Take 2 Film Academy

Goal 2: Strengthen K-8 ML/ELLs' listening and speaking skills through digital media project-based learning.

Objective 2.1: Integrate short film and/or podcast creation into curciculum to support English language development.

Tasks: Students will engage in all aspects of filmmaking from pre-production to production to post-production. In Year 1, students at both P.S./M.S. 83 and P.S. 106 created welcoming videos in different languages for incoming students who do not speak English. 

MadeManifest

Goal 3: Provide ongoing, sustained professional learning opportunities to targeted administrators, ENL teachers and ELA teachers that will help minimize the gap between early language development needs and scaffolded supports for the core ELA curriculum both in the Standalone ENL program and Integrated ELA classrooms, by focusing on grade-level content planning and using high-leverage scaffolds and differentiation to create instructional points of entry into the core curriculum. 

Objective 3.1: Tailor a Multilingual Learner Institute (MLI) for LTG participants by using District 11 ELL Data to determine student instructional needs and participant professional development needs.

Objective 3.2: Research and compile related ELL tools/manipulatives, instructional materials and resources, and technology to ensure implementation of efficacy of LTG program course (MLI) by planning for professional development series. 

Tasks: Create two full-day Live Translation and Digital Tools workshops with coaching; one AI for Differentiation webinar focused on utilizing generative AI tools to scaffold instruction for multilingual learners.  Hands-on training included practice with 1:1 conversation mode in Microsoft Translator to support real-time instructional exchanges and student-led activities. Introduction of Google Lens to support students in identifying unknown words, accessing translated instructions, and engaging visually with content across subjects. These tools contributed to increased student participation in discussion-based and project-based tasks by reducing language barriers and allowing learners to access content more independently.  

Each session emphasized practical strategies for integrating digital tools into classroom instruction to support language development and student output. Key elements included:

• Creating AI-generated vocabulary lists, visual cues, and sentence frames for students at varying English proficiency levels.

• Using SchoolAI Spaces to simulate low-stakes, one-on-one conversations in English across multiple content areas. These AI-powered chatbot tutors offered multilingual learners the opportunity to practice language with built-in translation support, scaffolded prompts, and personalized feedback.

• Applying tools like Adobe Express, Canva, and Google Gemini to support student-driven projects through multilingual prompts, visual writing supports, and differentiated task models.

Teacher Created Materials 

Goal 4: Develop and disseminate exemplar instructional materials as regional and state-wide public resources.  

Objective 4.1: Teacher leaders (grant participants) will generate materials, resources, and videos to create an online library of lesson plan exemplars that wil be published on the district website to be shared and piloted across schools.