Scaffolds for English Language Learners in the NYS ELA and Mathematics Curriculum Modules February 4th, 2014 EngageNY.org

Agenda Overview Of English Language Learners in New York State Identify Scaffolds for ELLs Understand the approach NYSED is taking with scaffolding the ELA and Mathematics modules to support ELLs Examine curricular scaffolds in the modules Discuss the classroom implementation strategies for ELLs EngageNY.org

New York State Demographics Large geographic distribution, with ELLs concentrated in a handful of large urban districts (NYC, Brentwood, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers), but many small rural and suburban districts that also have ELLs and have many LOTE programs. Top ELL Districts # of ELLs New York City 151,558 Brentwood 5,139 Buffalo 4,103 Rochester 3,478 Yonkers 3,085 Syracuse 2,809 Spring Valley 2,125 Hempstead 1,853 Newburgh 1,555 Central Islip 1,790 Utica 1,543 Buffalo (4103) Rochester (3478) Syracuse (2809) Brentwood (5139) Hempstead (1853) Yonkers (3085) New York City (151,558) Utica (1543) Central Islip (1790) Newburgh (1555) Spring Valley (East Ramapo) (2125) 225,823 total ELLs, plus an additional 73,661 ELLs in non-public schools. Source: Public School LEP Counts as of May 31, 2013 EngageNY.org

New York State Demographics 2012-13 Top 10 ELL Home Languages Linguistically diverse state with over 140 languages spoken by our students. Two thirds of ELLs speak Spanish as their home language. Chinese is the next largest language group, followed by Arabic, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Urdu, Russian, French, Korean and Karen. The remaining 17% of ELLs speak over 190 languages, with each language representing less than 1% of the total ELL population. Note re Chinese: working with NYC to resolve some differences in data, and as indicated in Regents item ELLs who were reported to SED as “undetermined” are actually mostly Chinese speakers raising the percent of Chinese-speaking ELLs in the state from 3% to 7%. EngageNY.org

Who are our ELLs Subgroups? DEFINITION CHARACTERISTICS Newcomers ELLs with 4 to 6 Years of Service Long-term ELLs Special Education ELLs Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) Former ELLs

ELL Subgroups FORMER ELL EVER ELLs 0-3 years 4-6 years 7 + years Newcomers Long-term EVER ELLs 3+ Years Students with Interrupted Formal Education Students with Disabilities EngageNY.org

Students with Interrupted Formal Education ELLs with Disabilities ELLs served by an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). An IEP team determines a student’s eligibility for special education services and the language in which special education services are delivered. Immigrant students who come from a home in which a language other than English is spoken and: enter a United States school after the second grade; have had at least two years less schooling than their peers; function at least two years below expected grade level in reading and mathematics; and may be pre-literate in their home language EngageNY.org

Language Programs Program Type GOAL STUDENTS TRANSITIONAL BILINGUAL Providing grade-level academic work in the student’s native language so that the student maintains academic progress while developing English proficiency. Providing instruction in two languages: the language spoken at home and English. ELLs of a shared home language MAINTENANCE BILINGUAL (Two-Way Bilingual/Dual Language; One-Way Bilingual/Developmental) Students in both language groups are expected to comprehend, speak, read and write in English and the other language. The students are expected to: Meet or exceed New York State Common Core Standards; Develop proficiency in their second language; Attain a higher level of self-esteem; and Develop an appreciation for cultural diversity. ELLs and English proficient students FOREIGN LANGUAGE Students are expected to comprehend, speak, read and write in a Language Other Than English. All students ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE Students are expected to comprehend, speak, read and write in English. ELLs EngageNY.org

June 2012-2013 ELL Graduation Rates Our Challenge June 2012-2013 ELL Graduation Rates 2013 2012 Some context for why major initiatives are needed to improve outcomes for ELLs. Gap is disturbing and even more so when you consider college and career ready.

ELA Outcomes ELLs vs. Non-ELLs 2009-2013 3.2 percent of English Language Learners met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard (NYS Levels 3 or 4) in grades 3-8 While the percentage of non-ELLs proficient on the 2013 ELA assessments dropped by 43%, there was a 73% drop in proficiency for ELLs. The gap between ELLs and non-ELLs is growing. *Note: 2013 performance is measured against the more rigorous NYS Common Core Learning Standards.

Math Outcomes ELLs vs Non-ELLs 2009-2013 9.8 percent of English language learners met or exceeded the math proficiency standard (NYS Levels 3 or 4) in grades 3-8 *Note: 2013 performance is measured against the more rigorous NYS Common Core Learning Standards.

New Data Collection Ever ELLs and Former ELLs Ever ELLs: students who at some point in the New York State public school system were ELLs. Beginning in 2014-15 the Department will begin to report data on Ever ELLs. This data will allow for longitudinal studies to track how students do over time after existing from ELL status. Former ELLs: students who were ELLs at some point in the past two academic school years. The Department began to report data on Former ELLs in 2012-13 for the first time. Once 2013-14 data is reported, the Department can begin to track how well students who recently exited ELL status do as they transition out of ELL services. EngageNY.org

What is scaffolding? Both a structure and a process, scaffolding refers to dynamic and responsive supports that enable learners to develop their full potential and eventually become autonomous learners. With appropriate scaffolding for academic practices, students are able to simultaneously build conceptual understandings, academic skills, and the language needed to enact them. EngageNY.org

Scaffolding is both structure and process Scaffolding has two elements: The structure of scaffolding refers to the constant, but flexible, supports that teachers build into lessons. These structures enable the process of scaffolding, which unfolds in moment-to-moment classroom interactions as teachers support students’ participation and construction of understanding. Constant evaluation of the in-the-moment process of scaffolding helps teachers assess and modify their built-in scaffolding structures to move as students progress. For example, a teacher might plan ahead to divide a text into “chunks” of meaning, label them with sub-titles that clue readers to the main topic, and provide accompanying “focus” questions that help the reader determine key ideas. EngageNY.org

Types of scaffolds Modeling: finished products of prior students’ work, teacher-created samples, sentence starters, writing frameworks, shared writing. Activating and bridging prior knowledge and/or experiences: using graphic organizers, such as anticipatory guides, extended anticipatory guide, semantic maps, interviews, picture walk discussion protocols, think-pair-share, KWL. Text representation: transforming a piece of writing into a pictorial representation, changing one genre into another. EngageNY.org

Types of scaffolds Metacognitive development: self assessment, think aloud, asking clarifying questions, using a rubric for self evaluation. Contextualization: metaphors, realia, pictures, audio and video clips, newspapers, magazines. Building Schema: bridging prior knowledge and experience to new concepts and ideas. EngageNY.org

Native Language Support Full proficiency in the native language leads to higher academic gains in English. Because general structural and functional characteristics of language transfer, allowing second language learners access to content in the native language provides them with a way to construct meaning in English. EngageNY.org

Native Language Support In order to assist ELLs, the strategic use of the native language can be incorporated into: English instruction as a support structure to clarify, build prior knowledge extend comprehension bridge experiences This can be integrated into a teacher’s instructional practice through the following: technology, human resources (e.g., paraprofessionals, peers, and parents), native language materials, and flexible grouping. EngageNY.org

Example from ELA Curriculum St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves Making lessons accessible As you read, think about the challenges that the students and teachers face with a successful implementation of this lesson. Think about a specific subgroup, and the potential scaffolds that would support learning.

What Scaffolds can look like in the ELA curriculum: Schema Development and Background Knowledge Contextual Vocabulary Close Reading, Guiding and Comprehension Questions Structured Organization around writing (Graphic Organizers, models, prompts, sentence starters) Guiding questions to frame a purpose for reading Graphic organizers including sentence frames and word banks Academic word lists, but also cognates and tiered vocabulary – content specific Background, which to do correctly involves recognizing prior knowledge, which implies knowing something about them and where they come from. (including identifying vocabulary and suggested vocab-building activities for all students and ELLs with more advanced language development) EngageNY.org

Background Knowledge What the Common Core State Standards Say "ELLs with high levels of schooling can often bring to bear conceptual knowledge developed in their first language when reading in English. However, ELLs with limited or interrupted schooling will need to acquire background knowledge prerequisite to educational tasks at hand." (CCSS) Activating prior knowledge and building background knowledge are critical to the success of ELLs

Background Knowledge: Questions to Consider Before Providing it… Q Do non-ELLs have background knowledge on the topic? A If non-ELLs are approaching a text with a certain background knowledge, ELLs should be provided with the same information Q Is the background knowledge about big issues that will help students make sense of the text? A Teachers only need to focus instruction on the background knowledge that is critical to ELLs comprehending the text. This includes key vocabulary. Determining How Much Background Knowledge to Provide for ELLs, Diane Staehr Fenner, December 12, 2013

Contextual Vocabulary ELL students may need additional structures to support their understanding and acquisition vocabulary. This may include: Explicit instruction, including preteaching Meaningful context Oral pronunciation Use of visuals http://pics.tech4learning.com/ and http://freestockphotos.com Review and repetition New vocabulary needs to be explicitly taught, and each new word should be directly linked to an appropriate strategy. Words should not be taught out of context. Pronounce each word for students, and have them repeat after you. Introduce the vocabulary in a familiar and meaningful context and then again in a content-specific setting. Review relevant vocabulary that was already introduced, and highlight familiar words that have a new meaning. Use visuals when introducing new words. Write key words on the board, and add gestures to help students interpret meaning. Have students create their own visuals to aid their learning. Provide a variety of activities to practice new vocabulary. Include visual images if necessary. A wide variety of free images can be found on the Internet at such sites as http://pics.tech4learning.com/ and http://freestockphotos.com/ EngageNY.org 23

Sample Graphic Organizer: Hamlet Excerpted Text Selection Scaffolded Questions Grade 11 With the recognition that one may have to define “alternative” and further scaffold questions to support some ELLs. Vocabulary EngageNY.org

Reviewing Scaffolds in St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves In Table groups, review the scaffolds provided in the lesson for ELLs Consider how the scaffolds compare to those your group discussed earlier Recommend additional scaffolds and discuss opportunities for improvement Elect a group member to share with the seminar additional options for differentiation

Scaffolding EngageNY Mathematics for English Learners Anita Bright, Ph.D. Portland State University Portland, Oregon February 4, 2014 Visit http://goo.gl/Ua0fcf to access the electronic version of this document.

Classroom Support for Scaffolds Know the student’s strength and weakness based on high quality assessments, not just apparent oral proficiency Be clear about objectives and understandings for the lesson, and then adjust the linguistic demands of the materials ELLs should produce. The objective can be reached in different ways Set common lesson objectives for all students and figure out ways to make it manageable for all students Avoid\ pairing high and low proficiency students Use flexible, not fixed, groups, and let students do some differentiating by offering a choice of activities Allow the same time period for a set of differentiated tasks

In Closing Applying this to the Modules Applying this to the Classroom The Home-School Connection at all Ages Questions

New York State Education Department Initiatives for English Language Learners Commissioner’s Regulation Part 154 Blueprint for ELL Success Seal of Biliteracy ELL Curriculum Students with Interrupted Formal Education Native Language Arts (NLA) ELL Scaffolds Math Translations (5 languages)\ Bilingual Common Core Progressions ELL Leadership Council Students with Interrupted Formal Education Initiatives Bridges Identification material Resources Assessments NLA assessment NYSITELL NYSESLAT Videos EngageNY.org