Map & Connections of Authors

Alyssa Giammarco
Dr. Corinne McKamey
FNED: 346
18 November 2018

On this day I was sitting on the rug with the students when my teacher came over holding a 3D globe of the world. Many of the students turned to me asking, “Miss Alyssa, what is this game we are going to play.” I replied and said it’s called around the globe and it’s designed to show what country you were all born in. My teacher began passing the globe to a student where they would catch it and then stand up and tell the class what country they were born in. It was interesting to see that some of these children were born in the same country. For instance, many were born in the Dominican Republic, Africa, and Puerto Rico. This game allowed the children to see that they are not different from one another. In addition this game tried to build relationships among the students in the classroom. I can relate this story from my classroom to the reading by Johnson. Johnson would celebrate these efforts because the game provided a lesson that taught the students about issues of privilege, power, and difference. It also allows the students to feel more comfortable about the topic.

During meeting time on the rug, my teacher allows each of her students to speak even if they don’t speak English or only know a few words. A strategy that she uses is providing speaking stems. When we were finished with the around the globe game, she asked her students to hold up a fist with their hand. They held up a number between one and five on how they were feeling on this day. The speaking stems provided help to the students that wanted to speak but had trouble. An example of a speaking stem would be, “I am a five today because I love spending time with my teacher and friends.” My teacher helps start off the sentence for non language speakers and has them try to finish it. She refers back to others cultural background and shows acceptance.  I can relate this story from my classroom to the reading by Kristof. Kristof would celebrate these efforts because my teacher helps and encourages non language speakers to adapt to the English language.

Many of these families are coming from a community where it’s low income and high poverty. Halloween were only weeks away so the students were talking about what they wanted to be. The following day a student came in with rolls of toilet paper because he wanted to be a mummy. The reason behind the toilet paper was because his family couldn't afford to buy him a costume. In fact, he explained that sometimes his family struggles to provide groceries for him and his siblings. I can relate this story to the reading by Johnson. The demographics show that many of these families in the district are financially struggling. I can also relate this story to the reading by Kozol. This is because students in this school can come from the poorest neighborhoods but still have a smile on their face when you first meet them; just like this student that I described.

There is this student in the classroom who has a lot of trouble expressing their thoughts in English. One day when coming back from recess, he came up to me and spoke really fast in Spanish. I had to say to him to slow down and to try to use English words. Students that were hearing the conversation helped translate what he was saying so I could help the situation. These students feel a sense of unity because they know they are from a different country, and speak a different language, however they feel a sense of unity because they are the same. My teacher has her materials organized by Spanish and English followed by a picture. These teaching methods allow the students to feel more comfortable when trying to adapt a new language.  I can relate this story to the reading by Garcia. This is because students are helping each other communicate between Spanish and adapting to English together. This story also describes the benefits of translanguaging. 

Link to map of authors:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VMtRW07BY1R5SLcfTym1MDDTXlrv0VwSURZyZ_y1G6/edit