ESL Inquiry Project

 

  As part of our inquiry project, the group was required to teach their findings to the class. To introduce our topic, we passed out a copy of the following letter, talked in "gibberish", and required students to complete the worksheet in five minutes. Through completing this activity, we hoped to make our audience feel like an ESL student that was immersed in an English speaking culture.

 

Estimado teacher,
  I gustaría presentarlo a mi son, Viento - el Lobo. Él
probably es lo que usted consider a un niño indio typical. What usted dice y lo que usted hace en classroom, lo que usted enseña y cómo usted lo enseña, y lo que usted no dice y no enseña tendrá el efecto en el éxito potential o fracaso de my son.  Please recuerde que éste es el año primary de su educación y development. All que yo ask son que usted help conmigo, no contra mí, que ayudar educate a mi niño de la manera mejor.

Please answer the following questions based on the reading:

1. Quién la letra se escribe?

2. Quién es la carta alrededor?

3. Quién escribió la letra?

4. Cuál es la carta alrededor?

5. Por qué la letra fue escrita?
 
 

The following is an excerpt from one of the handouts given during the presentation.
 
 

The Community Design Project
(http://members.aol.com/jakajk/ESLLessons.html)
 

The Community Design Project is a cooperative activity where students, working in pairs, create a model of a neighborhood in about a week of classtime. This is an excellent activity to use after your class has studied topics related to neighborhoods, maps, etc. This activity allows students to use English in a natural context. Students engage in real conversation while negotiating the model construction process with their partners and the teacher. The project is a lot of fun. Putting all the projects together when the students finish makes an impressive display that
looks like a miniature city.
 
 

Grade level: Kindergarten

Materials needed:
· Friends by Alma Flor Ada, or another book about shapes (this one is beneficial because it is written in English and Spanish)
· Precut construction paper shapes
· Glue
· Crayons, markers, etc.

Prior to this lesson the children have learned the labels for circle, square, rectangle, and triangle, and have identified objects in the classroom with these shapes.

Today, Mrs. Olson is reading the story, Friends, by Alma Flor Ada to her class in a big book format. This is a story of how the little circles, the little rectangles, the little triangles, and the little squares learn how much fun it is to play together.
As she reads the story the first time, Mrs. Olson points to the pictures.

Then she passes out a large, pre-cut construction paper shape to each student. As she rereads the story, she asks the students to respond by showing their shape
and calling out its name as she comes to the appropriate part of the story.

Mrs. Olson asks the children to stand and she leads them in playing "Simon Says" to review the names of the parts of the body, which had been taught previously through songs and stories in other lessons. Mrs. Olson invites the children who are more
fluent in English to have a turn being Simon. Then Mrs. Olson asks the children to return to their seats.

She holds up samples of large pre-cut shapes that the children will use in making a self portrait. The teacher asks the children, "Which shape will you use
to make your head?" as she gestures and points to her own head. Some children respond by pointing to the shape or saying "circle." Mrs. Olson continues by asking the children to show her which shape they might use for the body, the arms, and the
legs. She also demonstrates how they will paste the shapes onto a sheet of paper to make their bodies.