Lindsey Hancock

ELL Reflection:
Lari Valtierra came to speak to us on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week about the importance of
Teaching ELL students in your classroom. She discussed multiple ways of how to go about teaching them
and how they learned in a classroom environment.
She spent most of the time talking to us about the four language domains, which include: listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Listening and reading are the two receptive domains, which mean that
there is not much communication when learning a new language and speaking and writing are the two
productive domains, which mean that they are used to produce the language. I thought the language
domains were essential in teaching ELL students a second language. Most of the time we jump right into
the speaking and writing phase but we need to immerse them into the listening and reading parts first to
help them understand what is going on and become better English speakers.
The second main thing we learned was that language was a process. There are five steps that every ELL
student goes through. The preproduction stage is the silent period where the student is actively listening
and using movements to show what they are trying to communicate. Early production is the next phase
and it is using the basic communication. This is where they usually use one to two words. Speech
emergence is the third phase where they start to use simple sentences becoming more fluent. The fourth
step is intermediate fluency and in this phase they are using more elaborate sentences. This phase they
know English well but not very well so they still may need correction. The last stage is the advanced
fluency stage. This is where they can engage in conversations in English and they are able to produce
more knowledge in vocab and grammar. Knowing these 5 steps is important so you can assess what level
they are at and what is the best way to go about teaching them on their level. She mentioned to
communicate with them on the level that they are at and then teach them on the higher level so that way
they can advance.
The last main concept that we discussed was the BICS and CALP language vocabulary. The BICS language
is the basic communication skills or playground language. This is the common language how kids speak
to each other. This helps them develop socially. Facial expressions, body languages, and demonstrations
are some examples of BICS language. The CALP language is the academic language that older children
learn in the classroom from their textbook. This language is used in written text, lectures, and formal
conversations. Both of these are important to know about what a childs BICS language is and what their

Lindsey Hancock

CALP language is because this way you can know where they are at and how you can teach them based on
what they already know.
ARA Conference Reflection:
Attendance: Thursday and Friday
I really enjoyed the ARA conference. I thought the first speaker on Thursday was very interesting. I
liked how he made it very interactive and had us to several power writes. Instead of just talking, he taught
us what power writes were and how and why we should use them in the classroom. One of the first
breakout sessions on Thursday was the author of Woodlawn. His main idea in in session was that we need
tot teach kids to love well. This is one of our main jobs as a teacher. The last speaker on Thursday talked
about learning words and how they work in the English language.
On Friday, the first speaker talked about how we need to make sure the we are doing everything we
can to make sure that all students are ready to graduate. The problem with that is students are leaving
high school lacking intellectual curiosity for whatever it is they want to pursue. It is our job as teachers to
prepare students to think. The next breakout session we went and heard a lady talking about dyslexia and
how to use technology to help them and make it easier on them in the classroom. The lady who spoke
used several kinds of apps and forms of technology were could help them do their work in the classroom.
Many of these apps could read to them and allow them to listen. This could also speak to the computer
and it would type for them. This could assist them in writing papers or something along those lines. I really
enjoyed this breakout session! I learned a lot and will be using these apps in my classroom!

Date/Time
10-7
Wednesday
@9

Topic
Personality types

Professional Learning Plan

Parent/Family Engagement
Reflection (What did you take away from the session?)
During this meeting we met on Google hangout. We discussed our strengths
and weaknesses and how those we can use them in the classroom. We also
took a personality test and I found that very interesting. I am a INFP. I had
never taken a Myers Briggs personality test before and thought my results

Lindsey Hancock

10-19
Tuesday
@3:30

How to listen to
parents and
communicating
bad news

10-26
Tuesday @
3:30

4 Types of Parents

11-2
Tuesday
@3:30

Teacher Types

very accurate. Personality types are very fascinating to me and I thought it

cool to learn everyones personality type in the group as well and how it
relates to teaching.
This meeting we discussed how not only to talk to parents but also listen to
them and really understand where they are coming from. We read two
articles. One talked about how we need to listen to parents and be
understanding. Another talked about the best way to convey bad news to
parents. This is very important when talking to them at parent teacher
conferences. You have to be very sensitive and understanding. We also
talked about communication styles based on your personality and what
communication style works best for what personality type.
During this time we talked about the four types of parents. The four types of
parents are Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, and Uninvolved
(neglectful). We talked about he main points of those parents personalities
and how you would have to deal with that in the classroom. We also talked
about the different types and guidelines for disciplining children. You have to
be very careful when disciplining a child because you dont want to overstep
what a parent is doing at home or you dont want to offend anyone.
The last session we talked about the different teacher types and how they
are related to your personality. I found that I am a mix of The Guardian
and The Idealist. I like being creative in the classroom and having students
come up with their own ideas and ways of solving problems, but there needs
to be some sort of structure in the classroom. That is where the Guardian
teaching style comes into play.

Professional Development at Trace Crossings:

In second grade, during one of the teachers team meetings, a lady came to speak to our teachers
about the importance of technology in the classroom. She provided the teachers with several resources on
how to use the different technology efficiently in the classroom. She started the introducing the technology

Lindsey Hancock

by explaining that instead of you having your normal cup of coffee in the morning that you make, you can
go to Starbucks and get a normal coffee or you could upgrade and a specialty drink. This was her way of
explaining how you need to slowly integrate the material into the classroom otherwise the teachers and
the students will feel overwhelmed.
I thought her tutorial was very good! She made a lot of excellent points about the teachers need to
be informed about what they are using in the classroom before they use the technology in the classroom.
We discussed this in our math class how technology can benefit learning, but it can also be a distraction. I
think that it is a great tool that needs to be used to enhance learning and not be something that teachers
totally rely on. The teachers need to also understand what they are using the technology for and how to
use it to better get their students to understand the material. I learned of a lot of interesting new apps and
enhancements of learning in the classroom from her presentation.