Curriculum & Assessment of Language Skills
Program Goals:1. To use English to achieve in all academic areas and settings.
- Students will use English for personal and instructional interactions in the classroom.
- Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, manipulate, provide, and expand knowledge and information through spoken and written media.
- Students will use appropriate learning strategies to construct and apply academic knowledge.
- Students will acquire English across the curriculum through the use of technology.
2. To use English for all social and personal purposes.
- Students will use English to communicate and meet personal needs.
- Students will interact in and through spoken and written English for personal expression and enjoyment.
- Students will use English to participate in social interactions.
- Students will use appropriate learning strategies to extend their communicative competence.
3. To tailor the English language for various and specific purposes and uses.
- Students will use the appropriate language variety according to audience, purpose, and setting.
- Students will use non-verbal communications appropriate to audience, purpose, and setting.
- These goals incorporate opportunities to develop critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills in the new language and to implement them within the cultural setting of the United States. These keep in mind that language acquisition process is not only the learning of facts, but also depends on developmental and maturation factors.
Thematic Units
Content is presented thematically as a basis for language learning. The topic-related language and concepts are revisited over the course of the year, ensuring conceptual understanding and ability to communicate ideas on specific topics. As students work through each unit the variety of text types, formats, and activities enables mastery of both the language and the concepts.
Balanced Skills
All four language skills - listening, speaking, writing, and reading - are included in each unit of study. This balanced approach ensures communicative proficiency. Units include authentic texts (fiction and non-fiction), reading practice, talking about text and writing. The follow areas of language acquisition are balanced in the instructional approach:
Content is presented thematically as a basis for language learning. The topic-related language and concepts are revisited over the course of the year, ensuring conceptual understanding and ability to communicate ideas on specific topics. As students work through each unit the variety of text types, formats, and activities enables mastery of both the language and the concepts.
Balanced SkillsAll four language skills - listening, speaking, writing, and reading - are included in each unit of study. This balanced approach ensures communicative proficiency. Units include authentic texts (fiction and non-fiction), reading practice, talking about text and writing. The follow areas of language acquisition are balanced in the instructional approach:
- Phonics
- The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA)
- Differentiated Learning Strategies
- Cooperative Learning
- Integrated Curriculum
- Multi-Cultural Understanding
Assessment of English Language Skills
The ACCESS is a standards-based, criterion-referenced English Language proficiency test designed to measure ELL students' social and academic proficiency in English. It assesses social and instructional English as well as the language associated with Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies within the school context across the four language domains.
The ACCESS is anchored in academic content standards and common English proficiency standards used with the WIDA. It measures progress in attaining academic and school related English across grade level clusters and English proficiency levels up to and including full English proficiency
Assesses each language domain (listening, speaking, reading and writing) separately to generate individual sub-scale and composite scores (including comprehension)
The ACCESS is a standards-based, criterion-referenced English Language proficiency test designed to measure ELL students' social and academic proficiency in English. It assesses social and instructional English as well as the language associated with Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies within the school context across the four language domains.
The ACCESS is anchored in academic content standards and common English proficiency standards used with the WIDA. It measures progress in attaining academic and school related English across grade level clusters and English proficiency levels up to and including full English proficiency
Assesses each language domain (listening, speaking, reading and writing) separately to generate individual sub-scale and composite scores (including comprehension)