Jessica F. Mirch

After the discussion post this week I found myself wanting to know more about BICS and CALPS and how they apply to my math classroom.  I found a presentation on the internet specifically for math teaching with ELL students.   I liked some of the "show, don't tell" examples.  It talked about using students names in word problems and including their hobbies or interests as well.  It talked about moving around and working with hands-on materials.  One way that I've observed this in my classroom is the increase in student productively and classroom performance when I bought a set of individual whiteboards for the room.  The students really liked writing on whiteboards and being able to write/draw/erase on a large surface. I usually have them compare whiteboards with someone else in the class and that gets them moving around as well.  

The article also stated that 8-10 examples should be done in class and they should be sequenced from simple to more complex.  I have found that starting with simple, whole numbers to demonstrate a concept is important.  After students grasp the overall concept, I can add more complex fractions and decimals.  The article also talked about the importance of writing directions/steps on the board instead of just expecting students to take in all of the correct information by listening. This is where the SmartBoard technology is so great!  I can have directions/word problem pre-type and give students guided notes.  Anything that I write on the board can be saved and posted to my class website, so if a student ever forgets to write something down or missing something he/she can go back and reference the website.  

One other small comment about the article... a lot of the advice was geared towards elementary level math classrooms and it was all very important.  As an AP Calculus teacher (without any ELL students in my classroom) a small lightbulb went off in my head.  My guess is that many students struggling with the English Language are not going to make it to AP Calculus in the high school curriculum.  If they are struggling with basic task vocabulary like "shown below, following, twice, produce, choose, widest, etc.," it's likely that Algebra and Algebra II are extremely difficult and students may not elect to take any higher courses if not required.  My hope is that more teachers are getting the appropriate training to support ELL students at a young age.