ESL G3-6 Update

There was a lot of opportunity to review and hone skills this week as we both reviewed grammar that we have been working on already. We also began to work on new strategies for spelling and building on memory.

We began this week by working through another reading comprehension task that allowed us to interact text based questions as well as more open ended queries. The students showed a lot of progress in being able to find information in the text for their answers, and their answers were more developed and complete. The opened ended questions still posed some challenges, so we had some discussion about how to look for meaning and central ideas with typical clues.

The class also faced a fun and interesting challenge as they used code breaking worksheets to uncover critical spelling words for both their homophone spelling words and sight words. The students then practiced spelling words forward and backward to develop their memory of difficult words. 

We also spent time discussing the difference in meaning for homophones and they key ways we can differentiate them. Many students have able to show comprehension of many more of the homophones than before, but some of the most difficult words, such as affect and effect, may need to be examined further in the future.

Sentence building was a key focus for us again as we continued to try and match the appropriate pronoun with the appropriate noun as well as the correct noun with the correct verb. This week, the students also worked through a grammar guide as they played the game to review the concepts they were building in each round of the game. Many students have demonstrated a tighter grasp of the concept, and they are likely ready for syntax challenges posed by changing the statement they create into negative forms and questions.

Much of this week provided insight into what we need to practice more going forward and also helped review for the upcoming tests and quizzes in the following weeks for spelling and grammar. It will be exciting to see how much the students the students have grown in their understanding of each.