Differentiating Technology Suggestions

At the beginning of the school year, I try to provide parents with helpful websites and apps that they can use at home to support their children at home.  However, before suggesting anything, I try to find out what technology they have at home.  Once I know what technology students have access to at home, I can make suggestions that are appropriate for their particular situation.

One way to find out what technology students have at home is to send home a technology survey to parents at the beginning of the school year.  You can find this technology survey in my newly released Parent Communication Forms and Surveys packet.

Once you know who in your class has iPads, who has computers and who has limited technology, put that information into lists and keep that information in your parent communication folder. 

With this information, you can send app suggestions only to those students who would actually use them.  You know which students you can ask watch a video over at home or practice skills on an assigned website.  Plus, you know if a student truly doesn’t have access to technology after they leave your classroom.  I DO NOT use this information to exclude those without technology from after school technology activities.  Rather, I suggest ways that they could get access to technology – at the public library, or finding a homework buddy in class and I offer this group of students a non-technology alternative to any at home technology assignments.  The overall focus of having this information is to be able to provide more differentiated suggestions for using technology at home.

Looking for websites and apps to suggest to your parents?  Try these:

Reading Websites for Elementary Students

Math Websites for Elementary Students

Writing Websites for Elementary Students

Typing Websites for Elementary Students

ESL Apps for Elementary Students

Generally GREAT Apps for Elementary Students

Video Creation Apps for Elementary Students

Ticket Out the Door Apps for Elementary Students

 

TESOL Teaching Tip #52 - Maintaining Home Language is Important for English Language Development

As a teacher at an International School, many of my students were English Language Learners. Even my native English speakers were living in a non-English speaking country. Due to my unique teaching position, I have had some readers ask for tips on teaching English Language Learners. Here is this week’s Tuesday TESOL Teaching Tip:

The focus for English language teachers is always English, and often we forget that all of our English Language Learners are not only learning English.  ESL students are bilingual (and sometimes trilingual) students.  This means that in addition to English, students have another language to learn and master, whether it is Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic, or any of the other hundreds of home languages our students come to us with.  Just because their parents speak the home language does not mean that they come to your classroom knowing everything there is to know about their home language.  In fact,  since they are learning English, they probably will never have the same mastery level in their home language as a student who only ever spoke that home language.  However, the benefits of maintaining what they do know, and encouraging them to learn more in their home language, are undeniable.

Students who maintain their home language are able to:
1.  Find cognates between the two languages, increasing their vocabulary.

2.  Compare and contrast grammar structures in the two languages they speak, increasing their understanding of parts of speech and sentence structure.

3.  Make connections between common stories between the two languages.  ie.  Little Red Riding Hood in French is La Petite Chaperon Rouge, increasing the likelihood of comprehension.

4.  Make connections between idioms and sayings in the two languages, encouraging a better understanding of these phrases, and how language is used overall.

5.  Explain themselves clearer in speaking and writing, as they have more vocabulary to explain the same topic.

6.  Learn English faster and more completely.  Studies show that a high literacy level in a students’ home language makes it easier for students to learn English and that they will better understand their new language by connecting it to their home language.

Since we are in charge of teaching English, we often think that what the students know in their home language isn’t our responsibility.  However, with so many benefits to maintaining the home language, we should be promoting home language growth as well.  Some ways to do that are:


1.  Encourage students to read (or be read to) in their home language.  Many, many students who speak a second language, NEVER become literate in that language because schools promote English Only.  I encourage my students to split their independent reading time between English and their home language, so if I ask them to read 30 minutes each night, they should read 15 minutes in English and read (or be read to) 15 minutes in their home language.  Not only does this keep kids reading in their home language, but it shows parents that the home language is important and encourages them to share stories with their children.

2.  Tell students their home language is important.  I spend a good amount of time each year reiterating to my students how important it is learn new words in BOTH of their languages, and how lucky they are to have the knowledge of their home language.  We talk about the job and school advantages for bilingual individuals, as well as real life times when knowing two languages is helpful (travel, web searches, communication, etc.)  If we teach students to see their home language as an advantage, rather than a liability, they will be more motivated to continue learning and growing in their home language. 

3.  Allow students to use their home language at school in non-academic settings.  So many schools have English Only policies that send the message to students that English is more important than their home language.  In order to reiterate to my students that their home language is important, I encourage them to use their home language at school – but within specific restrictions.  First, I encourage them to use only English during academic periods (once they have enough English to be able to work this way) because it takes a lot of brain power to switch between two languages, and I want them thinking in English while they’re working in English.  Second, I require them to be respectful with their language use.  If they choose to use their home language at recess, in the lunchroom, or during other non-academic times (like packing up or transitions), then they must NEVER use their language to purposely exclude other students.  I also talk to my monolingual students about how hard it would be to go through a day without ever speaking English, so that they know that if a student slips into their home language, it isn’t meant to hurt their feelings or talk about them.

4.  Talk to the parents about the importance of home language development.  I have had many parents tell me that they had been instructed by experts – pediatricians, other educators etc. not to speak to their children in, or teach their children to read in their home language.  This bad advice leads to parents speaking improper English to their kids when they could be teaching them the proper way to speak their home language.  It also stops many parents from reading to their children in their home language, preventing fluency and vocabulary growth.  I am very clear with the parents of my ESL students that it is MY job to teach their children English and THEIR job to teach their children the home language.  I encourage parents to speak to their children ONLY in the home language, even to go so far as explaining homework in the home language if possible.  I ask them to read to younger children in the home language and help older children learn the phonics patterns of the home language, in order to promote literacy in that language.  I encourage them to find curriculum in the home language and encourage their children to work in the home language on grammar skills, science and social studies topics and math vocabulary.  Speaking (and reading and writing in) a second language are important skills that these parents can pass on to their children.  Many are willing to do so, but need our encouragement and advice in doing so.

For more tips on teaching ESL/ ELL students, click on the banner below.

Websites & Apps for to Stop the Summer Brain Drain

Recently, a parent asked me how she could use technology to help her children do something educational while they are traveling this summer.  Here are some of what I suggested to her (and my other parents) as ways to use technology to keep kids’ minds active this summer:

1.  Read Online Books:  There are so many books and stories available on the internet nowadays.  I listed 6 possible places to get good books in this blog post not too long ago, but there is also the Kindle reading app, which can be downloaded to most any device and filled with good books that can be read offline.

2.  Play Math & Logic Games:  My favorite place for logic games is Cool Math, but there are so many puzzle apps and math games out there, that you shouldn’t have a hard time finding games that meet your kids’ needs and let them have fun with math.  For a jumping off point, check out my Top 10 Math Websites blog post.

3.  Watch Educational Videos:  Kids all have topics that interest them.  Pick something that kids like (baseball, dance, cats, video games etc.) and find documentaries or other educational videos like Magic School Bus Episodes around these topics.  Great starting places for documentaries include National Geographic, the History Channel, PBS, BBC and the Discovery Channel.

4.  Blog About Places They Visit:  No matter if you are traveling the country or going on a walk around the park, kids can keep summer journals by simply blogging about the things they do and places they visit.  For some information about how I’ve done blogging with students check out my Student Blogging blog post.

5.  Create Stories:  Kids love to make up stories and technology gives them so many ways to put those stories together – Storybird, Puppet Pals, and Powtoon are three of my favorites.  You can also check out my Top 10 Writing Websites blog post for more suggestions.

6.  Find Answers to their Own Questions:  Children always have questions of their own.  Summer is a great time to let them practice using search engines while finding the answers to their own questions.  Children can use Kid-Friendly search engines like Fact Monster, online Encyclopedias like Britanica, use a basic Google search or even use YouTube’s search feature to find videos that will answer their questions.

7.  Practice Math Facts:  Keeping up with math facts is one of the easiest things that kids can do over the summer.  Websites like Mathmagician and apps like Flash to Pass help students to practice the facts, whether they are working on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

8.  Watch “How to” Videos to Learn a New Skill:  Students can learn so much from videos, and they often want to know how to do something, so why not let them watch how to videos to learn how to do something that interests them – to make boondagle keychains, to bake a cake, to build a wooden car, to braid hair, to play a video game etc.

9.  Create a Detailed Map of Places Visited:  If you are traveling, you can use Google Maps – or even a map background in Powtoon – to create a detailed map of the places you have visited.  Kids can add pictures and information about the places they have visited.  Check out my blog post about Summer Google Maps to see how I have done this with my own children.

10.  Create a Time Lapse Video of Your Summer with One Picture a Day: Have kids take a picture every day with one thing that stays the same in each picture – perhaps placing a teddy bear or book into a new place or position each day.  Then, kids can put the pictures together into a time lapse video using the app iMotion HD on the iPad or Stop Motions Animator for the PC.

11.  Create Your Own “High Tech/ Low Tech” Game:  Combine high tech and low tech by having kids use one of the simpler capabilities of their device – the timer, the calculator, the compass, the camera – to create a new game where they make up the rules.

12.  Geocaching:  Geocaching is a real life treasure hunt where you find the GPS address and clues online.  They can be done with the aid of a smart phone or table that has 3G, or even with the GPS device you use in your car.  Find more details in my Geocaching blog post.

13.  Be a Critique:  During the summer, children “consume” more movies, songs, games, events and books than during any other time of the year.  Give students a chance to critique what they consume.  Let them write up a review and post it on Amazon, Good Reads or Trip Advisor.  Check out this blog post on writing book reviews for more ideas.

14. Download an Instrument App and Create Your Own Songs:  There are lots of great apps out there that let you “play” instruments – like the Free Drum Set app for the iPad or the Virtual Keyboard for the PC.  Children can create their own songs and even choreograph dances to go along with them.

15. Math and Science Simulations:  There are tons of Math and Science simulations on the internet.  Even if students haven’t learned these topics, playing with simulations can help students build background knowledge that will help prepare them for future lessons, or help them connect between different topics.  PHET is a great starting point for finding simulations.

 

What do you suggest that students do with technology over the summer?

Writing Requirements – Perfect Handwriting or Interesting Details?

Do you ever get sick of kids asking “How long does this have to be?” or parents telling you how great their child’s writing is because they “used such great handwriting”?  Overall as a teacher (and as a person) I look for function over form, and tell my students that while I want them to have significant detail and how long shouldn’t matter.  If they have significant details, they will automatically have good length to their stories. I prefer a story makes sense, has a good details and flow to it, but has spelling or grammar mistakes over a perfectly presented story that tells me nothing or uses the same boring words used over and over.   A few weeks ago, I was talking about this with my friend, Courtney Nassar, about this and she pulled a classic example out of her Year 2 (1st grade) writing pile.  Here it is:

On the left is a story with multiple spelling and handwriting issues.  However, if you read the words, it tells a quality story with action and dialogue.  “Don’t press the blue button.”  “She was in the precipice.”  On the right is a story that has close to perfect spelling and handwriting, but goes no where. 

When talking to the kids, I always tell them that great handwriting, spelling and grammar are the icing on the cake, but that you need the eggs, flour, butter, sugar and baking powder to make an actual cake, and that is where you characters, plot, dialogue, details and suspense come in.  What analogy do you use with kids (or parents) to help them understand the difference between form and function in writing?