tiffsteachingtreats

[tiffsteachingtreats]

"I am a Grade 2 teacher, and I have a new ELL student in my class. She makes a LOT of grammar/speech mistakes, so I've been correcting her when she does to help her learn, but now she doesn't really communicate at all anymore... any advice on this?"

Answer: I have to be honest with you here - I feel like part (if not most) of the reason she has given up on communicating with you is because she feels discouraged and has sort of “given up.” Think about it - how would you feel if you kept trying and trying and trying to learn something and all you ever heard from the other person was all of the things you were doing wrong? You probably wouldn’t feel too excited about trying again, and eventually you would just give up entirely and move on to something you were actually good at. I think this student needs to hear some positive encouragement from you - you need to focus on what she is doing GREAT at, instead of only telling her the things she needs to work on. That being said, of course it is okay to correct her every now and again (after all, she wants to learn!), and it is especially okay to correct her when she makes a simple mistake that is easy for her to understand how to fix it, but with those corrections should also come a “great job though on _____,” so that she knows she is still making great progress. It is important to remember that, in general, children are able to acquire language naturally with little or no overt teaching, so you don’t have to put too much pressure on yourself as her teacher to always be fixing her mistakes, lest she learn something wrong - after all, making mistakes should be encouraged and welcomed, as is a vital part of the learning journey (so you don’t want her to start feeling afraid of making a mistake!). I hope this helps you going forward - and I’m sure she’ll start participating again in no time! 

(*PLEASE NOTE: This question as well as the response was created and written by me for my “Teaching ELLs - Part 1″ AQ course)

[tiffsteachingtreats]

"My child is in your Grade 4 class this upcoming year, and I just wanted to let you know that he is still in the process of learning English. I wanted to know - how will you help facilitate the development of his English language skills?"

Answer: Thanks for your message - this is a great question. There are many ways that I will promote the development of your son’s English skills in my classroom. Firstly, he and I will be listening to, viewing, and reading English texts at school to help develop his English language skills. Further, I will encourage him to participate in all sorts of activities that involve speaking, reading, and writing English in order to challenge him and get him more experience using his language skills. I will also use language learning strategies such as drama, songs, gestures and movements to help your son make connections between words and their meanings. Further, I will incorporate multiple opportunities for student interaction in my lessons so that your son will be able to dialogue with other English speakers, learn from them, and practice his own English skills while being supported by a peer. These strategies should help your son succeed in my class - I look forward to meeting him soon!

(*PLEASE NOTE: This question as well as the response was created and written by me for my “Teaching ELLs - Part 1″ AQ course)

[tiffsteachingtreats]

"My child is an English Language Learner who has just begun kindergarten. Should I be speaking to her only in English at home to help her learn English faster/better?"

Answer: This is an excellent question, and one that I hear all the time. However the answer is: ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, the exact opposite is actively encouraged -  you should be speaking ENTIRELY in your first language to your child! Why, you may ask? This is because it is extremely difficult for ELLs such as your child to learn a second language such as English if they are not yet strong in their first language - it prevents them from being able to make connections between words or phrases, grammar, and more! So please, please, PLEASE continue to speak with your child in their first language at home. Hope that helped - and thanks again for asking this question!

(*PLEASE NOTE: This question as well as the response was created and written by me for my “Teaching ELLs - Part 1″ AQ course)

[tiffsteachingtreats]

Blended and Flipped Learning

Personally, I think a flipped classroom offers AMAZING benefits! I have had the pleasure of learning about flipped classrooms through VIPKids, which is a flipped learning platform wherein educators from Canada or the U.S. are able to teach ELL students that are living in Korea through the use of the computer! I think there are countless benefits of this form of learning. 

Firstly, it allows students with internet access to be able to access education that might otherwise have been unavailable to them. Secondly, it allows for differentiated instruction, especially in the form of VIPKids where each lesson is tailored to the specific needs of the learner in a one-on-one teaching format. Thirdly, it teaches students about the positive impacts that technology can have in the field of education! Fourthly, it takes the focus OFF of the teacher and puts it ONTO the students, as it should be in the classroom. The blended learning approach can also offer lots of opportunity for inquiry, as students are able to ask questions and research into topics that interest them specifically! 

While there are many drawbacks of blended and flipped learning styles, such as it being impersonal or having a lack of access to technology, I still think there are many benefits of it and there are many (small) ways that teachers can incorporate little bits of these learning styles into their classrooms. Even embedding some YouTube or KhanAcademy videos can help introduce a topic and make students excited about their learning! 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my opinion on flipped classrooms, and I welcome any questions you may have!

(*Please note: This post was written for an assignment within the “Integration of Information and Computer Technology in Instruction - Part1″ AQ Course)

[tiffsteachingtreats]

"Burger and ice cream!" comes an order from one of our students' menu booklets! So awesome!! 🍔🍦 #FDK #mcdonalds #teachersofinstagram #teaching #teachersfollowteachers #drama #learningcenter #dramacenter #kindergarten #restaurant

[tiffsteachingtreats]

The rough draft of our McDonalds mural for our drama center was amazing!! Students were so eager to approach the mural on their own and contribute to decorating the sign with their own ideas - some students drew a picture of the restaurant, some wrote "McDonalds," some made a road with "M" signs along it that lead to the restaurant, some wrote about happy meals and drew pictures of happy meal toys, some drew French fries and chicken nuggets... The list goes on and on!!! It was so amazing to step back and watch them take control of their project - "What's gonna work? Teamwork!" ✏️📜#mcdonalds #restaurant #signs #murals #drama #dramacenter #kindergartendrama #FDK #kindergarten #teaching #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram

[tiffsteachingtreats]

Each time I hear a student say that they or someone else is being a "bucket filler," I go over with my camera and document the action - pictured here is a student helping her friend sort the gems that had been scattered all around the table! I then use these pictures during our end-of-day community learning circle to show the students a relatable example of what bucket filling looks like, and I allow the bucket fillers (the students involved) to share the experience with our circle of friends. "What did you do to fill a bucket today?" 👭👍🏻👍🏻 #bucketfilling #bucketfiller #community #classroomcommunity #FDK #kindergarten #teaching #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram

[tiffsteachingtreats]

This week I've been reading the students literature on how to be great Bucket Fillers, and it's really catching on - students have been using the terminology all around the classroom, even without teacher prompts! A Year One student even approached me first-thing this morning when she arrived at school and told me that when she's an adult, she's going to help her wheelchair-bound mother walk again because that's what bucket filler's do! So heartwarming!!!!☺️❤️ #bucketfilling #bucketfiller #community #classroomcommunity #FDK #kindergarten #teaching #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #literature #kindergartenliteracy

[tiffsteachingtreats]

A Year One student made her own menu, and she turned it into a booklet! On the front she even put the famous Golden Arches - now this McDonalds is really ready for business!! 🍟 #FDK #mcdonalds #teachersofinstagram #teaching #teachersfollowteachers #drama #learningcenter #dramacenter #kindergarten #restaurant

[tiffsteachingtreats]

One of our 'customers' placed his order with the 'waiter' - "Coffee!!" ☕️ #FDK #mcdonalds #teachersofinstagram #teaching #teachersfollowteachers #drama #learningcenter #dramacenter #kindergarten #restaurant

[tiffsteachingtreats]

Some students took the initiative to practice reading our fall poem, which we read together every day during our morning literacy meetings! Students have been learning to identify uppercase letters in the poem, as well as commas, exclamation marks, periods, and other text conventions! Yesterday, the students helped me come up with movements to go along with our poem - we can fall down to the ground just like our leaves!🍃📝#AutumnLeaves #Literacy #Poems #Poetry #leaves #teaching #FDK #kindergarten #kindergartenlesson #literacylesson #teachers #lessonideas

[tiffsteachingtreats]

A successful first day at our restaurant comes to an end!! I can't wait to see what else the students will get up to at our McDonalds center this week - they're already off to an excellent start! 🍽 #FDK #mcdonalds #teachersofinstagram #teaching #teachersfollowteachers #drama #learningcenter #dramacenter #kindergarten #restaurant #menus

[tiffsteachingtreats]

Students are matching the numbers 1-6 on the number cube with the same number on their worksheet! Keep rolling until all of them are covered! 🎲🎲🎲 #numbercubes #candycorn #teaching #FDK #kindergarten #kindergartenlesson #mathlesson #provocation #teachers #lessonideas

[tiffsteachingtreats]

Today's math provocation - scarecrow number cube game! Students roll the number cube and look on their list to find the corresponding part of the scarecrow, and then add that part to their scarecrow picture! 🎲👀 #scarecrow #numbercubes #scarecrowgame #teaching #FDK #kindergarten #kindergartenlesson #mathlesson #provocation #teachers #lessonideas

[tiffsteachingtreats]

Mr. Scarecrow is all decorated, courtesy of one of our students - He rolled and identified all the numbers on our number cube! #scarecrow #numbercubes #scarecrowgame #teaching #FDK #kindergarten #kindergartenlesson #mathlesson #provocation #teachers #lessonideas

[tiffsteachingtreats]

Today was the first day of our new drama center - the students voted in favour of turning it into a "McDonalds," and were quick to create their own signs and menus, all while delegating jobs at our restaurant!🍽 #mcdonalds #teaching #kindergarten #drama #dramacenter #learningcenter #FDK #restaurants #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram

[tiffsteachingtreats]

My grandmother has been such a huge support for me on my journey to becoming a teacher - she always encourages me and inspires me to be the best I can be. It was such a lovely surprise to come home from school and find a gift from her - "As soon as I saw it I thought of you," she said. "You're going to make an amazing teacher." ❤️👨‍👩‍👧✏️ #teaching #teachers #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teacherlife #teacherquotes