Page 5 - SN October - Grade 1

EAL

MS. VISNJA PLECAS

Dear Parents,

EAL students in Grade 1 are provided with English language support in order to meet their varying
needs in English language and literacy development. The development of spoken language is particularly
important as it provides the foundation for literacy development. For this reason, in EAL class we spend
a lot of time talking about books, favorite activities and toys, families, and events that have significance
for the children. I read stories aloud to the children to expose them to experiences outside their realm
and we discuss the characters, and comment on why they did something or acted the way they did. We
talk about the language used in the story and learn new vocabulary. The children often make personal
connections and talk about aspects of the story that they find interesting. Quite often I read funny and
entertaining stories to the children to keep them motivated and help them understand that language
learning is fun. Some of the books we read were stories by favourite authors like Eric Carle, Dr Seuss,
Leo Lionni and others. The books included Go, Dog, Go!, There’s a Bird on my Head, Fox Tale Soup, Harry the
Dirty Dog, Henny Penny, Are You my Mother? The Biggest House in the World. In addition to developing listen-
ing and speaking skills, the children play many games that enhance their learning of communication skills
and help vocabulary development. Our focus is also on learning the letters of the alphabet, the sounds
they make, and developing basic reading and writing skills. Wherever possible, depending on the students’
language proficiency levels, connections will be made to the Units of Inquiry to help the students inte-
grate as soon as possible into the learning of the mainstream classroom.