In the Know with ESOL 2.0

A playful professional learning community for research-based strategies and critical information for your ESOL journey

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ELL Progress Reports or Report Card Addendums

For ESL/ELLs that are difficult to grade due to low English proficiency, it can be disheartening to send home a report card with mostly 1s. The teachers and parents in my district appreciate this attachment to entering ELLs' report cards that allow teachers to show strengths that their

Several teachers have expressed concerns that parents of our ELs need more than just report cards or progress reports in order to understand the academic and language progress of our ELs. This amazing resource can be found on teacherspayteachers.com. Check it out to see if one of these report card add-ons would work for your ELs! This resource is only $2.00!

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Model Lesson

Check out this model lesson with best practices for ELs. Watch Mrs. Martin teach a lesson with content, language, and social objectives, speaking frames, and...

Mrs. Jennifer Martin from White Elementary invites us into her classroom for this model lesson. What a great example of how to empower students to engage in academic discourse! This is the best 6 minutes you’ll spend today!

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Did you know a full year of membership to GATESOL is only $30? If you haven’t joined GATESOL yet, now is the time! In addition to the usual benefits of membership, our local region has a great lineup of ESOL collaboration and training events for our region in 2018. All events are free to GATESOL members! Registration is now open at www.gatesol.org. Just click on the events calendar. While you’re registering, remember to register your children for the Lego Time during each GATESOL Saturday Session! Amazing training AND free childcare? How awesome is that!

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Read Across DOE

To celebrate Read Across America Day, Georgia Department of Education staff reads, "Oh the Places You'll Go!"

How fun! Watch the Georgia DOE celebrate Read Across America Day! 

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Study tracks progress of Kindergarten Els in Philadelphia. 

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Just a reminder that with Model Performance Indicators, 3 really IS the magic number! These three parts of an MPI work together to make sure that your lesson is appropriate for your English learners.

Language Function: Given your EL’s language level, what is your EL able to do with the language on this assignment? 

Content: What is your assignment about (Driven by grade level standards)?

Support: What scaffolds or accommodations will your EL need on this assignment?

WIDA’s Resource Guide for Understanding the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards is a great resource while building your MPIs. Check it out here!

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What a “cool” way to describe the amount of language acquired at each proficiency level! How much more language is required to fill the cone to Level 3 than to Level 1! Tammy King’s blog entry on proficiency levels is a great read. Check it out! http://widaatwcer.blogspot.com

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We are getting ready for 2018 ACCESS for ELLs 2.0. Check out this quick Q&A on what you can expect. For more information on the ACCESS test, see the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs Q&A at https://www.wida.us/assessment/ACCESS20.aspx#faqs

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A chat about finding ways to effectively communicate with parents who have limited English proficiency

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During a speech last month at a meeting of the Council of Great City Schools in Cleveland, Ohio, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates outlined a change of direction in his foundation’s approach to education funding in the U.S., while highlighting the application of data analytics to discover priorities for English learners. He expects to invest close …

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Bartow County Math Homework

An introduction to Math Homework Talk with parents

Math class isn’t just about numbers anymore. Students are explaining, describing strategies, and justifying the process used to find their answers. Parents can help prepare their children for the language of the math classroom by starting math conversations during homework time. The full files are too large to post here, but if you’d like us to email a printable page of the bookmarks or the full PowerPoint on Math Homework Talk to present at an upcoming parent event, just comment below!

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Mrs. Elrod received her bachelor’s degree from Shorter College in Early Childhood Education and obtained a master’s degree from Jacksonville State University in the area of Leadership (P-12). Mrs. Elrod also has endorsements in the areas of Reading, ESOL, Gifted, and Math. 

ESOL Team: You offer a great deal of group work opportunities in your classroom. How do you determine how your groups are formed?

Mrs. Elrod: I use a variety of ways to form groups depending on the activity and how well students have mastered the skills needed in order to complete the task. Sometimes I will group based on strengths and weaknesses of skills; other times I may let the students create groups or have them choose a color-cube. I try to mix the students up as much as possible, so that they are not always with the same team or with a friend that they may rely on more than is needed.

ESOL Team: How do you ensure that they are using academic language and content objectives, and that comprehensible input is taking place or happening during group work?

Mrs. Elrod: I do a lot of walk around monitoring and just listening...not talking. If I see that a group may be struggling with the task discussion I may offer a question to further the student's involvement. We do a lot of checkpoints, especially in writing. I am lucky to have a team of wonderful teachers during the class when my ESOL students are served which allows us to meet more often with the students as a one-on-one or small group of 2 or 3 students. I also sometimes do a ticket out the door to check the students' understanding or confusions. I feel that my classroom is one that is safe and inviting, so the students will not hesitate to ask questions or for clarifications.

ESOL Team:  I noticed that the groups are student-led with very little input from the teacher.  How are the student leaders chosen and what benefit do you see from having them conduct the groups as opposed to the teacher leading and directing the group work?

Mrs. Elrod: At times I will choose a leader, but this year using the more student-led small groups has naturally brought leaders to the front. Some students that have always sat in the background have really stood out as taking a leading role. I believe using the student-led small group discussion format has brought forth more of a risk-free environment for the students, as well as just always making sure the classroom is a safe "it's okay to make a mistake" environment. I have seen the confidence of the students grow in just the small amount of time that I have used this approach and would recommend it to everyone. Be prepared though for your classroom to have noise because it is not a quiet zone when using this approach.