Language & Cultural Services
LCS Bulletin - January 30, 2017
"Just Right" Strategy: Considering Language Development
You’re most likely an English language teacher (ELT) if you’re reading this post. Therefore, you most likely have free-reading program where ELs are allowed to read from self-chosen books for fun and without receiving grades.
The concept of a “just right book” is the philosophy of matching readers to books that are at the “right level” of language difficulty for them. A book that is easy but not interesting won’t engage the reader, so it’s not the right fit. Similarly, an interesting book that is too difficult is not yet the right reading choice because reading becomes frustrating.
I’d like to borrow the “just-right” philosophy and use it to explain Action 5 in WIDA’sEssential Actions: A Handbook for Implementing WIDA’s Framework for English Language Development Standards (Gottlieb, 2013). This week’s article will highlight the need to match ELs to an appropriate instructional approach that is “just right” for their language profile. Gottlieb introduces Action 5 by saying:
Students’ maturation and age, along with their language proficiency, have to be taken into account in planning instruction and interpreting their performance; in other words, language expectations for ELLs may cluster around a grade-level span rather than a definitive grade. Often it is difficult to pinpoint exact ages or grades when ELLs typically acquire specific words, expressions, and forms of language in English. Language development is variable and contingent on many factors; it is a constellation of factors that determines where students fall on the second language continuum (2013, 34).
The goal of this article is to encourage educators to consider grade-level language development when deciding instructional approaches to employ.
Grant Opportunity: Pan American Round Table
Grant applications are due to Teresa Sotelo and Rosita Ramsey by February 10, 2017.
Strategy Spotlight: It's in the Details
With the ACCESS writing just around the corner, it can be difficult to think of authentic prompts for your students to practice before the big day!
Ellevation is here to help! With an activity like It’s in the Details you can quickly see how to generate an authentic writing sample, while still making the learning relevant for all of the students in your classroom.
The Ellevation team wishes you and your students the best of luck during this important testing season.
Pen Pals Wanted
2017 Multicultural High School Student Art & Essay/Poster Contest
We would like to invite you to sponsor your students to attend the UCO Multicultural Education Institute, which will be held Friday, March 3, 2017 from 4:00-9:30 pm at the Nigh University Center. This year’s theme is: Multicultural Education: Advocating for the Future.
The winners (two in each category) will receive a cash award of $50. Winning essays and art entries will be printed in the Institute program, and all poster submissions will be displayed at the event. The winners will be invited to attend the banquet along with their sponsors and parents to be recognized at the Friday night banquet. There is no charge for sponsors, students or parents to attend the banquet.
Additional information regarding submission guidelines may be found here.
What Do I Say to Students?
by Lauren Mascareñaz
@Tolerance_org The [M]uslim students seem scared and quiet. One says family may flee country. These are six year olds.
—A first-grade teacher’s tweet to Teaching Tolerance, January 30, 2017
We are 50% ELL (language learners – mostly refugee populations). Although my kids are almost all US citizens, their grandparents or some parents are refugees from other countries. The ‘build the wall’ and deportation rhetoric has been very scary for them.
—An elementary-grade educator’s response on a Teaching Tolerance survey, November 14, 2016
Just as during the presidential campaign, current events are hitting home with many students, and teachers have to be ready to talk about these topics. We know that, in many classrooms, students are asking about last week’s events, including President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
Schools with immigrant, undocumented and refugee students are likely to see heightened anxieties and fears among students due to two executive orders: 1) a directive to start immediate construction on a border wall with Mexico and 2) a 90-day ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, and a 120-day suspension on refugee admissions into the United States (indefinitely for Syrian refugees). Recent U.S. population data shows that over 17 million children ages 18 and younger live with at least one immigrant parent. This means that students with direct ties to other countries account for about 25 percent of children in the United States—and these students are in our classrooms every day. We also know that immigrant and refugee students are more concentrated in particular states, school districts and schools. For example, 58 percent of children with immigrant parents live in one of five states: California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois.
Read more here on ways to listen, empathize, encourage and support your diverse learners.
Tulsa PS Immigration Frequently Asked Questions
High School Student Opportunity: Latinos Leaving Legacies
Opportunity for High School Juniors and Seniors sponsored by the League of United Latin American Citizens at Oklahoma State University
If you're interested in visiting OSU for a cool conference, complete this application! It's an overnight (February 17th and 18th) event for Hispanic/Latino students, absolutely free! Applications are DUE FEBRUARY 3rd by 11:59 PM.
Late applications WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Please share!
Scholarship Opportunity: ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Math and Science Scholarships
Named for the first African American to walk in space, ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Math and Science Scholarships are available to 2017 graduating high school seniors in school districts represented by the Council of the Great City Schools.
Four scholarships for two males and two females --- $5,000 each --- will be awarded to two African American and two Hispanic students on behalf of the former NASA astronaut, physician and businessman, Dr. Bernard Harris. Deadline for submissions is April 10, 2017.
***Students may apply to the scholarship online. For students to apply, they should click here or access the Council of Great City Schools' website.
LCS Team Member Spotlight
If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Why? Ireland, because my wife and I traveled there this past summer and were taken away by the culture and history.
- What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play? Basketball.
If you could share a meal with any 4 individuals, living or dead, who would they be? Why would you choose these people? I would dine with Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Amelia Earhart, and MLK. I think it would be interesting to speak with larger than life figures who helped define American History and culture.
- What was the last thing you watched on TV? The Walking Dead
ACCESS 2017 Planning Resources
Test window: February 6, 2017 to March 31, 2017
Materials pick up at Enrollment Center: January 30 and 31, 2017
ACCESS 2.0 & Alternate ACCESS
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Test Administrator Form
- Training Schedule
- Accessibility and Accommodations Supplement
- ACCESS Training Folder
- ACCESS 2017 Roster (saved template in Ellevation's Export Wizard)
ACCESS 2.0
- ACCESS 2.0 Headphone Specifications
- ACCESS 2.0 Sample Items (open using Chrome browser)
Alternate ACCESS
Missed a Department Meeting?
Elementary ELD Department Meetings
Language & Cultural Services Events
Week of January 30:
January 30 & 31, 8:00am to 4:30pm - ACCESS 2.0 Test Materials Pick-up at the office of Language and Cultural Services (Enrollment Center, room 127)
January 31, 8:30am - New ACCESS Test Coordinator Training (Part 1)
January 31, 8:30am - New Alternate ACCESS Test Administrator Training
January 31, 12:30pm - New ACCESS Test Coordinator Training (Part 2)
January 31, 12:30pm - Veteran Alternate ACCESS Test Administrator Training
February 1, 8:30am - New ACCESS Kindergarten Test Administrator Training
February 1, 12:30pm - Veteran ACCESS Test Coordinator Training
February 2, 2:30pm - Interpreter and Translator Skill Building Training
February 3, 8:00am - Teacher Institute for ELD Teachers (Thoreau Demonstration)
February 3, 8:00am - Teacher Institute for Dual Language and Language Immersion Teachers (Zarrow International)
Week of February 6:
February 7, 4:00pm - Spanish for Educators (Edivate)
February 9, 3:45pm - ELD Department Meeting (Elementary)
February 9, 4:45pm - ELD Department Meeting (Secondary)
February 11, 9:00am - SIOP Saturday: Practice and Application
All events are listed in MyLearningPlan unless otherwise noted. Please pre-register and verify session location in MLP.
Check out the Language & Cultural Services events calendar for future events.