Gateway ELPS Leader Pathway - Intermediate/Advanced Teacher Behaviors

Oct 2, 2026

Uploaded by Rowan

Gateway ELPS Leader Pathway outlines suggested teacher behaviors aligned to ELLs’ TELPAS proficiency levels. It provides observation dates placeholders (BOY/MOY/EOY) and guidance across listening, speaking, reading, writing, and feedback. For beginning and intermediate levels, it emphasizes gestures, concise speech, native-language clarification, respectful wait time, sentence frames, environmental print, and shared reading/writing supports. For advanced levels, it focuses on guided reading with subject-area texts, comprehension checks, idioms and colloquialisms, oral presentations, and independent reading and writing tasks.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

Feedback

| Teacher Grade Level | Beginning | ELPS K-1 Leader Pathway
Suggested Teacher Behaviors Number of ELLs/TELPAS Proficiency Levels
Intermediate Advanced | Observation Dates:
BOY: MOY: EOY:
Advanced High | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | Listening | | | Speaking | | Reading | Writing | | | Feedback | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Beginning |
• Extensively uses gestures and checks for understanding
• Speaks in a clear, concise manner, uses shorter sentences and fewer pronouns
• Provides clarification in native language, including assistance from peers | | |
• Respects silent period
• Accepts single word responses or phrases from memorized vocabulary
• Frequently models intonation and pronunciation of words and accepts errors | |
• Provides multiple opportunities for shared reading, read-along, sing-along, chants, and poems
• Students use big books, charts with extensive visuals, illustrations, gestures, pantomime, and objects
• Reads in chunks, adjusts enunciation, uses slower speech to stress sound-symbol relationships |
• Implements many shared writing activities to develop students’awareness of English
print conventions
• Models pointing to read each word when reading stories aloud
• Allows students’ use of pictures, letter-like forms, mock words, scribbling or dictates students’ reflections | | | | | Intermediate | | | |
• Allows for wait time
• Provides simple sentence frames, answer choices, or graphic organizers
• Focuses on content of students’responses, not pronunciation or grammatical errors
• Respects use of simple, present tense sentences and minimal details | | • Reads predictable patterned books that include rhyming words and repetition of key words
• Displays environmental print; word walls, labeled pictures/items and logos
• Allows students to retell orally, using pictures, in short simple sentences, and/or phrases in their journals
• Accepts L1 interference with some sound-symbol relationships in English | | | | | | | • Frequently uses visual cues, verbal cues and gestures
• Employs simplified language, high-frequency vocabulary, and pre-teaches academic vocabulary
• Provides students with phrases or simple sentence frames | | | | | | | | • Assists with presenting, publishing, and displaying whole-class writing projects as examples of print conventions
• Accepts L1 interference such as primary language words, spelling patterns, word order and literal translating in personal reflections | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
• Moderately uses visual cues, verbal cues and gestures
• Accepts students’ wait time to process information
• Occasionally rephrases, repeats, and/or slows down discussion or explanation at students’ request | | | | • Provides opportunities for oral presentations
• Provides students with practice using content-based terms and common abstract vocabulary
• Uses graphic organizers for use of present, past and future tense
• Facilitates cooperative group work to support peer interaction |
• Reads and thinks aloud to focus on main points and details to provide visual and linguistic support, cooperative groups, small groups, and whole-class shared reading
• Utilizes guided reading with leveled readers to check students’comprehension, recognition of basic vocabulary, and to reinforce sound-symbol relationships |
• Reads and thinks aloud to focus on main points and details using grade-appropriate English
• Provides opportunities for shared writing
• Models concept mapping with the whole class for
vocabulary development | | | | | Advanced | | | | | | | | | | | | Advanced High | | | |
• Students narrate and describe problem-solving strategies using complex sentences
• Introduces, models, practices, and reviews the use of idioms and colloq

FAQs

How should teachers support ELLs in the listening domain at the beginning level?

Teachers should use gestures, check for understanding, keep speech clear and concise with shorter sentences, and respect the silent period. Native-language clarification and peer assistance are also recommended.

What teaching strategies are suggested for intermediate ELLs in speaking and reading?

Teachers should allow wait time, provide simple sentence frames or answer choices, and focus on content over pronunciation errors. Reading guidance includes predictable patterned books with repetition and opportunities for oral retelling using pictures and short sentences.

What does the pathway recommend for advanced and advanced high levels in reading, writing, and feedback?

Teachers model reading and think-alouds using subject-area texts, check explicit and implicit comprehension, and assign independent grade-appropriate reading. Writing support includes guided concepts mapping, graphic organizers, sentence strips for word-order manipulation, and independent writing in reflection journals.

Oct 2, 2026

Uploaded by Rowan