EL Happenings

Volume 2 Issue 8

Ms. Holdren- Intro to 3D Art

Ms. Holdren- Intro to 3D Art

Students in Ms. Holdren's 3-D art class are working on clay vessels. They are following along with their rubric expectations and are expected to use coils for their vessels with two experimental designs. The students consulted with their sketch containing coils and designs as they worked. This lesson highlights the SIOP Feature 25, Students Engaged Approximately 90% to 100% of the Period, which falls under the component, Lesson Delivery. When the students are engaged, they are challenged and gain confidence! No time was squandered in Ms. Holdren's classroom; the students were focused on the learning!
Ms. Holdren- Intro to 3D Art
Ms. Gaisser- EL 1

Ms. Gaisser- EL 1

Students in Ms. Gaisser's class are learning how to play tennis! They are learning how to follow directions by following their teacher's model and will create a step-by-step storyboard in order to teach others the various strokes and object of the game. This highlights the SIOP feature, Activities Provided for Students to Apply Content and Language Knowledge from the Component, Practice and Application. Students were able to watch, practice, and then write and draw about the different tennis strokes they are using.
Ms. Gaisser- EL 1
Mrs. Wiley- 1st grade EL

Mrs. Wiley- 1st grade EL

Students in Mrs. Wiley's class regularly meet with her to monitor their reading. In order for Mrs. Wiley to assess their fluency and gauge their comprehension after reading she asks the students a series of questions that relate to the topic, the characters, how they felt about their reading, and how they felt when they pronounced certain words. Probing the students really gives Mrs. Wiley a lot of information on that student and their reading fluency and comprehension. This highlights the SIOP component Strategies, specifically the feature, A Variety of Questions or Tasks That Promote Higher-Order Thinking Skills.
Mrs. Wiley- 1st grade EL
Big picture

IDOE EL Guidebook

Please check out the key points from Chapter 4, "Assessing English Learners” in the IDOE EL Guidebook 2017-2018:


English learners are required to participate in all state assessments and may be provided with state testing accommodations as documented in their Individual Learning Plan (ILP). The following state testing accommodations are allowable for English learners:

  • Student provided access to a screen reader or text-to-speech (cannot be used for reading comprehension portion of test)
  • Test read aloud to the student by test administrator (except items testing reading comprehension, as indicated in read aloud script)
  • Student tested individually or in a small group setting by a familiar teacher
  • Student allowed to use a bilingual word-to word dictionary from the IDOE-approved list
  • Student provided extended testing time for test sessions

*It is important to note that these accommodations should be included in regular classroom practices throughout the year so that students are aware of how to use the accommodation as a support during testing.

English Learner Website

We love showing off your building and classroom celebrations! Check out the Perry English Learner site for all things EL! Do you have a story or celebration you would like to share? Please let me know so we can add it to our website!
Georgina Schneider- Secondary District SIOP Coach

Georgina Schneider- Secondary District SIOP Coach

I hope you had a relaxing Spring Break!
6548 Orinoco Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, United States gmayorga@perryschools.org perryschools.org/ell/