Shiho Thompson
EDCI 519
October 17, 2006
Internet Website #1: PIZZAZ! Creative Writing and Storytelling Ideas
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/pizzaz.html
Overview
PIZZAZ, which stands for “People Interested in Zippy and Zany Zcribbling,” is a simple website created by Leslie Opp-Beckman, Technology Coordinator and English as a Second Language Instructor, at the University of Oregon. The website includes teaching tips and activities on writing and storytelling, including poetry and fiction. Some links lead to a list of related website links, and others lead directly to a lesson plan. The most useful information is on poetry and fiction, which include activities that encompass various forms of poetry as well as storytelling ideas. Many of the activities incorporate group work, allowing students to interact orally when brainstorming for ideas or learning about poetry or story forms. This indicates a focus not only on writing, but also on listening and speaking skills. The writing activities also utilize manipulatives and props to encourage creative and hands-on thinking.
Limitations of the website include the attractiveness of the webpage itself (i.e. minimal graphics and color) as well as the lack of corresponding reading activities. A list of useful reading materials and resources that augment the writing activities would enrich each lesson. Also, the webpage indicates that the website content was last updated in August 2003. Because of this, many of the website links are no longer available and are frustrating to navigate.
Appropriateness for English Language Learners (ELLs)
All of the posted activities are geared toward high beginners and beyond in terms of English language proficiency. The website does not make clear the target age range, but the writing examples and the creator’s background suggest that the lesson activities were written with older students/adult learners in mind. Thus, the activities should be modified if used for upper elementary and middle school students. The lesson plans give ideas for teachers to adapt or build upon for their particular classrooms. For example, the limerick and the cinquain poem templates are useful for writing poems as a class or as a group or individual assignment.[1]
Relevant Methods/Approaches
Activities presented in this website incorporate elements of the Direct Method in that some lessons are teacher-led, and students learn by following the actions of the teacher (Haley & Austin, p. 37). Other lessons incorporate group work and creative approaches to produce poems, stories, and other writing, which are features of the Cognitive Anti-Method and the Cognitive-Code Method (p. 42).
Usefulness in Classroom
While some of the activity instructions are written for students, the website is really geared for teachers who most likely would have to rewrite/rephrase some of the instructions. The website grants permission for copying and use in the classrooms, which is helpful for those who are mindful of copyright laws. As an elementary ESOL teacher, I would choose not to duplicate the instructions or templates because of some difficult language and lack of graphics. Instead, I would rephrase, retype, and add graphics to make the activities more appealing.
The website’s activities related to poetry and fiction writing help teachers and upper elementary students meet Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) objectives in Language Arts. However, the teacher must be already cognizant of the state and county standards in order to pick and choose successfully the most appropriate activity to meet the standards. The website materials are not enough to provide educators with a comprehensive assessment tool but should be used as alternative and fun approaches to instruction.
Attachment URLs:
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob.pizzaz.html
http://darkwing.uroegon.edu/~leslieob/cinquain.html
Internet Website #2: Education Place
http://www.eduplace.com
Overview
Education Place is a website sponsored by the Houghton Mifflin textbook publishing company. While it is not surprising that the website serves mainly as an advertisement for its materials, I found that it includes activities and resources that teachers, students, and families will find educational without necessarily using the textbooks. Students and their families can access interactive games, student-written book reviews, and webtales (online stories with personalized, fill-in-the-blank features) according to content area and grade level. Teachers can search activities based on theme/topic or select themes from the Monthly Theme section. Resources such as printable graphic organizers, shape book patterns, outline maps and worksheets, as well as lists of theme-based bilingual (Spanish/English) websites and bibliographies are also helpful. Many of the lesson activities include website links to other online sources of information.
Because the website is categorized by grade level and not by the English proficiency level, a drawback for ESOL teachers is that they would need to spend extra time reviewing suggested activities to judge the appropriateness for their students. Also, teachers need to make sure that all four skills of English proficiency are integrated into the lesson plan if they are not already included.
Appropriateness for ELLs
The website targets K-8 children. Because the website is not written specifically for ELLs, teachers should be mindful that the grade level categorization does not apply to all learners. ESOL students may find the games too challenging because of the way some questions are phrased. For example, the Brain Teaser games are applicable only for advanced English readers.[2] Also, many of the games require background knowledge that ELLs may not possess. My fourth grade intermediate ESOL class probably would enjoy using the Wacky Web Tales in a Language Arts lesson about the parts of speech. However, teacher support will be required to provide background knowledge for text comprehension.[3]
Relevant Methods/Approaches
This website is aligned with the Cognitive-Code Method and CALLA because of its emphasis on promoting “creative use of the language” through content-based instruction and increasing academic skills for all students (Haley & Austin, p. 42, 44).
Usefulness in Classroom
Although I would have to spend extra time selecting an appropriate activity for my ESOL students, I would use the website for lesson plan ideas and materials to adapt to my own elementary ESOL classroom. Activities are plentiful and content-based, covering subjects in mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, and art. Some SOL language arts learning objectives such as compare/contrast and sequence of events are included in the activity list and are integrated across the discipline. For example, an interdisciplinary compare/contrast activity, “Making a Class Pictogram,” is designed for second through fifth graders and can be successfully differentiated for beginner ELLs because of its rich use of symbols and pictures.[4]
Attachment URLs:
http://www.eduplace.com/math/brain/34-124.html
http://www.eduplace.com/tales/content/wwt_050.html
http://www.eduplace.com/activity/pictogram.html
Internet Website #3: Everything ESL.net
http://www.everythingesl.net
Overview
This website is a “must-see” for all current and aspiring ESL/ESOL educators. Created by Judie Haynes, an ESL teacher in New Jersey, the website presents a variety of information and resources for educators. (The website is not geared towards students.) In addition to numerous lesson plans, the website offers online forums (“Ask Judie”) for educators. In addition, the website articles discuss important issues such as challenges that ELLs face in content area learning and teaching students with both learning disability needs and ESL needs. One of the most useful aspects of this website is a list of recommended websites for elementary ESOL students to explore.[5]
A drawback of this website is that lesson plans are not organized in an efficient way, forcing the website user to read each entry and the accompanying summary. Although the sorting option provides a listing by title or by the most recent posting, these sorts are not very helpful. However, once the lesson plan is opened, the lesson topic, proficiency and grade level, content and language objectives, materials, and instructional sequence/procedures are clearly visible. Some of the lesson plans include TESOL standards also.
Appropriateness for ELLs
The lesson plans and resources that are posted in this website are very appropriate for beginning to intermediate level K-8 students. The activities are theme- and content-based, and the downloadable worksheets and charts augment the lessons. For example, a unit on pumpkins allows students to practice the four skills of English proficiency through a variety of activities.[6] The lesson plan includes reading several books about pumpkins, learning vocabulary, retelling and creating a sequence book, and conducting a hands-on science experiment using pumpkins. Authentic, concrete, and sensory experiences are emphasized, addressing multiple intelligences and learning styles.
Relevant Methods/Approaches
This website aims to help educators create opportunities for ESOL students to meet their academic goals and objectives. Content-based lesson plans, academic language development strategies, as well as a variety of approaches to learning provide evidence that this website uses the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA).
Usefulness in the Classroom
I found that the website’s lesson plans and teaching tips would be useful for application in both the pull-out and the inclusion settings. Because they are thematic and content-based, non-ESOL students also will benefit from some of the interdisciplinary and hands-on lesson plans. In addition, the list of website resources geared towards elementary ESOL students provides resources for my students to use technology in their learning process.
Attachment URLs:
www.everythingesl.net/inservices/elementary_sites_ells_71638.php
www.everythingesl.net/lessons/pumpkinscience2.php
Internet Website #4: BrainPOP Jr.
http://www.brainpopjr.com/
Overview
BrainPOP Jr. is the K-3 version of the Brainpop website that was created earlier for older students. This is an interactive website where students can watch animated movies and learn about different topics on reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, health and science. Each section provides supplemental background information and activities for teachers and parents to provide instructional support.[7]
The website is organized and fun to navigate with well-drawn animation and graphics. Compared to the original Brainpop website, the audio language of the movies is less difficult and is read aloud more slowly. A feature that is useful for ELLs is that the audio accompanies wherever the cursor points. (For example, quiz questions and multiple choice answers are read aloud when the website user moves the mouse to wherever the word/phrase is on the screen.) This makes the materials comprehensible for the ELLs who may have sufficient oral fluency but may be experiencing difficulty in reading. In addition to the movie, users can click on jokes, cartoons, puzzle games and word walls. Two types of quizzes (hard and easy) for comprehension checks are available in online and paper formats.
A drawback to this website is that because it is a relatively new website, topic choices are limited, and many sections are still “under construction.” Once new information is added to the website, however, I think it will bring added value for the students.
Appropriateness for ELLs
This website was not created specifically for ESOL students, and language proficiency is not addressed. However, features are fairly easy to navigate, and advanced beginners and intermediate ESOL students would probably enjoy the site. Although intended for K-3 students, this website is more appropriate for older elementary students if they are ELLs.
Relevant Methods/Approaches
This website can be incorporated into the Natural Approach to language learning. The interactive visual and auditory emphasis of this website supports auditory learners to “acquire the language” by honing their listening comprehension skills (Haley & Austin, p. 51).
Usefulness in the Classroom
The material is content-based; however, unlike the Brainpop website for older students, there is no search mechanism to correlate the activities with state standards. Thus, educators need to pick and choose the topic for the students to use. This website should be used purely for supplemental purposes and not as a main tool for instruction.
Attachment URLs:
http://www.brainpopjr.com/reading/genres/readingnonfiction/grownups.weml
Internet Website #5: Read Write Think
http://www.readwritethink.org
Overview
This website was created as a result of partnership between the International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the Verizon Foundation. The website focuses on providing free online resources for reading and language arts instruction. Its lesson plans are searchable by grade level, three literacy strands, and reading engagement objectives. I found that the three literacy skill categories –– learning the language, learning about the language, and learning through the language –– and their associated reading engagement objectives were helpful in searching for lesson plans to fit the needs of a particular learner or a group of learners.
Lesson plans indicate clearly the rationale and theoretical background, resources, learning objectives, comprehensive instructional plans, assessment, and the IRA/NCTE standards. Most notable aspects of these lesson plans are that they integrate computer-based activities for students and that rubrics are provided for assessment. It is also helpful to see the estimated timeframe for completing each unit. Incorporating additional interdisciplinary approaches to other core curriculum content can strengthen this website.
Appropriateness for ELLs
The website is based on IRA/NCTE standards for the English language arts. A standard applicable to English language learners is among the twelve IRA/NCTE standards listed: “Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum” (ReadWriteThink, 2006). Although the website itself is not specifically for ESOL instruction, the standard shows an appropriate understanding of second language acquisition theory and goal for ELLs.
The lesson plans available through this website are applicable to all K-12 students from the advanced beginner to advanced levels of English proficiency. However, some activities can be differentiated for beginners. For example, the lesson plan “A Getting Acquainted Activity Using My Teacher’s Secret Life” can be modified in such a way that beginners could draw and label rather than write sentences about their personal lives.[8]
Relevant Methods/Approaches
By distinguishing the three literacy strands, the website demonstrates a functional approach to literacy. Because the components of the website are most appropriate for students who have developed social communicative skills but need support in developing academic language, CALLA is the instructional model used by this website.
Usefulness in the Classroom
The lesson plans and resources posted on this website are definitely useful for both the mainstream classrooms and the ESOL classrooms at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The extensive collection of online tools for students is user-friendly and supportive of literacy learning objectives. Even if not using the website’s lesson plans, teachers can integrate these tools and provide students with opportunities to use technology in an academic setting. For the elementary school students that I work with, I would probably need to provide teacher support when using the tools. I would use the tools myself to create and publish materials for the students if the computer lab is not available.