Common Core and ELLs--Practical Suggestions for Mainstream Teachers To Offer Support For These Students

The common core standards will also be transforming the ELD standards (still in draft form).  These new standards will provide more direction for teachers in identifying their ELLs and their levels.  With this information, it will fall on teachers to address language and content in their classes. 

So what is a teacher to do?  Well, some of the strategies that have worked in the past will also transition here:  visuals, scaffolding, graphic organizers, lots of class interactions with their English peers, accommodations in assessments, structured cooperative learning activities, sentence frames, word walls, concept maps, etc.  All of those approaches and many more like them do work; however more is needed.

Teachers will need to be very focused in the delivery of their lessons.  Clear content standards written in student friendly language will especially clarify for ELLs what they will be expected to learn.  If there is no mystery behind the content standards, teachers can expect full class participation.  Next, the learning objective must be read by all and dissected by teacher into comprehensible chunks with a few random checks for understanding to ensure that everyone knows what s/he will eventually be held accountable for learning.  Then there is the need to identify academic vocabulary (words that are used in all content areas) and key content vocabulary for the immediate class.  How many words should a teacher bring in here?  Typically, no more than 7 per lesson for academic words and they are used repeatedly in all language areas thus allowing the ELL time to process and retain the words.  With key vocabulary, students need to be made aware of them and allowed time to work with them through highly supported venues.  Word walls, concept maps, frayer models are just some of the tools that can be used to provide the ELL with ways to remember those 5 or so words.  If there are more words, teachers will need to decide what words are crucial to their understanding of the concept and which words can just be talked through by the teacher in delivering the lesson.   In addition, teachers will need to do a variety of checks-for-understanding:  whiteboards, games, random call-ons, problem solving, structured cooperative groups with each student holding a role, jigsaw, numbered heads together, skits, posters, etc.

Once the lesson is done, teachers will want to try one more quick check-for-understanding called the exit ticket.  The students will be given a 3X5 index card on which they will respond to a few questions designed by the teacher based on the content the class studied that day.  Typically this tool only takes about 5 minutes for students to do and less than 5 for the teacher to assess the effectiveness of the lesson.  If 80-90% have the right answers, they will be fully capable of doing the homework assignment.  For the 10-20% who are still struggling, the teacher can pull them aside and provide some guidance while the rest of the class possibly starts on a more challenging assignment based on the day's work.

If time is spent effectively delivering solid content to every student and academic language in addition to the ELLs, 90% will be fully prepared to complete assigned homework.  That 10% who are still having difficulty can be given adjusted assignments with the understanding that the teacher may give them the more difficult assignment when the teacher feels that they have fully demonstrated their ability to now do the work that they found impossible only a couple of days ago.

COMMON CORE AND ELLS--SUGGESTIONS FOR MAINSTREAM TEACHERS TO SUPPORT ELLS  This site offers a more detailed layout on this area.  You may wish to bookmark it.  It is a good source to go to when you need some inspiration:)

Denise


ELL TEACHER PROS

MINDMAPS??? What Are They? How Could They Support ELLs in Common Core Classes?

With the common core around the corner and more ELLs in mainstream classes, there needs to be a way to fully engage students in academically challenging material without inundating them with language in the early stages of learning.

When most of us were in college, we took linear notes.  Lots of words one after the other with few links.  We tied the concepts together at home or in the library where we would pour over the class notes and try to reorganize them in ways we could remember for tests.

Was this the most effective way to order key points and examples?  For the majority of us, this was not the case.  It went against the way the brain processes information.  Mind mapping mimics the way our brains process information (oh how I wish I had known about this when I was studying at the university YEARS ago).

This first link explains the logic behind mind maps.  With students processing new information through such a format, they will not only have more organized material to study, but will be better prepared to write essays/compositions.  EXPLANATION OF MINDMAPS

This next link explains how to create mind maps for the novice.  I have done this with my own ELLs where they had to create mind maps on their lives (past, present, and future).  It continues to be a great class opening activity and a real conversation starter for Back-To-School night parent visits.  Try your own following the easy-to-follow steps in this video.  Share it with your students as a model.  Since students always love learning everything possible about their teachers, they will pay careful attention as you take them through the process using your own as a model.HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN MIND MAP

What does this look like as part of a lesson?  Take a look at this last link.  Here a university professor elaborates on the many uses she has found for concept maps (mind maps) for her students.  One technique I found particularly effective was the insistence on NO talking as students come up to complete the opening concept map (only one word in the center and students then create branches out from it based on their own experiences).CLASS ASSESSMENT USING MIND MAPS/CONCEPT MAPS

With common core coming, this type of technique would easily allow ELLs to participate with ease since words, phrases, or drawings could be used to fill out the map. Discussion would come AFTER the concept map was completed.  The ELLs would have ample opportunity to note key words, clarify their understanding of the concepts, and then write  summaries (following the concept map) of what they now understand.  This would only be a first draft so students would not have to worry about correctness at this point.

Try this in your classes.  You will be happy with the results:)

Denise


ELL TEACHER PROS

Expo Low Odor Chisel Tip Dry Erase Markers, 12 Assorted Markers
Sharpie Chisel Tip Permanent Markers, Black 12/pk
Boardwalk Butcher Paper, 15 x 900', White