11/6/2008 9:49:00 PM Parents attend Literacy Night to help their children learn English
Les Stukenberg/The Daily Courier
Consuela Beltran a student in the Granville English Language Learner program and her mother, Dora Tellez, make tools they can use at home to learn new language skills during Literacy Night at the school.
PRESCOTT - Adam Bertram speaks very little English. He is more comfortable speaking his native Spanish.
Despite his limited English skills, Bertram attended the ELL Literacy Night at Granville Elementary School in Prescott Valley Wednesday evening to learn how to help his first-grade daughter learn English.
"I want to work at home to help her with reading, writing and math," said Bertram.
He was just one of several parents of English Language Learners trying to help their children by attending the Literacy Night.
Granville Principal Diana Green said the school conducts Literacy Nights for all grade levels.
Reading Coach Karen Samson said, "Some parents are not sure what to do to help their children."
During Wednesday's event, Sampson said the parents and their children would rotate through three stations and make games they could play at home with their children.
"We have two of the most incredible ELL teachers," Green said. "The students are learning and doing an incredible job."
The first- and second-grade students in teacher Susan Jimenez's ELL class demonstrated how they are learning the parts of speech. They explained and used in sentences nouns, pronouns, proper nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and prepositions.
Tanja Koster's third-, fourth- and fifth-grade ELL students demonstrated speech patterns and rhythm through poems.
After the demonstrations, it was the parents' turn to learn. The parents spent time at each of the three activity tables - literacy, comprehension and math. At the literacy table, the parents learned how to make sentence puzzles by writing out lines from a book and cutting out each of the words. The parents then asked their students to put the words into the correct order to form a sentence.
Parent Veronica Meza does not speak English.
With ELL Director Mariela Bean acting as translator, Meza said she was working on an "activity to help her daughter put words in order."
Maria Figueroa said, with Bean's help, that she attended the Literacy Night because "I wanted to get skills. I don't speak much English and I want to learn how to promote the language."
Figueroa made a comprehension cube to help her ask questions about the books her children are reading.
The cubes have a word printed on each side. She rolls the cube and ask questions about the words that come up, such as the main character, where it takes place, how many people are in the story, or if the story has any animals.
This exercise helps her child children comprehend what they are learning.
At the third activity, parents and students worked on making change. "Making change is an AIMS tested and state standard skill," Koster said.
Koster said that the majority of the parents of students in her class are "actively engaged" in the exercises.
When the parents first walked into the Granville library, they were quiet and kept to themselves.
It was not long before they were "pasting, reading and writing. They are gathered in clusters," said Green.
School staff members started the programs during the 2007-08 school year.
Contact the reporter at prhoden@prescottaz.com
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
Pancho
Que! Que!! No Americano Denero Aqui! Mucho Bendehos!
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
No name provided
Oh let's not talk about when "we came over from Europe" rhetoric. Just about every wave of new immigrants were hated by the already settled Americans. I guess some aspects of the American life has not changed since I founding. By that I mean we always hate the new neighbors moving in if their in any way different from us!
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
I Have Issues
This is insane. American taxpayer dollars being used to educate illegal aliens. This area is getting as bad as Los Angeles. When our relatives came to this country from all over Europe, they learned English on their own. The government did not pay for it. Nor did we have to push a button for THEIR language. We know that when these illegals finally learn English, they'll be hired in place of hardworking Americans at a cheaper salary. Mexico is laughing at us for taking care of their border-crashing poor, uneducated, unskilled Mexicans who they don't even want or can take care of.
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
Scott
Would I get free Spanish lessons if I moved to Mexico??
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
Efnaskippy
What's funny...on a recent trip to Mexico (my first actually) I was amazed at how well the "natives" spoke English. Don't know where the illegals are coming from that are taking over in Prescott Valley, but for the most part the natives at the border spoke better English then the Americans I traveled with!
Oh and the only reason we're paying for illegals to learn English is because we've just bent over and said forget it. If our state (not just our government) developed a back bone instead of being so "PC" maybe we wouldn't have this issue!
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
The Power of Langage
Thank you so much for running this story! I had the privilege of sitting in on some pullout classes for ELL first-graders at Taylor-Hicks Elementary a few years ago. (ELL teachers are so cool!) Of half a dozen children, one spoke an Asian language at home, another had just been adopted from Russia, and the others spoke Spanish. Whether the families have illegal members or not, this is the kind of great investment in my community that I want my tax dollars to support. The parents who participated in the program Paula describes are motivated, and they'll learn English too. And speaking more than one language is a powerful skill I hope more Americans will pick up! --Candace McNulty
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
No name provided
At least they're trying to learn Enlgish. For your tax dollars, get ready for more of it to come out of your pocket with our new President!!!
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
Josh
Of course some are illegals. It's Prescott Valley. There probably was not a single other ethnicity in the program and if the parents don't speak English chances are they are illegals. Hopefully their kids are too, because if they were born here then they have the right to bring their illegal parents over. No wonder HUSD is having focus groups, wasting our tax dollars to teach illegals to read and speak english. We are the only country in the world that provides instruction in multiple languages because we are a melting pot and our governing bodies do nothing about it.
Posted: Friday, November 07, 2008
Article comment by:
George
Are any of these people illegals, and if so, are my tax dollars paying for this?
