This document summarizes strategies for supporting English as a second language (ESL) students through guided inquiry and information and communication technology (ICT) at Penrith Public School. It describes the school's demographics, including a high percentage of ESL students speaking over 30 home languages. Programs discussed include Circle Time to build oral skills, travel buddies using storytelling, and guided inquiry projects incorporating visual aids, scaffolding, storyboarding, and digital slideshows. The use of Web 2.0 tools like blogs and wikis is highlighted as a way to incorporate technology, share student learning, and engage ESL students.

1. Scaffolding for success
- Guided Inquiry, storyboarding and
ICT
TESOL Seminar - Information Technology:
strategies for supporting ESL students, 2012
Ian McLean, Teacher-librarian, Penrith PS

2. Why me?
Enthusiasm!
A practitioner in Web 2.0
(BBS, blogging, Wikipedia in areas of
interest) - ICT
“Learning together”
Circle Time
Tracking and sharing the students’
learning journey – “Guided Inquiry”.

3. Penrith Public School
Outskirts of western Sydney
Two to three classes per grade
Two hearing support classes: K-3, 1-
4
0.63 Reading Recovery (6
students/day)
Full time STLA (2 teachers job
share).

4. ESL learners at Penrith PS
128 students out of 403 are LBOTE
36 home languages (including
Persian/Farsi/Dari/Arabic, Tokelauan, Vietname
se, Punjabi, Filipino, Shona, Malay, Thai)
0.8 ESL teacher supports 54 ESL students (and
3 ESL students have hearing support)
19 are Phase 1; 30 are Phase 2; 5 are Phase 3
Saturday language school (Farsi & Dari).

5. Other support
Rainbow Cottage
Reading tutor program with trained
volunteers and paid teachers aides (PSP
funding - till 2013)
Buddy reading and community reading
picnics
Tutor buddies - sight word flashcards;
shared reading
“Racing to Read” - fluency.

6. Circle Time
Provides a nurturing
environment, models oral
responses, opportunities for
vocabulary building, retelling events
Three rules: only one person speaks
at a time (eg. wand); you can pass if
you need to; we don’t put anyone
down.

7. Supporting our ESL students
Cultural experiences & behaviours
Creating a stress free environment
Comprehensible input - visual aids
Language development - in context.

8. Travel buddies
• Cranky the crocodile
• (Stage 1 students).
• Cyclic K-2 literacy program:
• nursery rhymes
• fairy tales
• Dreaming stories
• fables

9. Travel buddies
.

10. Second Law of Prediction
“The only way of discovering
the limits of the possible is to
venture a little way past them
into the impossible.” - Arthur C
Clarke (1917-2008)

11. Travelling Fearless - ICT
• Kindergarten's Photo Peach
slideshow

12. Introducing Guided Inquiry
Cyclic K-2 literacy program: factual writing
Four core values:
learning, cooperation, respect, environment
Extended brainstorming
Scaffolds (eg. PMI – “Plus, minus, interesting” matrix)
Storyboarding
Photo Peach digital slideshows (Web 2.0).

13. Guided Inquiry
• Endangered animals: beyond the
rainforest
• Collaborating with the ESL teacher
• Group work
• Collaborating with the teacher
librarian
• Tools to measure student learning.

14. Scaffolds
• Flickr Creative Commons
• Thanks jeffk42

15. Leading learning
a clear vision for the future of
learning we wish to see in our
schools
build from our own experience, and
learn by doing
chart the learning - ie. demonstrate
excellence through evidence-based
practice - Dr Ross J Todd, 2008.

16. Web 2.0
The challenge: “What will you do
differently on Monday to incorporate
Web 2.0 into your teaching?”
“If I wait till I’m ready, I’ll never be
ready” - Me
penrithpslibrary.pbworks.com

17. Using Web 2.0
Gold quest blog
Newspaper clipping generator

18. ESL students using Web 2.0
• Talking tomatoes
• Talking owls
• Wizard text generator
• A cigarette packet (anti-smoking –
Secondary).

19. Other Web 2.0
Booked Inn: ianmclean.edublogs.o
Penrith PS rappers & bloggers
QR codes!