In ELD (English Language Development) we work on reading, writing, listening, and speaking in English. In terms of speaking we don't just want to see students answering teacher's questions and giving prepared speeches. As teachers, we also want to help students engage in discussions with their peers. Learning how to agree, disagree, and build on the ideas of their classmates is an important life skill that will prepare them to actively participate in their community and future jobs. In class we read a book called Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty. It's about a young boy who has a passion for architecture and building. This lead students into discussing a time when they built something. Kids talked about what they built, how they built it, and what materials they used. This lead us into a discussion about forts and why kids like building forts. We started reading an article about child development and fort building (you can read the article here). Although the article is written for parents, students have found it highly interesting. Students are asking a lot of questions and engaging in a lot of peer discussion: - Why do kids like building forts? - Do all kids like building forts? - Is fort building good for kids? - What can be learned from building forts? Students have had a chance to practice their building skills in groups as they used magnetic shapes to create mini-forts for stuffed animals. Using their English to communicate their ideas, they relied on teamwork to accomplish their task. The negotiation required to build something as a group was great language practice for students. As we continue to engage in discussions about this topic (and read and write too!), here are some other books that your students might enjoying reading: The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires, Ada Twist Scientist by Andrea Beaty, If I Build a Car by Christ van Dusen, and Rosie Revere Engineer by Andrea Beaty.
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AuthorWelcome to Mrs. Burton's ELD blog! Come learn about what we're doing in the classroom and get suggestions on how you can support students at home. Archives
November 2016
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