2024-25 T3 Series Event for Parents and Families
Thursday, January 30, 2025, 12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m. CT
The last in this series of parent and families events will focus on Community Engagement. Be sure to register to learn about valuable community resources available to all emergent bilingual families. Register Today!
Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS)
Assessment Window: Feb. 17 - March 28, 2025
Students in grades K–12 that have been identified as an emergent bilingual (EB) student are required to take TELPAS. This includes EB students whose parents have declined bilingual or English as a Second Language (ESL) program services.
In grades K–1, TELPAS includes teacher evaluations of students in listening, speaking, reading, and writing based on ongoing classroom observations and student interactions. In grades 2–12, TELPAS includes online listening and speaking tests and reading and writing tests.
TEA's Texas Assessment website allows parents to view past test scores and provides answers to common questions. There is a page of frequently asked questions about the TELPAS and other helpful links.
We recommend that parents log in to see their child's TELPAS testing history and talk to your child's teacher about progress in English language development.
An article published in October 2024 entitled, The Path to a Stronger State Seal of Biliteracy describes many of the benefits of bilingualism. Among them, the fact that employers are looking for bilingual workers is especially important to emergent bilingual children. The article explains that, in 2019, a survey of US employers found that 9 out of 10 needed bilingual employees. 56% of those employers expect the need to grow in the next five years. This is good news for your child who maintains their home language while learning English.
In addition to attracting employers, the article also talks about research that shows bilingual employees are more likely to earn higher wages than their counterparts. Whether your child is interested in becoming a doctor, engineer, or teacher, being bilingual can be the skill that encourages the employer to offer a higher salary. Remind your child of these benefits as we enter the break to encourage their continued growth toward bilingualism.
Target: FREE Science Videos
Recommended Grade Levels: All
LearnBright is a collection of science-related videos on topics like life cycles, inventors, and clouds.
Open the LearnBright video collection and let your child watch and learn.
Go to LearnBright and review the videos available. Let your child select a topic that interests them.
Have your child watch the video to learn about the topic.
After watching the video, have your child tell you what they already knew, and new information they learned from the video. Then ask if the video made them think of more questions on the topic.
The videos are free, so you can do this at home or on the road. A good lesson to start with is “The Life Cycle of Frogs”.
Target Skills: Coding, Speaking, and Writing
Recommended Grade Levels: 3-12
This is a free creative coding tool that will help your child learn how to animate objects using simple buttons.
Let your child watch the introductory video, then try their hand at coding.
Open Scratch and click “Create”.
Click “Tutorial” and play the “Getting Started” video.
There is an option to create an account and share if you’d like.
After watching the video, your child can create their own setting, animation, and sound or use a tutorial for guided help.
Once they have it created, have them describe to you how they made their story.
This is a great way to help your child learn to describe settings and characters while learning coding skills.
Target Skills: Reading, Vocabulary
Recommended Grade Levels: 3-12
Youngzine offers free articles in English and Spanish on topics related to world climate.
Read an article with your child in English or Spanish to help them develop vocabulary skills.
Open Youngzine and create a free account.
Select an article of interest to you and your child.
Read the article together talking through questions your child may have.
Summarize the article with your child sharing the most interesting facts learned.
These articles are factual and provide your child with new learning that will help them learn new vocabulary.
Don’t forget to visit txel.org/SupportingChild for more interactive educational websites.
Winter Break Bingo
Download this Bingo Card and see if you can complete 5 of these activities with your child. They are simple, fun things to do at home during your free time. The top row includes things you might already do, but building a bear den is always fun, too! Encourage your child to participate in these by offering a prize when a row is completed.
Directions for each of these activities can be found at this website.
Write a Short Story
Writing is a great way to ignite a child’s imagination. There are very few materials needed – a pencil, crayons, and paper – and a million places it could go. Here is a great guide to help your child learn the basics of writing a story, from once upon a time to the end!
This Spanish version can be opened and translated to any other language using Google Translate. Simply download the PDF and open it in Google Translate. You will be prompted to translate it into any language.
Read, Read, Read
One way to be sure to keep your child learning is to make sure you have a variety of books to read. Books can be checked out from the school or local library for free. Encourage your child to read in their home language or English because both are beneficial to strengthening language skills.
Graphic novels are one fun way to get your child reading. Let them pick their favorite one and share their favorite part with you.
JumpStart
Jumpstart offers insights into the cost of living, including housing, food, transportation, clothing, and digital needs.
Have your child visit JumpStart Reality Check as they consider next steps after high school. Once they see the cost of living their imagined life, they can look at job options that will provide enough income to support their goals.
Once your child looks over the list of jobs that fall into their pay scale, have them look up education requirements for one of those jobs. This can help them decide next steps as they near high school graduation. The link at the bottom of the page will provide more job insights for your child such as which jobs are in high demand and annual salary for each.
Keeping your child engaged in learning while on break can be a challenge for every parent. Be sure to pace the activities. Try one a day to see what interests your child, then let them continue with their preferred activities. Giving them choices will minimize resistance and makes it more likely that they will enjoy their learning. Also, feel free to try some of the activities yourself. A relaxing video about the life cycle of a frog can spark new conversations with your child. Another relaxing idea is to sit down and read when your child reads. Then, you can take turns sharing what you are reading about.
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Supporting Emergent Bilingual Students in Texas
TXEL.org is a web portal that provides information and resources that are relevant, accessible, and impactful to support educational leaders, teachers, parents and families, and community partners to ensure the academic success of the State’s emergent bilingual students.
Contact us at: https://www.txel.org/contact/
Email: EmergentBilingualSupport@tea.texas.gov
Visit: www.tea.texas.gov