Effective teaching strategies for Joti include small group instruction, partner work, highly visual texts, breaking tasks into smaller chunks, pre-teaching vocabulary, activating prior knowledge, and providing timely feedback.
Assessment Strategies which have worked best with Joti
• Oral Responses – one to one assessments
• Observations
• Physical creations (making a playground using several simple machines) to demonstrate knowledge and understanding)
• Reading records, portfolios, 2 stars and a wish
Instructional Strategies that have worked best with Joti
• Small group instruction
• Partner work
• Highly visual texts
• Tasks broken down into smaller chunks, scaffolding (zone of proximal development)
• Pre-teaching vocabulary
• Activating prior knowledge
• Timely feedback
Abdul (Grade 3)
Family Factors
Joti lives with her mother and father as well as an older brother who is grade 3. They live in a townhouse very close to the school. The children are well taken care of. The family speaks Bengali at home. The father, who speaks English quite well, works and the mother, whose English is limited, stays home. Both parents are very appreciative of the efforts made by the school to help their children learn English and gain Mathematical skills. The parents occasionally volunteer for events such as the bread festival. Joti’s brother is very shy and sometimes has difficulty on the yard during recess. He feels that he is left out or picked on during games.
In LE03 The Multiliteracies Project we read about Perminder Sandhu and her writing project which involved her grade 4 class, their grade 7 writing buddies and parents. In order to increase involvement in school, mom and dad could work together to translate from English to Bengali and vice-versa. Other initiatives could also be implemented.
Background Information and
Learning Environment
Joti is an 8 year old grade 2 English Language Learner who has been attending Berrigan Elementary School since Senior Kindergarten. However, she spent grade 1 in French Immersion and has been absent from school due to trips back home to Bangladesh for 2 extended periods of time. The grade 1 French Immersion teacher noted that Joti had some behavioural issues including spending long periods of time in the washroom, avoidance of tasks and non-compliance. Once Joti switched to the English program, these behaviours decreased after a few months. She is in a split grade 1/2 class and there are only 8 grade 2 children while there are 18 grade 1 students.
In this course we have discussed that importance of a welcoming learning environment. Due to the disruptions in schools and the switch to English from French Immersion, Joti was very vulnerable. Her experience with school was not one that she considered successful and she lacked confidence. Her avoidance of tasks, disruptive behaviours and defiant attitude decreased significantly but it is clear that more effort needed to be made to make her feel as though she was more a part of the classroom. More positive reinforcement for the improvement in learning skills may have gone a long way. Good news/sunshine notes would reinforce the positive changes in behaviour.
Interest and Friends
SubJoti is very artistic. She takes every opportunity to create beautiful illustrations and is very proud of her creations. She loves showing her drawings to the class. She is also very interested in creating and solving Math problems. She has been slow to make friends in her new grade 2 class. The other children have been together since JK and have a tight bond. It should be noted that there are only 4 grade 2 girls in the class.
There is an Art Club at school which Joti did not attend. Perhaps all she needs next year is a bit of encouragement because this is a club she would enjoy and be able to shine. There have been many discussions during this course on finding a child’s strength and shining a light on it. She would also have the opportunity to make new friends with similar interests.
Factors Hindering Progress
A marked lack of confidence for the first few months in grade 2
The French Immersion placement in grade 1
Two extended absences in grade 1 and in grade 2
LLI books not always read/practiced at home
Gravitated towards a classmate who was not the most positive influence – When asked why she had done something inappropriate, her response often was, “XXX told me to.”
Building Joti’s confidence is a priority. Positive reinforcement and lots of opportunities to shine should be given to her. A carefully chose buddy could be very beneficial. Read alouds and classroom activities focusing on making good choices and discussions on what a good friend is would also be helpful.
Factors Supporting Progress
Supportive parents overall (however, the Levelled Literacy Intervention books which are sent home for daily reading are not always practiced and this is a key component of the program)
Supportive teachers who are experienced working the ELLs
Specialized ESL teacher who works directly with Joti
Some students in the school who speak Bengali
Continue to build on parent involvement. Ensure that parents understand that Joti is able to read the LLI books independently. They do need to carve out a space and time for her to practice her books and perhaps listen to her read. Dual language books can also be sent home. Buddy her up with an older student in the school who speaks Bengali and engage in activities such as the dual identity stories. A very simple method to promote practicing the LLI books at home could be a small calendar in her pouch where the parent initials each night to indicate that Joti has practiced her book. This could apply to all students in the LLI group so that she does not feel singled out.
Assessment, Placement
and Instruction
Joti has been placed in an English grade 1/2 class of 24 children. At the beginning of the year, she was at STEP 2 orally but is at STEP 1 in reading and writing. Joti did not show much progress in reading or writing while she was in French Immersion. She was able to communicate in simple sentences and follow simple two step directions. She has a very limited vocabulary. She was able to read at a PM Benchmark Level 2 at the beginning of grade 2. Just as a frame of reference, the expected level at the end of grade 1 is level 16 and for the end of grade 2, level 22. She is withdrawn 4 times a week by the ESL teacher for 40 minutes of language instruction. She spends the remainder of the day with her classmates. The homeroom teacher sometimes scribes for Joti as she has wonderful stories. She thrives during Math class although, as much of our Math is language based, she requires individual assistance. Once she understands what is expected, she happily completes the task.
By the end of grade 2, Joti was able to read at a PM Benchmark Level 12 and had moved to STEP 3 orally and STEP 2 in reading and writing. She is able to achieve some of the expectations in STEP 3 for reading and writing but not all.
Our Monograph readings stated that an increase in vocabulary would lead to an increase in comprehension which in turn would lead to improved academic performance. In our WebQuest etivity, we were made aware of several web sites which would be useful in helping Joti expand her English vocabulary. One such example is http://www.languageguide.org/english/ Integrating technology would accelerate her acquisition of vocabulary. She has used Pixton to create stories and these opportunities should continue.
The LLI program has boosted Joti’s reading and this support should be continued. Strategies which were successful should be continued. Ongoing assessment for, as and of Joti's progress will inform and guide instruction. Devote time to training Joti how to evaluate her own work to identify areas that she could improve on and set goals for next steps. Introduce her to peer assessment.
