English

Summer Reading

English Department Staff                         Reading Department Staff                         ESOL Staff 

Drop Everything and Read!                 [DEAR!]

 

Reading Tips for Success

  • Read carefully
  • Read a book that interests you
  • Get recommendations from friends
  • Start another book if it's confusing, or go back and reread
  • Jot down a quick summary after each chapter or certain number of pages
  • Re-read if it is a short book
  • Read as much as you can every day
  • Count pages or chapters to plan how much you should read each night
  • Pay attention to details
  • If you own the book, you can highlight in it
  • After reading a chapter, summarize it in your head, and write down important things that happened
  • Have an adult ask you questions after each chapter
  • Find a peer who has read the same book and discuss it
  • Make notes on post-it notes and place in book
  • Write down ALL characters names and traits
  • Outline chapter events
  • Re-write parts of chapter in own words to check for understanding
  • Pay attention to quotes and what characters are saying
  • Before you pick up after putting the book down, re-read the last page you read
  • Challenge yourself!

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Curriculum - English Learners (EL)                      

 Radisha Francis                                      MCPS ESOL Information 

The goal of ESOL is to prepare students to be successful in mainstream English as well as other content classes, so that their production of English is not an obstacle.

ESOL classes are for students who are non-native speakers of English, needing extra help in learning English. ESOL is scheduled instead of mainstream English. For Level 1 students, it also replaces reading.

There are three levels in MCPS Middle Schools:

  • Level 1 is the entering level for students who have no communication skills in English.
  • Level 2 is the beginning level for students who need to develop basic vocabulary and sentence structure.
  • Level 3 is the developing level, which focuses on writing skills and more complex grammar.
  • Level 4 is the expanding level that concentrates on using the vocabulary, sentence structures, and reading skills in producing paragraphs and essays.
  • Level 5 is the advanced level reading on-grade-level material to write five-paragraph essays, and developing research skills to write a research paper.