Teaching Portfolio
Here are some ideas that I have learned throughout this class and ideas that I have pulled from my own experiences!
01
Conga Line
This is a teaching method that I learned in our class and that was in the text. This method encourages movement amongst the students, so this allows for the kids to get up and around. This also allows for all students to be able to talk and learn together.
This method stimulates thinking and class collaboration. Students are many times given vocabulary words and then walk around the room and pair up to practice and learn the words. Then students switch and each individual has to go and teach a new student the word.
I also thought about using this in math and working through equations or quick multiplication facts.
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When we did this in class, we also played music which added an interesting spin on things. The music symbolized a loud classroom and forced us to focus in on the information which helped some learn the questions easier and it also made it difficult to focus. I think if I were to use this in the classroom, I would definitely have students work through vocabulary words or questions about our reading.
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For example, if we were reading a text in class. I could create very short questions and have students go around the room and analayze the cards. Overall, this conga line should be a very quick and concise learning process that allows for students to practice repetition and teaching.
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This is an effective method for ELL students because it enhances their oral langauge skills and it betters their writing skills as well. Students have to write their own information as well as share their personal information. However, students must also listen and comprehend their peers information in order to share the information to a new individual.
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02
Brown Bag
This was a "get to know me" activity that I did a lot in class. Originally, teachers would give students a brown bag and have them take it home and fill it with 5 or so things that are important to them or make up themselves.
However, after going through this course, I can see how this may not be an effective method. Some students may have different things that they might bring in that might trigger other students or some individuals may not have things that they can take to school to represent themselves.
Instead, I might assign this as an in class assignment and have students either color/draw, cut out picture and words from magazines, or even use the internet to look up pictures to represent themselves.
This way students could talk about their ethnicity, identity, gender, likes/dislikes, hobbies, etc.
Once the students have all the items collected for their brown bag. Students can then descirbe to their peers why they chose the items that they chose. Overall, I think that this is an effective method to help students interact with their peers and well as get to know themselves and their classmates. This also would help me as a teacher learn about my students.
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This is beneficial for ELL students because there is no rubric to what they need to talk about. Students could talk about their life or their culture or students could show that they don't want to discuss those topics. This is an important example for students to show, so that as a teacher and as a class, we know what students are comfortable sharing. This also helps ELL students better their oral language.
03
I Have ... Who Has
This is a game that any age can play. This game can be played with math facts, vocabulary words, word wall words, and basically anything that has two parts. In the past I have used this to play Spanish/English words, Synonyms/Antonyms, and math facts.
Similar to the conga line, this method could get students up and moving. Students can switch cards and the class can play the game a variety of times. This could be a great method to pair students with new classmates.
The I Have, Who Has method can also lead students to learn ideas similar to the Conga line. Students are continuing to restate and reenforce the ideas that they have already learned and built in class.
This could help ELL students because we could use this to make connections between their native language and the English language. Students could also feel confident to participate in class because the have classroom support and can recognize that everyone is learning together.
04
Clock Buddies
Clock buddies has been something that has been perfected thorughout it's time. I participated in grouping activities like clock buddies and we also read about it in the text.
This is a technique that allows students to get to know their peers and work with a variety of classmates. Students are to go around the room and fill their clock with different classmates names. As a teacher, you could even tie in different classroom engagement activities like "I Have... Who Has" or a get to know me game in order for students to group up.
Students must put their partner on the same number, so that when the teacher calls out clock buddies "2," both individuals have the others name by the number 2.
This allows for a variety of partners and groups as well as some class interaction.
Thiss is a beneficial classroom task for ELL students because they can work on their oral communication while filling out the clock. This also parnters ELL students with a variety of people, so that they can learn from everyone.
This will restrict individuals from constantly partnering with the same individuals and as a teacher you can strategically call out specific clock numbers that you know might help an ELL individuals.
05
Think - Pair - Share
This is a classic method to get students collaborating and sharing their ideas. In my classroom, I would use this technique to help students share out their ideas in a smaller group and this would allow for all students to collect their thoughts to then feel comfortable sharing with the class.
This has a great result that allows for all students to voice their ideas. Think - Pair - Share allows for students to have time to analyze what was asked of them.
This could be extremely beneficial for individuals that we English Learners within the course. Having extra time to think would allow for the students to fully understand the question and have time to think of a response.
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As a teacher, this activity could be well paired with another strategy like clock buddies to specifically pair certain students. This way English learners or students in the course that are struggling might be able to learn from a peer and then feel more comfortable sharing out their ideas in the smaller group setting. Here a student could even feel more comfortable sharing to the whole class if they were already able to bounce their idea off of another student.
06
Escape Rooms
This is a new method of classroom collaboration. I've actually used this technique in a classroom and participated in the activity as both a student and an instructor. Escape rooms are designed for an interactive activity that allows students to potentially get up and moving, but also has students working towards an end solution in a timely manner.
From the teachers point of view, setting up an escape room could be a lot of fun. In the past when I've done this as a student, escape rooms allow for different students to showcase their talents. As a teacher if you were aware that a certain individual is good at art, creative thinking, or something as simple as tying knots, you can incorporate all of these things into the escape room.
One nice thing about having escape room is that it can be as quick as you need it to be. If you need a small filler activity, you can construct a small escape room. However, if you want to make it really exciting for the students, you can make the escape room a whole day or class event. Students would get excited about the lesson, but not focus on the fact that they have to do work as well.
I think this could be a great resource for ELL students because not only are they working in a collaborative environment where they can feel comfortable sharing with their peers but they may feel more comfortable or confident in one of the activities at the escape room could provide. This may be a great method to get LL students participating in activities.
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When I think about how I would use this as a teacher, one great example comes to mind. Say you're working in class and a specific ELL student is really struggling with the material. It can feel very defeating for that student to not be getting the new material. As a teacher you can notice this defeat and create a lesson that allows for the student to feel that he or she or they are still successful in the course. I can imagine it now that a group of students is cheering on an individual for finding the missing piece. Imagine how rewarding that would feel as both a teacher and a student.
07
Alternative Assisngments
As I was thinking about another teacher portfolio or teacher project, I continue to think about what I did while in middle school that I enjoyed. One thing that I remembered was from my six grade English teacher. For every project that we would do, she would have a variety of different formats that students could take to complete the project. I loved this versatility with the assignments, so that I was able to choose which one best connected with me.
As a teacher, I hope that students feel comfortable and confident that they are seen and heard in the lesson planning that I do. With that being said, I understand that every individual may not enjoy drawing a picture to explain what they did last weekend. I know some students may enjoy writing a paper, a journal entry, or a poem instead. Though at certain points students will be required to write some form of a paper or journal entry or poem; I want to give students opportunity to choose assignments that stand out to them.
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For example, in other courses I have seen teachers have a list of different avenues that students can take to complete a project. I think this would be a great way to get students excited about doing the work. When I would hand out a rubric, I would also hand out information about different ideas that I think students could do to complete the project however I would allow students to do different projects if they were inclined to.
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I remember in 6th grade, my class read the book Where The Red Fern Grows. Our teacher was able to tell that we were tired of writing book reports. She then allowed us to do an alternative assignment. The assignment that I chose to do was to construct a diorama of two of my favorite scenes from the book and then present them to the class. I remember having so much fun with this activity that I stayed after school to work more on my diorama period on the day of presenting every student was able to give a different presentation or slideshow to represent what they learned in the book.
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Though I haven't seen this used yet in my new role as a teacher, I have read about it a lot in textbooks. As teachers we need to keep our assignments diverse to excite students as well as capitalize on their differences. I think this will be an effective classroom strategy for ELL students because it would allow for students to showcase their talents in a different format than just reading, writing, and speaking. Also, as a teacher you can block off time in the schedule to allow students to work in the classroom. With a laid-back class scene, students may feel more comfortable collaborating with their peers.
08
Book Buddies
Book Buddies is a classroom activity that can be implemented in any type of setting. The idea of book buddies is to have one individual lesson while another individual reads. This could be used for collaboration between older classes and younger classes or this could be used within the same classroom to benefit either student.
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As a teacher you could work with another teacher to have book buddies, so that students from opposite classes can read to each other and listen to each other.
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If I were to implement this into my classroom, I would work with a primary classroom in my building and have students from my class read to students in the younger classes or have students in the primary courses read to my students. This can create a safe and welcoming environment in your school as well as making the students in the primary grades feel comfortable and allowing for the students in the middle level to feel as if they have a specific role.
I believe that this could be an effective strategy for ELL students because they may get grouped with an individual that is closer to their comfortable reading level. Also, if there were another ELL students the teachers could group the 2ELL students together which would allow for the individuals to learn together. Also, this would be a great time to have the ELL student if they don't feel comfortable reading with another individual to privately read to the teacher or a different peer.
Overall, I see this is a great strategy to build a welcoming and caring school community.
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09
Assign Roles and Responsibilities
Assigning roles to group work is not a new idea, however I had never heard of it like this. In an article by Edutopia, I was able to learn about a new way to assign roles in classroom projects. This article discussed that having shirked rolls like organizer, time keeper, note taker, and writer: are not effective strategies.
Edutopia suggested that we approach roles differently. The article discussed that everyone should play multiple roles in the relationship. Some of these roles could be things like supporting a peer, or supporting another's idea. The work of collaborating is difficult but useful in all aspects of life. Assigning students to support each other fully throughout the whole project could create great life skills that students could continue to use and other aspects of their life.
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As a teacher, you can help students collaborate in a variety of ways. One way is to have students outline ideas together using visual or graphic organizers. This allows students to think out loud and brainstorm ideas, but not have to settle on one specific idea.
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In my future classroom, I would use these roles and responsibilities to have students create a sort of mural to potentially describe a book that we have read. I could have students use words or pictures, magazine clippings, real objects, or any other things that they want to add to their mural to describe an event.
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I think that the idea of assigning roles would be beneficial for ELL students because they would know what they are required to do specifically. Rather than having a student complete a whole project by him or herself, students can feel a sense of relief by knowing they have their peer support to work through the project. I feel that an LL student would be able to succeed in this setting because they know exactly what they are supposed to do, but are still able to receive feedback from their group.
10
Word Walls
This is an activity that I learned about in my TCH 334 course. I learned about word walls and how to use them to help students make connections between words in other languages. This word wall or anchor chart can be set up in a variety of ways depending on what the teacher thinks works best for her students. If the teacher knows that her students are comfortable in sharing with the class, the teacher may choose to create the word wall or anchor chart with the class. The picture I attached to the left of this writing is an example of an anchor chart that a teacher did while completing a lesson with a group of students.
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If a teacher where to know that a group tended to be more timid, the teacher could prepare the word wall ahead of time so that students are able to make the connections between the words in the text and the vocabulary that they are familiar with.
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This is a great activity for ELL students because students are able to make these connections between the words by themselves or are able to analyze the connections after receiving access to the work wall. ELL students may feel more comfortable to share with the class if they know and are able to better comprehend the information.
In my future classroom, I think I would do a variety of both methods. I would construct word walls for students to prepare them for the next days lesson, however I would also have students work on creating word walls and anchor charts with me.
Reflection
Overall as I was completing this project, I was able to really think about myself as a teacher. I appreciated that this project allowed me to deep dive and analyze past experiences that I've had as well as think towards the future and how I could better prepare my classrooms to incorporate all students.
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As I have been completing my teach classes I began to learn more and more about how to create an inclusive classroom for all types of students. Learning about ELLs in this course has allowed me to think about different examples of resources that I could use in my future classroom. As I am completing my endorsement to become certified in English language learner teaching, I will take what I learned from this course with me through every step of the way. Having been enrolled in a course with students who are not ELL endorsed allowed for me to hear stories and perspectives from other students. This project allowed for me to take all the information that I know about the ELL students and create lesson plans that have not only their best interest, but all of my students represented and heard.
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I understand that students who are learning a new language or may just be experiencing different challenges than other students, may require a different style of learning. I feel comfortable in adapting a classroom that allows for all types of students and learners to successfully learn. I know that as a teacher I may need to have one on one time with specific students or aid students in different ways.
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This project has helped me come up with a variety of ways to allow students to have creativity in their work as well as complete their work with their peers while collaborating. When I enter the teaching field my role will be to assist students, not put a letter on the top of a work sheet. I know that when I get into my future classroom I will have the tools and materials to be able to create a welcoming environment for all students to learn and grow.
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I know that I still have room to learn and grow. For example, I need to think of better ways to get students collaborating in my math classes. However I have learned great strategies to create a collaborative classroom.