Checklist of Instructional Modifications for LEP Students Student(s) (initials): R and D Grade: 6th School: Abbington Heights Middle

School Date: November 11, 2013 Observation Questions for ELL/LEP student(s) 1. What techniques/methods/strategies do you see being used with the ELL/LEP student(s)? Are they effective? Why or why not? (Either specifically for the ELL student(s) or in whole class/small group instruction) In my observation of a sixth grade science classroom I noticed the teacher used a lot of differentiated instruction throughout his lesson. He used the four components of language during his lesson, by speaking as he wrote on the board and had students copy, asking students to read portions of an excerpt, and calling their attention at certain points of the lesson. The way he approached his entire lesson utilized different learning styles. He drew illustrations on the blackboard as he spoke, he broke up his talking by asking students questions and prompting mini discussions, and had video clips to show them as well. This was effective for the entire class, not just the ELL student. It kept them focused and the classroom I observed was extremely energetic and alert. They were on task for the entire lesson.

2. Do you notice any student behaviors that you would consider out of the ordinary? Please describe in detail. (This applies to both the ELL student(s) and other classroom students) The teacher organized a Brain Break, explaining that he realizes students need time to process information and that sixth graders cannot sit still for anytime longer than that. Every twenty minutes they would take a short break in which they would play a game. The game did not involve any sort of language or content knowledge. They were broken up by table and each table given a dice. Each person would take a turn rolling the dice, and if they got an 8, 9 or 10 they could sit down. The first table with everyone sitting down won. I thought this was a very good technique, as it got all of the students involved and energetic. They were all playing together, and the entire class seemed to be friends.

3. What type of interactions do you see between the ELL student(s), other classroom students, and the teacher(s)?Please describe in detail. The ELL students and the other classroom students were completely intermingled that it was hard to spot them out at first. They work, play, and talk with each other like any other group of students. Mr. Antonetti explained that the ELL students we observed today have improved tremendously, one student is actually on track to exit the extra services provided on Tuesdays and Thursdays in January at the latest. Their language skills verbally seemed better developed than their writing skills, based on what I saw in one of the students notebook.

X; Directions on quiz were highlighted

X

X: A lot of okay, now write this down X

X
X X

4.Identify resources/materials that are being used with the ELL student(s). Please describe in detail how the ELL student is using them. Do they appear to be effective? Explain. The ELL students I observed did not appear to be using any additional materials given to them by their teacher. During one quiz the student did receive modifications. The English quiz required students to identify the proper nouns and the teacher would tell the student how many nouns were in each sentence that she had to find. That was the only additional material I saw given to the student. The science teacher had a variety of helpful posters that reminded me of our Glogster Survival Guide. One poster was called No Excuse Words, which were words a sixth grader should be expected to spell correctly (like what, there, theyre, and their). Another entire wall was dedicated to their vocabulary words, which could be helpful for all students in the classroom. 5.Does the classroom environment seem to be comfortable for the ELL student(s)? Please describe the environment and explain how you made your decision. The classroom I observed seemed extremely comfortable for the ELL student as well as the other students in the classroom. The teacher used humor in his lesson to keep students engaged and built a sort of camaraderie. The introduction of the games every twenty minutes continued this, and overall it was a comfortable learning environment for all students to feel welcomed. 6.Whats the comfort level of the ELL student(s) in regards to the English language? What observations help you arrive at your decision? Refer to the Vocabulary Performance Indicators. At what level would you place the ELL student? How did you decide on that level? These students seem to be comfortable with the English language. The student from Germany did seem to have more of a hang of it than the student from Brazil, who though able to speak was still having some grammatical errors. I came to this conclusion based by their answers in class. Both were comfortable enough to volunteer answers, but the German speaking students English was more advanced in terms of vocabulary than the student from Brazil. At this point I would say they are both at the speech emergence stage of acquiring a language, as they both asked a lot of questions and seemed to respond well to the teachers use of multimedia. 7. If you feel comfortable enough to ask, ask the cooperating teacher (or ESL teacher) what type of accommodations/modifications they have to make for the ELL student(s). Please describe the types of accommodations/modifications that were discussed. Do they appear on the checklist? Why/why not do you think they are present/not present on the checklist? The one major accommodation I saw during my observation for the ELL students were made to the quiz they took in their English class. The students were given instructions out loud, spoken slowly and carefully by the teacher who repeated herself once. Students read along as she gave the instructions, and were told to raise their hand after she was done if they had any questions. The ELL students had some of their instructions highlighted, as did the 504 students the teacher explained. They were also told how many things they were looking for in each question for the quiz. I felt that this was a helpful accommodation, as it showed them how much they had to do. This type of accommodation was on the checklist because directions and modifications to how the test is filled out are basic ways teachers can help their ELL Students.