Great Site to Differentiate Your Reading Activities and Meet Common Core Standards:)

How many teachers have classes where each and every student is at the same level in reading abilities?  My guess is that this is highly unlikely to say the least.  The vast majority of teachers have classes with students of mixed abilities in reading.  So how does a teacher support this wide range of reading abilities?  Try READ WORKS! 

With this site, teachers have a wide range of reading passages from all the academic disciplines and at many grade levels to pull from.  Registration is required, but it is free.

What options are there for reading strategies practice?  They are listed here:

What subject areas specifically are included?  See below:

The site also offers lesson plan units aligned to common core standards:

To successfully meet the reading skills development needs of diverse classrooms, this is a site teachers should bookmark and pull from as needed.  Note the EDMODO pin.  Teachers with EDMODO accounts can save work directly to that site for student use with just a click:)

I hope this site meets your needs:)

Denise
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Comic Books in History Classes? Yes!

A fun way to grab the attention of all students is to bring in comic books to supplement a lesson.  Yes, comic books such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Ironman etc. motivate even the most reluctant student to wake up and pay attention:) 

Some of the comics are tied to building patriotism in World War II.  America felt the need to rid the world of terrorism and restore peace world wide.  Superman helped nurture that belief that America was the world's defender.  He stood for "truth, justice, and the American way."  Granted some propaganda was involved here, but he helped America enter the war to stop evil dictators and correct the evils of the world.  Wonder Woman was more of the same.  She defended the downtrodden and improved the life of humanity.  Captain America still was another example.  He fought the Nazis and once again made Americans proud.  Students could research the authors of these comics and what their inspiration was in creating them.  They would then write a paper, do a presentation, create a group project, develop a "screen play," etc. 

Ironman also fights for justice, but what I find even more intriguing is his external super armor.  I think of him as a cyborg at times.  Students in robotics classes would probably find many tie-ins here.  In fact, some of this "super wear" is already being used in the military.  Students here could create on paper new features and then not only describe what they look like, but also go into detail on its purpose and use in the military.  Then, what about writing about WHY their adjustments would be needed. 

Using comic books in class has other benefits for ELLs also.  There are the visual layouts which provide context.  Though language is limited, there are still some very high level academic vocabulary words included (along with visual context).  Why not have students create comics as a class project in the content area you working in?  Your students will really appreciate it. 

Denise

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Have Failing Students? Read On:)

The end of the school year is fast approaching.  With the end of the semester, teachers are often times faced with a few students who did not pass the course regardless of  support teachers had provided. Though there is probably little chance, if any, of such students earning passing grades now, there is always a  chance to reverse the downward spiral with the start of the second semester.  Students need guidance and hope.

Though this article ("Helping Students Succeed:  A Twelve Step Program" by Marty Dawley) is from 1999, its content rings just as true now as it did when it was first published.  There is no magic fix for the problem.  The latest greatest tech gadget won't help here nor will that one shot engaging professional development workshop without follow-up and intensive support.  Instead, the solution may rest with the teacher's ability to connect with students on a personal level and hold them accountable. 

The 12 steps should sound quite familiar to educators to some degree, but for the first time, there is an actual "checklist" for teachers to refer to as needed.  I intend to start the new year with this approach.  I need to change behaviors. 

Denise


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English Is Truly a Crazy Language:)

English is a challenge for native speakers as well as English learners.  English speakers spend countless hours in class learning English spelling rules and then even more hours learning the many exceptions (ex. child becomes children and not childs:)  Add to spelling, the many inconsistencies in pronunciation depending on the function of the word in the sentence (ex. read present tense-read past tense---same pronunciation). 

Well, here is a fun look at English.  Students will definitely enjoy exploring the bizarre nature of English.  To share this with students, a less is more approach would be the best.  I offered it in small chunks usually at the end of class one day in the week (for me, it is Friday).  Such information generally opens up a lively conversation as to why those inconsistencies exist.  These conversations easily lead to how to use reading skills to decide which pronunciation is called for and why.  For example, THE STUDENTS WERE TOO CLOSE TO THE DOOR TO CLOSE IT.  The first CLOSE is an adjective while the second is a verb.  As these forms are discussed, grammar can be woven in with ease in studying the parts of speech and their functions in a sentence.

Studying English can be fun at times and this is one of them:)

Denise

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Common Core Gives Purpose to Grammar:)

All too often, many teachers spend a great deal of instructional time on the teaching of grammar in isolation.  Though the intention is good, it rarely leads to a deeper understanding of the written language.  This issue surfaces often in classes where there are English language learners.  Well-intentioned teachers provide a wide range of activities all around mastering a specific form of grammar--tense, word choice, subordinate clauses, etc.  However, this instruction occurs out of context so students rarely see the "big picture" on the need for specific forms of grammar.

With common core, the shift will be addressing grammar within the context of a novel, piece of informational text, a textbook, the internet, a writing assignment, a math word problem, student writing assignments, etc.  The ten tips for teaching grammar in this Eye on Education link are excellent guides for teachers in this area.  Using them, grammar will take on lasting meaning for students.

I was particularly impressed with #8.  The suggestion here is to avoid writing sentences on the board with mistakes for students to correct (popular in many English classes) because such sentences may stay with students more than the corrections.  This is especially true of those still learning English. 

Grammar will find its place within quality reading and writing activities:)

Denise

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Amazing Site "Common Core Standards in Action!"

First, let me apologize for not posting daily of late.  I am leading a 3 hour institute at the annual California Association of Bilingual Educators in two weeks and am still working on it.  When the conference is over, I will be posting all my materials on my website (ELL TEACHER PROS).  My institute is on developing teaching resources to support ELLs in mainstream classes.  I am quite excited about this opportunity to be a resource for teachers around the state (and beyond through this blog and the website).

Now---on to the blog post for today:)

If teachers still have some concerns over implementing common core over this year and the next, they may wish to keep this site in their bookmark folder (or mark as a favorite) for future reference.   Quite a few teachers are wondering if they must re-create all their lessons, assessments, assignments, etc. so they require proof positive that nothing could be further from the truth.  In the past, a "mile wide and one inch thick" was golden rule in prepping students to take standardized tests.  This is no longer the case.  Pacing calendars which were developed to make sure that teachers "covered" all the material in time for the test are on their way to being dropped.   Will implementation of CCSS improve the high drop out rate among high school students?  The belief is that they will if teachers are fully supported in developing a firm handle on how to effectively re-energize instruction with them.

So, though many schools in 46 states implementing CCSS have (or plan to have) already provided their teachers with many professional development sessions to facilitate the move to CCSS, teachers will need support far beyond a few all day inservices.  Some districts have added academic peer coaches to ease the transition.  Further, many schools encourage teachers to attend academic conferences in their field of expertise to further hone their skills.  Still, even with such support, it is not there 24/7:)  What other options are available to teachers then?

Let me state a resource which most don't really think about and yet use this source regularly--colleagues.  It seems that on almost every campus and within every department there exists several teachers who jump at new approaches and enjoy the process.  They are more often than not willing to jump and assist any colleague who asks for help.  Such untapped sources should be looked at for immediate feedback:)

There is also the internet.  That being said--it can be an exhausting process trying to find just the right tool.  With this in mind, this site (and there are others) has tried to develop a bank of sites, suggestions for their use, lesson ideas in all content areas and at all grade levels (just go to SEARCH and type in the subject area), etc. 

Here is the latest tool on assisting teachers with using CCSS based lessons--COMMON CORE STANDARDS IN ACTION!  Most of the material is free, but to receive support in developing lessons (as well as have access to already developed ones), teachers must have a premium account.  However, that is only $50 a year.  This is small change and title 3 would cover it.  Such a tool for such a price will ease teacher stress levels.  Still, some might not need that level of service.  If that is the case, just sign up for the limited access one (I have that one since I have been following CCSS for over 1 year now).

Last, if you look at the top 10 blog posts for this site, 9 of them are on CCSS--videos, lessons, instructional strategies, etc.:)

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

P.S.  Enjoy the inauguration of Pres. Obama tomorrow.  It will be broadcast around the world.  Regardless of political party loyalties, the history beyond this inauguration to all the others which preceded it will be woven throughout and that should excite history buffs:)

Do You Have ELLs Looking to Expand Their Language Skills Outside of Class? Share ESL GOLD With Them:)

Every class has those few students who just never seem to tire of learning English.  This group will attempt anything the instructor offers and more.  Often times, this group will ask for more practice in any form.  For these students, motivation is never an issue.  Instead, the issue may be how to find just the right website where students at all 3 levels (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) will be challenged, but never bored or frustrated. 

ESL Gold is a site with a wide variety of options for students to select from.  They may also self-select the level of difficulty which is wonderful for those who feel confident enough to undertake more academically challenging materials. 

What is in the site?  Students will find activities in speaking (only this section needs a textbook while the others don't), listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, business, pronunciation, TOEFL (for ESL students overseas who wish to study in the U.S.),  and TOEIC  (measures the ability of non-native English-speaking examinees to use English in everyday).  Many of the options here are probably geared for 9th grade on though a few might work at middle school (ex. writing, vocabulary, etc.).  One suggestion I have here is provide a quick tour of what the site has and then let students gravitate to what they enjoy.  The reading comprehension section maintains a steady current flow of news articles on international stories.  There is no modification of language here though the difficulty of language seems to vary with the subject matter.

Though no site will ever replace quality teaching in class instruction, this one easily supplements it for those students who really wish to go beyond the class material on their own time (if your classroom has some computers in it, kids who finish work early could do additional practice here).  

ESL GOLD Hope they like the link:)

Denise

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FOUR (4) CORNERS ACTIVITY--Provides Excellent Academic Discussion Setting to Make Core Content Accessible for ELLs

This cooperative learning activity is a favorite of both teachers and students because it is highly interactive.  ELLs thrive in such a setting because often times they generally are more proficient in speaking English than in reading or writing it.

So what could it look like in a classroom?

Picture in each of the four corners a controversial quote on chart paper from the upcoming lesson.  Students receive a handout with the quotes to assist them in taking a stand on the issue.  ELLs would need to be able to see the quote beforehand so that they would be able to identify what position resonates with them. (Note:  the use of chart paper is an approach I have used since not all students, ELL or not, are auditory.)  Students have a couple of minutes to see which quote best represents their opinion.  When they receive the signal from the teacher, students go to the corner with the quote that reflects their feelings on the issue.

Once in that corner with students who share the same feelings, they would enter into a discussion  on their take on the topic.  Students would take turns discussing and then writing down individual contributions on the topic on the chart paper.  After the group's comments were noted, they would prepare to verbally share out their reactions with the rest of the class.  EVERY student in each group would be accountable here to talk.  This is a must for the ELL.  S/he needs to talk.  Now, since s/he has had time to explore the topic with like minded students, s/he would be prepared to share some of the issues her/his group touched on.  If shyness enters the picture, s/he would have 6 or students around him who could support her/him in speaking out. 

How does it benefit students, especially ELLs?

It moves students from conversational English to academic language.  It activates those parts of the brain dedicated to higher thinking skills, encourages and scaffolds student attempts to reflect on course material and relate it their own lives, and offers an opportunity to enter into meaningful communication with their peers.  ELLs need all of these skills.

DESCRIPTION OF 4 CORNERS ACTIVITY Here is a detailed description of what the activity is and its benefits.

STARTER ACTIVITIES FOR 4 CORNERSThis site offers more information on the activity along with some  easy to follow directions on conducting the activity in class as well as some activities.

SAMPLE FOUR CORNERS ACTIVITY
(RAFT--mentioned in SAMPLE FOUR CORNERS LINK)
Would you like even more classroom application ideas?  If yes, click here.  There is also a link to RAFT which was mentioned without a description.

Denise

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COMMON CORE: BRAINSTORM, DISCUSS, WRITE-HOW TO INVOLVE ALL STUDENTS

Here is a fifth grade teacher doing an incredible job at fully implementing common core standards with informational text.

The techniques used here work equally well in upper grades (middle school and high school).  Further, ELLs are fully engaged in the lesson and the teacher scaffolds them without watering down the content.  In fact, her ELLs worked on the SAME questions as the other students.  This approach satisfies any equity issue. 

The next three videos move from one stage to the next and arriving finally at the writing stage.  Like legos, each "block" adds to another until a final product is created.  Notice the classroom and the heavy student engagement with the teacher guiding, scaffolding, supporting students as needed.  She does not dominate the discussion.  Rather, she lets the students interact with the text and each other in sharing their individual understanding of it.

ANALYZING TEXTS:  BRAINSTORM BEFORE WRITING  In first segment, the teacher has students talk within their small groups about what the text made them think about.  Students had written notes on post-it notes, in their journals, or just remembered what interested them (probably auditory learners).  With these ideas, they discussed their findings with their table groups.  Small groups are not intimidating for ELLs.  They can safely share their ideas and also listen to their peers without distractions.  Further, it is a safer environment for them to ask clarification questions of their table group members than to pose similar questions to the whole class.  Also, through discussion, ELLs and others are speaking and listening to accomplish the class objective (preparing to eventually write about their findings).  The stronger the speaking and listening skills, the better the reading and writing will be.

TEXT TALK TIME  Students have previously brainstorm ideas about the text with their peers.  Now, they begin to make connections to it.  They are interacting with the text.  They are revealing with the text told them.  The teacher asks many open-ended questions to allow a wide range of responses.  Students want to share their thoughts and are eager to provide evidence from the text to back up their sources.   This is a goal of common core to have students not be spoon fed information only from the teacher.  With common core, it is expected that students be able to read a text and pull information from it.

ANALYZING TEXT:  PUTTING THOUGHTS TO PAPER  Now, after steps and and two above, students are now ready to start writing.  The questions they are writing on are not new.  It is important to stress this.  Students are now putting to paper the thoughts they have already been working on through brainstorming and text-to-text activities.  Further, the teacher pulls the ELLs aside to scaffold their attempts to answer the SAME questions that the rest of the class is working on.  There is no watering down of the task for them.  By not bringing in writing topics that students had never seen before, they are not being set up for failure.  Common core wants students fully prepared to demonstrate their knowledge in writing by pulling together all the resources that they had accumulated over the lesson.  Students are set up to be successful with their assignments this way.

I hope you find these approaches useful for you and your students:)

Denise

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Common Core and Informational Text--See Some Amazing Lower Elementary School Children Embrace It:)

If the US is to improve high school graduation rates, the country must rethink the entire learning process from kindergarten up.   Common core plans to address this through the introduction of  informational text to the earliest grades because fictional text does not fully provide students with that real world knowledge or those essential skills needed for students beyond high school so that they might succeed in the real world be it university or the global job market.

How can schools in effect revamp the learning process in their classrooms with limited budgets?  Choices need to be made.  For example, moving the content of school libraries away from fictional text.  Of course, this doesn't mean eliminating it from the library, but instead, effecting a realistic balance between the two forms of reading materials.  Are K-3 students too young to fully appreciate non-fictional reading?  Not at all--see how enthusiastic 1st graders are about astronomy, archeology, ancient Egyptians, etc. in the PBS video clip below:

TEACHING INFORMATIONAL TEXT

So, will this new approach to making American students better readers on world issues be successful?  It is too soon to know.  A reform of this nature will take several years to see if it was effective or not.  As an eternal optimist (as are the vast majority of teachers), I believe it will inspire kids to reach for the stars, and teachers will have provided them with the tools to get there through the use of informational text throughout all 12 years of K-12 schooling:)

PBS also also quite a few free educational videos on all subject areas which are available for download. 

Denise

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SOLID STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP ACADEMIC VOCABULARY FOR LONG-TERM ELLS AND STRUGGLING ENGLISH ONLY STUDENTS

Students will start back to school shortly and among them will be many academically struggling students.  With Common Core Standards being rolled out this year in many parts of the country, students will be undertaking tasks far more academically challenging than those in the past.  The need to do more independent work will be new to many of them.  Teamwork will also be a focus.  Here the group is confronted with a problem that they must solve as a team.  Each member of the group contributes possible solutions to the problem along with evidence to back up their ideas.  This is the goal of CCSS--- to prepare our students to succeed in life beyond high school be it in the global workforce or in college. 

In doing research or following academic lectures in content classes, students will encounter academic vocabulary that will be totally unfamiliar to them.  Of course, developing techniques to share with students to overcome this obstacle will fall on their teachers:)  There are specific strategies which address this issue with relative ease.  In fact, most teachers are familiar with some if not most of them. 

Based on the article STRATEGIES FOR VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT FOR ELLS AND STRUGGLING STUDENTS and my own experience in teaching such students, the following approaches DO NOT WORK:

1.  Use the dictionary to find the meaning.  Copying down the definition is pointless.  No connection is  being made between the word and the student's background knowledge.
2.  Write a sentence using the word in it.  If this is done before the meaning of the word (within context) is made clear, it is not effective.
3.  Take note of the context in which the word is found.  This approach only really works when a student brings background knowledge to the reading passage in which the word is found.  Since the context is totally unfamiliar, such an activity would serve little benefit to the student.
4.  Memorize the definitions.  Students are highly unlikely to remember word lists and definitions.  Think back to the vocabulary tests you took in school.  The isolated words had no connection to anything studied.  You memorized them for the test and that was all.

What DOES work?
1.  Tie new vocabulary to what students already know.  Activate prior knowledge and help students make connections to it.
2.  Use the new words repeatedly in different formats so that students can eventually internalize the definitions. 
3.  Provide many opportunities for the students to use the new words in reading, writing, and academic discussions.  By taking this approach, teachers are broadening their academic vocabulary bases.  As this base grows,  it leads to better writing and easier access to demanding reading assignments.
4.  Bring in word parts in context.  The more word parts (affixes) students know, the broader their vocabulary becomes.
5.  Use dictionaries aimed at second language learners.  Longman, Cengage Learning, and Oxford have excellent dictionaries for ELLs (beginning through advanced).  These dictionaries have clear examples, CDs, and workbooks.  Struggling native speakers would benefit from them also.
6.  Identify the MUST-KNOW words and teach those.  If teaching a science class, narrow down the vocabulary to 7-10 absolutes a week.  The other vocabulary can be talked through by the teacher when they are encountered.
7.  Point out antonyms, synonyms, examples and non-examples when teaching vocabulary.  In doing so, students will be able to establish more connections between known and new.

This article has even more on this topic.  The ones above I have used and with success:)

Denise


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Common Core Social Studies--Teaching ALL Students How to Conduct Research Like Historians

Common core social studies will have students exploring key historical events from multiple authentic primary sources.  The textbook will be in the classroom as a support tool.  It will not drive classroom instruction as it has in the past.  Students will be actively engaged in analyzing primary sources to fully understand the impact of major historical events.  They will view the events from multiple perspectives and then arriving at conclusions to assigned taskes based on small group discussions. 

ELLs have much to gain from this approach.  With proper setup from the teacher in vocabulary (KEY academic as well as content but select words only) along with some background information necessary for those who may not have any prior knowledge in the subject area, the ELLs will be prepared to read, analyze, and discuss their findings with their team partners on an equal footing.  Once the team has reached a consensus based on  research, teams will address the demands of the assignment.  Persuasive arguments have teeth with backed up by facts from documents written in the time when the event occurred.  Students display an excitement in knowing that they can come to their own interpretations based on their understanding of original historical documents--nothing watered down or oversimplified.  They discover that they can read challenging materials and enjoy the process.  On the other hand, the textbook reports on events through a score of editors who bring to the text their own bias--it is human trait.  It is not a primary resource. 


READING LIKE AN HISTORIAN  This link shows former struggling readers (ELLs and EOs) praising the new technique.  They really felt enthusiastic about sharing their new insight into history.  The benefits from this approach extended beyond history class as well in that they found that reading comprehension in all their non-elective classes improved.  Their teachers noticed this same new found confidence in their students as well.  They became more aware readers

75 LESSONS FOR READING LIKE AN HISTORIAN 
I remembered when this source was unveiled to local teachers in on Stanford's campus.  It was an evening presentation where Dr. Sam Wineburg delivered a 2 hour on the project to a packed classroom.  The already prepared lessons are excellent and will lead to teachers and students viewing history through the lens of primary sources.  This approach will lead to rich classroom discussions and that will boost the listening and speaking skills of ELLs.  As the listening and speaking skills grow so do the reading and writing skills improve. 


TEACHING STUDENTS TO THINK LIKE HISTORIANS
Here is the most recent video of students using Stanford's program.  Notice how positive the students feel about their new self-confidence in tackling historical documents.

Denise

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Should Adapted Texts Be Used With ELLs? Tricky Question:)

With the arrival of the COMMON CORE Standards for ELA around the corner, English teachers are looking for ways to make highly complex reading materials more accessible for ELLs.  When this topic arises, adapted texts come to mind as a quick fix for the problem.   Do such books truly benefit ELLs in English classes?  It depends:)

ADAPTED BOOKS FOR ELLS  explores this question in detail.  There are pros and cons to the use of such modified books.  On the positive side, such books (see GRAPHIC NOVELS) provide a general picture of theme, fairly good descriptions of the characters, clear layout of setting and time, etc.  This offers students a glimpse of the contents.  However, the rich figurative language of the original text is absent.  What remains is a skeleton in essence.  Students are robbed of the rich features of novels by being provided these substitutes to read.

Here are some other benefits to their use in some classes.  Often times, ELLs arrive throughout the school year.  This often times leads to students arriving in the middle of teaching a novel.  Adapted novels along with the original ones give students a chance to catch up.  Students can use the adapted novel to fill in that vital background knowledge of the text which all the other students have.  

However, outside of the above example, using adapted texts does little to develop English language skills for ELLs.  Vocabulary is very basic.  Sentence structure is overly simplistic for the most part.  Figurative language is essentially absent.  If an ELL is to become proficient in English, that student needs a teacher using the original text in a supportive learning environment.  Teachers need to make content accessible through employing instructional strategies geared to ELLs such as activating prior knowledge, pre-reading, peer support, cooperative learning, cornell notes, reading logs,  graphic organizers, etc. (search within this blog for a wide variety of instructional support tools).

Include some in your classroom library as a lifeline for struggling ELLs, but have students resort to those at home, during lunch, after school--not in class.  In class, your job is to get students as excited about reading the book as you are in teaching it:)

Denise
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How to Increase ELL's Reading Comprehension with Non-Fiction Text

With the heavy use of non-fiction and information text in classrooms this fall due to implementation of COMMON CORE, ELLs will need to learn to READ more challenging reading materials.  Since ELLs  come to class with a wide range of school experiences from their home countries (for high school, students may arrive with as little as three years of formal schooling), content classroom teachers will need a wide range of strategies to make those necessary accommodations which will build language as well as deliver content instruction.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, now is the time to start compiling a collection of teaching strategies that work for you.  Further, these strategies must be ones that meet two goals:  language and content.  The more skills or strategies you have at your finger tips, the more likely you will be in a solid position to meet the diverse needs of ELLs.

One suggestion:

You may have all 5 levels of language proficiency in your classes (beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced) as well as long-term ELLs (students who for whatever reason still have not been reclassified). So, why not try grouping strategies by proficiency levels.  Of course some strategies will work for all, but others won't.

                                             STRATEGY             LANGUAGE SKILL        RESULT
                                                                             or CONTENT GOAL




BEGINNING


EARLY INTERMEDIATE


INTERMEDIATE


EARLY ADVANCED


ADVANCED


LONG-TERM ELLS           




The above is a just one simple format.  You may have a checklist or keep records on your computer, but whatever approach you use, you need to make sure that all students are succeeding in your class.  A method like this or something similar allows you to self-monitor the effectiveness of your instructional delivery.  We teachers tend to be very honest in our self-reflections:)
  
ELLs AND NON-FICTION TEXT  not only highlights the demands of informational text, but also offers still more approaches to easing ELLs into the process.  These strategies would also benefit English Only students as well since textbook reading is quite different from fiction (which our students were focusing on for years before the institution of the common core standards).

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Primary Source in US History--Virtual Tour Of White House

Thousands of visitors pour through the White House every year, but they only see a select handful of rooms (probably for security reasons).  On this site, you will be able to explore over 140 areas in and around the White House thanks to photographs and illustrations which date back over 200 years!  

Here you will be able to explore the EAST WING, WEST WING and RESIDENCE with the click of a mouse.  Each section offers a look at that section over time (1857 to date with most) and provides some data on key events of the time associated with that section.  Part of this tour also includes little known facts about its residents of the time and the activities they pursued there.  For example, the history of the family theater has quite a past.  It was originally a long coat room.  Another tidbit is the first film ever shown there was "Birth of a Nation" which was a racist film depicting the Klu Klux Klan as America's saviors.  President Wilson showed this film to repay a debt to southern democrats and that act sullied his repetition.  


How might this site support ELLs in their study of American history?  As often mentioned in my blog and on my website, ELLs need supports to access knowledge.  Visuals are crucial tools that every teacher must utilize (as all of you know) if ELLs are to be able to connect to the material thereby making sense of it.  Another support is the use of timelines.  Everything is new to ELLs when it comes to US history.  Providing them with timelines brings some order to the "chaos."  With timelines and photos/images, students can take notes in ways that work for them.  Provide them with graphic organizers or outlines to enable them to save (and eventually remember) key data.  As with every content area, decide on the most important events ELLs must know and teach to those.  Everything else can be dealt with as needed, but not tested otherwise the lesson will consist of dates and events with no building of deep knowledge.

WHITE HOUSE

Your students will definitely develop an interest in American history with this site:)

Denise


ELL TEACHER PROS

Common Core Standards--English Language Arts and USE OF PRIMARY SOURCES

With the new common core standards being rolled out for English, teachers at the high school level will need to spend 70% of instructional time on informational text/non-fiction materials.  This is long overdue since universities have been urging schools to spend more time better preparing students for college.  In fact, most incoming freshmen must take remedial writing classes in their first year to prepare them for university work.

What will be quite different for students will be working with primary sources on a regular basis.  Many students are foggy on what they are, but this site explains what they are on a student level and then provides examples of primary sources throughout the site. To offer an overview of the key forms primary sources, go to OVERVIEW.  Each form is explained in detail and then students take on "detective" roles to search for evidence to use for solving "problems."  Isn't that what is asked of students in many universities--to THINK, ANALYZE, SYNTHESIZE, PERSUADE, etc.?  Notice that PERSONAL NARRATIVE is no where to be found and yet this writing style is still heavily used in all grades.

In the SPEED ROUND, students have to use their knowledge of all forms of primary sources addressed throughout the site to answer questions against a timer.  If you have struggling learners mixed in your mainstream classes, you could do a numbered heads together (cooperative learning in mixed ability groups) and then do a team competition.  It would be a WIN-WIN opportunity for all (and a bit of fun in the process).

PRIMARY SOURCES   ---  Here is the link to the entire site.  Bookmark it to hold for the unveiling of common core standards:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

PS  If you would like a detailed view of the common core ELA standards and how they will be implemented in school, you should subscribe to ELL TEACHER PROS to receive our monthly newsletter.  I will be providing both overall description of the process as well as providing videos and sample unit lessons in our JUNE NEWSLETTER to be released on May 31st.

Prove To Your Students That Learning A Language CAN Be FUN:)

If you teach ELLs (ESL students) at the beginning level, you will like the following site:

FREE LANGUAGE COURSES

In this site, students can practice basic vocabulary, do some writing based on dialogues,  focus on listening/repeating, and complete a wide variety of exercises.  The conversations are geared to beginners.  With the summer fast approaching, beginners will need some support in maintaining their English skills over the summer.  This is one source, but there are many more within my blog (just go to SEARCH box on the home page and type in English activities).  Since all the sites are free and on the internet, all a student needs is access to a computer (or smart phone).

For ELLs with more English, why not have them try the following site:

ELLO

Here students will hear people speaking English from all over the English speaking world.  The topics addressed cover an fascinating collection of subjects that students will find amusing to say the least.  One that caught my eye was on a young man who was broke in New York City.  He had been living in a bust boom cycle over several years.  Here (as with all the other scenarios) you have real world conversations on high interest topics.

Students will also find listening games.  Students are presented with several pictures which are talked about in a short dialogue.  Students need to identify the specific objects the narrator addressed and if they do, they score high:)

There are also many videos in many different language settings.  Speakers of English talk about a wide range of topics of interest to them.  This is great listening practice and for free.

Why not make it an assignment to have them find their favorite section and report back to the class on what they discovered? :)  Over the summer, how about having them create their own videos?

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Come Visit The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory!

If you teach world history, social studies, literature, or geography, you will want to take a long look at this incredible site dedicated to man who led the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Even more a testament to his skills as a leader was the fact that no bloodshed was shed after that historical election where he was elected president of a united South Africa.

This site offers volumes of files, films, speeches, photos, etc. on the man and his time. Though now retired, he still serves as an inspiration to young people. He believes that they must be educated to preserve the hard fought freedom that he and others dedicated their lives to securing for their oppressed fellow countrymen.

Why not use this site as a jump off point to having students identify heroes in their own cultures? In a class with ELLs, this would be an empowering experience. They will be able to showcase national icons who improved the quality of life for fellow citizens. Since the reports will be in English, they will need the teacher's support, BUT the motivation will already be there so the final product should be a good one:)

NELSON MANDELA

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Math OUTSIDE the Classroom? Help Kids Make that Vital Connection:)

All too often, students rarely see how the math they use in school has many applications in the real world outside of school. In fact, math can have a fun side to it from time to time:) Prove it with this site: FUN MATH FOR KIDS.

Some of the activities I explored were math and music, electoral votes, kite making, tetris math, and create a graph. Directions were easy to follow and actually fun. This is a site that teachers could encourage parents to use with their children. In fact, parents would be able to support classroom lessons with some of these sites. Further, when parents are actively involved in their children's classwork/homework, children are more motivated to learn. Parents are an integral part of a child's education. Any site that encourages that should be widely circulated at Back-to-School Night, parent conferences, etc.

For almost any teacher from any discipline, why not try linking some of the sites to the actual lessons with math applications which you are working on in class? If you are a social studies teacher, why not try CREATE A GRAPH? Graph voting trends in stellar colors and styles. If you are a math teacher, take surveys and graph results. If you are science, create graphs showing lab results. PE? Graph heart rates for the class.

Try it. You will like it:)

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

Free Access to Works of Literature, Major Magazines, Leading Newspapers, and MORE!

English Page offers some major resources here. It offers instruction in English vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing (student forum where students can ask questions about correct uses of English in different settings). Tutorials with almost immediate feedback are also available. Students may also listen to NPR and the BBC for FREE. Translating tools are found here. The YAHOO one was easy to use. Babel Fish is probably already being used by some of your students:) There is also a thesaurus along with several top notch dictionaries.
ENGLISH PAGE

The site below is also found within ENGLISH PAGE, but it is so unique that it needs its own write up:) Here you will find some of the English speaking world's major newspapers. The following countries are represented here: United States, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India. Access to each is free. You will also enjoy the magazine link where you will find The Economist, Newsweek, Popular Science, and more. Last, but not least, there is a link that takes you to major pieces of classical literature. Again, this is free as well:)
ENGLISH READING ROOM

Your students will have many great activities to boost their English skills and all of it is free!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS