Supporting English Language Learners in Grades 1 to 8

Section 2 Working together to support English language learners
Transition protocols can include:
••
partnerships between elementary and secondary schools that allow older students
to share their secondary school experiences with younger children (e.g., homework
partners, school ambassadors, cross-curricular community history projects);
••
opportunities for students from Grade 8 to explore secondary school options with
support from teachers and parents;
••
sharing of information with students and parents about the difference in the nature of
ESL and ELD support offered by elementary and secondary schools (i.e., secondary
school ESL and ELD courses are full-credit courses, and can replace a maximum of three
compulsory English credits needed to obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma),
and the challenges of transition;
••
teacher visits from secondary to elementary feeder schools to discuss secondary ESL
and ELD courses, confer about incoming Grade 9 students, and discuss appropriate
placement;
••
use of multilingual resources such as The Newcomer’s Guide to Secondary School in
Ontario to provide information to students and parents.
Insight
The NOW (Newcomer Orientation Week) Program is offered in a number of Ontario school
boards, as a supportive transition for newcomer adolescents into secondary schools.
For more information about the NOW program, consult
www.settlement.org/site/ed/guide/videos/now/
Supporting English Language Learners in Grades 1 to 8 47