LEAPS & Bounds with ELPA

Rita & John Rita Platt is a Nationally Board Certified teacher. Her experience includes teaching learners of all levels from kindergarten to graduate student. She currently is a Library Media & Reading Specialist for the St. Croix Falls SD in Wisconsin, teaches graduate courses for the Professional Development Institute, and consults with local school districts. John Wolfe is a teacher on special assignment for the Multilingual Department at the Minneapolis Public School District. He has worked with students at all levels as well as provided professional development to fellow teachers. His areas of expertise include English Language Learners, literacy, and

Relax … Everything (and more) is on The Wiki PD must be : Continuous, Collaborative, Communicative

LEAP ELPA into

What Leaps? What Bounds? 1.The ABC’s of ELPA 2.Challenge 1: ELPA & Content Learning 3.Challenge 2: ELPA & ELD (English Language Development, i.e., “Learning English”)

EL Condor Pa sa Watch out for that last step – it’s a doozy. The Wisdom of the Condor

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The Essence of ELPA ELPA gives you key information about the language that an English Learner can handle for grade-level learning.

The Essence of ELPA ELPA gives you key information about the language that an English Learner can handle for grade-level learning. How hard – how difficult, how challenging – can that language be?

In other words, Essence of ELPA … Is this too hard? What can the ELs do while the other kids are answering these questions? How do I know I’m not lowering my expectations? He should be able to do this, right?

ELPA Proficiency Levels (Nutshell Perspective) ELPA Levels describe the difficulty of the language we can reasonably expect a student to be able to use for grade-level content learning.

Language Learning vs. Language Using

10 Standards for “10 Ways We Use Language in School” 1. Understand Written & Spoken English 2. Participate (by speaking & writing) 3. Speak & Write 4. Make Academic Arguments / Claims 5. Do Research & Presentations 6. Critique Others’ Claims 7. Adjust Language for a Purpose 8. Investigate & Determine Word Meanings 9. Produce Clear Speech & Writing 10. Use Standard English

Why Did We Break them Into Three Ears?

‘Swup S peak & W rite, U nderstand, P articipate Ma RoPes Coal M ake A rguments R esearch & P resent C ritique O thers’ A djust L anguage Warm Clear Steeple? W ord M eaning, CLEAR communication St andard E nglish, PLe ase

What is the “Peaceable Kingdom?” We Teach We Learn ( kingdom-the-three-roles-of-the-esl-teacher/

‘Swup S peak & W rite, U nderstand, P articipate Ma RoPes CoAL M ake A rguments R esearch & P resent C ritique O thers’ A djust L anguage Warm Clear Steeple? W ord M eaning, CLEAR communication St andard E nglish, PLe ase

‘Swup Ma RoPes Coal Warm Clear Steeple?

ELPA Performance Definitions are OK… BeginningEarly IntermediateIntermediateEarly AdvancedAdvanced/Proficient  Students range from very minimal or no proficiency up to being able to read & demonstrate comprehension of basic information with very limited fluency.  Speak & write using language with very limited accuracy & fluency.  Read & demonstrate comprehension of simple or highly contextualized grade- level information with limited fluency.  Speak & write using simple language with limited accuracy & fluency.  Read & demonstrate comprehension of key grade-level information with some fluency.  Speak & write using some complex language with some accuracy & fluency.  R ead & demonstrate comprehension of most grade-level information with fluency.  Speak & write using more complex language with accuracy & fluency.  Consistently read & demonstrate comprehension of grade- level information.  Speak & write using a range of complex language with a level of accuracy & fluency that resembles native English speakers at same grade level. … but a little unclear and at times don’t make clear sense …

ELPA at a Glance Documents

LEAPS with ELPA

Where’s the big LEAP? Explain Towards the end of the Level, an ELL can... Lvl 1 Beginning Lvl 2 Early Interm. Lvl 3 Interm. Lvl 4 Early Adv. Lvl 5 Adv /Profic Understand construct meaning from oral presentations and literary and informational text through grade- appropriate listening, reading, and viewing. use a very limited set of strategies to:  identify a few key words & phrases from read-alouds, simple written texts, & [simple] oral presentations. use an emerging set of strategies to  identify the main topic  retell a few key details from read-alouds, simple written texts, & [simple] oral presentations. use a developing set of strategies to:  determine the main idea or theme, and  retell a few key details  retell familiar stories from read-alouds, simple written texts, & [simple] oral presentations. use an increasing range of strategies to:  determine the main idea or theme, and  explain how some key details support the main idea or theme  summarize part of a text from read-alouds, written texts, & oral presentations. use a wide range of strategies to:  determine two or more main ideas or themes  explain how key details support the main ideas or themes  summarize a text from read-alouds, written texts, & oral presentations.

Where’s the big LEAP? Explain Towards the end of the Level, an ELL can... Lvl 1 Beginning Lvl 2 Early Interm. Lvl 3 Interm. Lvl 4 Early Adv. Lvl 5 Adv /Profic Understand construct meaning from oral presentations and literary and informational text through grade- appropriate listening, reading, and viewing. use a very limited set of strategies to:  identify a few key words & phrases from read-alouds, simple written texts, & [simple] oral presentations. use an emerging set of strategies to  identify the main topic  retell a few key details from read-alouds, simple written texts, & [simple] oral presentations. use a developing set of strategies to:  determine the main idea or theme, and  retell a few key details  retell familiar stories from read-alouds, simple written texts, & [simple] oral presentations. use an increasing range of strategies to:  determine the main idea or theme, and  explain how some key details support the main idea or theme  summarize part of a text from read-alouds, written texts, & oral presentations. use a wide range of strategies to:  determine two or more main ideas or themes  explain how key details support the main ideas or themes  summarize a text from read-alouds, written texts, & oral presentations.

Specially prepared texts “Authentic texts”

Culture générale … The “Draw a Horse” Meme

ELPA at a Glance Documents Gift of Time!

What Leaps? What Bounds? 1.The ABC’s of ELPA 2.Challenge 1: ELPA & Content Learning 3.Challenge 2: ELPA & ELD (English Language Development, i.e., “Learning English”)

Challenge 1: ELPA & Content Learning If this is a “correct” reading of ELPA, what challenges does it present for supporting ELs in content learning? Challenge 1: ELPA & Content Learning

ELPA expects students to move up the level – to be able to handle greater and greater language loads with time. How? What’s ELPA’s theory of ELD? Challenge 2: ELPA & Learning English What does ELPA believe is happening in class to result in students being able to handle greater and greater language loads?

ELPA’s dynamic tension theory … vs … Saunders et al. ELD Guidelines for Instruction

Specially prepared texts “Authentic texts”

Read Summarize Discuss in terms of ELPA’s theory of ELD and with what you’re currently doing with your ELs The ELD Guidelines

Review

Authentic teaching with “inauthentic” texts? Or … if the goal of texts is to aid learning … and the text aids learning … how can it be “inauthentic”?