December Letter

Dear Parents,

It is amazing how time flies and that we are nearing the end of our first semester. Assessments have been completed and the question most commonly asked is: How can I help my child learn English?

Over these next few weeks there will be a lot going on at school; many units of study will come to an end to prepare for the new ones we will begin second semester. This can be a very busy time of year and with all of the holiday distractions, it is important for us to recognize that ESL students are still developing their language skills, whether they are receiving ESL support or not, and even over the holidays. We highly advise that you child reads at least 45 minutes a day over the holidays, since acquiring a language is a classic case of, “Use it or lose it.” We want your child to have two full weeks of using English daily by reading the books of his/her choice.

In addition to reading every night, be sure to chat with your child about the skills and knowledge they are learning in social studies, math, reading workshop, writing workshop, technology, etc. Pick a subject a night and ask, “What did you do today in…..”, “What did you think about that?”, “Tell me more…..” Giving your child the opportunity to teach you what he or she has learned in school helps him/her to understand that material better. Letting your child do this in your home language will also help you to check your child’s comprehension of what they are learning in school. This can prove to be especially helpful with the challenging vocabulary that is a part of the current social studies unit.

We wish you a happy, restful, and safe holiday season.


Regards,
Mark S. Gurecki Virginia Blais Lynn Somers

The Grade 5 ESL Teachers

ESL Parent Talk "The Importance of Reading Just Right Books"

Dear Parents,

Please mark your calendars for the next ESL presentation for parents of ESL students in grades 3,4,5 on Thursday November 10, from 3:00 to 4:00 P.M. in the Lower School in room 3A11 (Mr. Jones’ room). As the year goes along and the students learn new reading strategies, it becomes increasingly important that the students can practice those strategies with their independent reading books. Thus, the topic will be ‘The Importance of Reading Just Right Books’.

November Letter

Dear Parents,

Yes, that’s right November is already upon us. This means our school year is well under way and we are rolling. The first writing task of the second quarter is to write book reviews. Obviously one part of a book review is to summarize the book for someone who has not read it. Thus, we spent a lot of time this month working on summarizing stories. Another reason we work on this important academic skill is that it facilitates understanding –the key to learning English. After book reviews we will begin work on feature articles.

In science mainstream classroom teachers finished the first unit of “Mixtures and Solutions.” Thus a main component of support class was to help students master the difficult vocabulary of basic chemistry. Now that the grade five teachers have finished the “Mixtures and Solutions” unit, they are turning to Social Studies, where they will be teaching geography and migration. A big part of our support class time will be to help our ESL students grasp the concepts and vocabulary of this new unit.

Our ESL semester tests will be given in support class during the week of November 14-18. Please be reminded that it is impossible to cram for these tests. Trying to cram for this test leads to test-anxiety, which leads to lower tests scores; the exact opposite of what you are looking for. The best way you can help your child to do her/his best is to make sure s/he gets a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast with a “Do your best today” goodbye during the testing week.

Once again we thank you for your support of our program. Remember there is no question too small. Please feel free to write an email to your child’s ESL teacher, if you have any questions.

Regards,

Mark S. Gurecki Lynn Somers Virginia Blais
gureckim@tas.edu.tw somerl@tas.edu.tw blaisv@tas.edu.tw

Wednesday October 12, 2:50-3:40

Mr. Braggett will be presenting a workshop in navagating the TAS ESL webiste in Mr. Millard's room

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the Grade 5 ESL blog. This is where we will be communicating with you about what is happening monthly in Grade 5 ESL that includes all five sections of ESL including the classes of Mr. Andersen, Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Martin, Ms. Peters and Mrs. Moulton.

We have adjusted well to the routines of writing and reading workshops in our first units and just completed our second unit on using tone in our writing and doing so through the use of literary devices. Understanding these literary devices and when and how to use them can be very tricky for new language learners. In the classroom, all three of us have worked towards helping the ESL students understanding these literary devices and when and how to use them in their own writing to create tone.

ESL support class meets nine out of our ten day schedule. We have been supporting your child to absorb the Grade 5 curriculum primarily by helping our students strengthen their reading and writing skills. Skills reinforced this month included story elements: questioning, predicting and summarizing. Ms. Blais’s class is using blogs to communicate with their partners, while Mr. Gurecki is using Google Apps. Science vocabulary is always a focus in support class. This past month, we have focused on developing the vocabulary of the mixtures and solutions and will continue along this path for the rest of the quarter. As always, we also use this time to focus on grammar skills that ESL students show they need to improve upon to be successful in the mainstream curriculum.

We hope you have a safe and relaxing Ten/Ten Holiday. Please be sure your child is reading every day of vacation.

Regards,
Mark S. Gurecki Virginia Blais Lynn Somers

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