This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

These handouts, which are meant to accompany the facilitator's guide, are designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. The facilitator's guide uses a five-step process for collaborative…

One Israeli elementary school created and implemented the idea of combining communication studies and English lessons in sixth grade. After each textbook unit, they taught one communications studies topic, choosing several essential words for each subject and teaching them as vocabulary items. The program taught students to be more aware of what…

This curriculum unit, developed by the Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland, was designed for use in an elementary level foreign language immersion program. It is geared toward the sixth grade social studies classroom. The unit includes instructional and performance objectives, necessary vocabulary lists, optional language structure…

This annotated bibliography of children's literature presents 74 books and stories that can be used in the classroom to introduce literature in French to children in fourth through sixth grades. The selected texts (51 titles in fiction and 23 titles in non-fiction) were chosen for their age-appropriate language and themes, as well as their…

Reports on a 3-year study of approximately 100 students through grades 4, 5, and 6 on the impact of a variety of second-language learning options among English-speaking children in francophone Canada. Finds that those options that use early, French-only environments were most effective. (CFR)

A study in Finland investigated the relationship of two general aspects of student motivation for second language learning (preference for challenge and curiosity) and motivation specific to the learning situation. Subjects were 292 sixth-graders and 301 eighth-graders, who performed two open and two closed English vocabulary tasks in two…

The rationale for using critical autobiography projects in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction is discussed, and procedures for implementation are outlined. Writing a critical autobiography involves the student's presenting a personal narrative while exploring external factors influencing his life. Critical experiences in life provide…

The guide is intended for use by Alberta's (Canada) local school authorities developing a language arts program in a language other than English or French. In these partial immersion programs, instruction is provided in a language other than English or French for 25-50% of the school day. The first section describes the development of the…