Supporting ELLs in the Final Stretch of the School Year!

ELL Teacher Pros Newsletter                                              October 2016

It is hard to believe that it is late the year is fast coming to a close!  Soon, winter break will be here and all of you will have time to relax and, hopefully, have some fun!

With English language learners in classes, teachers may wish to modify assessments a bit to allow these students (as well as those with special needs) to demonstrate to a teacher’s satisfaction what they really know without being unduly penalized for occasional errors in their use of English.  So how can modifications be made to allow them to show what they know without watering down the content?  Employ a wide variety of highly engaging formative assessments BEFORE the summative is given.  Using these approaches build self-confidence for the ELL as well as for other students with special needs.

Here are a few ideas that I have used from Edutopia:

1.     Use a KWL chart with 2 modifications.  K (what I know), W (what I want to know), L (what I learned), H (how I learned it), and Q (Questions I still have).  The H and Q components provide the teacher with a better idea of how well the lesson was understood.  The Q component opens itself easily to small group discussions to help clarify murky issues.  Results would all be posted on chart paper around the room for students (ELLs especially) to access as needed in navigating new materials.

2.     Have small groups (ELLs, English Only, and special needs) teach a part of the lesson to the classroom.  This way each group becomes an expert in their assigned topic (with the understanding that EACH member of the group must be ready to share what s/he understood).  While each group discusses their grasp of the topic, the rest of the class is taking notes on a teacher-designed handout (this type of guidance ensures that everyone knows what to listen for). Once all groups have finished sharing, small groups can discuss what they understood and compare notes.

3.     Pass out chart paper and markers to each small group and have them create an illustration of what they understood of the lesson.  Post the results and then have students evaluate each chart (simple rating system—3 being the most detailed down to 1 having limited grasp of the topic).

4.     Design a pamphlet that will clearly cover all the main concepts of the lesson.  This will include diagrams, pictures, bullet points, short paragraphs, etc.  Each group will then share the results with the class by posting them around the room so that every student can review and rate them (again 3 being the best and 1 being needs work).

5.     Conduct teacher and student one to one conferences.  Students must have specific questions in mind when they approach the teacher.  From experience in this area, I can tell you that students really enjoy that one on one.  ELLs especially enjoy it since no one can hear the conversation but the teacher so the fears of stumbling in English fade away.

6.     Have students do a 1-minute reflection on what their big takeaway from the lesson.  This can be a written reflection, a sketch, bullets, cartoons, etc.  This type of freedom of expression will build student confidence in sharing what they know.

7.     Let students create a comic book or strip on what they understood.  Use Read, Write, Think comic strip creator for those who don’t feel comfortable drawing.

8.     Talk to colleagues to pull ideas from them.  Every teacher has a few fun ideas to reach their students.

We hope your students have a fun Halloween (and leave the candy home on November 1^st).

denise@ellteacherpros.com

marnie@ellteacherpros.com

cheryl@ellteacherpros.com

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Celebrating Immigrants -- The American Story!

ELL Teacher Pros                                                                               November 2016 Newsletter

Thanksgiving was and is my favorite holiday.  Not only did we get out of school but we got to eat turkey and cranberry sauce (two of my all-time faves)!  My mom would make pumpkin, apple and pecan pies, mashed potatoes from real potatoes (she usually used powdered), sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, etc.  My mother’s side of the family was far away from their immigrant roots.  My dad’s family, however, was not.  He was first generation American and his family was from The Ukraine and very poor.  As a child, he never had some of the foods we ate every Thanksgiving.

As I was thinking of my Thanksgivings I thought of my dad’s background and stories I’ve been told by other first generation folks and adult ELLs and thought about how we could validate their experiences through an exploration of the experiences immigrants have had with their first Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving in general.

The book, Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen, is directly about this experience and even older learners might enjoy having it read to them as a starter for discussion, project or unit on immigration or Thanksgiving.  The book is written for upper elementary school learners and is at a third grade reading level.

For elementary level learners there are a group of free lesson suggestions at:

https://www.lessonplanet.com/article/education/molly-s-pilgrim-and-thanksgiving-activities

For older learners, there are resources on the web that cover immigrants’ experiences with Thanksgiving and which could be used as reading activities.  This holiday includes culture, history, human rights, immigration and friendship – many themes to work with. These articles could be used for reading skill development as well as an introduction to personal experiences with Thanksgiving.

Some sites to review for Reading Skill work:

·       Reading Comprehension Skills for English Language Learners

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/reading-comprehension-skills-english-language-learners

·       Increasing ELL Student Reading Comprehension with Non-fiction Text

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/increasing-ell-student-reading-comprehension-non-fiction-text

·       Reading Comprehension Strategies for English Language Learners

http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol5/511-breiseth.aspx

A lesson plan for Thanksgiving and the Immigrant Experience

LESSON PLAN Thanksgiving 2—The Pilgrim Story and My Immigrant Story

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/files/Thanksgiving2_lesson_plan.pdf

Articles covering the immigrant experience and Thanksgiving Immigrant Experience

 http://www.ibtimes.com/newly-arrived-immigrants-navigate-their-first-american-thanksgiving-turkey-all-1728786    An article in “International Business Times” on people from France, Burkina Faso, Mali, Yemen, and Dominican Republic.

“Beyond Turkey: The Migration of Thanksgiving Tradition”

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/immigrant-thanksgiving-chefs-draft.html 

Seriouseats.com                Cooks talk about food for Thanksgiving, from Ecuador, Turkey, Greek, Middle East, France, China, & Italy

“First Thanksgiving”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/news/ct-abn-first-thanksgiving-st-1122-20151122-story.html           Story in Chicago Tribune on immigrants from Dubai, Mexico, India, Nigeria

An article on Vietnamese immigrants and their Thanksgiving experience

“Modern-day pilgrims in North Jersey mark their first Thanksgiving”

http://www.northjersey.com/news/modern-day-pilgrims-in-north-jersey-mark-their-first-thanksgiving-1.1462539   Immigrants from Syria & Cuba   “NorthJersey.com”

Immigration In and Out of the Classroom

http://teachimmigration.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-first-thanksgiving-and-first.html

“Immigrants adapt Thanksgiving feasts with tastes from home”

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/sf-ethnic-thanksgiving-food-immigrant-families-20141124-story.html   “Sun Sentinel” FL,   Immigrants from Brazil, Basque area in Spain, Egypt, Haiti & the Virgin Islands

“Thanksgiving is a story of immigrants”

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/fl-viewpoint-thanksgiving-20151124-3-story.html

“The First Immigrant Thanksgiving”

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2013-11-27/the-first-immigrant-thanksgiving

As an idea to help this along, I want to share the story of a co-worker whose family emigrated from Italy and a tradition her family created for Thanksgiving.

As Molly did, Marie came home from school and told her mother she had to make a Thanksgiving dinner.  One of the foods was to be a stuffed turkey.  Her mother did not know what the stuffing could be and, of course, Marie had no idea either.  After thinking about it for a while, Marie’s mother created a rice-based stuffing which the family uses to this day.

We hope these sites contribute to a rich discussion on immigration and different cultures and tales on how immigrant families develop their own traditions for this iconic American holiday. 

Have a great Thanksgiving Break!

Marnie, Denise, and Cheryl

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5 Simple Ways to Start New Year Off on a Positive Note for EVERY STUDENT:)

Though most teachers are on winter break, they will probably start lesson planning next week:).   After all, assisting students in re-acclimating themselves to class routines and learning as quickly as possible benefits teachers as well as students.  With an attentive highly engaged student population, teachers will be in a better position to reap the benefits of their creative lessons.  As students' self-confidence builds, they retain more.  With higher retention rates, grades improve and that leads to a drop in the D/F rate of ELLs as well as long-term ELLs (many of whom struggle academically in mainstream classes).

Here is an excellent recap of very effective approaches to empower students (all students) to become active participants in lesson activities.  NONE of them are new of course, but they serve as a reminder of the need for teachers to "keep a finger on the pulse" of student learning.  Please note that the HOW-TO Suggestions are NOT new:)

1.  Engage/Observe.  Keep a checklist (short and simple--take a roster and use CHECKS and MINUSES on student progress).  For students who struggle, quickly note what the difficulty is and set time aside within class to help that one while the rest of the class is engaged with the assigned academic task on their own. 

2.  Feedback Give and Take.  The more constructive detailed feedback a teacher can provide, the more accessible the lesson content will be.  Make it a point to interact with every student.  This can be doing via small group learning activities or on an individual basis.  Keep in mind that interaction with students in small groups might be a more effective way to have more time with students as opposed to one-on-one contact.  However, find an approach that is the most effective for you.  I use a mixture of the two.

3.   Confer Frequently.  Set aside time at least once a week to talk with students on an individual basis on their progress.  Document, document, document!  Such information is crucial in planning more effective lessons and assessment tools.

4.  Design Unit Assessments.  With Common Core, such assessments are already in place.  However, teachers can still design unit assessments as PRE-Common Core assessments.  The results from such tools will assist teacher in identifying areas of weakness and strengths for students.  With such data in hand, the teacher can fine-tune lessons to address those weaknesses thereby building student self-confidence for taking the formal unit assessment.

5. Teach Self-Evaluation.  For students to truly benefit from assessments, they need to be able to see where they erred and know why.  For a teacher to return test papers without giving them time to discover why the grade or score they received was correct is doing little for the students.  Until they understand on their own why their choices were incorrect, they are doomed to repeat the mistakes.  To motivate, why not allow time in class to have them do just that and to make sure that they are not just copying, use a randomizer to select students to explain why the choices to an answer are wrong. 

Happy New Year from all of us to you and your students!  Yes, 2014 offers everyone a fresh start both teachers and students:) 

Denise, Marnie, and Cheryl

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Great Comparison/Contrast Activity to Begin the New School Year With:)

The start of a successful year involves some creativity on the part of teachers to get to know all of their students in a low stress learning environment.  Infographics can sometimes liven up any class if the content is something students can relate to because they can make personal connections with the themes. 

An infographic which fits the bill is 100 years of change.  Here two years in America's past are  compared-1913 and 2013.  Though students have probably studied events from those periods, they may not have a clear picture of the everyday differences in those two time periods for the average citizen.  This visual is full of rich details, but not overwhelming in language.  Such a format allows full participation from everyone:  English language learners, students with special needs, English only students, and the gifted.  Having students discuss the changes in small groups will also build language proficiency of ELLs. 

Once the class has had time to explore the visual, the teacher can move on to making projections as to what life might be like in 2113.  The teacher with the class can select the categories to be studied and then leave the choice of category to be reviewed up to the class with the understanding that student groups will be limited to 4 or 5 AND will be of mixed talents (cooperative learning).  All results will be shared with the class in any format that the members of the groups agree upon. 

Why not have students also create the class rubric for scoring the? :)  This approach leads to a buy-in by all.

Denise

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How About Some Engaging End-of-the-Year Projects For Students:)

The year is almost over so what can teachers do to keep students focused for just a couple more weeks?  Think outside the box and provide students with imaginative ways to demonstrate their understanding of key material that they will need to know for their final exams.  Why not provide students with a variety of choices to show what they know?  What about asking them for their own ideas on demonstrating what they know?  Such an approach involves everyone since multiple options are available from which students can select.  

Take a look at the projects in this article from Edutopia.  Here is a starting point if this is new.  If not, there may be some new approaches worth considering to add to course syllabi:)  I have had students create video productions covering topics they really enjoyed working on during the year.  The rubric created is done by the class as a whole and when the productions are finished, they are scored by the team who delivered the video, classmates, and myself.  The three scores are averaged together and then a grade is assigned.  I have also had students created a book for elementary school age students where they explain a topic studied during the year in language a young student would understand and enjoy reading.  Again, a rubric is devised by all.  Scoring is done by the student who created the book, fellow classmates, and myself.  Scores are averaged.  Creative powerpoints with video to convey understanding of a complex topic covered over the year is another favorite.  Scoring approach is the same.  With any of these activities, students have choices, and that is differentiation in practice!

If you have ideas in this topic that you would be willing to share, please go the comment section and add your thoughts:)

Denise

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Common Core PLUS Cooperative Learning--A Very Powerful Combination for Reaching Academic Struggling Students

Common core based lessons call for far more student interaction than in the past.  Before students are strong enough to tackle analyzing academically challenging informational text on their own, they require time to process content with peers.  This is especially true of long-term English language learners along with ELLs and students with special needs (special education students). 

So, what is a teacher to do in this setting?  Cooperative learning! With the focus of common core on leading students to become independent, highly literate lifelong learners, teachers must allot time in class for students to begin the process of questioning and analyzing text.  This may be new for many teachers so including "mini-steps" to assist students in getting there is paramount.  Cooperative learning strategies accomplish this with ease AND students enjoy it:)

The attachment covers some popular ones, but there are many more.  One personal favorite for me is THINK-PAIR-SHARE.  Here students are paired up with more proficient students to discuss their opinions on a topic or clarify their understanding of a subject, etc.  When academically weak students are allotted time in class to discuss ideas with another person, they build a deeper understanding of the subject matter.  How might the discussion be carried out for students with weak backgrounds in academic language?  Academic sentence starters and sentence frames!   Another great activity is numbered heads together.  Teacher divides the class into 6 groups (home table groups).  Then the teacher has students count off 1-6.  All the number ones form one group, all the twos another, and so on.  Reading assignment is then split up into 6 sections with each group tackling one part of it.  Each group here becomes the EXPERT group on their assigned section.  They process the information by discussing the contents and taking notes.  They, in turn, make sure that each member of the group fully understands the content.  Students then return to their home table groups where they teach their partners about their assigned sections. 

The list attached is only a sampling of what is out there.  The academically weaker students will grow in their academic language proficiency and have fun along the way.  Try a few new techniques--I guarantee your students will truly enjoy the process:) 

Denise

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Differentiation of Instruction Supports Common Core Instruction With Ease:)

For all students to have equal access to academic content and build language skills, differentiation must be an integral part of class instruction for every content class.  "Read the chapter and answer the questions at the end" will happily no longer be part of a student's average school day.  Not every student learns the exact same way.  Taking this into account when planning lessons turns the seemingly unmotivated student into an excited learner. 

Through differentiation of instruction, active classroom engagement will be the norm. Teachers will be employing a wide variety of instructional "mixers" that will involve a wide range of students including  on grade level students, those with special needs, and the English language learners at all levels of language acquisition.  Designing instruction around different learning modalities (visual, kinesthetic, and auditory), for example, draws everyone into the assignment.  Teachers providing quick multiple intelligences assessments will open up a plethora of possibilities in reaching and involving all students in their learning.   Incorporating activities that tap into several different types of intelligences will provide many opportunities for each student to shine as s/he attacks a problem using her/his strengths to solve it.

If common core based lessons are to be successful ventures in reforming instructional practices in the United States, differentiation must be an integral part of the lesson plan.

Denise

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Incredible Resources For Use in Common Core From De Paul University!

Though there are probably many examples of non-fiction and fiction texts for teachers to use in conducting lessons on literacy based on the common core, most are not free.  This free site from De Paul University has a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction reading passages for grades 2-10.  Each reading is equipped with assessments, scaffolding devices, and graphic organizers.  There is even bilingual support for some of the readings.

Since common core is still in its infancy, teachers would benefit from seeing solid examples of what instruction should look like as well as have some initial reading passages ready to use.  After all, to secure teacher buy-in, one must offer credible supports to build teacher self-confidence in successfully carrying out common core based lessons with as many valid instructional materials as possible.  Further, money is still scarce with many districts so using free quality materials such as this will provide sufficient guidance for schools down the road in buying quality support materials.  Using this tool, they will be more informed on what they are looking for in buying programs from publishers thereby eliminating the trial and error approach. 


Denise

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Visuals, Visuals, and More Visuals--Teachers Can Never Have Enough of Them:)

For students to create those vital connections to content, they should be provided with as much visual context as possible.  This key component of any lesson clarifies for students important vocabulary.  Why is this crucial to their mastery of content?  If teachers verbally explain/define core content words in the academic language, they will lose students who encounter many difficulties in deriving meaning from challenging vocabulary.  An verbal explanation with antonyms, synonyms, analogies, examples, and non-examples will leave such students behind.  Referring them to dictionaries is also an activity that yields little support since difficult words are being explained by often times equally challenging words.

Regardless of the learning styles of students, visuals are key tools to opening the door to academic success for English language learners as well as English speaking students who have a difficult time learning.  The saying that picture is worth a thousand words fits in this scenario with ease.  Instead of inundating academically weak students with lengthy definitions of content vocabulary, provide visuals, graphics, posters, charts, photographs, etc. of crucial lesson vocabulary.

So how can teachers find and store key visuals to use in class?  Pinterest is a great free source to compile great visuals from a wide variety of sources found on the site.  Teachers create bulletin boards (as many as they like) on topics that they wish to "pin" what they find.  Further, in navigating the net, there are many opportunities to add web photos, videos, graphs, etc. if the PIN button is found on the page.  If teachers also like to create their own visuals for class, they may pin them on this site as well.

Have fun pinning:)

Denise

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EXIT SLIPS--Excellent Tool for Quick Assessments

All too often, teachers spend hours designing quality lessons that they believe will lead to a wonderful learning experience for all students in their classes.  However, with more classrooms becoming increasingly diverse in student needs, teachers sometimes feel overwhelmed in planning for every possible scenario--English language learners at all levels of learning the language, students with special learning needs, native speakers of English with weak educational backgrounds, students from economically disadvantaged home settings, etc. 

So within such a setting, what can teachers do to ensure that the vast majority of students master the major concepts of the lesson?  In two words:  EXIT SLIPS.  This tool provides quick assessments of how well each student understood the lesson.   Since they are ungraded, students do not stress over them.  When teachers explain that this tool will help identify students who struggle so that the teacher can devise additional instructional tools to help them, students welcome them.  After all, if they do well, their self-confidence soars.  If they don't do well, they know that the teacher will help them grasp the lesson. 

Here are some video clips on teachers using these tools to guide their instruction. The first one is on the use of exit slips in a high school math classroom.  The second one demonstrates their use in a 3rd grade classroom.

Remember that exit slips are good for all grade levels and in all content areas.  Use them and watch student academic performance improve dramatically!

Denise

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2 Great Vocabulary Sites That Will Make Informational Text More Accessible For Students:)

The vocabulary demands of informational text may pose some difficulty for struggling readers.  Having them use dictionaries to look up each and every word of the text is basically both a waste of time and a major distraction in the reading process.  Students will need to know that not EVERY word merits intense scrutiny. 

WORDLE--with this site, students will have two options on using the site.  They may either paste a passage in the space provided or the URL.  Choice of color and font are up to the student.  Once the create button is pushed, key words will appear in different sizes with the most prominent being the largest.  This tool will show students what would might merit more attention than others.  It is also a fun way to analyze text.

VISUAL WORDS 
--here is a tool that will improve any vocabulary stretching activity.  Students enter the word they need a definition for and not only will the definition surface, but also synonyms and antonyms.  If students want to stretch their vocabulary for fun, just have them push the RANDOM button and the program will throw in some very unusual words in English.  Some may even surprise the teacher:)

Denise

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POWERFUL ELD/ESL STRATEGIES FOR BOTH TEACHERS NEW TO TEACHING AND TEACHING VETERANS

With the coming new year school year,  teachers from all disciplines will need to have at their immediate disposal a powerful collection of instructional and language tools/activities for their ELLs.  With the COMMON CORE STANDARDS, teachers will need to find ways to actively engage ELLs in all areas of instruction.  In effect, every teacher will be delivering instruction in both language and content.

How can this be done?  What resources are out there to support teachers?  How can a teacher assist colleagues when they come to ask for ideas on working with these students?  This link from the New Teacher Center of the University of California at Santa Cruz is just what the doctor ordered.

SIX KEY TEACHING STRATEGIES TO USE WITH ELLS offers a great deal of details, but not in a professorial manner.  The information is delivered in a format that is easily accessible in that it is very direct and not overwhelming wordy in its delivery.  The BULLET layout assists in guiding teachers to crucial areas of instruction. 

Key points:

VOCABULARY AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (dictionaries don't work here)

GUIDED INTERACTION (small group arrangements must be ones that make content accessible for ELLs)

METACOGNITION AND AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT  (teaching reading skills that they can use to make themselves smarter)

EXPLICIT DIRECT INSTRUCTION (teaching grade level content while delivering academic language instruction)

MEANING BASED CONTEXT AND UNIVERSAL THEMES (link instruction to prior experiences ---build instruction based on a student's prior knowledge---make connections)

MODELING, GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS, AND VISUALS (model, model, model and use graphic organizers to assist in helping kids to fully remember key points of lessons).

Each section above is divided into 4 parts:  content instruction, academic language instruction, sample activities, and activities a teacher might use to teach concepts using those 6 points.

If you know teachers who are new to ELLs, share this and your expertise.  Sometimes teachers new to ELLs suffer in silence.  It falls upon those teachers who are good at it to make a concerted effort to support those teachers.  If nothing happens, ELLs will give up and their teachers will feel like failures when they aren't.

Denise

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