🧡❤️Time for Past Tense Verbs💚💙

Hello everyone and thanks for joining me!❤️🧡

Teaching irregular verbs spans first to 3rd grade and beyond.  Here is a quick look at some of the Common Core Standards for irregular verbs.  

Students quickly understand that irregular past tense verbs don’t end with ed but make the past tense more creatively!

Sometimes past tense verbs are tricky!  

Here are some irregular past tense verbs that don’t change between tenses!

bet            bid             broadcast

cut            hit              hurt

let             put            quit

set            shut          spread

Some verbs can be regular or irregular:

Burn                   burned/burnt

Dream                dreamed/dreamt

Hang                   hung/hanged

HAPPY TEACHING

from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2019/08/time-for-past-tense-verbs.html

11 Back-to-School Strategies for Teachers of ELs

Have you ever thought of what kind of support you would need if you were dropped into a classroom in a country where very few people spoke English? Think now of the newly arrived English learners (ELs) in our classrooms who must learn to speak, read, and write in English, but also must become acclimated to a new culture and learning environment. Because August is my fifth anniversary of writing blogs for TESOL, I went back over the list of what I have written to find 11 back-to-school strategies for teachers of ELs. Here are 11 ideas to use when you go back to school.

11 Back-to-School Strategies

1. Create a welcoming environment for ELs
Teachers can alleviate many fears experienced by newly arrived ELs by creating a welcoming environment in their classes. A nurturing teacher and welcoming classmates can greatly help beginning ELs cope with the challenges they face. The more comfortable new arrivals feel in your classroom, the more quickly they will be able to learn.

2. Build a positive asset-based relationship with ELs
When you genuinely care about the ELs in your classroom and demonstrate concern for their social and emotional well-being, you will have a substantial influence on their motivation to learn. Your relationship with these students is crucial to their success in school.

3. Pronounce students’ names correctly
Mispronouncing a student’s name can negate his or her identity and impede academic progress. Depending on their context, your ELs may have lost all that is familiar: friends, extended family, school, teachers, and so on. Don’t take their name from them, too.

4. Understand how culture shock affects ELs’ adjustment to learning in the United States
Moving to a new school can be difficult for any student, but for those who have to learn a new culture and language, the change can be devastating. If your ELs are coming to a U.S. school for the first time, they will experience culture shock that can dramatically affect their first year in a U.S. school.

5. Celebrate the cultures of your ELs and help them develop pride in their heritage
Take advantage of the natural resource that is in your classroom and support ELs from diverse backgrounds to develop pride in their heritage.

6. Teach the hidden curriculum of your school
The hidden curriculum encompasses various characteristics of schooling that “everybody knows.” It usually consists of a wide variety of social skills, such as interactions with peers and teachers, and includes the fundamental values and beliefs of a school community.

7. Allow ELs to speak their home language in school for academic purposes
When students speak their home language to learn English, it is an asset, not a barrier. As Jim Cummins says, “To reject a child’s language is to reject the child.”

8. Become a culturally relevant or responsive educator
Adopt a pedagogy grounded in the idea that educators teach to students’ unique cultural strengths. Consider what schema your ELs bring to the classroom and link instruction to their personal, cultural, and world experiences.

9. Teach Content-Area Vocabulary explicitly
Teachers need to know what ELs have already learned or experienced. Explicit links to previously taught text should be emphasized to activate prior knowledge.

10. Meet the language needs of ELs through scaffolding
Teachers need to take into account the language demands that ELs face in content classrooms and use scaffolding to meet these demands. When you scaffold lessons, the language is broken down into manageable pieces or chunks. This way, ELs can be given the necessary support to understand the content information provided in the lesson.

11. Communicate early in the school year with families of your ELs
One of our roles as ESL teachers is to facilitate the communication between our school and the families of our ELs. EL families may not be familiar with the practice of meeting with their child’s teacher and may not know what is expected of them during such a meeting. Many classroom teachers do not know how to communicate with family members who do not speak English and who are not familiar with U.S. school practices.

Have any of these tips worked particularly well in your practice? Do you have other ways you prepare yourself and your classroom for the new school year? Please share in the comments section, below. And have a great school year!

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/11-back-to-school-strategies-for-teachers-of-els/

🎳Games – engage your students with fun! 🎳

Hello everyone!  

I love games 🎲🎲 in the classroom and they are a big part of my practice and review time.  Many folks have asked me why I find games so valuable, so I wrote the following!  

🎳Are you struggling to get students to:

ü  pay attention

ü  participate in the lessons you teach

ü  engage in cooperative groups

ü  attend to tasks that focus on practice

ü  be responsible for their own learning

If your answer is yes to one or more I suggest you add games to your instruction.

🕹Why should we include games as part of our instruction?

When we include games in our instruction we tap into the essence of high quality instruction. Games motivate and engage student learning in so many ways.

Ø  Lowers students affective filters

Ø  Creates common classroom experiences

Ø  Develops an environment where it is fun to teach and learn

Ø  Provides a safe place to wrestle with new knowledge

Ø  Retention of knowledge through student interaction 

Ø  Expands subject or topic understanding by hearing different perspectives about the same knowledge

Ø  Constructs social skills

🎯Notes on classroom management:

Game playing needs to be highly structured. Start with your learning target or objective. Choose a game that tightly corresponds to your objective/target. Make sure the game is reinforcing your lesson.

o   Before game play cover all your expectations.

o   What starts and ends a game?

o   What will the player do?

o   What do the other students do during play?

o   How will you deal with common undesired behavior?

o   Will you use a timer or timekeeper to create a fun sense of urgency?

o   Finally, what is the consequence for misbehavior?

.

♦️Remember:

Games need to be active and engage all players.  Stick to procedures and routines for game playing.  When students know the game procedures and routines more time playing is more time learning.  Don’t hesitate to put your own spin on familiar games.  Use fun ditties to remind students of the rules!  For example, when handing out game pieces recite:  “You get what you get and don’t you don’t throw a fit!”  And when presenting dice:  “If you throw the dice off the table you loose your turn, roll it gently!” 

Have fun!❣️

from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2019/08/games-engage-your-students-with-fun.html

🏎Ready, Set, Go🏎Time for TPT’s Back to School 🚌Sale!

🏎 Ready, Set, Go 🏎

Time for TPT’s Back to School 🚌Sale!

Hello Teachers!

Happy August! 

 Are you ready to head back to school?🚌 I am!  

Thinking about how many teachers will find English Language Learners (ELLs) on classroom rosters this year, I thought I would share some ideas used to establish a warm, and supportive learning environment for second language learners.    

As teachers we know that creating a safe and secure classroom environment includes such things as:

•Arrange the classroom in a way to maximize interaction with clear walkways and designated work areas

•Post student work   

•Display classroom rules and procedures

•Model kindness, patience and respect

•Smile often, laughing with our students and giving explicit positive reinforcement

  

You can ensure a sheltered and supportive classroom for your English language learners by including labels for your room and classroom objects that include words and pictures.  This helps build vocabulary and helps limited or non-speakers know where things go and what they are called.

Don’t forget to put up your word walls!

A vocabulary word wall is an organized group of large print words posted on a bulletin board or wall in your classroom. Word walls draw attention to the words you are teaching and are used in whole class or small group activities.

Word walls provide a systematic visual vocabulary organizer that aides children in seeing and remembering connections between words and the characteristics that help them form categories and schemas to remember how to use them.

Click here to get this great freebie!
 
 
Integrate Ells’ first language and culture into your classroom when possible.  Incorporate all students into the classroom by putting up posters, books, songs and pictures of different cultures.

Remember to develop and maintain predictable procedures, schedules and routines.  I model and practice these often during the first weeks of school and adhere to them throughout the year.  Posting a schedule, content and language objectives, rules, lunch menus and bus schedules gives a sense of security to students.  Try to always include pictures and simple wording.

Establish a sense of belonging by seating ELLs in the middle of the room toward the front facing the teacher.  Make regular eye contact.  Some teachers think they should not put second language students on the spot and don’t interact with them.  I feel this allows an ELL to slip to the edges of a classroom, never participating, speaking or learning. Offer support by asking ELLs to repeat a simple statement from another student.  That keeps the student engaged while lowering the affective filter!

    Further that sense of belonging by designing classroom jobs appropriate for ELL students.  There are many classroom jobs that a limited speaker can do such as:  Handing out papers, posting lunch numbers, etc.

   Have fun this year! 
   Happy Teaching!

Here is another great product to start out your year! 
 Check it out today!

💕

 💕🎈🎈🎈🎈Click here to go to my store!

from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2019/08/ready-set-gotime-for-tpts-back-to.html

Virtual Field Trips for ELT

There are numerous ways to use technology today to take virtual field trips. These activities can be designed in many different ways. I tend to think of them as an extension of simulations or role-playing activities that have been popular in English language education for a very long time. Role-playing in language education allows us to create immersive simulated communication experiences in contextually meaningful spaces.

Traditionally, classrooms have been rearranged to resemble any number of target language practice settings: restaurants, bazaars, museums, historic sites, and so on. Learners can be placed in these spaces with specific language practice goals. With the enhancements available through various forms of technology, we can expand these immersive simulations in very interesting ways. Many of these new contexts allow learners to practice the relevant language with an increased sense of place as well as the ability to interact with and learn from virtual landscapes.

Google Street View

One of the most basic tools for creating this sense of immersion is Google Street View. Street view has been around since 2007 and allows users to experience interactive panoramas in different locations along streets around the world. I imagine most readers are already familiar with street view, but perhaps they have not considered using it as an instructional enhancement.

We have used Street View for students to visit locations prior to a physical visit or to visit a place where they had traveled or lived in the past. Users can add their own images, videos, and other contributions to these maps, making it possible to interact with others through these experiences.

One of the most simple and effective things we did in our learning labs years ago was to install a projector that projected on a wall rather than a screen. This allowed us to project from floor to ceiling, and learners could stand in front of the projection, feeling a sense of immersion. We soon expanded this to include three projectors, which was a very simple way of creating an extended experience of immersion. Readers who are interested can see a bit more about this here, but it is as simple as installing three projectors in a space with three adjoining walls.

Google Expeditions

Google has also created numerous options for us to engage in learning experiences that take advantage of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). These include Google Expeditions, Google Earth VR and Google AR. Google cardboard makes the cost of VR glasses, or viewing devices, reasonable for any classroom. However, these are not necessary because you can experience this immersion on a number of different devices. Here are a few brief videos that provide some examples and help describe how teachers can use Google Expeditions:

• Google Expeditions Tutorial
• How to Use Google Expeditions as a Teacher
• How to Use Google Expeditions

Google expeditions takes the VR experience that can often seem very isolating and turns it into a group activity that requires individuals to become leaders. The experience can transport learners to the place they are studying and allow different individuals to take responsibility for the tour. Students can be expected to engage in scavenger hunt activities or use the experience as a speaking or writing prompt. They can also be encouraged to return to these locations and share their thoughts with others (as mentioned earlier in Google Street View).

There are so many creative opportunities for instructors and learners. They can also create their own panoramas of their own locations and contribute to the growing Google Expeditions collections. Google currently has 9,076 different virtual reality tours around the world. These are situated in a wide variety of historical, social, and cultural contexts with many creating relevant opportunities for English education. Each of these tours includes numerous panoramas and information about the location that can help guide their use. Here are screenshots of some examples of different perspectives on the White House in the United States:

As well as a couple of examples about Canada:

And some VR panoramas about important and relevant topics, such as the motivations behind human migration:

Google Earth VR

Google Earth VR has also made VR available that is based upon satellite imagery so that you and your students can visit many familiar or famous places around the world. These tend to be larger and higher quality files, and they cover areas that are not included in Expeditions. Some examples of these VR sites include:

The entire collection of Google 9,076 expeditions can be found here.

Google also currently has over 100 Augmented Reality expeditions here.

I think the entry point for using these accessible virtual field trips has become so easy that all instructors should try them out. How have you used virtual field trips in your classroom? Please share in the comments below.

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/virtual-field-trips-for-elt/

Video Games and Violence: Facts and Fear

Video games are back in the news again after a series of tragedies in the United States. It has become a familiar pattern, a young adult commits violence and an immediate response is to lay blame upon video games as the catalyst for the anger behind their abhorrent actions.

In the media, this blaming of video games is framed as a debate. It’s not. Decades of research have conclusively shown that playing video games does not increase aggression or violent behavior in players. The misalignment between the data and the perception can lead to educators needing to justify their use of video games in the classroom against unfounded concerns from administrators and parents about the dangers video games pose. As proponents of video games for learning, our role in these times is to help others separate evidence-based fact from fear and scapegoating.

As Bogost (2019) outlines, early studies on video games and aggression contained vague definitions of violent video games; Pac-Man was considered violent. Some of these early studies relied upon self-reported data collected through surveys without observing the act of gameplay itself. Critically, assumptions entrenched in the researchers positioned video games as a destructive influence. Video games inherited from cartoons and comic books before them the mantle of blame for society’s ills.

Since those early studies, the popularity of video games has ballooned. Yet, as Snyder (2006) documents, the rise of video games corresponded with a marked decrease in youth-related violent crime. Defenders of the misguided belief that video games cause violence will often point to the fact youth who commit violent crimes play video games. Some do. What’s problematic about this claim is 90% of teens (n= 743) play video games (Pew Research Center, 2018). When practically everyone plays some form of digital game, it’s easy to make unfounded correlations.

As video game literacy has increased, researchers have developed a more nuanced understanding of the role video games play in the lives of teens and young adults. Kutner and Olson’s (2008) Grand Theft Childhood investigated the role video games play in the lives of kids. Where Kutner and Olson innovated in their research was to ask kids about their gameplay habits devoid of assumptions toward those habits. Focus groups with kids and parents found video games are a highly social activity—not the domain of socially isolated misanthropes. More revealing was that boys in the focus group played violent video games as a way to cope with anger and stress. Video games are not a catalyst for anger and stress, but a pressure release valve for them.

Studies purportedly linking video games to violence have been questioned on mismatched results and hampered by the inability of fellow researchers to duplicate the results. Prominent video game researcher Brad Bushman has been a frequent speaker and consultant on the violent effects of video games. Three of his papers have now been retracted, with one of the retractions resulting in the Ohio State University revoking the PhD of one of his coauthors. When it comes to connecting video games to violent acts, the data have been absent at best and manipulated at worst.

This lack of reliable data on one side contrasts sharply with studies and reports documenting no connection between games and violence. As Christopher J. Ferguson, a Stetson University psychologist, tells Bogost (2019) “there’s not a relationship between violent video games and violence in society. There’s not evidence of a correlation, let alone a causation” (para. 14).

Ferguson’s claim is bolstered by conclusions reached by the American Psychological Association’s Society for Media Psychology and Technology (note that Ferguson is the chair of the committee) and the 2018 Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety, which concluded video games are a distraction from other societal and behavioral factors that lead to violent behavior.

In one of the more recent studies, Przybylski and Weinstein (2019) surveyed adolescents (n = 1,004) and their caretakers to test the hypothesis that video game play is positively related to aggressive behavior as defined by the caretakers. The research found evidence of angry feelings stemming from competition or feelings of incompetence while playing, but found no statistically significant indication of aggression. Sometimes, kids get angry and frustrated playing video games, but not violent.

Video games do not cause violent or antisocial behavior. As educators, it’s important to set aside fear or worry and look squarely at the facts. It’s our responsibility to do our part to cut through the noise of people looking for something to blame in order to avoid the tough questions and hard choices. Video games shouldn’t have to suffer with that burden—the data show they don’t deserve it.

Until next month, be good to each other.

References and Research

American Psychological Association. (2017). News media, public education and public policy committee. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/policy/violent-video-games.aspx

Bogost, I. (2019, August 5). Video-game violence is now a partisan Issue. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/08/video-game-violence-became-partisan-issue/595456/

Federal Commission on School Safety. (2018). Final report of the federal commission on school safety (Report No. 123). Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/documents/school-safety/school-safety-report.pdf

Kutner, L., & Olson, C. (2008). Grand theft childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games and what parents can do. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

McCook, A. (2018, August 31). Prominent video game-violence researcher loses another paper to retraction [web log]. Retrieved from https://retractionwatch.com/2018/08/31/prominent-video-game-violence-researcher-loses-another-paper-to-retraction/

Oransky, I. (2017, August 25). Updated: Ohio State revokes PhD of co-author of now-retracted paper on shooter video games [web log]. Retrieved from https://retractionwatch.com/2017/08/25/co-author-now-retracted-paper-shooter-video-games-may-phd-revoked/

Pew Research Center. (2018, May 31). Teens, social media, & technology. Washington, DC: AUthor. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2018/05/PI_2018.05.31_TeensTech_FINAL.pdf.

Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2019). Violent video game engagement is not associated with adolescents’ aggressive behaviour: Evidence from a registered report. Royal Society Open Science, 6(2). Retrieved from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.171474

Snyder, H. N. (2006, December). Juvenile arrests 2004. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/video-games-and-violence-facts-and-fear/

☀️Learning Centers Made Simple! Part 3☀️

Hello everyone!
 ☀️Learning Centers Made Simple!  Part 3☀️

This is part 3 of using centers in your classroom…

Have you wanted to try centers in your classroom, but weren’t sure where to start?  Have you tried centers and not been successful?  If you answered yes to either of these questions, read on and I will try and answer some basic questions teachers often have about  centers.

Welcome to a center-based classroom!

Imagine walking into your classroom and seeing students in small groups working cooperatively. One group sits at a center with the teacher for guided reading instruction. Another group of children work at a theme center sequencing the life cycle of an insect. At the next center, students work together restructuring a story with sentence strips. The teacher signals for attention; the students quiet for directions. Students clean up their centers and rotate to the next center, going right to work.  Centers can be done simply with the helpful hints we give you here. Read on and

make centers a reality in your classroom!

💜💜💜

By providing a center-based environment in your classroom, you will be able to give your attention to small groups of children during “guided reading.” Research shows that this small-group instruction is one of the primary components that leads to strong readers. Centers also allow you to teach to all the student levels that are in your classroom. Your choice to run centers in your classroom will also teach your students how to work cooperatively in small groups. Learning centers allow you to teach “responsibility” as students work independently, practicing and

reviewing skills and concepts at each center. 

💜💜💜

Q: How does a center-based classroom look?

A: Many teachers use tables and desks against the walls in

their classroom. You can use student desks as a center, too.

During center time, the desks will be empty and small groups of children will be sitting at centers throughout the room. The teacher at guided reading will have her/his back to the wall in order to see all centers at a glance from where she/he sits.

💜💜💜

Q: How many adults do I need to run centers in my classroom?

A: Just you! When you teach the routines and procedures of

your centers well, your students will learn how to work without supervision during center time.

💜💜💜

Q: How long is center time?

A: That depends on you and on how many centers you have

each day. If you have five groups of students rotating through five centers and spending 15 minutes at each center, then you will need 1 hour and 15 minutes for center time. Six groups of children rotating through six centers will need an hour and a half. Remember to add a little extra time for the rotation of

groups when determining the time you will allot for centers.

💜💜💜

Q: When it is time to change centers, how do I get my students’ attention?

A: Ringing a bell or calling out “freeze” or “give me five” are great ways to call your students to attention. Teach your students to “freeze” when the signal is given and to listen for instructions.

Happy Teaching,

Lori

For more in depth information on running centers in an elementary classroom Click Here! 

 Click Here!

from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2019/08/learning-centers-made-simple-part-3.html

☀️Learning Centers Made Simple! Part 2☀️

Hi everyone,
 ☀️Learning Centers Made Simple!  Part 2☀️

Let’s continue on our discussion on running a center based classroom.  Let’s take a look at the answers to some common questions teachers have as they get started!

 Questions and Answers!

Q: What is a center?

A: A center is a physical area in a classroom set aside for a specific

learning purpose. The center has appropriate materials and supplies

so students can work individually or in cooperative groups.

 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Q: How many students should I put in each group?

A: We recommend three to four students in each group at each center.

 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Q: How long do students spend at each center?

A: Twenty to thirty minutes at each center is an adequate amount of time for students to complete most center activities.

 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Q: How do students know where to go when it is time to rotate centers?

A: By teaching and practicing the routines and procedures you want followed at center time, your students will know what you want them to do. We suggest you follow a clockwise rotation pattern to rotate students through centers.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Q: How do I group my students for centers?

A: To teach to the varied levels in all classrooms, we suggest you group your students by reading abilities. By grouping students this way, you can meet the instructional needs of all your students in language arts. Learning centers will allow you to teach to your low, medium, and high ability groups and move everyone forward.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

For more in depth information on running centers in an elementary classroom Click Here!

Check out our next post for more insights to running centers in your classroom!

Happy Teaching,

For more in depth information on running centers in an elementary classroom Click Here!

from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2019/08/learning-centers-made-simple-part-2.html

☀️Learning Centers Made Simple!☀️

Hello everyone!

☀️Learning Centers Made Simple!☀️

Have you wanted to try learning centers in your classroom, but weren’t sure where to start?  

🌋Have you tried centers and not been successful? 

If you answered yes to either of these questions, read on and I will try and answer some basic questions teachers often have about math and literacy centers.

Let’s start with the basics! 🅱

What does a center-based classroom look like?

A well-run center-based classroom will have small groups of children working independently at all of the centers, the teacher leading a small group at the guided reading center and perhaps a parent facilitating another center.  The children will be engaged in the activities, well trained about the procedures, and involved in their own learning.

 

What’s the rationale?

Learning centers facilitate growth and learning!

💭 Learning centers provide an opportunity for small-group

reading instruction.

💭  Learning centers enhance student learning.

💭  Learning centers teach students responsibility.

💭  Learning centers allow you to teach to a variety of

learning styles.

💭  Learning centers offer a wider variety of activities for

students to learn from.

💭  Learning centers allow students to work at their own level

while reviewing and practicing skills.

💭  Learning centers promote cooperative learning

 Stay tuned for the next post and the answers to some common questions about Learning Centers.

Happy Teaching😊

For more in depth information on running centers in an elementary classroom Click Here!

Happy Teaching!

Lori

from Fun To Teach – Grammar, Language, Math, ESL/ELD, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Centers and more! https://esleld.blogspot.com/2019/08/learning-centers-made-simple.html

Back-to-School Basics: Avoiding Civil Rights Violations (Part 1)

It is the middle of summer in the United States and for some school districts the 2019–2020 school year has already started. Welcome back! For others, it will be starting soon. This blog, the second in a series dedicated to the civil rights of English learners (ELs), highlights a back-to-school basic: the enrollment process. Ah, yes, the paper work involved with starting school!

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Civil Rights in partnership with the Department of Justice issued the Dear Colleague letter outlining the 10 most common civil rights violations related to ELs in K–12 settings. It’s no surprise that the first two violations are the following:

1. Identification and assessment of language needs in a timely manner
2. A service model that is educationally sound and research based

Think about these two procedures for a moment, and ask yourself these questions:

1. What is your school’s and/or district’s enrollment process like?
2. Could you fully describe it if asked?
3. Could other educators you work with fully describe the process?
4. Who is directly and indirectly involved?

Undoubtedly, each new school year, there will be new students. Their family members will enroll them in school and be asked to complete a number of documents. One form may be a Home Language Survey (HLS), sometime referred to as the Home Usage Survey (HUS). Depending upon the answers about the language used in their homes, students are then screened/assessed for their level of English proficiency to see if they are eligible for language support services. In some cases, students are also screened for their native language proficiency level.

This is where the first civil rights violation comes into play.

Violation 1: Identifying English Learners

A number of missteps at this stage can result in an EL failing to be screened. For example, inadvertently overlooking the language parents noted on the HLS during the enrollment process or neglecting to notify the person responsible for screening students can both lead to students slipping by the screening process. All the while, parents/guardians must be informed of the process as well as their rights regarding services for their child.

Mistakes happen.

So, how do we work to assure the procedures are solid and that all stakeholders are informed and prepared to welcome new students this school year?

One suggestion is to provide ongoing professional learning for educators around enrollment procedures—especially for those with whom the families may come in contact first (e.g., school secretaries, paraprofessionals).

Violation 2: Providing Appropriate Language Support

The second violation revolves around students who are eligible for language support programs and classes in which they’re enrolled. The type of language support offered is directly related to the types of programs offered. Here are some of the program types that may be available:

• English Language Development (ELD)
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Sheltered Instruction
• Bilingual Education
• Transitional Bilingual
• Dual Language

Schools and districts may offer one or a combination of any the aforementioned models. Ultimately, the program(s) must adhere to the mandates outlined by the USDOE OELA. Castañeda v. Pickard mandates a three-part criteria to assure that programs for English learners encompass the following:

1. The educational theory underlying the language assistance program is recognized as sound by some experts in the field or is considered a legitimate experimental strategy.
2. The program and practices used by the school system are reasonably calculated to implement effectively the educational theory adopted by the school.
3. The program succeeds, after a legitimate trial, in producing results indicating that students’ language barriers are actually being overcome within a reasonable period of time.

Once students are identified as eligible for language support services, it is important that they receive that support—but, sometimes, such students are not placed in the programs.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What language programs does your school and/or district offer?
2. Could you fully describe them if asked?
3. Could other educators you work with fully describe the program(s)?
4. Who is directly and indirectly involved?
5. Most important, what are the implications of placement?

Violation Scenario: “Now What?”

A family enrolls their child, an 8 year old, into a U.S. public school for the first time. They indicate they speak Arabic and English at home. The child is screened for his level of English proficiency and is eligible for language support. The parents are notified that their child is eligible for language support services. This school does not have an English/Arabic bilingual program model; they offer a daily segment of ESL. The parents sign the required documents and assume their child will be placed into an English language support program. But, the child is never placed into a language support program and instead is placed in a general education third-grade class.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What happens now?
2. What was supposed to happen, and why might the process have failed?
3. Depending on your role, what would you do?

---

It is just as important to prepare for new students as it is to prepare for the process by which new students and their families are welcomed into our learning communities. How prepared do you feel you are? How prepared do you feel your school is?

September’s blog will focus a bit more on program models and how we can design and sustain them for linguistically diverse learners.

from TESOL Blog http://blog.tesol.org/back-to-school-basics-avoiding-civil-rights-violations-part-1/