West Babylon ESL Students Take Part in Summer Tech Camp

The West Babylon School District has been offering its first Summer Tech Camp for English language learners, a program made possible with funding from Title III, a federal grant used to improve education, and an Optimum Technology Grant.

The two-week program was designed by the district to give ESL students entering grades one through seven an opportunity to enhance their learning by building background knowledge, academic vocabulary and fluency on an unfamiliar topic – farming in New York. The camp also provided a platform for students to enhance their technology skills.

The summer program began with a farm visit to the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Yaphank, giving students the firsthand experience of life on a farm.

“We learned a lot about the kinds of tools that are used on a farm, and many new words,” said a young student entering the seventh grade in September. The students employed technology such as iPads, digital cameras and Flip cameras to document the experience. Their photos were used throughout the camp to build vocabulary and develop fluency.

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Expanding upon this topic was author Alan K. Lewis, who paid a visit to Tooker Avenue Elementary School. Lewis, a retired educator, captivated students with a 50-minute session in which he shared his nonfiction memoir “I Grew Up on a Farm,” as well as a PowerPoint presentation and farm paraphernalia. Students interacted with the author during a series of word games and vocabulary-building exercises.

The students also worked on an art project in which they created an illustration around a photograph they had taken during their farm trip. They were then encouraged to write about their illustrations. Their artwork would eventually become a page in a class book about the experience.