Sacramento START - Students Today Achieving Results for Tomorrow

Supporting English Language Learners

Sacramento START

START- Students Today Achieving Results for Tomorrow Part of City of Sacramento, Parks and Recreation Department 46 Schools in five districts Serving 5,000 children daily Program has been in existence for 16 years

Demographic data for Sacramento START

from our 2009/2010 Program Evaluation Report

Gender breakdown is 50% Ethnic groups include: Hispanic students were largest group at 36%

African American students at 28% Asian Americans at 15% English Learners were 29% Free and Reduced Meal participation rates

were 77% of START students

What We Know About English Learners and After School

California: highest school enrollment of English Learners compared to any other state

According to the Master Plan for California After School Programs, ASES and 21st Century Community Learning Centers are located in schools with a high percentage of English Learners.

English Learners may not have adequate instructional time during the school day and After School programs are able to extend the amount of time the students spend learning English.

English Learners speak English about 2 minutes during the school day. The After School environment provides a gift of time for those students to practice English by speaking, listening, writing and reading.

EL Success in School and Beyond

What it takes: Practice Supportive environment for risk-taking Motivation to communicate Diverse experiences Techniques to enhance and expand understanding and

effective communication

Motivation to communicate Diverse experiences

Afterschool & English Learners

Unique features for teaching and learning

More opportunities to practice English Learn new vocabulary

Homework help

Afterschool & English Learners

Supporting additional needs, making connections

Learning social norms

Building meaningful relationships with adults and children

Link to school, home and the community

Greater family engagement

How We Support English Learners

Training team participated in seminars on Leveraging Support for English Learners

Professional development trainings for our staff

Purchased curriculum for each site Collaborated with Academic Alignment

Coach from each school who completed the English Learner Form

How We Support English Learners

Establish a relationship with each child Create a safe environment Ask all children to speak in complete

sentences Group children in a deliberate manner so EL

students are with Native English speaking children

Ask the children to teach you words in their native language.

Place our diverse staff at sites where they can communicate with the children and parents in their native language.

How We Support English Learners

Wait several seconds after asking a question for the child to answer

If the child does not answer, repeat the question with hints so the child will be able to answer successfully

Do not over correct children as that happens in the daytime.

Focus on comprehension over reading each word correctly.

What Students Have What Students Can Do What Teachers Should Do Questioning Strategies

Their primary languageMinimal comprehension of EnglishMinimal verbal production in EnglishOne/two word responses

Nod and shake head to answer questionsPoint to objects or printSort objects into categoriesPantomimeDraw pictures and label drawings and diagramsGesture to show understandingMatch objects or picturesGive yes/no answers to simple questionsReproduce what they hear, repeat and recite

Vocabulary Development Teach vocabulary using physical movement and drawingDemonstrate personal interest and caring for studentsProvide ample listening activities including daily listening center with taped picture booksRead aloud predictable and patterned booksHave students label and manipulate pictures and objectsProvide one-on-one time with students

Point to… Find the… Put the ____next to

the____. Give the ____to____. Do you have the ____? Is this a ____? Who wants the ____? Who has the ____?

Remember…. While beginning English Learners can communicate only in their primary language, they are very capable of higher-level thinking skills.

Supporting EL Students ~ Staff Instructional ResourceLanguage Acquisition Descriptors: CEDLT Level 1: BeginningKey Strategy *Listening! Listening! Listening!-Books on tape, read-alouds, choral reading, buddy reading *Beginning vocabulary is best understood and learned when taught thematically

What Students Have What Students Can Do What Teachers Should Do Questioning StrategiesOne/two word responses /some phrasesLimited proficiency to communicate ideasSome comprehension of contextualized information

All of what students can do at the Beginning level, plusList and categorizeRepeat sentences, mimic intonation and phrasing and reproduce familiar phrasesAttempt to talk, making extensive pronunciation and grammatical errorsGenerate and speak simple sentences Begin to acquire some grammatical elementsRead some basic vocabulary and write simple sentencesGive short answers to simple questions

All of the above, plus:Vocabulary Development Continue to expand students understanding of concrete words Have students learn vocabulary and sentence structure from patterned pictures booksExpand students’ responses by asking who, what, where (literal questions)Expect short answers. Give students a chance to produce language in situations where they are not comfortableAsk questions requiring simple comparisons and descriptionsProvide activities designed to encourage students to produce simple sentencesUse the language experience approach for reading and writingGive students a chance to produce language in comfortable situations

Yes/no (is the light on?) Either/or (Is this a knife or a

fork) One-word responses (What

utensil am I holding in my hand?)

General questions which encourage list of words (What do you see on the table?)

Two-word responses(Where did he go)

Remember…. While Early Intermediate students are still developing basic communication skills they are at the same time capable of higher level-thinking skills.

Supporting EL Students~ Staff Instructional ResourceLanguage Acquisition Descriptors: CEDLT Level 2: Early IntermediateKey Strategy *Beginning vocabulary is best understood and learned when taught thematically *Appropriate questioning techniques will increase student oral production i.e., using the answer as part of the question i.e., (Did you go to the grocery store or to the library?)

What Students Have What Students Can Do What Teachers Should Do Questioning Strategies

Enough English proficiency to be understoodAbility to produce utterance with basic sentence structure (Subject + Verb + Object or Phrase)Ability to interact more with native speakers but can make errors in speechGood comprehension of contextualized information

All of what students can do at the Beginning and Early Intermediate levels, plus:Describe people, places and eventsRecall and state factsDefine and explain some vocabularyMake some error in speechRead and retell from a variety of text with scaffolding from teacherBegin to identify main ideas and details

Vocabulary Development Provide explicit instruction for idiomatic expressions while continuing to help students acquire lots of vocabulary- including academic vocabulary Begin to develop cognitive skills, especially reading and writingInclude instruction in phonemic awareness, decoding, spelling and grammarModel expand, restate and use standard English with studentsAsk how and why open-ended questions, and help students to respond in complete sentencesAsk higher level thinking questionsProvide ample opportunities for partner talk and pair-share, and activities to develop higher levels of thinking

Why? How? Tell me about… Talk about… Describe… How would you change this

part?

Remember…. Very often at this level students’ verbal communication skills are strong, but are not reliable indicators of their ability to comprehend academic material.

Supporting EL Students~ Staff Instructional ResourceLanguage Acquisition Descriptors: CEDLT Level 3: IntermediateKey Strategy: *At this level, oral communication skills are more highly developed. Using cooperative groups during instruction will help students develop their higher levels of thinking while increasing their vocabulary and comprehension.

What Students Have What Students Can Do What Teachers Should Do Questioning Strategies

Good comprehension of informationProficiency to communicate well verballyAdequate vocabulary to achieve academically

Give opinions and reasons, draw comparisons, justify views and behaviors and summarizeDemonstrate ability to use higher order language, synthesize, analyze, evaluate, persuade and debateDemonstrate both social and academic understanding of languageIdentify main idea and detailsUse expanded vocabularyEngage in conversation and produce sequential narrativeDevelop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with increased comprehension

Vocabulary Development Focus on academic language and literacyStructure group discussionsAsk questions to help students synthesize, analyze and evaluate in oral and written communicationProvide reading opportunities with a variety of genreInclude grammar instructionProvide a variety of realistic writing opportunitiesGuide use of reference materials and technology

What would you recommend/suggest?

How do you think this story will end?

What is your opinion(on this matter)?

Describe/compare… How are these

similar/different? What would happen if…? Which do you prefer? Why?

Remember…. Students at this level need strong emphasis on structured writing and continued vocabulary development.

Supporting EL Students Staff ResourceLanguage Acquisition Descriptors: CEDLT Level 4: Early AdvancedKey Strategy *Students have a strong conversational vocabulary but still need an emphasis on academic vocabulary

What Students Have What Students Can Do What Teachers Should Do Questioning Strategies

Very good comprehension of informationHeightened proficiency to communicate well

Expanded vocabulary to achieve academicallyNear native speech fluency

Comprehend and generate discussions and presentations in social as well as academic settingsDemonstrate fluency with content topicsRead and comprehend grade level textsRespond to and use figurative language and idiomatic expressions appropriatelyOrganize and generate written compositions based on purpose, audience and subject matterPrepare and deliver presentations/reports across grade level content areas that use a variety of sources: include purpose, point of view, introductions, coherent transitions and appropriate conclusionsInitiate and negotiate social conversations

Allow students to lead group discussionsEncourage independent use of reference materials and technologyProvide explicit grammar instructionProvide opportunities for student generated presentationsProvide a variety of realistic writing opportunities in a variety of genre

What would you recommend/suggest?

How do you think this story will end?

What is your opinion (on this matter)?

Describe/compare… How are these

similar/different? What would happen if…? Which do you prefer? Why?

Remember Students at this level need ongoing development of background knowledge and must be challenged academically.

Supporting EL Students Staff ResourceLanguage Acquisition Descriptors: CEDLT Level 5: AdvancedKey Strategy *Provide multiple opportunities for student to participate in cooperative learning groups and take on leadership roles.

Child’s Name Grade Home Language

CELDT Level

School Day Language Development

Hints for START for student success

Site Name_________________________________________ START EL Form

Sacramento START

Beryl Johnson, Training Coordinator bbjohnson@cityofsacramento.org Shirley Rosenbloom, Academic

Resource Teacher srosenbloom@cityofsacramento.org