Supporting our ELL

Students
What does an ELL classification
mean?

Long Term English Language

Learner Newcomer ELL
Student is new to the US and US
school system (5 years or less)
Student has likely been in the US school system since K-3
Student has major challenges with
Student may not appear to be an ELL
language, both technical and general
Student most likely has an IEP and/or other learning
challenges such as low reading level
Students mastery of English will
Student has unexpected vocabulary gaps
depend on their proficiency in their

home language
Who are our kids

Long term ELLs Newcomer

Heber LopezELLs
(9 months)(SSL)
Josselin Torres (1 year)
Morena Cruz (2 years)
9th 10 Pedro Mateo (1 year)
10th 15

11th 7
Judith Donis Fon (3 years)
12th 3 Libny Donis Fon (3 years)
 Redesignated Fluent English
Proficient
When a student first enrolls in a school in the US, parents are asked if any language other than English is spoken at home. If the parent says yes, the
student is given the CELDT (California English Language Development Test) and then fall into one of the two categories.
CELDT Levels
ELL Advanced
EFEP Early Advanced
Intermediate
Early Intermediate
In order to become RFEP students must
Beginner
Score Early Advanced or Advanced on the CELDT with no sub-test falling below E. Advanced
Pass their current English class with a C or better
Pass the in-house Camino benchmarks
Pass ELD
Have a lexile level that is at least approaching
Receive a recommendation from their ELD and English teachers
Who Teaches ELD

Laura Farrell Dan Nguyen

ELL students with IEPs exclusively

MariaLevel:
Covarrubias

Long term ELLs

Intermediate-Advanced
Long Term ELLs
Some ELL students with IEPs
Newcomer ELLs exclusively
Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Level: Beginner-Early Intermediate
 What do we teach in ELD

Tier 1 and 2 vocabulary Our primary focus is in language

production: speaking and writing
Key grammar forms such as:
Comparatives and superlatives
Although we do practice reading,
ELD is NOT a literacy class, nor is
Much and Many it an English class.
Past and Present Tense Continuous
Subject-verb agreement
Prepositions
And more!!
 How do I support my long term ELLs

Pre-teaching vocabulary
Identifykey words for understanding that are NOT content words and
provide a glossary (Tier 2)
Clarified and guided readings
If possible scaffold readings by lexile.
Provideguided notes to the reading that helps students tackle the
language
SGI to have students read with you while the rest of the class reads
together
Extra Time
 Long term ELLs continued

Writers Workshop
Having students work and re-work short writing pieces for clarity
of language
Grammar corrections
Dont
be afraid to correct students in daily speech, but
remember to be compassionate
Opportunities to practice
Dontbe afraid to call on students to read or present. Give them
a heads up BEFORE you call on them so they can prepare
themselves.
 How do I support my newcomer ELLs
Pre-Teach vocabulary
Give students a glossary of content words with Spanish definitions before the
lesson. (Tier 3)
Give students a glossary of key non-content words with Spanish translations and/or
images before the lesson. (Tier 2)
Guided readings with translations
Provide a brief summary in Spanish of each paragraph if possible
If available provide the same reading in Spanish
Extra Time
Make sure there is an explicit plan for this extra time: tutoring, ELD practice, etc
 New comer ELLs continued
Sentence frames and starters
Give students sentence frames that provide the grammar they can then plug in the correct vocabulary
into (bricks and mortar)
Give students sentences starters that show them what grammar to use but doesnt carry it through the
whole sentence.
Explicit grammar instruction
Especially for content-specific vocabulary, teach students how their new words work within grammar.
Consider giving examples of how the content-specific vocabulary works in Spanish as a way to model.
Opportunities to practice
Provide plenty of opportunities to practice without stigma. This may be in SGI, group work, or homework
review where the student has been told ahead of time theyll be expected to speak out loud.
Correct and repeat: dont allow students to walk away thinking their speech was correct even if you
understood their basic meaning. After correcting their speech, have them repeat the whole sentence
using the correct grammar.
 Supports and Resources

Google translate is NOT great but will do in a pinch

Ask a Spanish-speaker on your GL/Dept team to help translate worksheets
and/or create reading guides
Relying on anchor students with strong Spanish skills (that is not all of our
kids)
Ask ELD teachers for resources that are content-specific
E-mail ELD teachers with class specific needs we MIGHT be able to address
in ELD (please think ahead and email with a few weeks notice)
Achieve3000 Students must have an approaching lexile in order to
RFEP