# data[].attributes.body
This SOLOM rubric can be used to help identify a student's understanding of oral comprehension, vocab, fluency, and other factors. This resource can be helpful for a teacher because it helps the teacher to look at each student's individual progress.

# data[].attributes.headline
Preparing an Engaging Lesson in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.subject
Preparing an Engaging Lesson in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.body
This website looks into making a social studies lesson plan engaging to ELLs step by step which is a great resource to teachers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Consider the following scenario:

A fifth-grade teacher was preparing her class to learn about the American Revolution. She enlisted the students' help in acting out the events that led to the Revolution with elaborate props and exercises. When the class ended, the students were told they would read more about the Revolution the following day. As they left the room, an ESL student stopped and asked urgently, "But who won?"

This situation highlights some of the challenges that teachers face when helping English language learners, or ELLs, master social studies content:

Background knowledge
ELLs may not have the same background knowledge that their peers have or that textbook authors take for granted, as explained in this video clip with ELL teacher Amber Prentice.

Different perspectives
ELLs bring their own valuable and important experiences to the classroom. Often those experiences can be connected to the content in meaningful ways; however, if different points of view or ideas aren't expressed or identified, students may miss key concepts and ideas in the lesson.

Academic language and vocabulary
ELLs must learn the academic language and vocabulary needed to comprehend and produce new content - all while learning the new content and concepts at the same time!

For content-area teachers with limited experience working with ELLs, planning a lesson that engages them and helps them learn new material may seem daunting. The good news is that there are a number of ways to engage ELLs with social studies content and draw on their own unique background knowledge and perspectives. This article will describe some strategies for planning social studies lessons with ELLs in mind.

In addition, I recommend taking a look at the following resources:

Note: Lesson Planning to Ensure Optimal Engagement of ELLs (Chapter 2 of Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas), is available online and provides a number of helpful resources, including a checklist for modifying lesson plans for ELLs. In addition, Appendix Two of the book (not available online) provides a lesson modification worksheet.

Lesson Planning Strategies

Identify key concepts necessary for understanding the lesson

When choosing your key concepts, keep in mind the following:

Background knowledge
ELLs with limited or interrupted schooling may not have that same level of knowledge as their peers, especially when it comes to historical or cultural topics. When starting a new lesson, look for references or concepts that may need to be explicitly explained.

Language proficiency
Students may already possess content knowledge that they cannot yet demonstrate in English. Look for opportunities to make associations between students' experiences and new content.

Perspective
Students may have a different perspective on the content than their peers. These differences provide an important opportunity for class discussion and learning as long as they are handled in a sensitive and respectful ways.

In addition, plan to find out what students know about the topic you are teaching before getting started. This will help you fill in gaps and build on prior knowledge. A great tool for this activity is a Circle Map, in which you place the main topic in a small circle and add student ideas in a bigger circle around the topic. You may wish to allow ELLs to use their native language with peers for a quick brainstorm before presenting their ideas to the whole class.

Identify content and language objectives

These objectives are a great way to focus on the most important information and language structures you want your students to master. Content objectives focus on the material while language objectives focus on vocabulary or language structures that students should be able to use throughout the lesson (Haynes and Zacarian, 28).

Think about how you are going to:

introduce these concepts using simple language,

break the concepts down into the most basic elements,

keep the objectives visible to students during the unit (i.e., post them on the board or provide a simple outline to keep in binders).

Identify key vocabulary and academic vocabulary

Identify key terms, words, idioms and phrases - TWIPS, according to Dr. Zacarian (19). Choose the vocabulary that your students need to know in order to support their reading development and content-area learning, in addition to key content vocabulary. Remember to prepare student-friendly definitions for TWIPS ahead of time. It may be helpful to look at other social studies vocabulary lists as well.

In addition:

Look for problem areas
Clarify potential areas of confusion, such as homonyms or words with more than one meaning.

Include signal and directional words
Remember that students may also need explicit instruction in signal or directional words ("because" and "explain"), especially those words that are likely to appear frequently in the content materials or activities.

Don't overlook the basic words
There may be many words used through a lesson that native English-speaking students will understand but that ELLs don't know. Keep an eye out for these words, no matter how basic, and make a list of words that your students have questions about so that you can refer back to it when teaching the lesson in the future.

Use visuals and manipulatives when possible
Having a visual reference for new words is particularly helpful for ELLs.

Keep words visible and accessible to students
Post words on a word wall, or try using a "portable word wall" chart that students can put in their binder. The chart might include categories such as new words, old words, people, everyday words, words to review, etc. (Haynes and Zacarian, 59-60).

Remember to include lots of student practice
For students to really know a word, they must use it - or they will lose it. Use new words in class discussions or outside of class in other contexts if appropriate, such as on field trips. Give the students as many opportunities to use and master the new vocabulary as possible, both in writing and speaking activities. You may find this six-step process for teaching academic vocabulary from Dr. Robert Marzano helpful.

Prepare to preview the text

One strategy is a "chapter walk", where students predict what the chapter will be about based on pictures and highlighted features of the textbook.

An activity like this may take some time at first because it's time-consuming to teach. If you use it with regularity, however, it will become easier and quicker, and students will be able to do this on their own at the beginning of a new chapter.

You can also use the "BIG FOX" strategy, published by McGraw-Hill. This graphic organizer helps students pick out important terms and pieces of information before reading. I recommend practicing this strategy with some simple readings about familiar topics before jumping in with the textbook. The students will understand the strategy better if they start out with concepts that they understand.

Prepare multimedia, visuals, and related readings

These resources can be used to build background knowledge and provide context for ELLs, especially when students are learning new concepts and words. Ideas include:

Using photos from books, magazines, or the Internet to supplement textbooks.

Showing brief, focused video clips of history or social studies programs.

Listening to a short podcast or radio clip of an interview or speech.

Discussing additional readings such as related articles, poems, letters, and graphic novels.

Enlist native language support when possible

These strategies can help students identify content they already know, or master new concepts before transferring those ideas and learning how to express them in English:

Collaborate with a bilingual paraprofessional and identify areas where bilingual language support will be most helpful.

Look for related content materials in the students' native language from publishers like Scholastic or National Geographic/Cengage.

Plan group work in which students can use their native language with peers to discuss main ideas or vocabulary words.

Plan to include group work throughout the unit

Peer learning activities such as Reciprocal Teaching and Think-Pair-Share can be powerful tools for engaging ELLs with content learning.

Use modeling and clear instructions to ensure students understand:

how the activity works

their role in group work

the objective of the activity

any key vocabulary or phrases they should be using.

Here are some other tips on group work for ELLs from Haynes and Zacarian:

Assign students group roles that match their language ability (37).

Promote students to new roles as their language skills improve (42).

Make sure that mainstream students understand that they will be working in diverse groups, and that everyone's contributions are important (41).

Keep an eye on the balance of student participation; if some students are speaking more than others, ask them to think of some ways to even participation out (42).

Ask students to reflect on their group work after they have finished an activity. Haynes and Zacarian include a chart in their book with some guiding statements for student reflection (48).

Plan plenty of opportunities for students to interact with the content

Give students lots of opportunities to engage with and review the material in different ways:

Graphic organizers
Use graphic organizers to review key concepts and vocabulary words.

Flash cards
Have students make their own flash cards with pictures, definitions, key facts, etc.

Working with the text
Teach students to underline, highlight, and make notes. You may also find that sticky notes, Wikki Stix, and highlighting tape are a big hit with students (68). According to Haynes, some school districts order extra textbooks for their ELL classes so that teachers can keep a highlighted copy on hand as a student reference.

Use acting
Have the students write skits about the material they are learning, or create an activity in which students provide a physical representation of a particular event or vocabulary word.

Be creative and flexible with writing assignments

Writing can be an important way for students to show what they've learned:

Be creative and flexible
When choosing writing activities for students, be creative and open to different ways for students to express their new knowledge. I have seen students successfully convey what they learned by writing letters, poems, news articles and mosaics with vocabulary key points. Writing an essay may be more difficult for ELLs, and although they need to learn how to write a good essay eventually, they should be allowed to demonstrate their learning through a variety of writing activities.

Look for writing exercises that relate to the topic at hand
This may include a biography or autobiography, a letter from the point of view of a historical figure, or a short news article about a famous event.

Provide models
Give ELLs explicit structures and sentence frames to follow. Frames may vary in complexity and specificity, but they will help students to model correct structures and usage from the beginning.

Plan to adapt homework and assessment as needed

While it's important to have high expectations of ELLs, it is also important to have realistic expectations of the amount of work they can do. Haynes and Zacarian note, "The teacher's goal should be to making learning accessible and meaningful for every student without lowering expectations or sacrificing rigor" (104-105).

They continue in Chapter 7 of their book to provide a number of helpful rubrics and step-by-step procedures for evaluating your homework and assessment activities with ELLs in mind. In Twenty-Five Quick Tips for Classroom Teachers, Haynes suggests that teachers "adjust homework assignment to your ELLs' English language proficiency (and) modify assessment so that your ELLs have an opportunity to show what they have learned."

As you look for ways to help your students learn this new content, remember that you aren't just teaching them required social studies standards - you are helping your students adjust to a new life and country. That preparation has a potentially significant ripple effect because your students may be helping their own parents navigate this new country as well, and they may need to prepare for a U.S. Citizenship exam one day in the future.

Through social studies lessons, you also can prepare your students to be engaged and well-informed participants in our society and democracy, an opportunity they might not have had in their own country due to their religion, gender, or ethnicity. When you think about it that way, teaching ELLs to master new social studies content is so much more than adapting a lesson plan - it's a chance to prepare a new generation of young people to lead us into the future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Preparing an Engaging Social Studies Lesson for English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Consider the following scenario: A fifth-grade teacher was preparing her class to learn about the American Revolution. She enlisted the students' help in acting out the events that led to the Revolution with elaborate props and exercises. When the class ended, the students were told they would read more about the Revolution the following day.

# data[].attributes.headline
Transforming classroom management for ELLs: The issues

# data[].attributes.subject
Transforming classroom management for ELLs: The issues

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains that many ELLs come into the classrooms with experiences and preconceptions that hinder them from learning a new language. This is an important resource because it addresses that classroom management may look different for those students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Classroom management is a phrase and concept all teachers are familiar with and know intimately.

The concept can be defined in several ways, but essentially refers to the actions a teacher uses to create an environment and climate where effective teaching and learning can take place. If students are not engaged in instruction and are off-task, even the most exciting concepts or topics and the most dynamic instructional techniques will fall short, as students are concentrating on something else or behaving inappropriately.

Teachers get into the business of teaching because they want to help people learn to develop new skills and knowledge, and ultimately to make the world a better place. When asked what the purpose of education is, teachers often report they want to help students become life-long learners and productive members of society.

Employers are seeking students who ...

are self-regulated learners and are motivated to learn about the world

want to improve on their own work in the workplace and learn how to more efficiently implement a process

are creative and critical thinkers

know how to communicate well and collaborate with others

But when inappropriate or disruptive behavior interrupts the process of helping students to develop these skills, frustration may ensue for the teacher and other students.

There are numerous issues that impact classroom management skills, in general terms, but also when working with students who are English learners or who come from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Issues of bullying and lack of empathy impact many students in schools today. Prejudice and perceptions of race or social class can impact student dynamics among students and teachers.

Students from differing cultures may have different experiences and notions of how school works, what the expectations of school are, and how to behave appropriately in school. When to address a teacher, when to talk to other students, gender roles in communication in the classroom, eye contact, and the concept of discipline vary from culture to culture.

As we learn about students' cultural backgrounds and norms, our perspective and strategies to manage the classroom should change to respond to student behavior in a more culturally appropriate way.

When students feel threatened, humiliated, ridiculed or even disliked by the teacher or other students, learning is negatively impacted. When working with students who have experienced some form of trauma in their lives, the "fight or flight" instinct may take over when a student feels as though they are threatened in some way.

For students who have experienced being in war-torn countries or have been refugees, or students who have had harrowing experiences coming to this country, the instinct to initially resist against authority or to rebel when being confronted may stem from past experiences outside of school. It is important that as teachers we recognize that these negative experiences may impact students' negative behavior.

In second-language acquisition theory, the concept of the affective filter states that language learning can be facilitated or hindered based on the emotional variables experienced by the student.

When the student feels stress, anxiety, a fear of failure or embarrassment, the affective filter is "high" and does not allow language (and potentially content) to come through. When individuals feel comfortable and risk-taking is encouraged and celebrated in learning a new language (or content), learning is facilitated.

The affective filter can be raised or lowered depending on the actions of the teacher and other students in the class. Classroom management, in part, plays a part in the facilitation or hindrance of language and content learning.

In Part 2 of this article, we will explore some effective classroom management strategies for working with culturally and linguistically diverse students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
MultiBrief: Transforming classroom management for ELLs: The issues

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Classroom management is a phrase and concept all teachers are familiar with and know intimately. There are numerous issues that impact classroom management skills, in general terms, but also when working with students who are English learners or who come from diverse cultural backgrounds.

# data[].attributes.body
English Language Proficiency Standards - these are important to include in the language objectives when lesson planning and for determining which language domains are begin addressed with the lesson.

# data[].attributes.body
Proficiency Level Descriptors - these are important to refer to when monitoring the progress of the English learners. They also serve as reminders of what students can do at each level of proficiency within each domain of language.

# data[].attributes.headline
Oral Language Development and ELLs: 5 Challenges and Solutions

# data[].attributes.subject
Oral Language Development and ELLs: 5 Challenges and Solutions

# data[].attributes.body
This website looks at many concerns that some teachers may have when trying to help with oral language development. It provides certain scenarios to go with each concern to demonstrate how a teacher might go about that situaiton.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Lindsey Moses Guccione shares five key challenges related to the oral language development of ELLs, as well as tips for addressing each of the challenges.

Dr. Moses Guccione is the co-author of Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies That Cross Proficiency Levels ( Heinemann, 2009).

Getting Started

As a former elementary teacher in a bilingual school, I developed a love and passion for finding effective ways to support oral language and oral reading development of emerging English language learners (ELLs). I discovered this passion when I began my first year of teaching in a second-grade classroom, where I encountered a handful of challenges related to my students' oral language development.

Many students were transitioning from a classroom with Spanish instruction into my classroom with instruction provided in English. I had students ranging from monolingual English speakers to students who had just recently moved to the U.S. from a Spanish-speaking country. The range of language proficiency levels crossed the entire spectrum. Having minimal experience with this range of diverse students and needs, I began reading, researching, and implementing new instructional ideas into my classroom. With each challenge I encountered, I gained new information about my students and their parents. I also began learning more about my own methods of instruction, and I learned a great deal each year about new challenges and successes.

Currently, I am fortunate to work with many teachers who have the opportunity to impact the lives of children and families who speak more than one language. As I work with these teachers and families, I have found five common and reoccurring challenges that they seem to face in the area of oral language development that parallel my own experiences. I detail these challenges and questions below, as well as suggestions for addressing each challenges based on strategies I used in my classroom.

Questions and Classroom Scenarios

1. What do I do if they don't know ANY English?

Understanding the characteristics of language learners at different proficiency levels helps to think about how we can best support students in their oral language and reading development. Below is a chart that gives a description of the first two levels of language proficiency as well as implications for using oral reading. This is a nice place to start when thinking about how to interact with and support our Starting and Emerging English speakers.

Levels of Language Proficiency

Description

Implications For Using Oral Reading

Level 1: Starting
Students are in a silent period in which they listen, but do not speak in English. They may respond using nonverbal cues in attempt to communicate basic needs.

The teacher and other more advanced students should model oral reading. Students in the silent period should not be forced to speak, but should be given the opportunity to participate in a group activity where they won't be singled out.

Level 2: Emerging
Students are beginning to understand more oral language. They respond using one- or two-word phrases and start to produce simple sentences for basic social interactions and to meet basic needs.

Teacher and students should continue to model oral reading. Students should be encouraged to begin taking risks with simple, rehearsed oral reading in non-threatening situations.

Opitz & Guccione (2009). Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies that Cross Proficiency Levels.

2. How do I provide instruction and support for the ELLs without holding back the students who are fluent in English?

Differentiation is the key to effective instruction for all students. Students of varying proficiency levels can learn the same content when the teacher provides a wide range of learning opportunities for students with different academic and linguistic needs. Three key strategies for this approach include differentiating or modifying the texts, creating grouping structures, and targeting the amount and nature of support based on students' needs (Opitz & Ford, 2008).

Modifying the text: Teachers can differentiate the text by selecting various levels of text difficulty on similar content, or they can also divide the text up into smaller portions appropriate for certain groups/individuals for a jigsaw activity. Another idea is to summarize text that might be too difficult and provide ways to make the text more accessible (such as vocabulary support, visual support, connecting to background knowledge, etc.).

Creating grouping structures that set students up for success: While some grouping structures can be established according to language or literacy skill levels and needs, it is also important to think about providing students exposure to interact with peers who demonstrate a wide range of different language and literacy skills. Additionally, teachers can improve engagement and motivation by creating choice/interest groups where students gather, read, discuss and work together on topics of common interest.

Targeting the amount and nature of student support: It is important to think about scaffolding the experience and using comprehensible input to make it accessible for all students. Comprehensible input means that students should be able to understand the gist of what is being said or presented. There are many ways to do this, such as selecting key vocabulary, using context or visual cues, building background knowledge, building on experiences the students have had, using consistent language, and providing images or visual representations to support vocabulary and content. Teachers can support their students by embedding comprehensible input into their whole-group instruction, but this also becomes particularly effective when used in the different grouping structures. Teachers can also modify the amount of support and interaction between teachers and students depending on their individual and group needs.

3. This student knows English - I hear him talking to his friends and on the playground. He just doesn't want to try in class.

I have heard many teachers discussing variations of this same idea. However, I would caution teachers and parents about jumping to this conclusion. Academic language (or the language specifically related to school and/or academic content) can be complicated to acquire. Students often first develop social language and demonstrate near proficiency or proficiency in English in social settings. A student may be demonstrating sophisticated use of social language, but they may have difficulty using language in more formal settings such as school.

Much of the academic language required to be successful in school - everything from instructions to expectations to content-specific vocabulary - requires assistance in acquiring. Students hear and use their social language in various settings from home, community, and school, but academic language is often only used in the school setting. These students need specific instruction and support surrounding their language development in this area.

The same children who appear to be functioning at a high level of English proficiency in social settings may actually be functioning at a beginning stage in other settings, depending on how they are called on to use language. The students need to feel safe and in a low-anxiety environment in order to begin to feel comfortable taking risks with their oral language. When they have less exposure and instruction related to academic language, this can often cause students to feel intimidated and less likely to be willing to share in class.

One idea for reducing anxiety and encouraging students to experiment with language might include allowing students to read, practice, and discuss their responses in partners and small groups before sharing out to the entire group. This allows students an opportunity to hear language modeled by peers, practice what they want to say, and possibly revise their original thought and/or language before sharing it in a public way. As students find more success with their language production and classroom participation, they will be more likely to share and take risks, and in turn continue building their confidence.

4. How is the child ever going to learn English if they don't speak it at home?

It is important to celebrate being bilingual and biliterate. Research has shown that development of a students' first language can facilitate development in the second language (Genessee, Geva, Dressler, and Kamil, 2007). Understanding this helps parents, teachers, and children to encourage the use and development of the students' home language while they are at home. All of the home literacy activities that we recommend for English speakers, such as reading aloud, making lists, discussing books, reading environmental print, etc., should also be encouraged for the English language learners in their home language. Students can begin to use more English as they feel comfortable in different settings, but it is important to note that speaking two languages will not hinder their English development.

Another important idea to remember is that we want to invite parents to feel confident in their interactions with their children regardless of their English proficiency level. As they begin to read or retell stories and discuss them at home, they are developing vital oral language and comprehension skills, and these skills will transfer over into their school language.

5. What kinds of activities should I be doing to help the student develop their oral language and oral reading?

McCauley and McCauley (1992) report four factors as necessary for acquiring a second language: a low-anxiety environment, repeated practice, comprehensible input, and drama. These are all important components of setting children up for success and language development.

A low-anxiety environment includes a setting where students feel nurtured and supported by their teacher and peers, and in turn, they feel safe to take risks without the fear of being laughed at or made fun of.

Repeated practice is just like what it sounds! Students need repeated practice hearing and using a new language. They need multiple opportunities to comprehend and express their ideas in a new language. Like with anything new that we learn, practice helps us get better.

Comprehensible input, as explained above, means finding different ways to make what is being said comprehensible and easier to understand. Things to consider with comprehensible input might include using speech that is appropriate for students' language proficiency, providing a clear, step-by-step explanation of tasks, and using a variety of techniques to support their understanding.

Drama, or a sense of excitement and engagement, can be found in activities like Reader's Theatre, dramatic play, puppetry, narrating wordless picture books, etc. All of these activities also have the other three factors embedded within them. These activities assist in the development of oral language in addition to introducing students to oral reading and rich literacy experiences and responses in a classroom setting.

Closing Thoughts

As you can see from these questions and examples, there are a lot of different approaches to helping ELLs build their oral language development skills, and you may have to try different activities until you find what works for your students. The most important thing, however, is to build your students' confidence while giving them new words and phrases to practice. Don't be afraid to try something new - and most of all, don't be afraid to have fun doing it!

About the Author

Dr. Lindsey Moses Guccione is a coauthor of Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies that Cross Proficiency Levels. She is an assistant professor at the University of Northern Colorado and teaches courses in Early Childhood Education, Literacy, and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. She is a former elementary teacher of English language learners and is currently researching how ELLs make sense of texts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oral Language Development and ELLs: 5 Challenges and Solutions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Lindsey Moses Guccione shares five key challenges related to the oral language development of ELLs, as well as tips for addressing each of the challenges. Dr. Moses Guccione is the co-author of Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies That Cross Proficiency Levels ( Heinemann, 2009).

# data[].attributes.headline
Supporting English Language Learners in Reading Workshop

# data[].attributes.subject
Supporting English Language Learners in Reading Workshop

# data[].attributes.body
This chart looks at different scaffolds for common reading workshop activities for ELL specific students. It communicates where it can go wrong for those students and how to minimize that.

# data[].attributes.headline
Using Cognates to Develop Comprehension in English

# data[].attributes.subject
Using Cognates to Develop Comprehension in English

# data[].attributes.body
This article looks at cognates as a way to help ELLs in their comprehension. This could be used as a great strategy when teaching language comprehension.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. While English may share very few cognates with a language like Chinese, 30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. For Spanish-speaking ELLs, cognates are an obvious bridge to the English language.

Not surprisingly, researchers who study first and second language acquisition have found that students benefit from cognate awareness. Cognate awareness is the ability to use cognates in a primary language as a tool for understanding a second language. Children can be taught to use cognates as early as preschool. As students move up the grade levels, they can be introduced to more sophisticated cognates, and to cognates that have multiple meanings in both languages, although some of those meanings may not overlap. One example of a cognate with multiple meanings is asistir, which means to assist (same meaning) but also to attend (different meaning).

Classroom strategies for teaching cognates

Read aloud

When you read aloud to your students, ask the Spanish speakers to raise their hand when they think they hear a cognate. Stop reading and discuss that cognate. Point out the subtle differences you hear between the Spanish and English words. If you have a French, Italian, or Portuguese speaker in your class, invite them to contribute cognates in that language.

Student reading

As ELLs read their texts, ask them to find three or four cognates and write them on sticky pads. Collect those notes and put them on an OUR COGNATES laminated chart. Before the class ends, read or have students read them to the class. Discuss spellings or sounds that are the same and different between the cognates.

Follow-up activities:

Word Sort

Pair students and give each pair a set of cognate cards: one card has the English cognate and the other has the Spanish cognate. For example:

Have students sort the words. Then ask them what the word pairs have in common and write responses on the board.

Circle Differences

Ask students to indicate which letters are different between the cognates by circling the letters. Alternate between having them call out differences with the teacher circling and occasionally having students come up and circle the differences themselves.

False Cognates

Write examples of false cognates on the board. For example: embarrassed/ embarazada and pie/ pie. Warn students that they might run into some words that are false cognates. These are words that look alike but do not have the same meaning in English and Spanish. Ask the students:

Does anyone know what pie means in Spanish ( foot)? What does the word pie mean in English ( dessert)?

Another example of a false cognate is the word embarrassed in English and embarazada in Spanish. What does embarrassed mean in English (to feel ashamed about something)? Does anyone know what embarazada means in Spanish ( pregnant)?

Give students some cognates and false cognates and ask them to identify each. Examples of false cognates:

Ask students to work with a partner to find as many cognates and false cognates as they can from a given list of words. After they finish, ask partners to share one example of each with the class.

Exaggerate intonation and stress

Cognate words can cause problems for Spanish speakers learning English and vice versa because of different stress patterns in the two languages. Point out how the emphasis changes in the following words:

condition / condición

animal / animal

ability / habilidad

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using Cognates to Develop Comprehension in English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. While English may share very few cognates with a language like Chinese, 30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. For Spanish-speaking ELLs, cognates are an obvious bridge to the English language.

# data[].attributes.headline
LO 1 Steps for Developing Language Objectives

# data[].attributes.subject
LO 1 Steps for Developing Language Objectives

# data[].attributes.body
This video demonstrates to teachers how to make language objectives for ELL lesson plans. This can be used as a resource when a teacher needs guidance.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LO 1 Steps for Developing Language Objectives

# data[].attributes.body
This is a resource for teachers to use when coming up with language objectives for ELL lesson plans.

# data[].attributes.body
This article looks into sentence frames being integrated in math lessons, so that lack of language proficiency does not interfere with the math content.

# data[].attributes.headline
Transforming classroom management for ELLs: Strategies for success

# data[].attributes.subject
Transforming classroom management for ELLs: Strategies for success

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains strategies that will help teachers be successful in classroom management for ELLs. A lot of the strategies explained are broad but good reminders when it comes to remembering the big picture for these students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In Part 1 of this article, we discussed the numerous issues that impact classroom management skills, in general terms, but also when working with students who are English learners or who come from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Classroom management is a phrase and concept all teachers are familiar with and know intimately.

There are numerous classroom management strategies that benefit all students, but that may be especially beneficial for culturally and linguistically diverse students. This population in particular requires additional considerations as we work to develop a classroom culture of learning and mutual respect.

Consider the following concepts and strategies as you reflect on your own classroom management style and classroom culture.

Interest in students

Carl Rogers, a humanistic psychologist is thought to be the first to discuss the unconditional positive regard for patients. In teaching, we can apply the concept as having an unconditional positive regard for children. This includes taking interest in our students, including their interests, hobbies and cultural norms and backgrounds.

Just as parents love their children unconditionally, when we view students with a positive regard, we do everything we can for them to improve their social and emotional health, including using discipline and classroom management strategies that help them to see what appropriate behavior looks, sounds and feels like.

Celebrating students' languages and cultures

Celebrating that students speak other languages and have culturally diverse backgrounds is as easy as encouraging students to speak their native language at home with their families, or in class as appropriate.

Students may be encouraged to speak in their native language when discussion a topic with a partner or clarifying instructions or concepts, for example. Ask students if they are familiar with vocabulary words or concepts in their native languages, and if they are comfortable, ask them to share those words.

Examining our cultural lens

As we celebrate students' cultures and linguistic backgrounds, it is important that we also begin to think about our own cultural norms and biases. How we understand the world and students can lead to misunderstandings of behavior displayed by students.

One way to consider this is to question if what we expect a classroom to look like is the same or different from what our students believe and expect. Do our practices align with what students are used to and believe school should be? While we do not necessarily need to completely change our system, it is important that we begin to recognize how our own cultural lens can cause misunderstandings.

Creating a culture of learning

Keep the affective filter low by encouraging risk-taking in the classroom. Celebrate when students make attempts at applying concepts or language skills, even if these attempts come at inopportune times.

Keep it positive

Perhaps the most important strategy teachers can use to effectively manage classrooms is the notion of public praise and private conversations. This refers to publicly recognizing students who are behaving appropriately, rather than students who are behaving in undesirable or disruptive ways.

The adage "what you permit, you promote" holds true in that teachers can and should make explicit the kids of behaviors they expect to see in class, and publicly acknowledge those behaviors. Phrases such as "thank you for staying quiet while others are speaking" and the like show students what you expect from them.

This does not mean that unacceptable behavior is ignored. But rather when the redirection of students by pointing out positive behavior does not work, a private conversation with the student is necessary.

Some students only know how to gain attention from the teacher by acting in disruptive ways. When we shift the paradigm and publicly acknowledge students when they are doing something correctly - especially recognizing positive behavior in students who have behavior challenges - we can begin to shift the paradigm of negative attention seeking behaviors.

Developing norms or agreements

In a positive classroom community, students and teachers can work together to collaboratively develop norms for behavior. Students at all levels know the types of behaviors that are helpful or harmful in learning and working with others. Students from diverse cultural backgrounds may have differing perspectives that will enrich the discussions.

If students are a part of developing the norms of behavior and agreements in the classroom, they are more likely to follow the norms as they had a hand in creating them.

Explicit teaching of social skills

Students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds may have differing expectations on how to behave in the classroom, as we have previously mentioned. Behavioral expectations should be explicitly taught to students so that they understand what the behaviors are, what the behaviors look like and sound like.

One way to explicitly teach this is by using a three-column chart. The behavioral norm or social skill is listed at the top of the chart. In each column, list - with the input of the students - what the skill looks like, sounds like and feels like.

While this may seem tedious, students may not be able to immediately articulate what empathy, listening, respect, collaboration, perseverance or other skills actually look like. Specific examples of what a particular skill looks like, sounds like, or feels like can be added over time.

The second column, "sounds like," is especially important for English learners. These students may need explicit instruction in the words and phrases that help demonstrate the social skill or behavior being taught.

Social objectives

Many teachers are familiar with writing instructional objectives and sharing those objectives with students. When working with English learners, the addition of language objectives is a widely accepted practice to help students develop academic language skills.

Social objectives that focus on the behavior students will engage in during the lesson are another way to make explicit the types of behavior students should engage in. For example, a social objective may focus on nonverbal cues speakers give when listening to a partner, such as nodding, asking clarifying questions or appropriate eye contact.

Active student participation

Effective instructional techniques will assist in keeping students engaged, thereby minimizing behavior issues. When scaffolding is used appropriately, students are met at their instructional level and supported to meet the objectives for the lesson.

Using techniques such as choral calling, frequent student conversations on academic topics, hands-on activities, and getting students up and moving around, students will be more highly engaged and less likely to behave in disruptive ways.

Implementing these strategies and concepts will likely not eliminate all behavioral issues in the classroom. However, as we strive to meet the needs of all students in the classroom, careful consideration of how we manage student behavior and carefully considering our students' experiences and cultural backgrounds will help us to ever move in the direction of helping each child to excel.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
MultiBrief: Transforming classroom management for ELLs: Strategies for success

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Classroom management is a phrase and concept all teachers are familiar with and know intimately. ​There are numerous classroom management strategies that benefit all students, but that may be especially beneficial for culturally and linguistically diverse students.

# data[].attributes.body
This website provides resources for teachers to use when teaching math to ELLs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital, and receives major funding from our founding partner, the AFT, and the National Education Association. © Copyright 2023 WETA Public Broadcasting.

# data[].attributes.body
This document serves as a resource to teachers on how to integrate language learning in STEM content. It looks into scaffolding and lesson plan making for STEM concepts.

# data[].attributes.body
This website serves as a resource to teachers when incorporating writing in science as a part of ELL development. There are real life examples linked to the website as well.

# data[].attributes.body
This video models scaffolds that can be used when teaching social studies to ELLs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Scaffolding Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Caitlin LeClair, seventh-grade social studies teacher at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, supports her students to read complex texts—fiction and nonfiction—about South Sudan. LeClair supports her diverse group of learners by choosing compelling topics; working through a progression of increasingly complex texts; and providing scaffolding and support to build their skills as close readers.

# data[].attributes.body
This chapter looks into assessing English language learners in a way that is equitable for students of varying proficiency levels.

# data[].attributes.body
This link lists different accommodations that ELL students can have when being assessed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) defines accommodations as changes to materials or procedures that enable students to participate meaningfully in learning and testing. Accommodation policies may apply to any student taking the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ®) or the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) depending on his or her needs and whether the student meets the eligibility criteria, as applicable.

Refer to the Accommodations section of the District and Campus Coordinator Resources for more information and additional resources.

These policies are divided into three main categories:

accessibility features-procedures and materials that should be made available to students who regularly use them during classroom instruction

locally-approved designated supports-procedures and materials that do not require TEA approval for students who meet eligibility criteria

designated supports requiring TEA Approval-procedures and materials that require the submission and approval of an Accommodation Request Form for students who meet eligibility criteria

Archive

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) defines accommodations as changes to materials or procedures that enable students to participate meaningfully in learning and testing. Accommodation policies may apply to any student taking the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ®) or the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) depending on his or her needs and whether the student meets the eligibility criteria, as applicable.

# data[].attributes.body
This document provides many resources and ideas for assessing ELLs in engaging ways.

# data[].attributes.body
This document is serves as a resource to teachers for how to best create and give formative assessments to ELs.

# data[].attributes.body
This chart is a resource to help teachers distinguish between language differences and disabilities so that errors are not made.

# data[].attributes.body
This article provides tools for teachers on how to teach to ELLs who have disabilities.

# data[].attributes.headline
Meeting the Needs of High-Potential ELLs

# data[].attributes.subject
Meeting the Needs of High-Potential ELLs

# data[].attributes.body
This article gives a way to identify where the students are level wise in their high potential so that their needs can be met for ELLs.

# data[].attributes.body
This chart is a resource for teachers to use when trying to identify if an ELL is gifted compared to other student while disassociating from the language factor.

# data[].attributes.body
This article provides many resources for teachers to use when wanting to integrate technology to support ELLs in their learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of the most challenging aspects for educators of English language learners (ELLs) is accurately assessing language development over time - oral language, in particular. Due to the conversational nature of language, it can be incredibly difficult to assess oral language while simultaneously engaging in conversation, not to mention recording the data as you go.

While the speaking and listening domains can be the hardest to objectively assess over time, reading and writing shouldn't be overlooked. ELL educators are always looking through two lenses - content knowledge and English language development (ELD).

A few savvy strategies coupled with technology integration can enhance not only English language learning within the four domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) of ELD, but your assessment of language development over time as well.

The In-Flipped Classroom

When you're facing the teacher time crunch, the in-flipped classroom can be your best friend. A traditional flipped classroom has students watch lessons at home and come back to school for practice. Unfortunately, not all of our ELLs have the resources at home to make this model work. With an in-flipped classroom, students watch the lesson in school ahead of direct instruction. Whether you're a classroom teacher looking to push content ahead of a lesson, or a resource teacher looking to maximize your time, recording your lessons ahead of time can greatly impact the growth that your ELLs make.

The short video clip above is a read-aloud lesson that was taped before the teacher came into the class. Notice how the classroom teacher is able to monitor not only the students' on-task listening progress with the "Easter eggs" hidden in the video, but by asking the students to demonstrate actions from the video, the teacher can embed new vocabulary like "rapping on a desk" in an authentic way. When the teacher sits down, students are ready to dive into the discussion portion of the lesson, maximizing the amount of time ELLs can spend speaking and listening.

Videos like these can be used for reteaching or review, too. Students have the ability to take control of their own learning when they can independently access lessons they need to spend more time on. It's also particularly useful for fostering a home-school connection. When parents have access to lessons taught in class, they have a good understanding of what's happened during school and are better able to help at home.

Guided Reading

Primary ELL teachers know that reading, reading, and re-reading are the keys to early literacy success, but listening to every reader in a group can be a challenge. Round robin reading doesn't provide a natural reading setting, yet making sure every reader gets the attention they deserve can be difficult.

Luckily, there's an easy solution. Using PDF books with an app like Explain Everything gives early learners access to digital content in a kid-friendly way. Students can record themselves as they read, and you can go back later to assess their reading more closely and accurately with a running record. An added benefit? Students can listen to themselves reading and are motivated to read it again until it's perfect. It's a great way to motivate a reluctant re-reader!

While this is particularly useful in giving ELL students repeated exposure to new reading, it's a great trick for any reader. Don't forget to add a few blank pages at the end of the PDF. Students can write about their reading for a balanced literacy connection. Here are two examples that show different levels of kindergarten writing at the end of this guided reading book:

Formative Assessments

ELL teachers are always looking for authentic ways to assess what new vocabulary their students have learned in the course of a lesson. Why not have students record their learning as an exit ticket?

In the video above, you can hear all kinds of new academic language like disc, shaft, ramp, and wobbled. This student is also adding modifiers like red, beside, and straight to describe her experiment. We can hear her accurately using plural nouns, adverbs, and prepositions like across the room. By recording her response we have a clear understanding of not only this student's content knowledge, but also the sophistication of her English language development as well. Not bad for second grade!

Summative Assessments

Having students orally demonstrate their learning can be a great way for them to show what they've learned and to practice their oral language at the same time. However, for your shyest ELLs, it can be an intimidating experience. Why not let them try pre-recording their summative assessment ahead of time?

Students can add their own pictures and record their voices at the same time. This first-grade clip not only has a lot of academic vocabulary, but also gives the teacher a recorded example of how this child's English language development has progressed. Her use of language is sophisticated for a first grader, but she is misusing prepositions when she says, "This is a closer look of krils." It's a small mistake, but the perfect place for reinforcement on when to use of and at in English. For an older student, it might be the right place for direct instruction on the use of prepositions.

ELL teachers are always evaluating student progress through two lenses: assessing content knowledge and the progression of English language development. Why not use technology to make the task a little easier? Try these four strategies to accurately assess English language development over time.
For more ideas on helping your ELLs with English language development, see
What strategies do you find useful to evaluate both content knowledge and the progression of English language development? Share your ideas in the comments below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Technology Integration to Support Language Development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A few strategies coupled with technology integration can enhance English language learning in the primary classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
This website provides a list of programs that assist in language learning that is user friendly. This can help me , as a teacher to keep students engaged by using different programs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Audacity:

software for recording and editing sounds

http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Online Courses, Communities, and Materials

E-Teacher Scholarship Program:

Online courses for which EFL teachers may receive scholarships
http://exchanges.state.gov/non-us/program/e-teacher-scholarship-program/details

Kahn Academy:

Over 1200 videos lessons covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, and biology.

http://www.khanacademy.org/exercisedashboard

Choose from multiple topics and take a course or listen to a lecture from top universities across the U.S.

http://www.apple.com/in/itunes/download/

Dave's ESL Café:

comprehensive site with discussion boards, jobs, activities for students
http://www.eslcafe.com/

Discovery Education Puzzlemaker:

Make word searches, crossword puzzles, etc using your own word lists
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=3224607&CFTOKEN=23131798

Graphic Organizers:

over 20 free graphic organizer templates

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/

Glogster:

Creates online media posters. You can embed your own videos, images, and sounds.

Voicethread 4 Education:

Interactive tool for having conversations around media, either photos,illustrations, and video, or a combination of all 3

http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com

Visuwords:

online Graphical Dictionary

Word Processing-based Activities
for a Language Class

Suggestions for communicative uses of word processing

http://edvista.com/claire/wp.html

General information about CALL:

links to organizations, journals, websites
http://edvista.com/claire/call.html

An Invitation to CALL: Foundations of Computer-Assisted Language Learning, by Phil Hubbard

free e-book
https://www.apacall.org/research/books/6/An_Invitation_to_CALL_2021.pdf

professional and personal links
http://edvista.com/claire/index.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Audacity: software for recording and editing sounds http://audacity.sourceforge.net Online Courses, Communities, and Materials E-Teacher Scholarship Program: Online courses for which EFL teachers may receive scholarships http://exchanges.state.gov/non-us/program/e-teacher-scholarship-program/ details Kahn Academy: Over 1200 videos lessons covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, and biology.

# data[].attributes.body
This serves as a tool for teachers to use when wanting to teach academic language to ELLs. This is important to help students transition into an academic setting.

# data[].attributes.headline
Strategies for Teaching English Academic Language

# data[].attributes.subject
Strategies for Teaching English Academic Language

# data[].attributes.body
This article helps look into strategies on how to teach academic language to ELLs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
1/17/2017

A common misconception among teachers is that if a student can speak English fluently, he or she does not need extra accommodations in order to grasp the curriculum. In reality, many students struggle with academic language because their exposure to language outside of school does not include advanced words and phrases. The transition to "school talk" poses a particular challenge for English Learners (ELs) as they must simultaneously develop everyday language already familiar to their monolingual peers, along with academic language skills ( O'Brien and Leighton, 2015).

Without exposure to advanced English language skills at home, ELs face double the demands of language learning. Increasing numbers of EL students attending schools across the country have made it an educational imperative that instruction and assessment directly promote students' academic language proficiency.

What is academic language?

In the lexicon of English language verbiage, there are three tiers of words classified by frequency, complexity, and specificity. Academic language is made up of mainly Tier 3 words, due in large part to its sophistication and association with a specific domain.

According to William Saunders and Claude Goldenberg, "Academic language refers to the specialized vocabulary, grammar, discourse/textual, and functional skills associated with academic instruction and mastery of academic materials and tasks." (Saunders, Goldenberg, C. 2010) In other words, it is a combination of subject-specific terminology (think: photosynthesis, onomatopoeia) and formal language used in an academic or professional setting that is devoid of colloquialisms. Students have limited exposure to such words and, as a result, rarely use them in conversation. This is the main reason academic language is the hardest terminology and discourse for ELs to grasp, as well as the hardest to teach.

Experts suggest taking a four-pronged approach when teaching academic language to ELs by providing opportunities for these students to learn the terminology through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This is best practice with all students, but especially students who are not native English speakers.

Below are three strategies that take a four-pronged approach to teaching academic language. Each strategy provides good exposure to the words and opportunities that will help learners develop an understanding based on usage. Two of the strategies utilize visuals, and all three could be transformed into graphic organizers. These strategies are most effective if taught prior to readings that include vocabulary words.

Strategy 1: 7-Step Process

Step 1: Teacher says the word. Student repeats.

Step 2: Teacher states the word in context from the text.

The United States imposed an embargo on Cuba on October 19, 1960

Step 3: Teacher provides the dictionary definition(s).

noun. an official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.

Step 4: Teacher explains meaning with student-friendly definitions.

An embargo is when one country blocks goods from being sold to or purchased from another country in an effort to pressure that country politically.

Step 5: Teacher highlights features of the word: polysemous, cognate, tense, prefixes, etc.

"Em" is a prefix that means "in." Derived from the Spanish word "embargar," meaning to bar.

Step 6: Teacher engages students in activities to develop word/concept knowledge.

Example: Work with a partner and come up with a list of goods or services a country may impose an embargo on.

Step 7: Teacher assigns peer reading with oral and written summarization activities and explains how new words will be used

Strategy 2: Lexical Array

1. Preview word by identifying it, having students repeat it, and reading it in the context of the upcoming reading assignment.

Say, "The word we are going to preview is 'weep.' Please repeat the word." Read the passage: "Weeping is not the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it's over, you feel like you don't have any bones left to hold you up." -Twenty Boy Summer

2. Teacher provides three or four words similar to the target word and asks student groups to stretch them out according to least intense/charged to most intense/charged. Relationships tend to go: Weak ? Strong; Mild ? Intense; Slow ? Fast.

Example: Teacher provides sob, wail, and cry in addition to target word "weep." See below for example of a filled out graphic organizer.

3. Student groups will then be asked to explain the order of their words and why they made the decisions they made.

Example: "Sob indicates more emotion than cry, but weep is a more outward expression of that emotion. Wail is the most intense of the words because it suggests the person is inconsolable and cannot help but express his pain loudly."

1. Teacher states word and asks students to repeat it.

2. Teacher asks students to fill in the graphic organizer in small groups. In the boxes provided, students will answer: What is it?; What is it like?; What are some examples?

How do you address the academic language assessment and instructional needs of English Learners at your school? Connect with Lexia on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and let us know your thoughts and experiences on this topic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3 Strategies for Teaching English Learners Academic Language | Lexia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1/17/2017 A common misconception among teachers is that if a student can speak English fluently, he or she does not need extra accommodations in order to grasp the curriculum. In reality, many students struggle with academic language because their exposure to language outside of school does not include advanced words and phrases.

# data[].attributes.body
This website serves as a resource in all things that involve a Language Proficiency Assessment Committee. It includes resources for parents and teachers that involve the law behind it and the paperwork required or recommended.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Chapter 89 Crosswalk
The Commissioners Rules in Chapter 89 Subchapter BB became effective August 9, 2023. For a detailed review of the changes, review the Chapter 89 Crosswalk page.
8/29/23

Published - Statewide Home Language Survey
As part of the adopted revisions to Adopted Revisions to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 89, Subchapter BB effective August 9, 2023 includes a Statewide HLS Letter that will be given to all students across the state of Texas upon initial enrollment to Texas public schools. You can find the Home Language Survey under the LPAC forms tab.

8/11/23

Published - Summer School Guidance
As you begin planning for summer school, use the updated Summer School Guidance document.You can find this document under the Frequently Used Resources menu option.
3/1/23

Published - End of Year LPAC Checklist
Make sure to use the End-of-year LPAC Checklist.You can find this document under the Frequently Used Resources menu option.
1/12/23

LPAC Website Update
To meet the needs of LPAC members, the website will be updated with improved organization.
5/31/22

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Supporting Emergent Bilingual Students in Texas

# data[].attributes.headline
State Plan for Educating Emergent Bilingual Students

# data[].attributes.subject
State Plan for Educating Emergent Bilingual Students

# data[].attributes.body
This document communicates the requirement that schools have to provide ELLs an opportunity to be in either ESL or bilingual programs as well as the reasoning behind it. This can serve as a good reminder for me as a teacher in the future when needing clarification on what is required by law.