Working with English Language Learners for the past three years has taught me so much about resiliency, determination, and compassion. I have met individuals from all over the world, and with all different reasons for coming to this country. Some of these students came to this country with full stomachs, full pockets, and a supportive family, whereas others came to this country with a completely different background. I have met an individual who fled literally in the middle of night, in order to escape a forced marriage. I have met another who traveled through Central America and Mexico, with her child, and somehow made her way to Cornwal,l New York, ending up in my class. I met a young man (back when I was much more naive, as a new teacher), who spoke to me about the “coyotes” on his journey, and I innocently thought he was referring to the animal. I soon found out he was referring to “men with guns”, that “chased” him. I have met other students who came here as a result of the dreams of their parents, and struggled to make their parents proud, while also adjusting to a whole new life (and simultaneously developing as a young adult). These individuals come from diverse backgrounds, they all have different dialects/languages, and they all have unique reasons for coming to this country; despite these differences, these students have several qualities in common: they are resilient, immensely strong, and courageous.
This courage is not always understood by their classmates and teachers. For example, when it is Anna’s* turn to read out loud in her 10th grade English class, and she is at the Transitioning Level and unsure about the meaning/pronunciations of the words, she may not appear “courageous” to her classmates. In fact, she may seem cold or stand offish, as she crosses her arms and tilts her head back as if to say, “Oh heck no I’m not reading this…” Her teacher (unaware of the extent of her linguistic, cultural, and emotional journey),, may assume that Anna is being fresh, or just stubborn. The teacher might say “You need to practice your English. How are you going to learn if you don’t try?” What is often times not realized (nor recognized), is the courage that is needed in quite simply “showing up”. There is great courage in getting out of bed (and of course in some cases, staying in bed! #selfcare), getting changed and walking in through those huge HS doors! The courage and mental space that it takes for an ENL student to simply be present, and try to capture and understand what their teacher/peers are saying is enormous and praiseworthy.
Throughout the last three years I have seen how many of my colleagues did not notice that there are “everyday victories” when it comes to ELLs. It’s ok if they cannot write an analysis paper (in English) on Julius Cesar just yet, but being able to order lunch at the cafeteria is still a huge accomplishment! Heck, asking for HELP, from a bystander when ordering lunch is a huge accomplishment. A beginning level ENL student may not be able to synthesize all the English notes in Biology class, but there is great victory in processing and understanding the teacher’s instructions when they say “open your books to page 123”.
I’ve noticed that many of my English Language Learners feel that they do not have a voice in school. They either keep quiet, or only feel they can express themselves in their home language, and then feel judged or inferior when doing so in front of non ENL students.
This inspired my inquiry topic, where I pondered the thought, “How does character writing, and presentation of that writing through author’s chair, empower English Language Learners to develop and utilize their own personal voice?”
I have experimented with historical character writing several times, across content areas (biology, history, and English). For this particular inquiry question, I focused on a government lesson on civic action. Students spent about a week learning about civic action, I pre taught the vocabulary for the unit using their picture glossaries. I had students brainstorm local and national “issues”, as well as potential solutions for those issues. We also had a debate on the three issues the students chose, where they had to provide evidence as to why this issue was of valid concern, and explain what they believe are possible solutions to the issue. We discussed different forms of civic action, and read about these forms extensively.
I chose the character of Cesar Chavez because I noticed that all of my students had some type of connection to the plight of migrant farm workers. Whether it be that they personally know a migrant farm worker, or that they could relate to the experience in a different form. For example, one of my students has a father who works long hours and endures difficult health conditions working in a factory. Although this is not the same labor as a farm worker, she was able to connect the struggles of the farm workers to those of her father (long hours, unsafe conditions, unsatisfactory pay, etc…).
I pretaught the vocabulary for these series of lessons, and told students that their end goal would be to take on the role of Cesar Chavez, and write a letter to legislators in order to create change (demonstrating civic action). After briefing the students on unfamiliar words, we read a biography on Cesar Chavez, in order to understand his character more. We discussed his efforts and impacts. Students were surprised that he was born into humble beginnings, and that his determination and passion drove him to create positive change on a larger scale. Students were guided by the statement, “ a mosquito on an elephant’s back”, through a series of lessons. My goal was for students to understand that even if they are still learning the English language, even if they are not public officials, and even if they were born into humble beginnings, they still are powerful creators and truly can make a difference not only in their own lives, but in the lives of others.
Students spent two days studying and decoding a primary source letter that Cesar Chavez wrote to his supporters, describing his efforts. Clabough expresses the importance of this when he writes, “One key ingredient of successful perspective-writing activities is incorporating texts that capture the personalities and values of historical figures.” (Clabough). We answered comprehension questions and engaged in critical thinking discussions on the content. After reviewing their checklist and rubric, it was finally time for students to write on their own!
I played some relaxing guitar music (while writing with them), and I told them to imagine that they are Cesar Chavez. I encouraged them to imagine the emotions that Cesar Chavez must have felt in his writing.
Observations:
I noticed that when students had the chromebooks, they just went at it, typing away! The students seemed to be actively engaged in their writing, and interested in the topic! Students seemed like they were able to concentrate, and infrequently asked me for my assistance!
Author’s Chair: The Big Day!
I was surprised to see how nervous my students were to present their work! This class is small, and composed entirely of ENL students. All of my students are friends with one another and have very personal connections! I assume that my students feel comfortable with me, and since I am the only ENL teacher in the building, several of my students have had me as their teacher for the past three years. In addition, we presented in our classroom, which I strive to make as calming and comfortable as possible (positive statements and the color blue everywhere!). I was truly surprised to see how nervous the students were. One of my students whispered to another, “I feel like I am going to throw up!”. This truly surprised me, I assumed they would feel very comfortable presenting in front of one another. The students were overall respectful and attentive when they shared their work with one another.
Reflection:
My students outwardly seemed to enjoy this writing assignment. One student told me “It was cool being someone else. Then I see he feels a lot like me. There are many changes I want to make. I think we are not so different.” I felt that by giving students the power and prestige of the Author’s Chair, they felt an added emphasis to their work, and that their words were valued and appreciated (as opposed to me simply collecting and grading their papers). I could have given a traditional assessment on Cesar Chavez, or had them complete a research paper (all of which I definitely have done in the past, and I believe there is a time for!), but for this assignment I wanted students to practice using their voice, and having their voice heard (literally)! Perhaps the most striking takeaway from this assignment was what that one student said, “Maybe the struggle of the farm workers and of Cesar Chavez aren’t so different from us after all.” There is much we can learn from not only studying history, but connecting with the emotions and ideas of historical figures (Clabough). Historical character writing gives students the opportunity to apply their historical knowledge, in a humanistic way- as humans we are all capable of feeling similar emotions. According to the article Transporting Historical Figures from Past to Present, “Perspective-writing activities in the social studies classroom can help young adolescents grasp the importance of people from the past who have affected the world around them today.” (Clabough). The author’s chair format at the end of the unit provided a somewhat safe, yet also expensive way for students to share their work, while also building their confidence (Bright Hub Education). Author’s chair allowed my students to have a vulnerable yet rewarding moment of sharing not only their work, but their perspective writing voices with the class.
Bleakley, Tracey. “Author’s Chair: The Sharing of Students Writing.” Bright Hub Education, 22 June 2009, http://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-elementary-school/39573-using-the-authors-chair-to-improve-students-writing-a-better-method/.
Clabough, Jeremiah. “Transporting Historical Figures from Past to Present.” AMLE, http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/569/Transporting-Historical-Figures-from-Past-to-Present.aspx
“Emerging” Level Student
**The Emerging Level is the second level on the proficiency scale
Dear legislators
My name is Cesar Chavez . I am a mexican-american.
I am writing to you because I want to change the laws that protect migrant workers.And many people are scamming immigrants when they work, they cheat them because they can’t speak English, they don’t pay their money, what is fair that they have to pay, they don’t get paid, it’s very little what they pay them because they work It is very strong and the money they earn is not necessary they need to pay them more money so they can have money to eat or for their children and be able to survive in a country as hard as the United States.The United States is not an easy country and they work hard to survive, but the bosses only deceive them because they cannot speak English during the hours they don’t pay them either because they don’t want the workers, they have to do what the boss tells them if the Boss says that they have to stay working, they have to do it and they do it, but they don’t get paid because they spend hours behind it, that’s why I’m protesting and I know that we won’t stay like this, we have to keep fighting that Mexico lives and all the immigrants.
ECLInstitute - HVWP 2019-2020 