Video: English Language Learners: Culture, Equity and Language

Just a quick Friday message after being sick for a week and a half :(

Equity for ELLs! I love this video can't share it enough. It breaks my heart to still see ELLs sitting in the back of the room with crayons, when they could add so much to a classroom.

Then I see the other side, at one of the middle schools their newcomer is one of the popular kids. Everyone knows who he is, the students have taken him under their wings and support and look after him. I love to see that kind of caring culture in a school!

Video: Confession: New Teacher of Newcomers

I felt like sharing this video this morning, because it is something that is so relevant to teaching newcomers. It is Michelle Benegas at TEDxUMN. She discusses her own experiences as a new teacher of ELLs, and her own learning about culturally responsive teaching. 

This video resonated with me, it echoed my own thoughts about my first year teaching. Over and over I thought I was not prepared to meet the needs of the diverse learners sitting in front of me. There are gaps in this area in teacher preparation programs and, with a rapidly growing population, more and more teachers will have newcomers in their classes. 

I was just at a school yesterday day discussing this very thing with teachers. I recommended that they learn about his culture and his story; that they find ways to let him express himself. 

Video: The Danger of a Single Story

Now that things are finally starting to settle back down on my end. And school is under way, I thought I'd share a video that always resonates with me this time of year. 

A TED Talk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the dangers of a single story.

I love this video as a reminder of the impact of the words we choose, the examples we use, the stories we tell, and the questions we ask.

This is one of the reasons I don't ask the question at the beginning of the year: "What did you do this summer?" 

Video: Miracle Workers by Taylor Mali

As we are getting to the end of the school year, testing preparations are underway and after burning both ends of the candle for the last 9 months, the teachers I'm seeing are tired. I can relate, I know how I felt at this time of year. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming." is constantly running through my head (I love Dory). 

So, I decided to share a video. This poem from Taylor Mali is just as poignant as his "What Teachers Make" and I love it. "Education is the miracle. I'm just the worker." We all need just a bit of encouragement and to be reminded of this sometimes.

Top 10 Immigrant Countries

I came across this video recently, and I found it very interesting. I even learned some things about immigration around the world. 

In my classroom I did a whole unit on immigration, framed by the wordless novel, The Arrival, by Shaun Tan. We read nonfiction articles about reasons why people immigrate and who immigrates, and then read short stories and poems that highlighted immigrant experiences. I feel like this would have made a great addition to that unit, because it gives a very global perspective. When things slow down a bit around here, I'll put together the whole unit.

My students and I always enjoyed the unit, everyone had different levels of experiences. Some were recent immigrants, some came as babies, some were born here, but their parents were immigrants, some had horror stories of their experiences. But through this unit it gave a place for students to share what they wanted from their own experiences, and provide personal insights into the reading. I think it helped others make more empathetic insights about their peers.

Using Animated Videos in the Classroom

I am always a big fan of using pictures and videos in the classroom with my students. Using videos in the classroom has many benefits. Today’s students are used to so much visual stimulation that they respond well to visual supports and visual activities. I found it a great way to teach concepts, and engage students in creative activities.

Here are some of my favorite animated videos and some suggested activities I liked to do with them. I liked to expose my students to different artistic forms, it helped expand their horizons a bit.

1. Simon’s Cat – (Series) short videos that depict a hilarious relationship between a man and a cat. You can check out the YouTube channel here.

2. La Linea by Osvaldo Cavandoli– (Series) The character, created from a long, unbroken line, reacts to the off stage cartoonist, and encounters a variety of different things.

3. The Red Thread by Kazuhiko Okushita – A single line animation depicting the story of a boy growing up, getting older, and in the end going full circle.

4. Eat by Jeff Liu – A short film about exploring new things.


5. The Hardest Jigsaw by Eric Anderson


6. Acorn by Madeline Sharafian


7. Omelette by Madeline Sharafian


8. The Mew-sician by Madeline Sharafian


9. A Cloudy Lesson by Yezi Xue

10. Red by Hyunjoo Song

11. Clocktower – by Cara Antonelli

Activities:

• Using these videos as a writing prompt, have students write the story.
• Have students write a story about what happened before or after the videos.
• Have students write a script or internal monologue sharing what characters are saying.
• Practicing Inferences – as a discussion or in writing, students make inferences and use evidence from the video to support their inferences.
• Practice inferring Character traits and using evidence from the videos.
• Align videos with concepts taught, imagery, theme, etc. Have students discuss these elements in the videos before delving into larger texts.
• Choose videos with shared themes to a story and compare and contrast how it was developed.
• Using them as a brain break – a teacher I work with uses Simon’s Cat at the end of the day as she passes out homework folders.
• With beginners and low levels – using it as a vocabulary tool. Brainstorming vocabulary words that we know and I add to the list new words. Practicing with vocabulary by pausing the video and labeling things on the smart board.

Immersion

I share this video in many of my workshops, because it is powerful and contains many accurate reenactments of typical scenes I have seen working with ELLs.

I have seen English learners struggle, I have seen students not want to help their English learner peers, I have seen bullying of English learners, I have seen teachers -inadvertently and purposefully- shame and embarrass English learners in front of the class, I have had administrators tell me not to focus on my newest students, but instead to focus on bubble kids.

However, I really like this video because of some of the positive things it highlights. The teacher, even if she doesn't really know how wants to help Moises. She's trying to do the best she can, and she cares about Moises. Moises is shown as hardworking, he understands the content, even better than his peers, but doesn't have the language to share the knowledge.

So often I hear teachers complain about English language learners. Things such as: Why don't they try harder? They are just lazy. But the reality is much different. English learners are trying very hard to learn English, learn how to communicate, and learn academic content, but it takes time. Research says it can take as many as 4-9 years. All we can do is support our English learners, and help them grow in their English.

Rigged Game

I'm taking a short respite form writing strategies, the theme of the month, and sharing this video of Dylan Garity at NPS 2013. I was reminded of this video this week. I hadn't seen it in a while, but it's one of those that gets me every time. It always reminds me what I'm working for. The system might be flawed but that doesn't mean we have to give up.

The system is flawed and teachers, buckling under the pressure, are leaving the profession. The other day as I drove down the road, I saw a bumper sticker: North Carolina Teachers: First in Flight. I just moved to this state to teach and everyone I met told me I was going the wrong direction.

The students I've had and continue to help, reminiscent of Juan and Ana in the video, get me up out of bed in the morning and always remind me of the work still to be done.