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Critical Analysis Of Maria O Reilly

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The main issues that Ms. O’reilly should focus on the most are language and the different roles of gender, race, ethnicity and class. In order to allow all her students to succeed, especially Maria and Brandon she needs to take in consideration the different factors and obstacles that each child faces at home and school. With the child Maria, Ms. O’reilly should focus on language and bilingualism in order to help her succeed. With Brandon she needs to focus more on the social economic status of his family. Both children face many similar struggles but are unique in their own way. It is best said by Daniel Willingham, he states “To compensate, teachers should offer in the classroom what these children are missing at home”. It is Ms. O’reilly’s …show more content…

The students that make up the school are mostly Latino, African American, West Indian and white. Language is the medium through which students gain access to the curriculum. (Tamara Lucas). For example, Maria was placed in a dual language classroom, since arriving from Mexico and when she entered middle school that was taken away. The teacher in her English class needs to realize it takes second language learners longer to develop fluency in academic English than in conversational English. (Tamara Lucas). Ms. O’reilly should take this inconsideration when it comes to the strategies used in the classroom. Social interaction will help Maria’s language development and a method that can be useful to promote social interaction is the use of group work. Using group work will allow Maria to not only expand her English skills but also learn from the other students. Tamara Lucas states; “Scaffolding learning for ELLs requires teachers to consider the relationship between students’ linguistic abilities and the tasks through which they are expected to learn”. Ms. O’reilly has set the goal of having all the students to be on the same level at the end of the school year, this might not be a realistic goal since each child comes from different backgrounds and learn at different speeds. Different scaffolding strategies should be use to accommodate the ELLs in her classroom. Group work, sharing about ones culture, knowing the child’s mother tongue and creating a comfortable environment where the students can raise their hand or ask questions without feeling dumb or like an

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