March (Wave One) | April (Wave One) | May (Wave One)
April (Wave Two) | May (Wave Two)

Wave One Teaching Journal
(February 26th – May 28th, 2002)
*Please note, all participants' names, as well as the name of the school, have been changed throughout the journals and the thesis

February 26th – Today was the first day…and…you could tell! I was so excited, nervous, all of the imaginable emotions! I arrived in time to organize the student binders and set-up my given classroom in a semi-circle with desks and chairs. One student arrived in plenty of time to put her children in the provided daycare, and be in the classroom at 6:30 (on time). Another student arrived about 6:40, and the three of us were getting to know one another (speaking Spanish). Finally, we began about 6:50—with just two students. Ten people were committed to be there, and upon calling many to find out if they were coming, many had reasons why they couldn’t come, but said they were enthusiastic about coming on Thursday. One student did actually hurry on over.

We began with introductions, and then repeated them briefly for the third student. But, I felt that I was thrown-off by our small numbers. One of the key points of the first day was to have them fill out the questionnaire, which the three of them did. I introduced myself, with props, then began to discuss a bit about what the class was for, and what it would be like. I told them how this was a class specifically focusing on reading to their children in English, and the words and language associated with that. They were a sweet group, three mothers, one of whose English abilities were a bit stronger than the other two’s. One (the first arrival, the punctual one) had a hard time seeing the board, even though we were sitting right up close—this is an unforeseen struggle. Also, Thursday’s class session is scheduled to take place at the Public Library, instead of at Wood's End Elementary. Therefore…I am frustrated because I have seven students who I now need to contact individually, and try to communicate the importance to them of showing up at the library. Already, I think in revising this I wouldn’t make the library visit the second class-session, for this very reason. I placed it right at the beginning to show the great importance of it, but I wish that now it was our third or fourth session. I spent time on the phone Wednesday calling each member on my class role, personally inviting him or her to the library, and reminding them of what they would need to bring to go home with a library card.

February 28th – Okay—I had called everybody on my roll previous to the class, so I was truly hoping we’d have a better turnout. Well…I arrived at the Public Library at 6:30 and began to wait. I had asked my students to be there at 6:45. Eva arrived on time—she seems GREAT and enthused. Then, a bit later Clara arrived. I was thrilled about this because I actually wrote a question mark by her name after our phone conversation. She seemed so hesitant; she was the last one I suspected would come (she wasn’t there on Tuesday). Susan, our Spanish-speaking tour guide, was all ready to go, and by 7:00 she began the tour with just those two students. I stayed waiting, on my feet, in the main lobby where I’d indicated we would gather. After about 15 more minutes of waiting, no one else arrived so I joined the tour. WOW! I was soooooo sad that everybody wasn’t there; it was a thorough tour, well done, and Susan made my students feel very comfortable. I liked the small number for that reason—it made the personal feel possible. We toured all the major parts of the library; she gave each of us schedules of activities there in the upcoming month, and resources and classes they offer in Spanish. As we were finishing up, I was talking with Clara, and she confessed to me that in all her five years of living here in Provo, she’d never really done anything more than take her kids to school (and do school activities), and do the shopping. Other than that, she rarely leaves the house, and she’d never dreamt of going to the library, or getting a library card. I was so excited for her!!!

I had asked each student on the phone to show up with the two necessary documents to get a library card; Eva was the only one with both. So, she got a library card for herself and her child, and Clara was able to se how painless it was. This was truly a GREAT activity; my heart was breaking, however, that more people weren’t there to take part in it. I am really frustrated at this point. I am putting all this time and energy into this…and still the people aren’t coming. It feels exactly like the mission! We would go to everyone’s home on Saturday, get commitments from them that they would come to church on Sunday, and then maybe 10% of them would actually come. So, my biggest dilemma now is where to go from here…what do I do in the next class period? If more of the people come, how do I “start over” without boring the three who were there the first time? How do I keep this thing progressing forward, without overwhelming newcomers, boring the ones who’ve been there, and having it be a successful experience???? UGH!!!!!!!!!! Let’s get this show on the road!
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March (Wave One) | April (Wave One) | May (Wave One)
April (Wave Two) | May (Wave Two)

March 5th – I went tonight, again with enthusiasm, but with a bit of trepidation as to who would really show up. I asked the Spanish-speaking secretary of the after-school/night programs to again call everyone who appeared on the list to see if they were planning on coming this week. I wanted her to do it, so it would sound a bit more official, coming directly from the school etc. I had revised the Session Three lesson plan (obviously this will have to happen a lot from now on), and was ready to go with some props for a role play, and copies of the book Jam and Ice Cream by Margaret Clyne. By 6:30, it was just Eva and I. She is stellar—I love it! I feel somewhat embarrassed though, only having one student there. I tried not to let her notice this, because I didn’t want her to begin to doubt the worth of attending the class. So…we began, just the two of us. In my head I was thinking, “Oh my, how do I adapt all this group work I had planned, when there are only two of us???” But, it began to work. We worked one-on-one, and I was able to share part of an LA Times newspaper article that directly applied to reading with your children, and some techniques for doing so. I’m still not sure when I might share other parts of this; it is really excellent. We had a few discussions about vocabulary, and then around 6:55, two more students appeared (Estela and Clara).

We “rewound” a bit, and discussed our library visit of last Thursday (Estela told us that she had gone to the library that night, but she went to the old one, not the new one…ugh!), I passed out information that Susan had given me (from the library), and we went back to the book, Jam and Ice Cream that I had begun with Eva. We ended up focusing the whole time on the cover, vocabulary associated with sharing that part with your child, and practicing. Clara definitely struggles more than the other two, but I am sooooooo excited to see her there!!! They copied down lots of words, practiced them, and spent the last five minutes practicing sharing the cover with a partner, as if it were their child. Eva shared with me. I want to be sure to not always have to work with one of them, so I can go around and listen and help correct them (see their progress). So, my challenge is where to pick up on Thursday? I want to read the book together, do a model perhaps, get to the rest of the lesson plan that I wasn’t able to, but also not have them reading this one book over and over and over all weekend with their child. I’m thinking about having them find a book from the library and reading it as well, then coming on Tuesday ready to tell us which one they picked, and how it went. We’ll see!

March 7th- Okay, again I arrived in plenty of time…and prepared the classroom. I always like to put some of the desks in a sort of semicircle. Well, so, tonight only Victoria came. She hasn’t made it since our very first class, and I was thrilled to see her. We talked about why she hadn’t been to the other classes, and she told me about how she’d gone into false labor (she is seven months pregnant) and been given morphine to take. She is also the mother of one, and stepmother to another. She has her hands full. I was sincerely disappointed that the other three who have been coming somewhat regularly did not show up at all. With Victoria I tried “catching up” what she had missed the last three times. I gave her a brief review of the library tour, explained to her the literature they had given us, and moved on to begin with the book Jam and Ice Cream like I had done the class before with the others. I loved the one-on-one time, yet…it also required quick thinking on my feet, since so many of the lesson outlines involve group work. This is turning into a tutor situation (I hope not though). Another tough thing about tonight was that Victoria’s 11-month-old baby wouldn’t stay in the nursery (provided for free) and she was with us the entire time.

We worked on a few words and phrases to use in order to share the cover of the book with a child, and then moved on to the actual text. It was great to be able to go through pronunciation, explanation of words, and the meaning of the word plays in this book. Speaking Spanish aids me greatly in begin able to avoid too much frustration (for my students); I just hope I am communicating to them my desire for them to be practicing (reading through) these books at home with their children in English. Victoria understood that her homework was to read the book everyday, and write down how long she read, etc. Anyway…it went well, for a one-to-one situation, but this is really very disconcerting!!!! I am spending lots of time and energy towards what I think is something that meets a real need (I have seen the need within these families already), but the people just aren’t leaving their houses to come!

March 12th – Just a thought…maybe instead if calling them “Session One” etc, I should call them “Lesson One, Two, Three” etc. By calling them lessons instead of sessions, perhaps the teachers would be more willing to adapt each lesson to the number of class periods that best suits the needs of their class. I know that I have now had five sessions with my students, but I barely feel like we’re ready to move on to “Session Four.” Tonight I was excited to see one student arrive five minutes early, and another arrive on time! YEA!!!! That was our total, two people. My “most faithful” one, who wasn’t there on Thursday, came and apologized, first thing, for not being there. She told me the circumstances that made it so she couldn’t come, and I really understood. Just knowing makes it so much easier for me; but committing and then not showing up is hard for me to “forgive.” So, we began with a conversation and review of how it went reading Jam and Ice Cream with their children. They only had good things to say; they read to them, explained the cover, and one student even commented on how her daughter was correcting her. They ended up reading the book to each other—excellent! That is one of the goals—that reading together becomes interactive, and a learning experience for both the parent and the child. Confidence was built on both sides.

We reviewed some of the vocabulary from the book itself, and pronunciation, and then I did a model reading of the book (with interruptions to explain some things in English and Spanish). Next, I explained (and by this time the crying 11-month old was brought to us…less effective) that I wanted each student to practice reading the book, as if it were with his or her own child, to one another. I observed them, and helped with some of the more difficult pronunciations. Also, I reminded them of how to hold the book, where the children should/could be in relation to them (as the readers) and a few details like that. They were shy to do it at first, but they loved it really. And the most exciting part for me was that I saw major progress—really! I just wish that the other two who began this book with us would come back so as to not get behind. Just when I felt like we could move forward with a new book, introducing it, etc, Eva’s phone rang—and she had to go home for the baby, emergency (sick, etc). So…I thought we would just stop early, altogether, so as to not get any more staggered/behind. Yet, Victoria did not want to leave—I was thrilled!!!! She said, “That’s it?? No.” So, (after I explained the homework of reading at least ten minutes a night) I had her practice reading the book again aloud, and then I did an entire run-through for her of the alphabet. She really had expressed interest in knowing how to say each letter, etc—so we did it—each letter. She was getting it down—and then it was really time to end. Really, I loved it tonight—even though we only had two students. They were two students who really want to improve, you can tell! As I talked with Amy beforehand she mentioned again how, with many of their classes, it has taken a few run-throughs (word of mouth, etc) to get the attendance up there to a better level. She also said she could give me a list of all the Spanish-speaking parents in the school, and invite them one by one to participate in the class. I would love to have more people; my only qualm at this time is…how would we catch them up? What would I do with them to get them “up to speed” so to speak?

March 14th – Well, it was bound to happen sometime, and it happened on a day like today…cold, light snowfall at 6:15 pm, windy…none of my students came. I arrived all prepared, excitedly set-up the room as usual, and waited. As I waited I reread my lesson plan and also read (again) one of the books I would like to do in the upcoming weeks. I waited and waited and waited…then packed up, went to the Public Library to return some books, and went home. Needless to say, I felt pretty depressed…I am so excited about this idea—I’ve seen eyes lighting up already as my few students have stretched themselves and had great experiences for it…oh my—what to do?!

March 19th – So, I was excited yet nervous to appear after not finding anyone there on Thursday last week. BUT, the weather was much nicer and I had high hopes. Sure enough, one of my “faithful ones” was there, as was a new student named Marisol—YEA!!! We ended up being the only three there, but we were able to do a good review of some vocabulary words (five) from the first book, Jam and Ice Cream, after some introductions and basic course explanations for Marisol. She is much older than the other participants, but still, not “old” by any means. I was thrilled to see her trying something very new. However, her child is about to enter Kindergarten, he’s not in the first or second grade, as I’d ideally wanted. I’m beginning to be “tossed about by the waves of the real world”, so to speak, and just be happy to see interested parents actually leaving their homes and coming!!! So, we reviewed the first book basically—it gave Victoria a great opportunity to read to us aloud, somewhat of a new audience. She was also very excited about the work she had done with the alphabet over the weekend (practicing and the like) and she told it to me beautifully. I have decided I want to make that more of an integral introductory portion of this course. I think we’ll review it for a bit on Thursday because I’m sure Marisol’s no expert either (at the alphabet).

Really, what I feel more and more each time is that these parents have a very low-level of English abilities; even writing words in Spanish and English off the board takes time for some of them. I admire them so much for being in the place they are when they are there with me! Almost each one of them has said to me, in one way or another, that they really are just home with the kids most all day, they wait for their husband to come me from work so they can feed him dinner, and on and on (that’s when the husband has work…one of my “faithful ones’ who hasn’t been for three times is worrying me, because last time she came she mentioned how her husband lost his job, and her little baby was sick). So, there are soooooo many outside influences that come into play—it’s not so easy to get people there consistently—what a real battle this is!

We ended the class tonight just by looking at the cover of a new book, My Cat Likes Milk, which is another book that their students read in the second grade here at Wood's End. We talked about what the book might be about, based solely on the cover’s picture, and I sent them home with it just to give it a go. We’ll dig into it on Thursday night. By doing it this way, I was hoping to kind of “create the need”, so to speak, and have them really want to be there on Thursday night. We’ll see. Oh—tonight I also showed up early and met the Librarian, Lisa. She was very helpful, and I went through their school library with a list of the book titles that the teachers had given me. Unfortunately, lots of the titles of books teachers have been sharing aloud with the class, they didn’t have in this library. Or…they just had one or two available copies. So, we’ll see how it goes finding more and more books.

March 21st – BEFORE going to class today I called all the students I had phone numbers for, who have come at least once to the class. That made me feel good, like I was doing my part – but it also, again, felt so much like the mission! Following-up with people, etc, etc. I found out things that made me feel so sad for these people, and also realize—that it is tough offering classes to this community of learners…but still, not impossible. One woman told me that she’s been so depressed lately, that she can barely get out of bed, and she’s on meds, and tonight she probably won’t make it because she has an appointment with a Counselor. Okay, then another woman just quietly told me she wouldn’t be able to come, and I asked her when she thought she’d be able to come...and she told me she couldn’t say. It almost made me nervous—almost as if there was some kind of abuse going on in her home—she sounded scared, etc.!!! And I called another, and she excitedly told me she’d be there—YEA!!! And then another that I was able to get a hold of, well, I spoke with her husband. He explained to me that his wife just barely took a job working nights, because they’re in such a desperate situation financially. He said they’ve been out of work for two months, and that they’ve both, luckily, been able to come upon some work again. And, just in that Spanish way, he said, “Hay que aprovechar no, gracias a Dios.” Basically, what he was telling me was, you’ve got to take advantage of having work when you can, because you don’t always have it. WOW, how hard!!!

Okay, so I showed up tonight, again wondering how it would go, yet excited to be there. Victoria was there (have I mentioned that the 11-month old is now there permanently with us because she doesn’t like staying in the nursery provided?) and Marisol arrived a little bit late. We began with a review of the alphabet. I brought in an alphabet book, not to read, but to just use as a guide for the letters themselves, and to practice reading them. Since Victoria and I started this, I now used her to help “teach” Marisol—it was a good experience for both of them—as it was review for both of them. We next reviewed five key vocabulary words from the book and practiced again with Jam and Ice Cream. I was thrilled when Estela showed up after her Dr.’s appointment, like she told me she would!!! She hasn’t been for a while, so we asked her to share how it went reading the book with her little boy, and she had some great things to share. She commented on how they talked (as I had mentioned awhile back) about the cover and imagined a few things before reading the book together. We’re going to work on this more later, in English J! As a grand review, each student took a turn reading two pages of the book aloud to the class, and I led a discussion about the word plays (again) on each page—they loved it. Time was running out, and we concluded by just looking at the cover of the book My Cat Likes Milk, and working on pronouncing the title, which got into a great discussion about the difference between “likes” and “lice.” Time really flew by! Next time it’s this book the whole time (plus an alphabet review and some sight words).

March 26th – Anxious…I got off to a bit of a late start, because my most punctual student didn’t come. Marisol came (a bit late) and brought her 5-year-old with her. He didn’t want to stay in the daycare place because apparently there were no other children there tonight. I think the other night classes had all been cancelled and so he didn’t want to stay alone. There was also a flyer for a PTA meeting (in both Spanish and English) that I found around the school—so I was wondering if some of the participants might have gone there at 6:00PM. In my mind, that was optimistic thinking. Also…Spring Break starts this week (which I didn’t find out until later that evening) and so I’m guessing some people assumed we would not be having the class. That will be the case on Thursday night…but tonight, we fledged forward, Marisol and I.

She is such a great person to work with—she is humble and constantly looking for validation and encouragement. I asked her how it had gone reading Jam and Ice Cream and My Cat Likes Milk to her little boy. She confessed that it had been tough, so I took advantage of our one on one time and we reviewed. Again we began reviewing the letters of the alphabet, just identifying them verbally as I showed them to her in a random order. She’s getting better and better! Then she was ready to practice reading Jam and Ice Cream to me. I was actually excited to have her son there with us, but he was not very cooperative—he kept complaining that he wanted to play with the kids, and he wouldn’t even draw much, or look at all the other great books I had brought. [This made things extra difficult, but I admire Marisol for her great determination to keep learning. One time when he was complaining to her she even told him that she wasn’t going to miss out on her chance to learn tonight—I loved it!]. She struggled to remember some key phrases we’ve gone over in presenting just the cover of a book, so it was great to practice. Also, she still wasn’t clear on all the word plays in the book, and this was another great review—she was catching on. Really, what I’m learning so much about is how slow some of my students are when it comes to learning the basics. These aren’t people who necessarily have a complete education in their native tongue, and so things are taking much longer than I had ever anticipated. It gives me the idea that as PACT becomes something truly polished, it could become something divided into levels based on the language abilities of the parents…this is thinking big. And I want to keep thinking big with this—I still believe in its tremendous worth, despite the poor attendance. The attendance issues (which I was mentioning details to Amy about before class began tonight) are things that involve something much bigger—they involve life itself, and its many struggles and challenges. Like I mentioned a few days ago, after calling so many people individually, I learned about how many, many “battles” these parents have to face, besides just the language. WOW!

Anyway, I loved the one on one class with Marisol! I introduced the concept of sight words to her, and went over about twenty that I had prepared on cards. These were pronouns, a few basic verbs, and some words from these first two books we’ve been reading. I keep thinking also that I want to arrange for another library visit for Victoria, Marisol, and Estela to attend. This is what really needs to happen! I want them to take ownership of this chance to learn and conquer any fears of the library, and choosing books to read to their children. To close the class, I previewed the book My Cat Likes Milk (again) a bit by having six vocabulary words on the board from the book. I was excited to note that Marisol already knew two or three of them. It’s hard for her to pronounce and write though—so we took time for both of these things, and I sent her on her way with the assignment to just “go for it” with this book and her son. She is supposed to share it the best she can…we’ll see how it goes!

March 28th – We did not have class today because Wood's End is on Spring Break…I am just a bit nervous that one day “off” will result in it requiring two or three classes in getting people used to coming again—I hope these are false concerns!
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March (Wave One) | April (Wave One) | May (Wave One)
April (Wave Two) | May (Wave Two)

April 2nd - Well, our “Spring Break” did make me nervous, but in the end, Marisol came to class tonight. She showed up just as I was getting ready to call her to see if she was planning on coming. Victoria, the other most consistent student, did not show up again, so I am going to need to call her. Something I have noticed about being able to work so individually with the students (due to small numbers) is that they begin to confide in you more as an authority figure (especially when you speak to them in their native language, and not just English). Before we could begin working in class, Marisol had some questions for me relative to skin care and some minor health issues she’s dealing with. Now, this was nothing confidential, but at the same time, of course I have NO outside qualifications to be giving her advice on anything like that…but like I’m noticing, my role becomes much bigger. I’d be willing to even make a generalization (based on my mission experience in Argentina, and my experience with this class) that the more confidence the Latin people have in you, the more they will share with you and confide in you. It’s flattering in one way, yet I think we wouldn’t have time to deal with those issues for each student if we had a bigger class.

We got started tonight by having Marisol tell me what she had done with her son. She’d written down (in not-so-correct Spanish) that she had read with her son, and that he really liked the book. YEA—I was thrilled that she had also gone to great lengths to write down words from the book in her own notebook; that represents time for her, because writing doesn’t come easy for her. So, we referred again to Jam and Ice-Cream, reviewed some phrases from it, and then went on to the alphabet. I brought in another alphabet book to use for review, not a reading of it, just for letter identification. This is something I’ve decided to add, that I hadn’t originally planned into the PACT program. But, as I’ve alluded to before, the level of students was even lower than I thought, so an alphabet review has been very helpful. She liked my book so much, that I told her she could borrow it—if she promised to bring it back! Moving on, we got out the new book (“new” in the sense that we keep getting to just start it before it’s time to leave), My Cat Likes Milk. I began by just reading it through to her, in a very monotone voice. I asked her to pay attention to how I was reading, and be prepared to tell me what was good, or bad, about it. After that initial reading, you could tell she was a bit nervous – because it was obviously very dull and boring. She didn’t know how to tell me (the “teacher”) that I had done a poor job. Well, we discussed voice inflection for a minute, and I decided to move on, and just plant the idea for now because I didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew at one time. I had prepared a handout with four phrases (with some blanks in them) that appear repeatedly in this book. We talked a bit about repetition in books, and why that’s such an attractive quality to children—why they love repetition in books. We also discussed a bit about how that makes it easier for us as readers—less material to be responsible for at one time. Then, I read through the book again, this time she had been instructed to count how many times she heard/saw the first phrase on the paper appear in the book. I loved this activity. It gave purpose to the listening, and helped her become familiar with some of the key phrases. We continued on like this for each of the four key phrases, and before we knew it our time was up. We got in some great practice reading and working with specific words…and just simply building confidence. This is something I have noticed over and over with my students. They doubt their abilities to learn. Marisol, for example, is often commenting on how she is older, and she wonders if she’ll really be able to learn anything ever. Much of my role includes supporting and cheering these adult learners along the path of learning!

April 4th – Before class today, I called one of my students (Victoria) to ask her why she hadn’t made it the last two days, and if she would be there today. She was so apologetic, and she said she was going to rest all afternoon so that she could come. She has been having false labor again, so she hasn’t been going out too far—I guess I can’t blame her! Then, tonight at class…no one showed up—how sad!!!!! This gave me time to brainstorm with Amy (the After school/Night Coordinator) and we decided to try something drastic. It’s all about problem solving at this point. I know what we have here is worthwhile! I know people would truly benefit from this! So, it’s a matter of getting people who can really commit, or come consistently. This is tough with the Latino population; they often have many other forces playing against them (as we’ve seen demonstrated in my little class). So, Amy and I decided that we’d offer a new round of PACT at the school, but only to the students who are already enrolled in the evening English classes. We will offer it once a week for an hour, so it doesn’t conflict with their English classes, and I would just do it for seven weeks—and see how it goes! Okay—I am pumped! So, I came home…and made a flyer with which to advertise this to them—and I will invite them personally on Tuesday evening.

April 9th – Today Marisol did make it (although a bit late). She apologized profusely for not showing up on Thursday night, then explained to me why she didn’t make it. It was something about cars not working, her having to take her grown children to work all over the valley, and her husband too, and then pick them all up, etc, etc. Okay…I’ve heard them all! But, it really must be so hard, I know. Before our class began I went into the two ESL classes that run Tuesday through Thursday, 6-8PM, and introduced myself. I briefly explained the PACT class and invited all interested to come next Tuesday (and sign up on a sheet I passed to everyone). We’ll see how it goes!!!!! Marisol and I worked one on one again, and it has become much more like a tutoring session, not so much group work (obviously, with so few people). But I really enjoy asking her how it went reading to her son, and she has shown me some very simple comments she’s written after reading the book(s) to her son. I had let her take a nice alphabet book of mine home, and she had some questions about words, etc in there—we talked those over. Then I began her with a sight word review—with flash cards. These are still a bit hard for her, but they brought about good discussion. We continued on to use a sheet I had created that accompanied the book My Cat Likes Milk, and reviewed some of the words and phrases as we read that together. All of this took up all of our time—it really flies when we work together! Marisol really is looking for validation, but enjoying her progress little by little. I truly think she is progressing, even though it may seem miniscule to her, or to others.

April 11th – Today—yikes—no one came again!!!!!! This is so worrisome to me. But, this did give me some good time to make copies and prepare a bit for the upcoming round beginning next Tuesday. 22 people have claimed to be interested, and signed up (this time we said it would be free of charge, instead of $15.00). I am excited to see how many people come!!!!!

April 16th – Okay, so today was a great day—Estela returned after a long absence, and Marisol came as well. Each had their own stories to share about why they missed certain days of class, and I listened, then we tried getting started. I wanted to pick up the pace a bit, because with them they love to talk. They like to make a side-comment (or even entire story) about so many things. So, as we reviewed the sight word flash cards I have made (with some words from the books, and other very basic sight words), they really got excited about writing them down (not only how to write them, but how to say them, and what they mean). This is great, if it what’s they want, but it also takes up a lot of time. Over and over again, I am learning that the beginning level of the parents’ English will often determine how fast, or slow, this class can move. And of course, the point of sight words is for recognition, mostly. I have explained this, and I have re-explained this, but still, they love to get these words down in their notebooks. Okay!

We continued to use up all of our time reviewing the book My Cat Likes Milk, Estela hasn’t really been here since I handed it out. To “warm-up” though, I had Marisol read to us, as a little class Jam and Ice Cream. Although some words and inflection are still difficult, she has progressed—this is so exciting to see! We continued on with My Cat Likes Milk and read it slowly through, discussing words and ideas since it was really the first time for Estela (and a great review for Marisol, who tends to be slower).

April 18th – So, today when I showed up Estela was already there! And I had shown up early as usual to set-up the room!!! She said she’d been there, at the school, reviewing her words for half hour—YEA! Marisol also showed up (she’s pretty consistent about coming at 6:40). Each, again, had some medical complaints to share, and I’ve found if I don’t let them talk a bit in the beginning, it makes it much harder to move through the class fluidly later! I think if the class were bigger, this perhaps would be an issue only among small groups. But since our class is a small group, they must “get it out” so to speak. If you think about it, I think they really enjoy the adult companionship that they don’t get during most of the day, as they are with children at home, etc. So, I thought we’d just review half of the sight words today—and I was right—they started getting off track—“How do you say…? Again, what is the difference…?” The majority of their questions are very legitimate, but they steal time from the reading aspects I want to cover. But, for example, tonight, they were really interested in the difference between the words kids, keys, and kiss. These are tricky pronunciation issues for them, and I don’t blame them. Now, of course it wasn’t in my lesson plan to get to these words, but I also believe in teaching to the needs of the students—this is my small dilemma. Anyway, I enjoyed our conversation about the differences, and sent them home to practice the sounds all day long.

Today I really came with a desire to inspire them a bit in a way I haven’t done yet. I wanted to share with them some pamphlets about reading with your children that I had gotten from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy (in Spanish) and I wanted to read them one of my favorite children’s books, The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood. So, as I saw us reviewing, discussing words, getting some off the board, and after reading through My Cat Likes Milk together, I made sure we moved on to the pamphlet and the book. The pamphlet was a huge success. We read through the first part of it, taking turns. This was excellent practice, because it is even a bit difficult for them (especially Marisol) to read fluently in Spanish (the native language). The content of the pamphlet coincides practically perfectly with the premise of the PACT course, so I am excited to share a bit more each day. Then we moved on to the book, for the sake of time. You should have seen these women!!!! They were absolutely glued to their seats! Indeed, this is an excellent book to share. In fact I really want to teach this one and have them learn it because it was one of the ones that the teachers shared also in their classrooms these past months. So, I read page by page, but we also translated (to be sure we were all understanding) and discussed certain questions about the plot, etc. that arose. As we did so, I pointed out how this was a great model for how we should read books with our children. We ended up going overtime a bit because they wouldn’t leave without hearing the ending of the story, and then…the immediate reaction, “Can I borrow that book?” YEA!!! That’s exactly what should happen. I ask them every time about going to the Public Library, and each time they go off about their health problems, and how busy they are, etc—life basically! So, I have made them aware, at least, that they can check books out of the school library, if they are very responsible about bringing them back. Estela has my book until Tuesday.

April 23rd – Bless her heart, today Estela was the only one who showed up. She brought back The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear that I had let her borrow, and I took advantage to just start right there (before she could get too off-track with the conversation). I asked her how it had gone reading it to her children, and she had only great things to say. Her son loved it, and remembered when his teacher had read it to them in class (yea!). Also, they read it and reread it. She enjoyed talking about it, and answering their questions about the story. This particular book allows for some reader imagination as you go along, so it was a great one to share and talk about with her children! I asked her to read it to me, and that took up the majority of our time together. As she read, we reviewed pronunciation, came up with some vocabulary questions (I wrote some words for her on the board, we discussed them), and carried on some offshoot conversations. That is perhaps the hardest thing about having a small class (almost as if I’m the personal tutor)—it is harder to get these women to stay on track conversation-wise. They can talk and talk about so many things! But, at the same time, I think that’s one of the reasons they enjoy the class – the adult interaction that comes with discussing books, their children, and other problems and issues that these women deal with on a daily basis. Tonight Estela even said to me, “I want to really get this down. I want to work hard to improve my English. Yes, I want to move forward! I want to be like you.”

April 25th – Well, despite their good intentions, reality apparently hit a bit harder tonight…again, no one showed up. Marisol and Estela have been coming fairly consistently, but tonight I was disappointed to wait and wait, and find no class. It is making all the things I am reading in these family literacy books come alive more and more!

April 30th – Oh dear, time to make some more phone calls. Neither of my two faithful ones showed up again. I am guessing that Estela had another downward slump, and Marisol…I don’t know what she could be tied up in. I will have to call them tomorrow or Thursday to find out what’s going on.
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March (Wave One) | April (Wave One) | May (Wave One)
April (Wave Two) | May (Wave Two)

May 2nd – Well, in calling my two faithful original PACT students, I left a message with Estela’s husband, and then discovered (upon talking with Marisol) that she came on Tuesday, just a bit late. She found all the outside doors locked up, and couldn’t get in until I had already left. I left right before 7:00PM. So, tonight I was anxious to see if both would arrive; Marisol had told me for sure that she would be there. And she came! Late, but she came. So, I wanted to get as much accomplished as possible, since we’d missed so much time together. I reviewed our calendar until the last day of the class, and made her aware of two Thursdays that I would not be able to make it. So, the time is actually flying by! I think we only have six more sessions. I am starting to realize what a different feel this small group version of PACT has, compared to my larger, newer group. It can function either way, but I am finding that the students progress faster when there are those around them who are also pushing themselves and sharing small success stories aloud. This small group has a very individual component to it now, almost like tutoring. But I also realize (and it hit me really hard tonight) that these women enjoy my company and the work we do, even if it’s slower paced (with reference to the Wave Two class). As I went over the calendar, Marisol began to realize that I wouldn’t be around to give free one-on-one reading tutoring forever! And she began to ask me, “Now, what will I do when I don’t have you anymore? I can still call you every once in awhile on the phone, right?” These were comments that I did not expect at all…but, now that I think about it, I realize this little class is meeting more needs than just the “academic” ones. I think I’ve touched on this in previous journal entries, and it’s become much more obvious based on attendance, etc that these people in general—the Latino ESL population—have many outside influences besides desire to learn that influence their participation in community level classes.

Marisol and I read over the first two points in the Barbara Bush family Literacy pamphlet (we read the beginning of it a few sessions previous). This is a great exercise in reading aloud for her (in Spanish) and also its content is excellent! We got in some good discussion about making reading time with your child a regular event, and making it a special time as well. She confided in me that while she was growing up, she only got to go to about three years of school in Mexico, then she learned the rest of what she knows while her kids (now adults) were going to school. So, now, as she finds herself with a four year old, she is planning on doing the same thing here, only in English. She was excited to share with me that she has her son enrolled in a preschool now (this is a new development) and he helps her with English phrases he is learning there. Next, we plugged forward, to begin a new book. This one is another from the Early Success series (all of the books we’ve been using in both Waves are from that series; they use that one in first and second grade at Wood's End) called On the Farm. Her first reaction was, “Oh, what a beautiful book.” Although it is short and simple, I was glad to see she reacted so favorably. She said she knew her son would like it. We went through and read it together, first me with a line or two, and then her. Pronunciation really is tough for her, more so than those who have been studying English for a little while, or even those who are a bit younger. We got as far as finding some patterns (because it is very repetitious) in the book, and talking about the different sounds some animals make, then it was time to leave. She took it home, excited to read it with Santiago.

May 7th – Okay, I am plugging forward here, trying not to get discouraged! Tonight there was a huge rainstorm combined with a windstorm…I am wondering if that is why nobody came to class. But I am also torn, not knowing if they tried to come and couldn’t get inside the building. That is what happened last Tuesday to Marisol—she came but all the doors were locked, and apparently nobody heard her knocking on the windows. Well, so I went about 6:35 and waited by the front doors, and waited—and walked back and forth between our classroom and the doors, making sure that I wasn’t missing anybody. But eventually, by 6:50 I decided no one was coming, and I packed up and went home. I have made it practically a habit of calling these two when they don’t come, but at the same time I feel like I am “babying” two grown women, and I don’t want to do that either! It is hard to progress, or feel like I’m helping them really progress, when the attendance is so sporadic.

May 9th – So, what would you do if you were in my position? Again, I waited—this time even by the front doors of the school in case they got locked—and no one showed up. How frustrating…yet, it makes me wonder how many little things must be coming up in their lives – how many difficulties are hitting them? So, again—I suppose I will call people.

May 14th – I actually made the conscious decision to NOT call these two women before class; I wanted to see if they would come on their own. Unfortunately, they did not come—and I am left with many, many questions. I know that they have really enjoyed our classes together, and even felt like they were progressing. They made remarks like those in our classes. But, now I am thinking that life again has taken over, and struggles—big and small—are abounding. Now, I will call for sure to see what their plans are. I told them that the 16th and the 23rd I would not be able to do it, and that our last day would be May 28th…so, we’ll see.

Okay, so I called them today (May 15th), both Estela and Marisol. Estela told me about how her sister just had her baby, a month early, and she’s been helping her. She sounded really depressed and tired, as if she is in a down slump. She committed to coming to our next class on Tuesday the 21st. Then Marisol sounded about the same on the phone. She also sounded tired and worn out. She told me about how she’d had a bad sore throat, and so has everyone else in the house, and she’s been having a fever on and off, etc, etc. So, she also asked me how I was doing, how I was feeling with such a short way to go in the pregnancy, and she also committed to being in our next class, Tuesday the 21st. We shall see…

May 21st – Today I was actually disappointed to find that the classroom we normally use for this class was being used. Its “rightful owners” were there (a 6th grade class and their teacher), dressing and preparing for a play they were putting on tonight. I had no idea they would be there—and I’d even gotten commitments from Estela and Marisol that they would be there. Oh how sad—so I had to call them and ask them not to come. They both said they would for sure be there the next Tuesday! [This Thursday I have a conflict that they were already made aware of).

May 28th – Well, I was sorely disappointed to find that after waiting and waiting and waiting, neither Marisol nor Estela came to our “last” class tonight. I had spoken to each one on the phone, and each told me they would be there. So…not only do I feel very “undone” with them, but they also have Wood's End’s books that need returning. What an odd “end” to a tough yet exciting class!!!!
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March (Wave One) | April (Wave One) | May (Wave One)
April (Wave Two) | May (Wave Two)

April 16th – Okay, so the idea we came up with two weeks ago (Amy, the after-school program director, and I) was a second wave of PACT. We would draw from students who have already shown interest in learning and progressing, those students who come three nights a week to the two-hour Basic English classes offered at Wood's End School. I was thrilled about an opportunity to begin anew, but nervous about the circumstances. The program coordinator wanted so badly to help me that she began to tell anyone about the PACT class. I also went into these two basic ESL classes and briefly explained the PACT class, and invited people to take a flyer and sign-up if they were interested. This time it will run for just eight weeks, one hour a week, and it will be free. Also, at Wood's End, to try and get more people, they encouraged me to let in anyone who showed interest, even if they didn’t have children in the first or second grades.

Tuesday came around, and I showed up excitedly, PACT packets in hand, ready to set up the classroom for more than just two students. Well, by 5:00 (the starting time) no one had arrived. YIKES! 22 people had committed to being in this class, by signing the flyer and returning it to me. By 5:10, two sweet students arrived, and we finished setting up the classroom (for optimistic numbers). Well, I finally began (after some small talk with just these two) just having them read and sign the consent to participate form. Another woman arrived, a bit frazzled, at about 5:20, and soon after, a fourth arrived also. That was our total for the night. So, I had all four reading and signing the form, and then we took some time to present ourselves. Since time was of the essence I kept it simple, and they did what they could in English, then shared why they had come to the class (mostly in Spanish). What caused me to worry was that the first two students to arrive don’t even have children…yet they saw this as one more chance to learn more. This attitude for learning, and this love for learning is what I am trying to promote…so, I didn’t feel like I could just tell them to leave! In the end, I made it clear (I think) that this class has a focus on reading with your children. I told them that if they don’t have children, or the children they have are “too old” for the books we will be reading, to find some nieces, nephews, or neighbors with whom they could read. This was the best solution I could come up with.

Time was running away from us! I passed out and explained the PACT packets, and by then the third woman to arrive had already been in and out of the class once. A ten-year-old-looking girl came and got her…and she came back, distracted, etc. About 5:50, as we are going through the packets, and I’m discussing the name PACT and why the class has that title, this woman asks if we’re almost done. “Oh my! Is it that bad already?” I thought. No, she told me that she’d left a pot on the stove and there was no one home to take it off. She had come to school for some other reason, and the people in the office had told her about this class, and she’d just come right then! She wasn’t even one of the original 22 who said they would be attending tonight. How funny! So, crazy, crazy. I wanted to close by sharing one of my favorite books with them, and talking about the Public Library, but we ran out of time! What a crazy first day. So…hopefully more will come next week, and we can get more ground covered.

April 23rd – Okay, so today I took time to call a bunch of the people who said they were interested in this class (ones who didn’t come last week…that’s almost all of them), and I reminded them about the 5:00 to 6:00 class tonight. Most of the ones who I could actually get on the phone gave me some sort of excuse for why they weren’t there last week. Okay—so, the interest is still there. Great! And most said they’d be there tonight. Now my dilemma is figuring out how to make the second class not the same as the first…yet have the new people caught up, having filled out their consent form, and first-day questionnaire—like the others did last time. Oh my…these are the issues that constantly face community ESL teachers.

Well, the phone calls seemed to pay off. By the end of class today, I had 13 students attending! What excitement! I worked hard to make it worthwhile for all those participating, even those who were there for the second time (three of them)—trying to avoid too much repetition. I introduced myself briefly (mostly just by name) and then had them do the same. They shared their names and where they were from—and after each introduction we reviewed all the names we’d previously been told. In the course of the hour I was able to collect “Consent to participate forms,” briefly explain the PACT packet again, and also explain why it is called PACT. Again, not all of the people in the class had children in elementary school, but I explained to them how they would be responsible for reading aloud to some child they could find. One of my favorite things about tonight was a 3-question quiz, in Spanish, that I gave to them all about the library. Since we have time constraints (where at least half of these students need to be at another English class at 6PM), I’ve decided that the Public Library visit will not be able to be done as a class. So, I quizzed them on their library knowledge, explained where it is, and what you need to do to get a library card. Then I extended them the challenge to go!!!
We finished up with me beginning to share one of my favorite books, If You Give a Pig a Pancake. I’d told them last time that I wanted to read this to them. As I began with the title and cover, I had them imagine that they were all my children (big family, I know) and I began to read. We translated as we went, and I wrote down any tricky vocabulary words on the board. It was awesome (for lack of a better word) to see their faces as I read. All thirteen of these people, adults, were so excited to hear page after page of this sweet “children’s” book. I put “children’s” in quotes because I was reminded again that these books are NOT only for children! Yet, as our hour was quickly coming to a close, one student asked if it wouldn’t be possible to do this class at another time, more than just once a week. Oh my…I loved her enthusiasm…I’ll have to think about that. Others echoed her interest, and…now I’m thrilled to see what really could be a great thing coming to be a reality! Next time I will take a vote with them. If most are really serious about going at it twice a week, I will do it. But if not enough show interest, I don’t want to do it because then I will run into some of the same problems with attendance and catch-up that I’ve run into during Wave One of PACT.

April 30th – As usual, today’s hour flew by quickly. There were nine students here today, seven of them were “returnees” and two were new. I am having them fill the first-day questionnaires out at home so as to not take any more class time devoted to such things (the only trick is getting them back!). Okay, so today was great! I began by looking over their reading logs. Most had not written in them. It is hard to get them in the habit of bringing the PACT packets, and/or writing in these after they have read with people at home. One great woman, a 74 year old with a great deal of energy and motivation, was showing me some of the material she had been reading—but on her own, since she doesn’t have young children around the house. Again, I just hope she is happy with the content of this class, since its focus is on reading with children. So far though, she is always one of the first ones there!

I continued as an introduction to ask if anyone had had an experience with the Public Library this past week. One woman said she’d gone (she lives in Spanish Fork) and that it was just beautiful! She found out that in order for her Spanish Fork Library card to work in Provo, she’d need to pay $50.00 a year. I was so proud of her for doing that “research” and sharing it with us. Other people said they had gone, but not checked anything out because they had no card; we reviewed what it takes to get a library card. Then, as promised, we took five minutes to go over any difficult words they had found that week in reading or conversation. They seemed to really enjoy this because they were words they had come up with, words that they had interest in. Mostly we reviewed their pronunciation and meaning. I do not expect for them to “master” these words, but I do think it gives them courage to be exploring text with words they may not know (knowing they can come ask me about them in class) and they can consider this quick review one more exposure to a word.

Next, I finished reading aloud the book If You Give a Pig a Pancake, which I’d started with them last week. We read it, practiced words as we went, wrote down some key vocabulary that came out of the reading, and clarified meaning page by page. Most of the students, between the words themselves and the pictures, were able to follow the meaning of the story with only minor difficulties. And they loved it! Then we began a discussion about presentation, and what are some aspects of presentation that make reading a book exciting and fun. What are some things I did (I asked them) that made this a good presentation of the book? Oooooh, I loved the discussion that followed. They were all right there with me, coming up with ideas I was thinking myself! I wrote their ideas on the board, and in the few remaining minutes, we did two important things!!! I passed around little ballots to vote anonymously if they wanted to extend the class to Thursdays at 5:00 as well as Tuesdays at 5:00, and I passed out two books with which to practice. I chose The Mockingbird and Teacher’s Pet, both books that the first and second graders in Wood's End will be exposed to during the year. These seemed like simple enough to start, yet interesting enough to capture their attention. I asked them to just practice the aspects of presentation we’d been talking about, and not worry so much about the words themselves. Next time we will begin with a thorough review of each book. I had to introduce two at a time because the school has about seven copies of each of these books, and I want every student to have a book to take home each time and practice. With more time I would’ve talked about the books beforehand, but I didn’t want another day to pass by without them being able to take a book home to practice with!!! So, they want class on Thursdays as well…I’ll do it then!!! I absolutely love their interest and enthusiasm. This just confirms to me that there is a need…it’s just a matter of students actually being able to come and commit to being in a class (that’s the simplified version). Oh, as they were practicing I went around and helped each group of two (we had one group of three), and noticed that some were having an easier time of it than others. But even to watch how Dolores, who had to read the book to two people instead of just one, tilted her book after a moment so that both could see, and not just the person right next to her…I was so proud of her! The little things will make a difference—and she right there was remembering and practicing one of those tiny aspects of presentation which we discussed! Yea!
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March (Wave One) | April (Wave One) | May (Wave One)
April (Wave Two) | May (Wave Two)

May 2nd – I got a little nervous today, as no one had arrived by 4:59PM. We did vote on having the class on Thursdays as well as Tuesdays, and the response was overwhelmingly for the Thursdays as well. Okay…but then they arrived, a total of seven students tonight. I made a few phone calls to people who had come previously, and weren’t there the Tuesday we voted; I told them we would be having class on Thursday (or I left a message with someone else in their household). We began “as always” (I’m trying to establish a routine with them, which is not always easy when some people don’t show up every time, or new people come every time, etc) with me asking for any experiences with trips to the Public Library. David commented that he had gone during the past two days (to the Spanish Fork Library) but it was closed for two days of meetings (or something like that). I was so proud of him though! In probing a bit further I found out that some others do have library cards (to Spanish Fork and Orem) and one woman is waiting on her driver’s license to come through so she can go get her library card. Great! I asked them why they thought I always asked and made a big deal of it, and we had a great quick discussion about its benefits.

Then we took five minutes to go over any words that they had found over the course of the two days. One woman, a grown adult who always comes in a dress (looking like she just got off work) also brought an Arthur book that she had been reading, and we talked about some words from there. I was thrilled that she was reading!!!!! How awesome—getting into books—that’s what this is all about. We then spent the bulk of our time going into depth with some vocabulary, pronunciation, and discussion about the two books I sent them home with last time (The Mockingbird and Teacher’s Pet). Both, although very simple, stimulated great conversation. We specifically discussed aspects of The Mockingbird, since it is based on a poem, that made it “sing-songy” and why that might be the case, and why that was even more appropriate thinking about how this was a book about a bird! They each practiced reading it aloud with a partner, focusing on aspects of presentation that we first introduced on Tuesday (as I went around to listen and help where needed) and then we moved on to Teacher’s Pet. Really, it is so exciting to see them progressing—reading aloud—speaking more than they normally might in a classroom setting, etc. I have noticed a definite difference between those who are also enrolled in the Basic English classes, as opposed to those with little practice ever trying to learn English (and even low literacy skills in their native language of Spanish). But really, I feel like it’s a good mix of English and Spanish that we use in class (heavier on the Spanish of course). We had to stop halfway into Teacher’s Pet (due to time), but a conversation I had with Leticia after class made me feel like this whole project is worth it if even just one person like her comes out of every group!

She is a cute Mexican woman, maybe 25 years old, who shows up every time in sweat pants and a sweatshirt. She is slowly participating more and more in the class. Well, she showed me after class what she had done with the book for her child. She had made pencil drawings of each page of the book on half sheets of notebook paper that she stapled together and turned into her “own” book. She then had written the text on each of these little pages, so that she could continue to read it to her child once she turned the book in to me. Also, she had plans to take the book home and spend time coloring it with her daughter, so they could design it with any colors they wanted, and so that it would enhance the reading experience. I was thrilled! Of course, for copyright reasons I’m not going to offer that as a suggestion to all of my students, but I was soooooooo excited that she had come up with this extracurricular idea on her own, and actually followed through with it. She stayed talking for nearly 15 minutes about how she really feels like now is the time for her to begin a better and more serious study of English. She has signed up for the Basic English classes they offer during the summertime at the school, and she was telling me how anxious she is to progress and move forward. This is the kind of attitude I hoped to see coming out as I envisioned this class long ago. It’s women like this Leticia who make me want to continue perfecting this idea and being out in the classroom.

May 7th – We had a great turnout tonight, with ten people. Three of those people I had actually almost “written off” as not coming back since it had been awhile since they had been here. BUT…I was glad to have them back. I didn’t worry too much about trying to catch them up on what they had missed because I have noticed that sporadic attendance is such a trend and I can’t always take ten minutes of a 60-minute class period for catching up—we’d never move forward that way! But, we did have a natural review that I think helped bring most everyone “up to speed.” We had a great class, beginning as usual with some discussion about words that they had found in reading. We always discuss about five, and it brings out such great conversation. Also, I think that those who bring words to ask about are setting a good example for the rest of the class. They see others around them paying attention to print and words, and they are encouraged to do the same. It works out great! Then, as our review I asked them what we’d been focusing on last week. A few great comments were offered about presentation of a book, and how to actually share the book with a listener. Retention – how exciting! It makes me so happy to see these things sinking in. Oh, before I forget, we had a spontaneous teaching moment close to the beginning of class, as we could hear the rain beating heavily on the roof of the school. There was a point when it got so loud that I had to raise my voice to read the book I was sharing so that everyone could hear. So, I stopped and asked them what they would do if this happened while they were reading to a child. How could they turn it into a good moment? I took the book The Mockingbird from off a student’s desk and said, “Suppose you were reading this very book to a child and it began to rain like this. How could you incorporate this loud rain into your reading of the book?” And some great suggestions were made. One woman suggested asking the child what he thought the little bird would do if it got caught in a rainstorm like this. Another woman suggested talking about the cactus that appear in the book, and teaching the child how inside of them is stored tons of water, like all the water that is falling down as rain. And I made a few comments myself. Great spontaneous teaching moment!

So, we continued by me introducing the Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation pamphlet on reading as a family. This is a resource I found last year and have been so anxious and excited to use. I am slowly reading it with my Wave One PACT class, and they also love it. So, I passed one out to everyone and we read through the cover and her introductory letter. Discussion followed about some of the general ideas about reading together as a family, and reading with your children—or any children at that—and I saw little light bulbs going on inside my students’ heads. A side note about reading aloud…generally speaking, the ability of the students in this class to read aloud in Spanish is better than some of the Wave One students. We will continue to share parts of this pamphlet during each successive class period. We have nine class periods left I believe, barring an early baby on my part!

Around 5:30 we got to the bulk of the new material I was presenting. I had planned to introduce the concept of expression, and using expression in your voice as you read. It went over so well—yea! I wrote the word on the board, “Expression,” and everyone seemed to know what it meant. Then I read through Teacher’s Pet, one of the books we’ve been working with, without any expression (monotone). One student got into it and clapped for me afterwards, he was very aware that I had done a horrible job, and he was being sarcastic—I thought that was pretty clever. So, we discussed that a bit—why it is a turn-off to children—then I read it through again, this time with great feeling and expression. What a difference. They noticed it as well.

I divided them into partners and passed out a sheet that I had created, with phrases on one side (phrases they might find in books, or actual phrases from books we've worked with in class) and descriptive words on the other. With their partner they took time practicing reading/saying these phrases according to the varying adjective indicators in the right-hand column. Some of them were really getting good! I could walk by and listen and tell which adjective they had chosen, for others it was a bit more difficult. But really it turned out to be fun for all of us, even David (the only male in our class) who admittedly thought it would be a dumb activity as we began it. They were sent home to practice reading the books we'd previously worked with using expression...we'll see how it goes on Thursday! I used the last seven minutes of class to open it up to them to share any positive experiences they'd had since we last met together. They were actually eager for this time! This was a gold mine for me! I loved listening!!!

Maria - She brought a book called Dinosaurs Before Dark that is maybe 50 pages long, big print, with a few chapter divisions in it. She excitedly shared with us the basic plot, pointed out where one of the words she brought in to ask about came from, and commented on how much she was enjoying it. We discussed what a popular item dinosaurs are with children, and she admitted that she too was really enjoying this “kids” book.

Amelia –This young mother commented on bringing her young two year old to the library in the past couple days. She said he loved the books that were thicker, and not just paper in texture (some that were more cardboard-like, and different in size). She commented on how he obviously couldn’t actually read the books, but he loved holding them, carrying them around, and looking at them. She loved being there with him. Way to go!

Teresa – This sweet grandmother watches her grandkids during the day, and is now dealing with the struggle of potty-training the almost-two-year-old. Her great success came in that she took him to the bathroom with a sack of toys, with a Franklin the Turtle book also in the sack. She said, “Now, you’re not going to believe this, none of you, but he sat there on that potty for an entire hour!!! He was just looking at and reading that book.” I was thrilled! She had the chance to see firsthand what a world a book can open for a young child—and she was a tool to help in that. Also, her enthusiasm notably affected the rest of the class, as we were all surprised and excited for her.

Dolores - This busy mother also managed to make it to the Library this past week. She shared with us how the kids absolutely loved it, and they each took about four books off the shelf immediately upon arrival. The older sibling tried sharing her books with the younger one, but of course the younger one wouldn’t sit still so well. Plus, the younger one was attracted to different books than the older one. Dolores commented that it was really just neat to see them there, interacting, and getting so excited over books. I agree!

Another note: Celia, another older woman who was traveling here all the way from Spanish Fork to be in our class, came in at 6:00 to apologize for missing last time and this time. She now gets out of work at 5:00, so she doubts she’ll be able to continue participating in the class. She was sad about it, as was I.

May 9th – I began today a bit nervous because as of 5:00 only two people were there, then three. Whoa! What happened? We were doing so well! Well, the first one to arrive (and she came early) hadn’t been there for about three sessions. So, I had her introduce herself to the other students, and vice versa. We began a bit late, and slowly, and then a few more trickled in. What had happened to those who arrived late was that they had to wait a long time for the train to pass (it actually stops and does something, then keeps going). So, I was pleased in the end with the turnout, but a bit confused by one couple that didn’t come; they are always there. We spent a bit longer than normal asking about words and discussing them. I absolutely love to see students arriving with words written out on the sheets I included in the PACT packet, and the books by their side in which they found the words. WOW! This is great! Little by little I am seeing small successes and it is so exciting to me.

We didn’t have time to read more in the Barbara Bush pamphlet because I wanted to get on practicing. I asked for someone who was feeling brave today—Leticia volunteered—and she read The Mockingbird in front of the whole class. I was so proud of her, especially since she wasn’t there on Tuesday. She did an excellent job—and we talked about a few things along the way, as a class. Then we continued to focus on expression/intonation, by introducing a new book, Summertime. I began by asking them how they thought they would read a book with that title (with what kind of expression or feeling). They generated some good ideas based on their experiences at the beach, etc. I wanted to model for them how I might read it with expression, but our time was already up—WOW! So, their homework is to practice it, along with the other books they have on loan from the school, with expression—varying intonations. Also, I challenged each person to come with a children’s library book, which some have already been doing anyway! This is getting exciting. To just watch their eyes when we talk about these things, and when we practice, and when they ask about words and little language nuances—they are into it!

May 14th – It turned out to be another great class, much to my delight. As a matter of fact, the hour we spend together goes so quickly that half of the students looked at the clock as I said “One last thing before we leave…” and gasped a little bit. “Oh it goes by so fast,” some said. Others said, “Oh yeah, and it’s such a nice class, a nice time together.” Those comments made me feel really excited, as if our goals are really being met, if even on a small scale. We had eight in attendance tonight—pretty good. That is the number we are averaging. My goal at the start was ten, so I feel pretty good about that.

One woman who missed both classes last week due to a trip to California was back, with her sister-in-law who did not miss any classes last week. I had her try and catch her up as to what she’d missed, specifically our work on reading with expression and inflection, etc. Then they immediately started informally with questions about “How do you say this…?” and “What does that mean?” etc. We got going, and as people came in they joined in the conversation. I gave our usual time for questions about words they had found, and that time flew by. I love to watch them all commenting on words, helping me explain them—and writing them down (many of them) in their PACT packets. Really, this is a great group of people (all women, except one husband). We continued on to spend about ten more minutes reading and discussing another chunk of the Barbara Bush literacy pamphlet—we haven’t had time for a while to do so. This is a resource that I absolutely love. So do my students. It is simple, straightforward, and full of good ideas that I wanted to include in PACT from the beginning. As I asked for reactions to some of the things we read, David commented on how his father was a good example of helping them learn, informally, as they were growing up. He would do many crossword puzzles and get his children excited about helping him—in that way they learned many words. Also, David commented a bit later that he agreed with the idea that those children who are read to learn to read faster and better than the rest. He shared again how growing up his family would read the scriptures together everyday and even the little ones had to try to read and participate. His father insisted that they pronounce things well, learn how to look up as they read, and pause in the appropriate places, etc. He said that it bothered him as a child, but then when he got into school all his friends had to spend time really practicing those kinds of things—even to having to read paragraphs over and over—out loud—for homework. David didn’t really have to ever do that, because he’d learned those things at home with his family. Excellent!!!! That was a great experience to share—and the others really seemed to appreciate it as well. I’m glad he felt like he could share that comfortably with us, especially since he’s the only male there!

Moving on to continue a practice we didn’t have time to really start last Thursday, they each got out their copy of Summertime (some had to share) and we reviewed the idea of what kind of expression and inflection would you use to read a book with this title. Then they practiced in partners—reading it with a “summertime” feeling, attitude, and expression. After going around and listening to each partnership, I asked one (Maria) to come and read the book in front of the class. What a GREAT mother she will make. She doesn’t have children yet, but as she read you would’ve thought so. She read with great expression, and also stopped to ask us questions a bit after each page or two. That is a topic I want to cover in a few sessions; great lead-in Maria! For next time, I’ve asked them to each bring their own book (some did it for today, but we ran out of time). And to keep reading to someone at home!

May 16th – I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, to only see four people show up to class today. I wonder what could be keeping the others? But I know from experience now that I cannot take it personally, and something probably came up where each person had a legitimate (or at least what they felt was legitimate) excuse for not coming. So, we plugged forward with the four that were there, and it was really another great session. As usual, we began with words that they had been noticing, finding. Really, such a wide range—I love how they spark so much natural questioning and conversation. This is something I can tell they look forward to. Then, we continued to share the first two (out of the nine) points in the Barbara Bush pamphlet. Again, this sparked some conversation relative to what these students’ personal experiences are with having people read to them, or create an atmosphere or regular time for reading.

One woman shared that she was the youngest and she hated not being “in the know” as much as her older sisters, so she was determined herself to read. She would read everything she could get her hands on. Another woman shared how her mother worked nights and rarely got to see them, so she was read to mostly by older siblings, if at all. Similar stories were shared all around. Then the concerns started to arise as well. One busy working mother shared how she is having a tough time finding time to read to her children because of their opposite schedules. I suggested she do as her siblings did with her when she was younger—enlist her older children to read to her younger children. Anything to get reading happening in the home, especially with those younger ones!!! Really, great discussion was sparked—and then we moved on to a quick review of certain aspects we’d covered up to this point in the class (relative to the reading of the books). We talked for about three minutes about Atmosphere/ambience when one is reading to someone else, then Presentation, and also Voice Expression. The new topic that I introduced today was Extra Activities. By this I mean—what are some extra activities that the adult can suggest to do with the child to enhance the experience of reading any particular book—how can they make it more fun? Or come alive? Each student had supposedly brought in a book from the library (I also handed out library card applications today to anyone who didn’t have one yet), or from his or her house. With these books, they got into pairs and briefly explained what their book was about, or read a portion of it to their partner. I did a demo of this with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I love this book for many, many reasons. Then each of them shared a bit with their partner. This was exciting—they are taking ownership of these children’s books—that are in English. Most of the discussion was obviously being carried on in Spanish, but the books they are practicing with are in English and they get better with them each time!

After each person had a turn to share, we got back together as a class and began to brainstorm ideas for Extra Activities that we could do with each of these books we had brought in to share. We got a good list on the board—and then our time was mostly up. We’ll pick up here on Tuesday—I’m so excited! I can feel energy in each class period with these women (mostly women, one male comes—he wasn’t there today—his wife is also in the class). I know that the steps we are taking are small, but they are really trying hard to make reading to their children—or to those around them—more of a real thing. And for some, even books in English are no longer daunting or so out of reach.

May 21st – As I arrived today, a bit early as usual to set up the chairs in the room, one of my students was already there—eager to ask me some questions about words she had found in a few children’s books. WOW! This was both exciting to me, and it threw me off a bit too—I had to make some copies, set-up the room, and just “mentally” prepare as I always do—almost unknowingly—before teaching a class. So, I did those things, (she helped me set-up the chairs) and then I noticed that she had written this list of words on the board for me already. [Turns out she’d been at the school, helping and volunteering all day long, since 8:30AM.] As we were finishing up going over those words, more people started to arrive, and we continued to ask others for questions on words. Often they pull these words from books they have been reading to their children, or grandchildren, or nieces/nephews—and also, as was the case tonight, they pull them from important documents or papers that come in the mail or from the school. The one I remember most from tonight was “household,” which Sofia had found on a form sent home from school for parents to fill out. Good for her!

We had a great turnout, with nine people there today. I always wonder what it is exactly that makes it or breaks it for some people to come. In fact, Dolores, one who was excellent, then stopped coming for two or three sessions, came today! YEA! If she didn’t, I had already planned that I would call her to see if all was well. So, with four there last Thursday, and nine there tonight…it always gets tricky how to catch-up without boring all the others. But, I think we managed quite nicely. Oh, before we began anything else, Leonora, the one who came early, also shared with us how she’d gone to the Public Library and told them she’d lost her card…and they found her in the computer, and it was easy for her to get a new one—great! Then we began, writing on the board again Atmosphere/Ambience, Presentation, Voice Expression/Inflection, and then…I jogged the memories of those who were there on Thursday to share with the rest of the class our newest topic of focus…Extra Activities.

I shared briefly again (just held it up it basically) the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and we talked about some ideas of extra activities you could do with a child to accompany the reading of this book—great ideas! Then I wrote the other three book titles that we’ve done as a class together on the board. We took a few minutes to brainstorm extra activities that you could do with these books. With each book they came up with good ideas, such as leaving the house and looking for things outside that were found in the book, going to a museum to look for some of the animals found in the book, going to a pet store, taking pictures of pets, drawing pictures, and on and on. The ideas were coming from a few different students, not just one in particular. But it’s always interesting to me how many great ideas come from Maria and David, our married couple who don’t have their own children yet. I know that when they do they will be much more prepared to provide them with a literate home experience, one in which the children will enjoy reading.

What was perhaps most interesting about tonight was that about two-thirds the way through our hour together, the 6th grade teacher whose classroom we were in came in with her family—a bit surprised to see us there. Oh my –and them, us! Then students of hers began arriving…whoa! Turns out they were doing a play that night, and they’d all been told to be there by 6:00 to get ready, put on costumes, makeup, etc. So, for our last 25 minutes or so we were being “observed,” and a bit distracted. I commend my students for how well they stayed focused. I gave each one an informal vocabulary quiz that we worked on as a pre-reading activity. I told them they could work on it with a partner. The instructions (in Spanish) were to use each word or phrase (that they would soon find used in the book we are going to read) and use it in a sentence, or define it if possible. If they didn’t know it, I told them not to worry. I was going for a low-stress activity, but some still tensed-up—simply because it said, “quiz” on it. We got to a point where we discussed about six of the nine words/phrases, and our time was up. I am excited for Thursday!!!

May 23rd – Tonight, following the typical Thursday night trend, we had slightly fewer people show-up to class. But, it was still a great class that flew by as usual. The first few to show up, ironically, had not been in class on Tuesday night, so I got them started working on the vocabulary sheet/ pre-reading activity that we had ended up with on Tuesday. Going over all of those words with everyone ended up replacing the time we normally would’ve spent talking about words that they had found over the course of the past two days.

Then, in an effort to not get caught running out of time, I went straight to the book (The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear) and began by showing them the cover. We talked about what they noticed about it, specifically who the main characters in the book would be. Also, I pointed out to them how Don and Audrey Wood are husband and wife, and they work together (this also sparked a bit of interesting commentary about how hard everyone thought it would be to work side by side with their spouse, professionally). As I read the book aloud, I used good voice expression, stopped and checked for comprehension after each page or two, and I loved watching their eyes light up as they discovered the words that we had talked about from the pre-reading activity. As a group they were doing excellent at capturing the subtleties from the illustrations, and at guessing who the voice in the story might be. It was a huge hit (as it is with the kids when you share it with them too). This is a book that I know teachers (and even the Librarian) specifically in Wood's End have shared with the lower grade classes.

So, after the reading, I threw out the question of what kind of Extra Activities could be done with a book like this. Some of the ideas thrown out were to go eat strawberries, go strawberry picking, hand out strawberries and see if the kids could disguise them (like in the book). Also, the adult could hide strawberries in the room (perhaps wrapped in saran wrap) and have the kid(s) tromp (word from the book) around the room and look for them. Then to their surprise, I pulled out a box of strawberries, and asked each person to choose from the ones I’d brought, which one they thought was the red, ripe strawberry from the book. Before they could eat them, we had everyone hold theirs up and try to say why it was theirs that was the one…then they got to eat them. They loved it. We discussed a bit about how this might impact a child’s experience with this book, and what it might do to them in general, and their overall desires to have you read with them. We really had a great class. I let everyone take a copy of the book home to practice reading with their children (or other)…and I reminded them that these books I had gotten from the Public Library – so easy to do!

May 28th – Tonight we had a great turnout, with ten people, although a few trickled in late. They do their best at getting there—I understand that. We began as usual with words that they had found. I love how Leonora especially comes with words she has found while doing her own reading. She is one of the ones without children in her own home, but I know she volunteers a lot a Wood's End School, and she has lots of interaction with the children there. Also, she is reading all of the material from the school she can get her hands on (most of her words tonight, for example, came from the school newsletter). After our “words discussion,” which the students seem to look forward to, we went into the Barbara Bush Literacy pamphlet. Good thing! That has been on my agenda for a week now, but we just haven’t had time. Ideally, each class would be an hour and 15 minutes long, instead of just an hour. It makes such a difference, especially when some students arrive late.

Anyway, we focused on point #3 and had excellent discussion relative to the ideas that are brought up in there about little techniques that will enhance the reading experience. These are all ideas I’ve either touched on a bit in class, or wanted to include in our curriculum. So, we took turns reading aloud each point, and then discussing them. Some of the ideas mentioned included using your finger to follow the words along the page, changing your voice to match each character or situation, and allowing the child to participate in turning the pages. GREAT! So, by now everyone had arrived (thank goodness) that had gone home last Thursday with one of my library copies of The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. This was going to be the book we practiced with, because they didn’t get to practice with it in class last time, they just experienced me reading it to them (and our Extra Activity with the strawberries). Before dividing into pairs and reading it, I had two students share what we had done with it in the previous class, then each student wrote down one idea from the list in the pamphlet that they wanted to practice right now…and they did it! The pronunciation was still hard for some, especially those who hadn’t been there for our first exposure to the book on Thursday. Yet, as I went around and listened, each pair was doing fairly well in reading, and incorporating the idea that they had selected to practice. Many were interested in practicing their voice changes as they read. This excited me because it is really part of Voice Expression, which we’ve spent about three class periods focusing on.

Some are still timid in reading aloud, but I think doing it in pairs allows them a small arena in which to practice, and a setting more like the one they will find when they go home and practice with their children. To close the period, I invited someone…it ended up being Mabel…to come read the book in front of the class. She at first tried to stay in her seat and read it to us, but I insisted that she come to the front. She was a great sport about it—and she did a great job. Now, of course, it wasn’t perfect, but she really was doing her best, and we were really enjoying it. She got a great round of applause at the end. She is one specifically who expressed to me today that when she doesn’t come, the ONLY reason why is because she is working. I have been wondering about her because she really hasn’t been there consistently. But, I appreciate knowing why not. With most of my students, that is what I have found. They have either gotten stuck working, or being at home with the children. I really appreciate the positive feedback they give—sometimes quietly, and sometimes very verbally. Tonight Leticia stayed afterwards to ask for some help with an application that came home from the school. She wanted help clarifying a few lines of what needed to be written where. I was glad to be able to help her in that way!

May 30th – We had another delightful class, with a surprise new student. Finally…with only two (technically) classes left, the word is spreading. Yet, this excited me to no end because I knew she was a mother of children who attended Wood's End, and she was there with a friend in our class. That means they have been talking about this outside of class – YES! We began as usual with our routine of asking about words that have been found over the course of the few days since we last met. This seems to be something that they really enjoy, even if they are not gaining a mastery of these words right now, they are being validated in their questions, and I can tell they feel like our classroom is a safe environment in which to ask questions.

We did a bit of business, in collecting some outstanding books that I needed back (because they belong to the school). And then I asked for a report of how it went trying out one of the ideas they had chosen to try (see last class log) while reading aloud. Some admitted success, but others were quiet. I think the hardest part about this group is that they are not all parents of children to whom they can read. That makes the take-home practice aspect much more difficult. And that has been a struggle of mine this whole time, but at the same time, all are enthusiastic about learning and that is something that you can’t turn away at the door. Next, I gave a few students the chance to informally share with the class some books they had brought in from the library, or from home. Leticia, Amelia, and Soledad had all brought in children’s books—and they were excited to explain why they liked them, or why they had chosen them.

June 4th -

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