4th Grade ESL, Self-contained Classroom
Mixed Levels
Reasoning
Much of the third grade curriculum asks students to identify and recognize how animals live and thrive. Of course, if a student were a native-born English speaker, they would have a wealth of information and vocabulary with which to articulate and draw comparisons between themselves and other perspectives. English Language Learners are no less intelligent than native speakers, but they do lack the words that would allow them to communicate intelligently. By using the alien theme, I can engage my LEP students by asking them to take a critical third person perspective as they examine what is most familiar to them first: themselves (humans). The theme is kitschy and cute, but it meets them on their level and it is relatable. It is my hope then that what they learn here will provide the platform they need to extend their learning in other content areas.
Some concepts to be covered include, but are not limited to: need vs. want, habits for healthy lifestyles, using the physical environment to gain resources, similarities between humans, etc.
Standards:
- ESL and ELA Standards 1, 2, 3, 4
- Science Standard 5; Key Idea 1, 5 and 7
- Social Studies Standard 4
- ISTE Technology Standards 1, 2, 4, 6
Motivation
In addition to fun visuals, students will have the opportunity to engage in a myriad of other technology tools and Web 2.0 applications as they develop their end product. These include voki, animoto, quizilla, video casts, iPods, laptops and Scribd. Additionally, they will work collaboratively in groups (that I have arranged to play off their strengths) and competitively against the class to demonstrate their knowledge. There will be ample opportunities for social interactions and freedom to express their creativity (in a controlled environment).
Task
Students are to design a habitat that can support human life on Mars. (They have received this “mission” as if they were the martians and their teacher is the leader preparing to have human visitors on Mars.)
Session 1
- Students are introduced to their tasks and divided into groups of 5. They will go through a list of websites to active prior knowledge and brainstorm some ideas. (They should have learned a little the human body already. This is more of a reinforcement.)
- For homework, they are to observe their surroundings, and gather still more ideas on an observation log.
Session 2
- Students compare notes with their teammates. They organize their thoughts onto a graphic organizer and come to a consensus on what they believe humans need in order to live.
- A iPod with a microphone is then made available for them to verbally sum up their ideas into a 1-2 minute podcast. This is then uploaded and sent to the teacher.
Session 3
- Students are to create a visual representation of their human habitat. They are given clear instructions to (1) sketch it, (2) fill out a survey to self-check their work and (3) create a neat final draft that is clearly labeled.
- Students who are not drawing or labeling, work alongside to form a descriptive paragraph (approximately 10 sentences long) to explain the reasons behind their choices.
Session 4
- Illustrated habitats and descriptive paragraphs are handed back with feedback and questions for students to consider.
- Then, students move to the computers to create a video cast of them pitching their habitat design to the Martian President. These are all to be posted and viewed the following day. A gallery walk can be made out of their visuals.
Assessment
A rubric will be used to account for the quality of each end product created, collaborative group work, organization, mechanics and creativity. Moreover, formative assessment exists in the collection of notes, a checklist survey and one mini-podcast.
Extension
It’s hard to predict where my students will be next year in terms of their English ability. However, if they should prove to need more scaffolding, I would propose an extra previewing lesson be done where students explore the meaning of words, like habitat and martian. They could create alien masks or props to play with and (serve the dual purpose as props in their video presentation). They could even visit an exhibit to brush up their knowledge on animal habitats (i.e. Museum of Natural History) depending on the funds and resources available.
