Erlinda

Erlinda is 11 years old, and is in the 6th grade at an intermediate school in a medium sized Midwest town. She and her mother were both born in Indiana, and her father was born in Mexico. As a middle child, Erlinda is one of six children along with a family cat that she truly adores!

When the weather is warm and beautiful, Erlinda and her family spend quality time fishing on the weekends.  One of her favorite holidays is Christmas because she and her family will watch Christmas movies every weekend during winter.  Her favorite movie is Home Alone. 

Erlinda enjoys going to school in Indiana. She finds that her teachers are very nice and helpful, and that makes her classes enjoyable. She really appreciates how her teachers keep her calm during moments of frustration.  Erlinda speaks both English and Spanish, but she is unable to read and write in Spanish. Although Erlinda grew up in a home where both English and Spanish are spoken,  she sometimes finds it challenging to keep up in class when her teachers speak English at a fast pace.

Her school has a one-to-one technology program and provides each student with an iPad for use at school and at home. None of her regular classroom teachers have received specific training on how to work with ELLs. Erlinda receives daily ESL instruction through a pull-out program taught by a certified ESL teacher.  She receives her instruction in a small group with 6 students at the intermediate to advanced levels of English proficiency.  Her official English proficiency level is 4.1 (WIDA).