Mazie Stiles

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)
I observe in a second-grade classroom at Neil Armstrong Elementary School. There is
one ELL student in the class. In the beginning of the lesson, the teacher will have
students read the words of the week together and go through all the components of them
while they are also up on the board. This method helps the student see and hear the word
that the teacher is talking about. They also sing a song about all the words of the week.
This can help an ELL student because instead of just saying it, singing it makes it more
fun and likely to remember. Finally, my observing teacher will usually let the ELL
student teach the Spanish version of the word. This is great in my opinion because the
other students get to hear it in another language and the ELL student feels included.

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 in my class says “uh” in between every word when speaking out loud. I do
not know if this behavior would classify as “out of the ordinary.” For example, “The uh
answer to the uh question about the uh animal is uh the uh tiger.” The teacher does not
make many comments on it because the students is not making any mistakes, just adding
a word. Since the word “uh” does not change the meaning of what the child is saying it is
not an issue for them yet.

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 other students in the classroom love the ELL student. When picking other students
for answers or needing a partner many people want to be with the ELL student. The
 student is very comfortable with the teacher and the teacher likes the student a lot. There
does not seem to be any social issues with the ELL student from my observation.

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.
When learning new words, the teacher in my classroom plays a song video that includes
the word in Spanish and English. It has pictures and everyone sings along each morning.
The ELL student is using the video as a way to learn the definition of the word and see
what the word is. If the video just has the words in English, then this would not be as
effective for the ELL student. The songs do seem effective because the child is singing
along and when asked understands the meaning of the word. I also think it is effective for
the other students because they are learning the words in a different language and
expanding their horizons.

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.
The classroom environment does seem to be comfortable for the ELL student. The
classroom has many things labeled in English and Spanish to make sure the child
understands what everything is. There are also some major words that are used in English
translated to Spanish to help the student. For example, may I go to the bathroom, how do
you say, etc. These are not used often by the student because he/she has pretty good
English, but it is always helpful. Also, some students ask the everyday questions in
Spanish which makes the ELL student happy.

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 in my observing classroom is very comfortable speaking English.
He/she is capable of most conversational English but gets confused with some more
complicated words and phrases. When observing the student, I can see that they are very
 comfortable with easy everyday language talking to the teacher and classmates. When
they move towards unit vocabulary, it gets a little more difficult. After they are able to
relate it to Spanish, they learn very quickly. I would place the ELL student at a level 8. I
am placing the student here because he/she knows a lot of English but is sometimes able
to translate higher level words.

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?
The cooperating teacher in my classroom explained that she uses visuals to relate to the
oral directions she speaks. She talked about how she uses videos and images to reinforce
what she is saying through something the student can look at. Another technique she uses
is songs. The songs are used to make it easier for the ELL student to remember new
words or facts. All of the modifications/ accommodations were present on the checklist.
They appeared on the checklist because these are all effective ways to accommodate and
modify for the ELL student.