ESOL Portfolio Capstone
Project
By: Marla Ellis
Purpose Statement:
The goal of this project is for teacher candidates to display our
competency and skills of the ESOL Performance Indicators
through experiences with an ELL student. Working with an ELL
student, the teacher candidate will develop content based
activities to develop the student’s comprehension, fluency,
vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar.
Meet Tanairys…
Tanairys is a first grade student at Sallie Jones
Elementary. She is seven years old and was
retained in first grade last year due to her
academics. Tanairys has a history of missing
school and has missed over a week of school days
this semester. She moved here from Pennslyvania
approximately two years ago, shortly after
completing kindergarten. When I asked her what
brought her and her family to Florida, her
response was, “I wanted a peaceful, quiet school.”
She did not like her school in Pennslyvania
because it was very loud. Tanairys also informed
me that she has “low hearing” in her right ear and
has been to the doctor “plenty-o-times” for this
problem. Tanairys’s parents speak English and
Spanish at home. Tanairys is currently labeled as
an ELL student and is categorized as a level four
in Language Proficiency—Expanding. At a level
four, she does not require much accommodations.
SOLOM Activity and Rationale:
Interviewee’s Native Language: Spanish
Country of Origin: Mexico
Approximate Age: 7
Approximate years living in the United States: 3-5
Listening
Speaking
Speaking
Speaking
Speaking
Comprehension
Fluency
Vocabulary
Pronunciation
Grammar
Rationale for that score
(provide specific examples):
The student was asked basic
questions and she knew how
to answer most of them.
One question I asked her
was, “What is your favorite
store?” Her reply was a
little off. She said her
favorite store is Wal-Mart,
which is a good response
but then she began to tell me
she ate soup and eggs and
that her brother is 15 and “I
need to get bigger and
bigger.” The student has no
delays in oral language
response. She scores a four
in this area because she
understood nearly
everything and gave mostly
appropriate responses.
Rationale for that score
(provide specific examples):
The student speaks very
fluently. She spoke with a
good flow and ease. The
rate was a good quality with
the exception of a few
occasions where she would
stretch out a word such as:
brother to brooootheeeeerrrr.
Stretching the words may be
her way of using wait-time
while she searches for the
next word. The student’s
voice range fluctuates much
during speech. The student
does not delay in answering
questions. For these reasons
I gave her a four.
Rationale for that score
(provide specific examples):
The student and I discussed
the story of The Three Little
Pigs and I asked the student
to retell this story to me. She
was able to explain most of
the story properly. She did
get confused about the
ending and what happened to
the Big Bad Wolf. There are
many variations to this
classic tale so I could not
hold that against her. The
student was not able to recall
the word “hay” but knew
exactly how to describe what
it was. The student has a
decent grasp of the English
vocabulary. She scores a
four in this category.
Rationale for that score
(provide specific examples):
The student’s pronunciation
skills are strong. She is
clear, but does carry a very
slight accent. For this
reason, she received a four.
However, the accent is not
heavy enough to alter
communication. She is well
understood and scores a four
in pronunciation.
Rationale for that score (provide
specific examples): The student
made a couple grammatical errors
but it wasn’t enough to obscure
the meaning of what she was
trying to say. There were a few
responses that the student gave me
which included the inappropriate
use of text. Occasionally when
she speaks, she will also leave a
word out of a sentence or a suffix
off of a word such as: my family
go to the park. The occasional
mix up with her grammar is not
enough to obscure the meaning.
She scores a four in this category.
Score: 4
Score: 4
Score: 4
Score: 4
Score: 4
SOLOM continued…
SOLOM stands for Student Oral
Language Observation Matrix. Based on
my observation of Tanairys and using the
SOLOM levels of Oral Proficiency table,
I gave her a score of 4 in each category
for a total score of 20 as her level of oral
proficiency. This score puts her at a level
4—Expanding.
• Click here to view the SOLOM Matrix
Comprehension
•
STANDARDS:
TESOL Pre-K–12 English Language Proficiency Standards: Standard 5: English language learners communicate information, ideas,
and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of social studies.
SS.1.C.2.3 Identify ways students can participate in the betterment of their school and community.
LAFS.1.RF.3.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
LAFS.1.RF.1.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. Recognize the distinguishing features of a
sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).
OBJECTIVE:
The student will be able to decode words from an unfamiliar text with 90% accuracy by applying the rules of phonics when reading a
book.
The student will orally communicate at least 2 out of 3 ways to be a good classmate and at least 2 out of 3 ways to be helpful to our
school.
ACTIVITY:
1) Tanairys will read the story I Love School. Before she reads, we will name the title, author, and illustrator of the text.
2) We will discuss how to decode any difficult words by using the tap and sweep method (tap with your finger: c-a-t, and sweep with
your finger: cat). We will discuss using picture clues in books (facial expressions, body language, etc.) to help decode the text.
3) We will discuss the text and how students might feel on their first day of school or on their first day at a new school. We will list
ways we can be helpful to new students and ways we can be helpful to our school.
Abstract
The goal for this activity was to check Tanairys’s
understanding of the text that she reads. I chose the I
Love School book for Tanairys because I knew she
was in the lower level reading group. The book is a
level 1 which turned out to be just right for her
because she was able to read most words with the
exception of a few including: inside, place, everyone,
totally, alone, and friends. I used this opportunity to
show her how to break down a word into words that
she can possibly read such as: inside—in-side and
everyone—every-one. These are the kinds of minilessons I do with my guided reading groups. I am
concerned for Tanairys because being in her second
year of first grade, she is still very behind in her
reading. She also is displaying difficulties staying on
the task at hand. As she read the story, she would stop
reading to discuss something else that was off subject
such as playing Mario when she goes home.
Fluency
STANDARDS:
TESOL Pre-K–12 English Language Proficiency Standards: Standard 1: English language learners communicate for social,
intercultural, and instructional purposes within the school setting.
LAFS.1.L.3.5 With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
LAFS.1.RF.1.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print. Recognize the distinguishing features of a
sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).
OBJECTIVE:
The student will be able to recognize the CVC pattern in words and list all of the short “a” words in a text with 90% accuracy.
ACTIVITY:
1) Tanairys will read Mat and Sam.
2) Tanairys and I will discuss that each sentence begins with a capital letter and each sentence ends in a period.
3) Tanairys will list all of the words in the book that have a short “a” sound.
AbStRaCt
The goal for this activity was to see how fluently
Tanairys could read. A fluent reader should read words
with a nice flow and ease. Fluency is difficult for many
first graders because they are just learning to read! As a
teacher, it is vital to model fluency in reading because
students need to hear what a good reader sounds like.
My goal was to check Tanairys’s understanding of short
vowel sounds and she has a good grasp. You can hear
in the audio she first said “sit” instead of “sat” which
displays her inability to pay attention to detail. When
she finished the book, we went back to the beginning of
the story and I had Tanairys point out each short “a”
CVC word. She was very successful at that although I
am questioning whether it was just recognizing the “a”
and not the entire concept. Tanairys is continually
displaying attention problems. We were seated on the
floor at the clip chart and she could not keep her mind
of the fact that she did not get to clip up that particular
day.
Listen to Tanairys read here
Vocabulary
STANDARDS:
TESOL Pre-K–12 English Language Proficiency Standards: Standard 4: English language learners communicate
information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of science.
SC.1L.14.3 Differentiate between living and nonliving things.
LAFS.1.RF.3.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
LAFS.1.L.3.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts,
including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g.,I named my hamster Nibblet because
she nibbles too much because she likes that).
OBJECTIVE:
The student will be able to read a word and use it in an appropriate sentence with 90% accuracy.
The student will use picture/word cards and classify them as either living or non-living with 90% accuracy.
ACTIVITY:
1) Tanairys will use the build-a-word cards to match and make words.
2) After each match is found, Tanairys will read the word and use it in a sentence.
3) After all matches are completed, Tanairys will categorize each word/picture as a living thing or non-living thing.
Abstract
The goal for this activity was to check Tanairys’s
knowledge of vocabulary through reading and using words
in a sentence. Tanairys really enjoyed this because she is
very chatty with me and we freely talked about some things
while she was making matches. I noticed a few times she
tried to put together a couple of mismatches but she
corrected herself by noticing that the pictures did not match
up. She was able to read every word but the picture clues
helped for sure. My goal was to see how well she could use
the words in a sentence. I knew that she would be able to
read the words, especially with the picture clue. This
activity was helpful because there were a few words that
she could read but wasn’t sure what they were like “yarn.”
Tanairys did really well at categorizing the living/non-living
things. I tied this activity in because I knew that we were
approaching the topic of living and non-living things in
science. We discussed what living things need such as
water and food. I used this opportunity to show her a tree
map and we listed all of the words accordingly.
Pronunciation
STANDARDS:
TESOL Pre-K–12 English Language Proficiency Standards: Standard 3: English language learners communicate information, ideas,
and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of mathematics.
LAFS.1.L.1.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
MAFS.1.OA.3.5 Relate counting to addition and subtraction (e.g., by counting on 2 to add 2).
OBJECTIVE:
The student will be able to complete each puzzle sequence with 90% accuracy by orally explaining the proper order of events first,
second, and third.
The student will be able to match a number to a proper amount with 100% accuracy.
The student will be able to add numbers 1-10 by counting a set of objects with 90% accuracy.
ACTIVITY:
1) Tanairys will be given a set of puzzle sequence cards. Each card goes in a set of three. She must put the cards in the proper order
and explain the sequence of events.
2) Tanairys will be given puzzle cards that include number matching. Tanairys will match the number to the picture. She will put all
of the cards in number order and we will make addition problems by adding the fruits.
Abstract
The goal for this activity was to check the clarity of
Tanairys’s pronunciation and any hints of an accent. She
likes to talk and she did stretch out some of her words but
overall she performed well in this category. Not only did
she perform well, she LOVED this activity! As a matter of
fact, she told me that puzzles were her favorite and asked
me if I had any she could keep. How cute! The puzzle
sequencing was relatively challenging. She could explain
the order of events in most of the puzzles with the exception
of those that had words. For example, the puzzle with the
boy who opened the door for the girl had her confused.
Had she been able to read and understand the words, she
would have known exactly what was happening in the
picture—the boy was using good manners. The number
match-up was a good follow-up. She needed to count out
every picture and was able to add the numbers by counting
all of the objects. Overall, both activities tied in
appropriately to the curriculum by connecting sequencing to
plot which is what we are learning in Language Arts and
understanding what happens first, in the middle, and at the
end. This activity kept her attention very well!
Grammar
STANDARDS:
TESOL Pre-K–12 English Language Proficiency Standards: Standard 2: English language learners communicate
information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of language arts.
LAFS.1.RF.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. Read on-level text with purpose and
understanding. Read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings. Use context
to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
LAFS.1.L.1.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
OBJECTIVE:
Using a cloze worksheet, the student will demonstrate an understanding of written text by choosing the proper word,
at least five out of seven times, to fill a blank in a sentence.
ACTIVITY:
1) I will explain the directions of a Cloze Activity sheet and Tanairys will complete the sheet on her own.
2) We will go over the best choices for each answer and correct any mistakes.
Abstract
The ultimate goal of this activity was to see how well
Tanairys understood word order in sentences. It was
appropriately challenging for her. She did not
understand the concept of choosing one of the three
choices in the Cloze read so I had to read the first three
sentences three times each so she could hear each
choice in the sentence and decide which made sense.
This activity was a good follow up to the seatwork we
do for Language Arts which contains a page of fill in
the blanks but with their weekly words. Not being
familiar with the words on this sheet challenged
Tanairys to use her knowledge of word order and
grammar. There was an error in the worksheet that I
did not notice until we had begun. I told her not to
complete that one and I was not happy that I did not
notice the error beforehand! It is so important to scan
every item before handing it over to a child. Overall,
Tanairys has a good grasp on grammar. She is stronger
in speaking than in writing. This is typical of an ELL
student and with more practice, her grammar in writing
will improve.
Reflection
I am always excited about the opportunity to work with an ELL student. We have learned many
strategies in our ESOL methods course and having the chance to apply these strategies in a real school setting
with a real ELL is an experience. I have always felt that the first thing we need to do, as teachers, is establish
a relationship with that student. This can take time with an ELL but it is part of what we are trained to do.
After all, we have a relationship with each and every one of our students.
What was most challenging for me and the ESOL capstone was the fact that we did not have an
ELL student in my assigned classroom. My mentor teacher and I decided that I would work with the ELL
student in the partner room. This would enable easy access for me and I felt like it created less of a
disruption. We planned our time during triple i (III) which is a designated time for students to take computer
tests and read. I feel that by not having an ELL in my own class, I did not get the full effect of the project.
Even though I spent time consulting with my ELL’s teacher about her strengths and weaknesses, it never felt
like I had enough time.
Having said all of that, I still am thankful for the opportunity I had to work with Tanairys. Giving
Tanairys the SOLOM assessment helped me to get to know her a little better. My questions and our
conversation led to many interesting topics and that is how our relationship/friendship began. After
analyzing the SOLOM, I was able to analyze target areas through my study of the scale and my rationale for
each category. For instance, Tanairys told me she has low hearing in her right ear. Her teacher shared with
me that Tanairys is very slow at getting her work done. We discussed whether or not this is affecting her
ability to do what she needs to in the classroom and making sure her parents were aware that she might have
a hearing problem. If Tanairys was my student, I would try giving her instructions that are written out on
paper with visuals. We have to remember that even though Tanairys is a level four, she still might need those
kind of accommodations whether it is due to the hearing or the fact that she is a level four.
Reflection cont’…
An important factor of the SIOP model is interaction. I gave Tanairys many ways to interact from
our conversation to using words in a sentence to relating to texts. Having interaction with Tanairys gave her
an opportunity to build on her vocabulary and language skills. Part of interaction is providing sufficient waittime. ELL’s especially need that time to process what is being asked of them. Unfortunately with Tanairys
there is no wait-time. She just starts talking and talking and may not be processing what is being needed
from her because her brain just starts going. Tanairys and I discussed how it is important to give yourself
time to think and that “everyone needs that time.” A good strategy for think time is writing your questions on
the board. Tell students we are going to discuss it in a few moments and that you want them to think about it.
Many of us, not just ELL’s, need that visual.
Tanairys is still considered low for her age and being a repeat first grader, but I do not feel the
gaps in learning are due to her language barrier because she is considered “expanding.” According to the
protocol of the Florida Consent Decree, she has been provided with all of the learning tools she needs here at
Sallie Jones Elementary. At our school, the teachers were required to obtain the necessary training through
college level courses or district inservice training. The Consent Decree states the requirements for ESOL
certification and inservice training and sets standards for personnel delivering ESOL instruction. Tanairys’s
teacher is ESOL Endorsed. I feel that Tanairys is a good candidate for exiting the program in the near future.
She is developed in all of the areas and has a good foundation for learning in the Florida public school
system.
We all have roots…
…some just need
more water than
others 
By: Mrs. Ellis