Little Falls K-8 ESL Curriculum

Little Falls K-8 ESL Curriculum Little Falls Township Public Schools Little Falls, NJ Adopted by the Little Falls Board of Education On December 17, 2013

Preface The purpose of this guide is to enhance the articulation in the ESL Curriculum both within the grades and among the three schools that serve the Little Falls School District. The document is aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards as well as the Common Core State Standards. This is a living document and will be reviewed regularly to make any changes or additions necessary to ensure the best learning experiences for all students. K-8 ESL Curriculum Committee Grethe M. Ridley District ESL Teacher Little Falls School District Administration: William Petrick Superintendent / Principal, School No. 3 Andrea Del Guercio School Business Administrator / Board Secretary Annette Walters Director of Special Services Philip Ligus Principal, School No. 1 Michael G. Ryan Principal, School No. 2 / District Coordinator of Resources for Curriculum and Instruction

LITTLE FALLS TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS ESL CURRICULUM TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. OVERVIEW 2. MISSION STATEMENT 3. GOALS 4. PHILOSOPHY OF THE CURRICULUM 5. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTING AND ESL PROGRAM SERVICES 6. PROCESS 7. ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT OF THE WIDA ELP STANDARDS 8. THE LANGUAGE DOMAINS 9. THE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY LEVELS AND PERFORMANCE DEFINITIONS 10. USES FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY STANDARDS 11. ALIGNED ESL CURRICULUM FOR PRE-K THROUGH GRADE 8 WITH THE WIDA ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY STANDARDS, TESOL STANDARDS, AND THE NJ DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LANGUAGE ARTS LITERACY CORE CURRICULUM STATE STANDARDS 12. GRADING POLICY.

OVERVIEW OF THE E.S.L. PROGRAM K-8, SCHOOL NO. 1, 2, AND 3, BY MRS. GRETHE M. RIDLEY, MAT, DISTRICT ESL TEACHER, DECEMBER 10, 2013. LITTLE FALLS TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS, MR. WILLIAM T. PETRICK, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, PRINCIPAL SCHOOL NO. 3, 560 MAIN STREET, LITTLE FALLS, NEW JERSEY 07424 The Little Falls Township School District is meeting Adequate Yearly Progress requirements. The learning environment provides ESL students with multiple opportunities to use English, interact with others as part of a challenging educational program, and receive feedback on their language acquisition and content knowledge. The Little Falls Township Public School District has a process for identification. All students who appear limited English proficient, and whose primary language is other than English, are referred to, and tested by the certified ESL teacher with the appropriate grade level ACCESS FOR ELLs English Language Proficiency Test for eligibility and placement in the ESL Program. The WIDA ACCESS FOR ELLs English Language Proficiency Test is also used to test the students who are ready to exit the ESL Program as they meet or exceed the Language Proficiency Level as required by the New Jersey State Department of Education, and demonstrate proficiency on the GRADE 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, AND 8 NJASK Tests. The English Language Learners (LEP) students are being successfully transitioned into the mainstream classes in less than four full years upon meeting or exceeding the required Language Proficiency Levels on the WIDA ACCESS TEST, and the following additional multiple exit criteria: 1. Classroom performance a grade C or higher on the report card, curriculum-based and teacher-based tests. 1 2. Reading level in English: Students will be at reading level in the

mainstream class, or be reading at a satisfactory level as judged by the ESL and main classroom teacher. 3. Students in Grade 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 must meet the state established Language Proficiency Levels on the NJASK Tests. 4. Students will receive an average rating of 3 or higher on a Teacher Recommendation Form & Rating Scale of 1-5: (1, strongly disagree to 5, strongly agree) as the mainstream teacher recommendation on exiting the ESL Program The ESL Students have been successfully mainstreamed from 1988-2013. The ESL Teacher meets monthly with the mainstream teachers of the exited ESL students to monitor their progress. Weekly grade-level articulation meetings are held with all mainstream teachers of the current ESL students to monitor progress and provide help with learning problems. Multiple student assessment measures are applied to enhance the instruction decision-making process. Instructional adaptations are made to meet the diverse needs of students, addressing varying cultural factors, and learning styles. All district administrators, teachers, and staff communicate concern for and interest in the success of ESL students. Technology is an integral part of the district s overall plan to move all ESL students toward meeting the New Jersey Common Core State Standards, and the WIDA Standards. The English Language Learners are prepared to meet the New Jersey Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science, through the attached ESL Curriculum aligned to the WIDA Standards, and approved by the Little Falls Board of Education, and use of teacher-made Venn Diagrams, Timelines, Main/Idea/Central Theme Diagrams, Career Rubrics, and Measurement Tools. 2

The English Language Learners (ELLs) have developed proficiency in the English Language consistent with the New Jersey Language Arts Literacy Standards and Framework. They have made impressive progress in their study of the Home and Family, the Community, Health Care, Fire Safety, Holidays, Idioms, Birds, Rocks & Minerals, North America, South America, the World, the Universe, the Ocean, famous Presidents, Explorers, Inventors, Business, Government, Law, Constitution, and Citizenship. The parents are made an active part of the education of their children, and the families look forward to the annual barbecue and ice cream cake party at the ESL teacher s home and a swim in the Smoke Rise Lake. This celebration is held in honor of the outstanding achievements of the English Language Learners from the following countries: Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Rumania, and Turkey. The languages spoken are: Berber, Chinese, Farsi, Italian, Macedonian, Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Spanish, Turkish, and Urdu. 3

The success of the ESL Program has been documented through the achievements of the English Language Learners: 1. English Language Learners have become members of the Gifted and Talented Program. 2. 30 present and past ESL Students at the Little Falls Middle School No. 1 made the Fall A & B Honor Rolls. 3. Role Play of American and International Holidays, like the St. Patrick s Day Performances. 4. Technology is always applied by the ESL Students writing native country reports, and narratives on famous American Presidents, Explorers, and Inventors on the computers with the effective use of Bulletin Boards for showcasing written projects. 5. Exiting ESL Students are honored with Excellent ESL Student Trophies and certificates at annual assemblies. 6. Our Grade 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 ESL Students were prepared for the NJASK Tests in Language Arts Literacy through the NJASK Coach for each of these grade levels, and through Fabulous Writing Prompts. One of the 2008 Passaic Valley High School Graduates, Ardian Agushi, graduated with honors, and earned a 4-year scholarship at Rutgers University. Ardian is from Albania, and he was my ESL Student for 2 years. He also faithfully attended my Family Literacy Evening Classes with his parents. 4

ESL PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT The mission and purpose of the ESL-ONLY PROGRAM is to encourage the English Language Learners/Limited English Proficient Students to learn the English Language, and to aid in making the transition and adjustment as rapidly and smoothly as possible so that the English Language Learners become capable of being mainstreamed into the academic and social aspects of the school environment.

GOALS OF THE ESL-ONLY PROGRAM THE MAIN GOAL IS TO TEACH THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS TO USE ENGLISH TO ACHIEVE ACADEMICALLY IN ALL CONTENT AREAS. THE SPECIFIC GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS ARE TO: 1. Provide thematic and developmental English Language instruction to the English Language Learners/Limited English proficient students. 2. Develop the Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Viewing academic skills of the English Language Learners in order to communicate and function successfully in the school mainstream classes, and the community at large. 3. Help the English Language Learners to experience the joy of learning their new language in a creative, positive, and low anxiety atmosphere. 4. Develop and expand their vocabulary, and demonstrate the staterequired language proficiency level through oral/written vocabulary and object identification, reading comprehension, and testing appropriate for each grade level. 5. Develop writing skills and creativity, and compose good, grammatically correct paragraphs, essays, reports, papers, project presentations, and Power Point presentations. 6. Develop and improve the oral and written English language skills, and English Language Proficiency levels, as required by the New Jersey State Department of Education. 1

7. Help the English Language Learners to better understand the people of America, and thus feel more a part of their new environment, and ease the transition from one culture to another. 8. Provide all English Language Learners with the opportunities to learn and share their culture, the culture of others, American culture, world cultures, and government data. 9. Provide all English Language Learners with equal educational opportunities, necessary to meet their cultural and linguistic needs. 10. Help the English Language Learners to communicate in grammatically, correct English with good pronunciation and fluency. 11. Involve the parents of the English Language Learners in the education of their children through Progress Reports, Parent Conferences, Advisory Committee Meetings, and telephone contacts. 12. Cooperate with the classroom teachers in filling the needs of the English Language Learners. 2

Philosophy of the Curriculum The Little Falls Township Public Schools provide students in the ESL program with a daily developmental second-language program. The educational components of the program are developed according to the following criteria: The ESL Curriculum is an integrated curriculum designed to prepare English Language Learners (ELLs) to meet the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards and the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. The ESL Curriculum incorporates the development of language/literacy components (listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and media literacy), as well as the utilization of these skills across all subject areas. Content-area integration is present throughout the curriculum. The infusion of content-area instruction in the ESL curriculum provides students with the opportunity to meet the academic achievement standards required of all English Language Learners. There is a direct correlation between the ESL Curriculum, the Language Arts Literacy Curriculum, the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards, and the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. The ESL Program incorporates content into language and literacy development for students in order to prepare them to meet the language and content achievement objectives and assessments (ACCESS and NJ State Assessments).

English Language Proficiency Testing and ESL Program Services The Little Falls Township Public Schools use the WIDA Access Placement Test (W-APT) for Pre-K to Grade 8 students, and the results of the ACCESS Test for ELLs to evaluate the ESL language proficiency of students whose primary language is other than English. The W-APT is used as an initial assessment for students new to the district and whose ACCESS for ELLs scores are not readily available. Additionally, multiple measures are used to evaluate students whose language is other than English, including report card grades, reading level and scores, standardized test results, and teacher recommendations. For all students meeting the qualifications for the ESL Program, a 45- minute-period per day of ESL instruction is provided. Parents are notified in writing of the placement process, placement content, students level of English language proficiency, and parental rights, including their right to accept or decline services. The ACCESS Test for ELLs is administered each spring on a yearly basis to measure the level of English language skills at a particular grade level. The results of the ACCESS for ELLs are reported by proficiency level and the total language proficiency score. These results, and those of the multiple criteria measures, are used as criteria for exiting the ESL Program. Parents are notified when a student has met the multiple exit criteria from the ESL Program.

Process The following steps were taken to augment the base Model Performance Indicators from WIDA s English Language Proficiency Standards: 1. Consideration was given on how to align our present ESL curriculum (which was revised in 2005 to contain a direct correlation between the English Language Proficiency Standards and the Language Arts Literacy Curriculum) to the WIDA framework. 2. The English Language Proficiency Standards were aligned with the academic content standards to fit the WIDA framework, standards, grade level clusters, domains, and language proficiency levels. 3. Ideas were brainstormed on how best to enhance the Model Performance Indicators, such as by introducing new language functions, linguistic structures, or topics for a given content area. 4. WIDA s Model Performance Indicators were utilized, and those that best reflect curriculum and instruction were selected. 5. WIDA s Model Performance Indicators were matched with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and Performance Indicators in the areas of Language/Arts/Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. 6. Both horizontal and vertical alignment has been maintained throughout the document.

Organization and Content of the WIDA ELP Standards The WIDA Consortium s five English Language Proficiency Standards (ELP) for English Language Learners (ELLs) reflect the social and academic dimensions of acquiring a second language that are expected of English Language Learners at all grade levels from Kindergarten through Grade 12 in the United States. Each language proficiency standard addresses a specific context for language acquisitions (social and instructional settings as well as Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies) and is divided into five grade-level clusters: Pre-K-K, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Overall, the language proficiency standards center on the language needed and used by the English Language Learners to succeed in school: English Language Proficiency Standard 1: English Language Learners communicate in English for SOCIAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES WITHIN A SCHOOL SETTING. English Language Proficiency Standard 2: English Language Learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of LANGUAGE ARTS. English Language Proficiency Standard 3: English Language Learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of MATHEMATICS. English Language Proficiency Standard 4: English Language Learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of SCIENCE. English Language Proficiency Standard 5: English Language Learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of SOCIAL STUDIES.

The Language Domains Each of the five English language proficiency standards encompasses four language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. The language domains reflect the modality of the communication that is further delineated by the language proficiency levels and their model performance indicators. The definitions of the language domains are as follows: Listening process, understand, interpret, and evaluate spoken language in a variety of situations. Speaking engage in oral communication in a variety of situations for an array of purposes and audiences. Reading process, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with understanding and fluency. Writing engage in written communication in a variety of forms for an array of purposes and audiences. Spolsky (1989), in his theory of Second Language Learning, imposes a set of conditions that shape the acquisition process. Among them is the recognition that individual language learners vary in their productive and receptive skills, with receptive language (listening and reading), generally, developing prior to and to a higher level than productive language (speaking and writing). ELLs may not be at a uniform level of English language proficiency across the four domains. This pattern may also be reflected in their native language, their oral language, or literacy may not be fully developed for their age level. The differential language acquisition of these students in the four language domains must be taken into consideration in instruction planning and assessment.

Uses for the English Language Proficiency Standards The primary use of the English language proficiency standards is to guide and align curriculum, instruction, and assessment for English Language Learners. In doing so, the English Language Proficiency Standards, by incorporating the language of the classroom as well as that of the academic subject areas, provide a pathway for English Language Learners to academic success. Acquiring a new language involves the integration of all language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing, in the instruction of English Language Learners. It is suggested, therefore, that teaching the series of Model Performance Indicators at a grade-level cluster serve as the starting point for creating integrated language lessons. By enhancing the Model Performance Indicators across language domains and frameworks described in this document, teachers and administrators will gain a sense of how to maximize the use of the language proficiency standards. Likewise, the intersection of different content areas lends itself to thematic teaching, an endorsed approach for English Language Learners (Freeman & Freeman, 2002). Teachers are invited to use the Model Performance Indicators to develop curricular themes or units of instruction that involve multiple content areas. Furthermore, teachers can formulate both language and content objectives for both curriculum and instruction from the standards Model Performance Indicators. The large-scale state assessment framework provides a skeleton and the parameters for the creation of the specifications for the English language proficiency test. Concomitantly, it offers teachers and administrators a measurable index for supporting instruction. The classroom framework dovetails with that for large-scale state assessment. Its primary use is to serve as a tool for instruction and formative assessment.

The K-12 English Language Proficiency Standards developed by the WIDA Consortium are carefully crafted to meet compliance with the requirements of Titles I and III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. (from http://www.wida.us/standards/resource_guide_web.pdf)