Introduction
In the cooperating school where I am interning, there are 43 ELL/ESOL/ESL students out of roughly 700 students. Most of these students come from a household where one or more members speak a different language (in this case, all but a few come from a Spanish-speaking home). There is no dedicated ELL teacher, as the students are mainstreamed, but there is a faculty member who oversees the ELL program. Terrell Daniel, who goes by ‘Lamb’, not only manages the ELL program, but she is also one of two gifted teachers at Lake Silver. Needless to say, she is always busy.
There is not a traditional ELL class, nor do the ELL students ever assemble. Because of this, I had to alter the parameters of this assignment just a bit. Instead of presenting to an ELL class, I conducted a story time with a selected group of second graders. I read them Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora, a story about a child of migrant workers who discovers the wonders of a library. All elements of the lesson were as I would have taught them to an ELL group.
Additionally, I was unable to interview ELL students regarding their views of the library. I had hoped to pull a few ELL students for one-on-one interviews, but I wasn’t able to make this happen. The constant disruption to the school schedule caused by standardized testing eliminated any possibility of that. Instead, I interviewed the aforementioned Ms. Daniel, and Jacqueline Gomez. Ms. Gomez, aside from being the library clerk, is also the school’s go-to translator, so she has a unique perspective on the ELL population. Not only does she meet with the students and their parents, but she also monitors the library’s circulation, and was able to provide me with quite a bit of information about this population and their library habits.
My supervising librarian asked me to create a lesson plan for this activity, even though it was not a requirement. She believes it’s important for me to become familiar with the county’s lesson plan format. I have included it at the end of this document.
Annotated Bibliography
Spanish-Language Picture Books
Boada, F. (2004). La princesa y el guisante (the princess and the pea). San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. Shelf location: E Boa
Updated illustrations bring the classic tale to life. Contains both Spanish and English text.
Ehlert, L. (2003). Un lazo a la luna (moon rope). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. Shelf location: 460 Ehl
Fox and Mole want to climb to the moon on a grass rope-only one makes it. Accompanied by beautiful cut-paper illustrations, this retelling of a Peruvian folk tale is presented in both English and Spanish.
Glass, M. (2003). Saltar (let’s get moving). New York, NY: Buenas Letras. Shelf location: 612 Gal
Appropriate for preschool to first grade, the book contains pictures and brief captions (in Spanish) describing the movement and feeling of jumping.
Grimm, J. (1999). Caperucita roja (little red riding hood). San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. Shelf location: E Lit
Presented in Spanish and English, this book recounts the beloved story of Little Red Riding Hood, but with a few updates for the modern reader.
Johnson, A. C. (2004). Mason se muda (Mason moves away). McHenry, IL: Raven Tree Press. Shelf location: E Joh
One of a series of books centering on a raven named Solomon, this book finds Solomon’s friend, a beaver named Mason, homeless after earthmovers come in and clear the way for a new housing development. Mason is forced to find a new home, but can he stay close to his friends?
Mata, M. (1998). Ricitos de Oro y los tres osos (Goldilocks and the three bears). San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. Shelf location: 398.2 Mat
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in both English and Spanish.
Soto, G. (2006). Mi carrito: My little car. New York, NY: Putnam Publishing Group. Shelf location: E Sot
Teresa, a Hispanic first grader, receives a customized pedal car for her birthday. She loves her new car-she even wins the playground car show. Soon, Teresa becomes careless, and leaves the car out in the rain. Provides a good lesson on taking care of one’s belongings.
Books by Hispanic Authors
Ada, A. F. (2003). Daniel’s mystery egg. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. Shelf location: E Ada
Alma Flor Ada, a Cuban immigrant, writes for both adult and children alike. In this book for emergent readers, Daniel finds an egg, but has no idea what kind of animal it will produce. A great book for a read-aloud or to teach children about predictions (or both).
Ada, A. F. (1997). Dear Peter Rabbit. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Shelf location: E Ada
Peter Rabbit really wants to go to the party at the Three Little Pigs’ house, but he’s not alone. Goldilocks and her friends want to attend, but they’re afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. Written in the form of letters penned by storybook characters (Goldilocks, the Three Little Pigs, etc.), this book is a new twist on the fairy tale.
Mora, P. (2005). Dona Flor: A tall tale about a giant woman with a great big heart. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. Shelf location: E Mor
Dona Flor is one of the most popular people in her village. She entertains the village children and encourages their imaginations. One day, a loud noise spreads across the town, and Dona Flor goes out to investigate. Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal for book illustration.
Mora, P. (2014). I pledge allegiance. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. Shelf location: E Mor
Libby’s aunt is an immigrant from Mexico who wants to become a U.S. citizen, and will recite the pledge at her naturalization ceremony. Libby is just learning the pledge-together they discover the real meaning of being an American citizen.
Ryan, P. M. (2005). Becoming Naomi Leon. New York, NY: Scholastic Paperbacks. Shelf location: F Rya
Naomi is an outcast: her clothes are handmade, she has social anxiety, and she’s considered a nobody at school. Life at the trailer park is disrupted when Naomi’s mother shows up after being gone for seven years. Can Naomi adjust to the new life she is forced to live? Appropriate for ages 8 and up.
Ryan, P. M. (2012). The dreamer. New York, NY: Scholastic Paperbacks. Shelf location: F Rya
Neftali, a young Chilean boy, has heard the calls of a mysterious voice since he was a child. When he decides to follow it, he is led on a magical journey. Winner of the 2011 Pura Belpre ward for fiction. Appropriate for ages 8 and up.
Soto, G. (2004). Chato and the party animals. New York, NY: Puffin Books. Shelf location: E Sot
Chato wants to throw his friend Novio Boy a birthday party-he’s never had one. Chato invites the neighborhood and arranges for the music and the food. But he forgets one thing-the guest of honor. Written in English, but also available in Spanish.
Soto, G. (1998). Snapshots from the wedding. New York, NY: Puffin Books. Shelf location: E Sot
Told through the eyes of the flower girl, this book captures the often unseen but hilarious things that happen at a wedding. The three-dimensional artwork is beautiful, and sets it apart from other picture books.
Soto, G. (1997). Tomás and the Library Lady. New York, NY: Knopf. Shelf location: E Sot
Tomás, the son of immigrant workers, has grown up listening to his grandfather’s stories. As he gets older, he realized that he knows all of his grandfather’s stories by heart. His grandfather encourages him to go to the library, where there are many more stories for Tomás to learn.
Spanish-Language Versions of Popular Chapter Books
Cleary, B. (2003). Ramona la valiente (Ramona the brave). Madrid, Spain: Espasa-Calpe, S. A. Shelf location: 468.6 Cle
Ramona’s got it tough-she has a teacher who doesn’t understand her, a mother who has no time for her since she’s returned to work, and a copycat in her first grade class. Can she overcome all of this and make it through the school year?
Osborne, M. P. (2003). Dinosaurios al atardecer (dinosaurs before dark). New York, NY: Lectorum Publishing. Shelf location: 468.6 Osb
One of the titles from the Magic Tree House series. Jack and Annie are sent back to prehistoric times-can they get back before dark, or will they be stuck for good (or worse yet, a dinosaur’s dinner)?
Spanish-Language Biographies
Egan, T. (2003). Betsy Ross: creadora de la bandera Estadounidense. (Betsy Ross: creator of the American flag). New York, NY: Rosen Publishing Group. Shelf location: B Ros
The story of Betsy Ross.
Glass, M. (2003). Benjamin Franklin: politico e inventor Estadounidense (Benjamin Franklin: early American genius). New York, NY: Rosen Publishing Group. Shelf location: B Fra
The story of Benjamin Franklin.
Moriarty, J.T. (2003). Davy Crockett: defensor de la frontera (Davy Crockett: frontier hero). New York, NY: Buenas Letras. Shelf location: B Cro
The story of Davy Crockett.
Spanish-Language Learning Books
Kennedy, R. (2014). Spanish words in the house. New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing. Shelf location: 468.1 Ken
Photographs of household items accompanied by Spanish text.
Salazar, S. (2014). Spanish words at school. New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing. Shelf location: 468.1 Sal
Photographs of items found commonly at school accompanied by Spanish text.
Nonfiction Titles
Metz, L. (2014). A nation of immigrants. New York, NY: Powerkids Press. Shelf location: 305.9 Met
While not specifically about the Hispanic population, a look into the immigrant experience.
Walsh, K. (2004). Mexico. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing Group. Shelf location: 972
Contains photographs of and information about the people, food, holidays, and everyday life in Mexico.
Presentation Narrative
Before the students arrived for the lesson, I wrote the following words/phrases on the whiteboard (including their translations):
- buenas noches (good night)
- buenas tardes (good afternoon)
- en un tiempo pasado (once upon a time)
- señor (sir)
- señora (madam)
- que tigre tan grande (what a big tiger)
- pan dulce (sweet bread)
- libro (book)
- pajaro (bird)
- adios (goodbye)
- gracias (thank you)
Also written on the whiteboard were the questions I prepared to ask. I hadn’t planned on writing them on the board (for the kindergarten class), but I thought the second graders would benefit from seeing the questions in advance, so I added them.
The students have been visiting the library all year, so they are familiar with the library rules, as well as the procedures for entering the library (quietly), walking to the story carpet (quiet walking feet), and sitting on the carpet (the carpet has numbers, and the teacher calls each student by name and asks them to sit on a specific number). In this instance, the carpet was not in its normal place, but the students sat themselves appropriately in the area where the carpet usually lies.
When the students were seated and attentive, I showed them the book I was to read to them, and asked if any of them had read the book before. Before I read, I directed the students’ attention to the whiteboard, and explained that these words would appear in the story (the translations of these words are also contained in the text, but additional reinforcement cannot hurt). I then read the story to the students. I glanced over a few times, and I had the students’ attention, so I did not have to employ redirecting techniques (I might not have been so lucky with kindergarten students).
After I read the story, I asked the following questions, allowing both for wait time and for several students to provide answers for each question:
- How did Tomås feel about moving to Iowa?
- How do you think Tomás feels the first time he visits the library?
- What do you think Tomás likes about reading books?
- Tomás and the library lady become friends. What do you think Tomás learns from her? What does she learn from him?
- How did Tomás’ life change by visiting the library?
- What’s your favorite thing about visiting the library?
- Why are libraries important?
I also asked the students about the characters’ financial status, a question that had not occurred to me before. It wasn’t particularly relevant to the objective of the lesson (Why are libraries important?), but I saw it as a chance to reinforce the students’ inference skills.
After all students had been given a chance to participate, and all questions had been exhausted, the students had a chance to select books for check out. The students are given their library ‘cards’ (which are actually booklets containing lists of recommended books, as well as their reading levels and their individual student bar code). The students are to use their library card as a shelf marker when choosing a book, but the older students don’t always do this. Once they have chosen a book, they go to the circulation desk, where they check out, and then return to the carpet to quietly wait for everyone in the class to select a book. When everyone has a book, they stand, form a line, and are to ‘hug’ their books to their chest on the way out, where they are again using quiet feet and voices. During the check out period, I was discussing the lesson with Dr. Everhart, so I did not participate in book selection for this group.
Evaluation
Qualitative
As I mentioned above, I was unable to interview any actual ELL students, but I did get quite a bit of information from the two people I did interview: Terrell Daniel, head of the ELL program, and Jacqueline Gomez, library clerk and Lake Silver’s Spanish translator. Below is a summary of the information I received regarding all aspects of the ELL program.
ELL/ESOL/ESL learners account for right around six percent of the total student population at Lake Silver Elementary. This number, compared to other schools in the district, is remarkably low. In some areas, the number of ELL students outnumber the non-ELL students. The predominant language of a majority of ESL/ELL/ESOL students is Spanish, but there are programs for speakers of Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Vietnamese. All told, there are over 130 different languages represented in the Orange County Public School system.
The county has organized the ‘Multilingual Parent Leadership Council’ for parents and guardians coming from multilingual households. The members of the council are provided leadership training, and receive a thorough orientation to the district’s multilingual program. The district also holds parent workshops, covering topics relevant to those in multilingual households. Orange County Public School’s services for ESL/ELL/ESOL students and their families are some of the best in the state.
As for Lake Silver, most of the ELL students live in a home with one or more speakers of another language, but have been in America for most or all of their lives. These students, while perhaps not fluent, can communicate in English, and require very few accommodations, if any. There are a small number of students who speak little to no English. These students receive special services, for which a county specialist is brought in, although the goal is to mainstream these students as quickly and effectively as possible.
The Lake Silver media center is woefully devoid of books in other languages. The Spanish-language books I included in the attached bibliography are the only ones in the collection-there are exactly twelve books, and only five of them are written exclusively in Spanish (the others contain both English and Spanish text). Both women I interviewed expressed disappointment with the lack of multilingual materials available to the student body, but after a review of the circulation records, one can conclude that they would likely collect dust.
As to the ELL students’ views toward the media center, they are generally positive, and they visit the library as often as the school’s native English speakers. Because a majority of them are ‘Americanized’, they show no fear, hesitation, or reluctance to visit. Quite often, I have observed Ms. Gomez speaking to a student in Spanish. When I asked her why she doesn’t speak English (in the spirit of mainstreaming), she explained that hearing and/or speaking Spanish makes these students feel more comfortable in general. She wants the library to be a welcoming space, a place where a student who may feel different from his or her classmates can come and feel welcome.
Quantitative
When analyzing the circulation for the books contained in my bibliography, I found that most of the items do not circulate frequently, and some had never been checked out. Because of this, I found that the best measure of the books’ popularity was to determine the last check out date for these items. I then presented my findings to my supervising librarian, to consider for weeding/collection management purposes. Below is a summary of my findings.
Circulated in the Last Year
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan (10/15/2014)
Benjamin Franklin: Politico e Inventor by Maya Glass (11/7/2014)
Betsy Ross: Creadora de la Bandera Estadounidense by Tracie Egan (11/7/2014)
Daniel’s Mystery Egg by Alma Flor Ada (3/19/2015)
Dear Peter Rabbit by Alma Flor Ada (3/31/2015)
The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan (4/16/2015)
La Princesa y el Guisante (The Princess and the Pea) by Francesc Boada (4/15/2015)
Mason de Muda (Mason Moves Away) by Amy Crane Johnson (3/19/2015)
Mi Carrito: My Little Car by Gary Soto (11/12/2014)
Snapshots from the Wedding by Gary Soto (10/16/2014)
Spanish Words in the House by Robert Kennedy (3/31/2015)
Circulated in the Last Two Years
Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood) by Jacob Grimm (12/10/2013)
Chato and the Party Animals by Gary Soto (1/27/2014)
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart by Pat Mora (2/10/2014)
Last Circulated More Than Two Years Ago
Davy Crockett: Defensor de la Frontera by J.T. Moriarty (4/27/2011)
Mexico by Kieran Walsh (5/16/2012)
Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora (12/21/2012)
Ramona la Valiente (Ramona the Brave) by Beverly Cleary (2/17/2009)
Never Circulated
A Nation of Immigrants by Lorijo Metz
Dinosaurios Al Atardecer (Dinosaurs Before Dark) by Mary Pope Osbourne
I Pledge Allegiance by Pat Mora
Ricitos de Oro y los Tres Osos by Marta Mata
Saltar (Let’s Get Moving) by Maya Glass
Spanish Words at School by Sydney Salazar
Un Lazo de la Luna (Moon Rope) by Lois Ehlert
Data Analysis
Because I was unable to interview students, it’s difficult for me to compare their feelings about the library to the actual circulation data for the books contained in my bibliography. What I can discuss, however, is my presentation.
I believe that the book I chose to present was particularly germane to the theme of this project (ELL/ESOL/ESL students and their relationship with/feelings about the library). Unfortunately, I was unable to read to actual ELL learners, who might have had a more personal connection with the book. The students I did present to were engaged, however, and most were eager to answer the questions I asked. Although I had never met a majority of these students, I felt that I had an easy rapport with most of them. Establishing relationships with students has never been an issue with me-it’s probably my strongest competency as an educator.
As for the least effective part of the read along-I didn’t feel completely prepared to present, especially when I arrived the morning of the presentation and discovered that I would be reading to a select group of second graders, instead of the kindergartners whom I geared the lesson toward. If I’d known, I would have constructed higher-order thinking questions for the older students. I also neglected to plan enough for the read-along. In this specific case, the students only had a few minutes to devote to me (my supervising librarian actually gave me the high sign right before I wrapped it up), but if I had been in front of a ‘normal’ group, I would have ended a bit early. I’ve always had an issue with time management-I either plan too much (as evidenced by my first observed teach, where I had too many pictures for the students to attach to the board and had to eliminate a few) or too little. With experience comes expertise-hopefully this is an issue I’ll be able to overcome sooner rather than later.
Reflection
I received my undergraduate elementary education degree in 2007 from UCF I was, along with everyone else in the program, required to obtain an ESOL endorsement to add to my teaching certificate. It was a lot of extra work-instead of compiling and maintaining one portfolio, I had to complete two. Of course, no assignment worked in both portfolios, so it was almost double the workload (at least where the portfolios were concerned).
Almost immediately upon graduation, I realized how fortunate I had been to fulfill this requirement while in school. Veteran teachers, who already had full plates, had to somehow fit in ESOL training, which, depending on the teacher’s area of expertise, could be quite extensive. After graduation, I spent some time substituting in the Volusia County Public School system, as I knew I was moving and did not want to start a job I’d just have to leave in a year. I spent many a lunch break quietly listening to seasoned teachers grumble about the extra work (among other things-it’s amazing what you hear in a school’s break room).
Aside from the advantage it gave me concerning my professional development, having experience and knowledge with regard to ESOL students is a necessity, especially here in Florida, where 27% of citizens speak a language other than English at home (source: www.quickfacts.census.gov). I also found I relied heavily on my ESOL training and experience during the four years I lived in North Carolina-there is a large migrant population, particularly during the harvest season. I worked in a not-for-profit children’s home that also provided after-school care to low-income families in the area, consequently, many of the children in my care were ELL/ESOL children.
As for the most valuable skill or concept I took away from this lesson, I’d point to all of the resources that Orange County Public Schools makes available for ELL students, their families, and the teachers in their employ. The county really tries to support these students and their families, and now I know where to direct anyone who could benefit from these services (assuming I get a job with Orange County Public Schools). Though I did not have the opportunity to interact with actual ELL students, I learned quite a bit from the two staff members I interviewed, and I’ve added two very useful people to my personal learning network.
Associated lesson plan-please click to view:
Lesson Plan: Tomas and the Library Lady
Elizabeth A. Olson 