1. Academic Language and Curriculum for ELL Students-What Parents Should Know
Beth Keeny & Allison Schmidt
ELL Teachers
Howard B. Thomas Grade School

2. What do our groups look like at each level?
Kindergarten: Students meet in small groups for 30 minutes a day.
Focus of groups is mainly on speaking and listening.
Read-alouds and shared writing activities, as well as interactive stories and games.
Individualized computer programs to target skills students struggle with, or to introduce students to new material they are ready for.
Small literacy groups later in the year
Discussion and sharing of different languages, cultures, and traditions
1st and 2nd Grade: Students meet in small literacy groups for 30 minutes a day.
Groups emphasize learning to read and write in English.
English grammar and syntax
Expanding vocabulary so students can express themselves verbally and in writing.
Individualized computer programs

3. What do our groups look like at each level? (continued)
3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade: Students meet in small literacy groups for 30 minutes a day.
Groups mainly focus on reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and writing at this level.
English grammar and word patterns
Test preparation for district and state assessments
Use of literature that encourages discussion of various languages, cultures, and traditions.

4. How can parents support their students’ learning/development of English at home?
Encourage reading at home and discuss what your child is reading.
Some important questions to ask while your child is reading:
Who are the characters?
Where does the story take place?
What is the problem in the story?
What do you think is going to happen next?
What did you learn from this book?
What was your favorite part?
You do not have to ask questions about what your child is reading in English, even if the book they are reading is in English. It is more important to talk to your child about what they are reading, rather than not talking about it at all!

5. How can parents support their students’ learning/development of English at home? (continued)
Encourage your child to do journal writing at home.
Some ideas for what students can write about:
Fictional stories
Non-fiction about any topic they are interested in
How to do something
Letter to a parent or sibling

6. What academic language is important for parents to understand?
Elementary-
Guided Reading Level: a system that assigns students a letter (A-Z) that measures how well a student can read or understand a text
Sight Words: Words that are frequently used while reading and writing that do not always follow English grammar rules. These words must be memorized in order for them to become automatic for students (examples: a, and, the, can, etc.)
Decoding: a student’s ability to read the words in a text.
Comprehension: a student’s ability to understand what they read in a text.
Fluency: how many words a student can read in a minute, as well as the tone of voice used while reading.

7. What academic language is important for parents to understand
What academic language is important for parents to understand? (continued)
Student Growth: how much progress students have made from the beginning of the school year to the end of the school year.
Common Core State Standards: the set of standards that Illinois and many other states teach to every year.
Student Growth: teachers may take data on student growth over shorter periods of time as well, such as over a semester or over the course of a couple of months in a given school year.
CCSS: These standards vary by grade level, and all of the curriculum the teachers use is based on these standards.

8. Resources Used at Each Level
Kindergarten:
SRA Language for Learning
Jolly Phonics
Imagine Learning (individualized computer program)
Lexia (individualized computer program)
Guided reading literature from Fountas and Pinnell (orange)
Read alouds
Grades 1-2
Big books and read alouds
Guided reading literature from Fountas and Pinnell (green and blue)

9. Resources Used at Each Level (continued)
Grades 3-5
Guided reading literature from Fountas and Pinnell (red)
Imagine Learning
Lexia
Bold Print Books
Newsela and Tween Tribune
Real newspaper articles that are adapted to students’ reading levels

10. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is eligible to be a part of the program? A: Any student who either speaks another language in addition to English or has another language spoken at home will be screened. If the screener shows that our program could be helpful, your student is eligible and has a right to be a part of the ELL program! Q: Will my child be pulled out of the classroom? A: We do take children out of the classroom in order to provide a space with less distraction, and more space for our activities. We take them out during independent work times so that they do not miss whole-class instruction, special activities, or classes such as P.E., Music, or Art. Q: How many students are in the program? A: This year at HBT we have 45 students representing 12 languages Q: How long do students stay in the program? A: Students stay in the program as long as the program is helpful and supportive to them. They are tested each year in the Winter to determine their current proficiency level in Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. When they are fully proficient in each área, they are no longer eligible to participate.

11. Frequently Asked Questions (Continued)
Q: My child only speaks English. How can this program help? A: We have many students who speak mostly English, but may hear another language or understand another language in addition to English. We believe it is a great benefit to speak and/or understand more than one language! Since we focus on language and vocabulary development as well as Reading and Writing, our program is helpful to almost any student who is learning English literacy, including those who do not speak another language. Everyone in the younger grades is still learning English literacy! In addition, our small groups allow us to talk about and share things unique to our different cultures. Q: If my child qualifies, does this mean they are behind or struggling? A: No! We have many students who are performing at or above grade level. They may be in the program because they are learning English, because they are working on writing skills, reading skills, or expressing themselves verbally. We have some younger students who qualify to participate in Kindergarten, and are ready to begin reading before many others in their class. We can then use the time to do higher level activities with these students. We work with each group of students at their level.

12. Thank you for coming!
At this time, you may look around at each of the tables with resources from each grade level. Please let us know if we can answer any questions!