Bridge To Success: Best Practices for Supporting Your EL
Presented by: Michelle Sluder, ESL Instructor/Arlington Community Schools
Shelly Misenheimer, ESL Instructor/Collierville Schools
Agenda
I. Introductions/Brief Survey/EL Busters
II. Cultural Aspects of EL Learning
III. Objectives for EL Modifications
IV. Modifications vs Accommodations
V. Instructional Strategies/Visuals/Scaffolding
VI. Assessing your ELs for Authentic Learning
VII. Examples
VIII.Question & Answer Session
Bridging the Gap: All in All
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/midlit11.soc.ush.immer
se/a-language-immersion-story/
EL Buster: Truth or Myth
Turkey runs the world's largest refugee resettlement
program.
According to Ten Facts About U.S. Refugee Resettlement
by Randy Capps and Michael Fix, the United States runs
the world’s largest refugee resettlement program.
Cultural Awareness
Rationale: Focusing Your Content
Tweak content for authentic measurement of mastery
Measureable growth
Authentic academic success for the EL student
Removing the language barrier to assess content
Student engagement
Facilitates grade level learning
Differentiated instruction and assessment
Lau vs Nichols – It’s the law!
 *Think Evaluation Rubric!
LSP vs IEP
ELs do not have IEPs, but they do have LSPs (Language
Support Plans); however, there are federal laws mandating
schools to make the content accessible to language
learners regardless of their immigration status.
(Lau vs Nichols, Plyler vs Doe)
• One of the most concise is Lau vs. Nichols, summarized
here:
• The Supreme Court ruled that equality of educational opportunity is not
achieved by merely providing all students with the same facilities,
textbooks, teachers, and curriculum (because) students who do not
understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful
education. The court ordered that districts must take affirmative steps to
overcome educational barriers faced by non-English speaking students.
LSP: Tools to Support Content Teachers
Correlating WIDA to Proficiency Levels
ELs & Depth of Knowledge
Resource: http://www.berlinschools.org/uploaded/files/District/201314/English_Learners/ELLs_DOK_levels.pdf
EL Buster – Truth or Myth
Adolescent ELs face a greater workload, learning English
at the same time as they are studying core content areas in
English, more than any other age or grade level.
Truth: Based on research, grades 6-12 prove to
be the most challenging for ELs due to the
expectations of learning social language
simultaneously with academic.
Instructional Strategies
Visuals: A Clear Message?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_FFaOya5Nw
sinking
Scaffolding Social Studies Content
Visuals
Visuals
Visual & First Language Support
- Supports Vocabulary Acquisition
- L1 acts as bridge to L2
- Visuals build schema
Anchor Charts
EL Buster – Truth or Myth
Once an EL has mastered basic interpersonal
communication skills (BICS), they will quickly gain the
necessary skills for academic language to be successful in
the classroom.
Research shows that while it takes 2 to 3 years to acquire
communicative English proficiency, it takes 6 to 8 years to
acquire academic English proficiency.
While many English learners:
• Speak in sentences
• Communicate socially with peers
They continue to:
• Struggle with grade-level reading passages
• Struggle with academic vocabulary
• Struggle with comprehending content textbooks
Modification vs Accommodation
The best rule of thumb is not to dumb-down the curriculum but rather
to find ways to make it understandable.
Modification – any change made
to the curriculum that enables a
student to be successful in content
classrooms
Accommodation – alteration of
environment, curriculum format or
equipment used, extended time, read
aloud, bilingual dictionary, oral
responses
Modifications are always made
BEFORE the assignment or
assessment is given.
Accommodations tend to happen
DURING or AFTER the assignment or
assessment.
Modifications DO change what the
student is expected to master.
Course/activity objectives are
modified to meet the needs of the
language learner.
Accommodations do NOT change
what the student is expected to
master. The objectives of the
course/activity remain intact.
Assignments
 It is OKAY to give English Leaners (ELs) different
assignments that measure the same skill.
 Shortened reading passages
 High utility, high frequency words
 Narrow the focus – MAIN IDEAS & CONCEPTS
 Model – Show the student how to do the assignment and
provide an example of mastery.
 Projects to be completed at home? Content teachers
should notify the ESL instructor for additional support.
 Many of our ELs do not have language/content support at
home.
Making Content Accessible
Scaffold, Scaffold, Scaffold!
• When giving an assessment, determine the main
concept(s) you are testing and what details are
nonessential for understanding the concept(s).
• ELs are doing twice the work in school. Not only are they
responsible for the content knowledge, but they are also
simultaneously learning and acquiring English.
• This is why it is imperative that we focus on assessing
these students on only the most important content concepts
– not the details.
Before & After: Photosynthesis
1.
2.
The process in which carbon dioxide and water are used to produce carbohydrates and evolve oxygen in the presence of
light and chlorophyll.
When there is light and chlorophyll, a plant uses carbon dioxide and water to make sugar (food) and give oxygen.
Modeling: Scaffolding for your ELs
Scaffolding & Modifying
Making Content Accessible
1. Guided Notes:
- Cover main concepts
- Are made directly from the assessment
- Less focus on student writing
- Supports language
functions
- Allows EL to focus on academic language
EL Buster: Truth or Myth
The 2015 Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing
indicates that there are teacher shortages in English as a
Second Language (ESL)/bilingual education in 32 states
plus the District of Columbia.
Absolutely true!
Making Content Accessible
2. Sentence/Paragraph Frames
- Reinforces syntax
- Gets them started on writing task
- Applicable across content areas
- Allows student to focus more on content
Math: Paragraph Frame
In this math problem, we were asked to figure out
_______________________. Some information was already given
including ____________________________and
________________________.
When creating a plan to solve this problem, I decided to follow a number of
steps.
First, I __________________________________________________.
Next, I ______________________________________________.
Then, I _____________________________________________.
Finally, I _____________________________________________.
After following these steps, I determined that the answer to this problem
was ____________________________________________.
To check this answer, I _______________________________________
__________________________________________________________.
Making the Content Accessible
Compare and contrast amphibians and reptiles.
_________ and __________ both__________. However,
_______is different than ________ because ____________.
What is the main idea of the article?
The article is about __________. An important detail is _________.
Essay Paragraph Frame
Frame for Writing Analytical Summaries
Introduction
In the __________________ “_________________”, _______________________
(article, essay…)
(title)
(the author’s complete name)
_____________________________ ________________________.
(verb: discusses, explains….)
(the main idea, thesis)
Body paragraphs
______________, ________________ _______ _________. ___________________
(transition)
(author’s last name) (verb)
(evidence) (Your reflection)
Introducing Textual Evidence:
First reference
According to author’s name,
In his article, “Title of the article”, author’s name, says that…
EL Buster: Truth or Myth
Most ELs in the United States are immigrants.
Myth: According to the article, The Limited English Proficient
Population in the United States by Jie Zong and Jeanne
Batalova, most LEP individuals are immigrants; however,
nearly 19 percent (4.7 million) were born in the United
States, most to immigrant parents.
Simplified vs Complex Language
Language that causes difficulty in understanding for ELs:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Complex definitions
Figurative language/multi-meaning words
Conditional statements
Subordinate clauses and complex sentences
Advanced verb tenses
Nonessential Information
How to Simplify Text: Complex Definitions
Grade Level Definition
Supergiant – Late stage in the life cycle of a massive star in
which the core heats up, heavy elements form by fusion, and
the star expands; can eventually explode to form a
supernova.
Simplified Definition
Supergiant – A star’s core heats up while heavier elements
form by fusion, and the star expands.
How to Simplify: Figurative Language
*Avoid using idioms with beginners – ELs need explicit, direct
instruction on learning this form of figurative language because it
is language-specific and cultural.
Examples:
And Then There Were None
Dr. Lombard suddenly washed up on the rocks drowned.
Dr. Armstrong’s dead body floated onto the rocks.
The Outsiders (required middle school reading)
You've always got your nose in a book.
You’re always reading or You read books all the time.
How to Simplify: Social Studies
Examples:
Complex
Forced Congress to do the bidding of former Confederate politicians
Simplified
Forced Congress to do what the former Confederate politicians wanted
Complex
Were able to accumulate vast amounts of wealth
Simplified language
Were able to get large amounts of money
Simplify Discussion Questions
①
②
Explain clearly using at least three different reasons or drawing three diagrams why McClelland lost
the battle.
Explain clearly why McClelland lost the battle. Give at least three reasons or draw three diagrams.
How to Simplify: Language Arts
Examples:
Protection of the highly placed, locked drug cabinet is given to
Lombard and Blore because they are..
Lombard and Blore are told to protect the highly placed,
locked drug cabinet because they are…
From To Kill a Mockingbird (required high school reading)
After fetching his pants from the Radley place, Jem is uneasy
because
Why is Jem nervous after he gets his pants from the
Radley’s yard?
Teach the Language: Math
Math Examples: Multi-Meaning Words
1. Table – furniture
vs. an arrangement of
numbers, symbols or
words to exhibit facts or
2. Mean - to offend
vs. an average
or be unkind
3. Pound – to hit
vs. a unit of measurement
relations
Assessments
 Match content complexity with language ability (WIDA/Proficiency Levels).
 Just because an EL child doesn’t speak much English do NOT assume that
he/she is not thinking critically or in complex ways. They simply cannot
express their thoughts as their native-speaking peers, YET!
 Plan your assessments to meet the needs of the EL
It’s not a crime to:
 Give clues/Prompt
 Change questions to yes/no answers for
oral responses
 Divide word banks into chunks
 Tailor the test to your students’ language
level
 Give alternate assessments
Resource:
http://iiassessment.wceruw.org/research/researchDocuments/Kopriva_
Rasmussen_2010%20Aug%20NCELA%20pres%20Classroom%20as
sessment.pdf
Assessing Your EL with Complex Content
Assessing Your EL with Complex Content
Focusing Your Assessment on Content
1. Highlighting Key Words
 Helps direct the EL to key academic
terms
 Makes the test more manageable
 Helps EL focus on content over language
 Correlate study guide to your
assessments by highlighting key academic
vocabulary/concepts
Modifying Your Assessment
2. Color-Coding & Chunking Information
Before & After: Example of Focused Assessment
EL Buster: Truth or Myth
The top five foreign languages spoken in the state
of TN are Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, Somalia,
and Kurdish.
Truth: Surprised? According to MigrationPolicy.org,
these are the top 5 in the state of TN!
Open Discussion
Questions? Comments? Aha-moments?
Contact Information
Michelle Sluder
Arlington Community Schools
Email: michelle.sluder@acsk-12.org
Shelly Misenheimer
Collierville Schools
Email: smisenheimer@colliervilleschools.org
Schilling Farms Middle
School Website: http://schillingfarmsms.colliervilleschool
s.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=464019&type=u