NJ Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/
NJ Bilingual Educators

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Bilingual Elementary

Taking a Virtual Field Trip

By Maggie Manson

Have you ever wanted to take your students on a field trip without leaving your classroom?  Well, now you can. 

One of the many interesting ideas a co-worker presented at a staff development workshop was to use a website called Track Star-Digital Vocabulary Field Trip.  After logging onto the website, viewers can become members for free and create track numbers so that all of the additional websites you add onto this site can be viewed immediately.  In order to create the virtual field trip, teachers select an area of study and find websites that pertain to the subject matter prior to exposing the site to students.  When the students are ready to go on their virtual field trip all of the information needed on site has previously been obtained.  The instructor’s job is to guide students through questions and websites to find out more about their topic for study, in this case, hurricanes.

Website #1— http://www.weatherwizkids.com
This website uses simple definitions and pictures to help explain to children what is a hurricane, how they form, safety tips just in case you ever have one in your area, and a variety of games that relate to the subject area.  As one explores further, there are also realistic graphs, maps and photos of hurricanes.  Puzzles, mazes, word jumbles, crossword puzzles, word searches, and memory games are among the activities found on this site.    

Website #2— http://www.eo.ucar.edu/webweather/hurricanehome.html
Weather for Kids provides activities for children.  The website includes non-fiction stories based on people’s personal experiences in battling actual hurricanes.  Students, with the assistance of the teacher, can read the story and discuss the many pictures provided on the site, as well as the map that shows the course of the hurricane.  Students could also review how to stay safe if a hurricane ever hits their hometowns.  The site provides a variety of activities children can easily complete to create a variety of weather related conditions.  One of the website selections is games: students can select from two interactive games.

Website #3— https://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive
This website presents the students with actual footage of a hurricane.  The students can view the development of a hurricane and observe as it is being tracked.  The site provides history pertaining to the subject matter, as well as bold face words that can be later used for a vocabulary lesson.  

Website #4— https://nhc.noaa.gov
The National Hurricane Center tracks hurricanes as they are occurring.  There are a variety of graphics that show the potential formation of a hurricane, as well as in which direction the wind is blowing and the maximum wind speed probability.  Viewers can select from a variety of icons that will take them on individual tours.  This website is updated on a regular basis and situations change regularly.

The possibilities of taking virtual field trips are endless.  Instructors must remember that it is their responsibility to first select the websites so that students can later take their tours.  Where ever you may have planned to take a trip, now is the time to do it, virtually. The tour itself is as simple or as difficult as the instructor has decided to make it.  I can’t wait to have my next virtual trip!

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Middle School Bilingual and ESL

What I Learned In Summer School

By Tina Kern

As I walked down the hall, a teacher burst from her room booming, “Gamal did really well on his pronunciation word test.  Can we get him out of ESL now?”

I opened my mouth to comment, but a colleague (who had been an ESL teacher and also had Gamal as a student) interjected, “Not this year.”  The first teacher continued with accolades to his fluency.  You see, she had been a summer school teacher, and for the first time in her career, she had a former ESL student.  Now, through her vast experience as a classroom reading teacher and her 4-week stint in summer school, plus having read several books on the subject, she qualified herself as a specialist.  I knew it would be a very long year – and this subject would be revisited.

I knew Gamal’s progress was incredible.  September 2011 marked only one year that he had been in the United States. He had needed to learn a new alphabet, a new language, make new friends, and adjust to a different educational system.  On an informal test, Gamal had to read various words as he continued on to lists of higher level words; he excelled in his word attack skills. His fluency, though, was only one part of the complete picture.  I couldn’t explain the complexity of the process in one conversation.  But I knew, no matter how many times I explained the basics of the process of teaching ELLs to become successful, it was never too many times.  This bears repeating:  as teachers of ELLs, we design programs and educate the educated in the unique qualities of our populations.

I knew that one of our roles, exercising sensitivity toward our populations, was truly needed here.  The students in that teacher’s class were told that they would “get out of” ESL soon — very soon.  That is not the way we want the students to perceive our program.  ESL classes are not negative, but positive, additions to their schedules.  We teach these children so that they are successful in regular classes…classes where the other children grew up immersed in English and educated in our American schools.  Unfortunately, these children came to me asking questions, and referred to “getting out” and who would, and why and why not.  I knew I had to devote some class time to explaining how wonderful an opportunity ESL is.  And then I would have to confer with our school’s teachers as to the language used when the ESL teacher, with multiple measures, made the joint decision that the student was ready to exit.

It seems my life is full of fairy tales and fables like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.   In our schools it seems that either the classroom teachers and administrators want the students to exit too soon (“the porridge is too hot”), or not for a long time (“the porridge is too cold”). Rarely is it “just right.”

Years ago ESL teachers begged for classrooms, as we were relegated to the room behind the stage, or the newly renovated closet with no windows just a peep hole in the door.  Now our populations of students are on the front lines and are given some prominence, as our numbers color the testing results and cause concern because our students don’t pass the test easily. At the same time, many schools have cut programs and reduced staff so that we see fewer teachers servicing more students. 

The year 2014 is looming, and our ELLs are part of the group that must pass the tests. As I write this, New Jersey is considering the new federal exemption, but testing still is a reality, and no one seems to have a better way to measure progress. How sad! I still remember when administrations (political and educational) exempted our ELLs for two years from state testing, for obvious reasons.

Meanwhile, we create our checklist each year:

• We gather the files of information we have on our students. 
• We contact other schools to update our information.
• We communicate with the guidance department or teachers in the schools where we sent our students.
• We inform teachers about the newly exited students.
• We create schedules.
• We utilize reading scores and WIDA results to individualize instruction.

And the list goes on.  Now that the state doesn’t require that districts submit plans as in prior years, the pertinent information is filed in Central Office.  Some schools are not requiring classroom files, as information is being stored online.   I would suggest that you still keep files with information and scores, and update them.  I utilize my data continually with regular teachers and administrators as we discuss student progress.

While many teachers are members of teams, created by grade levels and/or subjects, we are part of the “specialist” group in some schools.  We are sent to sit in with other grade levels during meetings, but, many times  are not part of the teams created in our schools.  As such, we must communicate with the teams and advocate for our students.  Part of this hinges on the communication we create with the other teachers.  Whether it is enlightening the staff about our ELLs at teacher /team meetings, we must reiterate the challenges to our students. 

Some regular classroom teachers still are unaware of intricacies of language theory and how best to help our students acquire language.  As I share what I know with regular teachers at meetings, I am reminded that our knowledge of ELLs is not universal: We need to educate teachers so they understand our students.  I can’t say this enough.  I am always surprised that what I consider “everyday” knowledge of the ESL teacher is NOT common knowledge for the regular classroom teacher.  It is important that during these first months of school, you need to create your own communication system; perhaps a short email to teachers of ELLs and recently exited students, with a checklist to monitor progress can be expedient.  Regular classroom teachers who teach our ELLs, too, should feel comfortable to contact us on any issues.  When I overhear some comment about our students in the hall, even discipline “problems” involving them, I realize it is time to send an email or speak at a teacher’s meeting, reiterating that we are working together with our ELLs for their success.  It is a shared experience.  I need the classroom teacher to recognize what I mean by “deeper understanding”.  I want the classroom teacher to understand that fluency without understanding is reading words, and is not a reflection of comprehension. In fact, I am in the process of sending a second group of emails to the staff in our school asking for advance notice of content vocabulary that they will be using in future lessons and perhaps an outline of lesson plans from content area teachers in order to integrate this information into my plans.  In this way the students will become active participants in the regular classroom, as we arm them with pertinent vocabulary so they understand key concepts.

With the emphasis on content vocabulary, our role becomes even more critical.  I have always wrestled with the complexities and challenges of vocabulary and am reading extensively on this subject.  I am inhaling books such as Learning Words Inside and Out by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, as well as Building Academic Vocabulary by Robert Manzano, as I try to accelerate the learning of content area vocabulary, Tier 2 words, Tier 3 words, etc.  This is a constant frustration as the state testing presupposes the student has thousands of words in his repertoire. While the science curriculum has lists of content area words, the English teachers, including the ESL teachers, try to choose important words by evaluating previous tests and lists of Tier words compiled by experts. We also teach “exciting” words, and try to eradicate “boring” words.  Some of our students have no prior knowledge or experience that can help them retain the words they need to learn for the lessons in content area subjects. By utilizing lists regular classroom teachers send us, and sharing our lessons, we can reinforce information.  Also we can help the classroom teachers create their own Tier 2 words, or create them ourselves from the lessons.  As research has shown, these are the words we must emphasize with our students. You can check the state website at http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/es/njask.

Our job is multi-faceted and our students’ successes depend on so many different factors.  As for the first teacher who wanted students out of the program, we ended a discussion with hugs for now.  I emphasized working together for the same goal for the child: his ultimate success in regular classrooms.  She said she worried about his fluency.  I said I worried about his comprehension (among other things).  But I walked away still preoccupied with the echo of “revisiting” his progress in January.  As for me, I constantly check and recheck progress, and areas of need and review.  When the students do exit, I want them to experience success— success that they earned and deserve. For now, he is entitled to and receives his ESL instruction, and daily enters with a smile, for he knows he is strengthening his skills —and we care about his future.

Tina Kern is the representative for the Bilingual/ESL Middle School SIG. She teaches in the Morris School District.

 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT #1: I am happy to announce that we have reconfigured our Special Interest Group to better serve your needs and to address the unique challenges of Middle School.  This year our ESL Middle School SIG is becoming the ESL and Bilingual Middle School SIG.  

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT #2: Our Student Scholarships/Writing Challenges will be due on March 1, 2012.  This incredible opportunity for our students is one of the highlights of our Spring Conference.  Nothing can match the feeling I have when I present one of the awards to a winner.  Check out the information on our NJTESOL/NJBE website, njtesol-njbe.org, download an application pertinent to your grade level (4th, 8th, High School, or Higher Education), and begin encouraging your students to enter our Writing Challenge. The practice is invaluable, and you might have a winner in your classroom!  Good luck!

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Bilingual Secondary

Welcome Back!

By Janet Kaback

Welcome back to the school year 2011-2012!  I don’t know how you are doing but I am facing larger classes, more pressure from above to get more done in less time, less take-home pay due to the governor’s and legislature’s enactment making us pay higher percentages of our pensions and health care premiums, more students with more problems and more responsibility, equaling more stress!

We are now dealing with common assessments in my department, necessitating all classes be, more or less, on the same page or in the same chapter. This presents a problem because I’ve been told that my students should have learned certain material in the elementary and middle schools. BUT my students were not in the USA for those curricula! I feel like I’m building a house beginning with the second floor because my students do not have the background knowledge and I do not have the time to teach it to them!

Is anyone else facing the same frustrations that I am?  I would love to hear from you…maybe we can devise strategies for meeting the needs of our bilingual students if we share experiences and what we are doing.  

IMPORTANT NOTICE!
Scholarship information and applications are online! Go to http://www.njtesol-njbe.org/scholarships12/default.htm. The absolute deadline for submissions to be received is March 1st, 2012. We are doing this early so as not to interfere with tutoring for HSPA or the AHSA.  Please tell your students and spread the word to your colleagues about these wonderful opportunities.

Janet Kaback, Bilingual SIG Representative

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Early Childhood

Scores For Thought

By Monica Schnee

It is time again to send the ACCESS Parent Report to our students’ parents who are anxious to know if their child is eligible to exit ESL, no matter how many times we have stressed that it is only one of many multiple exit criteria. But have you taken the time to look at the scores to see if they truly reflect what your students were able to do last March? Have you made sure that they are accurate even though the window for making changes is already closed?

Last year I wrote an article about the number of inaccurate scores that my kindergarten students had received. I also stressed how helpful Metritech and the Department of Education were in working with me to rectify those scores.

This year, having learned from prior experience, my district agreed to pay me to come in [to work] within the window for correction. Again, I carefully studied the scores, domain by domain, scale by scale, and  found a smaller number of scores that surprised me. A few of my students had become “secure writers” by March and their writing scores seemed too low based on my expectations and knowledge of them.

I immediately got on the phone with Metritech and they once again agreed to look into the scores. They pulled out those booklets that I had concerns about and were incredibly helpful in providing services as well as guidance. They were fast in sending back the corrected reports and in reporting the new scores to the Department of Education. Yes, these students had actually scored much higher, so much so, that their scores were 4.5 or higher.

As I reflect on the experience and its implications, here are a few points to consider:

• We are our students’ teachers, not our supervisors. Therefore, we know what our students are able to accomplish. Look at the scores carefully.

• Supervisors juggle many balls, one of which is the ACCESS scores, make sure they share the scores with you.

• Do not be concerned about windows and legalities, be concerned about your students. If you suspect scores might be wrong, ask Metritech to review them. You should do this even if it requires paying a small fee. Those scores are used in many districts to exit students.

• Remember scores are tied to AMAO 1, 2, and 3. It behooves you and your district to know they are accurate.

• Kindergarten booklets are marked by us, the teachers who administer the tests [Teachers fill in the score sheets as the young students answer. Ed.]; you should have a broad notion of what each student is capable of.

• The booklets are scored by machines: the writing portion is one that could be problematic for scoring since many children are “eraser maniacs” and others love to write outside the box!  This is germane to the test but there is nothing we can do but all’s the more reason to be extra careful.

• Understand how the scores are interpreted, what the scale scores represent, what the confidence band measures, what the overall composite score means for accountability purposes and what it means for instructional purposes.

• The way in which you use the scores to inform your instruction and help guide the first grade classroom teacher is in great measure how your students will be set up for the first part of the year.

• Use those scores to give classroom teachers a framework for the CAN DO Descriptors, so make sure that the scores truly reflect students’ performance.

• Finally, do not underestimate how important it is for parents and students to feel successful! This score is in a way their first measure of success and accomplishment in their academic lives. It is your responsibility to make sure it is true and correct.

Monica Schnee is the Bilingual/ESL Early Childhood / Pre-K – K Representative

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Elementary ESL

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Secondary ESL

The Unique Challenge of High School ELLs

By Caia Schlessinger

Teaching English language learners at the high school level is definitely a unique challenge. Not only do students need to master the English language, but they have to worry about the HSPA, the AHSA, end-of-course exams, fulfilling graduation requirements, and postsecondary planning. In the past couple of weeks, many NJTESOL/NJBE members have posted questions to the Hotlist asking for clarifications on fulfilling graduation requirements and program structure. I would like to address these questions and provide you with links to the information.

First of all, every ESL and bilingual teacher should have a copy of the New Jersey Bilingual Education Code that directs our programs from amount of instructional time to curriculum. Here is a quote from page 7 of the Code: “The district board of education shall establish an ESL program that provides up to two periods of ESL instruction based on student language proficiency whenever there are 10 or more LEP students enrolled within the schools of the district.” Please take the time to read the Code. It contains important information regarding ESL programs in our state. You can find a copy of the Code at the following link: https://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap15.pdf

Also, I have received some emails asking if an ESL teacher can provide high school students with instruction in Language Arts and have those credits count toward graduation. An ESL teacher does not need to be certified in Language Arts Literacy in order to teach an ESL class that can satisfy New Jersey’s Language Arts Literacy graduation requirement. An ESL teacher can teach a replacement Language Arts Literacy class for his or her ELLs. Please refer to the following link for more information: http://www.nj.gov/education/grants/nclb/guidance/esl.htm

Another member asked about ELLs and the five credit world language requirement for high school students. There are several options for ELLs to fulfill this requirement. ELLs may choose to study any world language in addition to English or through further study of their native or heritage language, even if that language is not offered in the students’ school district. Another option for students who have been speaking their native language from a young age is to take a district proficiency test to earn the five credits. And finally, an ELL can take an additional ESL or English class to fulfill the world language requirement. However, this class must be in addition to the students’ replacement Language Arts class. Please refer to the following link for more detailed information: http://www.state.nj.us/education/aps/cccs/wl/guide.htm#II4

I know that spring seems so far away, but please consider submitting a proposal to present [a workshop or poster session] at the NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference on May 30th and 31st, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick. Proposals [for workshops] should address our conference theme: Success for ELLs Across the Curriculum. You can submit your proposal online by October 31st, 2011 at the following link: http://www.njtesol-njbe.org/spring-conference/CFW12.htm

NJTESOL/NJBE has a wonderful opportunity to help your ELLs with the financial difficulties of postsecondary school planning. Every year, NJTESOL/NJBE offers the Pedro J. Rodriguez High School Scholarship in the amount of $1,500 to a student who is, or has been, enrolled in ESL or bilingual classes at the secondary level. Please keep an eye on the Hotlist for a link to the application.

Caia Schlessinger is the NJTESOL/NJBE Secondary ESL Representative. She teaches ESL at Colt Neck High School for the Freehold Regional High School District. 

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Higher Education

A New Higher Education Rep and A New Vision

By Gladys Vega Scott

The beginning of the 2011-2012 academic year will certainly be one to remember for years to come. The week before most colleges and universities were supposed to start classes two natural disasters hit the eastern seaboard: an earthquake and a tropical storm. Hurricane-turned-tropical storm Irene had devastating effects on students, educators, and administrators alike, which led to delayed openings in several institutions of higher education. Despite the difficulties we faced, ranging from power outages to record-high flooding, we were blessed with minimal loss of life in our state. Personally, however, this academic year will also bring back positive memories as this fall, I begin my term as the higher education representative of our organization.

Serving on the Executive Board of NJTESOL/NJBE is an honor, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to support the efforts of all the members to maintain NJTESOL/NJBE moving forward and growing. I am excited about the prospect of strengthening our participation in the annual Spring Conference through the Higher Education Mini-Conference started this year as well as fostering closer ties between the higher education members and those of the secondary education group. Expanding our lines of communication with secondary education members is particularly important since the state of New Jersey is a member of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

PARCC is a new consortium of 24 states that received a $186 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top competition to create a K-12 assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. Aimed at assisting states increase the number of students who graduate from high school ready for college and careers, the PARCC assessment system is expected to have a significant impact at both high school and college levels. The first set of assessments is slated to be implemented in 2014-2015. (For more information, please go to http://www.parcconline.org/)

As a result, it is vital that ESOL educators from secondary and postsecondary organizations initiate more in-depth conversations on how to collaboratively provide input to the working groups that will be developing the PARCC assessment system. Such collaboration will enhance our understanding of the needs of high school graduates and the challenges that they face as they the transition into college. Furthermore, it will create the conditions for a cohesive partnership that will carry a stronger voice as delegates of ELL students, teachers and administrators communicate with  the state representatives in the PARCC consortium. Let’s start sharing what we have learned from working with our students at both levels of education to find ways to form a productive, effective, long-lasting coalition.

Gladys Vega Scott is the Higher Education SIG Representative. She directs and teaches in the Academic ESL Program at William Paterson University. 

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Parent Liaison

Back to School Means Welcoming Students AND Their Parents!

By Karen Nemeth

The Parent/Community Action Special Interest Group of NJTESOL-NJBE gives us all an opportunity to share concerns and strategies for working with families and community members to support our work with ELLs in ESL or bilingual education.  For this issue of Voices, I have collected a few resources to help you get to know the families of your students and encourage their involvement in school activities.

This book provides easy-to-use strategies for dealing with parents and guardians in a variety of different circumstances and issues:   50 Strategies for Communicating and Working with Diverse Families (2nd ed.) by Janet Gonzalez-Mena.

This website provides information and activities to support family literacy for ELLs of all ages:  colorincolorado.org.

Tips for parents about reading to their children are available in 25 languages! http://minnesotahumanities.org/resources/tips

An article from the Center for Applied Linguistics on “Raising Bilingual Children: Common Parental Concerns and Current Research” is found at http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/RaiseBilingChild.html .

If you have some effective strategies for engaging the families of your ELL students, consider sharing them in a workshop at next year’s conference.  Workshop proposals are due October 31, 2011.  Click here for more information: http://www.njtesol-njbe.org/spring-conference/CFW12.htm .

If you have resources that have helped you work with the families of your students,  please share them on the NJTESOL/NJBE Hotlist or send them to me:

Karen Nemeth is the Coordinator of Parent/Community Action Special Interest Group.

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Special Education

A New SPED SIG Representative

By Claudia Plata

Greetings! As one of the newest members to the Executive Board, I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and excitement to serve as the representative of the Special Education SIG.  I look forward to collaborating with this group of respected and passionate professionals.  

Although I am not a SPED teacher. I have collaborated with teachers in this field and worked with SPED ELLs.  After I left my classroom I became the only District Bilingual Math Specialist. Even though I taught SPED ELLs while I was a classroom teacher, it was during my time as Math Specialist that I had the opportunity to work hands-on with wonderful devoted teachers of bilingual students who provided students with varied learning strategies.  Their concern and sensitivity was evident by the ways in which they adapted instruction to help those who were possibly learning-disabled students.  Later, some of these students were evaluated and classified.

During my observations, the teachers were sensitive to modify their instruction to reach their struggling students.  They adapted their instruction to accommodate various learning styles in their classrooms. For example, teachers included ample listening and speaking activities to reinforce and master academic skills for those students who are primarily verbal learners. Their classrooms were print-rich with student-created visuals that aided the learning of visual learners.  They assisted their auditory learners by having them listen to recorded lessons or feedback from classmates. Kinesthetic learners created 3-D projects that assisted them with the comprehension of content area matter. A plethora of manipulatives and materials were available for various learning units. Awareness of learning styles enhanced the ability of these teachers to help their students experience success and reach their goals.

On another note, the upcoming 2012 spring NJTESOL/NJBE conference will be held May 30-31 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick.  I encourage all teachers with SPED ELLs to share their experiences and knowledge as a presenter or by participating in our Poster Sessions.  The deadline for workshop proposals is October 31, 2011 and the deadline for the Poster Sessions is January 15, 2012.   First-time presenters may present a workshop with a colleague.  Graduate Forum proposals are also due on January 15.

In addition, our Scholarship Program is still accepting donations.  In light of budget cuts and tuition increases, scholarships are crucial for many of our students continuing their higher education.  Watch the Hotlist, and our website, for information on applications for your students to apply for one of these scholarships.

Always visit our website at: njtesol-njbe.org for more information.

Claudia Plata is the Special Education SIG representative.  She is a teacher in Perth Amboy Public Schools.

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Teacher Education

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