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using the ELP template

Since I teach HB students, I wanted to keep this assignment as simple as possible so that students could be successful. As a result, I didn't really use the template to design a mini-lesson. Instead, I used an assignment in the book, which was the "Solve the Problem" scenario on p. 68. In this short reading, students were asked what a woman (Sandra) should do since she couldn't find her car in a parking lot. The choices were:

--call her husband

--look some more for the car

--call the police

--other (fill in your answer)

I asked the students what answer they chose, and asked them to respond verbally. I then asked a follow-up question, which was, "why did you choose that answer?" Most students were able to respond, but some weren't sure, or didn't have the words to reply.

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The checklist was a helpful structure, but the spaces weren't big enough for me to put my students' names in the spaces, or to fit all the names of all my students. I had to use my students' initials, which I wouldn't find useful later, since I don't often use students' last names and I haven't memorized their initials. I might use this same checklist design, but I would make my own document in Google so that I could make the cells larger to record more information.

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I watched the video "Tasks to Promote Oral Skills: from Accuracy to Fluency." I thought it had some good strategies that I would like to try, such as the flyswatter game as a fun way to improve sight-word recognition and pronunciation of words that look or sound similar. On a personal note, it was a nice surprise to see a former colleague from Arlington Public Schools featured in the video, teaching beginners! :)

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I will use the HI speaking checklist to officially evaluate their speaking skills once they are done with their project. I like it because it has all the ELPs in details with what to look for during the evaluation. I haven't decide yet if I will print it, or just use the electronic version.

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Students will be working in pairs, small groups, or individually and present to the whole class. They were given three options to choose from:

Mock interview (pairs), career presentation (individual), or compare jobs debate (two or three students).

Each option came with specific guidance and examples. Students have time to prepare, they are allowed to have posters or slides, but they are not allowed to read word by word.

They will be using persuasive language and other vocabulary we have learned.

we have been practicing daily, as a warm, how to support and defend our opinion since the second week of this term. For example, I share a statement or a quote, and have them discuss it in pairs or small groups, agree or disagree with it, then they will have an open discussion as a whole group. I have used that time to evaluate them as well.

They may not be able to present until Thursday/ Friday.

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The template was useful in that it reminded me to include some sentence frames, which I wrote on the board as I assessed students. Many of them looked to the frames as they composed their responses to the speaking prompt.

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The checklist was helpful, but a little tricky to locate the correct boxes to check since ELP 4 is in listed in the middle of the page with rows of boxes above and below. I should use more contrast to differentiate between those students who met the standard and those who didn't so I can see the difference at a glance.

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I really built the Work unit around real-life materials, mostly pulling resources from the REEP lessons. I picked these because they had great, authentic stories about immigrants working here in the U.S. What made them work so well was that the stories always had a real-world problem and solution embedded in them, which helped students move past just reading and into deeper thinking.

To get my students talking and thinking critically, I was able to generate specific, open-ended questions. This let them discuss things they already know, like the positive and negative aspects of their current jobs, and really express their nuanced opinions about familiar work experiences.

The structured template was very helpful. It organized the information and gave a concrete, expected language output (like a clear model for expressing opinions or comparing things). Best of all, it made it super easy for me to check if the students were meeting the standard or if they needed more time to practice.

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The standards checklist is a helpful tool for mapping progress, but honestly, I find myself a little overwhelmed by it. It gets confusing with all the boxes, which leads me to wonder if we really need to assess every single reading, writing, speaking, and listening standard all the time. Since I already have a pretty good internal understanding of my students' current levels, trying to pull out the checklist during a fast-paced lesson often feels redundant and breaks my focus—I get so caught up in the flow of teaching that I forget. I almost wish ACE would create specific mini-assessments or common assessments for some of these standards. Having a quick, standardized check-in would be helpful for me.

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I used the ELP template for an activity I had done with my class before to see if/ how it fits. My activity was on understanding an email, writing one, and speaking about it. Part of it was adapted from Venture 2 Unit 1 and part of the application was my own idea. When I tried to retrofit the activity to the template, I found the breakdown helpful in specifying expected language output, scaffolds, etc.

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I used the checklist as a point of reference to evaluate the skills and knowledge it identifies for each L2 ELP Standard. I find it easier to reformat the feedback in my own way. Is that acceptable?

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Watched the video "Teaching grammar in real life contexts." Susan McCurdy's approach in using story-telling with a timeline to teach tenses aligns with what I've tried doing with my class.

I too go back and forth on whether / when/ how often to use grammar terms when talking about real life occurrence. Replacing them with everyday words make it seem less intimidating for students.

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They are definitely helpful, but a little bit tricky to use. I guess with the times it will be easier, but at the beginning I was a bit stresses, thinking how to cover all of them. Thank you for explaining everything today. The key - to make it practical.