About the Our Stories Learning Module
The goals of the Our Stories learning module are to affirm students’ identity, develop their Positive Personal and Cultural Identity Core Competency (BC Ministry of Education, n.d.), and develop language proficiency in all four skill areas. Integrated into the module are Language objectives that align with the BC English Language Learning (ELL) Standards (BC Ministry of Education, 2017) and content objectives from the BC Applied Design, Skills, and Technology (ADST) curriculum (BC Ministry of Education, n.d.). See the learning objectives below.
Since ELL support usually begins mid-September, this module uses the Terry Fox discussions before the school-wide run, as a springboard. It then looks at the stories of a few other famous Canadians, renowned and successful multilingual individuals, and school-aged children from diverse backgrounds using multimedia literature. Students will then write and present their own All About Me stories or identity texts. These stories will be created using Explain Everything, which is an app on all our school iPads that allows students to combine: text, drawings, photos, videos, and audio. Microsoft PowerPoint could also be used.
Context
This module is designed for small group ELL support with K-5 English learners (ELs). These learners range between five levels of proficiency on a continuum scale (BC Ministry of Education, 2017). These levels are:
The lessons in the Our Stories module are suitable for learners working at levels 2 to 4 on the continuum. These are the levels that most students I support are working within. Those working on at a level 1 are still developing their social language and have other priority learning objectives. Those working at a level 5 are usually supported in the classroom.
- Beginning (1) – the student is in the beginning stages of language development,
- Developing (2) – the student is showing progress in developing their language skills,
- Expanding (3) – the student is expanding in their language development to further access classroom learning outcomes,
- Consolidating (4) – the student is consolidating their language skills in the academic environment, and
- Bridging (5) – the student is bridging to the grade-level language proficiency of their peers. (BC Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 5)
The lessons in the Our Stories module are suitable for learners working at levels 2 to 4 on the continuum. These are the levels that most students I support are working within. Those working on at a level 1 are still developing their social language and have other priority learning objectives. Those working at a level 5 are usually supported in the classroom.