YOED-6020 has been a wild and bumpy ride full of information that I will use every day in my (future) ESL classroom! In the past couple of weeks, I have found myself researching methods, strategies, and techniques for literacy instruction that will make me the best ESL teacher possible! Two of my favorite sites for such valuable information include the following:
- Colorin Colorado's site is for bilingual families and ESL educators. Their page entitled For Educators is loaded with valuable information about literacy instruction and other topics: http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/
While all of the content covered in YOED-6020 will lead to better literacy instruction for ELLs, I found the topic of
thematic instruction especially enlightening. Thematic units are based on one general topic and span the content areas while addressing all of the language skills: listening, speaking, writing, and reading. I thoroughly enjoyed designing part of a thematic unit about food (grocery shopping in particular) for adult ELLs. I found myself wanting to complete the entire unit because I had so many ideas! I can see how this type of instruction can be used for any age group and proficiency level with the use of differentiated instruction including scaffolding.
I was happy to take YOED-6020, because it took all of the information that I learned in the research-based classes I've taken in the past semester and put it into practical applications that I will use in the future!
