There were many good things about ELL; here are my top 5:

- "In Plain English" Web 2.0 tutorials from Commoncraft. Did you know Commoncraft was only two people? With a flick of the paper and wave of the hand, they make techy stuff seem easy ... and it usually is once you get over the "this is going to be really hard" feeling. Educators and parents: check out "Electing a U.S. President in Plain English."

- My RSS feed on GoogleReader. Through it I've found news sources and blogs (particularly YA blogs and political blogs) I didn't know existed. I have time to read them because GoogleReader makes it easy. It has changed the way I use the Internet. For good.

- Wiki's and LibraryThing. Wikis could change the way Evanston librarians share information. LibraryThing could provide a social network for our patrons.

- Facebook and Pandora Radio. I've had an unused Facebook account for years. ELL got me to activate it, and I'm enjoying contact with friends from high school, college and law school, as well as my EPL coworkers and neighbors. It's fun. Likewise, I'm having fun with my Pandora radio stations. As with Facebook, I knew this technology existed and I thought I'd like it, but I never took time to figure it out.

And, finally and most importantly ...

- Blogging. I am grateful that ELL forced me to blog. I had wanted to learn, but was intimidated. It turns out that creating a site, getting it organized, and creating posts and pages is pretty simple. With some practice, the mechanics are second nature. On a side note, I've also learned LOTS about how tagging can bring the public to a blog. (You'd be surprised how many people search "Disney and sex" each day. Yeesh.)

I'm still too close to this blogging experience to know how and what will be useful in the future, although I do expect that it will part of my future in some way. Until I figure that out, I am going to keep this blog to further explore its capabilities. (So far, each post has brought a new challenge ... here, uploading the dancing stickman was tough, so enjoy him. Although ... it would be even cooler if he had music. Hmmm.)

There have been few downsides to this exceptional ELL experience. I can only think of two.

- First, it was time consuming and I did it all on my own time. Each week it took several hours to play around with each of the "things." I made time for the project because I enjoyed it. If I hadn't liked what I was doing, I know I would have resented the expectation that I spend personal time on a work initiative.

- Second, I now have little patience for websites that lack content and are poorly organized. With the wealth of available resources, those are problems that are easy to fix. (I know, I know, my impatience isn't one of my more attractive personal traits; that's why this is a "downside" of ELL!)

I hate to end with downsides but this post is already too long. Thank you, thank you Evanston Library Learns and particularly Heather for the chance to learn!

This doesn't seem to be an Apple-friendly product, and there is no help on either the Media Mall or Apple websites. Also, there aren't many downloadable books that will play on an iPod (my MP3 player), so it's just not worth the hassle. I've been downloading audiobooks from Audible and iTunes for years. I pay for those, and was excited to try this, but I'll wait for it to get more user-friendly.

On the positive side, while working on this, I've had the Bears game broadcasting from WBBM's podcast, and Charles "Peanut" Tillman just intercepted ,,,, TOUCHDOWN BEARS. Bears lead 31 - 0. Who needs an audiobook.

As this was "podcast week," I explored several new sites that recommend podcasts, Podcast.com and Podcastalley.com, and used iTunes to download several non-NPR recommendations. I put them on my iPod so I could listen to them in the car or at the gym. I've done that a few times, but found the radio talk didn't provide adequate distraction from the tedium of driving and exercise. For both, I prefer audiobooks or music. So, while this podcast exercise was interesting, it wasn't life-changing. I already had what I like.

The student that I worked with was very interested in learning the material but was unable to identify with concepts presented prior to the assessment. From what I was told the student felt left out and disconnected from the material. As we went over the prep I tried to examine cultural similarities that would help convey and connect the material to his life. Secondly we went over the basic concepts of nutrition, which is what test covered.

I find it easier to get people in general involved when there are levels at which they can connect. Although no instruction is flawless there certain variables that must be meet for students to connect intellectual. The engagement of the instruction which I examined prior was none existence. This finally concluded with time being wasted and children left with missed opportunities.

During the summer of 1998 I backpacked through seven different European countries: Ireland, England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Denmark. One thing that stunned me was that everyone—no matter which town or region—seemed to speak fluent English. Whether I was struggling to order a meal or asking directions to the train, people would drop their first language to accommodate me in my own tongue.

The language situation is much different in the United States. Our mentality is the opposite of Europe’s, and can be summed up in the infamous sign at Geno’s Steaks in South Philadelphia: When ordering, please speak English.

Americans seem to have a genuine hostility toward those who come to this country and can’t speak English.

The Notebook, an independent newspaper covering Philadelphia public schools, dedicated their fall 2008 edition to the theme of immigration and English Language Learners. In their editorial, “An asset squandered,” The Notebook analyzes Philadelphia’s growing population of immigrants. The conclusion they draw is interesting: immigrants—specifically, English language learners—should be viewed as an asset rather than a liability.

The Notebook’s reasoning is that “today’s English language learners could be the next generation of bilingual teachers, doctors, law enforcement officers, and businesspeople essential to the increasingly global and multicultural economy.” They go on to argue that “this can only happen if they get a good education.”

As an English teacher in a Philadelphia public high school, I understand the importance of children having solid communication skills. Knowing how to read, write and speak proper English is essential to succeeding in school as well as in society. And with an influx of non-English speakers coming to America, our country is going to need well educated bilingual future leaders.

However, I do believe the conclusion drawn in The Notebook’s editorial is a tad idealistic. For starters, they fail to indicate whether the recent waves of immigrants to Philadelphia are legal or illegal. A 2006 survey by the US Census Bureau reports that 6.3% of Philadelphian’s are not U.S. Citizens. I realize that a child is a child, regardless of citizenship, and that all children deserve an education.

But our city’s resources are limited, especially those of the Philadelphia School District. In my opinion, illegals have no right to special language programs, period. In fact, I believe the government needs to do more to keep illegals out of the country all together. Just like I tell my students that there are rules in the classroom that need to be followed to keep order and balance, so are there rules in this country that must be obeyed and respected.

So who is responsible for teaching illegals the English language? The people who brought them here illegally, of course. Parents, grandmothers, aunts or uncles. They must take on the burden of their new venture into America.

The push for more resources for English language learners has a built-in shield for illegal immigrants. This is an issue that must be brought to light.

Of course, the question still remains: What about those children who are here legally? This is a tricky subject as well. In light of my travels outside the United States, I’m more open to accommodating English language learners. However, responsibility for teaching them English must be equally embraced by parents and the community; teachers and schools should not be made the scapegoat for their language deficiencies.

Education does not take place in a vacuum. Parents and the community should take equal responsibility for educating legal English language learners, while illegals should be taught the language in their own homes.

Just released this week: Lucy Calkins' Workshop Help Desk Series! The titles in this series can be purchased separately ($8 each):

• A Quick Guide to Boosting English Acquisition in Choice Time, K-2
• A Quick Guide to Making your Teaching Stick, K-5
• A Quick Guide to Reaching Struggling Writers, K-5
• A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive Writing, K-2

In the "Shake Your Shaker" Song (from The Music Lady CD, "Move, Sing, Listen & Learn), students listen to the lyrics of the song in order to know what movement to do.  Helping young learners to develop listening skills is crucial to reading and phonemic awareness.   We have used this song with our special needs students, as well as students in the ESL program.  The repetition in the refrain provides predictability in the song.  In each verse students listen to hear what movements they are to do, such as:

Shake it up high

Shake it to the sky

Shake it down low

Shake it by your toe

Shake it out and in

Shake it by your chin

Turn around

Touch the ground, etc.

The repeated refrain:  Shake your shaker, shake, shake, shake is repeated in between each verse.