What is the level of English I wonder that your school accepts in taking in ELL students? Is there a 'standard' that is being met before students are being admitted? What is the ELL testing before the students enter? It takes seven years for a non-English speaker to develop the level of academic vocabulary to be on an par with native English speakers so yes we are expecting so much if we expect these kids to even sit SATs. There are a number of strategies that you can try in supporting them. The first is to request from teachers key unit vocabulary. The students can then use Google translate to translate the words or some other tool to determine what the Engish word is and to be familiar with it. It would be expected that the school is offering some sort of support in terms of a 'differentiated' instruction program to support these kids. Text books with detailed pictures, diagrams, headings. Where possible diagrams should be drawn on whitebaords with vocabulary and the explanation of concepts. It would be really helpful if the students could have all presentations/slideshows used after the classes and that they be allowed to use IT to record lessons for later review. It is also important that the students are able to discuss their understanding in their 'own language' with each other to build their understanding of what is being taught...and no this does not go against supporting the English program but in the end will support it. If the kids are being taught a 'curriculum' we have to make the arrangements for them to be supported in that the best way. The assessments need to be tailored to show understanding and not English ability. The most difficult task for any ELL student is to speak and you might actually be surprised at how much is understood by the reading but the difficulty is in conveying the understanding. Where possible I would supply the kids with taped books to listen to the language and read, just right reading level materials to work with fluency and there are a never ending supply of websites that could be used independently. I would be strongly encouraging your administration to look at hiring teachers to work with these kids and for there to be an understanding set with parents about what the outcomes that can really be expected are. Good luck!!
________________________________ From: Michelle Parascandola <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, 18 February 2013 3:10 PM Subject: [MOSAIC] ELL Asian High school students I am a newly hired literacy teacher for a K-12 private school. While I've worked with reading remediation for grades K-8 and occasional work with American high schoolers, this school has had a large influx of Chinese and Korean students in grades 9-12. They are literate in their own languages but their English (spoken) is pretty choppy and their reading levels in English seem pretty low. How can I best support them in the high school English classroom when there are no ESL supports and a strict curriculum to adhere to? Is it realistic to expect them to perform well on SAT's after only 2 or so years here? Thanks in advance for your support! -----Original Message----- From: mosaic-request <[email protected]> To: mosaic <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, Jan 28, 2013 3:53 pm Subject: Mosaic Digest, Vol 77, Issue 14 Send Mosaic mailing list submissions to [email protected] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mail.literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [email protected] You can reach the person managing the list at [email protected] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Mosaic digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: DIBELS online (Amy McGovern) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 19:59:08 -0600 From: Amy McGovern <[email protected]> To: mosaic listerve 2 <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] DIBELS online Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" We use DIBELS 6th edition to progress monitor. It has worked well for us, kindergarten through 5th grade. The Online tool is very nice because it will help you see if what you are doing is actually working. For example, if the data begins to flat line, the online progress monitoring graph marks it with a yellow dot. And if it flat lines too long, the dot will turn red and suggest that a change be made. These added measures help teachers determine if they should increase time, switch the focus to a different skill, dig deeper with other diagnostic measures...etc. Again, as a progress monitoring tool, it has been a helpful tool, especially when used in conjunction with other data. Again, DIBELS doesn't tell you what to do, but it will help you recognize if what you are doing is working or not. As an aside, we were going to move to DIBELS Next, but there has been quite a bit of controversy stirring out there regarding the test and the newly altered cut scores. As a result, we have decided not to make a switch right now. I highly recommend watching the Webinar from the DIBELS University of Oregon Center for Teaching and Learning. https://dibels.uoregon.edu/news/#122012_webinar_announcement. It's fairly short, and very informative on the DIBELS Next issues. DIBELS 6th Edition and DIBELS Next are not the same thing. 6th edition was created by a non-profit. It has lots of research and reliability behind it, though I'm sure other great or even better Universal Screens exist--6th edition has worked well for us. DIBELS Next was created by Dynamic Measurement Group, a for profit company. 6th and Next are two entirely different tests--not to be lumped together under one umbrella. Ok, hope this helps. Good luck to you. Amy McGovern Reading Specialist Wausau, WI > From: [email protected] > Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:54:03 -0500 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] DIBELS online > > We've used it for a few years now first on palm pilots and now on net books. I think it is pretty easy to use but like I said I've used it for a while. My problem is not using the online stuff. It's by the time they get to third grade (which is what I teach) fluency to them is only reading fast. So I REALLY focus on all the components of fluency. We do DIBELS K-3 and some in fourth. > A few years ago when you got online the site told you how long it had been between progress monitorings, now it takes a bit more doing to find it.... just a minor annoyance but when every minute counts in the classroom it's a pain! > > Hope this helps!! > > Sent from my iPad > > On Jan 27, 2013, at 7:38 AM, twinklesweetstarz <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I could use some help. Has anyone used DIBELS progress monitoring--the > > online component? Our school just purchased it but I have not had a chance > > to log in yet. Can anyone tell me what they think about it? Any pros/cons? > > Is it easy for our teachers to use to progress monitor? > > > > Thanks > > Tina :) > > www.mommycomplex.blogspot.com > > _______________________________________________ > > Mosaic mailing list > > [email protected] > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. ------------------------------ End of Mosaic Digest, Vol 77, Issue 14 ************************************** _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
