Silent Skit Reflection

1. What challenges did you face when trying to tell you story in as much detail as
possible?
Creating the story was much easier than actually figuring out how we were going to
explain it to the class. The hardest part to portray in our skit, were the different characters
that kept changing throughout the scenes. Since there were only three of us, a lot of times
I had to play more than one person for the same scene. Not being able to speak was of
course very difficult, especially when we had several jokes throughout our skit that did
not make sense without words to explain what was going on.
2. What did you do to overcome these challenges?
Our group mainly relied on the power point, which included pictures that change
throughout each scenes. Having a background provided the class with an idea of what
was going on in our story. In addition, we used props in the beginning and end of our skit
to portray that Julius was eating chocolate chip pancakes. Lastly sounds were used to
convey the ambulance that was taking Julius to the hospital in between scenes.
3. What do you think the main purpose of this activity was?
I believe the main purpose of this activity was to increase our perspective on how an ELL
student may feel in a regular classroom. This activity also shows that teachers may have a
difficult time without relying upon language to teach content and vocabulary in a
classroom with ELL students. Teachers have to be prepared with the appropriate
resources in their lesson plans without discriminating students who do not speak English
as their first language.
4. How can you relate this activity to the experience of ELL students in an English
speaking classroom?
ELL students have the disadvantage of not being able to use their primary language in a
regular classroom. This can decrease communication and understanding for an ELL
student trying to learn in an environment where everything is new to them, especially the
culture. By using appropriate methods such as Total Physical Response, teachers can
support ELL students through their learning development within the classroom. Teachers
must also be aware of childrens silent period and high affective filters.