ESL Level 1 Sutton Elementary School Houston, Texas

1. ESL Level 1Sutton Elementary SchoolHouston, Texas Learning community of 27 students from five countries:

2. Project Based Upon Chalk Talks By Norma Shapiro and Carol Genser

3. Project Objective • Create a fun learning experience. • Introduce the students to a new way of studying English. • Encourage students to use dictionaries to expand their vocabulary and correct spelling errors.

4. Project Strategy • Familiarize students with the concept of Chalk Talks by choosing everyday life experiences such as: • Making a Doctor’s appointment. • Planning a surprise birthday. • Using a microwave. (combined lesson with the study of imperatives) • Shopping at the supermarket.

5. The Project The students created the following storyboard about moving to the United States: A picture of their country. Saying goodbye to family and friends. Coming to the United States. Looking for a place to live. Seeking employment. Writing to family and friends in their country.

6. The Students

7. The Students

8. The Students

9. Lessons the Students Learned • New vocabulary in the following areas: • Transportation • Job Search (classified ad abbreviations such as p/t, f/t, exp. nec.) • United States Capitals • Medical (pharmacy terms when reading a prescription) • How to transfer words to pictures

10. Challenges I Faced • Getting Started! • Second guessing about the selection of the project. • Uncertainty about the student’s reaction to the project.

11. What Worked? • Having wonderful examples from the ‘Chalk Talk’ book. • Students willing to try a new way of practicing English.

12. Student Challenges • At first, understanding the concept until a few examples were completed.

13. Lessons I Learned • Students are receptive to new, and interesting ways of learning English. • Many students in the class are ‘visual learners’. • Never underestimate what any student is capable of doing.