What are some of the frequently asked questions that you have about English Language Development (ELD), second language acquisition, or other issues pertinent to the education of English learners? Feel free to leave your questions in the comment section or email them to us at eldstrategies@yahoo.com. We would like to make this blog as interactive as possible so that teachers will find it useful, so we are planning to take one or two of readers' frequently asked questions per week and blog about them.
Being that we want to tailor this blog to the needs of teachers, we greatly encourage your comments, suggestions, ideas, and feedback through the comments section or email!
Coming soon...effective practices highlights.
What are some strategies that I can use with my ells to help them with their reading comprehension?
ReplyDeleteHow can I find out what level my students are at?
ReplyDeleteShould students be grouped by proficiency levels during their ELD instruction?
ReplyDeleteWe welcome you to our network of parent advisory groups/ School level: Each school with 21 or more English Learners has an ELAC, or English Learner Advisory Committee. Their meeting dates are publicized by the school; please contact your principal for further information. Our ELACs meet from 4-8 times per year and discuss topics of interest to parents of English Learners. All parents are invited! District Level: Our district holds a DELAC (District English Learner Advisory Committee) meeting monthly at the district office in the Board Room. These meetings are from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Child care and simultaneous, oral translations into Spanish are provided. Eight training topics are covered each year at these meetings, and we have special speakers and programs based on parents’ requests for additional information.
ReplyDeletehow to jump higher
In terms of assessment, Ballard & Tighe publishers have a test that is really easy to administer. It is called the Quick Informal Assessment and comes in both English and Spanish versions. They assess both oral/aural skills as well as literacy skills and do not need training to administer. Their website for this is http://www.ballard-tighe.com/pdfs/QIASampler.pdf
ReplyDeleteI recommend this to teachers who need the information before the official state scores come in.
Marnie Schwartz, MA
ELL Teacher Pros
Santa Rosa, CA
The question about proficiency level grouping is an ongoing debate. It depends on the task and what your goals are. If you are working on the same objective and you differentiate your groups, then not necessarily. However, everyone learns by being exposed to others who know more or who have better skills. for this reason, I usually have heterogeneous groups. I pair the higher level ELLs with native speakers sometimes because they need the input.
ReplyDeleteMarnie Schwartz, MA
ELL Teacher Pros
Santa Rosa, CA
Hi,
ReplyDeleteReading comprehension is a tough topic. Make sure the book is at their reading level and I'd make sure I developed the background knowledge they need to understand the reading, use DRTA questioning, graphic organizers, and probably a product based on learning style - poem, poster, news report, etc.
Marnie Schwartz, MA
ELL Teacher Pros
Santa Rosa, CA