ELL Resources (Blog #8)

National Writing Project

This site is a source for educators to help improve writing and learning for all learners in our nations schools. They have some ELL resources that help us understand how to adjust rubrics or scoring for papers with these individuals. Here are their ELL Network Resources.

On the site this quote is posted:

"Writing is essential to communication, learning, and citizenship. It is the currency of the new workplace and global economy. Writing helps us convey ideas, solve problems, and understand our changing world. Writing is a bridge to the future."

NWP is a network of sites that assists in the teaching of writing from early childhood up through the university levels. They provide progessional development, generate research, develop resources, and  act on knowledge to improve the teaching of writing and learning in schools and communities. I will probably use this site because as a future English teacher I will be teaching writing. I know that learning how to read and write is essential in order to succeed in nearly any academic or work setting, and will help individuals solve the complex issues that face our world today.

ED Gov US Department of Education

"Where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin-minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open its instructional program to these students."
From the OCR May 25, 1970 Memorandum

This site provides a section on frequently asked questions on the rights of limited english proficient students, OCR Policies, Proposition 227 Questions and Answers, Self evaluation materials (programs for English Language Learners), pamphlets, success stories, and additional links to other ELL related sources.  This will be helpful to me as a teacher if I want to know the details of laws or policies that are in effect that I must be aware of, programs and ideas that I can use for ELL learners in my classroom, and additional resources that are reliable and credible.

Office of English Language Aquisition

This link (found on the ED Gov US Department of Education site) provides information about programs/initiatives, office contacts, reports & resources, news, laws, regulations & guidance, FAQs, OELA/NCELA resources. Here are
OELA Strategic

The Office of English Language Acquisition has identified five broad goals which it commits to pursue and achieve, and that serve as the basis for its strategic plan for FY 2011-2016.

1. Promote high-quality education for English learners ELs) and immigrant students leading to college/career readiness as a priority for our nation’s schools.
2. Ensure effective grant making that fosters reform and innovation in education for English Learners and in foreign language education.
3. Support meaningful evaluation activities that can inform Title III programmatic decision making and improvement.
4. Enhance the operations and outreach of the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition NCELA).
5. Improve the organizational capacity of the Office of English Language Acquisition to implement its Strategic Plan.

As you navigate the pages of the website, you will find descriptive information about the services provided, special programs, initiatives, activities, and resources available to the Nation's educators, parents and students.

National Clearinghouse for English Language Aquisition (NCELA)

Mission Statement

Authorized under Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition & Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA) supports the Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) in its mission to respond to Title III educational needs, and implement NCLB as it applies to English language learners (ELLs).

OELA's National Clearinghouse collects, coordinates and conveys a broad range of research and resources in support of an inclusive approach to high quality education for ELLs. To fulfill its mission NCELA supports high quality networking among state-level administrators of Title III programs. In addition to SEA coordinators, NCELA serves other stakeholders involved in ELL education, including teachers and other practitioners, parents, university faculty, administrators and federal policymakers.

This site provides me with the latest news related to ELL's. Also resources for ELL's with special needs, young ELs,  Native American/ Alaska Native students, college and career ready, adult ELs, and foreign languages. They also have information on EL clearinghouse data, meetings and conferences, webinars, AccELLerate, NCELA publication, technical assitance network.

Webinars! NCELA

I decided to also make the webinars another resource because I learn so much from them, and feel like videos can sometimes make material come to life more than reading an article.

NCELA Webinars provide participants from around the country an opportunity to hear expert speakers present research on all aspects of ELL education. To participate in webinars, please register in advance for the event. You may view archived webinars in two ways. To view the entire webinar event, including the audio presentation, you must register to use the software, which will automatically be downloaded to your computer. For older webinars, archived media files can be downloaded to your computer, but Webex media player plug-ins may be required to view those files. For a selection of webinars you may also view the powerpoint presentation alone, without the audio commentary.