Capstone  Final  Project  Gail  Walker  

       

             

My name is Gail Walker. I am a candidate for a Master’s of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Nebraska - Omaha in Spring 2014. I have been the school librarian at Liberty Elementary School in the Omaha Public Schools (OPS) for the past two years. My prior education experience in Illinois spanned 15 years of teaching in a range of grades through middle school. Liberty Elementary School is located in the heart of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Liberty serves 655 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade. The student population is 63% Hispanic, 16% Caucasian, 15% African American, 1% Native American, 4% multi-racial and .2% Asian. 50.77% of our students are part of the English Language Learners (ELLs) program. The Free and Reduced Lunch rate is 94.5%.

My student is a male, twelve year old, 5th grader, from Nepal. His native language is Nepali in which he is a proficient reader. He has limited skill in speaking and reading English.

Bimal receives 25 minutes of newcomer instruction a day. During small group instruction for newcomers, emphasis is placed on American culture, sentence building, vocabulary and guided reading. Bimal is an energetic and very personable student that likes books about science, culture, world maps and flags. He’s always anxious to point out where his country of origin is on the map. Despite his motivation and good disposition, Bimal continues to struggle with the concepts of reading, writing and speaking English. Strategies and interventions continue to be targeted toward addressing his deficits.

Bimal represents the 4th largest refugee population in OPS. Refugees represent 3.8% of the overall student population. According to the 2013 -14 District English Language Learner/Refugee Report, 15,800 students in OPS speak 109 different native languages in their homes. The overall refugee population is up by 84%. With this trend continuing, it impacts the services and programs needed by students in OPS.

School Mission Statement Liberty school’s overall mission is aligned with that of OPS in the

commitment to educational equity for all students, staff and patrons of

the school system. In all places and in all activities of OPS, it is expected

that every individual will be treated in a fair and equitable manner. All

conduct will reflect a belief in the dignity and value of each person

regardless of the individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual

orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, citizenship

status, or economic status.

As for English Language Learners (ELLs), the mission of OPS is to

provide specialized instruction that develops the students’ abilities to

read, write, speak and understand English. OPS respond to the needs of

the ELL by providing support for the maintenance of the students’ first

language and pride in their cultural heritage.

                         

 

Reading  and  Critical  Thinking    

• There  are  approximately  5.5  millions  Students  attending  U.S.  public  schools  whose  native  or  first  language  is  not  English.  

• English  Language  Learners  (ELLs)  are  likely  to  have  reading  difficulties  with  English  word  identification  and  comprehension.      

Instructional  Resources  • Vocabulary  quilt  • Reading  Selection  • Target  Vocabulary  List  

 Standards  Nebraska Language Arts Standards LA 5.1.4.a – Read phrases, clauses, and sentences that sound like natural language to support comprehension. LA 5.1.5.b – Relate new grade-level vocabulary to prior knowledge and use in new situations American Association of School Librarians (AASL’s) Standards for the 21st Century Learner 1.1.6 – Read, view and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.      Objectives    English Language Learners (ELL) will recognize and define target vocabulary in their second language (English) using the background of the native language as a resource to make connections.                

Procedures/Strategies    • Show students how they are to write one word per square from the

targeted vocabulary list. • Now tell students that they are to write or draw in their own

language whatever comes to mind when they hear the word.

• Have students work together to generate a definition for each word and record it on a sticky note top put on the quilt.

• Student groups share with others the definitions they generated.

 Assessment  Students’  learning  will  be  assessed  by  their  accuracy  with  recognizing,  pronouncing  and  defining  the  new  words  on  the  established  “vocabulary  quilt.”    

     

     

Writing  and  Collaboration  –  Communication      Writing  collaboratively  is  reported  by  English  language  learners  (ELLs)  to  be  enjoyable  and  contributes  to  better  learning  of  the  second  language.    Instructional  Resources    

• Copies  of,  Keeping  Up  With  Cheetah  (  an  English,  Nepali  translation)  

• A  completed  “Vocabulary  Quilt”  • List  of  English/Nepali  vocabulary  words  from  the  text.  • A  class  wiki  

   Standards  Nebraska Language Arts Standards LA 5.3.3.c – Interact and collaborate with others in learning situations by contributing questions, information, opinions, and ideas using a variety of media and formats LA 5.2.2.a – Write for a specific purpose (e.g., story with pictures, factual book, alphabet book, poem, letter) American Association of School Librarians ( AASL’s) Standards for the 21st Century Learner 3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively. 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. 3.2.3 Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others.  

     Objectives  

Students will…

• Work collaboratively to read and write • Improve English fluency and learn new vocabulary in

their second language • Practice the writing process by writing an acrostic poem

in collaboration with other group members • Learn how to access and post information on an online

shared document (wiki).

   

         

Writing  and  Collaboration  -­  Communication    Procedures  and  Strategies  

• Students  will  collaboratively  write  an  acrostic  poem  in  English  about  the  things  they  like  about  their  favorite  friend  starting  with  the  words  BEST  FRIEND  written  vertically.  

• Students  will  will  post  the  completed  poem  on  a  wiki;  they  will  read  in  English  the  line  they  added  and  the  second  time,  read  the  poem  chorally  

   Assessment  Observe  how  students’  contributions  to  each  line  of  the  poem  demonstrates  their  understanding  of  the  main  idea  and  elements  of  the  story.                          

                                     

 Digital  Literacy  and  Creativity  

 The  opportunity  to  express  oneself  creatively  using  digital  tools  may  be  one  of  the  tasks  an  ELL  can  do  with  a  measure  success  as  they  are  on  the  path  to  English  language  development.  Literature  suggests  that  interactive,  web-­based  instructional  tools  used  with  ELLs  improve  their  grammar,  vocabulary,  sentence  writing  and  reading  in  the  second  language.  It  also  improves  their  digital  literacy  and  encourages  creativity.    Instructional  Resources  

• English/Nepali  translations  of  text  • I-­Movie  and  GarageBand  applications  • List  of  English/Nepali  vocabulary  words  from  the  text  

 Standards    Nebraska  Language  Arts  Standards  LA  6.3.1.a  –  Communicate  ideas  and  information  in  a  manner  appropriate  for  the  purpose  and  setting  LA  6.4.1.f  –  Gather  and  share  information  and  opinions  as  a  result  of  communication  with  others  (ie.,  video/audio  chat,  interview,  podcast,  multimedia  presentations)    American  Association  of  School  Librarians  (  AASL’s)    Standards  for  the  21st  Century  Learner  2.1.6 – Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings. 3.1.3 – Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively.

Objectives Students  will…  

• work  collaboratively  to  develop  a  digital  video  composition.  • transfer  a  writing  assignment  into  a  video  that  utilizes  writing,  audio  and  visual  skills.  

• learn  GarageBand  and  I-­Movie  applications  as  tools  for  visual  and  oral  presentations.  

Digital Literacy and Creativity

Students  will  create  a  digital  composition  to  retell  a  story.  English  Language  Learners  (ELLs)  will  compare  and  contrast  their  culture  of  origin,  as  described  in  the  story,  with  their  present  American  experience.  They  will  retell  the  story  in  English,  paying  close  attention  to  fluency  and  the  use  of  new  vocabulary.  The  digital  composition  will  be  created  using  I-­Movie  and  GarageBand  applications  using  video,  still  images,  voiceover  narration  and  instrumental  music.    Assessment    Observe   how   students’   contributions   to   the   narrative   and  development  of   the  video  demonstrated   their   learning   in   their  second  language  and  digital  literacy.  

   

 My  21  Reflections  

 I  recognize  the  challenges  facing  school  districts  with  the  charge  of  addressing  the  21st  Century  learning  needs  of  students  whose  first  language  is  not  English.    I  have  gained  a  heightened  sensitivity  to  the  strategies  and  interventions  used  by  English  as  a  second  language  (ESL)  instructors.    I  have  become  more  intentional  about  connecting  with  ESL  professionals  and  recognizing  them  as  a  valuable  resource.    This  study  has  compelled  me  to  include  in  my  collection  translated  materials  in  languages  that  reflect  all  of  the  languages  spoken  by  our  school’s  ELL  patrons  thus  recognizing  that  many  are  literate  in  their  native  languages  and  make  connections  to  translated  materials.    I  gleaned  an  inordinate  amount  of  knowledge  and  enlightenment  from  the  articles  about  the  21st  century  learning  needs  of  ELLs.    I  learned  that  word  knowledge  and  recognition  are  the  best  indicators  of  an  ELLs  reading  and  critical  thinking  abilities  in  their  second  language.    Varied  creative  teaching  strategies  keep  ELLs  engaged,  motivated  and  feeling  successful.