The numbers of English-language learners in schools continue to rise. How can we best support them?
Here are recommendations from educators on X and Facebook:
1) Labeled visuals; 2) Time to verbally process content with peer in home language; 3) Build background with experiences, videos, experiments, etc.
Collaboration with EL professionals, sentence frames, wait time.
1. Visuals 2. Point & talk 3. Gestures
Sentence and paragraph frames, total physical response attached to academic vocabulary, Visuals!
Closed captions helps scaffold both the English Learner and Gen Ed student simultaneously!
Get other students to help them. Make sure they are valued, loved, belong.
Pre-teach critical vocabulary with visual images.
Visuals. Ex: if you are using a word like “drought” don’t try to explain it. Show it.
Pre-teach vocabulary, provide sentence stems, chunk texts.
How about providing a list of cognates?
1. Gestures 2. modeling 3. peer tutoring
Supporting oral instruction with written directions, a buddy, and sentence starters.
1) Stop using worksheets from the early 90s that make bad copies and aren't digital 2) Visuals 3) Avoid idioms or explain them.
Visuals, the 10-2 rule (for every 10 minutes of information, 2 minutes of interaction) , sentence frames.
Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts!
This is the final post in a two-part series. You can see Part One here.
The new question of the week is:
What would you say are the three most important, AND most likely to be used, strategies that general education teachers can use to make their content more accessible to ELLS (and everyone else)?
Part One in this series shared somewhat lengthier suggestions.
Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.
You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.
Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.
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- It Was Another Busy School Year. What Resonated for You?
- How to Best Address Race and Racism in the Classroom
- Schools Just Let Out, But What Are the Best Ways to Begin the Coming Year?
- Classroom Management Starts With Student Engagement
- Teacher Takeaways From the Pandemic: What’s Worked? What Hasn’t?
- The School Year Has Ended. What Are Some Lessons to Close Out Next Year?
- Student Motivation and Social-Emotional Learning Present Challenges. Here’s How to Help
- How to Challenge Normative Gender Culture to Support All Students
- What Students Like (and Don’t Like) About School
- Technology Is the Tool, Not the Teacher
- How to Make Parent Engagement Meaningful
- Teaching Social Studies Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
- Differentiated Instruction Doesn’t Need to Be a Heavy Lift
- How to Help Students Embrace Reading. Educators Weigh In
- 10 Strategies for Reaching English-Learners
- 10 Ways to Include Teachers in Important Policy Decisions
- 10 Teacher-Proofed Strategies for Improving Math Instruction
- Give Students a Role in Their Education
- Are There Better Ways Than Standardized Tests to Assess Students? Educators Think So
- How to Meet the Challenges of Teaching Science
- If I’d Only Known. Veteran Teachers Offer Advice for Beginners
- Writing Well Means Rewriting, Rewriting, Rewriting
- Christopher Emdin, Gholdy Muhammad, and More Education Authors Offer Insights to the Field
- How to Build Inclusive Classrooms
- What Science Can Teach Us About Learning
- The Best Ways for Administrators to Demonstrate Leadership
- Listen Up: Give Teachers a Voice in What Happens in Their Schools
- 10 Ways to Build a Healthier Classroom
- Educators Weigh In on Implementing the Common Core, Even Now
- What’s the Best Professional-Development Advice? Teachers and Students Have Their Say
- Plenty of Instructional Strategies Are Out There. Here’s What Works Best for Your Students
- How to Avoid Making Mistakes in the Classroom
- Looking for Ways to Organize Your Classroom? Try Out These Tips
- Want Insight Into Schooling? Here’s Advice From Some Top Experts
I am also creating an X (formerly Twitter) list including all contributors to this column.
