Madison County School District

Mississippi

A Summer Literacy Program:

Boosting Academic Achievement and

Enhancing Language Skills

March 26, 2010 - 1 P.M.

Presenters: Introductions

ELL Teachers and Presenters

Denise BruceLynn Fuller

Jun Li

Facts: Madison County School District

School District Population: 11,370

One of the fastest growing top-rated school districts in the state

Located centrally in the state of Mississippi in Madison County

-Suburb of Jackson, MS-Population: 91,369-66% urban and 34% rural

Total Number of schools: 21

High Performing Schools: 5 STAR schools, 3 High Performing schools

Madison County School District has very diverse demographics; Northeast part of Madison County is an impoverished area while the south part of the county is affluent.

ELL Program

-Started in 1998-194 ELL students enrolled this year -Over 20 native languages spoken by ELL students -7 certified ELL teachers; 2 teacher assistants-15 schools in our district serve students in an ELL program

ELL Summer Literacy Program

Why Have an ELL Summer Literacy Program?

Where there’s a “Need” there’s a Way!

A survey sent to parents and teachers in April. Results of the survey indicated a need for an ELL summer

program to boost reading and language skills of ELL students.

The survey reflected the following needs:A need to provide an ELL Summer Program designed to

enhance English language acquisition skills.

A 4-week ELL summer program with emphasis on reading, writing, listening and speaking was favored.

The greatest need for a summer literacy program was for elementary students in grades K-5.

Survey of Need

How does the program operate? How is it funded?

The Office of Federal Programs added the following guidelines to the program:

The Summer Literacy Program is offered free of charge to parents.

Hours are from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, beginning the first week of June and lasting 4 to 6 weeks.

Students in grades K-5 must be currently enrolled in the Madison County School District’s ELL program in order to participate in the Summer Literacy Program.

Students must pre-register for the program. Parents must complete the registration form and submit it to the school by the deadline.

Pre-Registration Form

How does the program operate? How is it funded?

Transportation is provided by the parents. No buses are used for transportation.

Certified teachers provide instruction to ELL students in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening for four hours per day, Monday through Friday.

Teachers selection is based on experience, performance and recommendations.

The Summer Literacy Program is paid through Title III funding.

Components of the Literacy Program

Literacy skills are taught by utilizing trade books for instruction.

Flexible Grouping: Teachers group students for reading based on students’ DRA levels and English proficiency levels. Flexible grouping is used to differentiate instruction. Teachers may have students in 2 to 3 grades grouped together for instruction. Student communication skills vary; therefore, flexible grouping is used to teach writing and communication skills (Listening and speaking).

Whole group, Read Alouds and Shared Reading is used.

Components of the Literacy Program

Scaffolding of comprehension skills and oral reading practices are used to develop reading proficiency skills. (Standards guide the curriculum used for reading and literacy.)

Literature and art are used to enhance the writing process and provide opportunities for speaking and language development.

Hands-on activities, games, listening stations and centers, and manipulatives (puppets) are provided to enhance listening and speaking skills.

The ELL Summer Program FocusFocus of the four to six weeks summer literacy

program: To reinforce and enrich reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills through literature, thus boosting academic achievement.

Educational games are used to accommodate learning styles. (Listening games, kinesthetic games, speaking games)

Variety of books are used for teaching: leveled books, literature books, trade books, and big books.

A variety of leveled books are kept in our ELL Resource Room and available for teachers to check out and use for the summer program.

Facts about the ELL Summer Program

The ELL Summer Literacy Program is NOT for grade- enhancement or promotion. It is for enrichment only!

Teaching Strategies: Teachers immerse students in literature and use various teaching strategies to enhance learning.

Flexible and cooperative grouping, paired reading, echo reading, shared reading, popcorn reading, speaking and listening centers, read aloud/think alouds are strategies used.

Schedule and Evaluation

Instructional Schedule is flexible. (See samples.) Students are not given a grade; they receive a

weekly progress report (on Friday) that must be signed by a parent and returned on Monday.

End of Summer School Checklist is completed by the teacher for each student.

The focus of the program is to immerse students in reading and writing.

Result is more retention of reading fluency and reading skills, and less regression in reading.

Comparable data: DRA scores in May and August.

ELL Summer Literacy Schedules

K-2 and 3-5

DRA May 2009 compared to August 2009

The purpose of the ELL program was to focus on literacy and increase student achievement.

The DRA comparison showed that 55% of the students increased their reading DRA level after the summer literacy program.

The DRA level from May to August was maintained by 24% of the ELL students. There was no significant decline or regression.

Boosting Academic

Achievement

FACTS

55% of students’ DRA levels increased

24% of students’ DRA levels were maintained; no regression

8% of students regressed on DRA 8% of students were Non-English Speakers; No DRA Scores to compare. Students attained English acquisition skills.

5% of students were Pre-school students; No DRA scores to compare. Students made an easy transition into K, recognizing letters and sounds

May 2009 DRA scores were compared to August 2009 below: (38 students)

Samples of Summer School Activities and Movie Clips

Students involved in activities

Students grouped for instruction

Sample of games and activities used to boost achievement

Interactive Word Walls are used in every classroom to help build and expand vocabulary

Word Walls are used for Enhancing Vocabulary and

Spelling

Boosting Reading Skills

Specific Reading Skills are taught through

Units of Study

Thematic Units Integrate Social Studies with Reading and Writing

Share/Compare Categories

Shared Reading and Read Aloud Books

Making Text to World Connections

Reading and Writing Activities

Center Activities

Teacher Models Activity for Student

Reading and Language Artifacts

Student Projects Based on Themes

Interactive Word Wall

Retelling the Story and Writing a Response to the Story

Vocabulary Practice

Creating Charts and Graphs

Compound-Word Activity (Clip)

Teacher/Student Interactions (Clip)

Student Describes Writing Activity (Clip)

Teacher Guided Instruction (Clip)

One-on-one Writing Instruction (Clip)

Using Sentence Strips to Identify

Parts of Speech (Clip)

Practice in Writing Sentences (Clip)

Assessment of Student Progress

Weekly report to parents.

Assessment of Student Progress

Weekly report to parents.

Overall Assessment of Student Progress

Overall assessment of students summer school progress for classroom teachers.

Assessment of Student Progress

An ELL progress report goes home to parents each Friday.

Reports show a snapshot of the students’ progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Parents sign reports and return them on Mondays.

The report informs parents of the students class participation, effort and behavior.

Questions / CommentsContact Information:

Office of Federal ProgramsMadison County School District

P. O. Box 159Flora, MS 39071

601 879-3015

http://www.madison-schools.com

Emails for presenters:

lfuller@madison-schools.comdbruce@madison-schools.comjunli@madison-schools.com