1. THE BEST OF SAMUELS

2. SAMUEL I Myths and Realities Second Language Acquisition
Classroom Strategies in Content Teaching
Assessing in Proficiency Levels

3. Second Language Acquisition: Myths & Misconceptions
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Agree
Disagree 1
When an EL has acquired communicative fluency, he will be able to handle academic assignments with little difficulty. 2
Oral fluency is a strong indicator that an EL will succeed in the classroom. 3
Placing a child learning English in a mainstream classroom will ensure that he/she will succeed in learning English quickly.
Have each person answer the following questions individually.
Review

4. (Whole Group) What is BICS, give me an example
(Whole Group) What is BICS, give me an example? (This is conversational English such as “playground English”)
“ “ What is CALP, what are some examples? (This is the language required of an EL when learning academic English in the content areas. Examples in math are knowing what plus, minus, add, subtraction mean).
Dwell upon the importance of the two for our students. (It is important that we realize it takes about 6 months to a year for our ELs to learn basic English (BICS) and that it takes from years for some ELs to learn CALP, academic English.)

5. Social Language Academic Language
BICS is the social language, and CALP is the academic language. It is under the iceberg because it takes much longer to reach the surface.

6. Developmental Stages of Second Language Acquisition
•Preproduction WIDA→ • Entering
• Early Production • Beginning
• Speech Emergence • Developing
• Intermediate Fluency • Expanding
• Advanced Fluency • Bridging
Pair with someone you do not know, “Why is it important to know your ELs language developmental stage? (You need to know this so you can design lessons that are comprehensible to your EL)
How will it help you to know their language developmental stage when teaching content subjects in the classroom? (By knowing the developmental stage of your EL, it is easy to develop lessons in science, math, etc because the levels tell you what can be expected of your EL in their language development. Using the WIDA “Can do Indicators” is also helpful when teaching in the content ).

7. Begins to produce words they have heard and understood repeatedly
Which of the following will an EL experience in all of the stages of language acquisition?
Silent stage
Begins to produce words they have heard and understood repeatedly
Develops receptive vocabulary
Entering/Preproduction
Beginning/Early Production
Which one of these will a student experience in every stage of development. “building a receptive voc.”
ALL

8. Strategies for teaching els in the content area
ELs experience challenges specific to content areas.
A multitude of strategies can be used to help meet these challenges. (hands-on activities, graphic organizers, group activities, step by step directions, etc)
Every content area has a vocabulary specific to that content area (even Math).
Challenges specific to
Science-multi-step directions, Scientific method, making predictions and drawing conclusions
Social Studies-Limited background knowledge, complexity of text, limited understanding of cultural issues
Math-different formation of numbers/symbols, use of math manipulatives can be considered play, Math voc.
Reading-idioms, homophone, homonyms, synonyms, antonyms, text with large number of unknown words.
Writing-verb tense, pronouns, limited sense of what “sounds right”, limited ability to edit own text

9. Ideas for assessing els
Entering/Beginning
Advanced Beginners-Intermediate
Yes/no or single word responses
Pointing/gesturing cloze activities
Hands-on tasks
Class projects
Group work
Portfolios
KWL charts
Role playing
Completion of graphic organizers
Simplified study guides
Limit assessment to key vocabulary of concepts
Allow students use of notes or texts.
Answer essay questions orally
Simply essay questions into manageable parts
Use larger type, more white space
Fill in modified outline, story web

10. SAMUEL II
Exploring Culture
Importance of Parental Involvement

11. Exploring Culture

12. Stand Up If… Stand Up and Be Counted
Click twice
Read
Stand up if.....
• you speak another language
• one of your grandparents speaks another language.
• you consider yourself old.
• you feel your profession is respected by others.
• you consider yourself a member of a minority group.
• you see yourself as disabled in any way.
• you think you are really good at your profession.
• you consider yourself well educated.
• you consider yourself financially secure.
• one of your parents came to the U.S. from a foreign country.
• one of your(great) grandparents graduated from college.
• you have traveled outside of North America.
Ask:
Which items were you reluctant to stand up for and why?
How did it feel to be standing alone or with just a few people?
This activity is designed to demonstrate how we are all members of a minority

13. Cultural Truths or Stereotypes
Question
Agree
Disagree
1. You arrive at dinner an hour late in Costa Rica. Your hosts will be insulted.
2. The parents of your student from Brazil show that they don’t care how their child is doing in school when they arrive 45 minutes late for a conference with you.
3. Your Mexican parents keep their children out of school on the flimsiest of pretexts. They don’t care about their children’s education.
4. Your new student from Argentina stares at you all the time. The student is belligerent and wasn’t taught any manners.
Answer each question alone.
Share your answers and view points of these cultural occurrences at your tables.
Review with whole group (answers below)
1. In many Latin American countries, an invitation for 9:00 does not really mean 9:00. A 9:00 dinner will probably not be served
until 11:00 p.m. This holds true for Arab countries, India and Pakistan cultures.
2. The concept of time in most South American countries is different from time in the U.S.A. 45 minutes is still acceptable for waiting
period. If a person is too prompt, he is considered a status seeker.
3. It’s not that they don’t care about education but that the family is more highly valued. If a family member needs help, that is a priority.
4. Staring is not considered rude in many Latin American cultures.

14. CULTURE PRIDE SHIELD
Review this activity with participants. Let them know this is a good activity for family night.
Participant ACTIVITY: draw a shield shape on a piece of paper. Divide it into 4 sections. In the first section write your name and any nicknames you go by, both at school and home.
In the second section through 4th section draw symbols or words to represent
Self
B. Your family
C. Your culture
3. Then share as a whole group…
This activity is A WAY OF EXPRESSING WHO YOUR ELS ARE AND IT HELPS THEM FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE THEY COME FROM. IT HELPS TO SHARE CULTURE IN A POSITIVE MANNER WHILE INCLUDING THEIR PARENTS/CULTURE IN THE MAINSTREAM CLASSROOM.

15. 9 Truths about Parental Involvement (Tery Medina)
Parents have hopes and dreams for their children. The home is the primary of several domains that simultaneously influence a child’s education. The parent is the central contributor to a child’s formal and informal education. Parental involvement requires a vision, a policy and a structure for support and action.

16. 9 Truths about Parental Involvement (Tery Medina) cont.
Parental involvement is a process, not a program of activities. Parents’ interaction with their own children is the cornerstone of involvement. Barriers to Parental Involvement are found within school policies and practices. Any parent can be “hard to reach”. Successful Parental involvement nurtures relationships and partnerships.

17. Did You Know?
“The way schools care about children is reflected in the way schools care about the children’s families”
(Epstein, 1995)
Participants write names of two students on a separate sticky note.
Participants take sticky notes up to the front and stick them on a board or chart paper (wherever is conducive)
Share statistics (from Colorin Colorado, 2002).
50% of latino students drop out of school by the ninth grade (remove ½ of sticky-notes to show 50%).
20% drop out of high school before grade 12 (remove another handful).
Another 10% are not able to pass state required test and receive a diploma (remove more names)
As everyone looks at remaining names, continue with the graduation rate.
Say “the only way students will achieve college and career ready is through strong support through school and home.”
Read quote. (click)

18. Did You Know?
According to a review of recent research published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (2002), students whose parents are actively involved in their education, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to:
Earn higher grades and test scores and
enroll in higher-level programs.
Be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits.
Attend school regularly.
Have better social skills, show improved behaviors, and adapt well to school.
Graduate and go on to post-secondary education.
Discuss the slide.

19. Redefining Parental Involvement
Investing in families You’ve got to remove the barriers in order to build the bridge Be proactive do not expect the parents to just enter your school on their own Create a welcoming environment for parents by building on their cultural values Parent liaisons who not only understand the culture and the language but also have “shared experiences” are better able to act as intermediaries between families and school staff

20. We Can Also Hold…
Family Literacy Nights Family Math Nights Family Night Dinners Multicultural Day: Families share their country crafts, foods, arts. Music, dance to entire school. Adopt a student- EL parent helps an EL child with school work. Parents read in their first language a story book to regular classroom.
Review each bullet.

21. We Can Also…
When studying EL’s country/culture we can invite parents in the classroom to share culture and artifacts. If parent does not speak their child can speak while the parent shows artifacts.
Ask parents to translate books written by students to create bilingual books. EL students can tell parents what the page says and parents can write it in their first language.
Ask students to interview parents about a specific topic to share with the classroom.
In the EL classroom allow students to plan a family reception and put on a show for parents.
Discuss bullets

22. SAMUEL III
WIDA Standards
Standards Based Assessment

23. Social Language Academic Language
BICS is the social language, and CALP is the academic language. It is under the iceberg because it takes much longer to reach the surface.

24. Language vs. Content
Language proficiency involves the language associated with the content areas. Content knowledge reflects the declarative (what) and procedural knowledge (how) associated with the content. 24

25. BOTTOM LINE . . .
For students to achieve academically and demonstrate learning on a larger scale, such as high stakes assessments, they MUST master Academic Language.
In order to master Academic Language we must adhere to standards that consider the Academic Language of the content areas. WIDA Standards concentrate on that language. 25

26. Five WIDA ELP Standards
Standard 1- SIL: English language learners communicate for SOCIAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL purposes within the school setting.
Standard 2 – LoLA: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of LANGUAGE ARTS.
Standard 3 – LoMA: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of MATHEMATICS.
Standard 4 – LoSC: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of SCIENCE.
Standard 5 – LoSS: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of SOCIAL STUDIES.
The WIDA ELP standards are organized into five categories:
SIL = Social and Instructional Language
LoLA = Language of Language Arts
LoMA = Language of Mathematics
LoSC = Language of Science
LoSS = Language of Social Studies
Within each framework, there are 5 standards. The 5 standards are represented in each of the 4 language domains.
WIDA Consortium / CAL / MetriTech 26

27. ELP Standard 1
ELs communicate for SOCIAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL purposes within the school setting 27

28. Social and Instructional Language
Examples of Standard 1
Social and Instructional Language
Classroom language
(ex. “Put your glue and scissors on the table”.)
Routines
(ex. “It is time to line up for P.E.”)
Instructions /assignments
(ex. “Turn to page 143 in your Social Studies book and read the first two paragraphs”.)
School behavior
(ex. “Always walk in the hallway”.)
Recreational objects and activities
(Let’s play kickball on the playground”.)
Here are just a few examples of the language that a classroom teacher might use during the day. Think of some other words that an EL child might never have heard before he/she walked through the door of the school. Also, consider that some of your younger English speaking children may have never heard some of these words before entering school. Never assume that a child/student knows what the word gym or a cafeteria means. 28

29. ELP Standard 2
ELs communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of LANGUAGE ARTS
Read slide 29

30. Standard 2 The Language of Language Arts
Writing a book report
Giving a personal narrative
Acting in a play
Discussing a story or poem
Think of some language that a student might have to know in order to successfully complete one of the above task. Choose one of the tasks and create a list of words that the student would need to have mastered.

31. ELP Standard 3
ELs communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of MATHEMATICS
Read slide 31

32. Standard 3 Language of Mathematics
Patterns
Geometry
Algebraic Equations
Describing strategies for solving problems
Units of measure
Time
Discussion of basic operations
At your table, pick one of the examples of math concepts that a student is required to be able to complete. Generate a quick list of vocabulary that an EL student may need to know to be successful.

33. ELP Standard 4
ELs communicate information, ideas and concepts for academic success in the content area of SCIENCE.
Read slide 33

34. Standard 4 Language of Science
Completing an experiment
Photosynthesis
Simple Machines
Genetics
Cell
Astronomy
Meteorology
Think of some language that a student might have to know in order to successfully complete one of the above Science tasks. Choose one of the tasks and create a list of words that the student would need to have mastered.

35. ELP Standard 5
ELs communicate information, ideas and concepts for academic success in the content area of SOCIAL STUDIES
Read slide 35

36. Standard 5 Language of Social Studies
Geography
Community/Neighborhoods
Government
Economics
Think of some language that a student might have to know in order to successfully master one of the above Soc. Studies concepts. Choose one of the tasks and create a list of words that the student would need to have mastered.

37. Four Language Domains
Listening ─ process, understand, interpret, and evaluate spoken language in a variety of situations
Speaking ─ engage in oral communication in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and audiences
Reading ─ process, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with understanding and fluency
Writing ─ engage in written communication in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes and audiences
Listening/Speaking/Reading/Writing are the four main language skills.
Listening and Reading are comprehension skills that involve receptive language;
Speaking and Writing are communication skills that require productive or expressive language.
In order to give educators a comprehensive picture of EL students’ English language proficiency – and to comply with federal law - all four domains are tested on the ACCESS for ELs test and the W-APT screener. 37

38. Levels of English Language Proficiency6
ENTERING
BEGINNING
DEVELOPING
EXPANDING 1 2 3 4 5
BRIDGING
R E A C H I N G
The labels used for the six proficiency levels were created by the WIDA development team. EL status is restricted to levels 1 through 5. A student reaching level 6 shows no language characteristics that would distinguish him or her as needing special English language services. Such a student would be capable enough in all language domains: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing, to be able to benefit fully from mainstream classroom instruction. Note that a student at a lower level in the policy set by states or school districts may be designated as functionally able to participate in and benefit from regular classroom instruction and may, in fact, be exited from special English language services. In Alabama, the exit level is 4.8.
WIDA Consortium / CAL / MetriTech 38 38

39. Criteria for Performance Definitions (Review)
ENTERING
BEGINNING
DEVELOPING
EXPANDING
BRIDGING 5 4 3 2 1 6
R E A C H I N G
Linguistic Complexity:
The amount and quality of speech or writing for a given situation
Vocabulary Usage:
The specificity of words or phrases for a given context
Language Control:
The comprehensibility of the communication based on the amount and type of errors
Remind the participants what each criteria means because the next activity involves using them in the WIDA writing rubric.
WIDA Consortium 39

40. Performance Level Expectations at Different Proficiency Levels
Language Proficiency
(Performance Level Descriptions)
1 Entering
2 Beginning
3 Developing
4 Expanding
5 Bridging
PIs
L 1
L 2
L 3 L4
L 5
Linguistic Complexity
Vocabulary Usage
Language Control
You can see how a student’s command of each three criteria expands and develops as s/he undergoes the process of second language acquisition as it relates to CALP.
WIDA Consortium 40

41. Model performance indicators
An MPI is a language objective that contains 3 parts:
A language function word such as describe,
label, critique.
The content of the lesson
Support or scaffolding to help the EL obtain the content. 41

42. The Model Performance Indicator Language Function
Here is an example of an MPI or Language Objective. Let’s look at the 3 parts of the MPI: Language Function, Content Stem, Support or scaffold.
Click for next slide
WIDA Consortium / CAL / MetriTech 42

43. The Model Performance Indicator Language Function
Language Function = “Describe”
Content Stem = “objects of the earth or sky”
Support = “from observation, photographs or models”
The language refers to words such as describe, infer, predict, identify and state.
WIDA Consortium / CAL / MetriTech 43

44. Planning: Can Do Descriptors
Use with ELP scores from each language domain.
More specific than Performance Definitions.
Describes the language functions an EL
“CAN DO” with support at a given ELP level.
Built upon the Performance Definitions.
Most useful tool for teachers in planning.
Can you identify the “CAN DO” level in each domain for the native English speakers in your classroom?
Discuss the “Can Do Descriptors” explaining how easy it tells you what your EL can do at their English Proficiency Level. Show sample “Can Do” form. 44

45. Can-do Descriptors do not include the content stem, just the language function and support.45

46. Assessment FOR ELs

47. WIDA has a Writing and Speaking rubric that can be accessed through the WIDA website. These can be used to assess students writing ability. An ex. would be taking a writing assessment that you already have in place and scoring the assessment using this rubric. 47

48. Effective Assessment FOR ELs:
ELs MAY NOT RECEIVE FAILING GRADES or BE RETAINED AS A RESULT OF ANY LANGUAGE BARRIER. *Is an I-ELP in place? *Was appropriate instruction used to increase comprehension and develop CALP according to the student’s EPL? *Were authentic assessment methods used to evaluate EL student learning of content? *Were all content objectives included in student’s instruction? *What level of mastery on content objectives did student demonstrate?
Take turns having someone read a bullet.
Discuss Bullets 48

49. Failing Grades & Retention
Documentation to support action
Develop a protocol
Possible components:
Samples of regular and accommodated documents
Samples of graded and/or accommodated student work
Brief narrative of teacher behaviors
accommodations made
teacher observations of student behavior
contact with EL specialist
contact with parents
Discuss bullets 49

50. Grades and Retention Continued
Grades and retention should be determined through support of evidence.
ASK YOURSELF
Were accommodations provided?
Was consideration made of student’s level of language proficiency?
Were progress monitoring and intervention strategies implemented?
Discuss bullets 50

51. Instruction and Grading
Individual English Language Plan(I-ELP)
Establish language development goals
Classroom Accommodations
Lower the language barrier
Provide access to curriculum
Assessment accommodations
Grading
ELs may not receive failing grades or be retained as a function of language proficiency.
Discuss and ask questions 51

52. Where to Go for WIDA Resources
Access and download the sample ACCESS for ELLs test items and the W-APT test materials
Take Online ACCESS for ELLs Test Administrator Training Course
Read FAQs about WIDA and ACCESS for ELLs
Access your state’s page with contact information, important dates, state policies, and local training opportunities
Purchase and/or download the WIDA ELP Standards and Resource Guide
Learn more about WIDA staff, products, and services
To access the WIDA sample test items go to the WIDA website, scroll down on the side bar to the Assessment Tools, click on ACCESS for ELLs. On that page, under the ACCESS for ELLs Assessment Overview, you will see a green bar that says “Grades Sample Items.
WIDA Consortium / CAL / MetriTech 52 52

53. Contact Information
Heidi Goertzen– Title III/ESL Specialist Dely V. Roberts – Title III/ESL Specialist Dr. Tammy Hallman Starnes– Title III/ESL Coordinator 5348 Gordon Persons Building--50 North Ripley Street Montgomery, AL 53