Copiague School District’s English as a New Language students across the four elementary schools are actively building language skills through engaging, hands-on lessons that promote collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.

At Susan E. Wiley Elementary School, first through fourth grade students teamed up for a special Valentine’s Day activity. Older ENL students took on mentoring roles, guiding younger peers as they practiced English in a collaborative environment. Together, they brainstormed synonyms for kindness in both speaking and writing while creating pieces of a heart puzzle. Each puzzle piece represented an act of kindness they could practice within their school. When assembled, the completed puzzle symbolized how individual acts help make the school community whole.

At Deauville Gardens East Elementary School, first grade students in Ms. Scheuermann’s class read “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats. Using adjectives, students analyzed the main character and described his thoughts, feelings and actions throughout the story. They then composed sentences using those adjectives and supported their ideas with text evidence, strengthening both reading comprehension and writing skills.

Third graders at Deauville Gardens West Elementary School explored the story “The Dream Catcher,” learning about character development, sequencing, context clues and Native American culture. As a culminating activity, they wrote descriptive paragraphs and created their own dream catchers, blending literacy skills with creativity and cultural learning.

Hands-on science was also part of the experience. Mrs. Lynam’s third grade and Mrs. Matusewicz’s second grade students at Great Neck Road Elementary School conducted a “blubber experiment” to learn how animals adapt to cold weather. Students made predictions about how their hands would feel with and without “blubber” before placing them in bags of ice. The activity sparked excitement and curiosity as students discovered how insulation helps keep animals warm.

These varied lessons highlight how the district’s ENL program supports language development through meaningful, engaging and interdisciplinary learning experiences.