A month has past and have I blogged? Yes, but did I post any of them? No. Sometimes I just write to get frustration or crazy thoughts out of my head. I've never been a writer, never in my wildest dreams have I thought myself a writer. I know that I miss punctuation in vital places and the grammar police should have arrested me years ago. But I plunge on, expressing myself for all or no one else but me to read. Sometimes I re-read my posts and think, ugh, what were you thinking? Or I find tons of mistakes. And I grew up speaking and writing in English!
The act of writing in English for an English Learner, EL for short, is a daunting task. Not because they have nothing to say, but because putting thoughts into words that feel like gravel in your mouth is hard, very hard. It is important to think of writing as an extension of reading, speaking, listening and comprehending. It isn't a product all by itself, it's a way of reflecting on what is read, what is said, what is heard and what is known and felt and putting it all together in written form. Writing is part of learning content, it should be a daily part of every lesson or activity.
Two books that are helpful when thinking of writing in this way were suggested by one of the many teachers who work so diligently in our state to meet all the needs of our ELs. Thank you, Lindsey.
Check out:
Making Sense, Small-Group comprehension Lessons for English Language Learners, K-8, by Juli Kendall and Outey Khuon, Stenhouse Publishers, Portland, Maine, 2005.
101 Activities for English Language Learning, Content-based Ideas with Easy Internet RE-sources, by Charles F. Hirsch and Deborah Lazarus, Grades 1-4, Rigby, 2002.
So thank you to all of you who struggle through my blogs just to get the resource nugget at the end. Maybe if I keep practicing I'll finally get a post without errors and one that is easy to read.
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