RUNNING HEADER: I AS A LEARNER PROJECT

I As A Learner: Project Description and Narrative Reflection

Kortnee Ogbuefi

CIL 621
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I As A Learner: Project Description and Narrative Reflection

The overall goal of my I As A Learner project was to focus on creating new techniques

where I can adjust my teaching to the needs of my English Language Learner students. This

being my first year as an elementary school teacher, I did not fully realize the difficulty I would

face having to teach in a way that caters to the needs of all my students. I began to fully

understand that although we all learn differently, it is important to try to teach in a way where

there is cohesion with the lesson or assessment that way I do not drive myself crazy. As time

went on throughout the semester I began to better understand how I can make simple tweaks in

my lesson plan and choose specific assignments so that my ELL students are picking up the

content and.

My main goal for my project was to learn how to develop a lesson plan that would meet

the needs of my English Language Learners. I believe that this goal was attainable because often

my ELL students rely on partners to help translate or provide further explanations of what I am

teaching. I knew that with the use of group discussion, students would be able to have a thorough

discussion where needs are being met and questions are being answered. I decided to center the

lesson around the text my students would be reading in class, Esperanza Rising. I developed my

lesson plan around Standard RL5.4 because it is a 5th grade standard that requires students to be

able to figure out the meaning of words as described in the text. I knew that this lesson would

allow students to be able to use context clues to define important vocabulary. Also, this would

give students an active use of the terms we have worked on this class such as historical fiction

and geographical setting since this was the first book my students would be reading this term. I

decided to incorporate group work into the lesson plan because I knew that my ELL students
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may benefit from hearing others speak on what they believe their interpretation of the content

vocabulary words meant. It would also help them adjust with working with his class mates and

feeling more comfortable. Lastly, I added creating a visual representation because I noticed that

my students like to doodle and they could use these artistic abilities in a more focused way to

show their thinking visually while still trying to connect the vocabulary words to their images.

Overall, I believe this type of lesson plan will benefit not only any ELL students but an entire

class. This plan allows them to get instruction from myself, discuss with their peers the reading

so they can synthesize ideas, as well as draw out things they may be struggling to say.

I also incorporated the use of assignments that would help strengthen the vocabulary

needs of my ELL students but also be accommodating so that they would understand concepts

better. One was a general assignment in which for six vocabulary words, students had to

complete a four-square sheet in which they needed to input the word, a synonym, a definition, it

used in a sentence as well as a picture representing the word. As a class, we went over the

definitions and I allowed students to work in groups using the internet and dictionaries (Spanish

to English dictionary included) as a resource to come up with the other information and discuss

results. I found that this activity was very helpful for my class as well as ELL students because

needs were being met and students were beginning to connect vocabulary from the book to

content. I assessed the students with a vocabulary quiz and paid close attention to my ELL

students that were able to pass the assessment.

I also provided an individual assignment for an ELL student that I noticed was having a

more difficult time when it came to vocabulary at the beginning of the year. I provided him with

various worksheets that allowed him to get continuous practice on his sight words as well as

letters. One worksheet for example made students use markers to color specific sight words a
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different color. I used this as an adjusted assignment for a student because it was an area he

needed to greatly improve on and I knew that this would help me measure how much he has been

practicing his words at home and whether the content may be connecting for him.

So far in my five months of teaching 5th grade and working with ELL students, I have

realized the importance of creating various ways of understanding for them when it comes to

teaching. At the beginning of the year when I first started teaching at times I felt like I was

talking at some of my students instead of engaging in conversation with them. Through my CIL

621 course at UNLV as well as using other teachers as a heavy resource, I have learned how to

accommodate to others. One of my two biggest take a ways from this project is that groups are

very important to have. It is vital for ELL students to have a buddy and be in small groups where

they get to have a voice amongst a small group as opposed to a large class. It is less intimidating

and it helps when they work with others that know their primary language in case translation is

needed. My other big take away from this project are the use of visuals. Being able to mentally

create a picture of scenes from text or even vocabulary can assist in student learning and fit the

needs for ELL students. The assignments where they had to work in groups or be creative and

use their art skills were the ones I found my ELL students thriving in. Overall, I liked creating

my goals and would suggest my tips to others because it is a great way to create a better social

and more interactive environment in your classroom.