Cara Cesa, Ed. S. – Special Education Teacher
Cara.Cesa@cobbk12.org
Lisa Nelson, M.A. TESOL – ESOL Teacher
Lisa1Nelson@cobbk12.org
10/22/2014
1
Opening Thought

10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
2
Who was not learning to their full
potential and why?

Who:
 Dually identified EL/SpEd students; grades 2-5
 Students with disabilities whose significant deficits are in
reading, writing, and/or math with small group placement
 EL students with pull-out services
Why:
 These students have significant deficits in the areas of
language, reading, written expression, math, and/or
behavior. These students are several grade levels below their
current grade placement. The rigor of the general education
classroom is not an appropriate setting for these students to
make progress.
10/22/2014
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Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
Student Driven Model

 Obtained Support from administration and department
supervisors
 Created schedules which would allow for the following:
 Compliance of student’s Individualized Education Program
(IEP)
 FTE counts for both ESOL and SpEd
 Implemented program model based on increasing the
following:
 2012-2013: Literacy Skills (1 segment)
 2013-2014: Literacy Skills, Leadership Skills (2 segments)
 2014-2015: Literacy Skills, Leadership Skills, Problem
Solving Skills (3 segments)
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
4
FTE Counts

 Extended the length of class to be able to count for
ESOL and SpEd
 Student IEP’s stated they would have a double dip in
reading/literacy in a small group setting
 ESOL service was a pull out model during reading or
language arts segment
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
5
The Biggest Challenge

 Making certain we were addressing each individual
student’s deficits, aligning the specialized instruction
to the Common Core Curriculum across three grade
levels while producing positive progress and success
from our students.
10/22/2014
6
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
Dual not Duel Demographics

Small Group Reading: 3rd – 5th Grades
Students
21
Gender
Female- 10
Male- 11
Race
Caucasian- 9
African American- 5
Asian- 2
Hispanic- 5
Languages
(Known/Spoken)
Bengali, Bulgarian, English, French, Hebrew, Korean, Portuguese,
Spanish, Wolof
Service(s)
English Learners- 8
Students with Disabilities- 8 (AU, LD, OHI, SDD, SI)
Dually Identified Students- 5 (EL, LD/SI, OHI/SI)
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
7
Art Williams
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
8
Comparison of Language Differences Versus Disabilities
By: Jarice Butterfield, Ph. D.

10/22/2014
9
Dimensions of Student Engagement

 Behavioral Engagement
 The quality of students’ participation.
 How students’ patterns of behavior/ participation affect their motivation,
performance, and understanding of academic content.
 Relational/Emotional Engagement
 The quality of students’ interactions in the classroom
 How students’ ways of relating to their teachers and peers affect their
motivation, performance, and understanding of academic content.
 Cognitive Engagement
 The quality of students’ psychological engagement(i.e. interests,
ownership, and strategies) in academic tasks
 How students’ emotional and cognitive investment in the learning process
affect their performance and understanding of academic content.
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
10
Researched-Based Strategies to Improve
Student Engagement

 KNOW YOUR STUDENTS! (behavioral, relational/emotional, cognitive)
 Working with their peers (behavioral, relational/emotional)


All Students are growing learners who require and want interaction with other people.
Discussions foster a relaxed atmosphere and allow students to participate in their own learning.
 Working with technology (behavioral, cognitive)

Kids love technology. Technology allows students to explore and have accountability for their own
learning experiences.
 Project Based Learning (behavioral, relational/emotional, cognitive)

Real world connections. It is extremely important to be in touch with THEIR world, while
expanding their experiences at the same time.
 Bring in Visuals (relational/emotional, cognitive)

GOOD, Real-world visuals. Sometimes this requires homework on the part of the teacher.
 Student choice (behavioral, relational/emotional, cognitive)

10/22/2014
Give students the opportunity to choose (with parameters). When students choose, they are more
interested. When they are more interested, they are more engaged. When they are more engaged,
there is more learning. Where there is learning, there is creativity.
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
11
Text Complexity

 Through engagement with shorter complex texts, students will
build content knowledge that is important in comprehending
both nonfiction and fiction texts.
 Comprehension of nonfiction texts is especially dependent on
the reader’s background knowledge.
 These texts can create these opportunities to stretch thinking
and expand vocabulary acquisition and content knowledge.
 We must remember that ALL students can think, talk, and even
write about texts that are beyond their current abilities.
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
12
Differentiated Classroom Instruction and
Intervention: The Importance of Leveled Texts

 While all students need access to age-appropriate, gradeappropriate reading materials daily…we also have to recognize
that not all students are the same in their ability to read and
understand texts.
 Struggling readers need access to texts that allow them to
perform like good, proficient readers. They need differentiated
instruction during a large part of their day, every day.
 The purpose of differentiated instruction is to move readers
forward so that they increase their reading ability daily.
 (Fountas & Pinnell, 2014)
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
13
Student Driven

Classroom Rigor
Short informational passages, but the text
complexity and reading levels are
increased (over time) to continue
challenging all students based on their
needs.
Students complete comprehension
questions, written summaries, and student
friendly rubrics to self-assess
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
14
 3rd
What it Looks Like

Grade Class
 ALL: text complexity reading passages,
comprehension questions, summary writing, rubrics,
conferences
 Low: preview vocabulary, read with teacher, word
banks
 Middle: informational text cards, preview vocabulary,
read to teacher
 High: informational text cards, peer partner/reader
leader
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
15
 4th
What it Looks Like

Grade Class
 ALL: text complexity reading passages,
comprehension questions, summary writing, rubrics,
conferences
 Low: preview vocabulary, read with teacher, word
banks
 Middle: informational text cards, preview vocabulary,
read to teacher
 High: Tween Tribune articles (student choice), online
quizzes, peer assistance, reader leaders
10/22/2014
16
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
 5th
What it Looks Like

Grade Class
 ALL: leveled readers integrating grade level science
standards, preview vocabulary, comprehension
questions, summary writing, rubrics, conferences
 Low: preview vocabulary, small group lesson, re-read
with teacher, word banks
 Middle: science related informational texts, preview
vocabulary, read to teacher
 High: mini-lesson to preview: vocabulary/concepts,
independent/peer reading, reader leaders
6/12/2013
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
17
Leadership and Technology
Components

 4th and 5th Grade End of Quarter Cooperative
Group Projects
 Leaders are assigned, roles and responsibilities are
decided on through the groups, passages are chosen
based CCC
 Groups are in charge of completing the following:
 Visual Representation Poster (1 per group member)
 Create PowerPoint Group Presentation
 Self-Assess Individual Student/Group Performances
10/22/2014
18
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL

Being challenged in life is
inevitable, being defeated is
optional.
Roger Crawford (2010)
6/12/2013
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
19
DRA Results

Average DRA Growth 2012-13/2013-14
40
35
30
25
2012
2013
20
2013
15
2014
10
5
0
Dually Identified
10/22/2014
ELL
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
Special Education
20
STAR Reading Results

STAR Reading Data 2013-2014
6
5
4
3
Fall 2013
Spring 2014
2
1
0
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
21
CRCT Results

CRCT Growth 2013 and 2014
120%
100%
80%
60%
Dually Identified
ELL
40%
Special Education
20%
0%
2013 Meets
2013 Exceeds
2014 DNM
2014 Meets
Dually Identified
100%
0%
33%
66%
0%
ELL
96%
4%
1%
55%
44%
Special Education
98%
2%
0%
100%
0%
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
2014 Exceeds
22
ACCESS Results

ACCESS for ELL's 2013-2014
7
C
6
5
C
C
4
B
B
B
3
2013
2014
2
1
0
10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and
Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A. TESOL
23
Final Thought…

10/22/2014
Cara Lee Cesa, Ed. S., Inclusive Ed. and Lisa Rae Nelson, M.A.
TESOL
24