Have you ever had a conversation with a bunch of, say, biologists, and you're NOT one? It's all fine when the talk is about family or TV shows. Then they all start talking about the cell division differences between two strains of e. coli, and you're lost. Mito-WHAT? Some kids deal with this daily.
Many of my students came to our school in kindergarten speaking no English.
They quickly mastered enough social language to pass a simple test, which made them ineligible for any further ESL services. They are bright, curious children who have flourished with our school's inquiry-based student-centered approach to learning. In second and third grade it was not easy to identify the English Learners in a given class. This year, things are changing.
Fourth graders have to read highly complex texts. Narrative texts have complicated characters and plots. Informational texts have sophisticated structures and technical language. I now see the EL students struggle daily to understand everything in their books. Figurative language and obscure idioms can throw readers for a loop. Tricky vocabulary can turn a child away from reading. Children who always read at grade level are now lagging behind their peers. Luckily, they are motivated! With simple tools, they can help me help themselves.
My Project
With iPads, kids can be more self-sufficient at building understanding. They are learning to use digital modifiable graphic organizers to help them internalize information from nonfiction texts. They can quickly find photographs, definitions, and examples in context to make sense of sophisticated or unfamiliar vocabulary. They can translate idioms and figurative language into either simpler English or their mother tongues. Notebook apps are helping them create digital personal dictionaries. They're also learning to use apps (such as Corkulous) to create interactive reading notebooks, from which they can share their thinking about texts that they read in advance of book club conversations. These apps also help them prepare to write about what they're reading, which helps them meet Common Core Standards in even more ways. We currently have only two iPads for 28 students, which leaves us far short of the potential that this technology can help us reach.
This generous donation will enable children learning English to keep up with their peers as the content they learn in school becomes more complex, sophisticated, and demanding.
By giving them access to versatile technology and educational and intuitive apps, they'll internalize language and make it their own, which will help them master the actual concepts. They could never do this with a worksheet or boring rote memorization!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Stephanie and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
