Provided by Prince William County Schools (PWCS)
Word is getting around about the high-level learning happening for English learners (ELs) at Stonewall Jackson High School (SJHS). In fact, when Associate Superintendent for High Schools Mickey Mulgrew got wind of it, he asked Lynnmara Colón, director of EL Programs and Services, to help him share examples of these strong instructional practices with other PWCS high school principals. The result is a series of videos showing how SJHS instructional leaders work together to combine lessons in standard subjects. They include language learning strategies that build vocabulary and communication skills and lead to a classroom that is supportive, culturally responsive, and ideal for successful student learning.
The videos will also help middle school administrators and Division educators to examine instruction through a language learning lens, producing high level learning across subjects for EL students.
In Gladys Kepler’s mathematics classroom, videotaping captured an Algebra I lesson, which she co-taught with Perpetua Cavalcanti Magalhaes, ESOL teacher.
“The teachers use both content and language objectives to frame the learning for students,” said Colón. “This footage was shared at the high school meeting but is also an exemplar for our middle school colleagues. Use of the Word Wall strategy, in which unfamiliar words that students will encounter are displayed in the classroom for easy access, has a marked effect on elevating the academic talk in the classroom.”
A second video features Robert Donaldson, social studies teacher, during a United States/Virginia history lesson for EL students. In it, Donaldson displays careful lesson planning and structuring of the learning experience, as evidenced by engaged students invested in the work they were doing together. He encourages student interaction and connects new information to what students already know to promote understanding and retention.
By having students practice their presentations in their own teams before sharing them to a new audience, he builds student comfort and trust and demonstrates true language-focused planning. As a result of this supportive learning environment, students feel comfortable using their first language to express complex understanding of the concepts during the lesson. It allows those who are able to interpret on the spot for peers, and then summarize what they just read in English.
Footage of lessons in the Biology I class of co-teachers Jessica Hruska and Laura Nefissi were also taken, and additional filming is scheduled to capture and share these responsive practices.
