Supporting English Language Learners in Grades 1 to 8

Section 3 Adapting the Ontario curriculum for English language learners
Instructional Activities Modifications / Accommodations for ELLs Teacher Considerations
Assessment as learning
Students complete a guided
reflective journal entry.
Students write paragraphs
using each of the following
starters:
••
I agreed with _______
because…
••
I was surprised by ____
because…
••
I want to know more about
_________ because…
Selvam
Beginner ESL
– Stage 2 of Second-
Language Acquisition
Remind Selvam
to access the
vocabulary of the
unit word chart.
Ana
Intermediate ELD
– Stage 2 of Second-
Language Acquisition
For Ana, the
emphasis will
be on the
expression of
her thoughts,
rather than the
accuracy of her
spelling and
grammar.
Khalid
Advanced ESL
- Stages 3-4 of Second-
Language Acquisition
Encourage
Khalid to provide
greater depth
of response and
to extend his
use of academic
vocabulary
by asking him
to plan his
responses using
a word web.
Ana may need more time than
the others to fully organize
her thoughts. Give her the
opportunity to express her
ideas.
••
Distribute envelopes
containing smaller versions
of the posted pictures to
pairs or triads.
••
Students work together to
group pictures and generate
category titles (e.g., humancreated/natural;
local/
national/international/
global; water/air/land/refuse/
technology).
••
Lead a whole-class discussion
to synthesize category titles.
••
Students look for songs with
lyrics about the effect of
human behaviours on the
environment.
••
Distribute a cloze activity
with the lyrics of one song
for students to complete.
••
Discuss the meanings of
the words and the overall
message of the song. Identify
the literary elements (e.g.,
metaphor) in the song.
••
Students reflect on their
personal reaction to the song
through interactive writing.
Provide Selvam’s
group with a few
prompts useful
for completing
this task (e.g., “I
think this picture
goes with this one
because…”).
Give Selvam a
modified cloze in
which the teacher
provides a word
bank that contains
more words than
blanks in the text.
Within her group,
pair Ana with
another student
who will model
categorization
for her.
Provide Ana with
the lyrics and
media file of the
song prior to this
lesson. A parent
volunteer could
work with Ana to
help her preview
and begin to
understand this
song.
Help Selvam and Ana to organize
their ideas by reviewing adjectives
that describe feelings and
appropriate ways to express opinions
and advice.
Khalid will not
require further
differentiation
to complete this
task.
Give Khalid a
modified cloze
with a word bank
that has only the
most challenging
words. He will
complete much
of the task
independently.
After Khalid
has written his
response, invite
him to join other
students who are
also working on
revision skills.
If available, use the white
board so the class can
manipulate and edit the
images and category titles
when working as a large
group.
Selvam and Ana need to be
paired with supportive peers.
Students might choose songs
in other languages, to bring a
more global perspective to the
activity.
Supplement the students’
selections of songs, as
necessary.
Preview with Ana and Selvam
the vocabulary and language
structures they need prior to
this lesson.
Many students in the class
need the visual references of
anchor charts that outline the
writing process.
Supporting English Language Learners in Grades 1 to 8 89