Nadine Brosnan

EDUC 359

Fall 2018

Classroom Observation

Student(s): HW and AG Grade: Kindergarten

School: Carbondale Area Elementary School Date: 11/5/18

When observing the ELL students, I did not observe any behaviors that were out of the

ordinary. Both of the ELL students participated in class activities by answering questions,

completing worksheets, and listening to directions. Other students in the class behaved

appropriately as well. Of course, some children got off-task during the lesson; however, that is to

be expected when one is observing a kindergarten class. The teacher would not get mad at these

children. She would simply redirect them to the appropriate task.

HW is five years old and speaks Vietnamese at home. AG is six years old and his first

language is Spanish. At home, his parents speak to him in both English and Spanish. Both HW

and AG seemed comfortable with using the English language; however, AG was more outgoing

and talkative than HW. AG would chat with the teacher and peers as well as sing songs to

himself. HW was shy and timid. The teacher said that she typically does not talk to strangers.

Sometimes, she even refuses to talk to the teacher. When I was there, she answered questions

directed to her by the teacher and followed directions with ease. However, unlike AG, she did

not interact with her peers. Although HW’s interactions and behaviors differed from those of
AG, I would not say that HW is less proficient in the language than AG. They just have different

personalities.

These students were provided with many visuals and gestures to help them understand

what was being asked of them. The teacher asked them to write their names at the top of their

papers while pointing to the top of the paper. She then asked the students to point at each word in

the sentence and say it out loud as they read it. For example, HW said, “L is for leopard.”

Additionally, the teacher would ask if HW and AG knew what a leopard was. She would do this

with other objects mentioned on the worksheet as well. If they did not know she would give a

description and look up a picture for the children to look at. She told the students that a leopard

was a big cat they might see if they went to the zoo. This was an effective way to build

background knowledge for the students. This is because visuals and gestures can be effective for

all students, not just ELLs, because all students have had different experiences.

The teacher also asked the students questions about how they describe themselves. I

thought this activity was beneficial for the students because students like to talk about

themselves. Both HW and AG were able to describe their physical appearance and state their

age. HW said that she had brown eyes and hair that was black and straight. AG said that the had

brown eyes and that his hair was black and soft. The teacher had a visual that said, “My hair is

___________.” along with a picture of hair. This was provided for each characteristic that the

children were to describe. This gives the students a reference to refer to when they are forming

sentences about themselves. I thought the sharing of the description aloud was beneficial for the

ELL students because they could listen to other students’ responses and “match” the students’

descriptions to their appearance.

 During both the “L” lesson and describe yourself activity, the teacher used the I, We, You

model. This was a useful strategy that they teacher used during her instruction because modeling

the task gave students an example of what they were expected to do. When the class completed

the task as a group, the teacher was able to assess the class’ understanding of the task. She also

took this time to clear up any misconceptions. For example, one student thought that the initial

sound in the word “clock” was /l/. The teacher segmented each of the sounds in the word and

pointed out that the /k/ sound came before the /l/ sound. When students proceeded to complete

the assignment independently, the teacher could assess each student’s understanding of the

lesson. ELL students benefitted from this teaching strategy because it has scaffolding built into

it. They could also look around the room at their classmates to learn what was expected of them.

The classroom environment was warm, inclusive, and welcoming for all students. The

students’ desks were arranged in tables of four so that no one was left sitting by themselves. This

allowed students to mingle and exchange ideas. The teacher also treated every student with

respect, listening to what everyone had to say. This created an environment in which every

student felt valued, which promotes participation and learning. When the teacher modeled this

behavior, she set an example for the type of behavior she expected her students to follow. The

classroom was also decorated with bright colors and designs, which created an atmosphere of

positivity, making students excited about coming to school.

This inclusive environment allows the ELL students to feel comfortable using the English

language. AG and HW feel that they can attempt to use and, in a sense, experiment with the

English language. I would say that both of these students are in the intermediate fluency stage in

the language acquisition. They are capable of pronouncing words correctly, producing sentences

with correct grammatical structure, respond to and initiate conversations, follow multiple-step
directions, read high-frequency and unknown words, and write simple sentences. There is no

area of language (reading, writing, speaking, or listening) in which the children immensely

struggle.

When I asked the teacher about the types of accommodations and modifications HW and

AG receive in the classroom, she explained that they do not get any drastic accommodations or

modifications. This is because the students have not been labeled with a proficiency level due to

the fact that they are so young. However, using her professional judgement as an ESL teacher,

she would label them as a Level 5, the highest level of proficiency. They are able to count,

identify colors, identify letters and their corresponding sounds, and a myriad of other skills

kindergarteners are expected to know. They get preferential seating near the teacher and typically

receive repeated directions along with visual cues. Preferential seating is on the checklist because

I feel that it is what is done with any student, not just ELLs, who need additional support. Visual

cues that accompany oral directions are also on the list because it involves conveying the same

idea through different senses. Their assignments and tests are not shortened because they are

capable of completing what their classmates do. Sometimes, the teacher rings a bell to get the

attention of the ELL students. This is because, although it may just seem that they are

disengaged, they are focusing on processing directions and the task at hand. When the teacher

says their name, therefore, they might not hear it or might be trying to comprehend what was

said previously. The bell gets the attention of the ELL without repeatedly saying his or her name.

This modification was not on the checklist and I think it was not included because it may be a up

and coming way to help ELL students. This helps transition ELL students into the next part of

the conversation or thought process.