2023 SLT meetings 9/19, 10/10, 11/14, 12/12, 1/9, 2/6, 3/5, 4/2 5/7 & 6/4 @ 3:10 PM
School Cafeteria
Virtual Meeting: https://meet.google.com/zbs-dmbr-sh
CEP: https://www.nycenet.edu/documents/oaosi/cep/2022-23/cep_Q228.pdf
PROBLEM OF PRACTICE:
PS 228 teachers will implement scientifically based oral language interventions for all students (including ELL’s and Students with IEP’s) to improve their oral language proficiency.
RESEARCH BASED CHANGE STRATEGIES:
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Visual Thinking Strategies/VTS
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Accountable Talk
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Brighter Bites Program
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CUNY CAT
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Talking Prompts
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Learning Stations
ALIGNED WITH STATE AND CITYWIDE INITIATIVES:
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Advanced Literacy: Hallmark 2
Talk and discussion to build both conversational and academic language knowledge
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Next Generation Standards:
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Speaking and Listening
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Language
Our school wide data review indicates that ELLs scored lowest on the oral language strand of the NYSESLAT. Early Childhood oral language assessment scores also show lower oral language assessment scores for ELLs, students with disabilities, and other students identified as needing Literacy support.
This is a concern because oral language is the foundation for communication and Literacy. K-2 teachers assessed students’ oral language and found many K-2 students in need of oral language support. Most students who scored lower on oral language assessments were also identified as struggling readers. K-2 students use oral language skills to connect with others, to express thoughts and feelings, to converse about experiences and texts, to acquire academic language, and to achieve success.
PS 228 educators identified the development of oral language skills as our instructional focus and using conversation to increase students’ oral language proficiency as the problem of practice. This is a high leverage POP. Improved oral language skills will positively impact a student’s social interactions, communication, vocabulary and reading. This POP is aligned with the New York City and Statewide advanced literacy initiative, and the Danielson focus on questioning and discussion (3b) and with the 21st Century Learning Standards.
PS 228 teachers have attended professional development sessions, team members from some of the programs have come into the school, and they have worked collaboratively among their grades to implement best teaching practices and strategies to meet the needs of their students.
Teachers have modified programs to meet the needs of their classroom and students. In the following pictures we would like to highlight the way some of our teachers have adapted some of these programs, strategies, and best teaching practices to help build their students’ oral language communication skills, critical thinking skills, literacy development, and social-emotional skills.
Talking Prompts
To develop language and conversation skills, young children need many opportunities to talk—with each other, with adults, one-on-one, and in a group. Conversation helps children express their thoughts, get what they need, resolve conflicts, ask for help, and learn from adults and from one another.
Teachers can prompt children to use as many words as possible to express themselves by incorporating certain strategies throughout their daily routine. One of these strategies is to model language to foster communication and provide an example for how children can express feelings, tell what they are thinking, share a new idea, and solve conflicts.
Paraphrasing is an important skill to help students build their oral language communication and literacy skills. Paraphrasing allows students the opportunity to get a deeper understanding, to make connections to what they already know, and to enhance the ability to remember important details. It helps students to make sure they understood the other person correctly and gives them the opportunity to correct any misinterpretations if there is any.
PS228 is trying to build students’ oral language skills using talking prompts!
CLICK
What is Virtual Thinking Strategies (VTS)?
VTS is a program that allows students to examine a piece of art. It involves a set of skills ranging from simple identification (naming what one sees) to complex interpretation (justifying what one sees with facts). Many aspects of cognition are called upon, such as personal association, questioning, speculating, analyzing, fact-finding, and categorizing.
Students are given the opportunity to look at the piece of art for a few minutes. The facilitator will ask “What’s going on in this picture?” The facilitator will paraphrase what each student says and add vocabulary where necessary. Once the facilitator has paraphrased they may ask “What do you see that makes you say…?” Here the students have the opportunity to use evidence from the piece of art, draw from their personal experience or prior knowledge, or build from someone else’s response. The facilitator can ask throughout the lesson “What more can we find?”
VTS allows students to build their critical thinking skills, vocabulary, and oral language communication. The program can be used across content areas.
What is CUNY CAT?
It is a program that uses interactive drama to strengthen literacy, critical thinking, and essential social-emotional skills among pre-k to 2nd grade students. The program allows teachers to use interactive drama strategies to build oral language skills and vocabulary. It helps students in their overall language acquisition and to develop their social-emotional skills. The program has been adapted to meet the needs of each individual classroom and teachers are able to implement it across content areas.
What are learning stations?
Learning stations are used as a differentiated instruction strategy. It allows teachers to empower and engage students by accommodating each of their different learning styles. Learning stations provide students multiple ways to learn and understand concepts. It exposes students to a variety of strategies and choices that address many learners’ needs.
Teachers use learning stations across content areas. They assign a team leader to explain the instructions of their learning station to the group and to assist when necessary. The protocols of accountable talk are implemented during learning stations. Learning stations empower students and help build oral language communication.
