Rita speaks Urdu & English at home. She receives ESL support daily (Stage 2/3)/ Math (IEP). These are the following steps that might help Rita to overcome the difficulties that she is facing at the moment.
by Alma M
1. Teachers (ESL, classroom teacher/others) must work closely and plan together
1.1. If there are teachers in the school who speak Urdu, it will be helpful to engage them in helping Rita in Math and Language
2. Use differentiation
2.1. Teachers must tailor the teaching instructions based on Rita’s abilities. Since Rita misses a lot of school, both teachers must keep records of the activities that she has been working on when she was in school. This will make it easier to follow up with an activity that Rita has been working on. Document her work, take pictures, so she can refer back to them and recall the previous experiences. Extensive reading is recommended for Rita. Rita is encouraged to record words that repeat during the story and revisit these words. This strategy will help Rita retain the new words that she learned
3. Integrate Multiliteracies Pedagogy by using context which builds and activates Rita’s prior knowledge
4. Since Rita doesn’t have many friends, it is important to find ways to have her interact with more proficient language users.
4.1. This can be done by, whenever she is in school, having group work experiences and role-play. Rita spends a lot of time watching TV. It is a good idea to suggest to her mother to borrow educational CD-s from the school’s library.
5. Use technology in the classroom
5.1. http: //www. Toondoo.com
6. Sentence prompts
6.1. Use sentence prompts to develop Rita’s speaking skills and to assure that she experiences success. Facilitate CALP, use simple words, and aim on having Rita transfer what she learns in one subject in different subjects
7. Pre-teach math vocabulary
7.1. Integrate math throughout the curriculum and pre-teach math vocabulary so she can be able to express herself. Review her IEP and change it based on her progress or regress
8. Identity Books
8.1. Use Story online website and find bilingual books. Find books which match Rita’s level of development (fiction and non-fiction books). We learned that choosing the right books for ELLs helps them develop as readers and writers in a new language.
