Artifact 2

Artifact
ESL Notebook: This notebook contains information about what the ESL program is and its history, how students are placed in ESL programs, some ways for classroom teachers to help ESL learners, and how to communicate with parents of ESL students.

Context
I created the ESL Notebook with a group of three other people while working on an inquiry project about ESL. We completed this as a product for a Curriculum and Instruction Class taken during the Fall of 2001, while studying at Appalachian State University. We used the Internet as a main resource of information for this notebook, especially for constructing a list of valuable Internet resources for Teachers.

Impact
This ESL Notebook will be helpful for me to have when I have a class that includes ESL students. I will have this resource to draw upon when I have questions, need some advice on dealing with parents of ESL students, or if I need additional information about ESL programs or lesson plans.

Alignment
Through making this notebook, I discovered that ESL students are usually instructed quite differently than English speaking students. The resources we found recommed speaking to ESL students in English as much as possible. I also learned about the resources availble for ESL students, such as ESL teachers. This notebook also includes accomidations that can be made for students who are Limited-English Proficient, such as facing the student(s) when speaking so that they can see how words are formed. We also found ways to help the ESL student interact with other students by sharing his/her culture, which would promote an environment that is respectful of diversity. (INTASC 3)
We used the Internet to collect much of the information that was included in the notebook. Once we found a lot of research and articles on ESL, we evaluated the information to make sure that it was valid and would enhance our instructional practice. We included only information that would be helpful for us as teachers to use to increase our students' learning. (Technology Standard IV B)