TeachME Professional Development

Resources to Assist English Learners-Part One

Chapter 1: Tools and Resources For Identifying All English Learners

1. To obtain accurate information about English Language Learners, schools should reassure parents that such information is used solely to offer appropriate educational services, not for determining legal status or for immigration purposes.

A. True B. False

2. Recommendations to assist with developing the content of home language survey (HLS) instruments and procedures that will provide accurate information include each of the following EXCEPT:

A. Ensuring that the purpose and use of the HLS is clearly communicated to both families and those who administer the survey B. Including questions that are clear and understandable to those who administer the HLS C. Making sure it elicits information about the student's current English abilities D. Developing a process that provides regular evaluation and revision of the content as needed

Determining Which Students are English Learners

3. Once students are identified as potential ELs, they must be assessed with a valid and reliable assessment to determine if they are indeed ELs, and LEAs and SEAs commonly refer to these assessments as "classification/grouping tests."

A. True B. False

Tools-Home Language Surveys (HLS)

4. The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have approved three HLS questions that are considered minimally compliant under the law, including 'What is the primary language used in the home,' 'What is the language most often spoken by the student?' and 'What is the language that the student first acquired?'

A. True B. False

Sample 1-Home Language Survey

5. In addition to assessing language use and acquisition, home language surveys may ask parents about which language they prefer for receiving written and oral school communication.

A. True B. False

Chapter 2: Tools and Resources for Providing English Learners with a Language Assistance Program

6. EL programs must be designed to enable ELs to attain both English proficiency and parity of participation in the standard instructional program within a reasonable length of time, and EL services and programs must be educationally sound in theory and:

A. Culturally relevant B. Effective in practice C. Ethically opportune D. Pertinent in rationale

7. In order to determine which EL services and programs are best suited for a student identified as an EL, local education agencies (LEAs) may consider child-centered factors including the student's native language literacy, acculturation into U.S. society, and age he or she entered the United States.

A. True B. False

8. Which of the following does NOT accurately describe newcomer services for recent arrivals and students with interrupted formal education (SIFE)?

A. They are generally offered for two to four years, depending on student need B. They offer specialized services and classes to help these students acclimate to U.S. schools C. They develop foundational skills in content areas such as basic literacy and math concepts D. They prepare students for ESL, ELD, bilingual, and immersion programs

A District Checklist-Steps for Addressing the Needs of Long Term English Learners

9. District systems should be created to address the needs of long term English learners, and a priority must be to develop annual benchmark expectations for English Learners based on age/developmental level of the EL student as well as what is the norm for all student learners.

A. True B. False

Conclusions and Recommendations

10. Experts recommend that districts approach external pressure to improve services for ELLs and other students as an asset rather than a liability, and that rather than addressing state or court directives defensively or adopting measures aimed solely at ensuring legal compliance, external requirements should be approached as mandates for long-term, systemic reform efforts to raise student achievement.

A. True B. False

Strategic and Instructional Recommendations

11. While reforms for English learners must be articulated and sustained, the district must also create a convincing instructional strategy that is capable of teaching ELLs to the highest standards, and that includes reviewing general education and ELL programs to ensure that there is an explicit focus on cultivating English language development and:

A. Incorporating accountability for ELLs B. Empowering EL students to achieve C. Building academic literacy D. Developing a clear instructional vision

Some EL Programs Considered Educationally Sound in Theory

12. Dual Language or Two-Way Immersion is a program designed to impart English language skills so that the ELs can transition and succeed in an English-only mainstream classroom while remaining proficient in their native language.

A. True B. False

Chapter 3: Tools and Resources for Staffing and Supporting an English Learner Program

13. When staffing an EL program, necessary personnel include:

A. Teachers who are qualified to provide EL services B. Core-content teachers who are highly qualified in their field as well as trained to support EL students C. Trained administrators who can evaluate these teachers D. All of the above

14. LEAs must hire teachers qualified and certified to teach ELs, or support unqualified staff as they work towards obtaining the qualifications within a reasonable period of time, which is generally within five years.

A. True B. False

15. LEAs must provide ELs with adequate and appropriate resources that include sufficient quantities of applicable instructional materials, as well as each of the following EXCEPT:

A. Resources that provide challenging academic content that is aligned with grade-level state content standards B. Title I and other grant-funded services that supplement common core curriculum C. Appropriately trained and supervised paraprofessionals, as appropriate, to provide support services D. Materials for students with disabilities when needed

Supporting an English Learner Program

16. Schools and LEAs should ensure that all EL program, core-content, and special education teachers who deliver instruction to ELs with disabilities receive PD specifically related to teaching dually identified ELs.

A. True B. False

Core Principles for Professional Development (PD) of Teachers of ELs

17. Core principles to structure PD opportunities to facilitate successful outcomes for EL teachers and their students include engaging participants as learners, providing practice, feedback, and follow-up, measuring changes in teacher knowledge and skills, measuring changes in student performance, and building on a foundation of:

A. Skills, knowledge, and expertise B. Collaboration, teamwork, and alliance C. Regard, appreciation, and insight D. Mentoring, coaching, and apprenticing

18. Cultural awareness is an important component of a professional development program, and educators must understand and appreciate EL students' different cultural backgrounds in order to maximize their achievement opportunities.

A. True B. False

Essential Knowledge for Teachers of ELS

19. Oral language proficiency allows students to participate in academic discussions, understand instruction, and build literacy skills, and the best ways to increase oral language is through grammar exercises, listening activities, and cooperative learning projects.

A. True B. False

Explicitly Teach Academic English

20. Opportunities to learn and practice academic language are essential for all students, including English language learners, and it requires skills in multiple domains, including vocabulary, syntax/grammar, and:

A. Morphology B. Reading comprehension C. Phonology D. Contextualized concepts

Indicators and Examples of Effective Classroom Teaching for ELs-Domain 1

21. When designing coherent instruction, teachers should consider using parents as multicultural resources, supplementing texts with guest speakers who speak the students' first language, and providing experiences for ELs that develop background knowledge related to content they are acquiring.

A. True B. False

Classroom Organization

22. The dimension of "efficacy" considers how well the teacher manages time and routines so that instructional time is maximized, and captures the degree to which downtime is minimized for students.

A. True B. False

Chapter 4: Tool and Resources for Providing English Learners Equal Access to Curricular and Extracurricular Programs

23. One important measure of whether ELs are able to attain equal participation in the standard instructional program within a reasonable length of time is whether a beginner EL will be able to earn a regular high school diploma in four years.

A. True B. False

Providing English Learners Equal Access to Advanced Courses and GATE

24. ELs tend to be underrepresented in gifted and talented programs, and face several barriers related to admission to these programs such as a lack of identification of students from underrepresented populations who may be gifted, frequent mobility among some ELs, lack of assessment instruments that are culturally appropriate, a lack of professional development for general education teachers about ELs, and:

A. Lack of effective communication with EL parents B. Lack of enrichment programs that promote exceptional skills C. Lack of consistent and specific guidelines to encourage participation D. Lack of collaboration among teachers in GATE programs, mainstream teachers, and school counselors

25. Special attention must be paid to ensure that the needs of ELs who are gifted and have a disability, who are known as multi-distinct students, are consistently met, particularly in the areas of guidance and counseling.

A. True B. False

Tool 2-Six Key Principles for Teaching English Learners

26. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts and Mathematics as well as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) require that ELs meet rigorous, grade level academic standards, and that instruction focuses on providing ELs with opportunities to engage in activities which are designed to build conceptual understanding and language competence in tandem through:

A. Challenging and creative capacity-building exercises B. Literacy development strategies C. Meaningful performance enterprises D. Discipline-specific practices

27. ELs must learn to use a broad repertoire of strategies to construct meaning from academic talk and complex text, to participate in academic discussions, and to express themselves in writing across a variety of academic situations.

A. True B. False

Tool 3-English Learners and the College-and Career-Ready Standards

28. While ELLs with high levels of schooling can often bring to bear conceptual knowledge developed in their first language when reading in English, and ELLs with limited or interrupted schooling will need to acquire background knowledge prerequisite to educational tasks at hand.

A. True B. False

29. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that students learn to participate in mathematical reasoning?

A. By making conjectures B. By presenting explanations C. By learning high-level vocabulary D. By constructing arguments

Identifying and Serving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CSD) Gifted Students

30. To capture a holistic profile of all students, the most important criteria is gathering correlational and descriptive information from students and family members using socially sensitive methods of assessment.

A. True B. False


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