Cooperating While Sorting and Matching Pictures of Interactions in Grade 1

EAL teachers and grade 1 homeroom teachers collaborated this week as we asked students in groups to practice the interaction of cooperation in order to construct meaning of new vocabulary through closed sorts and matching activities.

We gave student groups pictures of various interactions and non-interactions and asked them to work together politely as a group in order to first sort the pictures into groups of interactions and groups of non-interactions. We went over key sentences frames that we wanted students to use like:

Words for cooperation and agreeing/disagreeing:
I agree. I don't agree, because...

Words for sorting (classifying):
This goes into this group because...
These go together because...

Students did tend to use these language structures as the four teachers in the classroom circulated among groups.

After students sorted, we then discussed what made interactions interactions and non-interactions non-interactions. Students volunteered that interactions had to involve two or more people.

Students sort interactions photos into interactions/not interactions.

Then we asked student groups to sort their photos of interactions into a positive/helpful interactions group or a negative/hurtful interactions group. We also began to elicit vocabulary from students as to what the interactions in the picture showed, and how the people felt while involved in these interactions.

These students have sorted their interactions photos into helpful/positive interactions on their left and hurtful/negative interactions on their right.

Finally, to begin attaching meaning to the actual written names of these interactions, we asked student groups to match labels to various interactions that they could identify, making use of stronger readers within each mixed group. 

From here, in the grade 1 classes we are going to move into looking at interactions and how they can create conflict or harmony in a few different ways. Ms. Rachelle and I plan on having her students review some videos they made from two weeks ago. Students will analyse the interactions they see in these videos, deciding if they are positive interactions or negative interactions. Students will then see the results of these interactions and decide whether the interactions created conflict or harmony, all the while a teacher uses annotexting to record the group discussion. 

In Mrs. Corey's class, students will be: planning a series of interactions to either escalate conflict or reduce conflict, photographing themselves staging these conflicts, and then creating a Comic Life story to show these interactions and their results. 

Plan for Comic Strip (above) and Example Finished Comic Strip (below)

Stretching Vocabulary of Interactions with Grade 1 by Using the "10 Most Important Words" CALP Strategy

This week in Grade 1, the EAL teachers team taught with Ms. Rachelle in order to help students begin to build meaning related to the vocabulary of the current unit of inquiry with the central idea of "Being aware of how we interact with people can help us make good choices for ourselves and others."

Now at the beginning of each unit, homeroom teachers and EAL teachers try to come up with a list of vocabulary, language purposes, and possible strategies we can use to help students develop understanding of the meaning of this vocabulary. We also use an app called Bitsboard on iPads to develop activities involving visual, audio, and textual information that for the most part students can use to explore this vocabulary during independent station activities.

Graphic Organiser by Chad Manis www.DailyTeachingTools.com

In addition, during this unit, some teachers have elected to ask students to prethink what they believe the 10 most important words of the unit will be.  The 10 most important words strategy is a valuable tool which can be used at various points of the inquiry process. It can be used, as in this unit, as a tool to show how students are accumulating growing understandings of important vocabulary, especially if students' statements about which vocabulary is important keep being revisited.

As part of using this strategy, the EAL teacher and homeroom teacher led a discussion about the word "Interactions" to show students how we wanted them to think of the different words they had been hearing and seeing in the past three weeks. Students were then asked to think of more words that they could remember or think of that they thought we might encounter as we inquire further.

Students then worked with partners to fill up their lists, while practicing English for the purpose of agreeing and disagreeing. In the next lesson, the homeroom teacher and the EAL teacher then discussed key sentence frames necessary for the purpose of EXPLAINING. After asking students to explain WHY they had written certain words, we highlighted how their responses almost universally began with "Because...". We wrote sentence frames on the board:

We think this word is important BECAUSE...
This word is important BECAUSE...

Students then reunited with their partners and wrote an explanation of their thinking behind some of their assertions.

This learning engagement really helped us understand how students are taking on the language of the unit. It showed us that their lexical knowledge is currently quite basic, limited to common terms used in the classroom such as: sharing, playing, swimming, respect, etc. We know as a team that we must create further materials to help students take on more complex words like: cooperation, complimenting, conflict, conflict resolution, etc.

In completing this lesson, I also decided to do a bit of research on this strategy and other ways in which it is used.

I found out that the 10 most important words strategy can also be a useful tool for checking the comprehension of more proficient students as they read through texts related to inquiry topics, as can be seen in the presentation below.

Welcome to 2016 - 17 with Mr. Jon Banules, Grade 1-2 IB PYP EAL Teacher!

Welcome to parents of Grade 1 and 2 students who are learning English!

If you are reading this, it is likely that your child is getting some extra help for his or her learning of English with an EAL (English as an Additional Language) specialist teacher. At ISPP, we support English language learning inside and outside of the homeroom class in many ways.

What does this English language support look like for a grade 1 EAL student?

In grade 1, your child will be supported by an EAL team consisting of me, Mr. Jon Banules, my teaching assistant, Ms. Mom Meach, another EAL teacher from our team, Ms. Tatiana Stadnitski, and her teaching assistant, Ms. Boramey Bun. At this level, we primarily work with the grade 1 homeroom team to develop lessons that promote students' use of English in more professional ways necessary for an academic environment. For example, your child will learn how to use language for many different functions in spoken and written form. We will also be helping students grow and develop in reading and writing through activities that connect to the homeroom's unit of inquiries and even math units.

What does this English language support look like for a grade 2 EAL student?

If your child is a grade 2 EAL student, he or she may receive EAL support during Foreign Language time to build understanding of concepts and vocabulary related to units of inquiry and literacy. In these lessons during the week, we can really focus on getting more practice with parts of language that students need to discuss deeper ideas and thinking.

He or she will also be supported by me and Ms. Mom during many lessons in the homeroom. Sometimes this support will look like your child working in a group that is facilitated by either or both of us. At other times, you might see me leading or team teaching with your child's homeroom teacher, using materials specifically designed to get students using and understanding the kind of English needed to discuss, read, present, or write about academic topics.

How long will it take for students to learn English?

"There is no definite answer to this question, as all children are different. It is helpful to think of the second language like a mirror of the first language. Generally, it takes about 2 years for your child to acquire social English (used for conversation on the playground) and 5-7 years to acquire ‘school’ or ‘academic’ language, which is much harder to master."

-Marcelle Houterman, Founder of SPELTAC (Social Platform for English Language Teaching Across the Curriculum)

How can I support my child in learning English?

If English is NOT your mother tongue, leave the English language teaching to us! Here at ISPP you can be assured that your child's EAL teacher and her homeroom teacher are working all the time to plan and lead activities that will foster deep language learning for all students. We do this mainly by making sure we combine what parts of the English language we are teaching and what the children need to discuss or create in class.

The best thing you can do at home is...USE YOUR MOTHER TONGUE! Talk to your children about school, ask them to explain themselves and their learning, and read together in your home language. Studies show that when a child's use of his mother tongue is stretched, he will more effectively develop in his understanding of other languages and deeper concepts.

Who is Mr. Jon?

I am Mr. Jon Banules, the Grade 1 and 2 EAL teacher here at ISPP. I taught English as an Additional Language for 9 years in Thailand before becoming a full homeroom teacher in 2009. I facilitated learning in grade 4 and 5 homeroom classes in Chiang Mai and here at ISPP until 2015. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of ISPP's transition towards a push-in model of EAL support and look forward to working with all students in grade 1 and 2, their homeroom teachers, and parents this year.

I am always available at jonbanules@ispp.edu.kh.

Let's have a great year of language learning!