Scaffolding for ELLs

Many schools in our district are feeling the nation-wide trend of a growing number of ELL students in our classrooms. SMSD is fortunate to be filled with educators who are excited and willing to do what it takes to reach our ELL students, however many of us feel overwhelmed or simply don't know where to begin. This month's newsletter focuses on scaffolding within the classroom. We know you don't have time to create a separate curriculum for every one of your language learners. Read on for tips & strategies you can implement today that will benefit all learners.

Photo on the left: A newcomer at Lenexa Hills uses Google Translate to independently complete her morning work.

Understanding your students' language proficiency levels helps you scaffold appropriately. For students with lower levels of language proficiency, more support and scaffolding is needed. These scaffolds can always be decreased and eventually removed as the students becomes more proficient in the English language.

As a rule, it is always better to over-support than under-support. ELL students have the right to access grade-level content; scaffolds are meant to remove the language barrier to make the content more accessible.

Here are a list of classroom supports to get you started.

Interested in co-planning a lesson that scaffolds for the ELLs in your classroom? Reach out to your ELL iCoach. We'd love to help!

The English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards directly correlate to many of our grade-level literacy standards. The ELP standards are broken apart by English proficiency level; in other words, they scaffold the standards for you. Find your grade level's ELP standards here.

Need help finding the ELP standard that best matches your lesson? Email Katie or Amy.

Each grade level team received a set of EL Teacher's Guides with their Open Court materials. They were checked out to either your ELL teacher, reading specialist, or innovation specialist. These guides are meant to be used as Tier 2 support for the ELLs at your grade level.

We have created a video training for any staff member planning to use the EL Teacher's Guide. You can access the video on the ELL On-Demand Professional Development page.

If you're ready to dig deeper into ELL instructional strategies and lesson planning, consider learning or reviewing the SIOP model. SIOP stands for Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. It is not a lesson-planning script. Instead, it is an instructional model that addresses the academic needs of ELLs. SIOP is meant to be used in classrooms with both ELLs and native-English speakers; the components of SIOP are beneficial for all learners.

You can find a brief overview of SIOP in the Lesson Planning and Instructional Resource Guide available on the ELL Homepage, along with guiding questions to help you in your planning.

Earn PD flex hours while driving or doing the dishes... and learn more about how to support your ELLs while you're at it.

To celebrate the start of the new school year, Shawnee Mission Public Schools are celebrating with a Spanish Community Resource Night. We realize that schools are a nexus of the community and resources. Please join us in celebrating our SMSD community by sharing this information with our Bilingual Families.

The event will be held in our Center for Academic Achievement, 8200 W. 71st Street, Shawnee Mission, KS 66204 on September 20, 2022, from 5-7 P.M. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by email listed below or at 913.993.7212.

Bilingual Advocacy Team- Shawnee Mission Public Schools

Dr. John McKinney, Director of Family Services

Connie Springfield, Ed.S. Associate Principal

Dr. Elizabeth Ault ELL Teacher

Email: amyculey@smsd.org
Phone: 9139934062

Email: katherinehearn@smsd.org
Location: https://maps.google.com/?cid=17740544643128892125
Phone: 913-993-4208
Twitter: @mrshearn512

Below is a menu of ways the ELL iCoaches can support you and your building. Reach out to Katie or Amy for more information or to set up a meeting.