Teaching
The purpose of the lesson that I observed was to work on letter identification and sounds. Specifically in this lesson, the letter "H" was highlighted for the Kindergarden students. The lesson was structured around reading a big book with students with "H" words. After the book, the students reviewed a poem that they had been learning, and learned a new chant/song with motions.
The four K students that were part of this small group lesson were very interactive in the lesson. The EL teacher explained to be how important it is for them to be vocal in her class because they are not allowed to talk much in their general education room. She said that her EL's need to be encouraged to speak and use the language as much as possible, especially when they are pulled out to come to her room. During the lesson, the students were full of energy and eager to participate and answer the teacher's questions. They struggled with taking turns and listening when someone else was answering.
Community
There was definitely a sense of community in the classroom that I observed. The students loved to be pulled out of their class to come to EL. All of the materials that the students needed were already in the room provided for them. This is important for the K students especially because they have enough trouble walking down the hall without requiring them to bring things with them. As far as literacy goes, students were exposed to many books in the EL room and were working on beginning sounds and letters.
Ethnographic Perspective
During my observation, it was one little girl's birthday that was in this specific group. Her cousin, also an EL, was very distracted by her birthday crown that her teacher had given her to wear because it was way too big for her head and kept sliding down. He would reach over to her in the middle of the lesson and mess with her crown. The students were very excited and eager to learn in the EL classroom. The environment was very welcoming, thanks to the teacher. She made each child feel extremely special when they were with her and reinforced their efforts during the lesson. As a newcomer to the room, I felt immediately accepted as the children were holding my hand walking down the hall and insisting that the EL teacher give me a sticker at the end of the lesson, too. They did not want me to feel left out! I felt that this was a good representation of what they must treat new students like as well, accepting them into the community of the classroom. The groups that came were so small that is was easy to interact and watch the students interact.
