Field Log 3

Throughout my observations of the ESL teachers in my school there have been a plethora of cognitive strategies used. I feel that the ESL teachers in my school have a great understanding of the needs of the children and do everything that they can to make the content relatable. For example, the teachers always try to make connections with the students. This is so important for the students to grasp the content they are learning. They also read aloud a lot of the material and they always preview it. When it comes to metacognitive, these are also used in the lessons that I have observed. Like I previously stated the teachers understand what the students need in order to grasp the content.

One lesson in particular that I recall was a reading lesson with 3rd graders. The teachers were reading an article from the Finish Line workbook. It was about school in history. They were reading about a one room schoolhouse and what it was like to attend school like that. The teachers stopped after each paragraph and summarized what they previously read. The teacher used a strategy called the 5 fingers. This strategy uses the students hand and they name the 5 W’s (Who, What, Where, When, and Why). This assists the students with coming up with the main idea and a summary of the passage. This strategy and constantly summarizing as they read allows the students to keep track and comprehend the text.

As I was looking through the students portfolios, I noticed that the teachers used grammar sheets to assist he students with learning different tenses. There was a worksheet that they completed that the student had to select the plural form of the word to complete a sentence. I noticed that there were two of the same worksheet and the teacher explained to me that they completed one as a pre assessment to see what the students already knew. They them completed it again after teaching lessons on the plural form of words. The students then graded the work themselves and saw how much they have learned. This was something that I felt was great for the kids because it is allowing them to see that their hard work is paying off.

Throughout the observations, the teachers have used each form of scaffolding. They used verbal, procedural, and instructional scaffolds. They are very mindful of their speech when they are servicing their students. I know the teachers personally and they are fast speakers. When it comes to teaching their kids, they are very aware of their rate of speech. Modeling is done throughout every lesson. This is so important for the students so the teachers are sure to do this as much as possible.

The teachers are sure to challenge the students as well. They want to make sure that they are moving up levels and are sure to push the students to where they are able to gain more knowledge. When the teachers are conducting push in sessions, they often have computers with them so that they can pull up visuals at any time for their students or find a video that can help bridge the gap between what the content area teacher is teaching and the ELL students knowledge. Overall, I feel that the teachers use many different strategies to make sure that the content is accessible to all of their ELL students. The teachers are compassionate and caring and want the best for their students and to push them to their fullest potential.