Boston Newcomer English Learners, Grades 2–6: Ready ESL Lessons
Boston Newcomer English Learners, Grades 2–6: Ready ESL Lessons
If a newcomer English learner joined your Boston Public Schools classroom this fall, the ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle gives you nine ready resources for Grades 2–6 at $79.99: everyday English for town and time, the simple present and past, pronouns, word families, vocabulary trainers and grammar practice. It works next to the support your school's ESL staff already give, and it is written for any state, not for BPS.
See the newcomer bundleYes, for a Grades 2–6 classroom teacher in Boston who needs English lessons for a newcomer now. The ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle costs $79.99 for nine resources: In the Town, Simple Present, Simple Past, Pronouns & Possessive Determiners, Exploring Word Families, Time & Calendar, a vocabulary trainer set and two grammar practice packs. It is not a BPS program and does not replace your school's ESL services.
The resources
ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle, Grades 2–6
9 resources in one download: $79.99 instead of $159.91 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle | Everyday English, Grammar & Vocabulary | 9 Resources | Grades 2–6
Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum | Grammar, Writing, Phonics & Reading Packs for Every Grade
Grade 3 ELA Pack | Grammar, Creative Writing, Phonics, Reading & Vocabulary
Learning at Home Bundle | Parent Guides & Workbooks for Reading, Math, English & Motivation | Grades 1–4
The real problem
A newcomer arrives mid-fall in a BPS elementary or middle classroom
Grades 1–12 in Boston Public Schools started on September 8, 2026, and newcomer families keep enrolling long after that. The district's Newcomers Academy is a high school, so a recently arrived eight- or eleven-year-old sits in a regular classroom, with support from the school's ESL staff and the Multilingual Learners department. Massachusetts allows several program models: the LOOK Act, signed in November 2017, opened options beyond Sheltered English Immersion and created the State Seal of Biliteracy. Boston's new Cabo Verdean Kriolu dual-language program starts in K1 and grows one grade a year, so it will not reach a Grade 4 newcomer for years. That leaves you the hours between ESL sessions. The student needs words for the cafeteria, the hallway and the wall calendar, plus enough grammar to say what happened yesterday. Writing beginner lessons for that, while the rest of the class works from the English Language Arts and Literacy Framework, is what eats your evenings.
Why it fits
What the nine resources give a Boston newcomer in the first months
The bundle puts survival English first and grammar second. These are the parts most useful for a new arrival in a Grades 2–6 room.
- In the Town: Places & Directions teaches words for getting around a neighborhood and asking the way.
- Time & Calendar gives a newcomer language for the class schedule, dates and days off.
- Simple Present: My Everyday Life lets students describe routines like arriving, eating lunch and going home.
- Simple Past: Stories About Yesterday helps a student tell what happened over the weekend or in class.
- The Vocabulary Trainer set for Grades 1–4 builds basic word banks for younger or very early learners.
- Two grammar and punctuation packs, one for Grades 1–3 and one for Grades 4–6, let you match practice to age.
Getting started
A first six weeks with a new arrival
A suggested sequence for a Grades 2–6 classroom. Talk it through with your school's ESL teacher and adjust it to the student.
- Week 1: words for the school dayStart with Time & Calendar and the vocabulary trainer. Short daily sessions on days, times and classroom words help a newcomer follow the schedule while classmates work on their regular tasks.
- Weeks 2–3: routines in the presentMove to Simple Present: My Everyday Life. Students describe their own mornings and school routines, which gives them sentences they can use with classmates the same afternoon.
- Week 3: the neighborhood and directionsTeach In the Town: Places & Directions. Pair the newcomer with a buddy for the speaking tasks, and connect the words to the way students actually walk or ride to school.
- Weeks 4–5: talking about yesterdaySimple Past: Stories About Yesterday lets students retell events. Pronouns & Possessive Determiners fits alongside it, since past-tense stories quickly need he, she, my and their.
- Week 6 on: word families and grammarUse Exploring Word Families and the grammar and punctuation pack for the student's age as independent work during your ELA block, with the answer keys for quick checking.
What to buy
The newcomer bundle or a broader literacy set
For one or two newcomers in Grades 2–6, the ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle is the right buy at $79.99; bought separately, the nine parts cost $159.91. If your student already speaks everyday English and needs grade-level grammar, writing and phonics, the Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum ($49.99, parts $95.76) has 24 packs across six grades. A single third grader may only need the Grade 3 ELA Pack ($13.99). For a newcomer family that wants to practice at home, the Learning at Home Bundle ($79.99) holds four parent guides with workbooks.
Honest limits
What this bundle does not replace
The bundle is written for any English learner, not for Boston Public Schools or Massachusetts. It has no BPS program materials, no Massachusetts framework codes and no home-language support in Kriolu or any other language. It does not replace ESL instruction, screening or services from your school or the Multilingual Learners department, so check with them before using it as more than classroom practice. You supply printing. If several teachers at your school want the files, send Teach Lessons a short message first. Not a fit? Within 7 days you can exchange it for store credit of equal value, not cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this bundle aligned with Massachusetts or BPS English learner requirements?
No. It has not been aligned to, reviewed or approved by Massachusetts, Boston Public Schools or the Multilingual Learners department. It is general beginner English for Grades 2–6. Check it against the English Language Arts and Literacy Framework and what your school's ESL staff teach, and use it beside their program, not in place of it.
My newcomer is in Grade 2. Is the material too hard?
Several parts aim at the younger end of the range: the vocabulary trainer set is for Grades 1–4 and one grammar pack is for Grades 1–3. Start a second grader there and with Time & Calendar. Since the pages are printed, you can read instructions aloud and accept single words or drawings at first.
Can I use it with an older newcomer in Grade 6?
Yes for the tense, pronoun and word family resources, and the Grades 4–6 grammar and punctuation pack fits that age. The vocabulary trainer set was written for Grades 1–4, so a sixth grader may find it young. Use it selectively, or skip it and lean on In the Town and the two tense units.
Does it include any home-language materials, for example in Kriolu?
No. Everything is in English. If your student speaks Cabo Verdean Kriolu, note that Boston's new dual-language program starts in K1 and adds a grade each year, so it does not serve older students yet. Ask your school's ESL staff or the Multilingual Learners department about home-language help for the student and family.
How quickly can I use it with a student who starts tomorrow?
The bundle is a digital download, available right after purchase through an email link and in your account under Orders. Print Time & Calendar and the first vocabulary pages tonight and you have something useful for the first morning, with answer keys so a classroom aide or volunteer can check the work.
Can our grade-level team share one copy?
The licence covers your own teaching. If other teachers in your building also receive newcomers and want the same files, send Teach Lessons a short message before sharing them. The files may not be posted publicly, placed on a shared drive outside that arrangement, or passed on to other schools.
Have lessons ready before the next newcomer arrives
Open the product page to see all nine parts and the grade levels they cover.
See the newcomer bundle