intensive english curriculum - elementary

1 QSI IE LITERACY ELEM CO Copyright © 1988-2014

QSI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PHUKET

INTENSIVE ENGLISH CURRICULUM

ELEMENTARY 6-10 YEAR OLD

ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015


COURSE OUTCOMES

INTENSIVE ENGLISH LITERACY (Elementary 6-10-year-old)

(July 2014)

The Intensive English Literacy (Elementary 6-10YO) course is designed primarily for students who are not native English speakers and are beginning their English language studies. It is a foundational English language course for building communication skills incorporating speaking, listening, reading and writing. The course has a strong emphasis on building oral literacy and academic language (Academic language is the language used in textbooks, in classrooms, and on tests. It is different in structure and vocabulary from the everyday spoken English of social interactions). The goal is to prepare the students for a smooth transition to their mainstream classroom and foster a love of reading and writing. This course is designed to meet between 10-20 periods a week, with a period being a minimum of 45 minutes. Students will progress through these units at different rates depending on speed of language acquisition in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Instruction is designed to move students from guided to independent learning through the use of a workshop approach. Workshop practices will include a combination of mini-lessons and large group instruction, small group work and individual activities. OVERVIEW OF THE INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAM : Every QSI student has the opportunity to be successful in their learning, and students are expected to flourish in their classrooms. However, a student whose English proficiency level is below that commonly associated with their age may not be able to flourish in the mainstream classroom. The Intensive English program is designed for these students. The goal of the Intensive English program is to facilitate an accelerated learning environment in which students are able to acquire the English language skills in the four domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing to be successful in their age-appropriate mainstream classes. Intensive English classes are smaller than mainstream classes to allow teachers to target individual student needs more effectively. It is expected that Intensive English classes should have no more than six to eight students in them. The Intensive English program allows students to be successful at school and feel confident as learners. The Intensive English program consists of two courses. Intensive English Literacy Elementary and Intensive English Literacy Pre-Secondary. Students will be placed within the program based on several assessments outlined in the next section. The Intensive English Literacy Elementary is designed for students ages 6 through 10 years old. There are 38 essential units and 6 selective units. The Intensive English Literacy Pre-Secondary is designed for students ages 11 and older. There are 36 essential units and 7 selective units. Students may also be supported in content areas such as mathematics, science, and cultural studies through a co-teaching model (see Appendix E). This model incorporates two teachers who collaborate on lesson plans and teaching in one classroom. This model is beneficial for IE students in that it is designed to target academic vocabulary and English fluency along with the TSWs of a lesson.


It is expected that students acquire enough English language skills to be able to transition into the mainstream classroom as quickly as possible. Their oral language, reading, and writing skills will be monitored carefully while in the IE program. When their academic skills are near to those of a native English speaker at their age level, they will exit the IE program (see Exit Procedures). An Intensive English student needs to be assessed and placed into the program based on results of three separate assessments: ● IDEAS Proficiency Test (IPT Oral): a formal oral assessment (will be

administered at enrollment and each spring thereafter until the student exits the IE program).

● Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System (or DRA): oral reading fluency and comprehension assessment (will be administered at enrollment and at least three times a year).

● The QSI Intensive English Writing Placement Prompt (will be administered at enrollment--prompt available at the end of this document).

For more detailed information about student placement in Intensive English refer to Intensive English Guidelines. The essential units must be taught in order, although units may be skipped if a student’s English acquisition progresses quickly. It is strongly recommended that a student be carefully assessed for placement if units are going to be skipped. E01 is a phonics unit designed to be opened and taught in conjunction with other units until the skills are mastered. E06 is a comprehensive unit designed to be opened after completion of E02-E05 and taught in conjunction with other units until the skills are mastered. E02-E13 are intensive introductory units which focus on building oral literacy competence. At QSI, we know that best literacy practices work for all students regardless of language ability. Therefore, the Intensive English Literacy units E14 to E38 have been designed to combine elementary reading and writing instruction, providing students with the necessary skills to become independent readers and competent, creative writers. While these units focus more on reading and writing, the oral skills still need to be developed daily. The oral component involves using: oral sentence frames, structured dialogue, oral fluency practice, listening practice, grammar and vocabulary development, opportunities to engage in conversations with other English speakers, rehearse academic language structures, and employ higher order thinking skills. A strategic listener and speaker must continually practice and take ownership of his or her own use of the strategies listed below. ● Metacognitive Awareness: (self-correction, asking for help when needed,

monitoring and clarifying, making mental images, and checking for understanding.)

● Social-Effective Language Strategies: (seeking out conversation partners, taking risks, practicing English when alone, combating inhibition by having a positive attitude, and mimicking native speakers.)

The reading component includes a wide exposure to a variety of genres and texts while practicing: reading strategies, self-monitoring strategies, reading and


comprehension skills (ex: phonics, chunking, critical questioning, etc.), fluency practice, vocabulary skills, daily reading practice, listening practice, and responding to literature. A strategic reader must continually practice and notice his or her own use and implementation of the reading strategies listed below. ● Metacognitive Awareness (making connections, creating mental images,

predicting, inferring, asking questions, determining importance, synthesizing) ● Monitoring Comprehension (re-reading, reading on, using context clues, using

visuals, word attack, etc.) The writing component involves using: writer’s workshop routines, daily journaling, the 6+1 writing traits, and the steps of the writing process to develop many types of narrative, opinion, and informative texts, and daily writing routines (power writing, modeled writing, interactive writing, independent writing). Spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and handwriting are integrated into the context of authentic written and oral language experiences that are audience/purpose specific. A strategic writer must continually practice and notice his or her own use and implementation of the writing strategies listed below: ● 6+1 Writing Traits (Ideas, Organization, Word Choice, Voice, Conventions,

Sentence Fluency, and Presentation) ● The Writing Process (Prewriting, Drafting, Editing, Revising, Publishing)

The Intensive English Literacy curriculum requires that teachers explicitly teach and guide students in listening, speaking, reading and writing strategy instruction. When teachers gradually release responsibility with the strategies taught, students receive modeling, direct instruction, guided practice, group practice, and independent practice. Each Essential Unit in this course is divided into Essential Outcomes (which must be assessed for mastery) and Introduced/Practiced Outcomes (which do not need to be mastered but can be assessed during the course of the unit). This course supports and is aligned to the success orientations, competencies, and knowledge noted in the QSI English Program. Following is an outline of the Essential and Selective Units found in this course: E01 - Phonics Skills (This unit is designed to be open for a longer period of time and can

be kept open until mastered.) E02 – Newcomer Reach A (Unit 1)

Communicative Focus: basic communication skills (describe objects, ask and answer questions, give personal information and make introductions

Vocabulary Focus: greetings, numbers, colors, classroom objects Grammar Focus: simple present tense, singular and plural nouns,

action verbs Reading: concepts of print, reading levels Fountas &

Pinnell A-C


Writing Focus: upper and lower case letters, labels, captions, story map, sentences

E03 – My Family and Me Reach A (Unit 2)

Communicative Focus: ask for help, ask and answer questions, express feelings, introduce family members, and engage in discussions

Vocabulary Focus: family members, feelings, foods, action words, main ideas, details

Grammar Focus: simple sentences and questions, adjectives, personal pronouns

Reading: beginning letter/sound relationships, reading texts with pictures and language patterns, reading levels Fountas & Pinnell A-C.

Writing Focus: simple sentences about family, write an invitation

E04 -Visit the Farm Reach A (Unit 3)

Communicative Focus: describe, express likes, ask for and give information, ask and answer questions

Vocabulary Focus: selected vocabulary including farm animals, farm animal babies, and animals’ body parts

Grammar Focus: action verbs, verbs of be and have Reading: concept of print, sequence, classify, visualize,

read and comprehend books reading levels A-C, pre-primer Dolch list

Writing Focus: captions, sentences, sequence chain, informational sentences, writing fluency

E05 - All Kinds of Plants Reach A (Unit 4)

Communicative Focus: express needs, describe, express ideas, give and carry out commands, participate in discussions, speak clearly

Vocabulary Focus: plants, fruits, vegetables, and verbs related to gardening

Grammar Focus: pronouns Reading: cause and effect, classify, make inferences,

compare fairytales, main idea and details, Fountas and Pinnell reading levels D-F

Writing Focus: captions, sentences, cause and effect, write a story, writing fluency

E06 - Foundations of Reading and Writing (This unit is open until the end of the school year.)


E07 - Wind, Rain, and Snow Reach A (Unit 5)

Communicative Focus: give information, give commands, express likes, express opinions

Vocabulary Focus: seasons, seasonal weather, clothes, and activities Grammar Focus: statements, exclamations, commands, questions,

object pronouns, adjectives with -y suffix Reading: interpret visuals, make connections, compare,

classify, reading level D-F Writing Focus: sentences, using graphic organizers, write a

poem, writing fluency E08 - It’s Our Town Reach A (Unit 6)

Communicative Focus: give commands, explain, ask for and give directions and information

Vocabulary Focus: community places, shopping list items, safety rules, positions (prepositions)

Grammar Focus: simple sentences with position words, regular past tense, irregular past tense

Reading: compare characters, organize ideas, make connections, primer Dolch list, reading levels D-F

Writing Focus: sentence fluency, Venn diagram, lists, write a letter

E09 - On the Job Reach A (Unit 7)

Communicative Focus: describe actions, express ideas, express feelings, express wants

Vocabulary Focus: types of jobs, importance of jobs, places of work, money, job actions

Grammar Focus: future tense with ‘will’, future tense with ‘am/is/are/going to’

Reading: classify jobs, ask questions, make predictions, compare media, organize ideas

Writing Focus: captions, sentence fluency, T-charts, create a Fact Book.

E10 - Day and Night Reach A (Unit 8)

Communicative Focus: engage in conversation, explain, compare, describe, express likes/dislikes, speak clearly


Vocabulary Focus: outer space, calendar, parts of the day, action verbs

Grammar Focus: prepositions, correct tense, negative form statements

Reading: rhyme and rhythm, categorize, make connections, infer, predictions, compare lullabies, main idea and details

Writing Focus: write a story, captions, sentence fluency, rhyming words

E11 - Family Fun Reach B (Unit 1)

Communicative Focus: describe, ask and answer questions, give information

Vocabulary Focus: family, extended family, family celebrations

Grammar Focus: singular and plural nouns, common and proper nouns

Reading: preview, set a purpose, predict, text features, phrasing, intonation, accuracy and rate

Word Study: identify and form regular plural nouns Writing Focus: personal response, study a writer’s craft:

captions, sentences about families, magazine article, journal entry, action words, postcard, photo essay

E12- Little Scientists Reach B (Unit 2)

Communicative Focus: describe, express likes and dislikes, retell a story, express intentions.

Vocabulary Focus: living and non-living things, parts of the plant, food, exercises

Grammar Focus: adjectives with countable and uncountable nouns Reading: monitor, fairy tale, song, facts, rhythm and

rhyme, diagram, text features, folk tale, plot, phrasing, accuracy and rate

Writing Focus: personal response, sentences about living things, writer’s craft: song lyrics, how-to sentences, writer’s craft: action words


E13 – My Neighborhood Reach B (Unit 3)

Communicative Focus: Express needs and wants, make a request, ask for help, ask questions, engage in discussion

Vocabulary Focus: community places, fables, poems, social studies article, fact sheet

Grammar Focus: verbs (to be), action verbs (to have), present-tense verbs: subject-verb agreement

Reading: ask questions, categorize, headings, details, rhyming, intonation, accuracy and rate

Word Study: consonant variants and digraphs Writing Focus: writing fluency, personal response, short

sentences, questions, describe actions using verbs, rhyme poem, thank-you letter

At this point if a student needs more practice at levels I and J, a teacher can chose one or more of the selective units. If the student is ready to move on, they can begin E14 Intensive English Literacy. S01 – Creature Features Reach B (Units 4 and 5)

Communicative Focus: compare and contrast, summarize, give information, evaluate, think and respond

Vocabulary Focus: clothing, outdoor activities and sports, antonyms, synonyms

Grammar Focus: complete sentences, capitalization, subject-predicate, subject-verb agreement

Reading: connections, animal fantasy, characters, main idea-details, accuracy and expression, text features, retell a story,

Word Study: decode new words using a variety of strategies Writing Focus: personal response, writer’s craft (describing

words, main idea-details, journal entry), fact sentences, science article

S02 – Wild Weather Reach B (Unit 6)


Communicative Focus: explain, express likes and dislikes, express ideas, engage in conversation

Vocabulary Focus: selected vocabulary related to calendar and weather

Grammar Focus: Present Continuous Tense, Comparative and Superlative Adjectives, word order of a question

Reading: making predictions, Cause and Effect, reading levels I-J, Benchmark Assessments

Word Study: compound words Writing Focus: the Writing Process, write a descriptive report,

write independently on a daily basis S03 – Then and Now Reach B (Unit 7)

Communicative Focus: ways of communication, compare and contrast technology now and in the past, discuss famous inventors and their inventions

Vocabulary Focus: level appropriate academic vocabulary Grammar Focus: Present, Past, and Future verb tenses, Irregular

Past Tense verbs Reading: visual elements, visual representations, describe

character’s feelings, reading levels I-J, Benchmark Assessments

Word Study/ Phonemic Awareness:

words with common Greek and Latin roots, words with ‘r’ controlled vowels

Writing Focus: the Writing Process, write an informative paragraph about a famous inventor, an expository paragraph about an invention

S04 – Around the World Reach B (Unit 8)

Communicative Focus: give and follow directions, tell an original story

Vocabulary Focus: selected vocabulary related to map, location and directions

Grammar Focus: adverbs that tell How, When, Where, suffixes, prefixes

Reading: review all reading strategies Word Study: English words borrowed from other languages Writing Focus: write a literary response

In this part of the Intensive English Literacy course, reading and writing are designed to be taught together. Each unit is integrated as a whole unit of reading and writing, but reading and writing are assessed separately. If a student finishes the requirements for the reading portion of the unit, he/she should then focus more carefully on the unit’s writing portion for the duration of the unit’s time-frame and vice versa. In each of the following units:


● IE EL Literacy: Reading must be engaged and evaluated. ● IE EL Literacy: Writing must be engaged and evaluated.

Reading Units Writing Units To be enrolled in E14-E17, the student should be reading between a Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark level F and I.

E14–Foundations of Reading E14–Foundations of Writing E15–Elements of Nonfiction Texts E15–Nonfiction Writing E16–Life Stories E16–Bringing Narratives to Life E17–Forming Opinions E17–Persuasive Paragraphs To be enrolled in E18-E22, the student should be reading at a Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark level I-M. Students should be tested to ensure that they are able to read at this level.

E18—Realistic Fiction E18—True Story Narrative E19—Fictional Stories E19—Descriptive Writing E20—Understanding Information E20—Research Writing E21—Fantasy & Folktales E21—Response to Writing E22—Author Study E22—Author Study To be enrolled in E23-E27, the student should be reading at a Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark level M-P. Students should be tested to ensure that they are able to read at this level.

E23—Story Structure E23—Personal Narrative E24--Nonfiction E24—Explanatory Essay E25—Reading Poetry E25—Writing Poetry E26—Novel Study E26—Script Writing E27—Reading Fiction E27—Writing Fiction To be enrolled in E28-E32, the student should be reading at a Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark level O-S. Students should be tested to ensure that they are able to read at this level.

E28—Foundations of Reading E28 Foundations of Writing E29—Types of Informative Writing E29—Informative News/Book Report E30—Nonfiction with Purpose E30—Persuasive Letter/Essay E31—People Narratives E31—Biography/Friendly Letter E32—Reader’s Theater E32—Dialogues & Scripts To be enrolled in E33-E38, the student should be reading at a Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark level Q-U. Students should be tested to ensure that they are able to read at this level.

E33—Historical Fiction E33—Informative Cause and Effect E34—Nonfiction Persuasive Texts E34—Persuasive Opinion Writing E35—Realistic vs. Science Fiction E35—Personal Narrative E36—Literary Analysis E36—Response to Literature E37—Informative Texts E37—Informative: Research &

Information Reports E38 – Reading Poems E38—Poetic Techniques S05 - Goal Setting Using MAP Data 1


S06 - Goal Setting Using MAP Data 2 Suggested Materials and Resources (provided by the school): E01-E13 and S01-S04 use the following materials: Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Reach, National Geographic, level A

● Teacher’s Edition, vol.1, 2 ● Read Together Books (16 titles) ● Sing With Me Language Song Book ● Read With Me Big Books (8 titles) ● Talk Together Books: Label Books (8 titles), Wordless Books (8 titles) ● Practice Book, level A ● Practice Masters ● Assessment Handbook ● Vocabulary Builder ● Teamwork Activity Flip Charts ● Alphachant Phonics Kit

Reach, National Geographic, level B

● Teacher’s Edition, vol.1, 2 ● Student Anthology, vol.1, 2 ● Reach into Phonics Kit ● Big Books ● Sing With Me Language Song Book ● Talk Together Books ● High Frequency Word Books ● Genre Books ● Read Together Books ● Practice Masters ● Vocabulary Builder Picture Cards ● Teamwork Activities: Language and Literacy/Cross-Curricular ● Assessment Handbook

E14-E38 use the following materials: Journeys Common Core 2, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Literacy and Language Usage TE, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Units of Study, Lucy Calkins Write Source 2, Great Source Education Group, 2006 Handwriting Program (choose one: D'nealian, Handwriting Without Tears, Zaner Bloser, etc.) Rigby Phonics Program to support Journeys (choose one: Jolly Phonics, Modern Curriculum Press, Reading A-Z (phonics section), etc.) Strategies That Work


Reading With Meaning The Daily Five Supplementary Materials: Phonics, Levels K and A, Modern Curriculum Press Picture dictionaries Picture cards Sight word cards Learning games Any appropriate teacher-created or teacher-selected materials

Additional Resources: (may not be provided by school) Ballard & Tighe Carousel of IDEAS (a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, and activities that correlates with the IPT speaking and listening assessment which encourage vocabulary development and interaction) Go English 2! Language Forms and Functions Checklist. These charts (a sample can be found at http://www.ballard-tighe.com/resources/productResources/eld.asp) are a tool for guiding explicit instruction in the functions of language as well as a sequence of grammar structures for each language proficiency level (beginning to advanced levels). Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) Rigby Books Write Source Books Language Arts Today The CAFE Book by Gale Boushey and Joan Moser The Story of My Thinking by Gretchen Bernabei Crunchtime by Gretchen Bernabei The Reviser’s Toolbox by Barry Lane Hooked on Meaning by Barry Lane But How Do I Teach Writing? by Barry Lane Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading by Tanny McGregor Making Content Comprehensible for Elementary English Learners: the SIOP model (2nd Edition) by by Jana Echevarria, MaryEllen Vogt, Deborah J. Short Making Content Comprehensible for Secondary English Learners: the SIOP model (2nd Edition) by by Jana Echevarria, MaryEllen Vogt, Deborah J. Short Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: the SIOP model (4th Edition) by by Jana Echevarria, MaryEllen Vogt, Deborah J. Short Quality Questioning: Research-Based Practice to Engage Every Learner by Jackie Acree Walsh and Beth Dankert Sattes Academic Language Accelerator by Judith B. O’Loughlin (Oxford University Press) Below is the text referencing guide to help you navigate through the curriculum.

TEXT REFERENCE NEW MATERIALS

Journeys Teachers Guide example: JTE 6.4


This is referencing the unit 6 lesson 4. No

need for page numbers here. Lucy Caukins Units of Study

example: LC 3.4 This is referencing unit 3 lesson 4.

Literacy and Language Guide (from Journeys)

example: LLG p. 8

OLD MATERIALS Rigby Teachers Guide example: RTE p. 23-26

This is referencing Rigby pages 23-26. Reader’s Workshop Guide from Rigby example: RW p.5

Rigby CQ Quarterly example: TE CQ5 1:A 3, 17 Teachers edition CQ Quarterly volume 1,

section A, page 3 and page 17 Write Source Teachers Guide example: WSTE p. 54-60

This is referencing Write Source pages 54-60.

Write Source Student Edition example: WSSE p. 30-33 This is referencing the student edition of

write sources. Write Traits example: WT p. 25

AT QUALITY SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL, ALL TEACHERS ARE INSTRUCTORS OF INTENSIVE ENGLISH REGARDLESS OF THE COURSE THEY ARE TEACHING. ALL STUDENTS NEED GUIDANCE & DIRECTION IN THE ACQUISITION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE REGARDLESS OF THE LEVEL.