What Do We Learn in ELD Class?

I teach academic English that children will need for long term academic success in an English speaking academic environment.  What I teach and when I teach it depends largely on the academic and English needs group of students in my class.  I am fortunate enough to be able to teach in a student centered environment.  That means that I look at the skills and the needs of my students and design learning experiences accordingly.  Language is best learned within the context that it will be used. Sometimes I work with classroom teachers to create lessons and language experiences that will enhance learning in the classroom.  Other times I teach lessons that help students gain understanding of American history, culture, and activities.  

 

All of our lessons are engaging, promote the use of academic English in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  We use demonstrate learning on paper and pencil as well as through technology.  Since I believe in helping students become bi-literate as well as bilingual, I do employ primary language supports (Google Translate, bilingual dictionaries, parent support) to create a learning environment that feels more comfortable and promotes success. 

 

For our youngest learners, we spend a lot of time getting them accustomed to listening and speaking in English.  We focus on words that correspond with a letter sound, simple sentences, and simple questions.  We play games that encourage students to expand on a simple idea.  We will also expose the children to simple nursery rhymes and stories.  We also work on pre-reading skills to prepare the students for future academic success.

 

This is the year we learn to read.  First grade students often come with a solid foundation in letter awareness.  We continue to build on those skills.  We work on pre-reading skills and letter sound correspondence as well as an awareness of letters vs words vs sentences.  We begin to transition students into reading and work at the students' pace to ensure that their language skills (understanding and explaining) are growing along with their reading and writing skills.  

 

If students enter our class without any knowledge of the alphabet, we are able to meet the specific needs of the students.  It is so important for students to work at their own pace and to celebrate their own successes.

 

Second grade students come with basic reading and writing skills.  We continue to develop and refine those skills.   We read, develop and learn academic vocabulary and share knowledge and understanding of those texts through writing or speaking.  We continue to work on reading skills and language development.  We begin to understand that if we recognize root words, we can expand and understand many more words.  By the end of the year we will begin to work in collaborative contexts to publish work created as a group.

 

If students enter our class without any knowledge of the alphabet or with little knowledge of English, we provide support to help students understand and participate in class.  We simply want students to grow and develop at their pace.

 

Third grade students are beginning to read to learn.  The reading levels begin to increase along with their cognitive abilities.  We spend a lot of time reading informational text as this often becomes a big challenge for them.  We read and actively focus on building academic vocabulary.  We continue to refine writing and we learn how to structure more complex sentences.  By the middle of the year, we will begin to work in collaborative contexts to publish work created as a group.

 

If students enter our class with little English language skills, we provide support for those students.  They may spend part of their time in my class learning about the alphabet and basic sentence structure and then we incorporate them into the large group learning as well.  I will also ask parents to further support basic reading skills learning at home.  Again, students are evaluated based on their personal growth.

 

Fourth grade students are reading to learn.  We spend a lot of time reading informational text that coincides with the content they are learning in science and or social sciences.  We expand vocabulary by helping students understand nuances between words, for example, jog, trot, run, gallop, race.  We also work on writing in an academic register using academic words.  Fourth graders also begin to work in collaborative contexts to publish work created as a group.

 

If students enter our class with little English language skills, we provide support for those students.  They spend part of their time in my class learning about the alphabet and basic sentence structure and then we incorporate them into the large group learning as well.  I will also ask parents to further support basic reading skills learning at home.  Again, students are evaluated based on their personal growth.

 

Fifth grade students are reading to learn.  We continue to read grade level information text that coincides with grade level academic content in science and or social students.  We continue to expand vocabulary in the same way we did in fourth grade.  We continue to refine and expand writing skills.  We work in collaborative contexts to publish work created as a group.  

 

If students enter our class with little English language skills, we provide support for those students.  They spend part of their time in my class learning about the alphabet and basic sentence structure and then we incorporate them into the large group learning as well.  I will also ask parents to further support basic reading skills learning at home.  Again, students are evaluated based on their personal growth.