Oral Language | Reading | Writing

Meet Erin

Erin is 5 years old and is in Kindergarten at an urban elementary school in a large Midwest city. Erin was born in the United States. Her parents came to the United States from Mexico about 6 years before she was born. Erin’s mother is expecting a baby girl, and Erin is super excited to soon have a baby sister.

Erin’s father speaks English at intermediate level and is a foreman at an auto-plant. Her mother speaks English well and works as a clerk for a county government office. Spanish is the dominant language of the home, and the parents have made efforts to help Erin and their other children learn to read in Spanish. Kindergarten was Erin’s first exposure to an all-English environment. Erin loves going to school. Her favorite subjects are reading and math, and she loves going to the school library.

At school Erin receives sheltered English content-area instruction in her classroom and receives 30 minutes of daily ESL instruction through a pull-out program with a certified ESL teacher. Her classroom teacher has also recently completed licensure in working with ELL students. Erin’s official English language proficiency level is 2 (WIDA)

At home Erin frequently helps her parents with cooking and cleaning. She likes to watch TV, and her favorite show is Paw Patrol. Erin has also been busy helping to the get the house ready for her new baby sister, and is really excited to help her mom take of the baby.

Reading sample: Jen and Max Build a House