I have been placed in a second grade classroom with a lot of ESL students. I think it would be safe to say that at least two-thirds of the classroom is made up of ESL students. In the classroom there is also a huge range of ability. For example, during math time the kids are working on simple subtraction. Some kids understand it, some don't. There are two girls, however, who are working on two and three digit multiplication problems. I would say that is a big gap. Also, during reading and writing time, some kids can form their own sentences while some students can't even pair up upper and lowercase letters.
When I arrive at the classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays the children are grouped into three groups, slightly based on their level of knowledge. There is a reading group, and writing group, and one other group I haven't been able to sit in on yet. During the reading group I assist the push-in reading teacher with her students. My first day I helped to elicit answers from the children pertaining to the project they were working on. Once elicited, I would write the sentence on a white board and they would copy it into their journals. The second day I just helped any student who needed help writing a sentence on "the funniest part in the book" and another sentence on their favorite holiday. During these activities I don't use any specific strategies because I don't have time to plan before hand because I am never sure what they'll be doing. I do use what I have learned in my speech classes to elicit responses though.
My coordinating teacher said that Tuesdays I will be working individually with one child who "uses baby talk but is well aware of it." While Thursdays will probably be devoted to math time. The teacher said that I might work with the girls who are ahead of the class while she works with the struggling students.
Because of her tight schedule I am not finding any time to plan my own lesson or assess any students, but that could change with time. I am enjoying what she has me doing now though and just helping out with any student or sitting down with one and making sure they are on track, because as a speech pathologist I may be doing things of that sort if I happen to work in a school.
That does seem to be a really large learning gap between the students in the classroom! But it's awesome that you will be able to work individually with one student. You'll learn so much from the opportunity and it will make it so much easier to think of strategies to do with the child once you get to know them. I am always working with groups of students in my placement and wish that I can have the chance to work one-on-one with them just to get to know them better. Either way, it's all good practice.
ReplyDeleteI agree that that's a huge learning gap, but hopefully it will begin to shrink as the year comes to a close.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about not being able to plan lessons quite yet. I didn't until about half way through last semester, when both the teacher and the students got to know me better. Sometimes, the one-on-one help with individual students is more beneficial to them, anyway.
I'm really excited to hear what happens with the student that uses baby talk. I haven't come across an issue like that before, so keep us posted on how you handle it!