The first case study that I read spoke about Hanshaw Middle School in Modesto, California.  Having grown up in Modesto, I was intrigued to hear about this particular school.  The article informs us that the area surrounding the school is a very low income, high poverty, and gang infested area with a high number of immigrants.  The school was designed to be an oasis in the middle of this world of negativity, and according to the article it was fairly successful due to its design and school goals.

                The school had four major goals.  The first was that they were going to have high expectations for all of their students.  Secondly, they wanted to support the Chicano/Latino experience.  Additionally, they designed a meaning centered curriculum.  Finally, they made a conscious effort to impart life skills as a part of the curriculum.  To complement these school wide student goals, the administration also worked to hold the teachers to a high standard.  Teachers were sent to trainings and were spared lunch duty to reinforce their professionalism.

                The second case study that I focused on was Linda Vista Elementary School.  Like Hanshaw, this school worked very hard to create a warm, safe learning environment.  Students were set up in learning groups and the walls were decorated with an array of student work.  Their innovative curriculum and instructional strategies included: placement and grouping strategies, cooperative learning, whole language literature-based instruction, computer-based instruction, and cultural validation.

                As I read through these case studies, several of the strategies discussed really jumped out at me, both because they were similar to what I am already doing at my school and also because they seemed like strategies that I could implement to make my instruction even better.  The first strategy that I want to discuss is Hanshaw Middle School’s Meaning Centered Curriculum.  This meaning centered curriculum focused on thematic instruction (integrated math, reading, science, social studies) with associated field trips, a focus on life skills (similar to SLE’s), and meaning based curriculum.  For my part, I feel like I have set up my curriculum to be meaning centered.  Students walk into the 6^th grade knowing they are going to have to find a way to connect everything we learn back to their lives today (which gets tricky with our study of Ancient Civilizations!).  I try to find ways to help students better relate to the material and use a variety of teaching strategies and tools, including technology, to make the material more accessible to them.  As such I am also focusing on the ways that the curriculum will help to teach them life skills.  When we discuss anything in class students use sentence starters to politely share their ideas and argue with others.  All students are held accountable for their thoughts, even if they answer by saying “I agree with ______, that______ because________.”  Additionally, using the sentence starters has been really helpful for my ELL students because it helps them to formulate their ideas ahead of time and practice using a correct grammatically structure.  In time I have even found that students are using the language in the discussions outside of the classroom, at PE, lunch, sports programs, music class, etc! 

That being said, the strategy that I would like to really focus on is a better integration of my subject areas through the use of thematic units.  While I feel I do a very good job of making connections to topics we have already studied (and getting the kids to make those connections), I feel as though the material would be more accessible to the students, and I would conserve a lot of valuable instruction time, if I was able to better integrate topics throughout the year.  As a school, over the summer, each teacher will be meeting with our principal to try and create these thematic units.  While I think combining science and math and reading will be fairly easy, I worry about how I will be able to successfully integrate social studies.  Finding good novels on Ancient Civilizations is not exactly easy.  That said I look forward to the challenge of rearranging my curriculum to better serve the needs of the students in my class.  Thankfully, the incorporation of fieldtrips into the curriculum will not be difficult as we already have field trips to places like the Getty Villa and the Ocean Institute in place to enhance our instruction.

With regards to other strategies I look forward to incorporating into my teaching, I pull from two of Linda Vista’s strategies: Placement Grouping Strategies and Computer-based instruction.  The case study on Linda Vista mentioned that the school used multiple grouping methods to best meet the needs of the students.  While homogeneous instruction allowed for tailored instruction, heterogeneous instruction allows students with complementary strengths to help each other in reading and other areas.  I think that this is a strategy that I can definitely begin to implement on a wider basis next year.  This spring I am trying out a modified Literature Circle with my class, in which they are in mixed ability groups three days a week and in leveled ability groups two days a week.  When in these groups the students have an opportunity to work collaboratively to discuss the novel Where the Red Fern Grows.  Each form of grouping allows me to interact with the small groups of students on different levels to meet their needs and it has given me a much better idea of their ability than whole class instruction.  Linda Vista also discussed the use of cooperative learning groups and whole language literature based instruction, both of which I am already using in my classroom.  Even though my students have, on average, a third grade reading level, if one heard them talk about Where the Red Fern Grows, or any novel we have read, one would think they were high school students discussing a piece of important literature based on the depth with which they are able to discuss the many facets of the book.  The students are able to do this because of the high level of importance I have placed on using their reading strategies, visualizing the text, and making connections as they read.  Because they can do these things, they can better analyze the text from a critical perspective, than can those who are just passively reading.

Linda Vista’s Computer Based Instruction sounds ideal.  According to the case study, it was used as an instructional tool to get the kids excited about the curriculum.  Currently I try to incorporate as much technology into my lessons as I can for the same reason—to get kids to connect and engage.  My students even make movies when we are done studying Ancient Egypt to showcase their learning.  During this school year my school received a grant to purchase computers for our school.  We have opted to purchase a laptop cart that would allow the teachers to bring laptops into the classrooms for students to use.  Once we are able to use the computers, we can incorporate technology into the curriculum at a much higher level.  Not only could students be blogging about their reading to each other, but in an effort to better differentiate my instruction, during small group rotations, groups could use enrichment and remedial, level targeted programs to help their specific needs in reading, math, and science.

Overall, I felt that reading the case studies was a very valuable experience because it has given me a lot of suggestions and ideas that I can work on incorporating in my classroom from now till the end of the year, and in the years to come.  I look forward to being able see even more growth in my students in the following years.

ELD REFLECTION:

Summary of General Hospital (Korean Version)

In an effort to understand what it would be like to be an English Language Learner, I watched two programs in languages I am not overly familiar with.  The first show I watched was the Korean version of General Hospital.  The episode began with a large group of people sitting in a restaurant and several of the guys taking shots of alcohol.  One of the girls in the group gives the guy taking the shot a “look” that seems to indicate disapproval or that trouble is brewing.  The scene then switches to a man and a woman walking down the beach, holding hands, and having an intimate conversation.  Flash back to the restaurant.  The original guy taking shots is now drunk.  He says something very inappropriate to the guy from the beach scene and everyone stares at him.   Then they tackle him, covering his mouth so he will stop talking.  The scene then changes to have two men talking in a dark alley.  When the guy with glasses from the beach leaves, the other man stands there, against the wall, and appears to be yelling at himself internally since his mouth is not moving.  Fortunately for him, a girl, who is smiling a lot, comes up to him and they start talking.  He then appears to give her bad news, as she stops smiling.  All is not lost though, as they then proceed to kiss and make up.

The scene changes once more and it is now day light.  The scene appears to be inside of a dormitory or similar type building, as people pile out of the rooms.  The drunk guy from the previous night wakes up in a hallway.  He is obviously very hung over and as he sits in misery he remembers some of his antics from the previous night.  He appears as shocked as his friends had at the table when they had tackled him.  Suddenly a man runs up to him in complete panic.  Together they run down this dirt road to an old run-down house/farm.  When they enter the barn and the man points to the cow, the doctor is clearly upset.  He thought there had been a medical emergency and he isn’t a vet!  While the old farmer is still freaking out, the doctor walks outside to make a call on his cell phone.  During this brief time, the old man gets injured (I think he got kicked by the cow).  The doctor carries the man through a rural area to the hospital/clinic.  Once inside a team of doctors rip his shirt off (even though he’s not bleeding).  As they listen to his heart, we notice that there is a large bruise on the left side of the man’s chest and that his breathing is very fast.  The doctor’s inject a needle into the right side of his chest and then insert a tube into his chest.  The tube travels from his chest into a glass jar filled with water.  Suddenly blood starts coming out and filling up the jar.  This is not good.  The guy then gets transported to a new hospital and all the doctors go with him.

The scene changes again and the “drunk” guy is talking with the “leans on the wall” guy.  Their conversation seems to shift between joking and serious topics, some of which seems to reference “drunk” guy’s antics from the previous night and what he had said to the other doctor.  “Leans against the wall” gets mad at “Drunk” and walks off, but both meet up with some of the female doctors shortly thereafter for lunch.

After lunch everyone gets onto a big bus and waves good bye to a group of people.  I guess they had been out in the country for some sort of medical mission.  Regardless, they head back to the hospital in Seoul and the episode plays out from there.  Back at the hospital we meet a variety of patients who appear to be gravely ill.  One man, caring his IV on a pole down the hallway, stops to look at a calendar and appears to be very upset after glancing at the 2009.  In literature this would foreshadow his death (we don’t see this character again during the show), but here I think it just indicated the seriousness of the illnesses patients on this floor were suffering from.

The “Leans on the wall” guy is now standing in an office and appears to be internally yelling at himself again.  I think that he is having a flashback of a conversation with someone else and he is replaying what they said to him.  After that he looks through a medical journal, which is in English, at an article about cancer.  He then pulls up an Excel spread sheet and examines some information on there.

Later “Leans on wall,” “Drunk,” and the girl with bangs, have a very serious conversation.  “Drunk” and “Bangs” seem to be very concerned about their friend as he walks off down the hall.  “Leans on the wall” then has a flashback to a conversation he had with the doctor with glasses.  This is the same conversation he had been thinking about earlier.

The show continues on and the focus seems to switch from the young doctors to the older doctor with glasses.  It is apparent that the younger doctors, and most other people at the hospital, think this man is bad.  When a patient comes in and appears to be very sick, “Glasses” refuses to treat him.  Later another doctor asks “Glasses” to have some coffee with him, and after a short conversation, “Glasses” storms out of the room.  Maybe he has been accused of doing something.

The show ends with all the doctors gathered in a room for medical presentations.  When everyone appears to be done, “Glasses” stands up and delivers a presentation.  He appears to be both sad and angry.  The other doctors look like they feel really bad about something.  Maybe their accusations were unjustified.

Summary of Vecinos

                This T.V. show aired in two 30-minute episodes.  The first episode began with two older gentlemen playing soccer with a young kid.  After playing they have a discussion and it becomes clear that the guy who wears very tight shirts that are too small is being kicked off the team because he isn’t very good.

                The scene shifts to a woman, wearing a very low cut shirt, talking on the phone in the kitchen.  She is on the phone with her mom and talking about a wedding that was very fun and had some great dancing.

                The young kid and the man are now having a meeting with a bunch of men from their building.  The kid is trying to get the guys to join his soccer team, but all the men have excuses.  One guy (about 20) claims to have to go watch Sesame Street, another guy says he’d make a great cheerleader, and still another says that he’d be a great announcer.

                The guy that got kicked off the soccer team is walking around the building with an open umbrella.  The kid’s mom tells him it’s not raining and gives him a funny look.

                Sylvia, the lady on the phone from earlier, is talking with another girl about the wedding.  They are talking about how everyone is getting married these days.

                The guy that got kicked off the soccer team hangs up a flier that says “Need Work” and a bunch of kids run up and draw a mustache on his face.  He sees it and then puts a finger under his nose, imagining what he’d look like with a mustache.

                Back at the soccer field, all the men try out for the goalie position.  One guy lets the ball roll through his legs, another receives a broken nose for his efforts, and a third injures his back while bending over.  When they get back to the building, the scene changes to show the old goalie playing pool and winning a lot of money.  When the kid runs into the old goalie, he tries to convince him to come back to the team and the goalie says he’ll have to think about it.

                In the meantime, Sylvia calls Jimmy, the fiancé of her cousin who’s getting married.  It appears as though she is going to try and steal him away.  When Jimmy shows up she is super excited, that is until she finds out he brought his fiancé, her cousin, with him.  The cousin is overweight and Sylvia takes her to the kitchen and gets out a lot of sweets for her to eat.  The cousin appears to ask for more and Sylvia takes out some whip cream to put on top of the brownies.  Then Sylvia sits down with Jimmy and looks through old pictures of the two of them.  He appears to ignore her sentiments.

                The show ends with all the guys playing soccer.

                In the second episode of Vecinos, Sylvia is talking with an older man wearing a hat.  They are talking to everyone in the lobby of the building and she is trying to convince the people to take care of the man because he is sick (but not contagious).  Everyone says no and tells him that he can’t stay.  As the guy is leaving the building, he gets hit by a guy on a bike.  Everyone stares at him wondering what to do when out of nowhere a doctor shows up.  The doctor says that the guy hurt his leg and that the people were responsible for him.  The people say they are not, but then the doctor threatens to call the police so they agree to take the man in.

                In the meantime, there is a rocker couple kissing outside of the building.  The girl’s brother sees her doing this and later tells her parents.  The parents and the brother have a conversation with the girl, obviously disapproving of her dating this grungy boy.  The brother tries to convince the dad to handle the young man, saying that the dad is the man of the house.  The dad repeats this as if to reassure himself or convince himself that this is true.  Later the guy comes to the house and the parents take one look at him and freak out.  The dad’s conversation is hilarious as the guy clearly pays him no attention.  The mom yells at the daughter and appears to strongly disapprove of the relationship.  Eventually the boy leaves.

                Meanwhile, the old man has been set up in the young kid’s room.  At first the kid complains, but then he does a lot of helpful things for the man, including bringing him dinner, fixing his blanket, and massaging his shoulder.  Later the boy brings the man coffee which he spills on himself.  The man jumps out of bed and dances around because of the hot coffee.  Clearly he has been faking since his leg does not appear to be injured.  Outside one of the men buys a paper and goes to get his shoes shined when he realizes that the shoe shine guy is the doctor.  He was a fake!  After that everyone kicks the “injured” guy out since he had been lying.  As they do this he starts in with another sob story and we are left wondering what will happen to him.

Description of Reactions, Emotions, and Feelings

                While watching the programs, I’d day that my first feeling was one of confusion, followed by pure entertainment.  When watching the Korean show with my roommates we had absolutely no idea what the characters were saying.  Based on our experiences with medical shows, we had a basic understanding of what was happening, but we missed a lot of the key details.  When we couldn’t make out any of the conversation, we started to make up the dialogue ourselves which was highly humorous.  I suppose had I been a patient in the hospital I would have been highly frustrated at not being able to understand the doctors.  I would probably feel very lonely and worried when I wasn’t able to communicate with my doctors.

                Having taken some Spanish classes in high school, I was able to understand a few of the words in the second show, but still there was a lot that I didn’t understand.  This show was a comedy and the material was much lighter.  I was still confused, but overall I feel like I was able to get the main idea of the show.

Identification of Strategies:

                In order to determine what was happening in the show, I used a lot of visual cues.  It was easy to determine general location simply by observing where the characters were.  Additionally, at several parts in both shows words appeared (in English) on posters, books, etc. that gave me clues as to what was happening.  Additionally, I was able to pick up a lot based on facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice.  In the first show, characters displayed a wide range of emotions, and though I didn’t always know what they were talking about, it was easy to figure out when they were happy (smiling, giggling), angry (raised voice, serious face), or shocked (wide eyes, open mouth).  In the second show I was able to use those same strategies as well, but in addition to them, I was also able to use my tiny Spanish background and words that are cognates.  Having words that are similar in Spanish and English helped me to get an even better idea of what was happening.  Finally, in both shows I was able to also draw on my background knowledge of human social interactions, medical programs, neighbors and friends, soccer, and so on, to make connections between the material in the show and my own life.  Making these connections really helped me to better understand what was happening in the show and connect with the characters.

How can this experience be applied to teaching English Learners?

                I think that this experience is primarily designed to raise our awareness of the struggles a non-English speaking person would face if they had no understanding of English.  Having traveled to other countries and tried to hold parent conferences in Spanish, I understand to a small extent how these people would feel.  When I try and communicate with others in a language I am not familiar in, I feel extremely frustrated.  It’s very difficult to try and have a conversation with someone when you can’t come up with the right words or you don’t understand what they are telling you.  Additionally, once I got beyond my frustration with the shows, I began to find the humor in them and to make up my own dialogue.  I suppose this was my way of adapting to the situation.  That said, I can only imagine what it would be like to be a language learner sitting in a classroom all day with minimal understanding of what was being taught.  If it was me, I’d probably tune out the teacher or play a game with myself where I tried to guess what in the world she was talking about.

                Knowing how frustrating it can be to not understand the language, how do we as teachers teach these students?  Using the strategies I used in the shows, I think that the more visual aids are present the better.  If students can see a picture of what we are talking about, they will be able to give it a word in their own language and follow along a little better.  I didn’t need to know the Spanish word for soccer or goalie because I saw them playing with a soccer ball and taking shots at the various men in the goal box.   Additionally, facial expressions and body language are essential.  The more expressive we can be the easier it will be for them to follow what we are saying and feeling.  That being said, as teachers we must be careful to not be sarcastic in our words or expressions because that could be highly confusing to a language learner.  In addition, if we as teachers have a basic repertoire of words from the student’s primary language to draw on, we could occasionally assist the student in their understanding.  In my classroom, many students are able to make connections to things we are taking about by discussing the similarities between the words in English and the words in Spanish.  I feel that helping the students make these connections is vital for their complete understanding of the material.  Finally, I think that it is vital for students to be making connections between the material that they are learning and their own experiences.  The more background knowledge students have to draw from, the more they will be able to understand, even if it is in an unfamiliar language.