ELL

Report Template
1. Description

This field experience took place in a classroom at Coahulla Creek High School in Whitfield County,
Georgia. Whitfield County has a high Hispanic population due to the prevalence of manufacturing plants
for the flooring industry. Coahulla Creek is found in the northern, more rural, section of the county. The
classroom contained 14 students of mixed diversity. Eight students identify as white and six identify as
Hispanic. The student chosen for this field experience is the only student being served as an English
Language Learner (ELL).

The student who will be identified as “Faith” is a sophomore and is currently 15 years of age. Faith is
currently not on track to graduate due to a lack of credits. Her first year of school was her freshman year,
so many of her classes were language-based. According to this information, the IRIS Center (2011)
would classify the student’s English language acquisition as being in the Early Production stage and
slowly progressing into the Speech Emergence stage. Her home’s primary language is Spanish. Faith has
the following WIDA ratings:

Language Domain Proficiency Level Scale Score

Listening 2.4 331
Speaking 1.7 251
Reading 1.9 330
Writing 1.9 280
Oral Language 1.9 291
Literacy 1.9 305
Comprehension 1.9 330
Overall 1.9 301

According to Vogt et al. (2015) a WIDA level 2 student can understand and speak conversational and
academic English with “hesitancy and difficulty; understand parts of lessons and simple directions; …
and are significantly below grade level” (p. 64). Faith does not interact with many of her peers in this
particular classroom, but I have witnessed her conversing with other Spanish-speaking students while
she walks through the hallways. Faith does not speak to me directly. Most of the communication before
this field experience has been through Google Translate. She would type a question or sentence and
show me the translated version when she needed to communicate with me. Faith has very limited basic
interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) with English-speaking students according to the IRIS Center
(2011).
I chose to use a unit on mathematical functions to implement my ELL field experience project. The field
experience took place over two weeks. The focus of the lessons and field experience over those two
weeks was describing linear, quadratic, and exponential functions. I wanted to develop Faith’s cognitive
academic language proficiency (CALPS) while we continued to work on the BICS. The IRIS Center
(2011) explains students can develop both BICS and CALPS at the same time, but the CALPS just takes
longer to acquire. I chose to use the sheltered instruction approach with Faith. Echevarria et al. (2013)
define shelter instruction as teachers providing “grade level objectives through modified instruction that
makes the information comprehensible to the students while promoting the students’ academic English
development” (p. 15). A secondary focus was to modify the activities to allow integration of technology
as well. The technology chosen for the field experience was used to compensate for the inability to work
in groups due to COVID restrictions and to address as many learning modalities as possible. I met with
Faith on the following dates:

Date Time Length Times

February 1, 2021 .25 hour 9:30 – 9:45 (2nd period)
February 3, 2021 .50 hour 9:15 – 9:45 (2nd period)
February 5, 2021 .50 hour 9:15 – 9:45 (2nd period)
February 8, 2021 .50 hour 1:45 – 2:15 (planning period)
February 9, 2021 .50 hour 1:45 – 2:15 (planning period)
February 10, 2021 .50 hour 1:45 – 2:15 (planning period)
February 11, 2021 .25 hour 9:30 – 9:45 (2nd period)
February 12, 2021 .50 hour 1:45 – 2:15 (planning period)

The current pandemic and CDC guidelines restricted my plans for proper support for my ELL student. I
would have liked to provide more partner and group work, but social distancing restrictions limited my
options. My interaction with the student was driven through my SIOP training and from additional
resources such as Emily Kaplan’s (2019) 6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language
Learners. I have been teaching the student for half the school year at this point, so we have built a
working relationship. I have helped her in class several times throughout the year. Kaplan (2019)
provided 6 strategies that I tried to implement each time I worked with Faith. I tried creating a
supportive environment, so I have allowed the student to use Google Translate to communicate with me.
She speaks to me when she feels comfortable. The student is in Biology, so there was some cross-
curricular vocabulary being used (i.e. exponential growth and decay). During classroom lectures and
videos, I tried to speak slowly to allow the student time to process what was being said. I encouraged the
student to use a variety of modalities when communicating with me. When she was uncomfortable
speaking to me, I encouraged her to write down her thoughts. She also continued to utilize Google
 Translate. She occasionally would draw pictures to clarify her communication with me. I tried to speak
in her native language when conversing with her in one-on-one situations. I would use terms like hasta
(up) and abajo (down) when discussing concepts like exponential growth or decay. I wanted to provide
as many opportunities for Faith to read, listen, speak, write, or draw the concepts being learned in the
lessons.
2. Objectives and Assessments
Objective
1. The student will investigate the
definition of a function and be able to
identify a function 80% of the time
given a set of ordered pairs,
mapping, or a graph.
GPS: MGSE9-12.F.IF.1: Understand
that a function from one set to another set
assigns to each element of the domain
exactly one element of the range. If f is a
function, x is the input and f(x) is the
output. Graphically, the graph is y = f(x)
2. The student will investigate the
difference between linear, quadratic,
and exponential functions. The
student will be able to identify in
writing, or verbally, at least three
characteristics of each type of
function.
GPS: MGSE9-12.F.IF.9:Compare
properties of two functions each
represented in a different way
(algebraically, graphically, numerically
in tables, or by verbal descriptions)
3. The student will investigate the
difference between domain and
range using a Desmos activity. The
student will then be able to identify
the domain and range of a function
80% of the time a graph, a table of
values, or function information in set
notation.
GPS: MGSE9-12.F.IF.5:Relate the
domain of a function to its graph and,
where applicable, to the quantitative
relationship it describes.
Assessment
(Formative) The student was assessed using
a combination of paper assignments and
one-on-one conversation. While the other
students worked, the teacher pulled the
student for individual instruction. The
teacher asked guiding questions as the
student worked through the worksheet.
(Formative) The student was assessed using
a Google Jamboard. The Jamboard
contained 3 pages, one for each type of
function. The student was asked to identify as
many characteristics of each function as they
could provide. The student was allowed to
respond in short phrases and with images
either taken from the internet or drawn using
Google Draw.
(Formative) The student was assessed as she
progressed through the Desmos activity.
While the other students worked, the teacher
pulled the student for individual instruction.
The student read the questions aloud to the
teacher and asked clarifying question. The
student then completed the task for each
question.
Resource:
https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/cu
stom/5953f7bc359502399f3cd312.
Was the objective met? Evidence
of student learning.
Yes, the student was able to identify a
function based on the given guidelines.
The student answered correctly on 8 of
time 10 problems on the worksheet. The
student did struggle to comprehend the
terms input and output when discussing
functions. The teacher used an image of a
“function machine” to demonstrate input
and output.
Resource:
https://ca.bigideasmath.com/protected/cont
ent/dcs_ca/tools/function_machine_8_4_1/
function_machine_8_4_1.html
No, the student was not able to identify at
least three characteristics for each
function. The student was able to identify
the proper graph for each function. The
student struggled to identify the standard
form of each function. The student was
able to look at Jamboards created by her
peers and reflect on how she could have
improved.
Yes, the student was able to successfully
identify the domain and range of a given
function on 16 of the 20 questions. The
student struggles to understand the phrase
“All Real Numbers”, so this will require
some remediation.
 Objective 1

Strategy - I provided guided notes with visual representations of difficult topics when possible. The
guided notes were fill in the blank which allowed the student to listen to what I was saying instead of
completely focusing on taking notes.

Technology – I utilized the website

https://ca.bigideasmath.com/protected/content/dcs_ca/tools/function_machine_8_4_1/function_machine
_8_4_1.html to provide a visual of a function machine.

Objective 2

Strategy – I wanted Faith to have an opportunity to participate in an activity where she and her peers
could share what they know about functions. The students could then read each board learning in a
collaborative environment without the actual in-person collaboration.

Technology - I utilized a Google Jamboard as an adaptation to the strategy Response Boards by Vogt et
al. (2008), Gallery Walk by Vogt et al. (2015), or Group Responses with a White Board by Echevarria et
al. (2010). This resource was chosen due to COVID restrictions and the implementation of technology.

Objective 3

Strategy – I wanted to provide Faith with an opportunity to explore domain and range using technology
with a variety of visuals. We would work through the activity together. I would encourage Faith to read
the questions aloud, ask any clarifying questions, and then respond.

Technology – I chose to have the student work through a Desmos activity exploring domain and range.
The activity provides visuals, closed-response questions, and open-response questions.
The link to the activity is
https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/5953f7bc359502399f3cd312.

3. Resources

I have access to a multitude of resources concerning ELLs. I have an ESOL endorsement from my
bachelor’s degree. The district I work for required me to undergo SIOP training a couple of years ago as
well. To this date, I maintain the collection of SIOP resources provided by Pearson Publishing. My
ITEC 7430 course required me to complete the IRIS Teaching English Language Learners: Effective
Instructional Practices course. I used a combination of all these resources to complete this field
experience assignment. The information gained from these resources helped me to carefully plan each
period of instruction by keeping Faith’s language needs as a driving force in the instruction. I adapted
and implemented some of the strategies in the Pearson books because most of them center on partner
work or small group work. The activities had to be adjusted to incorporate technology as well. Many
times the strategies used to help ELL students are good teaching practices for all students.
Resources

Echevarría Jana, Vogt, M. E., & Short, D. (2013). Making content comprehensible for English learners:
The SIOP® model (4th ed.). Pearson.

Echevarría, J., Vogt, M. E., Short, D., Avila, A., & Castillo, M. (2010). The SIOP® model for teaching
mathematics to English learners. Pearson.

The IRIS Center, (2011). Teaching English Language Learners: Effective instructional practices. IRIS
Center. https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ell/#content.

Kaplan, E. (2019, April 12). 6 Essential strategies for teaching English Language Learners. Edutopia.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-essential-strategies-teaching-english-language-learners.

Vogt, M. E., & Echevarría Jana. (2008). 99 Ideas and activities for teaching English learners with the
SIOP® model. Pearson Education, Inc.

Vogt, M. E., Echevarría, J., & Washam, M. A. (2015). 99 More ideas and activities for teaching English
learners with the SIOP® model. Pearson.