Russian Students

Presented by:Stephanie Beebe, Andrew King,

Michelle Davee, and Lori Sanchez

Introduction• Why they came

here

• Presented by Michelle

How to Connect With This Population in the

Classroom• Familiarize yourself with the culture. Russians are very proud of their culture

• Art, Religion, Traditions, and Language

Russian Art• Art has always been an

important aspect of the Russian culture.

• Some forms of art include literature, classical music, painting, architecture, ballet, and animation.

• One idea on how to connect with your Russian students is through song.

Religious Practices• Russian Orthodox is the

official religion in Russia.

• Russian Orthodox is similar to Catholicism

• 20% of Russians practice Islam while Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism are not wide spread but have small roles in Russian culture.

Traditions• Russia’s national

traditions are deeply rooted not only in the Orthodox religion but also in paganism.

• The Russians still celebrate pagan holidays, many people believe in numerous omens and legends. (Knocking on wood)

• They also celebrate Christmas and Easter

Language• Of Russia's estimated 150m

population, only 81% speak the official language of Russian as their first and only language.  

• There are over 100 minority languages spoken in Russia today, the most popular of which is Tartar, spoken by more than 3% of the country's population.

• Other minority languages include Ukrainian, Chuvash, Bashir, Mordvin and Chechen.

Russian Alphabet

Clarifying Misconceptions• All students are “Russian” – NOT TRUE!

• Students come from various republics of the former Soviet Union (USSR).

• Families might speak Russian at home, but be from a different ethnicity.

• Within this generalized culture, there are different ethnicities, which have their own traits, even though they share some similarities in their cultures.

• The Russian language was taught in the schools throughout the republics when the students’ parents were younger.

Mixed Marriage• There are students who come

from Ukranian, or mixed Russian/Ukranian marriages.

• Both of their languages belong to the same Slavic group

• Some word roots are the same, but the grammar is different

• There are 3 genders: female, male, & neuter (ex. like in Spanish language)

• Different grammatical paradigms (varying endings to root words)

How Learning is Affected• Some families speak

a mix of Ukrainian & Russian

• There is an additional language to the Ukrainian/Russian mix with English

• A sort of “slang” is developed (ex. like Spanglish)

How Learning is Affected Continued

• Without a good Standard Russian Language background at home, students have a more difficult time adapting in class academically.

Interview By Teresa• Teacher: Mila

Townsend, • Grade: Bilingual-

Russian Kinder,

• School: Captain Gray Early Learning Center

Welcoming Students and Their Families

• When there are paraeducators who can communicate with them then they feel more welcomed in the school.

• There are volunteer forms sent home for parents or other family member to fill out and return and once cleared they become a volunteer at the school.

• There is an Open House, where snacks are provided, and families can meet their child’s teacher, staff, and get a tour of the school building.

Resources For Student Learning

• Reading resources are limited in the class and in general for students in the Russian-Bilingual Program

• About 10 yrs ago students weren’t as prepared for Kinder and didn’t know as much academically

• For the last 6 yrs the Pasco School District received money to have supplies for students to prepare at home before entering Kindergarten.

Student Learning Continued• The school district also gives parents the

opportunity to enroll their child in Early Start, which last for approximately 3 weeks in August.

• The Early Start enrollment depends on the number of teachers available to participate in the program.

• She has to create a lot of her own materials to use with her students.

• She does a lot of translating with books, handouts, and other resources.

• The families of the students are very supportive of their child’s education.

Russian Program at Robert Frost

• Welcoming atmosphere

• Office signs are in English, Russian and Spanish & the staff is friendly and helpful

• This year Frost has hired two new teachers and they now have four “Russian” classrooms

• Russian is the common instruction language, but the demographics are much more diverse

Atmosphere

• There isn’t a lot of Russian in the halls, but the classrooms are rich Russian environments

• Resources are precious and most of the materials belong to the teachers personally

School District Resources• The Pasco School District is

very supportive

• District is willing to buy Russian materials, but few materials that are “aligned” are available (The District bought “National Geographic for Kids”, translated into Russian)

• Very hard to find good materials that are aligned with district curriculum (Standards and approach are different)

Resources Continued• In Russian education,

materials are very traditional and penmanship is very important

• Students don’t start to write (“publish”) until at least second grade

• The Russian teachers at Frost spend an exhausting amount of time translating district curriculum, and assessments

• Translating caused Miss Babiy to want to quit in her first year

• Woodburn, Oregon has a Russian program (Pasco bought “Bridges in Math” Translated)

• Russian teachers feel that the district should hire a person to develop Russian curriculum

Resources Continued

Pasco School District Curriculum

• Russian is very phonetic

• Instruction of “high frequency” words is not helpful

• District Phonetics Program “Fountains & Pinell” is not translated into Russian

Translations• All district messages are

printed in English, Russian and Spanish

• Some examples are medical forms, IEP forms, and district notices, but not newsletters (example: lice newsletter), curriculum, assessments

• Russian teachers are not always happy with the translations

Community Resources• Kennewick Mid-Columbia

Library does have some Russian books, but they are mostly very traditional

• One can buy some U.S. books that are translated into Russian, but they are expensive (Dr. Seuss & Eric Carl)

• More Newberry books are being translated into Russian

• This year Mrs. Polyuhk has 26 second grade students

• 60% are Ukrainian

• 30% are Maldivian

• Two families from Kyrgyzstan

• One family from

Azerbaijan

Demographics at Robert Frost

Other Ethnicities• Other ethnicities

that have been in the program at Frost include:

• Moldavians• Belo Russians

Russian Parent Input• The only parent approval

information that was available was antidotal. Mrs. Polyuhk said that she believes that the parents are happy with the program because there are groups in the class that traditionally would not have had anything to do with each other & all are using Russian which wasn’t welcome in the past because it was forced upon ethnic minorities. Also she has had students that speak English perfectly whose parents wanted them to be in the Russian class anyway.

Question • Working with Second Language

Learners by Stephen Cary Pg.98

• “How do I support a student’s first language when I don’t speak the language?”

Answer• Pg. 98• Establish a classroom community that values and

celebrates all languages• Encourage parents to develop and maintain primary

language at home• Offer primary language support through bilingual parent

and community volunteers, peers, cross-age tutors, and extended day programs

• Learn and use some second language yourself with students

• Understand the difference between supporting and developingthe primary language

Question• Working with Second Language

Learners by Stephen Cary Pg.111

• “How do I minimize communication conflicts in a multicultural classroom?”

Suggestions• Pg. 111• “Establish a classroom that values

and celebrates diversity• Seek out and exploit student

common ground• Provide frequent opportunities for

meaningful collaborative work “

References• Thanks and appreciation to Tatiana Polyuhk &

Irina Babiy at Robert Frost Elementary for their assistance with this presentation

• Working with Second Language Learners Steven Cary

References ContinuedLive and learn Russian (2010). Retrieved on November 26, 2010 from

Live and Learn Language website: http://www.liveandlearnlanguages.com/russian.html

Russia : Language, culture, customs and etiquette (2010). Retrieved on November 26, 2010 from Kwintessential website: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/russia-country-profile.html

Russian culture (2010). Retrieved on November 26, 2010 from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_culture

Russian traditions (2010). Retrieved on November 26, 2010 from Advantour Website: http://www.advantour.com/russia/traditions.htm