ESL (English as a Second Language) Year-Long Curriculum

Schedule is broken up into 4.5-week modules.

1. Module 1 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: student names (first and last, including ordering conventions and use of commas), present jobs (if any), student countries, and family members relationships.

Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Teach indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc.

Mechanics focus: capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations.

2. Module 2 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: student living situations (family members, address, phone number, ID's and status (refugee vs. immigrant, etc.)

Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc.

Mechanics focus: capital letters and periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters, conventions for writing addresses (street number, street name, city, state, zip code) and phone numbers (parentheses for area codes, three digits followed by hyphen followed by four digits. Continue writing mechanics focus on : capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations.

3. Module 3 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: students' past education, children's past and present education, bilingualism and identity (assimilate vs. adapt).

Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc. Introduce "ed" past; introduce concept of verbs as indicators of time; introduce past indicating words and phrases (yesterday, last year, ten years ago, etc.)

Mechanics focus: capital letters and periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters, addition of "ed" to verbs to indicate the past; physical gestures to indicate past vs. present and to indicate how many, how long, etc. Continue writing mechanics focus on: capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present and past tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations. Students will record audio interviews with one another both extemporaneously and by reading from their narratives. Students will take quizzes and tests based on the audio recordings, including true/false, yes/no, fill-in-the-blank and simple sentence answers.

4. Module 4 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: students and students' children's past and present jobs; students' and student's children's past and present education with an introduction of what school and neighborhood in Boston or Massachusetts or elsewhere.

Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc. "Ed" past; continued emphasis on concept of verbs as indicators of time; continued emphasis on present vs. past indicating words and phrases (yesterday, last year, ten years ago, everyday, on Mondays, etc.)

Mechanics focus: capital letters and periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters, addition of "ed" to verbs to indicate the past; s-drop for present tense; physical gestures (TPR) to indicate past and present and to indicate how many, how long, etc. Continue writing mechanics focus on capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters. Introduce vowels vs. consonants.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present and past tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations. Students will record audio interviews with one another both extemporaneously and by reading from their narratives. Students will take quizzes and tests based on the audio recordings, including true/false, yes/no, fill-in-the-blank and simple sentence answers.

5. Module 5 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: students and students' children's minor medical issues and experiences in US hospitals, with an emphasis on hospital names and locations; male vs. female doctors; prescriptions, medications and experiences in pharmacies.

Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc. "Ed" past; continued emphasis on concept of verbs as indicators of time; continued emphasis on present vs. past indicating words and phrases (yesterday, last year, ten years ago, everyday, on Mondays, etc.)

Mechanics focus: capital letters and periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters, addition of "ed" to verbs to indicate the past; s-drop for present tense; physical gestures (TPR) to indicate past and present and to indicate how many, how long, etc. Continue writing mechanics focus on capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters. Introduce vowels vs. consonants, necessity of the use of a verb in every sentence, and the necessity of consistency of verb tense agreement in a sentence or paragraph.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present and past tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations. Students will record audio interviews with one another both extemporaneously and by reading from their narratives. Students will take quizzes and tests based on the audio recordings, including true/false, yes/no, fill-in-the-blank and simple sentence answers.

6. Module 6 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: money, banks, checks and checking accounts, paychecks, gross vs. net or take-home pay; state minimum wage requirements; over-the-table vs. under-the-table jobs.

Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc. "Ed" past; continued emphasis on concept of verbs as indicators of time; continued emphasis on present vs. past indicating words and phrases (yesterday, last year, ten years ago, everyday, on Mondays, etc.), especially as they relate to paychecks, rent, utilities, etc.

Introduce "going to" future and the personal pronoun differences between the use of "am", "is" and "are" in the going-to future. Introduce future-indicating words and phrases: "tomorrow", "next week", "in three months", etc.

Mechanics focus: capital letters and periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters, addition of "ed" to verbs to indicate the past; s-drop for present tense; use of [am-is-are] with "going to" for future. Physical gestures (TPR) to indicate past, present and future, to indicate how many, how long, etc. Continue writing mechanics focus on capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters. Continue to learn vowels vs. consonants, necessity of the use of a verb in every sentence, the necessity of consistency of verb tense agreement in sentences and paragraphs.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present, past and future tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations. Students will record audio interviews with one another both extemporaneously and by reading from their narratives. Students will take quizzes and tests based on the audio recordings, including true/false, yes/no, fill-in-the-blank and simple sentence answers.

7. Module 7 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: Boston neighborhoods, surrounding cities and suburbs, including quality of school systems, general racial and ethnic make-up, tradition as newcomer vs. second or third-generation neighborhoods. Also: main routes (highways, train systems, tunnels, bridges, etc.) that connect Boston to its surroundings.

Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc. "Ed" past; continued emphasis on concept of verbs as indicators of time; continued emphasis on present vs. past indicating words and phrases (yesterday, last year, ten years ago, everyday, on Mondays, etc.), especially as they relate to paychecks, rent, utilities, etc.

Continued focus on "going to" future and the personal pronoun differences between the use of "am", "is" and "are" in the going-to future. Introduce future-indicating words and phrases: "tomorrow", "next week", "in three months", etc.

Mechanics focus: capital letters and periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters, addition of "ed" to verbs to indicate the past; s-drop for present tense; use of [am-is-are] with "going to" for future. Physical gestures (TPR) to indicate past, present and future, to indicate how many, how long, etc. Continue writing mechanics focus on capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters. Continue to learn vowels vs. consonants, necessity of the use of a verb in every sentence, the necessity of consistency of verb tense agreement in sentences and paragraphs.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present, past and future tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations. Students will record audio interviews with one another both extemporaneously and by reading from their narratives. Students will take quizzes and tests based on the audio recordings, including true/false, yes/no, fill-in-the-blank and simple sentence answers.

8. Module 8 4.5 weeks:

Generate, read and create quizzes, tests, exercises, vocabulary drills, etc. based upon student LEAs (student narratives) derived in class. Topics: US make-up by state, major city and regions (east coast, west coast, gulf coast, Great Lakes, etc). Grammar focus: simple present, s-drop, gestures to indicate present tense for every day. Indicators such as "every day", "on Mondays", etc. "Ed" past; continued emphasis on concept of verbs as indicators of time; continued emphasis on present vs. past vs. future indicating words and phrases (yesterday, last year, ten years ago, everyday, on Mondays, next year, etc.), especially as issues, events or other in regions, states and cities in the US.

Continued focus on "going to" future and the personal pronoun differences between the use of "am", "is" and "are" in the going-to future. Introduce future-indicating words and phrases: "tomorrow", "next week", "in three months", etc.

Mechanics focus: capital letters and periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters, addition of "ed" to verbs to indicate the past; s-drop for present tense; use of [am-is-are] with "going to" for future. Physical gestures (TPR) to indicate past, present and future, to indicate how many, how long, etc. Continue writing mechanics focus on capital letters, periods, letter formation, pronunciation of letters. Continue to learn vowels vs. consonants, necessity of the use of a verb in every written sentence, the necessity of consistency of verb tense agreement in sentences and paragraphs.

Tasks to assign and assess: Students will fill in simple Excel grids of information relevant to above topics; create written narratives from the grids; assess their own writings, and the teacher's LEAs, for present, past and future tense verbs and indicating phrases. Ss will create vocabulary lists based on walking, shouted, whispered and mimed dictations. Students will record audio interviews with one another both extemporaneously and by reading from their narratives. Students will take quizzes and tests based on the audio recordings, including true/false, yes/no, fill-in-the-blank and simple sentence answers.