their efforts
• Remind your scholar that standardized test scores & grades do not  measure their level of future success but are tools to aid in ensuring that he/she is understanding what is being taught. These are used to measure their readiness for the next grade.
• Explain to your scholar that struggles are part of the learning process. Teachers are pushing your scholar's potentials so they can rise up and meet the high expectations. It is a way to pave the road for harder transitions. 
• Find books your scholar likes to read. This is a great time to introduce great reading series like "I Survive" or "Magic Treehouse". Encourage your scholar to read a variety of books. This will help in building background knowledge and see the world through different lenses.  "Easy" books still bring value. As long as he/she is reading,  that is all that matters. 
• Keeping a journal at home to document new & exciting things going on their lives is good too. This is a great way of practicing to write to communicate and build your scholar's writing stamina. 

Rest assure, the roller coaster of emotions & the honeymoon period doesn't last forever and wears off around December. The biggest way to be at ease with this transition, is to stay in constant communication with your scholar's teachers. By doing so, you send the message to your scholar that you and the teacher are working together to help them be successful. 

Continue to encourage your scholar to do their best work and strive for excellence.