Kimberly Wall

Student(s) (initials): ET
School: BCCCS
2015

Grade: 1
Date: October

Observation Questions for ELL/LEP students

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)
When I observed child E, who is an ELL student in a first grade class, I really did not see any
accommodations made for the child. The child is one who gets pulled out of class for some parts of
the day. However, doing nothing seems to be effective in a way where the child is eager to learn
and pays close attention to what the teacher says. The teacher has a rule in her class where if you
have a question you ask 3 before me. So occasionally I will see child E ask other children for
clarification. I also noticed that child E sits in the middle of advanced level students, and when I
asked the teacher if it was on purpose she said that she did do it on purpose. I feel that child E is
doing fine and most likely gets most of her help during her pull out time.
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)
I feel that there arent really any students who behave out of the ordinary. I think this may be
because the students are still very young and they are generally accepting. Whenever child E asks
a question to one of her peers, the other children answer normally as they would to any other child.
I feel that child E is somewhat fluent in English so she doesnt have much difficulty communicating
with the other children.
3.
What type of interactions do you see between the ELL student(s), other
classroom students, and the teacher(s)? Please describe in detail.
I feel that the interaction between everyone in the classroom is generally even. Child E has much
confidence, and it shows. She has no problem asking questions in front of the whole class.
Occasionally I catch her saying something that is misworded but she does not become
embarrassed. The teacher has the children read out loud and she still picks on child E, like she

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does the others. She relatively reads okay, however she pays close attention and reads slow with
few mistakes.
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.
As I already mentioned, child E does not get any more accommodations than the other children in
the general ed. classroom. However when I asked her ESL teacher she mentioned that she gives
child E many opportunities to work with materials such as flip cards with her native language and
English. She also lets child E use resources such as the iPad. I asked her ESL teacher if she thinks
they are effective and she responded with I believe they are working because she is becoming
very fluent in English, she is doing very well. I feel that they are also effective because it seems
that child E is doing very well with English along with doing well academically.
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.
After talking about effective ways to help welcome ELL students into the classroom, I noticed that
the teacher does not implement anything we talked about. In her classroom, there are general
posters written in English only. However, I dont think this effects child E in anyway. I was curious to
know if child E had any problem transitioning in the beginning of the year so I asked the gen. ed.
teacher if she had any difficulty. She replied with I did not notice any hard transitioning, I felt as if
she was not even an ELL student. I think this is because she has been in school here since
kindergarten, therefore she is doing pretty well with English and getting along with the other
children.
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?
I feel that child E is mostly comfortable with the English Language. The reason I have decided this
is because she is decently fluent when speaking. She occasionally makes mistakes when she talks
but you can still understand what she is trying to say. She seems very confident and does not get
discouraged if she does not speak perfectly. The level that I would say child E is at would be
intermediate. Level 3, or Intermediate, indicates that the child understands and speaks
conversational and academic English with decreasing hesitancy and difficulty. The child is postemergent, developing reading comprehension and writing skills in English. The childs English

Kimberly Wall

literacy skills allow the student to demonstrate academic knowledge in content areas with
assistance. I feel that child E meets this level of proficiency and also proves this during my
observations.
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?
When I asked the gen. ed. teacher about the accommodations she makes, she responded that she
does not necessarily make any more accommodations than she does for the other students. She
said this is because she believes child E is performing fine without the special attention. The
teacher also mentioned that she feels that since she isnt giving child E any special treatment she
is becoming more successful and more proficient with the English language. However when I
asked the ESL teacher what kind of accommodations she uses she explained that she monitors for
comprehension and will clarify anything need be. She also does activities with child E to enhance
her knowledge about the English language and how she speaks. She feels that the one-on-one
time really helps child E and she is only becoming a better English speaking students from here on.