Building Online Resources for Parents and Content Teachers of ELLs Anne Tomalin, NBCT ESOL Specialist, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, NC Carolina TESOL Fall Conference, Dec. 6, 2008

Webpage for ELL parents: Rationale well-educated and fluent in English computer literate and have access to the internet wanting much more detailed information than we could provide in conversations, presentations or flyers Our school increasingly had a new type of ELL population whose parents are

Webpage for ELL parents: What we included Description of ESOL program Profile of ELL population Biographies of ESOL Specialists FAQs about ESOL, ELLs and L2 acquisition Calendar of school and community events Explanation of standardized tests that students must take School-related information

Webpage for ELL parents: What we included Children’s extracurricular activities Adult ESOL classes Summer activities and day camp programs (We make sure parents know they must register for summer programs in early spring!) Resources in the community

Webpage for ELL parents: What we included Websites of interest to parents of ELLs Educational websites for kids Websites for adult ELLs Bilingual translation dictionaries Online resources

Online resources for content teachers: Rationale Only 3 ESOL Specialists to support 40+ teachers, with little collaborative planning time Lack of time to photocopy and deliver materials to teachers; repeatedly providing the same materials Lack of opportunity to provide teachers with ESOL- related professional development More relevant and convenient for teachers to access information and resources when they need it

Online resources for content teachers: What we included ELD information: BICS & CALP, stages of language acquisition, L1 interference Cross-cultural and multicultural information Legal information; rights of ELLs Recommended reading and websites for content/mainstream teachers of ELLs “TESOL 101”

Online resources for content teachers: What we included Teaching techniques, modifications and differentiation for ELLs NC WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards and Performance Definitions NC WIDA “Can Do” chart of English proficiency levels ELD curriculum and instruction

Online resources for content teachers: What we included Reading and writing templates Modified Language Arts activities List of high interest/low reading level books for older ELLs Vocabulary lists for various content areas Math, science and social studies templates New arrival packet: What to do in 1 st week, how to make new ELLs comfortable, classroom labels Instructional materials

Online resources for content teachers: What we included List of translators/interpreters who are contracted by our school district List of private tutors, for parents of ELLs who request references Resources to use/share with ELL parents  For security reasons, we cannot post names or contact information of interpreters or tutors on our ESOL webpage

Online resources for content teachers: Mary Scroggs Elementary Documents and materials are available on my classroom page: Click on tab “Visit Ms. Tomalin’s classroom” Click on tab “ESOL Resources for Content Teachers” Username: ESOL Password: teacher0809

Presenter contact information Anne Tomalin, NBCT ESOL Specialist Mary Scroggs Elementary School 501 Kildaire Road Chapel Hill, NC