Structured English Immersion
by Theresa Green
1. Critical thinking would be used to support Academic Language for level two. Examples would be group discussions, group projects, and presentations.
1.1. One example is to use group discussions to analyze everyday events and set them up as algebraic equations.
1.2. Another example would be setting up a school store as a group project.
2. Parental Involvement
2.1. I plan to set up a volunteer program for parents in the classroom. One example I would implement, is to have parents bring realia from home to the classroom and learn English for these everyday objects.
2.2. I also plan to hold a beginning of the year social night for parents and the students.The event would entail sharing their culture. A list of common objects and actions would be shared in their language and also English.
2.3. Communication with the parents is to be provided through a newsletter and email in English, Spanish, and Indian. One-on-one meetings will also be scheduled with an interpreter for those of other native languages.
3. Reading- My plan is to purchase books written in both English and the native languages in our school.
4. Writing - My plan is to have each student write and design their own book.
5. Support Social Language
5.1. To build a safe learning environment, the first project would be to make picture collages to learn about each other.
5.2. Another meaningful example would be creating names by using candy.
5.3. If possible, students would be placed in a group with another classmate of the same native language.
6. Academic language for level one learners would include pictures, realia, and hands on.
6.1. One example would be to use blocks to help develop the concept of addition and subtraction.
6.2. Another example would be to draw artwork to learn geometric shapes.
