Welcome to the English Literacy/Civics Home Page

Overview

The purpose of the EL/Civics Web site is to provide instructional support to ESOL tutors working to meet the language and language-related needs of their learners. Tutors will find here a collection of lesson plans, instructional materials and Web sites to use in part or “out of the box” depending upon their learner’s needs.

The lessons posted here were designed for use in small classes of intermediate-level learners over the course of several 6-8 week sessions. However, tutors will find that the methods and materials are easily adaptable to individual and paired learner environments, and to other competency levels. The content of each session varies as a result of learner interest surveys, which revealed the need for instruction in the areas of healthcare and employment in addition to the required civics content. Computer-based lessons were integrated into each of these core areas.

Authorship, Sponsorship and Acceptable Use

The lessons on this page are the creation of LVRV's EL/Civics Program Coordinator, William Van Velzer, whose work was underwritten by a two-year grant from the Virginia Department of Education, with supplementary funding provided by Dollar General Corporation. Mr. Van Velzer brought to the program over 20 years of teaching experience in the California and Virginia public schools, including an extensive background in the area of differentiated instruction. All lessons and related materials are available for unlimited public use. 

Site Navigation

The EL/Civics Web site is comprised of two primary indexes: one for lesson plans and one for the curriculum frameworks and pacing guides. Each session’s curriculum framework and pacing guide provides a description of session content, a list of behavioral objectives and the sequence in which the content was taught.

Of particular interest to tutors is the Lesson Plan Index, which groups the lessons by content area. Clicking on any of the content area buttons will take the user to a sub-index of individual lessons, each with its own brief description.

Lesson Plan Format

All EL/Civics lessons follow the same general format and include the lesson’s objectives, estimated lesson duration, materials list, a description of the lesson activities and an assessment statement. These elements form a skeletal framework that describes the way in which the original lesson was delivered. Tutors are encouraged to modify any lesson as needed in order to better serve the interests and needs of their learner. Questions about any of the lessons or lesson materials may be addressed by contacting the office of the LVRV Program Coordinator.

A Word about Links and PDF Files   

Often included in the materials section of each lesson are links to Internet sites. It is highly recommended that tutors who plan to use lessons with Web-based resources visit the site ahead of time and become familiar with its content and layout. In addition, tutors are reminded that Internet sites occasionally change addresses or go offline altogether despite our ongoing effort to use only well established sites and to update the links on a regular basis. Tutors discovering bad or missing links are asked to report them as soon as possible by contacting the ESOL coordinator at 265-9339 or by e-mail.

All printed lesson materials are conveniently available in PDF format. Materials of this type include worksheet assignments, WebQuests and flashcards. Printing these resources requires an Adobe Acrobat Reader, which may be downloaded free by clicking here. Tutors also will find hard copies of EL/Civics materials on file at the LVRV Williamson Road office during regular business hours.