This course was developed to comply with the training requirements set forth by the Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy, Inc. (META) Consent Decree for Category I teachers (English/Language Arts/Elementary Classroom Teachers) needing to add the ESOL Endorsement to their Florida State teaching certificate.

This course will assist classroom teachers to better understand and meet the needs of English language learners.

Duration: 8 weeks
Inservice: 60 points
Audience: Category I teachers (Reading/English/Language Arts/Elementary teachers K-12)
Access to Students: Yes

Syllabus

Week 1: Historical Influences and Legislation that shaped education of ELLs
Week 2: Understanding our ELLs and their language readiness
Week 3: Understanding the Common Core State Standards and how they will affect instruction of ELLs
Week 4: Preparing ELLs for the listening and speaking standards within the Common Core State Standards
Week 5: Making learning goals comprehensible and tracking progress for ELLs
Week 6: Cooperative learning and other 21st Century Skills with ELLs
Week 7: Practice, homework, and identifying similarities and differences
Week 8: Pulling it all together: scaffolding learning for ELLs at all language proficiency levels to meet the standards.

Specific Objectives

Participants will:

• Demonstrate knowledge of L2 teaching methods in their historical context.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the evolution of laws and policy in the ESL profession, including program models for ELL instruction.
• Provide instruction that integrates listening, speaking, reading, and writing for ELLs of diverse backgrounds and varying English proficiency levels.
• Use culturally responsive/sensitive, age-appropriate, and linguistically accessible materials for ELLs of diverse backgrounds and varying English proficiency levels.
• Demonstrate awareness of current research relevant to best practices in second language and literacy instruction.
• Provide standards-based reading instruction appropriate for ELLs from diverse backgrounds and at varying English proficiency levels.
• Provide standards-based writing instruction appropriate for ELLs from diverse backgrounds and at varying English proficiency levels.
• Develop ELLs’ writing through a range of activities, from sentence formation to expository writing.
• Understand all measures of text complexity within the Common Core State Standards
• Analyze implications of argumentation within the Common Core State Standards.
• Discuss factors that policy makers and educators will have to consider with implementation of the Common Core State Standards.
• Provide standards-based instruction that builds upon ELLs’ oral English to support learning to read and write in English.
• Develop ELLs' L2 speaking and listening skills for a variety of academic and social purposes.
• Discuss the importance of oral language within the Common Core State Standards.
• Analyze considerations for ELLs within listening, speaking including various types of corrections to ELL language output.
• Incorporate activities, tasks, and assignments that develop authentic uses of the second language and literacy to assist ELLs in learning academic vocabulary and content area material.
• Differentiate between learning goals and activities as explained by Robert Marzano.
• Understand importance of having students track their own progress and the most effective ways to implement monitoring in your classroom with ELLs.
• Use a variety of materials and other resources, including L1resources, for ELLs to develop language and content-area skills.
• Use technological resources (e.g., Web, software, computers, and related media) to enhance language and content-area instruction for ELLs of diverse backgrounds and varying English proficiency levels.
• Design activities that foster cooperative learning and other 21st Century Skills for ELLs of all language proficiency levels.
• Apply practices that promote comprehensible input for ELLs at all language proficiency levels.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to advocate for ELLs’ equitable access to academic instruction (through traditional resources and instructional technology).
• Organize learning around standards-based content and language learning objectives for students from diverse backgrounds and at varying English proficiency levels.
• Discuss the significant elements of practice, homework and identifying similarities and differences as presented by Robert Marzano and apply adaptations for ELLs.
• Categorize strategies from the ESOL Strategies Matrix within their appropriate section of Marzano’s High Probability standards.
• Synthesize understanding of Common Core State Standards and Marzano’s High Probability strategies as they apply to second language learners.
• Design learning activities that align with Marzano’s High Probability standards to meet a selected Common Core Reading or Writing standard as well as a CCSS Language standard.

Implementation

Evidence that the course content has been transferred to daily instruction might include:

• demonstration of the background and requirements of the 1990 META Consent Decree to ensure compliance
• demonstration of the teacher’s role and responsibilities to ensure that ELL students achieve at their highest potential
• demonstration of second language acquisition by implementing instructional programs that address the needs of second language learners
• participation in the completion and updates of the English Language Learners Student Education Plan to include the programmatic assessment and academic placement of ELL students

Materials

In order to complete this online course, participants need to be able to access web-based content, including multimedia presentations, professional articles, and various interactive websites.

Inservice

• complete all assignments
• participate each week in the Discussion Area
• score at least 80% or higher on post test

To receive the inservice points, all course requirements must be completed independently by the participant and not plagiarized from any other source or person.

Prerequisites

Participants must be Category I teachers (English/Language Arts/Elementary Classroom teachers)

Participants must possess the following computer skills and software to participate in this course:

• an understanding of your computer’s operating system and software
• the ability to access the Internet and knowledge of Internet search techniques
• the ability to download and install files from the Internet
• an up-to-date antivirus software package