Supporting English Language Learners in Kindergarten

Supporting

lier.

English Language Learners

in Kindergarten

A practical guide for Ontario educators

Table of Contents

Introduction

3

1 Who are English language learners in Kindergarten?

5

2 Working with families and communities

17

3 Working with English language learners in Kindergarten

33

4 Working as a whole school

69

Resources

75

Introduction

Martina is 5 years old. She has just come to Canada with her grandmother, to join her mother and two older brothers. Martina and her family speak Czech at home. Martina is usually at home with her grandmother while her mother is at work. She loves to listen to her grandmother tell stories of what her life was like as a child.

Shivam is also 5 years old and was born in Ontario. He lives with his parents and his sister, who is in Grade 3. e family speaks Punjabi in the home and maintains close ties with their cultural community.

Shivam and Martina are eager and excited to start Kindergarten. However, they are both worried that they won't always understand the teacher and they won't have any friends.

Martina and Shivam are only two of many children from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds ? born overseas or here in Canada ? who are beginning Kindergarten. For all children, starting Kindergarten is a time of major transition for both the children and their families. For children like Martina and Shivam, beginning school is not only about adjusting to school and its routines, but also about doing so in a largely unfamiliar language.

Kindergarten teachers are asking how best to meet the needs of these English language learners (ELLs) ? both those born in Canada and those arriving from other countries. What can we do in our classrooms to create an environment in which children of varied cultures and languages thrive and grow? How can we increase our own knowledge, awareness, and teaching practice to appropriately support the children's ongoing learning needs? How can we value and respect the experiences of all children?

This document is a resource and tool for teachers, administrators, and other school staff as they support ELLs in achieving the overall expectations of the Kindergarten program. It will help them provide a quality beginning school experience for ELLs.

In preparing this resource, the Ministry of Education acknowledges the valuable work being done in schools and classrooms across Ontario, and the dedication of teachers throughout the province in creating an inclusive learning environment that supports the success of every student.

In this document, parent(s) is used to mean parent(s) and guardian(s).

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