2019 Faculty Meeting

         Every year, in order to keep receiving Title III funds to support my students, I am mandated to present at a faculty meeting to the whole school staff. This year, I finally had a team of two other ESL certified teachers to help me share our expertise with the staff. With the aid of google slides, we started out by giving the staff a sheet with 23 different verbose phrases in which they had to translate into understandable English. The first answer translated into “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Only a few of the teachers were able to accomplish this with minimal thought. Then we gave them a list of choices in random order, so they had a better understanding of what to think about during the thought process. Many more teachers started catching on, but not enough. We gave each table a sheet with five answer choices, so they could chunk their information into smaller pieces. Finally, a majority of the staff got it!
         Then we moved on to talk about receptive vs. productive language. We explained that the most difficult domains for our ELs is speaking and writing. We gave ideas of how to produce writing that comprehensible for ELs including using only a few FCAs (focus correction areas) when grading writing. We focused on the speaking domain because academic language is so difficult for the students to speak. A few examples of strategies that we shared using a padlet include: flipgrid, jigsaw, and I have Who has.
          The main activity that we had the staff complete was making each table an expert in different subject areas. Then, we gave them a photo and they had to describe the picture from the voice of a poet, mathematician, scientist, historian, chef, cosmetologist, contractor, etc. The staff really got creative and walked away with an understanding of how they need to get the students to apply what they have learned into academic discussions and group presentations. The reflections from the survey showed that the staff members who completed the survey were able to reflect what they need to do to help make ELs successful speakers.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1k0UywiW9q_NRjK0HOWjbtK7QozsFNIxw-7Lf_bv2kqQ