Blog #3

I think taking the time to conduct action research is beneficial as long as the researcher uses the information to plan their instruction. As a teacher, I am constantly presented with students that may not always understand different concepts. By recording specific areas missed by the students, I can often find patterns needed to be retaught. It also gives me a chance to evaluate the way I am presenting the material, and make necessary accommodations for the students.

In my project, I helped the regular classroom kindergarten teacher complete activities from Phonemic Awareness in Young Children. The book uses auditory examples to teach different PA skills. The area of focus was identifying rhyming words, rhyme production, and beginning sounds. After giving a PA test, I worked with the six students with the lowest scores using visuals and manipulates. Four out of six of these students were ESL. These students received explicit instruction for one week. The students did much better on the post test. The visuals and manipulates helped the students understand the concepts, and helped the students "see" the auditory skills needed for Phonemic Awareness.

All children, especially ESL students, need as much visual clues as possible. By showing the pictures, I was also able to increase their vocabulary and language abilities. It is difficult for the students to identify words that they are not familiar to them. The more visual you can make your instruction, the more verbal you students will become.

Adams, M.L., Foorman, B.R., Lundberg, I. & Beeler, T. Phonemic awareness in young children: A classroom curriculum. Baltimore: Brookes.

Web resources for ESL lesson plans: http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/eslplans.html
http://www.eslflow.com/esllessonplans.html (The teaching with pictures ideas are great.)