{"id":11303,"date":"2012-03-09T13:34:21","date_gmt":"2012-03-09T19:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.wnpt.org\/mediaupdate\/?p=11303"},"modified":"2018-11-06T13:36:41","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T19:36:41","slug":"npt-reports-teaching-out-of-the-box-algebra-for-esl-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.wnpt.org\/mediaupdate\/2012\/03\/09\/npt-reports-teaching-out-of-the-box-algebra-for-esl-students\/","title":{"rendered":"(NPT Reports) Teaching out of the Box: Algebra for ESL Students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"580\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U2jrKRRAruc?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Robert Drake teaches Algebra 2 to a classroom full of English Language Learners at Smyrna High School, and he knows it will take more than chalkboards and calculators. He jumps, waves and moves around the classroom while animatedly explaining math concepts.\u00a0 When his students still look puzzled about a lesson on factoring, Drake turns to his secret weapon: the I-Pod docked near his desk.<\/p>\n<p>Music begins to play the song\u00a0\u201cI Like to Move It\u201d from the movie \u201cMadagascar.\u201d Drake starts singing and dancing, trying to get the students to join in, before turning to the chalkboard to demonstrate the algebra concept of moving numbers from one side of the equation to the other.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I use a lot of music; I use movement with hands,\u201d says Drake. \u201cThey don\u2019t necessarily have to know the song. But it\u2019s so surprising how much it will resonate and they\u2019ll remember it with songs. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>Drake admits that\u00a0 he\u2019s a very physical math teacher\u2014no matter who are his students. But when he began teaching ELL students a few years ago, Drake realized his teaching style could help bridge the language and cultural gap. That was especially important as Smyrna High School faced a sudden influx during the last 4 years of refugee students from Burma\u2014 a population known as the Karen.\u00a0 The students spoke little if any English, and most had not attended school until being resettled in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of these people can do the math concept. Some of these are struggling because they haven\u2019t been in school since 4th grade. They\u2019ve lived in a refugee camp,\u201d explains Drake. \u201cSome, when they get here, never held a calculator. Math that (U.S.) students have done since 5th grade, they may have not seen&#8211; adding, subtracting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The arrival of Karen students prompted Smyrna High officials to re-think its English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Before, the challenge had been simply teaching English to students who speak a different language\u2014but\u00a0who had schooling in their native language. That isn\u2019t usually the case with the Karen, according to Collin Olsen, an ESL teacher at Smyrna High.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost all of the students\u2014over 90% of our students\u2014were born in refugee camps. Until they came to Smyrna, they never participated in an economy. They don\u2019t understand what a king is or president or congress,\u201d explains Olsen. \u201c If they\u2019re 15, they go straight into 9th grade. Because even if they have the educational background of a first-grader, we can\u2019t place a 15-year- old in the first grade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smyrna High decided to try something different: it placed the Karen students in so-called \u201csheltered\u201d classes, which group together students who are learning English and have little formal education\u2014especially in core subjects that are required for graduation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want them to go to the standard classrooms and just fail,\u201d says Olsen. \u201cSo I think we feel that this is the best way with the large number of students that we have to give them the best education that they can get.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve either found teachers who are willing to try something different and maybe accept poor test scores\u2014which are somewhat inevitable&#8211; or we\u2019ve gone and gotten the [certifications] ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s how Robert Drake, the algebra teacher, volunteered to become Drake, the ESL algebra teacher.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI enjoy teaching those that are a little bit different. I taught special ed. And then as the Karen students started coming about 5 years ago, I had some of those first few and some of them did real well. They\u2019re very hard workers. Most of them understand the opportunity they have here and they will work.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert Drake teaches Algebra 2 to a classroom full of English Language Learners at Smyrna High School, and he knows it will take more than chalkboards and calculators.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-npt-reports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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