User:Ruszkowskim14

Assignment 1 Part B - Student Media Tools

Assignment 1 - Exploring IT Resources

The resources I chose to evaluate for this assignment relate to English Language Learners (ELL’s). I found websites published by government ministries, organizations, shared resource sites, webcasts, as well as podcasts. In my teaching context, adapting and modifying for ELL’s is an ongoing part of my practice. The students I teach range in age from twelve to fourteen, but their English language levels range are far broader. I will highlight some of the key supports found in these resources.

Graphic organizers (ESL Printables) are a key piece in assisting ELL’s in in any subject. Writing in a foreign language can be made easier through planning and seeing how the information should be laid out. Pictures have no language, they aid in the understanding of concepts. Digital Worksheets (Read Write Think) allows for an exciting and interactive area in which developing language students can produce quality work, without feeling overwhelmed. Strategies such as Word Walls (Reading Rockets) improve vocabulary; creating representations of a word to go along with its definition reinforces literacy. Having these reinforcements around the classroom to add repetition to learning is beneficial to all students. Simply reading (Colorin Colorado) at the appropriate ELL level, with high interest/low vocabulary passages, will diminish frustration and consequently enable success.

Websites such as Learn Alberta, Teach Thought, and Learn Now BC, which include blogs and/or articles from leaders in teaching English as a Second Language education, provide awareness of the emerging strategies in the field. The suitability of the Learn Alberta website specifically illustrates information that fits in line with the current assessment standards in Alberta schools. Resources on how to properly use the required assessments as well as strategies to enrich language learning.

Whether it is a lesson, a unit, or my entire Language Arts program, the above assessed resources will support ELL’s as they develop their fluency, comprehension and grammar to achieve success in their English education. Furthermore, they will foster my endeavor to be a life-long learner.

My WordPress blog: http://students.olblogs.tru.ca/mruszkowski/