Chandler McAlister

November 19, 2015

EL Observation and Adaptation

Observation:
On November 17, 2015 I visited Mrs. Burnetts class for an hour and a half to observe an
EL student. H is a student from Yemen in Mrs. Burnetts 3rd grade class. His native language is
Arabic. He moved to America about one year ago. He lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousins. His
cousin, A, is also in Mrs. Burnetts classroom. Both boys are being served under ESL. His
teacher says that he has just begun expressing himself through speaking English. Prior to two
weeks ago he would only write. When he is asked a what question he is able to answer. For
example, I asked him What are you drawing? He was able to tell me This is a school and the
flag. He later went on to tell me that the school was school in Yemen and the flag was their
countries flag. I spoke with him mostly about his home county. He told me things about his
school. He told me that all the teachers were men and that they girls had to line up separate from
the boys. From these conversations one can gather that he is interested in his home country and
that he is comfortable talking to people about his life there. He doesnt initiate conversations
with adults but he responds when spoken to. He is able to write using inventive spelling. He
writes using upper and lowercase letters. His inventive spelling makes sense phonetically. For
example, the students were writing thank you notes to the janitors. He wrote, Thinc you fawr ta
clin school. I believe this sentence says, Thank you for the clean school. The student
understands classroom routines and procedures. H and A will occasionally speak to each other in
their native language: Arabic. An important thing to know about Arabic is the way in which they
read and write. English speakers read and write from left to write. In Arabic culture they read and
write from right to left. This causes issues in transitioning to the English language during
reading, writing, and math. All subjects are affected by this transition.

Chandler McAlister
November 19, 2015

Strengths:

H speaks when spoken too in clear English 80% of the time.

H is able to function in the general education classroom by following rules and

procedures.
H can answer what questions.
H uses inventive spelling and is able to work on his writing independently.

Weaknesses:

H performs math calculations backwards.

H mixes up some letter-sound relationships.
H struggles to understand 80% of social studies/science concepts.
H does not comprehend grade level stories read out loud to him.

Adaptations: (I have separated the adaptations by subject; however, many of the adaptations can
be used across subjects.)
Writing:

Allow the students to write about their interests and things they know about. H really

likes to talk about his home country. Allow him to write stories about that.
H uses inventive spelling. Let him continue to use inventive spelling; however, after he
has written read his work and correct the spelling while discussing the letter sound
relationships.

Math:

Model the process multiple times for the students. This will help H perform math

computations in the correct order from left to right.

Make a visual of the steps used to complete the problem that they can have on their desk
to reference back to during independent work. This will help him do math independently.

Chandler McAlister
November 19, 2015

When working with word problems scaffold instruction by writing the number sentence
for them. Later, provide them with a chart of words to look for that signal them to take
away or add. Leave this chart on their desk. Since H cant speak English fluently and
lacks background knowledge about the US he may struggle to comprehend word
problems. By helping him set up the problem he will be able to show that he knows how
to do math calculations without the lack of comprehension getting in his way.

Reading:

Provide graphic organizers, visuals, outlines, highlighted text, and adapted text to help
them understand the story. Graphic organizers, visuals, and outlines will help H follow
along in a story. Highlighting will help pull out the important parts that he needs to focus
on. Adapted text may change a few words that may make the text more complex without

changing the content of the text.

H knows a lot about his home country, Yemen. Use stories that encompass their native
culture to help build background knowledge. If they are more familiar with the content
they will be more likely to comprehend the material.

Social Studies:

Many social studies concepts and stories can be acted out. Use hand motions and signs to
represent different social studies stories. Act out the stories for the students by using

dramatics and visuals.

When planning a lesson, consider that some material in social studies can be culturally
confusing for children that havent grown up in the United States.

Science:

Chandler McAlister
November 19, 2015

Teach all vocabulary explicitly using visuals and terms that the students can understand.
H is going to struggle to grasp difficult science concepts through words. By providing
hands on experience and visuals he will be able to understand the concept without the
language barrier.

Other:

Label objects in the classroom.

Visual representations should be made available in all situations. For example, create

visuals that will help them follow the daily schedule and classroom routines.
The teacher will need to build background knowledge. To help build background
knowledge let them learn some content in their native language. This can also help them

grasp content that wouldnt otherwise be understood.

Post content vocabulary on a word wall. Link visuals to the words.
Use hands on manipulatives when possible. This will mainly apply to science and math

content.
Allow ample time for interactions with other students in the class. Students will learn
more language through discussion with peers. This time allows them to apply and use the
words they are hearing. This can be done through group/partner work and turn and talks.