English Language Learners at Merritt Memorial School Kindergarten – Fifth Grade

Our Goal The goal of the ESL program is to instruct children who come to us from all over the world. Literacy skills are introduced and strengthened through speaking, listening, reading and writing. Students also become familiar with American culture during their time in ESL.

Topics of Discussion Daily Routines Instructional Goals Assessments

Daily Routine Greetings: As students engage one another in conversation, they get the opportunity to talk about their health, feelings, special activities, as well as what might be important to them for that day. We discuss the calendar, weather, our clothing, our menu and after school activities. This builds on-going vocabulary and strengthens social skills. Information is recorded in written form in a daily journal. This provides practice for spelling and grammar skills.

Balanced Literacy Each student receives reading instruction based on his or her individual level. Multicultural literature is used along with a strong phonetic approach to help second language learners distinguish the sounds of the new language. Technology is infused into the curriculum to provide for audio, visual, and kinetic learning styles.

Other Support Content areas such as math, social studies and science are reinforced in ESL classes according to student need. Students are prepared for Standardized tests such as the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge in grades 3, 4 and 5.

Parent- Teacher Communication Students will record their homework in their daily classroom assignment books, along with their classroom homework. Parents may check the calendar on my web-site to view our current topics of study. Every Friday each child brings home an envelope from ESL with their completed work, projects and tests from that week. Parents are asked to review the work with their child, sign the envelope in the space provided and send the empty envelope back to school on Monday, for continued use. Feel free to include a comment or note to me. You may e-mail me at any time, or call the school and leave a message, and I will return your call as soon as possible.

How Long Will it Take? Children learn at their own pace, and some exit before others. It is in a child’s best interest to receive ESL instruction as long as he or she needs to. This may be anywhere from one to three years. As a strong teacher-parent team we can work together to help ESL students learn English in an enjoyable and expedient manner.

Assessment Word study and reading tests are done on a regular basis throughout the school year. The ESL and classroom teacher discuss each student’s progress and speak with parents at conference time twice a year. The ACCESS for English Language Learners is the name of the New Jersey state test used to assess the progress of ESL students. It is given once a year in the spring. If a students receives an adequate score, he or she will exit the ESL program. You will be informed about your child’s score in the early summer.