Sociocultural Aspects of Schooling for ELs

An action that I will take for my social issue for students who are English Learners is to make my classroom more prepared for a test they are having on Friday. I think that it will be beneficial if they are given time to study, as one of my EL students mentioned to me that he is not passing my class because he doesn't know what is on the test, he doesn't have the time to study all the material we covered in the unit, so as a class we will be dedicating Thursday to review. This will give students time to ask questions and for my teacher and I to get down to the point of what our students should study for on the exam. It will be my mission to specifically integrate my EL students into the activity to make sure they understand what will be expected on the exam on Friday.

Lesson Planning

My lesson planning designing and planning incorporates the teenage brain by understanding how my students brains are still developing and what is needed to help them create an environment where they are able to grow their cortex's. This is achieved by utilizing the emotional approach with my students. Being able to have my students make important emotional connections between my curriculum and their lives is important to me, because the information I will share with them will stick inside their brains as it has some other memory it can attach to that is already in long term memory, helping them transition the information from short term memory to long term retention. I believe that having a "good things" session before the start of my lesson is important to students because they feel more comfortable in my class, as they can tell me what is going on in their lives, and what they are going through. That in turn can be used as a way to incorporate content, and during lectures, say "OK if your struggling with this think about what we talked about in good things, how does this fit into your life?" or just using one of my own memories as a teenager being able to say "Do any of you do this, because when I was your age I did it too" is important to me because your students see you as a human being that they can come to for advise.

Management plan

Management plan

My classroom management plan is at is roots a Reconstructionist practice. A Social Reconstructionist philosophy is defined as “an educational philosophy that seeks to reconstruct society through education. A Social Reconstructionist believes that students should be educated to change society” (Grant & Gillette, 2005, P. 324). As a History & Social Studies teacher my goals for my classes are to have students be able to apply the concepts in history to their real lives. I believe in the power of my student’s minds and in their ability to create social change within their own lives. It is my hope that they will continue to create social change within their community, nation, and world. In order for my students to attain a higher level of thinking students must be afforded opportunities for trial and error. Life connections must be made between the content in which the students are engaged and the lives my students lead.  Once this connection is made students will begin to solve social problems within their own personal lives and that their own trials by fire will be the basis for their knowledge.

Preventative Approach

As a teacher I believe that classroom discipline thrives at the preventative approach. Being able to stop problems before they start is vital to preventing problems in the first place. I have found that a more assertive approach with the preventative approach works the best. An assertive style of discipline is when “teachers must establish rules and directions that clearly defined the limits of acceptable and unacceptable student behavior” (canter, 2011, P. 65). An example of my assertive approach would be having student expectations laid out from day one. This will reduce a lot of disruption within my classroom. Another example is that I will expect my students to complete their assigned reading every day and come prepared to class with their questions, and debates ready to be discussed. Students are expected to show respect to one another as well as to there teacher. There teacher in return will provide a safe place in which to learn.

One of my favorite quotes about my philosophy on the preventative approach is from Michael Douglas in the movie The American President  “Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.” (Douglas, 2005). It is my job as an educator to get students to stand their ground on issues they believe passionately in, however there is a difference between passion and out right disrespect towards another’s views. Whatever the argument that is made by my students, they must remember that at the end of the day we are all human beings, and that makes us all have different perspectives on different issues. You may not respect that person’s point of view, but it does not give you the right to disrespect them.

Supportive Approach

                The supportive approach to me would be relying on my students parents, colleagues and administrators to help me deal with issues within the classroom. Assertive discipline again addresses the issue of support that matches how I feel running my classroom properly “They expected school administrators and students’ parents to support the system they advocated for” (Canter,2011, P.65). I believe that it takes a village to raise a child, and that all aspects of the child’s life should be involved in the support aspect in classroom discipline. However, it is my ultimate responsibility to maintain order within the classroom. One of the techniques I would use would be continuing to “confidently and consistently model and express class expectations” (Canter, 2011, P67). I believe that modeling good behavior establishes good expectations not only for my students but also for myself. I hold myself as accountable to the rules as I do my students. For a teacher to do something as simple as admitting that they made a mistake, and redirecting their students a few steps back is like pulling teeth. I feel that if you exhibit confidence, even in your own mistakes you can help support students confidence when they are in the middle of making their own mistakes. Most of the time teachers like to bury there mistakes inside themselves in the hope that on one will notice, but creating that wall is what looses our students confidence, because once that wall goes up, there is no ownership over your own mistakes, but if the authority figure in the classroom can own up to his mistakes, then it breaks down the wall for the students to come out and admit that they have made a mistake as well. Its easier to admit your mistakes, have a laugh, and tri it again. Furthermore I believe that I can also support students learning by having them find meaning in their education. Having students find meaning in their education means being able to have student’s complete assignments in ways that play to their strengths. Just because I ask students to do an assignment a certain way doesn’t mean that that way is the most appropriate, but rather asking students to do the assignments in ways that 1) cover my expectations for the assignments and 2) use students strengths will create an atmosphere of finding meaning in education. This approach will allow me to be able to “Shift from a focus on control to a focus on inquiry” (Towbin, 2010, p. 42-45). Seattle, WA: Educational Leadership.) for my students.

Corrective Approach

For my Corrective Approach I believe in three things. “There are three things you need to remember when dealing with students who are at the corrective point of classroom discipline: Tone, Volume, and Posture” (Smith, 2004, p. 56). I believe the tone, volume, and posture of the teacher can exist on three different levels: playful, concerned, and serious, a playful tone, volume, and posture indicates to the students that you’re ok with their behavior and that your willing to entertain it so far as it stays appropriate often times this is seen as goofy behavior that is playful but not demeaning. A concerned tone, volume and posture means that the students are starting to push your classroom limits with their behavior and you fear that it may get out of control, There is no immediate alarm, but feelings may start to begin getting hurt if the behavior continues so the teacher takes a more concerned attitude towards what students are doing in order to avoid a potential conflict often times this situation is addressed with a simple “OK guys your starting in on that one a little to much, be careful of other peoples feelings and reactions”. A serious tone, volume, and posture means that situations need to be redirected and they have to know that you are taking direct control of the situation because it will cause an unsafe environment of you do not. Often time’s teachers will use a direct approach with word as “you’ve crossed the line on that one, and you need to stop, now.” Another great strategy that I believe in strongly is having active body language. Active body language can mean anything from “proximity to signals and gestures to Teaching pauses. “ (Kyle and Rogen, 2004, p.1) Using the strategies listed above I believe reinforces my role as the teacher in the classroom.  As I have stated before I am the authority in the classroom, however that does not always mean I have to show direct authority over students. Moving closer to a student who is talking makes them quiet down or stop talking all together because they don’t necessarily want you to hear what they are saying. If students continue to talk then you simply stop your class, once the student notices that the attention is now focused on them, often times they become shy and will not talk in the middle of class. This is a golden opportunity to reexamine classroom procedures and rules for all of the students so that the mistake is not done again. For students who struggle with being called out directly in the middle of class, I can adjust to give them a signal that they are being disruptive, this can be anything from a hand in the air to a particular sound that is made, or a hand signal that the student and I develop before the start of class.

Conclusion

I believe that all of these techniques reflect on my philosophy. Being a Reconstructionist I believe that social change beings with ones self. Taking a good look at who you are and how you wish to change can mean a lot to people. It is my hope that my students will go forward into the world and they will do something great with their lives whatever they believe that is. I believe that good classroom management begins with being an assertive teacher, putting your cards out on the table from the start, admitting that you make mistakes, encouraging passion in students, but also showing that humility an respect are must. Having appropriate volume, tone, and posture for situations will create a safe learning environment. I believe in being assertive because it will lead to a safe place for students to come to when they need help with their decisions, and that means a lot to my teaching ethnics and to me as a human being. I want students to know that they can come to me with anything and that I will do my best to provide them with a safe and caring environment in which to explore them.

Sources:

Canter, L., & Canter, M. (2011). Discipline through Assertive Tactics (p. 65). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Douglas, M. (Actor). (1995). The American President [Motion picture]. Hollywood: Universal Pictures.

Grant, C. A., & Gillett, M. (2005). Learning to teach everyone’s children: Equality, Empowerment and Education that is Multicultural (p. 324). New York, NY: Thomson & Wadsworth.

Towbin, J. (2012). When Students Don't Play the Game (February 2012 ed., Vol. 67, pp. 42-45). Seattle, WA: Educational Leadership.

Kyle, P., & Rogien, L. (2004). CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: CORRECTIVE STRATEGIES (p. 1). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School psychologist.

Smith, R. (2004). Conscious Classroom Management (p. 56). San Rafael, CA: Conscious Teacher Publications.

SDAIE Lesson Plan Code of Hammurabi

1. TITLE OF THE LESSON: Vocabulary Within document analysis	2. CURRICULUM AREA & GRADE LEVEL: 9th grade honors World History
3A. STUDENT INFORMATION: English Language Learners         1.) Readiness Level: 2 redesigned ELD students. (Advanced)              2.) Learning Profile Great writing for level, minor grammar difficulties able to keep up with classroom use of SADIE strategies.                3.) Interest Student #1 enjoys going to the beach, dancing, and running. Student #2 enjoy speaking to friends, yet not in front of class both students are in band, and student #1 is in afterschool sports for the school.	3B. STUDENT INFORMATION: Students w/ Special Needs         1.) Readiness Level: No students in this class have IEP’s     or 504 plans.              2.) Learning Profile:                 3.) Interest:
4. RATIONALE      A. Enduring Understanding Students need to understand the document analysis of SOAPStone. This technique will help heighten a student’s skills base needed for Advanced Placement classes later in there high school careers as well as help in future post-high school document analysis organization at the university level.      B. Essential Question(s): What does SOAPStone look like and how can I apply it to historical documents?       C. Reason for Instructional Strategies and Student Activities Students are reading The Code of Hammurabi. They must be able to analyze the text of the poem to learn the Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject and tone (SOAPStone)of the poem. Once understanding SOAPStone organization students will be able to answer Point of View questions, the student need to establish what each of these initials means within an article. We will be covering the vocabulary of SOAPStone within Point of View (PoV) statements, students will identify the Who, What, Where, and Why The Code of Hammurabi. Once PoV statements have been identified students will be able to identify bias within the document. Once bias has been identified students will then be able to categorize the document with in the Political, Intellectual, Geographic, Social, Economic, Artistic, and Religious (PIGSEAR) thesis groupings. Once PIGSEAR groupings have been categorized, students will be able to identify what material is missing from the document.
5. CONTENT STANDARD(S) 10.2.1 Compare the major ideas of philosophers and their effects on the democratic revolutions in England, the US, France and Latin America	6. ELD STANDARD(S) Reading comprehension: Cluster 2: Advanced Identify strategies used by media to present information for various purposes (e.g., to inform, entertain, or persuade).
7. LEARNING GOAL(S) - OBJECTIVE(S)     Cognitive:  After identifying concepts of the document using SOAPStone, students will be able to break down the code of Hammurabi into the SOAPStone pieces as well as provide examples of the Point of View, check for Bias in the document, categorize the information into PIGSEAR thesis groupings, and provide what is missing from the document.	8. ASSESSMENT(S)      A. Diagnostic/Entry Level: This is a do now assignment, which helps me see where students are in their reading comprehension and ability to identify context clues. Also this will display what reading level the students are at and what vocabulary is difficult for class.      B. Formative-Progress Monitoring: Class meets and collaborates as a group to go over every group’s interpretation. This will allow each student to think about other interpretive techniques and they will be able to apply these to future texts.      C. Summative: Class writing individual summaries in order to reflect on what they read and what techniques they used. Also students will write their own definition along with their own unique sentences for each unfamiliar vocabulary word. This will help reaffirm their familiarity with the new words.
9A. EXPLANATION OF DIFFERENTIATION FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 1.)  Content/Based on Readiness, Learning Profile or Interest Team up with native English speaking peers during think-pair-share with ELLs. Have ELLs identify what words are unfamiliar to them and they will have a partner to help explain definitions as well as a dictionary. 2.)  Process/Based on Readiness, Learning Profile or Interest The process of breaking down sentences and looking up new words should help improve their readiness in reading comprehension. ELL students will not feel singled out for special treatment as they will be able to complete the assignment with the regular students. 3.)  Product/Based on Readiness, Learning Profile or Interest They are allowed to practice social skills with their peers during think-pair-share.	9B. EXPLANATION OF DIFFERENTIATION FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 1.)    Content/Based on Readiness, Learning Profile or Interest: This will provide the students with different strategies that will help them analyze future readings.  2.)    Process/Based on Readiness, Learning Profile or Interest: Taking the information one paragraph at a time will help students who struggle with lecture based assignments break down the information into smaller chunks. Group based work will allow students to chunk and chew information 3.)    Product/Based on Readiness, Learning Profile or Interest: Think pair share will allow for social dynamic relations
10. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES        A. Anticipatory Set/Into Content objectives for daily objective in social science will be clearly displayed on the whiteboard with green ink. Students will read the article once as a class. Teacher will explain the SOAPStone, POV, Bias, PIGSEAR groupings, and what’s missing on the document analysis (green) sheet. Teacher will open a discussion to answer question regarding the vocabulary within the SOAPStone model and how it applies to an historical text. (10 Minutes)                                              B. Instruction/Through Students will pair up with a neighbor and share what they believed the article was about. Students will then gather into groups of four and get out the document analysis sheet from there binders. Teacher will supply extra copies to students who have misplaced there document analysis sheet. The teacher will then model to students how to identify the Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject and Tone (SOAPStone), PoV statements, Bias, Placement within PIGSEAR groupings and what’s missing within the article. Teacher will monitor groups who have good ideas and let them know you will ask them to share their ideas in order to ensure good techniques are added to the group share out at the conclusion of the lesson. (20 minutes)        C. Guided Practice/Through The teacher will assist groups who struggle to comprehend assignment by pointing out context clues within The Hammurabi code.                              D. Independent Practice/Through The teacher will monitor the groups to makes sure on task behavior is being enforced.           E. Closure    The teacher will go through SOAPStone, POV, Bias, PIGSEAR groupings, and what’s missing within The Hammurabi code on the document camera for all students to see. Teacher will call upon students who were told have good techniques as well as those who may have struggled with the assignment to ensure comprehension.  (10 minutes)                                        F. Beyond Request to see notes on assignments to monitor reading skills advancement. Continue with SOAPStone practice with different documents and vocabulary words later in the week. Inform students that a document analysis will be on their unit test.	11. STUDENT ACTIVITIES        A. Anticipatory Set/Into Student will read content objective on whiteboard to focus the class on the daily objective. Follow along and listen to the teacher read the story and instructions. Follow along and listen to teacher review document analysis sheet. Student will take notes identifying each vocabulary word.                                              B. Instruction/Through  Explain ideas to partner during Think-pair-share on what entire article is talking about. Discuss what words each student did not understand and talk about what clues are in the text to help with definitions.                                           C. Guided Practice/Through  Students collaborate ideas through think-pair-share on what words mean.                                           D. Independent Practice/Through   Prepare ideas to contribute to group discussion.                                           E. Closure       Copy ideas not already on paper from doc cam onto paper                                       F. Beyond The list of techniques can help students with future readings the need to analyze and understand. Also they will have their document analysis sheet to refer to throughout the year.
12. RESOURCES Building success Document Analysis, The code of Hammurabi

This rubric will help assist students with their categorizing of SOAPStone, PIGSEAR, Point Of View (POV) statements, bias, and what’s missing from an historical document. This assignment with this rubric will be introduced during the anticipatory activity as well as displayed during the guided and independent practice. Students will receive a hard copy of the rubric for the closure activity so that they may self-assess their work.For ELD students Think-Pair-Share has worked in the past for them to understand the concepts being taught.

Rubric for assignment 

Tutoring assistance needed.	Basic comprehension of the text	Intermediate Comprehension of text	At grade level Comprehension of text	Advanced Knowledge of the text
1 or 0; Examples provided are unrelated to activity’s purpose	2 or more; Fair amount of aspects of the SOAPStone groupings are present from the text	3 or more; Sufficient aspects of the SOAPStone groupings are present from text	4 or more; Numerous aspects of the SOAPStone groupings are present from the text	5 or more; Not only are All aspects of the SOAPStone  are present with specific examples from the text, but examples are well grounded and plentiful within the activity
1 or 0; Examples provided are unrelated to activity’s purpose	2 or more; Fair amount of aspects of the SOAPStone groupings are present from the text.	3 or more; Sufficient aspects of PIGSEAR groupings are present.	4 or more; Numerous aspects of PIGSEAR groupings are present.	5 or more; All relevant aspects of PIGSEAR groupings are present with explanation
1 or 0; Examples provided are unrelated to activity’s purpose	2 or more; Fair amount of aspects of the SOAPStone groupings are present from the text.	3 or more; Sufficient aspects of PIGSEAR groupings are provided.	4 or more; Numerous aspects of POV Statements provided	5 or more; A specific POV statement is provided and has been addressed with references to PIGSEAR groupings.
1 or 0; Examples of bias are not present or are unrelated to activities purpose	2 or more; A fair amount of bias has been identified	3 or more; Sufficient aspects of bias have been identified	4 or more; Numerous aspects of bias have been identified	5 or more; Specific aspects of bias have been addressed
1 or 0; Examples of what is missing are not present or are unrelated to the activities purpose.	2 or more; A fair amount of what is missing from the activity have been identified	3 or more; Sufficient aspects of what is missing from the activity have been identified	4 or more; Numerous aspects of what is missing from the activity have been identified	5 or more; Specific aspects of what the article is missing have been Identified and addressed.