Ranitea

Fetuani
Tesol 430
Portfolio

Teaching Environment

I chose Laie Elementary School to do my volunteer teaching this semester

because my oldest son is attending this school and I really wanted to learn
from actual elementary teachers. I am volunteering every Thursdays from
10:00 to 11:00 am.
For the past two sessions, I have been assigned to a first grade class, where
there is only one ESL student and this student is my son and I think that I will
stay in that class until the end of the semester. There are about fifteen
students in that class and they are about the same age. I really like the
layout of the room because it is easy to walk around, everything is within the
childrens reach.
There is a whiteboard at the front of the classroom, and a rug where the
students come and sit down, show their homework to the teacher, and then
pass it down the row. The teacher then move on to do the date and the
weather forecast. Tables are grouped by three and there are two students per
table, the amount of chair is greater than the amount of students. Every
students have their writing supplies in their desk but if they need something,
there is a table at the back of the class with a lot of supplies on it that they
can borrow but have to return once they are done using it.
The teacher uses a projector when doing exercises or tests with his students
and I think that this is a great tool because they all get the same instructions
and explanations at the same time and it also allows the teacher to correct
the exercises with all of his students. I love how this is a small class, fifteen is
a good number because the teacher can spend the same amount of time

with all his students or can give more attention to those who need it the
most

Student Profile

This semester, I am working with a first grader boy named Manaiahere

Fetuani and who will be turning seven in twelve days. Mana, oh yes, he goes
by Mana, is from an island called Tahiti and has been in the United States for
ten months now. He is here because his mother is attending Brigham Young
University Hawaii and will be graduating this November.
I think that Mana is now at an intermediate proficiency level and I know that
he worked really hard to reach that level. When he first got here, he could
not speak a word of English, he was at a beginner proficiency level; his
teacher is amazed by how quick Mana picked up the language and by how
well he is doing in class.
This student is my son and something that is interesting about him is that he
did not know how to speak English before we came here to Hawaii. Mana was
born in Hawaii but raised in Tahiti his whole life, he had to learn English in
order to be understood and to understand his peers.
Mana is really friendly and loves to share, sometimes too much. He really
likes his teacher, and I think it is because he has a male teacher for once.
Mana only had female teachers the whole time he was in school, and I think
that he looks up to his teacher.

Mana loves mathematics and is doing really well in that field; he is a quick
thinker. He is still struggling with his reading but I think that it is a little bit
normal for a young learner who also is a non-native speaker of English.

Name: Ranitea Fetuani

Type of Lesson: Listening,

Lesson Title: A four-hands

story

Class/Student(s): 3rd grade

Prepared: 2/12/2015

Implemented:

Age/Proficiency Level: 8-9 years old

Intermediate to advanced

Language Objective:
Students will be able to
identify the letters from
different written words.
Students will create their own
story.

Assessment:
Students will write a word that
starts with the ending letter
from the previous word.
Students will read a sentence
from the story they wrote.

Materials: an A4 blank piece of paper for each group

Overview: Students have to listen
to their peers in order to find their
word and they will have to work
together to write a short story.
Time:

Extensions/Adaptations: Students
can write a story or use the words
from the list in their story in
alphabetical or some other exact
order.

Instructions:
1 min
1. Divide the class into groups of four or five.
2. Give each group an A4 blank piece of paper.
1 min
3. Tell the groups to elect the student who will start the
1 min
activity.
30 sec
4. This student writes down an English word that first
comes into his/her mind when you say 'go'. It has to
be any English word he/she can think of at that
moment.
5. The student sitting to his left side writes the next word
which comes into his/her mind, but which starts with
10 mins
the last letter of the previous word (e.g. race
elephant). 5 times
6. When each student has written five words, they
15 mins
prepare to tell a short story containing words from the
list by writing it at the back of the paper.
7. Each group will come to the front of the class to read
20 mins
their story. Every student in the group must say at
least one sentence.
8. I will first mix the group to make sure that they
all have different levels so they can help each
other. I will do a test run to make sure that
everyone understands. I will also walk to each
group to see if anyone is having difficulty
finding words. I will evaluate the flow of their
speech in order to see if they are fluent or not.
Evaluation:

Speaking and Writing

Name: Ranitea Fetuani

Lesson: Reading/Writing

Type of

Lesson Title: Finishing a

story

Class/Student(s): 1st grader

Prepared: 2/20/15

Implemented:

Age/Proficiency Level: 6-7 years old;

Intermediate

Language Objective:
Students will be able to read
stories, poems and
informational texts.
Students will be able to
respond to readings through
writing and other means.
Students will write correct
sentences.

Assessment:

Students will write the ending

of the story.

Students will spell words

correctly and use the correct
punctuation.

Materials: - A copy of the text A Birthday Bike http://www.rongchang.com/easyread/es/easy008.htm

- Notebook
- A4 papers
- Pencil

Overview:
Students will read the text and
predict the ending of the story.
Students will write four sentences.
Time:
5 min
5 min
10 min
7 min
1 min
20 min
Total: 48
mins
Evaluation:

Extensions/Adaptations:
Relate the story to themselves by
replacing the main character with
themselves.

Instructions:
1) Students will read the text quietly, as many times as
they need.
2) Review some of the vocabulary words from the text
that the students will pick.
3) Students will take their notebook and will write the
end of the story in four sentences.
4) Students will come to the front and share what they
wrote.
5) Teacher gives out one A4 paper to each student.
6) Students will re-write the whole story ( the beginning
and the ending)

Name: Ranitea Fetuani

Type of Lesson: Vocabulary
Lesson Title: Context Clues

Class/Student(s): 3rd grade

Age/Proficiency Level: 8-9 years old
intermediate

Prepared: 3/2/15

Implemented:
Language Objective:
Students will be able to define
vocabulary words from a readaloud text and use those in a
sentence.

Assessment:
The students will create sentences
by incorporating the new words.

Materials:
Flashcards or papers with the vocabulary words (desired, determined, arrived,
elated) written on it
Copies of the text Susies Puppy
Definition of the four ways to find the meaning of a word (for the teacher
only)
https://flocabulary.s3.amazonaws.com/pdfs/context-clues-handout.pdf
Poster of the four ways to find the meaning of a word (to be placed on the
wall)
Overview:
Students will use context clues to
understand the meaning of an
unknown word.
Time:
15 minutes

Extensions/Adaptations:
After giving the definition of the
words, the students will write
sentences that includes the new
words.

Instructions:
1. Explain what context clues are by giving the definition
of the four ways to find the meaning of a word
(synonym, antonym, example, explanation).
2. Put the poster on the board.
3. Introduce the text Susies Puppy.

2 minutes

4. Read the text once.

2 minutes

5. Read the text again but this time show the flashcards
that have the mystery words on it.

2 minutes

6.
7.
8.
9.

Divide the class into four groups.

Distribute a copy of the text to each student.
Assign one word to each group.
Put the words on the board.

10.

In their group, the students will have to guess the

5 minutes

10 minutes

5 minutes
10 minutes
Total: 51
minutes
Evaluation:

meaning of the word from the text.

11.
Each group will give the definition of the word
and explain how they found the meaning (which of the
four ways they used to find the meaning).
12.
Each students will write four sentences that
includes the new words.
13.

Each students will read the sentences they wrote.

Name: Ranitea Fetuani

Lesson: Storytelling

Lesson Title: Storytelling

Prepared: 3/12/2015

Type of

Class/Student(s): 1st grade

Age/Proficiency Level: 6-7 years old
Beginners
Implemented:

Language Objective:
The students will be able
summarize the story.

Language Assessment:
Students will use some of the
vocabulary words found in the
book when summarizing the
story.

Materials: Silly Milly Book by Wendy Cheyette Lewison

Likes/ does not like chart
Overview: Students will listen to a
story and will be able to re-tell it at
the end of the lesson.

Time:
5 minutes

Extensions/Adaptations: The
students will write 5 thing they like
and 5 thing they do not like

Instructions:
1. Read the title of the book to the class.
Ask questions What do you think the book is about? What
does silly mean?

5 minutes

15 minutes

2. Show the cover of the book

Ask questions What do you think about it? Has your first
opinion changed?

10 minutes

3. Read the book (make sure that it sound interesting and

fun)
Pause and call the students attention to interesting parts of
the text and details in the illustrations.
When revealing the secret, make sure you whisper.

15 minutes

Activity Likes/ does not like

4. Give the chart and ask the students to write down what
Miss Milly likes and what she does not like (sounding off
words is acceptable)

Correct it as a class
Total: 50
minutes

5. Select a few students or ask for volunteers to come to

the front and re-tell the story.

Evaluation:

ASSESSMENT TOOL

I was not able to use my assessment tool, but if I have to use it in the future,
it will be during my reading and writing lesson. My assessment tool will focus
on spelling and punctuation. I will I will use a rubric to assess the students.
The rubric will focus on spelling, I want to see if their sentences starts with a
capital letter, and punctuation, I want to know if they can use the
appropriate punctuation mark. I will give the rubric to the student, which
they will use to grade their work. I will also grade their work with the same
rubric. Afterwards, I will compare the two rubrics; if they match, the student
earns extra credit. By doing this, it will allow them to go back and to see their
mistakes, and to know where they need to improve. Sometimes those
mistakes can be avoided by simply going through your work a second time.
I will need to explain how to use the rubric and why we are using one. I will
have to go into details and explain each point of the rubric. I can
demonstrate how it will be done in order for them to do it correctly when the
time comes. This will allow them to become better writer by checking their
work before submitting it. This will allow them to be better learners as well.

Classroom Management Plan

Rules has to be established at the beginning of the year, they should be easy
to understand, clear and positive. I think that there should be up to five
rules, having more than that will be difficult for the teacher and the students
to keep track and follow, and it will overwhelming and will feel like you are in
a prison. The rules will be created by the students and myself, it has to be
rules that they agree to follow, and not something that is imposed on them. I
will like the rules to reflect respect, respect to themselves, others and the
teachers; so some of the rules might be like Do your best, concentrate,
and keep your hands and feet to yourself and eyes on the speaker. I will
demonstrate the rules and explain them. There will be consequences when,
and if the rules are broken; if there are none, what is the point of having
rules? Some of the consequences can be doing an exercise while others are
at recess; if the offence is repeated several times, a note will be sent to the
parents.
On the other hand, rewards will be given to the students for good behavior,
and awesome work. I think that I will use coupons that has rewards on them.
When I see that a student is doing really well or behaving, I will let him/her

draw from a pile/box of coupons. Here are an examples of rewards; work

with no shoes, sit anywhere you want, free colored pen homework
pass, free choice and extra recess. I will give a coupon when I see that
they give compliments, show kindness, finish their work neatly, and do
favors. I think that I will give it when I feel that they deserved a positive
recognition.

Midterm Reflection

I am doing my volunteer teaching at Laie Elementary school, in a first

grade class. What I like about this environment is that the materials and
methods that are being used are real; I mean that it is materials and
methods that I will be able to use later in my career. The most frustrating
part I think would be teaching my own son. I did not chose to do my
volunteer teaching in his class but was assigned to do so. He was actually
happy about it because he could show me what he does and can do in class.
I think that the teacher feels a little bit awkward because when I am in class I
am a BYU-Hawaii student but as soon as the badge comes off, I am Mrs.
Fetuani, parent of one of the students. At the beginning of the sessions, I was
only focusing on the student I had to take care of, but now, the other
students come and ask me for help too. They are always happy to see me on

Thursday, I feel that they do not really know why I come every Thursday in
their class.
I am planning to teach EFL because I will be teaching in my home island,
Tahiti, where French is our native language. I would like to work with a wholeclass because I think that the more, the merrier; I think that the children will
be less shy and more willing to participate when there are a lot of them.
Having a full class will allow me to have a variety of activities and lessons for
them. I am hoping to get a full-time job but if not doing part-time will not be
a problem. I would prefer having a full-time job because it will allow me to
follow the students progress on a daily basis and be better prepared to fulfill
their needs. I believe that my experiences in TESOL 430 will help me be a
better teacher, especially for young learners. I would really like to teach
young learners because I am fascinated by how they learn and I would feel
really proud to have make a difference in those childrens lives.
Working one-on-one with a student and teaching a larger group of students
are quite similar but do have some differences as well. When working oneon-one, you can focus on that child, prepare exercises and lessons that will
suit his needs and interests. You only need a small part of a classroom to
implement your lesson, there is no classroom management that needs to be
done and I do not think that you need to have a lesson plan but you do need
one when you have a larger group to take care of. Having more students
mean a lot of noise, walking around and talking; this is when classroom
management skills comes in handy. We have to remember that children all
learn in different ways and they develop best when they feel secure, they
also learn by playing or having games that will promote language and their

social competence. As teachers, we have to challenge the children by not

giving materials that are too easy for them. Classroom management will help
develop caring, supportive relationships among students; organize
instruction, to engage students in their tasks and promote self-regulation and
social skills. Classroom management is not easy at first but I think that you
need to work with the students to come to a type of agreement. I saw in my
sons class that there are rules on the wall, and the teacher told me that the
students came up with those rules, he did not imposed those on them. Now
all he does is saying 1, 2, 3 eyes on me! and the students will
automatically listen and pay attention to him.

Final Reflection

When I think about everything that I learned in TESOL 430, I found the
chapter on working with parents the most useful because I do not think that
there are some studies about it. We tend to focus on the children, and we,
most of the time, forget the parents. I will try to involve the parents as much
as possibly can without having them interfering with what I am doing.
Parents can be a great support for the teacher and for the class as well, and I

think that we should take advantage of it. I think that inviting the parents in
the classroom once a month, so that their children can show them what they
do in class, will bring them peace of mind. Being one, I always ask my son
what he did in class and most of the time, and his answer would be I dont
know.
Classroom management is not easy but is doable. We need to set some easy,
clear, simple and positive rules that would foster a learning environment for
everyone. Having a reward system will encourage the students to listen and
participate. How do you manage a multi-leveled class? I taught on an island
that had thirty students ranging from three to eleven years old and I had the
kindergarten to second grade students. I did my best with what I knew but it
was still not enough. I wished that I had some kind of training about it.
After working with young learners this semester, I still want to teach them.
Children are a lot of fun and I just love the rewarding feeling that you get
when they understand what you are teaching them. I think that teachers who
interact with young learners have an impact on their lives, after all they
spend most of their early years with us. There are endless options when it
comes to teach young learners and your work does not become repetitive
because every day is different and they all have different personalities. I can
see that I am happier when I interact with young children than with adults.