Out-of-Zone Activity Paper
Observing at Shawnee Mission West High School, Overland Park, Kansas
Molly Niedens
C&T 620
University of Kansas
My out-of-zone activity included returning to Shawnee Mission West High School in
Overland Park, Kansas, and the site of my ESOL observation on Tuesday November 1st,
2011. I was present for three class periods which allowed observation of three different
classes. I went to an ELL class, and two science classes. Both science classes were contentbased instruction.
First period was in a meteorology classroom. This is the second year the high school
has offered meteorology classes and is only the third high school in the district to add this
class as an elective option. There are no Kansas state standards for Meteorology; the
District has created the curriculum and standards themselves. The class is a semester long.
To graduate high school, students need two science credits. Students can take this class
along with a required science class or they can take it as a junior or senior after their
physical science and biology requirements are met.
Class began by the teacher, Mr. Call, reviewing the prior class period, reminder of
what assignments were due, and what work would be done with the substitute teacher
planned the following day. He then proceeded to the lesson for the day. The students went
over their ‘Light and Optics in the Atmosphere’ assignment; a large project spanning over a
couple weeks which is due before Thanksgiving.
Mr. Call discussed with the students what parts of the project they found to be
difficult so far, relating the parts of the project that other class periods have found
troubling. With half of the class made up of ELL students, Mr. Call spent time going over
vocabulary terms related to the project and reiterated them. After class he told me the most
challenging part of having ELL students in his meteorology classroom was the great deal of
vocabulary. He said his ELL students have trouble understanding everyday vocabulary
words such as reflection and the challenges in helping them understand what Blue Moons
and Sundogs are let alone explaining the relational concepts of refraction, reflection and
diffusion of light.
After reviewing the project, discussing questions, and getting out textbooks and
laptops, Mr. Call called all the ELL students to one table to go over the homework due for
that day. It was a refraction worksheet. Since many of the students did not comprehend
light refraction, he wanted to make sure he went over the terms once more and answer
questions before they turned in their assignment. I was impressed to see a teacher in a
Content-Based Instruction environment take the time to work with the ELL students
specifically. The rest of the class had unstructured time to work on their assignment. The
other students had the materials to complete the project in front of them but were off task.
Mr. Call stopped occasionally to get them back on task but there were still students who
remained diverted from the assignment.
Overall, I am glad I got to observe his class. I do not have any experience (except for
our observation assignment for C&T 620) working with high school students. This year I
started observing and working with an 8th grade physical science class at Liberty Memorial
Central Middle School in Lawrence, Kansas. There are, however, no ELL students in that
classroom. Being in a meteorology class, which I am unfamiliar with, and seeing how ELL
students affect the flow of your classroom was an informative experience. I saw one
perspective of being a content-based teacher – having students at different levels and
different abilities and having to modify your instruction so all students can do a variation of
the same assignment. Mr. Call differentiated his instruction of the ‘Light and Optics in the
Atmosphere’ by giving students many options to demonstrate their understanding through
their work; PowerPoint, poster board, etc. I also noticed how time constraints played a role
in classroom management.
Second period was spent with Mrs. Carlson, a biology teacher. This is also a ContentBased Instruction classroom as I discussed with an ELL Para as part of the classroom. The
Para explained that previously they had a Sheltered-Instruction biology classroom but the
teacher was only certified in biology, not ELL, so the school decided to put the ELL students
back in the CBI biology classrooms to insure compliance with state regulation. The ELL
department head, Shani Crossen, explained to me that this is not a state regulation and thus
unclear why the school took the class away. Though this is the first year without the
Sheltered-Instruction classroom, they are trying to get the class back for the 2012-2013
school year.
Upon entering the biology classroom the ELL students were pulled out and taken to
another classroom. The students have a chapter test on Thursday that will cover cells and
cell functions. They had a worksheet given over the weekend, which they reviewed, but still
none of the ELL students were able to complete because of the vocabulary comprehension
issues. The ELL Para explained that the previous day they worked on reviewing the
textbook and the ELL students spent so much time looking up almost every single word
that they barely had time to review for the test.
While in the empty classroom with the ELL students, the aid and I went over their
cell and cell function test review worksheet they had taken home over the weekend. Most
of the students knew the terms and were able to fill in the blank questions, but I am not
sure they fully comprehended meaning. It seemed to be more about rote memorization. In
observing the Para ‘teach’ the ELL students about the cell, I realized that she may not have
had the necessary science background to assist the students with connecting the words
with the understanding of what they really mean. Some of what she was explaining to the
students was incorrect. The worksheet was competed only a few minutes before the bell
rung.
I thought my observation of this biology classroom was very important because it
opened my eyes on how difficult it is to help your ELL students while also helping your
traditional students. Modifying curriculum for two different sets of students takes extra
time. While all students come into the classroom with varying levels of understanding and
differences in learning, the ELL students add differences in language skills – both spoken
and comprehension and are at different places in their adjustment to a new culture. It is
difficult for teachers to individualize so many sets of modifications for each student.
In my future classroom I will most likely have ELL students. Working with this
group of eight ELL students enlightened me on some of the struggles Content-Based
Instruction teachers face. After second period, discussing how the first two periods went
with Crossen, she identified some frustration with the science teachers; saying they cringe
anytime she asks them to modify the ELL students work. Seeing firsthand how these
students struggled with the cell material, barely understanding the words in the question, I
empathized with students who face such a sharp learning curve and may not always be
given the same interest, time and commitment than students who require less from the
school setting.
I spent third hour in an ELL reading and writing class for advanced ELL students.
They were reading a special formatted version of The Invisible Man. Before the lesson
started, as was done during my ESOL observation, the vocabulary words were discussed.
One Chinese student did not understand the words ‘peek’ or ‘puzzled’ and a Native Mexican
student did not understand the word ‘slam’. As Professor Park does in C&T 620, Crossen
demonstrated these words to her students.
After going over vocabulary, it was time to read the story. The class used a reading
strategy we have discussed in C&T 620, Popcorn Reading. All students read at least one
paragraph, and some even read a couple paragraphs. Though the students had trouble
with English and pronouncing words, they were not afraid to read aloud. Popcorn Reading
made sure the students were following along and also gave them practice at reading in
English.
Though visiting these classes and working more closely with ELL students was out
of my comfort zone, I think it was a valuable lesson because it gave me exposure to what I
may face in my future classroom. It also provided me with a more informed base to think
about how I might be able to balance all the variables involved with teaching diverse
students.