Weekly Bulletin 2

Week of September 15-19

EAST LAKE LEDGER

News | Announcements | Reminders
School Vision: Our vision is for East Lake Elementary to be a high performing school that meets the needs of each child and encourages
growth, achievement, and motivation through quality instruction.$
School Mission: East Lake Elementary exists to establish a collaborative learning community among parents, faculty, staff, students, and
the community in an effort to increase student achievement.$

Culture and Diversity

In the summer of 2008, I was blessed with the opportunity of spending eight weeks in Costa Rica. I lived with a Costa Rican family and
taught English to local Kindergarteners. It was a total immersion program and it forced me to create ways of communicating a language that
I only knew from taking Spanish classes. It also required me to dig deep into instructional strategies that I had learned in some of my college
classes. It is one thing to teach students who speak the same language as you - it is another to teach students who look at you like you are
speaking another language - because you are! As I watch the number of Hispanic students growing at East Lake, I am constantly reminded of
my experience there and how I, as a teacher, need to become more cognizant in the way I deliver my instruction so that all students (ESL and
non-ESL) can get the most possible out of their learning. This week and next week, read all about some strategies that help meet the needs of
our ESL students - though, our non-ESLs can benefit from these strategies too!$

Comprehensible Input!
According to Creating Literacy Instruction for All Student (Gunning, 2013), comprehensible input is the act of modifying what you are teaching
(the input) so it is more comprehensible for ESL students. The input should not be too dicult for them, but, at the same time, it should not
be too easy, either. It should still stretch the thinking of ESL students. Creating Literacy lists five strategies for providing comprehensible
input. Check out two in the Ledger this week and stay tuned next week for the other three!$
1. Modeling: I would venture to say that we all use modeling unconsciously - something we dont even think about. If a student doesnt
understand, let me model what I am asking them to do. However, Creating Literacy even mentioned using modeling when teaching
language elements with ESL learners. For example, the dierence between This is and These are THIS IS my pencil (and show a
pencil). THESE ARE my pencils (and show multiple pencils). Repeating this with various examples can help the students visualize the
language elements they are learning. $
2. Redirect: Redirecting entails encouraging a student who has asked you a question to direct it to another student (Gunning, 2013, pg. 35).
If a student has a question about what you are teaching, instead of answering it yourself, direct them to ask a student who could answer
their question. It is important that the students restate their question when they ask a classmate. For example, consider this
conversation:$
Teacher: Are there any questions?
Miguel: Why did you carry the 2 after you multiplied?
Teacher: Thats a great question, Miguel. Why dont we see if someone else can answer that
question - Miguel, why dont you ask a friend who has their hand up?
Miguel: Sandra, why did we carry the 2 after we multiplied?$
This strategy of redirecting not only helps the student who is asking the question by giving them
the opportunity to get an answer from a peer - it also allows the other students to vocalize their
learning, which in turn helps their comprehension. $
Try out these strategies this week and be on the lookout for the next three from Creating Literacy
next week!

Interested in learning some basic

conversational Spanish? Email
Martha McMillan - East Lake is
going to host a few meetings after
school for teachers to start learning
some basic foundational school
words to help us better
communicate with our students and
parents! It will be fun - come join
us!!

Mrs.
Chuma in
2nd grade!

Teacher Spotlight:
Mrs. Chuma - 1st Grade
Mrs. Chuma is beginning her third year
here at East Lake - though it is her sixth
year teaching! She was a Pre-K teacher in
Georgia become joining the East Lake
family. Her favorite thing about East Lake
is how friendly and supportive the staff
members are. We all get along great
and someone is always there to help and
say an encouraging word.

Instructional Spotlight:
Powwows and Trips to the Zoo
Ever been to a Cherokee Powwow or the Chattanooga Zoo? I sure havent been to
either - but by the middle of October, our first graders will have been to both! $
For the first month of school, the first grade students studied Native Americans of
Tennessee - specifically, the Cherokee Indians. The students had to do research on
the food, culture, and clothing of the Cherokee Tribes. After doing this research,
the students prepared a speech using cue cards. But, they didnt just stand up and
present in their classrooms - instead, they had the opportunity to attend a Cherokee
Powwow! $

Mrs. Chuma attend Chickamauga

Elementary School in Chickamauga,
Georgia. CES had a specified time each
day when the school participated in
D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read).
Seeing as Mrs. Chuma loved (and still
loves) reading, this was definitely her
favorite part of school!

The students wore Native American headdresses and gathered in the pavilion across
the street. Once there, they split into groups, sat in circles, and students had to
present their speeches (using the cue cards) to teach their classmates what they
researched. After the speeches, students stood up and performed a Cherokee
Stomp Dance together!$
In science, first grade has been studying life cycles. They started with plants and
will be switching gears to animals soon. To supplement their learning of animals,

Mrs. Chuma received her Bachelors

degree in Early Childhood Education
from Dalton State College. She is also
currently attending Walden University.
She is working towards getting her
Masters degree in Reading and Literacy
(K-6). She plans to graduate in April
2016.

the first grade team wanted to go on a field trip to the zoo. The zoo is oering a

Mrs. Chuma will be choosing our next

teacher to spotlight - be on the lookout
next week. It might be you!

October 2, our first graders will be going on a fully funded (Common Core lesson,

program that oers a Common Core lesson called Animal Wraps, as well as a tour
of the zoo. It has a high price attached, so Mrs. Chuma called the zoo to see if
there was anyway the price could be lowered - the team was even willing to skip the
lesson and just go for the tour. $
Instead of lowering the price, the zoo told our first grade team about the Lillian L.
Colby Charitable Grant Foundation, which funds trips to the zoo. The team
applied for the grant and became the first school ever to receive this grant! Now, on
tour, and buses) trip to the zoo to learn more about animal life cycles! Wow!$
What are you and your grade level doing to help promote learning and engagement for your students?
Let me know so it can be in the spotlight next.

The East Lake Ledger is a weekly bulletin published each week during the school year for employees of East Lake Elementary School. Its purpose is to
foster communication among school sta and to support a positive culture among the sta. It is being created as a part of the UTC Principal Licensure
program. All sta members are encouraged to submit news or articles. Please submit news, articles, questions, or comments to Martha McMillan.