Planning for English Language Learners at Every Level

“Egypt gave birth to what later would become known as 'Western Civilization.” -John Henrik Clarke

How did the Egyptians influence our lives? Let me count the ways!!!

To do this I will teach a lesson on ‘A Day in the Life of an Egyptian.” During this lesson I will have students read a short story detailing the life of both a Nobleman and a Farmer. The story will detail items in the home, clothing, jobs, etc in conjunction with the use of pictures to visually describe the world of the Egyptian.  Then the student will do the same for a day in their life (1).

Let’s face it...when the world of ESL standards mixes ‘students of various linguistic and cultural backgrounds (2)’ in one classroom, teaching can get pretty tricky. Good news though, there are strategies to help not only our ELL students develop their English Language Proficiency, but also help our native speakers achieve even more.

So what’s the MAGIC combination? Well, not so much magic, just some pretty cool strategies. Here is how I will incorporate in my lesson plan to get the BIGGEST BANK FOR MY BUCK (because who wouldn't want that?).

• Vocabulary - I will introduce the following vocabulary words: Farmer, nobleman, meal, servant, jewelry, bedding, clothing, basket, lamp, lotus, reeds, kilt, linen, temple. I will then show the vocabulary in conjunction with an image to support the meaning.
• Guided Interaction- We will read the stories as a class and write down on the board which vocabulary items were written in the text. Then we will find the images that correlate to the vocabulary. In order to increase attention and participation I will let the students know that we will be assigning images to text by calling on students randomly and that they can ‘dial a friend’ if they get stumped and collaborate with them to reach an answer.
• Authentic Assessment: I will have the student break up into groups and ask them to read the story again, but this time the vocabulary words will be missing. They will be asked to write/draw in the vocabulary words in the spaces provided.
• Explicit Instruction - In order to check for understanding, I will ask the students to detail the events/objects in their daily routine and return to class prepared to share. They will detail the following in 1-2 sentences for each category as follows: Sleeping area, first meal of day, travel to school, classroom, returning home, final meal of day, bedtime routine.
• Meaning-Based Context- We will have each student share their day in groups. During review of student’s individual story they will identify how it is similar to a day in the life of an egyptian. What is similar? What is different? and will be asked to write the group responses down. As a class we will chart responses on the board in two respective columns (using text and pictures)
• Use of Visuals/Modeling- I will have students support their stories by illustrating their personal vocabulary, such as drawing their bed and what they ate for breakfast. They will be provided with an array of ways to do this: art supplies, magazines, computer/printer, etc. (3).

So, that concludes the magic portion of my lesson. Now I need to produce the rabbit from the hat (so to speak) in order to adapt my lesson for four separate students at four different stages of their language acquisition:

Stage I: Pre-production

I will partner this student with a fluent English speaker to complete the task. During the reading of the story this student will be given a handout with the rest of the students, but the handout will already have the vocabulary highlighted with a picture provided. Next to the text will be a line and next to the picture a box of equal size. The student will be asked to copy the word and picture in the corresponding spaces.

For the at home portion, the student will be given a handout (same as the rest of the class), but the handout will have all the sentences filled in except for spaces for a word and picture is to be filled in for each category. On the right side of the page there will be common vocabulary and images already provided (bed, breakfast, toothbrush/bath) that the student just has to transfer to the written text completing the story.

Stage II: Early production

For this student they will also be paired with a fluent English Language speaker. Their handouts will be the same as for Stage I, but instead of the words/images being provided for the storytelling portion, the vocabulary/images will be provided on the side. For the take home portion the student will have to write/draw their responses themselves. During the group collaboration portion, with the help of their partner they will share their personal story to be used for the group to further discuss similarities/differences.

Stage III: Speech emergence

The student’s handout for the storytelling will have the story only, with no vocabulary or images filled in. For the at home portion they will be given a handout with the description of what is to be completed along with a brief description of each category to be filled out in chronological order. During the group section they will actively participate in the conversation on similarities/differences.

Stage IV: Intermediate fluency

The student’s handout for the story will be blank as in the previous stage. In addition, to the right of the page each vocabulary word will have a space to write some additional descriptive words used in the story to describe the vocabulary. For example, if the story says, ‘The farmer slept on bedding that was rough and made of straw.’ the student can fill in the blank space next to BEDDING  with words like ‘rough’ and ‘straw.’

For the take home portion, the handout will describe the assignment, but offer no additional aids. During the group portion the student will actively participate in the discussion on similarities/differences and may be called upon to share either their personal story of ideas(4).

“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” -Colin Powell

MY DREAM: Be creative in finding ways to meet my students at their level and working to bring them up to a level they can be proud of academically and socially. Ta Da!!!

Work Cited:

1. Egyptian Life. (n.d.). Egyptian Life. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/life/story/main.html
2. WHAT LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS DO STATES USE TO SERVE ENGLISH LEARNERS? (2011, November). Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://www.ncela.us/files/uploads/5/LIEPs0406BR.pdf
3. Six Key Strategies for English Language Learners. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://suu.edu/ed/fso/resources/esl-six-key-strategies.pdf
4. Stages of Second Language Acquisition. (n.d.). Stages of Second Language Acquisition. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/language_stages.php