ESL observation

1. Classroom Observation
Project
By Jaclyn Johnson-Cross
ENG 514

2. Observation
Illini Elementary School
Kindergarten Classroom
ELL Student is Tanisha
Her home country is India

3. Presentation Overview
 1. Demographic Information
 2. Lesson Plan Outline
 3. Lesson Objectives
 4. lesson Content
 5. Teacher Adaptations
 6. Recommendations

4. Demographics
 Student Ethnicity
 54.4% White
 33.8% Black
 4.6% Hispanic
 1.0% Asian
 6.2% Multiracial
 Student SES & Language Proficient
 0.3% Limited English Proficient
 33.6% Low-Income

5. Lesson Outline
1. Circle time - Introduction
2. Math Activity
3. Story Time
4. Good Morning Song
5. Recess
6. Circle Time – Calendar
7. Writer’s Workshop
End of Observation

6. Lesson Objectives
 Number recognition and sequential order
 Listening Comprehension, understanding concepts of
emotions
 Creating safe environment for social interaction
 Learn concepts of time
 Yesterday, today, tomorrow
 Days of the week
 counting the number of school days, predicting sequential
order
 current month

7. Lesson Objectives Continued
 Recognize themselves as authors and writers
 Recognize sequence of events within stories
 Apply sequences of events in writing
 Understand that print has meaning
 Develop ability to express ideas and practice oral
communication
 Social interaction to promote interest in subject

8. Lesson Content: Circle Time – Intro.
The students begin their class meeting collectivity at
the front of the room. They are greeted by the
teacher and she reviews the day’s agenda with them.
She informs them of any school announcements
before explaining the first task.
The teacher presents an example of the worksheet to
the students and explains how to complete it. She
points with her finger where to cut and paste the
numbers.

9. Lesson Content: Math Activity
Students are released to sit at their desks which are
in small group arrangements. They are to cut the
boxes of numbers at the bottom of the page off and
paste them to the corresponding number of spiders
in the picture boxes below. The spider images are
relevant to a story read previously in class.
Students are free to help one another complete the
task, even though they are encouraged to try it
independently first.

10. Math Activity Continued
Tanisha can verbally recall numbers in their correct
sequence, but she has trouble recognizing them. The
students assigned to her group are identified as
nurturing. They are friendly and periodically look
over each others’ papers and point-out corrections.
Tanisha is the only student whom the teach checks
for accuracy and helps her make corrections.

11. Lesson Content: Story Time
This is a whole group activity where students listen
to a read aloud on the carpet. The name of the book
is “Fill a Bucket.” She reviews the cover and reads
the author and illustrator to them. The teacher
discusses what a physical bucket is with the children
to preface the explanation of an emotional bucket.
She reads the story and the students respond with
ways they can fill “buckets” at school. Tanisha does
not volunteer to answer, nor is she called upon.

12. Lesson Content: Good Morning Song
The good morning song incorporates technology. The
teacher plays a catchy tune with lyrics that walks the
students through the custom of new introductions.
Hand gestures go along with the verse and chorus
which is sung three times. The students shake hands
with peers during the chorus and must change
partners continuously.

13. Lesson Content: Circle Time –
Calendar
Students return from recess to circle time on the
carpet. Their routine is to review concepts of time
through songs that the students sing. One student is
selected to point to various calendars on the wall
during the sing-a-longs. There is a “day of the week”
song, a “yesterday, today, tomorrow” song, and a
“month” song.

14. Lesson Content: Writer’s Workshop
While the students are sitting together at the end of circle
time. The teacher reviews with her students what they have
accomplished so far in the writer’s workshop. She grabs her
story book and describes the happy memory when she and
her daughter went to the movies as the frame of her story.
Students have illustrated their story books by creating crayon
drawings of their happy memory. There is a drawing for each
sequence of event. She flips through her story book to show
her drawings and the details . . .

15. Writer’s Workshop - Modeling
written at the bottom that describe the illustration. Students
have already added their details but their first objective is to
finish any page that was left incomplete. Next, the teacher
grabs a couple of children’s books previously read in class.
She points to the cover to give special attention to the title
and authorship. She draws specific attention to their locations
and models how to write it on the dry-erase white board. She
points to herself to explain that she is the author of her book
and asks the students to point to the author of their books.
Most students know . . .

16. Writer’s Workshop – Writing Strategy
to point to themselves, including Tanisha. Once students have
finished adding their details to each page, their second
objective is to write a title and put “By Child’s Name” on the
cover. Before they leave, the students participate in a “think-
pair-share” strategy. Students think about the story they are
writing and one or two words that would describe it for 30
seconds. Then they find a partner to share their stories and
possible descriptive words to be their book titles. Students
are then released to work independently while the teacher
hosts one-on-one conferences with students.

17. Teacher Adaptations
The adaptations for teaching an ESL student is not present in
this lesson; however, the proficiency of language for native
and non-native students are still in the developmental stages.
The ESL student, as well as, the native students showed
weaknesses in the same areas. What I did observe, was
teacher instruction that incorporated best practices that help
the language acquisition of English Language Learners.

18. Best Practices for ELL Students
 Modeling
 Math activity (cut and paste numbers)
 Book cover (authorship)
 Tactile Learning
 Cut and paste numbers (math activity)
 Calendars posted on wall (counting and pointing)
 Social Interaction/Oral Practice
 Small group (with identified nurturing peers)
 Think-pair-share strategy
 Singing (good morning and calendar songs)

19. Best Practices for ELL students Contin.
 Repetitive Practice
 Daily singing
 Daily Circle time
 Daily Read Aloud
 Assessment
 Project based learning (story book)
 One – on – one conferences
 Review student work with feed back
 Individualized attention and tutoring

20. My Recommendations
1. Label objects
 My first recommendation is to further develop the use of
labeling. The classroom has the standard colors and numbers
labeled throughout the room, but other objects in daily use
should be labeled too, like the desk, door, sink, carpet, and
table.
 Review concrete and abstract concepts
 My second recommendation is to add modeling or visual
supports for book talks. The teacher described a physical and
emotional bucket, but visual examples or modeling would
reinforce the oral explanation such as, a bucket with a label
and pictures of abstract ideas like hugging, love, happy, sad,
and etc.