K-12

Working with English Language Learners in the Classroom

According to a national census in 2000, almost twenty percent of the population in America speaks a language other than English in the home. With this fact in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising that that there are a lot of children in school who may not speak or understand English very well. In fact, in some schools, one out of every four children is an English language learner. Unfortunately, this situation presents challenges for both students and teachers.

For the teachers, English language learners usually require more individual time, attention and creative teaching. And, if the class is large, providing these things can be a difficult task. For the student, the language barrier makes everything from asking questions and learning the material to socializing with other students a constant struggle. That is why building basic speaking, writing and reading skills is such an important part of working with English language learners.

One of the best ways to develop reading and oral comprehension skills is through computer programs. With a computer program, a student can listen to words, play games and read entertaining material with interactive activities. In addition to entertaining and teaching the student, many of these programs can generate progress reports for the teacher and help children become proficient computer users. They can also be used independently which frees up a little of the teacher’s time.

There are also good strategies for developing writing and speaking skills in the classroom. For example, if you want to accelerate a student’s speaking skills, be sure to ask them questions that require more than a yes or no answer and encourage them to share things about their culture with the class. This exercise enriches the class’s understanding and builds confidence in an ELL student. As they learn, keep in mind that grammar mistakes can be a sign or development rather than signs of failure.

The best way to develop writing skills is simply through practice. Start off with letter-tracing worksheets and slowly move to free-hand words and sentences. Have the kids write things that they want to like stories or notes to friends and parents. That will help them see how useful the skill can be and encourage individual effort.

ELL students definitely have a harder task than English-speaking students when it comes to education because they are struggling to understand and master the English language in addition to learning the new material covered in the curriculum. On the other hand, teachers need to careful to give the English-speaking students sufficient time and attention too.

If you are looking for an effective tool for teaching English language learners, Scholastic (http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/zipzoom/) has just the thing you need. More than 7,500 children have used and loved Zip Zoom English. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.

Teaching Young Readers at School and at Home

Learning to read is a large and difficult task, but children can learn the skill quicker when properly guided by caring teachers and parents. There are several components of guided reading. It is usually taught in a small group of three to six students and the teacher provides an introduction to the material, reading strategies and assistance when the children need it. After everyone has read through the material, the teacher also tries to elicit a response from the students by asking questions about the text or starting a discussion.

In addition to providing the one-on-one attention that students need as they learn to read, guided reading creates a comfortable team environment for learning and teaching. The whole process also teaches children how to approach an unfamiliar text, get through difficult sections and review the material at the end. This is a valuable skill in and of itself because they will need to learn how to select reading material and draw lessons out of what they read in the future.

Praise is an important part of guided reading because it balances out the correction and feedback that students receive. Being recognized and praised for their achievements also builds confidence and makes reading an enjoyable experience.

Before guided reading even begins, teachers, parents and students need to find good books at the appropriate reading level. After all, when the story is too difficult for children to read, it is easy for them to get confused and frustrated. They will also lose sight of the plot which makes reading more boring for beginners.

Guided reading is primarily used by teachers, but there are ways that parents can encourage children to develop their reading skills at home as well. For example, taking the time to read bedtime stories or and a couple small books during the day can make books more attractive to your child. Obviously, building a family library will make it easier for your children to access those books. If you can’t afford to stock a couple book shelves, libraries are still a great place to find the books your children love. It might not be as fast as finding literature online, but children appreciate holding concrete objects and looking at the colorful pictures in lower-level books.

Reading is a skill that children will use for the rest of their lives. It will impact their education, their opportunities and the enjoyment they find in literature. That is why the learning process is worth all the time and resources teachers and parents can afford to provide.

Scholastic (http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/guidedreading/) has all the resources that teachers need to conduct guided reading in their classrooms. There are also reading lists that the students and parents can use independently at home. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.

Geocaching Makes Walking Fun for Physical Education Classes

Walking is one of the best exercises for lifetime fitness. But let’s face it – plain old walking can be a boring proposition for students. As a result, the canny physical education teacher will find ways to make a walk more exciting.

Thanks to modern technology, there is now a fun activity that combines satellite navigation, orienteering, computer skills, treasure hunting…and walking. It’s a super cross-curricular game that your students will love.

Called “geocaching,” (pronounced “geo cashing”) it makes use of GPS units to find prizes hidden by other geocachers.

WHAT IS A GPS?

GPS stands for “Global Positioning System” and these handheld electronic units make use of satellites to pinpoint your latitude and longitude to within three meters. A GPS will help you navigate from your current position to another location using their built-in maps and instructions.

GPS units cost anywhere from $100 and up. As an alternative, some Blackberry units can be GPS-enabled. You can download “Geocache Navigator” for free for 60 days. For more information, see the “Blackberry.Geocaching” website.

However, the big surge in GPS use will come when regular GPS-enabled cell phones hit the market. It is estimated that 500 million such cell phones will be in use, worldwide, by 2012.

GEOCACHING – HOW TO GET STARTED

To start a geocaching quest, log in to the “Geocaching” website. Enter the postal code of your area and you’ll see several local cache locations, each with a short verbal description, a level of difficulty and a location shown on the Google Map website.

To get your GPS co-ordinates, you must first register (it’s free). You can then receive the GPS longitude and latitude co-ordinates. An example might be N43o40.110′W083o23.378′

Your job as a geocacher is to enter the co-ordinates into your GPS unit, then follow the directions to the cache. This will involve a nice hike for your students.

Before embarking on your quest, you could give a cross-curricular lesson on latitude, longitude and satellites…not to mention the use of the world wide web.
ONCE YOU FIND YOUR LOCATION – WHAT TO DO?

Your GPS will get you within 6 to 20 feet from your target. You then have to search to find the cache, which usually will be a plastic container.

Most containers will contain a dollar-store item such as a plastic animal, pencil or measuring tapes. They will also contain a logbook that you can read, and then sign. Seeing who else has been to the cache is half the fun. Take the prize, then replace it with a prize of your own.

CLASS LOGISTICS

You can go geocaching with your entire class, or split into groups, as long as each group has a supervisor. Also, you could also establish a cache or two of your own, in a location you know to be safe and easily accessible.

The good thing about a GPS is that it’s hard to get lost when you have one in your hand. It will leave a trail of “bread crumbs” as you walk – little dots on the display screen that show you how to retrace your steps. However, it’s also good to bring a compass, just in case the GPS batteries die.

And the best thing about geocaching? It will get your students walking – and make it fun at the same time!

Dick Moss (editor@peupdate.com) is the publisher of PE Update.com – a website that keeps physical educators and coaches up-to-date on over 40 sports, fitness and coaching topics. The website also provides a free newsletter, blog and sample articles. Check it out at: www.peUpdate.com

Software Technology Helping English-Language Learners

It’s a face of America that shows no slow down — new immigrants finding new lives in the states are bringing children who face the learning curve of both, getting through regular educational material, and learning a second language. And it’s not something that simply effecting big city metros either, immigrant populations are spreading throughout Middle America, into its small towns and local districts.

This new swath of Americans creates a big obstacle for educators in the classroom and for parents at home teaching these new English-language learners. There are basically two fronts — the new students need to learn how to speak English and they need to learn how to read. The advantage of this is that software plays a great role by introducing both at the same time. Technology provides a tool that can be used at school and at home with learning software.

What Software Can Facilitate in English Instruction

Software has the capacity as a multi-media tool that gives both visual and audio instruction. So that means that you can show how English in constructed in speaking and how speaking is arranged through English words and letters. As an example, instruction software can play an interactive animation where labels and simple English are used. Names of family members can be introduced with their talking image and spelled out name where the English-language learner can be asked to choose in order who the mother is, or who the brother is etc and so on. It’s the synergized coupling of spoken words with the written word meaning that makes a lesson like this so powerful.

On the instructors end, software provides an easy way to gather metrics on student’s scores, where their strong point lie, where they need help while showing how they progress is in the usual class subjects. And often the usual elementary subjects can be taught simultaneously teaching English.

The computer, in all its wonderment, still cannot take everything away that books have to offer. But the combining of a core reading program and computer software gives an extra shot of enlightenment for English-language learners since many books can come with a supplemental media to quiz and challenge the new reader. It often comes as a CD or DVD to run on a drive.
Since teachers need to double their efforts to teach both their usual subject and their English learning students, the software platform will also provide a time to have the teacher work on those who are at a higher level of English speaking.

Scholastic (http://www.teacher.scholastic.com/products/zipzoom/) has a powerful program for called Zip Zoom. This program combines the power of multi-media software, book learning and teacher instruction. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.

Danger Areas in School Gymnasium and Sport Facilities

Safety is a concern to education administrators in today’s lawsuit-happy society. It should be of particular concern around a school gymnasium because the gym is an area that generates a large number of student injuries.

Unfortunately, injuries are often the result of common but inconspicuous equipment and facility hazards.

To identify some typical injury risks, I contacted Cliff Knuff, a consultant who performs school safety checks as part of his duties with The Vinyl Doctor out of Val Caron, Ontario. Described below are some of the safety hazards Cliff often sees in the course of his safety inspections.

1. VOLLEYBALL NETS & FIXTURES
a. The welds that connect the angled supports to the bottom of volleyball posts often become broken and jagged. These can be re-welded and covered with a protective plastic covering.

b. The crank used for tightening the volleyball net is often at a student’s eye-level. They can be replaced with a collapsible handle and lowered to an area near the floor, within the angled supports where they will cause little damage.

c. The holes in the gym floor that accept the volleyball and badminton posts are often lost or left flipped up. They can trip students and break fingers if fallen upon.

2. MATS
The vinyl covering on mats often cracks and becomes worn, exposing the rough, webbed “scrim” beneath. This rough surface can cause cuts and abrasions. And the covering on old mats often flakes off. These flakes can end up in a student’s eye. The solution is to either replace these mats or to have them re-covered.

3. STORAGE AREAS
Equipment is often hastily and dangerously put away. A good example is a volleyball standard placed upright on a mat. Any student tugging on the mat is in danger of being struck by the volleyball standard. Another problem is placement of equipment on the floor, requiring students to walk on top of it to access the rest of the room.

In addition to safety hazards, improper storage may cause hundreds of dollars of damage to equipment each year. A common example is equipment left on top of mats or lying atop deflated balls. The result can be torn covers, reduced cushioning in mats and the need for frequent replacement.

A few minutes spent educating your students on proper replacement of equipment could prevent some of this damage.

4. JUNGLE GYMS AND CLIMBERS
Hazards include exposed hardware such as nuts, bolts, and worn or loose pulleys, fasteners, cables and locking devices. All hardware should be tightened and exposed fasteners can sometimes be relocated or given a protective plastic covering. Also check that mats – not just carpeting – are placed beneath such climbers.

5. Gymnasium Walls
Hazards on gym walls include fi re extinguishers and their fastening hooks, electrical panels with doors that pop open, unpadded walls and stage edges beneath basketball backboards, and storage doors beneath stages that pop open or have exposed hardware that can be bumped against.

INSPECTION TIPS
If you plan to perform a walk-around inspection yourself, Cliff has a good tip. Look at your facilities from the eye level of your students – even if it means getting down on your hands and knees. Schools were built and are maintained by adults, and it’s easy to overlook situations that are safe for us but are a hazard for people half our size.

A PROFESSIONAL INSPECTION – ADVANTAGES
You might also wish to have a professional safety inspection performed. There are several advantages to having professionals perform your inspection.
First, such companies know what hazards to look for and may identify situations you have overlooked.

Second, in the event of a lawsuit, you can use a professional inspection as evidence that you do take careful precautions to ensure a safe building.

Third, some schools have apparently received reductions in insurance premiums as a result of having an inspection performed.

And finally, you’ll know yourself that you’ve done everything possible to ensure a safe environment for your students.

Dick Moss (editor@peupdate.com) is the publisher of PE Update.com – a website that keeps physical educators and coaches up-to-date on over 40 sports, fitness and coaching topics. The website also provides a free newsletter, blog and sample articles. Check it out at: www.peUpdate.com