ELL TiMES
THE T.V.P.S. ELL Team
Angela Reid
Joanne Frank
Hi! My name is Joanne Frank and this is my second year in the ELL role. Teston Village has been great experience for me in that I have had to push my learning to new places when supporting ELLs. My role is complimented by the SERT role and I try to “double dip” whenever I can and it makes sense. I look forward to supporting the following classes this year: Ms. Scalia, Ms. Fisher (for math), Ms. Lindo and Ms. Kaur.
Parul Oh
Hello. My name is Parul Oh (the easiest last name to pronounce:) I am looking forward to working with your ELL students and supporting you in any way I can. This is my 3rd year in the ELL role and I’m really enjoying it. This year the ELL team will be supporting students in grades 2-8. I will be supporting the following classes: Ms. Lurie, Mr. Young and Mrs. Malik. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask myself or any of the members of the ELL team.
Katelyn Johnson
Kat Soghrati
Parissa Kiamehr
Helpful Hints for Diagnostic Reading Assessments
SUGGESTIONS when reading with ELL students:
- cluster the same errors and count them as only one error (for example, If a student repeatedly says “dogs” instead of “dog”, count this as one error)
- engage in a rich book introduction with a detailed picture walk, for example, for texts where the topic may be unfamiliar to the student, the teacher can activate background and existing knowledge.
pre-teach vocabulary, have students pick out words from text after you introduce them
- allow substantial wait time as the student may be translating information into his/her first language
- provide readers with helpful prompts such as: “Look at the picture - what is happening in the picture?” or “Look at the first letter of the word - what sound does it make?”
- when reading fiction books, provide character’s names and repeat as needed
- do not penalize mispronounced words due to their native language
- always start with fiction books with primary students as there is less academic language and students may be able to connect to stories they already know
- consider starting with familiar non-fiction books with junior/intermediate students as they are more engaging texts
- do not penalize for misreading of contractions
Some common errors made by ELL students while reading
Omission of simple prepositions (to, if, on)
Omission of articles (a, an)
Omission of verb endings (-es, -ing, -ed)
Omission of word endings (-s)
Misreading of verb tenses (present for the past such as come for came)
ELL Resources on the Portal
The YRDSB portal offers an array of resources to assist teachers when planning for teaching ELL learners.