IPS Classroom Teachers with Newcomer English Learners: Ready Materials
IPS Classroom Teachers with Newcomer English Learners: Ready Materials
If a newcomer English learner joins your Indianapolis Public Schools classroom and the ENL teacher is only in your building part of the week, the ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle puts nine ready resources for Grades 2–6 on your desk: everyday English about town, time and the calendar, the simple present and past, pronouns, word families, and grammar and vocabulary practice. Your new student can work on them while the class continues.
See all nine newcomer resourcesFor IPS classroom teachers receiving a newcomer, the ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle ($79.99) bundles nine resources: In the Town: Places & Directions; Simple Present: My Everyday Life; Simple Past: Stories About Yesterday; Pronouns & Possessive Determiners; Exploring Word Families; Time & Calendar; a vocabulary trainer set for Grades 1–4; and two grammar and punctuation packs. It supports, and does not replace, the district's English as a New Language 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 and the ENL teacher is shared
Indianapolis Public Schools provides English as a New Language (ENL) services for English learners, but in 2026–27 those services are spread thinner in some buildings. After budget cuts, Butler Lab School 55 shares its ENL teacher with another school this year, and several IPS schools now share specials teachers too, such as Center for Inquiry School 27 sharing art, music and P.E. staff with Sidener Academy for High Ability Students. For a Grade 3 or Grade 5 classroom teacher, that means the hours when a newcomer is with a specialist may be fewer, and the rest of the day lands on you. The student still sits through math, reading and science taught in English, and you still have the rest of the class to teach. What usually works is a short set of tasks the newcomer can do on their own during independent work: names of places and directions, daily routines in the simple present, telling about yesterday, days and months. That is the English a child leans on in the first weeks at a new school. At the state level, English proficiency is measured with WIDA ACCESS, and IDOE's Office of English Learning and Migrant Education oversees the program, so the ENL teacher remains your guide on placement and goals.
Why it fits
Nine resources, matched to the first weeks
The bundle starts with English a child needs at school on day one and builds toward grammar.
- In the Town: Places & Directions teaches the words for getting around a school and a neighborhood.
- Describing a daily routine in Simple Present: My Everyday Life is a natural first speaking and writing task.
- Once present tense feels steady, Simple Past: Stories About Yesterday is the next step.
- Time & Calendar covers days, months and telling time, which newcomers need for schedules.
- The vocabulary trainer set and word families unit give independent practice during class work time.
- Two grammar and punctuation packs span Grades 1–3 and 4–6, matching the age of your student.
Getting started
The first month with a newcomer
One possible sequence. Check it with your building's ENL teacher, who knows the student's level and the district's expectations.
- Talk with the ENL teacher firstAsk which days the ENL teacher is in your building and what the student works on there. Pick resources from the bundle that support that work rather than repeat it.
- Week one: town and timeOpen with In the Town and Time & Calendar. These give the student words for school spaces, directions and the daily schedule they are learning to follow.
- Week two: daily routinesMove to Simple Present: My Everyday Life. Let the student draw and label their own day, then build short sentences from it with a peer helper.
- Weeks three and four: past and pronounsAdd Simple Past and the pronouns unit. Keep vocabulary trainer pages in a folder the student can reach for any time the class is working independently or finishing a task.
- Keep samples for the ENL teamSave a few finished pages each week and pass them on. They give the ENL teacher a quick view of progress between visits to your room and help with planning.
What to buy
The right purchase for your classroom
A classroom teacher with a Grades 2–6 newcomer should get the ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle at $79.99, compared with $159.91 for the nine parts bought one at a time. If the student already has basic English and mainly needs grade-level practice, the Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum ($49.99) gives grammar, writing, phonics and reading packs for every grade from 1 to 6. A Grade 3 teacher who only needs one grade could begin with the Grade 3 ELA Pack ($13.99). Families who want to support the student at home may find the Learning at Home Bundle ($79.99) useful.
Honest limits
It supports ENL, it does not replace it
Indiana and IPS were not in view when the bundle was written: it has no Indiana Academic Standards codes and is not built around WIDA ACCESS. Check it against your building's ENL plan and the student's goals. It does not replace the ENL teacher, the district's services or any legal requirement for English learners. You supply printing and any picture cards you want to add. Using it across a grade team or school needs a short message to Teach Lessons first. Within 7 days you can exchange it for store credit of equal value.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this bundle aligned with Indiana standards or approved for IPS ENL?
No. Indiana, IDOE and Indianapolis Public Schools have not endorsed or approved it, and it is not aligned with Indiana standards. It is general classroom material for newcomer English learners. Compare it with the Indiana Academic Standards for English/Language Arts and ask the ENL teacher whether it fits the student's plan.
Can I use it during regular class time?
Yes, that is its main use. The pages are printable and work as independent tasks while the rest of the class continues with the lesson. A peer helper can sit with the newcomer for the parts that need talking. Keep the folder in the student's desk so it is always within reach.
My newcomer is in Grade 5. Are the materials too young?
The bundle spans Grades 2–6, and one of the two grammar packs targets Grades 4 to 6. Units like In the Town and Time & Calendar suit older beginners well because the content is practical. Preview each part and skip pages that feel too young.
Will it get my student ready for WIDA ACCESS?
It is not built for that test and makes no claim about it. Everyday vocabulary, verb tenses and grammar are general English skills that any newcomer needs, but questions about test preparation, scores and placement belong with your ENL teacher and the district's English learner staff.
Our ENL teacher is shared between two schools. Can they use it too?
Your purchase covers your own teaching. If the shared ENL teacher, your grade-level team or the whole school wants to work from it as well, write to Teach Lessons before anyone else uses the files and ask about team use. Keep the files in your own folders in the meantime rather than on a shared drive.
How soon can I give the first page to my student?
Today. Checkout triggers an email with the download link, and the same files are kept in your customer account under Orders. Print In the Town: Places & Directions or Time & Calendar this afternoon and your new student has something useful to work on tomorrow.
Be ready for the next newcomer
Open the product page to see all nine resources and choose where your student should start.
See all nine newcomer resources