WOULD YOU LIKE AN ONLINE FREE RESOURCE ON TEACHING ELLS? LOOK NO MORE:)

As the student population changes in the U.S., teachers see their classrooms becoming increasingly more diverse linguistically.  Mainstream classes will have a small percentage of ELLs at different English proficiency levels.  Those students will need more support than "sit with a partner" if they are to successfully meet the academic demands of the "national" common core standards in English, math, science, and social studies.

So what does a teacher here who has never really had much interaction with ELLs in her/his classes?  Well, teachers always rise to the challenge so they may ask for support from colleagues, attend professional development sessions, search the net, etc.  If they go to colleagues, they should try to talk to the ones that ALL the students like first.  There is probably a good chance that those teachers have some ELLs scattered in their classes throughout the day.  Another resource would be to ask new teachers for advice here.  Often times, they have just finished the required teacher credentialing program at the local college so they have at their fingertips some proven strategies to deliver instruction to all.  Still another resource might be the professional development classes that almost all districts deliver.  Because many school districts are on notice from the government to provide educational equity to ELLs and others strugglers, they tend to offer after school and weekend classes on ways to promote equal access to content to all students.  Classes are free and in some cases, if held after school, teachers are compensated for attending.  A last resource is the internet.  This takes some time though in trying to find a source that delivers material in ways that suit the teacher's teaching style. (CHECK OUT THIS BLOG FOR ADDITIONAL IDEAS, LESSONS, AND TEACHING STRATEGIES)

Here is one online resource that provides a quality crash course on meeting the unique needs of ELLs in K-12 in the classroom.

(taken directly from the site)

Best Practices for English Language Learners was developed by teachers and educational administrators as a resource for teachers, principals, and district leadership to:

• Provide a framework for sheltered instruction for all teachers. 
• Increase use and improve the quality application of research-based
  strategies in content and English Language Development (ELD) classrooms.
• Support districts in the implementation of proven research based
  practices to increase language proficiency and academic content
  knowledge for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
• Demystify terminology and initiative confusion in the field by using
  a framework for understanding school improvement

In this site, you will find teaching videos highlighting successful strategies with ELLs,  This material would offer teachers many opportunities to see real educators in their classrooms with ELLs.  The highly effective delivery of instruction is a result of teachers looking at all aspects of their classroom instruction and then reflecting on how to make sure that ALL students are benefiting from it.

Look through the site and decide on which areas most meet your needs or address your concerns.  If you know teachers who need help, pass the website along to them.  ELL RESOURCES

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

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FREE Science Review GAMES for High Stakes Tests!

How about science game sites to motivate kids to remember everything they learned over the year?  Or what about giving upcoming students a head start on the science classes they will be taking in the new school year?  What about using science games for in class competition--team against team?  Have some ELLs who need more time to process new information in a non-traditional format?  This site would fit the need of probably any student including those with special needs and make the process fun:)

SCIENCE REVIEW GAMES --here, you will find games for astronomy, geology, meteorology, and earth science.  Why not let students use textbooks and notes to assist them in selecting their answers?  You could also have students explain why the answer choice they made was correct and why the others were wrong.  Being able to explain why certain answers were wrong better prepares students for finals.  Another idea, ELLs (and anyone else who would like to try for that matter) could draw labeled diagrams/illustrations to go with the final answer choices. 

With the new common core standards coming out in science shortly, teachers will need to spend more time on academic writing, reading comprehension, and academic vocabulary.  If teachers make use of the many tools already out there on the internet, they will not be inundated come the fall.  In fact, if you consider this a reference "book,"  you may already have much of what you need here already!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

The OLYMPICS--A Teaching Opportunity In All Content Areas!

With the summer Olympics fast approaching, teachers may want to bring it into their classes in some unusual ways. 

First, teachers may want to have students look at the history of the games.  Here you will find a short animated cartoon on it.  It covers its earliest origins in just enough detail for students (about 8 minutes).  All main points are addressed in student friendly fashion while also delivering content.  In this same section, students can also get the names of every medalist going back to 1896.

Second, if you teach world history, you will enjoy taking a look at clips of past Olympic games going back to 1896.  I spent some time looking at the 1936 games.  The video clip is 2 minutes 25 seconds long and focuses not only on Jesse Owens, but on Jesse's German rival who helped him to qualify for the long jump.  In fact, the two remained friends until Jesse's friend was killed in World War 2.  Take whatever time period you are covering and weave in the games!  Another plus here is that ELLs will feel validated when their country is covered as a past host country.  Imagine being Mexican and seeing how Mexico welcomed the games back in 1968!

Third, if mathematics is the focus, why not look at any one of the 35 SPORTS (Winter OR Summer) and pick one the students like.  Create questions with more than one correct answer if possible such as "How much faster should the number two person have run so that he could have won?" "At what angle, should the bow have been raised so the arrow would hit the target?  (archery)"  Have students try making up their own math questions.  ELLs can fully participate here since drawing out sketches with numbers would be the basics needed to make their case:)

Fourth, if you teach science, take a look at the summer or winter games to show science in action.  If it is the winter games, try the luge events.  How does the knowledge of physics add excitement to luge?  If skiing is a favorite, how does one score a gold using science?

OLYMPICS  This site has so much more than I could address here.  Explore it and share it with your students.  It is truly an inspirational site.

Denise


ELL TEACHER PROS

Instructional Resources to Support ELLs in Content Classes!

Everything you will see here is courtesy of Pearson Publishers. They have set up a free site to offer suggestions and support to teachers of ELLs. Though the options are there to buy textbooks from them, much of their material is free including video clips to offer details on instructional programs (SIOP), ELL Rights, approaches for teaching content, and much more.

ELL SUPPORT FROM PEARSON Here you will see the overview of everything on the site. The description is quite direct and therefore easy to follow. Again, it is a publisher and they hope you will buy books from them, but the free resources would be enough for most teachers who are accustomed to teaching ELLs. Dr. Cummins' work is evident in Pearson's products. His work on 2nd language acquisition (BICS--conversational language--and CALP--COGNITIVE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY) was a major contributor in the major shift from grammar only programs to academic success in mainstream classes.

ELL BILL OF RIGHTS There are millions of ELLs in US schools and teachers are searching for better programs and support to meet the diverse needs of this audience. This site is one source of support obviously, but there are many others. Schools offer onsite professional development workshops in this area. Many of those are well done. Where administration asks for input from teachers, they are even more successful. Look at the list and see if some (or all) of the ELL rights addressed are met in your school.

APPROACHES FOR TEACHING CONTENT TO ELLS Dr. Cummins and other leaders in teaching ELLs created this package for Pearson. Here is the overview of the next two pieces below.


FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR TEACHING CONTENT TO ELLS Five basic principles are outlined here on how ELLs can succeed in their classes. Many of you are probably already aware of many of them so feel free to share them with others.

1. Clear learning objectives.
2. Front load content/vocabulary.
3. Comprehensible Input.
4. Enable language production.
5. Assess for content and language understanding.

A good class has all 4 language skills going on all the time: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. A good class provides constant support and regular checks for understanding. A good class sets ELLs up to experience success with independent assignments/homework/projects. (Video clips elaborate on those 5 basic principles.)

SIOP (SHELTERED INSTRUCTION OBSERVATION PROTOCOL) One instructional approach that has experienced quite a bit of success is SIOP (video clips elaborate on this approach).

1. Lesson preparation.
2. Building background.
3. Comprehensible input.
4. Strategies.
5. Interaction.
6. Practice and application.
7. Lesson delivery.
8. Review and assessment.

I have been a teacher for years and this approach led me to re-evaluate the completeness of my lesson. Reflection on the effectiveness of our lessons is something each of us does in the hopes of identifying the weak areas so that they can be corrected for the next lesson:)

I hope you enjoy this post. I was impressed with Pearson's support of teachers.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

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Two FREE Writing Sites to Remove Writer's Block for Kids:)

How would you like your students to have more choices in doing fun writing assignments? These choices would not take the place of those required assignments, but instead, give struggling students (especially ELLs/ESL students) more opportunities to "play" with English? If your answer is yes, read on!

For ELLs, English is not their native language. They generally have a very limited vocabulary base as compared to a native speaker. For example, a native speaker starts kindergarten with a vocabulary base of anywhere from 4,000-6,000 words. In contrast, an ELL at the intermediate level (middle/high school) has a receptive vocabulary base of between 7,000 and 10,000 words. Teachers need to find multiple ways to reinforce language in all 4 skill areas in every class if the ELL is to grow in English proficiency in all 4 skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The two sites addressed in this blog today provide ELLs with non-traditional approaches to boosting writing skills. The writing activities are random, but engaging. Teachers could have them work with partners or in small groups. In this setting, ELLs would find other words to say "nice, good, bad, stuff, etc.". Teachers could have them devote a section in their binders to keep track of their overused words and then next to each one, a quality replacement. Think of this as their own "dictionary or thesaurus."

CREATIVE WRITING (probably for upper elementary through high school)

STORY STARTER JR. (for the weaker student)

I hope your students have fun with these sites. I know I did:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Free Library of Worksheets and Instructional Resources for Teachers of ELLs:)

Leave it to teachers to put together a website like this:) The site offers an incredible variety in the basic language skill areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Membership to access the materials is required, BUT it is FREE to join:)

Their section on writing essays was quite thorough. The explanations as to how to write the various essay types are geared to teachers of any discipline. Most times, the explanations are geared to teachers of English (English literature/language arts), but not here. They are written in a friendly manner and therefore accessible to a teacher of any discipline.

There is also a wide selection of posters that teachers submitted to be shared. Some of them are subject specific, others inspirational, others fun, etc. As a member, you can enlarge most of them and print them out with ease. The ones that don't fill up your screen entirely, you can print out and have enlarged at any copy center if you wish to keep the vivid colors.

As far as worksheets go, they are all teacher designed (and, as a member, YOU may submit your own worksheets to share with others). It seems that any teacher of ELLs (aka ESL students) will find the ready-to-go materials a major asset for both students who need more practice as well as those who wish to be challenged.

The site also contains some creative teacher tips. This month offered 10 great sources for real listening practice. Each suggestion is one that can easily be implemented in any classroom-guest speakers, another teacher, radio, TV commercials, etc. Hearing English spoken by many different people in many different situations boosts their listening skills.

BUSY TEACHERS

I hope this site helps make your job a little easier:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Care to See New York City in 1928? Great Support for a Look at the Past!

Silent film footage can supplement the content of most classes with relative ease. Though I tend to use comedy since my ELLs have very limited English, I also have documentary footage of big historical events (such as tours of the Titantic before it started on its voyage to New York City). Films open a window in time for students where they can see how people went about their every day lives then. Though it is a movie clip, the city is still NY in 1928. So if my goal is to have them compare NY now with NY then (comparison/contrast writing), they have details to refer to as they complete double-double graphic organizers (Google this within the Blog Search feature) with their partners. Upon finishing their notes (double-bubble), the class shares out the contrasts/similarities they discovered. I would then chart their categories (fashion, transportation, cars, etc.) This type of activity would also work for a history class as well. Now, they are fully prepared to begin their essay

As a teacher, I weave in such materials before I officially start a lesson. The clips are short, but packed with details students will pull from as I go through the lesson. To motivate kids to want to fully participate, teachers need to be creative as all of you already know:) This is just one way to accomplish this.

NYC in 1928 (this is the comedy clip that I have used to show contrast in an ELD writing class).

OPEN VIDEO PROJECT -- if you are a content teacher, you may want to save this link. It is a free collection of documentary footage back to the first film ever recorded. Again, all the clips are short so they would not take up much of your class time.

I hope you enjoy these sites.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Bring World Myths and Legends In Art Into Your Classes:)

Validation of the many cultures that ELLs represent is a must in any classroom and especially mainstream ones. This can be done with ease through mythology and art and the Minneapolis Institute of Art's website does an incredible job of addressing both.

"Myths are stories that explain why the world is the way it is. All cultures have them. Throughout history, artists have been inspired by myths and legends and have given them visual form. Sometimes these works of art are the only surviving record of what particular cultures believed and valued. But even where written records or oral traditions exist, art adds to our understanding of myths and legends." (Minneapolis Institute of Arts).

In a mainstream class, students have the opportunity to learn about each other through myths and art. For ELLs, this is a moment to have the spotlight on them as their culture is explored as a part of the unit on myths. One feature of the site is that the myths are recorded so the entire class can listen if the teacher uses speakers or they can listen at their individual computers with ear buds.

To build writing skills, teachers could have students contrast/compare myths after listening to them. ELLs would most benefit from this activity if it is done with a partner. Working with others and using a note-taking graphic organizer would provide the necessary support for the ELL to do well. ELLs then could retell the story with a partner and then do a short recap of their favorite part or their favorite character in it.

Another fun activity is having students, in cooperative groups, creating their own original myths. Students could act them out, create cartoon strips, or write the story (differentiation of instruction).

Teachers could also weave in some short videos on popular myths if there is time. It might be considered a reward for a job well done:)


WORLD MYTHS AND LEGENDS IN ART

Hope you like the site!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Want Your Students to Have Fun Over the Break? Check These Items Out:)

Well, winter break will be here in just a few days. Many teachers would love to have their students continuing to hone their reading, writing, and vocabulary development skills over the break, but wonder how to motivate their students to want the same.

AUDIOBOO This site will let students record music, conversations, interviews, radio shows, etc. What could teachers suggest here for its use over the break? How about having them interview older family members about important events in their lives? What about interviewing younger siblings and sharing the recordings with family members? How about encouraging them to write a poem and record it to possibly share with the class in January? Most likely, students would have far more ideas of what to do with this tool than I have shared here:) Though anyone can use this tool, very young students will need assistance.

STORYBIRD Collaborative story telling is the beauty of this site. Take the tour to see all the rich features offered. Basically, students can create stories along with artwork online. They can even invite people to collaborate with them (parents can check on friends here so it is a safe site). There is even a "library" of stories written on the site and open to all to read. Here students would have practice in reading and writing with a goal being to make a story that inspires:)

VISUWORDS This is an online graphical dictionary and thesaurus. With this site, students could check for synonyms or antonyms to use in the written work. They could also monitor overuse of weak vocabulary by checking those words here and finding appropriate substitutions for them.

Yes, students will be on vacation, but they can still keep their skills sharp AND have fun doing it:)

Enjoy.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Math CAN Be Fun!

If you teach math to a far from enthusiastic audience (from time to time), you will definitely appreciate MATH PLAYGROUND. It is geared to elementary and middle school primarily. The variety of games is quite impressive for a free site.

How can these games be used to supplement a math lesson? You could create a learning center with a couple of computers in it. Students could be sent there at various times of the day, when students are pursuing varying topics of interest, to work on weak math skills in a non-traditional way. Computers have infinite patience:)

For your students who don't need additional time to master lesson objectives, they can play logic games. There is something for everyone!


Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

FREE Audio Books for All Ages Online:)

In these hard economic times, finding the resources to buy reading materials can sometimes be a strain on the family budget (or student budget if in college). With libraries cutting their hours, bookstores going bankrupt, and shrinking incomes, one must look to other sources to nurture the continued growth of a love of reading.

For very young children, try STORYLINE. On this site, actors read children's books with flair:) Even adults will enjoy listening to all 24 books. My favorite is Betty White's reading of HARRY, THE DIRTY DOG. What is more amazing is that all the actor's have donated their time to this endeavor. Though donations are encouraged, there is no pressure:)

FREE ONLINE BOOKS offers a much wider selection and to all age groups. This site offers 8 top websites for online reading material including pod casts in some cases. If you have e-readers (i.e. Kindle or Nook, etc.), you can upload hundreds of books from the public domain with ease. I have a library of 20 to date and my collection continues to grow. I also encourage faculty to use this resource with all of their students. No money is needed and they can continue to strengthen their reading skills along the way:)

Enjoy!

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

Creative Pen and Pencil Writing Ideas For All Grade Levels:)

If you want your students to become good writers, you need to find fun ways to use writing. This is especially true of ELLs. Unless they have time to play with the language, they will never really feel confident in attempting any writing project.

The link I have provided, TEN CREATIVE WRITING ACTIVITIES, offer some non-traditional approaches to the writing process. They also will have every student actively engaged in the process. JUMBLE STORY and ENHANCING AN AD were my favorites. Developing crazy ads has always been a writing assignment that my ELLs of all levels (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) thoroughly enjoy. They take an ad of a product they like (giving them choices is a must) and enhance to the point that it becomes a totally new product. We then follow it up with a skit to promote their product in class.

JUMBLE STORY is one I will definitely share with the English teachers I coach. My suggestion with those who have struggling students (ELLs and English Only) will be to have kids work in teams of two in developing their stories. When the project is finished, I would have them read them to the class and then keep all of them in a class binder. What a treasure that would be to show parents at Back-To-School night:)

Enjoy!

Denise
ELL Teacher Pros

NEW Fairy Tale Generator--Brown University One Is GONE!

This site allows your students to create their own fairy tales within seconds. Students must decide what elements they would like to use in their stories and then the computer program does the rest. Every story will be different, but no story is over a couple of paragraphs. ELLs especially will be motivated to read the work since the story would be "theirs." Of course there will vocabulary that will be new to them, but because the story is theirs, they would be motivated to discover the meaning with little prodding:) Figurative language and its importance in literature can be dealt with in class in these short readings with ease. Have students illustrate their stories. Make a class book of fairy tales that kids can take turns borrowing to read at home. Create comic books based on the stories. Have students do skits on their work and film it. There are so many possibilities.


FREE STORY GENERATORS

Enjoy!

Denise
ELL Teacher Pros

Two Powerful Interactive Tools to View World History!

Every culture teaches world history and at all grade levels. Though textbooks are still not the most student friendly, interactive websites can help students make those connections. These sites show overlap and that assists students in seeing the BIG picture.

For ELLs, ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS provides both visuals and key information (in simple format) of where humanity's key civilizations developed. Students will quickly see that every continent has a civilized hub to brag about. In this site, students will see sample artifacts, geographical locations, and much more. There is also a built in glossary so when a student encounters a word s/he doesn't know, that student just needs to click on the word to get a definition. Further, teachers can print out the material on the site for those students who need more time to understand the materials.

A second site I would recommend presents key points/persons/events in time and presents them in time chart layouts. You may order them online or use them as an internet resource in your lectures. They are easy to follow and for ELLs, concise in layout. This type of overview for ELLs will help them better follow your lessons and reading assignments. Try HYPER HISTORY in your classes and see how it opens the doors of understanding for your students!

Denise
ELL Teacher Pros

Helping Kids Understand the World Wide Financial Crisis

The world is probably dealing with the worst financial crisis since the depression of the 1930s. Jobs are hard to find. Homes are being lost due to foreclosures. Parents are struggling to put food on the table with drastically reduced finances. Marriages are breaking up. The list goes on. Yet, despite all those tragic events, students will still come to school--probably the one area of stability in their lives.

With school opening around many parts of the US this month, teachers will most likely be faced with questions from students. Some questions might focus on their own family's financial woes while others might focus on how could this debacle occur in America. Other students might want to know how the activities on Wall Street personally affect their lives. Then there are those who might question why the president doesn't have the power to "fix things."

Well with all this turmoil in the world, there is a unique opportunity to make a learning experience out of it. HELP KIDS UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS Scholastic Magazine offers some well thought out lesson plans on many parts of the puzzle and the lessons are developed in such a way as to make them fully comprehensible for ELLs and EOs. Many come with PDF worksheets, downloadable books, photographs of struggling Americans during the 1930s, etc. Since this section is aimed at grades 3-8 (though high school ELLs would benefit from it as well), you will need to see which sections apply to your grade level.

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

The Push Is On For Vocabulary Development!

I have just finished my second workshop this summer and I can tell you what you already know which is the move is on to boost vocabulary development. Having a rich vocabulary will take you far in life I am sure, but the approaches many books use to make this happen fall just short of drill and kill. The reading materials have been trimmed down to the bone offering little motivation to students to want to remember the words. Add to this scenario pacing calendars and benchmarks, we teachers find ourselves just trying to keep up as best we can. If some students "don't get it", they will just have to find help elsewhere since straying from the calendar is not even remotely a possibility.

What options do we then have to sugarcoat the mastery of vocabulary? :) One of my favorite choices here is the use of the internet. There are many sites out there that support vocabulary study in formats that are highly engaging for kids. My favorite website for vocabulary done in context is http://www.spellingcity.com. Here kids type in the words and then practice them in different settings. As a teacher of ELLs, I have mine practice the words. The program will pronounce the words and then offer students time to test their listening skills in identifying the words they hear. There is also a word and definition match, a sentence scramble (grammar and mechanics come in here), testing (they create the quiz which we can either print out ahead of time or allow them to just do the test online), and last but not least----games involving all the words that the students are studying.

Another favorite of mine is http://www.timeforkids.com. The readings are current but at different reading levels (K-6). A Spanish version is also available. The instructional supports are outstanding and once again, it comes with reading quizzes based on the articles they are reading. As students encounter unfamiliar words within interesting context, teachers can take the time to show how context clarifies word meanings. I always share with my own students that this is how I still learn new word definitions.

One last resource that I can't praise enough is that of elementary school teachers. They are pros at this and more than willing to share. Special ed teachers are also an underused resource. So, if you have access to either of these professionals, ask for suggestions on making vocabulary development easier on you and your students:)

Denise

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