Monitoring and reporting the growth of our ELs: The ELD Group Frame

Final report cards are coming up!  

The school year is about to wrap up and assessment is on everyone’s mind. We will soon report for the final time the content and skills our students learned this year.

For our English language learners, the ELD standardized test they took this spring will give scores how their language skills have progressed in listening, reading, speaking, and writing.  Unfortunately, these scores are not helpful in informing what we write on our report cards or supporting our students oral language development in these last weeks of school. 

What classroom-based assessment will help me determine my students’ oral language growth and proficiency?

The Project GLAD® strategy, ELD Group Frame, is a no-fuss, low-prep way to get a snapshot of students’ English proficiency. From this running record of oral language, we can get a record of language skills they have mastered and ones that will inform our future instruction.

It’s a simple strategy to implement.

• The teacher uses content of their choice to review with students. Usually we use an informational resource, such as a Pictorial Input Chart, or a narrative resource, such as the Narrative Input Chart.
• After reviewing the information with the students, the teacher passes out a different colored marker to each student and directs them to retell the information.
• When each student has their turn to share, the teacher writes verbatim what they say using their colored marker. Miscues are also recorded. For example, if a student has a long pause the teacher may record…
• If a student points to a picture and the teacher supplies the word for it, then the teacher indicates TS on the chart for “teacher supplied word”. Each teacher creates their own notation system.

When the chart sample is complete the students sign the bottom, and the chart is dated. After analyzing the sample, miscues and incorrect grammatical structures become the topics for future lessons, ensuring the students receive targeted language instruction based on where they are linguistically and what they need to move them to the next level.

When teachers use the ELD Group Frame at regular intervals during the school year and keep the samples, they will be amazed at the end of the year how easy it is to identify the trajectory of their students’ improvement and skills mastered. When you have a preponderance of evidence to use then reporting becomes easy and more accurate.  Imagine taking these samples to conferencing with students and parents and having students share their language growth and goals. 

Give it a try!

While you may not have time for multiple samples this year, there’s always next year. You can look forward to another tool in your belt for assessing and targeting language development.

The ELD Group Frame is one of our favorite strategies in the Project GLAD® model! To learn more about this strategy, here are some upcoming opportunities for GLAD® training and coaching.

Your biggest fans,

Jody and Sara

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OCDE Project GLAD® Foundations Training

 Part 1: The Research and Theory Workshop (virtual - live webinar)

June 20-23, 2022 (9am - noon, Pacific)

August 8-11, 2022 (9am - noon, Pacific)

January 17, 19, 24, 26, 2023 (noon-3pm, Pacific)

Part 2: The Classroom Demonstration (virtual - live webinar)

August 15-18, 2022 (8am - 3pm, Pacific)

Click here for more information.