Websites #1: Four-Square Support
http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/graphorgan/4square/writingsquare4.htm
http://vimeo.com/36158768
How would this website be beneficial to ELL learners?
I have briefly talked about the four-square writing method before and suspected that there would be support websites for those teachers who choose to use this method in their curriculum. This writing strategy was designed to help students within the special education program learn how to organize their thoughts and successfully write a more advanced essay. As we have discussed in class, many special education strategies work very well with ESL students, the main difference being that ESL students will grasp concepts quicker than students with learning disabilities. The four square writing method proved so effective that Margaret Bell Miller Middle School in Central Greene School District began using it to teach all of their students how to set up and organize a five paragraph essay. The above website and webinar do an excellent job of providing teachers with the research and know how to use this graphic organizer in teaching their students to create an essay.
How would I use this website in my classroom?
The webinar does a very good job of explaining how the four square method should be employed in the classroom. The website provides examples and worksheets connected to foursquare writing. Foursquare is simply a box broken into four parts on a sheet of paper. Each box represents a paragraph and contains the information the student plans to write in that paragraph. The middle box contains the thesis statement which consists of three supports that are listed separately in each box. Through this method the student begin to learn a basic but very common method to organizing essays in higher education. However, it is a cognitive strategy that works wonders for those students who may get distracted by essay length or topic.
http://vimeo.com/36158768
How would this website be beneficial to ELL learners?
I have briefly talked about the four-square writing method before and suspected that there would be support websites for those teachers who choose to use this method in their curriculum. This writing strategy was designed to help students within the special education program learn how to organize their thoughts and successfully write a more advanced essay. As we have discussed in class, many special education strategies work very well with ESL students, the main difference being that ESL students will grasp concepts quicker than students with learning disabilities. The four square writing method proved so effective that Margaret Bell Miller Middle School in Central Greene School District began using it to teach all of their students how to set up and organize a five paragraph essay. The above website and webinar do an excellent job of providing teachers with the research and know how to use this graphic organizer in teaching their students to create an essay.
How would I use this website in my classroom?
The webinar does a very good job of explaining how the four square method should be employed in the classroom. The website provides examples and worksheets connected to foursquare writing. Foursquare is simply a box broken into four parts on a sheet of paper. Each box represents a paragraph and contains the information the student plans to write in that paragraph. The middle box contains the thesis statement which consists of three supports that are listed separately in each box. Through this method the student begin to learn a basic but very common method to organizing essays in higher education. However, it is a cognitive strategy that works wonders for those students who may get distracted by essay length or topic.
Website #2: Storybird
http://storybird.com/
How would this website be beneficial to ELL learners?
This website is fantastic. It provides thousands and thousands of artwork and artwork styles. It is designed so that students can pick a story, find pictures that illustrate it, and write it into their own online storybook. I immediately thought of this website when we were discussing alternative assignments to writing an essay in class. I think this is a fantastic alternative to writing a summary of a book. Instead, they can find pictures that illustrate their book and use brief sentences to describe the picture. I have used storybird in other ways as well. However, I liked storybird because it automatically adds context to their writing. Just like in comprehension or reading, adding context is important in writing.
How would I use this website in my classroom?
I have designed lessons that implement this website already. In particular, the lesson involved using a poem and pictures to summarize a book of 'The Odyssey." While that may prove too challenging for some ELL students, I think it is an excellent context-embedded way for some higher level ELL students to summarize The Odyssey without writing a laborious amount. Obviously, if poetic elements were a bit too much for students, they could summarize using simple sentences. I also had the thought that as an educator I could create storybird cheat stories to help my ELL students remember and retain literature they read in class. This particular aspect may have more to do with comprehension but would still be helpful.
How would this website be beneficial to ELL learners?
This website is fantastic. It provides thousands and thousands of artwork and artwork styles. It is designed so that students can pick a story, find pictures that illustrate it, and write it into their own online storybook. I immediately thought of this website when we were discussing alternative assignments to writing an essay in class. I think this is a fantastic alternative to writing a summary of a book. Instead, they can find pictures that illustrate their book and use brief sentences to describe the picture. I have used storybird in other ways as well. However, I liked storybird because it automatically adds context to their writing. Just like in comprehension or reading, adding context is important in writing.
How would I use this website in my classroom?
I have designed lessons that implement this website already. In particular, the lesson involved using a poem and pictures to summarize a book of 'The Odyssey." While that may prove too challenging for some ELL students, I think it is an excellent context-embedded way for some higher level ELL students to summarize The Odyssey without writing a laborious amount. Obviously, if poetic elements were a bit too much for students, they could summarize using simple sentences. I also had the thought that as an educator I could create storybird cheat stories to help my ELL students remember and retain literature they read in class. This particular aspect may have more to do with comprehension but would still be helpful.