Observation Questions for ELL student(s)

1. What techniques/methods/strategies do you see being used with the ELL student(s)? Are
they effective? Why or why not? (Either specifically for the ELL student(s) or in whole
class/small group instruction)

Some techniques that Ms. Kellar uses specifically for the ELL student is she gives him an
orange highlighter to pick out any words he does not understand and the student is also
allowed to type out answers because he has really bad handwriting. These strategies are
effective because she knows exactly what words he is struggling with and also is able to
understand what he is trying to say in writing because he can type out his responses. He has
the right thinking, but sometimes she cannot read what he writes.

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)

The student guesses a lot. When he is not sure of the right word, he will just guess until the
right word comes out. Also, he stands up for himself more than other students do. He is very
assertive because of the culture he comes from in Puerto Rico. There was an incident
between himself and another student because of this culture barrier. He will also call the girls
in the class “sweetheart”. The girls in the class find this strange because that is not typical of
fourth grade students in the US, but in Puerto Rico, it is normal.

3. What type of interactions do you see between the ELL student(s), other classroom
students, and the teacher(s)? Please describe in detail.

The interactions between the ELL student and everyone around him is very positive. They
respect his culture, and everyone respects his. He learns a lot from the other students because
they can help him if he is having trouble with the language or if he is struggling finding the
right words to say. He is very advanced, so he fits in well with his classmates.

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 mentioned prior, the teacher gives him an orange highlighter to pick out unfamiliar words.
Ms. Kellar also uses “glogster”, an interactive vocabulary card website. She will put up
vocabulary cards on there for him and it says the word in his native language, shows pictures
of the words, and also shares some videos that relate to the word. These techniques seem to
be effective because he is so advanced now compared to two years ago when he did not
know any English at all.

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.

I think it seems comfortable. He is so advanced that I could not identify which student was
the ELL. Ms. Kellar also does a really good job of making the classroom culturally
responsive. All the of the students’ name tags are written in Spanish. She also has a Spanish
word of the week in the front of the room that the kids learn about along with some pictures
of it. I would imagine this makes the ELL student more comfortable because she is also
incorporating his first language in the classroom. She also has them read books with a few
Spanish words in them and has the ELL student “take charge” and lets him explain the words
and talk in his native language.

6. What’s the “comfort” level of the ELL student(s) in regards to the English language?
What observations help you arrive at your decision? At what stage would you place the
ELL student? How did you decide on that level?

The ELL student is at a very advanced stage. I could not even tell that English was not his
first language. I find it so interesting that just two years prior to now, he did not know one
word of English and now he can speak fluent English, to the point where no one would be
able to tell that he was not able to speak it just two years ago.

7. 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?

Ms. Kellar does not make any modifications or accommodations specifically in regards to the
ELL student.