ESL
The Cesar Chavez Academy’s goal is to ensure that Limited English Proficient (LEP) children acquire Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), enabling them to function at grade level with their native English-speaking peers. In order to do this, we teach students English in mainstream classrooms. Our lessons are based on scientific research and represent current effective pedagogy in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and mastery of content.
1. English Language acquisition acquired by meaningful immersion in Success for All Reading Program (SFA) through the cycle of instruction of Listening Comprehension, Cooperative Team building, Active Instruction, Team Building, and time to reflect.
2. SCAFFOLDING: The pedagogical structures and processes involved in scaffolding academic and linguistic development are dynamic and collaborative in nature, not rigid and impersonal. Curriculum implementation of scaffolding include:
3· Modeling -walking students through an interaction, doing a required task together first, or providing students with examples of finished task.
4· Asking students to activate their prior knowledge in anticipation of learning new information and making text connections through pictures, oral language, or writing.
5· Contextualization of new concepts and language—often decontextualized in textbooks by embedding the new language in sensory experiences using realia, manipulatives, graphic representation, and verbal analogies familiar to students—help make what might be language clear.
6· Previewing a text with students and using an advance organizer in preparation for a reading assignment or brief lecture.
7· Metacognition involves the learner stepping beyond the experience to reflect on the processes involved. Metacognition includes consciously applying strategies while engaging in an activity; knowledge and awareness of strategic options and the ability to choose an effective option; and, monitoring and adjusting during performance and planning for a future performance based on prior performance of an activity.