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Friday, March 4, 2011

Hey, Hey, What do you have to say?


Part of what I do as an ELL teacher is help students develop their English language skills in 4 domains. Reading, Writing are the two most commonly thought of. However, there are two other domains that are just as important, because without them we don't even come close to Reading & Writing. These domains are Speaking & Listening. I actually feel that it is important for all students to develop these skills. I often wonder if students struggle more in schools now because we have a concentration on more academic skills as opposed to truly developing some very necessary, life long, social skills. I digress, let me get back to my post.

Last year I had several students who were just not comfortable talking in class. No matter what we tried, they were just not ready to make the leap & respond to questions, or read aloud, sing songs. Sure they would ask me to go to the bathroom, or tell me that they didn't understand an activity but they were just not willing to go further. I wanted to find a way for them to feel safe to share with the class. One day I was reading an e-mail from Scholastic.com and I saw an article another teacher had written where she used her students pictures & a speech bubble & had them write in a message. I thought this would be the perfect baby step for my students. They didn't actually have to verbalize what they were thinking but they could share a thought  or feeling. Like I said "baby steps".

I just got some Bulletin board paper, cut it to size & laminated it. I did this because I have VERY little space & I wanted to hang it in my entrance hallway. By having the paper laminated I could 1. reuse it (I'm all about the 3 R's) & 2. take the bubbles on & off without tearing the paper. Then I printed up the heading "Hey, Hey, What do you have to say?" I have several set of pictures of my students that I take at the start of every year for this very reason & I just pulled a set out. Then I purchased a set of speech bubbles from CTP & had those laminated too. Now I was ready to put it all together. It's not very cute but it works.


When I introduced the board it was an instant hit. The students LOVED it. Whenever they have a message they want to say they may go (only during independent work time) to the board & change it. I use dry erase markers so they are easy yo wipe off. The students have total control of their messages & take ownership of their messages. I do get a lot of I love... sentences but occasionally I get a good one & have to laugh to myself.

 




It has been such a nice addition to my classroom. I've been doing it two years and I enjoy it. What are some things you do to get your students talking in your room?

Ms. M

12 comments:

  1. I love this idea! I have a speech and language background and the limited amount of time we have to spend on developing social language skills is a big problem. Eye contact, responding to questions, topic maintenance...it is so important for this age group. Thanks for sharing your idea.
    Kimberly
    http://funkyfirstgradefun.blogspot.com/

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  2. I love your new layout! It's really cute!

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  3. Oh, I have been struggling with this very thing with some of my ELL students! What a WONDERFUL idea! So simple! I will be implementing this in my classroom! Thanks for sharing this awesome idea!
    Jenea
    www.seedsofnoledge.blogspot.com

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  4. Thanks so much for the comments on my blog and the website link. SO excited to follow your blog and steal some ideas (Harry Wong says it's okay!! haha). Have a great weekend!

    RJ
    http://mrhayessblog.blogspot.com/

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  5. Kimberly, I couldn't agree with you more.

    Tickled Pink & Amanda, Thanks. :)

    Jenea, I'm glad I helped.

    Mr. Hayes A.K.A RJ, Your welcome, & it's always nice to get comments. Yes, it's ok to steal here in blogland. Harry Wong is right.

    Ms. M
    www.msk1ell.blogspot.com

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  6. Ms. M, I just love this! What a cool idea! I am definitely going to try this next year (need to find a space to set it up!).

    Kristen
    Ladybug's Teacher Files

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  7. Oh and I had to laugh...when you were talking about developing reading and writing I was like "I know what she's going to say next!! Listening and Speaking! Listening and Speaking!" ELL teachers, huh? ;)

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  8. Ladybug Teacher I know EXACTLY what you mean about having to find space. I guess us ELL teachers get the small spaces.

    Oh and you made me laugh out loud with your "listening & speaking" comment. Yes, us ELL teachers. :)

    Ms. M
    www.msk1ell.blogspot.com

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  9. This is a great idea! The listening and speaking lessons are a little harder to come up with - we're just so used to tying reading and writing into everything!

    I teach k-12 ELL so it was GREAT to find your blog and your ideas!! =)

    Thanks!
    Lauren
    http://misslaurensclass.blogspot.com/

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  10. Hi Miss. Lauren,

    It's always nice to find another ELL teacher. FYI, Ladybug teacher is also an ELL teacher & has some wonderful resources. If you haven't already visited her site I have a button below that will take you straight there. Glad to have you here.

    Ms. M
    www.msk1ell.blogspot.com

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  11. Thanks for linking up! I was honored to have a veteran like yourself link up! LOVE your blog!

    Amy @ First Things First

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