|
|  | | | | Welcome to ELL Support Services | | ELL (English Language Learner) Support Services
ELL (English Language Learner) service at Johnson
Elementary is a collaborative effort that involves the ELL specialist,
the student’s classroom teacher, and other specialists the student may
learn with throughout the year. ELL teachers seek to offer
support primarily during the Language Arts block (Reader’s and Writer’s
Workshops). Students may also receive support as needed during
content-area times such as math, social studies or science. Though
teachers licensed in ESL (English as a Second Language) are the primary
language-support providers, a bilingual Educational Assistant, under
the guidance of a licensed teacher, may also work with students to
develop needed language and/or cognitive skills.
COLLABORATION
The ELL teacher and the regular classroom teacher
work together to assess and teach students. The school’s adopted
standards drive the planning and instruction in this collaborative
effort. ELL students and native English-speaking students work to
achieve the same standards in every discipline. Johnson has adopted the
America’s Choice curriculum at every grade level which allows all
teachers and students to work toward common goals for teaching and
learning. ELL teachers, mainstream teachers and even specialist
(in Science, Technology and Music) collaborate using these standards to
plan the most effective methods for meeting the needs of the ELL
students. Once planned, the ELL teacher often takes the lead in giving
additional support though small group instruction or one-on-one
conferring.
READER’S WORKSHOP
Students learning English benefit from small-group
instruction during the Reader’s Workshop hour. The workshop begins with
a short lesson (“mini-lesson”). The whole class, including the ELL
students, participates in the opening lesson each day. Following the
whole-class instruction, students break out into stations for
individualized learning. The core instructional mode during this
workshop time is “Guided Oral Reading”. In Guided Oral Reading students
are placed in flexible small groups based on their needs and/or
interests. A teacher then guides the group in practicing oral reading
skills and comprehension strategies. The ELL teacher often works with
the English language learners during this Guided Reading time. Groups
meet from 2-5 times each week depending on the needs of the
students. Students may be regrouped several times throughout the
year.
When students are not receiving small group guided
reading instruction they are either reading independently or
participating in literacy center work with other students in the
mainstream classroom. The ELL teacher may use this independent work
time confer with ELL students individually. In a conference, teachers
often formally and informally assess the students’ reading skills and
comprehension strategies. Conferring also allows teachers to address
the individual language needs of students learning English.
WRITER’S WORKSHOP
ELL teachers at Johnson may also provide support for
students during the Writer’s Workshop hour. Writer’s Workshop, like
Reader’s Workshop, begins with a short mini-lesson taught by the
classroom teacher. ELL students participate fully during the lesson.
After, students work independently on their writing pieces while
teachers (both classroom and ELL) confer with individuals about their
ideas for the piece and skills for writing it. ELL students
participate in the same units of study as their classmates and work
toward the same standards for completing their pieces. ELL teachers
offer additional support to language learners throughout the writing
process through conferences with students and collaboration with the
classroom teachers.
CONTENT-AREA SUPPORT
ELL students may receive content-area support in the
content classroom or in the Guided Oral Reading group. In the
content classroom students work towards the same learning and
performance standards as their classmates. The classroom teacher plans
according to these standards. Within the classroom, the ELL teacher or
EA assists individual or small groups of ELL students in their
comprehension of concepts and specialized vocabulary.
Students might also receive support in learning more
about content topics within their Guided Oral Reading groups. ELL
teachers integrate content into Reader’s Workshop by choosing related
texts for reading practice. For example, if the science teacher is
teaching a unit on water, an ELL teacher might choose a nonfiction book
on the water cycle for the Guided Reading group work. Content and ELL
teachers collaborate to understand which standards need to be met how
best to guide ELL students in reaching those goals. ELL teachers make
use of language arts time to either reinforce previously learned
content-related concepts and vocabulary, or preteach concepts in
preparation for upcoming material. ELL students maintain a focus on
language development through their work with content-related texts.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Our bilingual Educational Assistant works closely
with our Spanish-speaking families. She translates the school’s and
teachers’ weekly newsletters and other written notices, interprets at
parent-teacher conferences and family nights, and maintains an open
line of communication with the Hispanic community in the school. In her
home-school liaison role she often visits families at home and refers
members to community organizations for addition social or economic
assistance. Johnson Elementary partners with the East Side Family
Center (ESFC) to provide similar language support for our Hmong
families.
|
| |
