This post is the first in the “What’s It Like?” series, sharing the stories of District 742.
Ms. Michael lays colorful tiles on each table in her classroom. She is preparing to teach arrays for her Math I class at Apollo High School. Her class is a little unique, however, because her students are comprised of English Learners (EL), students whose native language is not English and are taught by licensed EL teachers using similar teaching methods to those of a foreign language instructor.
“Today we’re going to learn about an array,” says Ms. Michael to the class. “An array is rows and columns of equal length.”
The class reviews what a row and a column are before they begin using their tiles.
Manipulating the color tiles they have on their desks, Ms. Michael asks them to create an array that is four tiles by three tiles. Some students use all the same color in a row or column. Others mix it up.
“Is it important in math to change the order?” asks Michael. “Does it matter if the array is 4-by-3 or 3-by-4? Do they both equal 12?”
Students shake their heads. They can physically see that the number of tiles laid in front of them is still the same amount.
“So is an array just a picture of your math problem?” Michael asks.
Students respond with a resounding “yes!” and Michael is quick to point out that an array can be used for addition as well.
The array activity is a good example of what happens in an EL classroom. Drawings, images and gestures are used to exaggerate and emphasize the meaning of words.
It is no different in Ms. Marolf’s English Academy class at Apollo High School. Students not only learn English but also social cues, correct use of words and how to use resources to assist them when they have questions.
“What is a favor?” Marolf asks the class.
Hamdi replies,” Something you like.”
“That’s close,” she says. “That would be if we added an i-t-e on the end.” She spells the word favorite on the board.
“Everybody look it up in your dictionary.”
One student raises her hand and says, “It’s a noun, right?”
Marolf replies, “Yes! Let’s read it out loud together.”
The class chimes in with Marolf, “Something you do to help someone.”
The discussion leads to a demonstration of a favor, and Marolf asks the students to come up with examples on their own.
Johanna states, “Someone asked me to follow them on Facebook.”
Marolf responds, “Did you follow them?” and Johanna answers, “Yes.”
“Then you did a favor, right? They asked you to do something and you did.”
There is a lot of class participation and engagement in this class as they interact with Marolf giving other favor scenarios. One student gives a suggestion that is the opposite of a favor.
The topic is then changed to opposites and the meaning of opposite. She states examples and asks the students to provide the opposite.
“If I say little, what is the opposite?”
The class states, “Big.”
It continues with short and tall, good and bad, and then the word lucky.
The class pauses to think on that.
Hamdi answers, “Unlucky.”
Marolf writes the word “unlucky” on the board and underlines the “un”.
“We talked about this last week. What does ‘un’ mean?” Marolf asks the class.
Several students respond stating opposite.
Abdi asks, “Why can’t we say ungood as the opposite of good?”
Marolf replies, “That would be easy wouldn’t it, but ungood is not a word.”
She addresses the class, “What do you do if you are not sure if a word is a word?”
Marolf demonstrates an answer by pulling out her cell phone and asks Siri, “Siri, is ungood a word?”
After several attempts of Siri not understanding, she googles the word ungood. (Ironically google was also not a word too long ago.) Much to her surprise, it shows up in the urban dictionary as a word from a fictional language of George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four”.
“Class, what is one other way we can find out if a word is a word?” asks Marolf.
Several students pick up their dictionaries while others shout out the word dictionary.
The class is abuzz with excitement and positivity.
These English Learner students leave their classroom with confidence, a smile and an eagerness to join their class again the next day.