Checklist of Instructional Modifications for LEP Students

Student(s) (initials): ____Group X____________________________________ Grade: __K____

School: __Dunmore Elementary School____________________ Date:_11/8/2017______

 Observation Questions for ELL/LEP student(s)
1. What techniques/methods/strategies do you see being used with the ELL/LEP student(s)?
Are they effective? Why or why not? (Either specifically for the ELL student(s) or in whole
class/small group instruction)
The ELL teacher uses purposeful grouping while they visit her weekly for either 30
minutes to an hour. She also encourages discussion between all the students and has them
practice their English the entire time to help them learn it quicker. I believe these two strategies
are effective and it seems the students are comfortable with the instruction they are receiving and
are adapting the English only approach.

2. Do you notice any student behaviors that you would consider out of the ordinary? Please
describe in detail. (This applies to both the ELL student(s) and other classroom students)
I didnt notice any student behaviors that were out of the ordinary because the students
were all going through the same thing. All fours students were ELL students that come to see the
ELL teacher for assistance in their English. Since they are all ELL students they seemed to act
the same and interact like any student would with other classroom students. The ELL teacher did
say that some students have trouble interacting in the general education classroom but they are
adjusting nicely and learning their surroundings quickly.

3. What type of interactions do you see between the ELL student(s), other classroom students,
and the teacher(s)? Please describe in detail.
Some interactions I saw between the other ELL students and the ELL teacher were
playing games, making crafts and singing to help teach English. The teacher also praised the
students frequently while still teaching them the curriculum correctly as well as motor skills like
using scissors and glue. The ELL students seem to really enjoy the songs and crafts and it helps
the ELL students learn the English basics easier.

4. Identify resources/materials that are being used with the ELL student(s). Please describe in
detail how the ELL student is using them. Do they appear to be effective? Explain.
The only resource I saw the ELL teacher uses was a curriculum called Alphachant, which
is designed to teach ELLs. There are books for each concept from basic letters to complex
vocabulary. There are also interactive worksheets that students have to use the letter they are
learning and pictures to decide whether or not they start with the same letter. For example, the
worksheet I saw was the letter A and they would use a highlighter to highlight the word that
starts with A and cross out the word that doesnt. The ELL teacher also used National
Geographic stories to teach vocabulary words like I and We. I thought these were very effective
and the students seemed to really enjoy learning English this way.

5. Does the classroom environment seem to be comfortable for the ELL student(s)? Please
describe the environment and explain how you made your decision.
It seemed the ELL students were very comfortable in the small ELL classroom that
Dunmore Elementary has. It is a small classroom that the ELL teacher uses to help enforce
English to the ELL students. There are many visual aides and a chalkboard that the students can
use to help them learn English. It seems like the students are very comfortable and love coming
to see the ELL teacher every week. The ELL teacher even told me how much they enjoy coming
to see her.

6. Whats the comfort level of the ELL student(s) in regards to the English language? What
observations help you arrive at your decision? Refer to the Vocabulary Performance Indicators.
At what level would you place the ELL student? How did you decide on that level?
Many of the students have only been learning English for 6 months to maybe a year and
they are already doing great. One student in particular still speaks, what the teacher called,
Spanglish bouncing back and forth from English to Spanish. But others speak English very well
with just some grammar problems. I was able to observe but hearing them interact with the ELL
teacher and other ELL students. I believe the students are at level 2, general sense of the word,
while some may be level 3, context-bound knowledge, and if so very few. I came to this
conclusion because the ELL teacher will be working on vocabulary with the ELL students and
will understand to an extent what the ELL teacher is talking about. This is why the ELL teacher
reviews vocabulary many times throughout the lesson and this helps improve their vocabulary
performance more and more.
7. If you feel comfortable enough to ask, ask the cooperating teacher (or ESL teacher) what
type of accommodations/modifications they have to make for the ELL student(s). Please describe
the types of accommodations/modifications that were discussed. Do they appear on the
checklist? Why/why not do you think they are present/not present on the checklist?
I asked the ELL teacher if there was any types of accommodations/modifications that
they make for the ELL students and she said no since they are so young they dont receive tests
or projects yet. If they do any work they do get some extra time or are read the directions for the
work they are given or they work with the ELL teacher when they go to see her. The
accommodations/modifications that I have seen were not on the checklist because of how young
the ELL students are. These students do not receive much homework, tests, or projects yet but
the ELL teacher said once the students get older mostly likely they would receive many of the
these accommodation/modification seen on the checklist to help assist them and make them more
comfortable with assignments they are getting assigned. The few things I checked on the
checklist are accommodations/modifications that are there just for support none of these change
the assignments that they are given, if any.