Question:

I would like some clarification on when a district must have an ESL program versus providing English Language Services, ELS.
Thank you.

Combined Replies:

If a district has 10 or more ELLs, regardless of whether they speak the same language or different languages, the district must provide an ESL program.  

The district board of education shall establish an ESL program that provides at least one period of ESL instruction based on student language proficiency whenever there are 10 or more ELLs enrolled in the school district.

If a district has 20 ELLs in a single language group, it must provide a bilingual language program (in which ESL is one component), or submit a bilingual waiver to the state for approval.

The district board of education shall establish bilingual education programs whenever there are 20 or more ELLs in any one language classification enrolled in the school district, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:35-18.

So if you have 5 ELLs overall, your district needs to have English Language Services.

The district board of education shall establish English language services designed to improve the English language proficiency of ELLs whenever there are at least one, but fewer than 10, ELLs enrolled in the school district.

Laura Arredondo, NJTESOL/NJBE Supervisors Representative
Sandee McBride, NJTESOL/NJBE Conference Coordinator

March 6, 2021

• I am a big advocate for service learning for all children, so a field trip that I have taken my students on was to a local nursing home. My students are in middle school and high school, but they run the gamut of levels. We practiced a lot of role playing of conversations and brainstormed different topics of interest for conversation. The students wrote letters to the residents before going and when at the nursing home, the students were paired up with the residents who read their letters. The students spent time talking and then doing a craft with their new friends. We continued to correspond after our visit and just recently went back for a day of games with the residents. The students benefited so much from the real conversations and application of what we learn in class. Plus, the students felt so good about doing good for someone else. It really boosts their self-esteem. We are planning on hosting the residents at our school soon too. You can look into local services that might be more appropriate for your age group, but students can help out somewhere in the community at any age and level. Have fun!
• I have taken ESL students to the Camden Aquarium and to The PaperMill Playhouse. Trailside Museum in Watchung might be able to bring animals etc. to your school to do a show. They also have a planetarium if you wish to go to the museum. Also, Kean University has good children’s performances. Hope this helps.
• I have taken ESL kids to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Once I took them to the local town library where the children’s librarian gave them a special tour. I worked closely with the town librarian to ensure that the trip would be a success. It was.
• Waterloo Village has a great program for colonial America. There is also the Morristown area. They have a program, check with the Morris County Historical Society.
• The Newark Museum: They also have hands-on workshops for students.
• How about a hands on science museum or the American Museum of Natural History in NYC.
• Movie theaters, playhouses, museums and parks.

2/7/07

Question:
I’m trying to establish several interactive activities in which my ELL students could log in, complete lessons, and that allows me to monitor and keep track of students progress.

Replies:

• Try Brain POP ELL and Achieve 3000.
• Last year I used an online program called Lexia. It was designed for elementary students, including kindergarten. The focus was primarily phonics and vocabulary, with more reading as the student advanced in age/level. The teacher is emailed any time the student falls below average, included in the email is an intervention activity! I loved it and so did they! However, I think it’s pricy.
• Take a look at Imagine Learning. I have used it for a few years and I think you will like it. I have used it in grades K-8, but I believe the reading skills go to grade level 6. My students love it. I have used Help Math in the past. The program teaches math skills in English and Spanish, has great visuals and covers skills from primary to advanced when working with students K-8. I think it is a great program, but I do feel students benefit when a teacher is assisting to also give explanations to lessons and create additional practice material.
• Have you tried www.edmodo.com? Kids can “blog” in a safe way…I also use http://a4esl.org/.
• Try http://socrative.com/ . It’s fun!!

March 2014

—–Original Question—–
I’m looking for materials appropriate for a mixed group of incoming kindergartners and first graders.

Replies
From Monica Schneee
By now you have received a variety of responses to your email. I replied before and it is below. Karen Nemeth has provided all of us with very valuable information regarding what is developmentally appropriate for kindergartners and early childhood and has given us the link to the DOE Kindergarten guidelines.

Here are some more ideas so that you have many resources to deliver quality language instruction.

Worksheets, though a great buy tramadol best pill online tool for classroom teachers to have as table work to start and organize the day, should be used sparingly in the ESL classroom or instructional time during push in. At this grade level, we are looking to build oral language, social skills and literacy. In order to accomplish this, we have to provide numerous opportunities for children to practice social and academic language in context.

We can do this by using lots of visuals from books to websites, by playing games as a group, pairs or sometimes on a Smartboard, by watching clips on YouTube, PBS Kids, Discovery, National Geographic, Nickelodeon and following up with accountable talk, by using chants, poems, songs, puppets, manipulatives that promote conversations in native language and English, by doing role playing, TPR of songs, poems and stories, by doing read alouds, choral readings and echo readings, by predicting as we do picture walks of authentic authors, or wordless books, by writing and reading stories that we produce as a class through language experience, by playing games with sounds and phonemes to develop phonemic awareness and support phonics instruction, by going outside for walks and recording what we see in the world surrounding us.

There is a place for technology, worksheets and everything else. Websites are a wonderful addition as long as they are an extension of oral language development and literacy instruction. Everything that we do for our students has to have language development and acquisition at the core. In grades K-1, children are still developing language, no matter whether it is L1 or L2. In order to succeed later on, we must offer them the tools to develop language. Websites and worksheets are a small part of it.

There are lots of great websites, a great one, www.enchantedlearning.com, provides good materials to create books, research on topics and worksheets to use if needed or to send home. However, more stress on technology and less stress on quality “old fashioned” developmentally engaging instruction, will not provide our students with what they need.

From: Karen Nemeth
The NJ Department of Education has published a whole set of kindergarten guidelines here that really spell out what is considered best practices in the early years. http://www.state.nj.us/education/ece/guide/KindergartenGuidelines.pdf.

To follow those guidelines, you should be looking for materials that are authentic, and that teach information and vocabulary that is part of the context of what all of the K and 1st students are learning in your school. Research shows (as reflected in those NJ guidelines) that language learning is most effective in meaningful context and in response to a young child’s culture and interests. While there are lots of games and worksheets available in books or on the internet, the closer you come to supporting learning in real life contexts, the more effective you can be with children at this age.

Consider using storybooks with puppets and props, or songs with lots of action and repetition. Use hands on activities related to the lessons happening in the other K and 1st classrooms. Science and math activities using real items that all of the children recognize can not only help them build the math and science concepts they’ll need but those kinds of hands-on explorations also give the teacher fantastic opportunities to highlight key vocabulary as well. You might create books or counting games using photos of the children, the school and the surrounding community – real life references that give everyone so much more to talk about and connect with each child’s prior learning in meaningful ways. Anything that encourages interaction, exploration, collaboration, and conversation will be great.

If you have access to technology, think about using digital storytelling sites such as Voicethread, apps like Smacktalk or Voices allow children to practice their oral language in funny ways. Bilingual storybook apps are available here: analomba.com as an example – but there are others, depending on the kind of devices you might have to use . Websites like Colorincolorado or pbskids have wonderful options as well.

Reply
From Monica Schnee
Hi Margaret,

All of the suggestions below are terrific. One of the things that I do with mixed groups is to use good authentic literature that appeals to both grades combined. Rosemary Wells and Kevin Henkes are two great American authors that you can expose your kids to. Many of their works are on YouTube, online, on CDs and DVDs as well.

I have a list of great books and activities that you might want to check out on my website eslschnee.weebly.com/.
Monica Schnee

Reply
From: Jeannie W.

Just this past year, I taught a mixed group of Kindergarten just like what you’ve described. It was my first experience with this level and I found the series AVENUES to be wonderful for this age and level.

You are going to LOVE this level. After yrs of teaching the older kids, I never thought I would be so happy working w/the little ones and it’s positively grand!

 

Reply
From BJ Bates

Here are a few websites that have a variety of stuff you can do with your munchkins.
www.schoolexpress.com
www.starfall.com
www.everythingesl.net
www.bogglesworldesl.com
www.eslprintables.com
www.tlsbooks.com
Dave’s ESL Cafe www.busyteacherscafe.com
Found another favorite of mine: www.teach-nology.com
BJ Bates

Reply
From Marilyn
Here’s another site http://www.kindersite.org/

Reply:
I like the game/worksheets from www.esl-kids.com. My children like the dice template activities and bingo boards.
www.vocabulary.co.il is a great computer activity.
Good luck!
Barbara

Summer 2012