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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4.B
Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

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Rates reading fluency in the areas of pace, smoothness, phrasing, and expression and volume.

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Use the following rubric (1-4) to rate reader fluency in the areas of expression and volume, phrasing, smoothness, and pace. Expression and Volume

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This Assessment measures the quality of reading prosody (expression and phrasing), an area of fluency that is not typically evaluated, such as the WCPM Assessment.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/understanding-and-assessing-fluency

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Oral Reading Fluency Assessment and Progress Monitor

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Oral Reading Fluency Assessment and Progress Monitor

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Word Correct Per Minute (WCPM)

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This is an app for teachers to use when assessing tracking student fluency.

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Benchmark Assessor Live :: Read Naturally, Inc.

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This reading benchmark assessment evaluates students' reading proficiency by comparing student scores to national norms for oral reading fluency.

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Practicing reading fluency. Model fluent reading by reading in unison with students and teacher. Other activities that are similar to Choral reading are: Student-adult reading, tap-assisted reading, and partner reading.

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Video 36: Choral Reading (REL Southeast)

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This game is used for students to practice phrase reading.

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These are 1st grade fluency sentences. Students roll dice, pick a sentence, read it, and mark it off. This is a fun way for students to practice reading sentences fluently. Download the preview to see how to play and to try out a few free pages!

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An activity to help students become fluent readers. This activity can be practiced live or through a fun and exciting app called, Sock Puppets.

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Sock Puppets
by Smith Micro Software, Inc.
Sock Puppets provide each student with a stage to perform. Students can learn conversation skills and re-create stories they read. The Socks automatically animate to the voice of each student, making the app easy to use for several grades. This app is great for students to create performances on their own or to work together in pairs. When creating a puppet show, each student will choose their puppets, place, and props.

The Sock Puppet+ version includes all of the in-store purchases, which includes more puppets, backgrounds, and props. This version also includes the ability to save the final movie to your photo library. For this demonstration, we will be using the free version of Sock Puppets.

How It Works?
Sock puppet takes you step by step through setting up your scene and then recording your presentation.

Troubleshooting
Students can often forget to switch between each puppet when recording their show. This will leave the animation limited to just one puppet, and the movie will not make sense. You can avoid this by reviewing their show before they save it. Students can re-record their movie by hitting the record button.

When students begin recording, the classroom can become very noisy and louder students' voices will appear on other students' movies. Taking turns recording or spreading out over the class room will help to avoid this issue.

Cost and Platforms
Sock Puppets is a free application available on the Apple app store.
Sock Puppets+ is a $3.99 application available on the Apple app store.

Robert Heubach

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Sock Puppets by Smith Micro Software, Inc. Sock Puppets provide each student with a stage to perform. Students can learn conversation skills and re-create stories they read. The Socks automatically animate to the voice of each student, making the app easy to use for several grades.

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Reading fluency and phrasing activity.

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Does your reader sometimes sound like he's just saying a string of words? Is it sometimes choppy? This can happen to all kinds of young readers, especially struggling readers. Instead of focusing on reading fluency and phrasing, struggling readers are often just trying to make sure they can say all the words correctly.

Last week, The Measured Mom shared a simple tip for reading fluency from our Struggling Reader Series and today, I'm sharing a multi-sensory tip that has dramatically changed my son's reading fluency and phrasing.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Reading Fluency

Before I get to this awesome tip, I want to first share three quick thoughts about reading fluency.

1. Fluency gets better the more learners read the same text. Just like making music of out notes on a page, fluency takes practice. This is especially true for struggling readers.

2. Fluency will be a struggle if the text is too difficult. A huge part of fluency is being able to read the words automatically and accurately. If the words are too difficult, fluency will be compromised. If you want to really zero in on fluency, find a text that is almost too easy. This takes the brain off figuring out the words and on to fluency.

3. The ultimate goal of fluency is better comprehension. Incorrect phrasing and a slow rate of speed can impede comprehension, especially as texts get longer.

Scooping Phrases and Reading Fluency

Are you ready for something totally cool? Introducing scooping phrases! Instead of pointing to each word {which some older struggling reader still do}, readers are encouraged to "scoop" their finger under groups of words to form phrases within the sentence.

To use scooping phrases, pull out a sentence or two of text from your learner's reading {see images below}. You can also just make up your own sentence. The key is that (s)he knows how to say all the words so you can focus primarily on phrasing.
Your introduction might sound something like:
Sentences look like a string of words all put together. But really, sentences have groups of phrases that are said together to help us better make meaning of what we read. Let me show you how.

I'm going to read this sentence word by word. {Read in a choppy way.} That sounded a little like a robot, didn't it? Rather boring.

Now, I'm going to think about how I would say it if I were speaking the words instead of reading them. {Read with expression and phrasing. My sentence sounded more like: "The number of bees...in the wild...have been dropping...for a decade." I only put a very, slight pause in between the phrases.}

That was better, right? Were you able to tell what I did?

One thing I did differently was group the words into phrases. This is called phrasing. I'm going to draw scooping phrases to show how I grouped the words together to make it sound like I was talking instead of reading. Note: There's not always one correct way to scoop the phrases.

{I like to draw my scooping phrases in different colors, but you certainly don't have to.}

This time, I'm going to read the sentence again, and scoop my finger under each phrase as I read. Now, you try it.

Scooping phrases work so well for struggling readers because it's multi-sensory. Students are visually reading, orally speaking, and physically touching all at the same time!

Once your learner feels comfortable with the idea {my son's been doing it for months}, you can set him free to draw his own scooping lines as he practices reading fluency.

Want an EASY way to practice reading fluency with scooping phrases?

Then, you'll love my K-2 Fluency Cards!

My K-2 pack has 200+ fluency cards that get learners
1- saying the sentence,
2- scooping the phrases, and
3- reading the phrases with different emotions... all parts of learning to read with fluency! Cards WITH scooping phrases and cards WITHOUT scooping phrases are included.
Or get them at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!
You Might Also Like
Modeling and Teaching Fluent Reading Reading Fluency and Expression with Poetry Reading with Fluency: Struggling Readers
Find all the posts in this Struggling Reader Series:

~Becky

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Reading Fluency and Phrasing {Using Scooping Phrases} - This Reading Mama

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Does your reader sometimes sound like he's just saying a string of words? Is it sometimes choppy? This can happen to all kinds of young readers, especially struggling readers. Instead of focusing on reading fluency and phrasing, struggling readers are often just trying to make sure they can say all the words correctly.

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This activity focuses on punctuations and improves reading prosody.

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Reading with fluency is SO important for readers. Using poetry is the perfect avenue for reading with fluency and expression. Why poetry? It's typically short and sweet and if you pick just the right poem, you can find a plethora of punctuation!

*This post contains affiliate links.
**The free poem download link can be found at the END of this post.

Ideas for Reading with Fluency and Expression

Model reading a couple of pieces of poetry that have a lot of punctuation. Point out how you used the punctuation to make your voice sound a certain way or paused for a little drama. ( Invention & Boa Constrictor by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends have some great potential.)

She picks one of the poems you modeled and she reads it*, attempting to use the punctuation to affect her expression as well. Review her attempts (good and "bad") and if needed, read chorally a few of the phrases to make sure she understands.

* Remember that if you ask a child to read something, it needs to be on her level (there may be some words she doesn't know, but there shouldn't be a lot). This gets tricky when you've found the "perfect" text to use, but it's too hard (or even too easy). Here's how I get around this: I re-typed the text and change a few of the words so it's on the child's level. Think about using easier or harder synonyms. You don't have to be a poet to do this-I promise!!

3. Poetry with NO Punctuation.

Re-type a poem the child has never read before, making sure you leave out the punctuation. Let her look it over and ask if she notices anything peculiar about it. Have her read through it silently to get a feel for what the author is trying to say.

I've written a poem just for your readers! It has no punctuation, but plenty of places to add some. (It's roughly on an end of 1st grade reading level.) Grab it at the end of this post!

4. Re-read, adding some punctuation.

Now the child can re-read the poem aloud, adding her own punctuation where she deems it appropriate. Where would it make the most sense?

While there can be inappropriate places to put punctuation, do not ask the child to punctuate the poem exactly like the original text. Having "the" predetermined answer is counterproductive and does not allow her to be a critical and creative reader.
5. Read the "new" poem with expression.
Now, can she"sell" it to you...make you believe in her choices? Can she use the new punctuation to drive the meaning of the text? Does she need to change or add more punctuation to make it sound better? What and where?

read more poetry with lots of punctuation

find another poem to re-type on the child's independent level and assign it for homework or independent work

get two students to compare their punctuation after they've worked independently

give the child the original poem (with punctuation) after she's done her own work. The child can read each version {with fluency}, then tell which version she liked better, critiquing the author.

let students write their own poetry, making sure they include punctuation to get their meaning across to the reader

Punctuation Books You Don't Want to Miss!

Teaching about punctuation? Here are some books you want to have because you'll read them over and over!

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky

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Punctuation and Prose: Reading with Fluency and Expression

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Reading with fluency is SO important for readers. Using poetry is the perfect avenue for reading with fluency and expression. Why poetry? It's typically short and sweet and if you pick just the right poem, you can find a plethora of punctuation! *This post contains affiliate links.

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Reading Fluency and Comprehension Associated with ELL's

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Reading Fluency and Comprehension Associated with ELL's

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Strategies to help ELL's attain reading fluency.

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Reading is a process of getting meaning from print. Early reading includes the direct teaching of words and sounds. Children must be able to distinguish between different sounds of oral language for the purposes of achieving understanding. They also need basic knowledge about the written alphabet, sound-symbol relationships, and concepts of print because these are the basis for decoding, reading fluency and the development of comprehension skills students will need in order to learn content in the upper grades.

Fluency is the bridge between decoding and comprehension. Fluent readers decode words accurately and automatically, and they also have the capacity to make sense of the text through prosody. Prosody is the ability to use the appropriate volume, tone, emphasis, phrasing, and other elements of oral expression. Prosody is the evidence that the student is actively interpreting or constructing meaning from the passage.

How reading fluency and comprehension relate to ELLs

English language learners (ELLs) have great difficulty attaining fluency in reading without the proper instruction on the four dimensions of fluency:

accuracy in word decoding

quick and automatic recognition of words in connected text

expressive and meaningful interpretation of text

a holistic comprehension of what they just finished reading

For ELLs, success in reading in English at second and third grade reading levels depends on assessing the student in several areas:

basic decoding skills in English or in their primary language

word knowledge in English (vocabulary)

prosody (their intonation, pronunciation of words, stress, pitch, and smoothness)

basic comprehension skills (rereading, self-correction, thinking about meaning)

After proper assessment, a second or third grade teacher can begin by teaching/building on these skills.

Classroom strategies: Fluency

Word knowledge

Fluency problems for ELLs begin with limited word knowledge. Some ELLs appear to read with accuracy in decoding but have poor comprehension. They buzz through a passage and read the words, but pay little attention to sentence juncture or other punctuation. When asked what they read, they usually respond, "I don't know." These students have developed decoding skills but may not know the meaning of enough words in the sentence or passage to understand it. If your students don't know the meaning of at least 90 - 95 percent of the words they are reading, they may not comprehend the text.

Other ELLs read in a slow and labored word-by-word manner. Their reading rate may be around 50-60 words per minute. These students need help not only with word knowledge but also with decoding.

You can teach word knowledge either before reading (highlighting key words and their meanings) or during your teacher read alouds by using an English as a Second Language (ESL) strategy (described below) when a potentially unknown word is encountered. You can preview the text to be read by you or the students themselves and select five to six words that are likely to stifle comprehension for ELLs. You can quickly highlight Tier 1 words (everyday words that all English speakers know, but not ELLs) and Tier 2 words (grade-level words that all students need to know) through ESL strategies such as:

Role playing or pantomiming

Using gestures

Showing real objects

Pointing to pictures

Doing quick drawings on the board

Using the Spanish equivalent and then asking students to say the word in English

If words are more abstract and do not lend themselves to these strategies (Tier 2 and 3 words), you can follow these steps for each word:

Select the word from the text or conversation beforehand.

Explain meaning with student-friendly definitions.

Provide one or two examples of how it is used.

Ask students to repeat the word three times.

Engage students in activities to develop mastery by using the word in similar examples.

Have students say the word again.

Listening comprehension

Listening comprehension is when you read aloud to your students and they listen. As you read aloud, model reading fluency and enrich the ELLs' receptive and expressive vocabulary. You can also introduce comprehension skills such as rereading to clarify meaning, finding the main idea, and thinking about cause and effect. This is a great opportunity for ELLs to learn these skills because they are not having to do the arduous work of decoding, learning new words, and trying to comprehend the story while also attempting to think about the messages of the story - all at the same time. They can learn these skills through discussions with you or by listening to you thinking aloud.

Partner reading for fluency and comprehension

After you model reading fluency and reading strategies, students can take turns reading the same passages aloud in pairs. Each partner takes turn reading one sentence. Alternating sentences between partners helps them focus on what they are reading. Reading with their partner also creates a safety zone where ELLs can feel comfortable through the trials and errors of reading aloud. After they read a paragraph or two, they should stop and summarize together what they read.

Other ideas

After students finish their partner reading, you can use cooperative learning strategies such as "Numbered Heads Together":

Ask students to sit in teams of four and number off.

Pose a question and ask students to put their heads together to discuss the answer.

All four students must be prepared to give the answer because they don't know whose number you are going to call.

Randomly select a number and ask students with that number to stand and give the answer (be sure to have at least four questions on hand so that every student has an opportunity to answer).

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Reading is a process of getting meaning from print. Early reading includes the direct teaching of words and sounds. Children must be able to distinguish between different sounds of oral language for the purposes of achieving understanding.

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5 Decoding Strategies to Help with Reading Fluency 

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5 Decoding Strategies to Help with Reading Fluency 

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When little ones start learning to read, one of the important skills they'll need to develop is decoding. But what is decoding, and how do you teach it? Read on to learn all about decoding strategies and get lots of teaching activities.

What is decoding?

Put simply, decoding is the ability to sound out letters and understand the words they make up. A new reader needs to recognize each letter, determine the sound it makes, then put all those sounds together smoothly to say and recognize the word. The process goes slowly at first, but as kids build their skills, decoding becomes automatic, leading to reading fluency.

The theory of the science of reading puts it like this: Decoding (D) x Language Comprehension (LC) = Reading Comprehension (RC). When you learn about decoding, you'll hear some common phrases like phonics, phonemic awareness, phonemes, segmenting, and blending. You may also encounter concepts like symbol imagery and concept imagery, since connecting mental images with letters and words helps students retain information.

All of these skills work together to create confident readers, and kids can practice them using these decoding strategies and activities. ( Learn about finding good decodable texts for reading practice here.)

1. Have fun with phonics

Phonics is a key part of decoding, and there are so many fun activities kids can do to learn diagraphs, phonemes, and other letter sounds and blends.

Learn more: Fun Phonics Activities and Games for Early Readers at We Are Teachers

2. Hang a decoding poster

Our free printable poster has a variety of decoding strategies all in one place. Hang it in your classroom, or pass out copies to students to take home as reminders when they're reading with their families.

Get it: Decoding Strategies Poster at We Are Teachers

3. Hunt for letter sounds in decodable books

Have students hunt for words with target letter sounds (e.g., short I) in a decodable book. Then have them share the words they find with a partner. Tip: For more ideas, check out the built-in review and family engagement ideas at the end of the decodable book linked below.

Try it: Tim by Dona Herweck Rice, a free decodable book from Focused Phonics by Teacher Created Materials

4. Play hide-and-seek with words

For younger kids, place a letter manipulative into a covered box, and ask them to reach in and feel the letter. Based on what they feel, what letter do they think it is? For older kids, lay out an entire word in the box, and see if students can reach in and "feel" out the word.

5. Draw your words

People remember pictures. When you're introducing new words to students, ask them to draw an image that has meaning to them that goes with the word they're learning. Even creating an image in their head has benefit, but asking them to draw an image around a word on paper can be more fun-and more valuable.

6. Twist pool noodle letters

These pool noodle letter beads are so much fun, and they're so easy to make! Slide them onto a tube of construction paper, then twist and turn them to form new words. Have students name each letter and sound it out with the beads spaced apart, then push them together and say the entire word.

Learn more: Use Pool Noodles To Teach Phonics at We Are Teachers

7. Build words with letter tiles

First give students a worksheet with pictures of short I words. Say the names of the pictures using the onsets and rhymes (e.g., Say, "/h/ /ip/" for "hip") and have students point to the pictures that match the words as you say them. Then have students identify the sound that is the same in each word (e.g., /i/). Finally, have students build these words on sound boxes using letter tiles.

Try it: Free Printable Concept Card and Letter Tiles from Focused Phonicsby Teacher Created Materials

8. Slide beads to practice segmenting

Bead slides are popular decoding strategies because they're easy to make and simple to use. As a student says a word out loud, they slide a bead along for each syllable. This helps them segment words, breaking them down into more manageable parts.

Learn more: Bead Slides at Marvelous Multiagers

9. Write in shaving cream

Here's another classic decoding activity: shaving cream writing! Spread the shaving cream on desks (they'll be squeaky clean afterward!), trays, or even windows. Then have kids write letters and words, sounding them out as they go.

Learn more: Write in Shaving Cream at Gift of Curiosity

10. Take a mind picture

Show students a letter card and have them say it out loud, along with the sound it makes. Then, have them trace the letter with their finger. Finally, ask them to "take a picture of it" in their minds, and take the card away. Now ask them to write the letter themselves, either on paper or in the air (see below).

Get it: Printable Alphabet Cards at Prekinders

11. Write in the air

Writing letters in the air helps kids learn to "image," or see, the letter in their heads. The experts at Lindamood-Bell recommend doing air-writing in lowercase letters, since that's what we see most often when we read. Their research indicates that developing symbol imagery by writing in the air is more productive than writing on a piece of paper.

Learn more: Write in the Air at First Grade Smiles

12. Blend with musical plates

Write word endings on paper plates and lay them out in a circle. Then, give each kid a card with a word-starting blend written on it. Start up the music, and let kids dance around the circle until it stops. When it does, they match up their card with the plate in front of them, and sound it out to see if they've made a real word. If not, they're out, and the game continues until you have one winner. (Unlike musical chairs, don't remove plates after each round.)

Learn more: Musical Plates at Just Cara Carroll

13. Read left to right

Use classic stoplight colors to help students remember to read letters from left to right. It seems like a simple concept to experienced readers, but it's harder for some students to master than others.

Learn more: The Literacy Nest

14. Flip the vowels

One of the trickier parts of decoding is understanding that vowels can make different sounds, depending on the word. Practice the concept by "flipping" the vowel sounds from long to short and then seeing how the word changes. Then when kids are reading new words, they can try both vowel sounds and see which makes more sense.

Learn more: Finally in First

15. Meet the Chunky Monkey

"Chunking" words breaks them into parts kids already know or find easier to sound out. This cute song to the tune of Yankee Doodle can remind students of this strategy.

Learn more: Tejada's Tots

16. Put together word puzzles

Breaking words into smaller chunks is the first step. After that, kids have to be able to put them back together to form the whole word. Simple puzzles like these help them visualize both parts of the process.

Learn more: I Heart Teaching Elementary

17. Make word-building folders

This clever little kit means kids can practice their decoding strategies just about anywhere. They build words using letters and blends, then write them out. Finally, they draw an illustration of the word, helping them use imagery to remember.

Learn more: Lucky Little Learners

What are your favorite decoding strategies to use with emerging readers? Come share your ideas and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

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17 Effective Decoding Strategies and Activities for Emerging Readers

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Decoding is one of the key parts of the science of reading. Learn more and get effective decoding strategies to use with emerging readers.

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Guided Reading: Steps to Becoming a Fluent Reader

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Guided Reading: Steps to Becoming a Fluent Reader

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These steps begin with phonemic awareness, followed by phonics instruction using word work, and ending with guided reading.

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Guided Reading with ESL Elementary Students

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Strategies to Support ELL's in the Mainstream Classroom

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Strategies to Support ELL's in the Mainstream Classroom

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If you are a mainstream teaching trying to figure out how to offer language support to ELLs, you are not alone! Many teachers around the country are working with ELLs for the first time, and they have a lot of questions.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to support ELLs' language acquisition by adapting strategies already in use. These small things may make a big difference to ELLs. Here are some ideas to get you started. Don't miss the recommended links at the end of the article.

Create a language-rich environment.

English language learners will benefit from increased exposure to print and language. A print-rich environment will include access to books and reference materials, labels and posters, and student work on bulletin boards. Word walls are also a great support for ELLs, and may be organized around a number of concepts, including the alphabet and phonetic sounds, new vocabulary words, sight words, grammar rules, conversational phrases, and writing structures.

Related Resources

For more great ideas, see the following topics:

Be aware of the relationship between a student's native language and English.

A student's native language will most likely have a strong influence on the way that student learns English. Understanding how this language is similar to or different from English will help you focus on troublesome areas. This influence can provide extra support, such as the case of English and Spanish cognates (education and educación). The influence also may lead to some ongoing errors in English, which will become evident with time and repeated use by students who have the same native language.

Languages may differ in a number of aspects, such as phonetic sounds, pronunciation, grammar, word order, or sentence structure. For example, in Spanish, the adjective often follows the noun, so a student may write, "We are a family happy." In Somali, there is one sound for b and p - it is mixed. Somali students need to be taught this sound explicitly as two distinct sounds. Otherwise, they may ask for a can of pop and it sounds like "bob."

Native language may also influence students' vocabulary as they translate words or phrases from one language to another. Perhaps a vocabulary word has multiple meanings, a different meaning in each language, or the concept doesn't exist in one of the languages.

Even if you don't know a student's native language, being aware of native language influence will allow you to target your instruction. Help students by providing a model of how to use sounds, structures, and vocabulary correctly in English. In the case of a pronunciation difficulty such as the Somali example above, teachers can demonstrate how the mouth forms the sounds. Have students put their hand in front of their mouths to feel the air in "p" and their hands on their neck to feel the vibration of "b." This is also important as students work to sound out words while writing.

Simplify your language without "dumbing it down."

It may seem difficult to balance this at first, but here are some tips for communicating effectively with your students:

Avoid slang and idiomatic expressions.

Speak clearly and naturally, without going too quickly or slowly.

Encourage students to raise their hand if they don't understand a word.

Remember that ELLs may not understand instructions and key vocabulary words, and that reading something aloud doesn't always help comprehension. You can aid student comprehension by scaffolding language (providing extra supports such as realia, graphic organizers, visuals, etc.).

ELLs may not have the same background knowledge as their English-speaking peers, especially when it comes to references to American culture and geography, such as the Grand Canyon or Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Identify key concepts, vocabulary words, and references before the lesson, and give students as much time and practice with the new material as possible before starting the lesson.

If students are having trouble with an activity, try to identify whether a new concept, set of directions, vocabulary word, or other element is causing the difficulty. Identify some different ways that you can help students move beyond those obstacles. These might include providing a book about the topic in the student's native language or reviewing new vocabulary words together.

Support academic language development.

Academic language is the language that students need to succeed in school. It is different than social language, which many students acquire first. Often students are available to communicate effectively with teachers or peers in social settings, but struggle when it comes to textbooks, tests, assignments, or class presentations. There are a number of ways to support academic language development, such as previewing the text, teaching grammatical structures relevant to a particular content area ("greater than" and "less than" in math class), and showing how the targeted academic language is used in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Learn more in the following resources from Colorín Colorado:

Discuss word families and how different forms of words are used.

ELLs may have a difficult time knowing which form of a word to use. Help students look for spelling and usage patterns, such as past tense verbs ending in "-ed." Since English has so many exceptions, this isn't always a foolproof strategy, but a basic knowledge of these patterns, rules, and spellings will help. Cognates can also help Spanish-speakers learn English and derive meaning from content. Teachers can explicitly point out cognates for Spanish-speaking students so they begin to realize that this is a useful way for them to increase their English vocabulary.

Help students understand when to use different kinds of language.

ELLs may speak different dialects or use "Spanglish," a combination of English and Spanish, in their classroom and with their friends and family. It's important to respect the language students use and realize that it is effective for them in certain settings. Rather than looking at certain dialects or slang as "good" or "bad," help students understand when different kinds of language are appropriate - and what the benefits of learning Standard Academic English will be for them in the long run.

Discuss the uses of Standard Academic English in college and career settings, as well as the importance of effective communication on applications and in interviews. One teacher I know calls this English the "green language" because it represents money the students can earn in the future with good English communication skills. Make it clear what kind of language you expect students to use in the classroom, and provide language models or structures when students have difficulty expressing themselves appropriately.

Provide students with frequent opportunities to work together, both in pairs and in small groups.

Cooperative learning activities promote peer interaction, which helps the development of language and the learning of concepts and content. Effective activities may include working on a worksheet together as problem-solver and coach (then switching roles), think-pair-share, and book groups. It is important to assign ELLs to different groups so that they can benefit from English language role models. ELLs learn to express themselves with greater confidence when working in small teams.

In addition to 'picking up' vocabulary, ELLs benefit from observing how their peers learn and solve problems. If you decide to assign each student in a team a role (such as reporter, recorder, time keeper, and materials manager), you might want to rotate roles each week or by activity. This prevents what typically happens if students select their own roles - the same students wind up performing the same tasks. By rotating, students develop the skills they most need to practice.

Implement an effective correction/feedback policy.

While it is difficult to know when to correct students, constructive and effective feedback is essential to student progress. It is possible for incorrect language production to become "fossilized" so that students continue to use the same incorrect structures into adulthood. This reduces their chances of being a clear communicator and ultimately limits them in professional settings. Nevertheless, it is important to balance between encouragement and error correction. One way to do this is to focus on one or two concepts at a time when listening to or reading student work. Let students know what you will be focusing on so that they in turn can focus on those particular concepts in the assignment.

Another strategy is to circle errors in writing assignments, and have students try to figure out what the mistakes were. As I always tell my students, "If I correct your English, I improve my English. If you correct your English, you improve yours." Most of the time students are able to correct their own writing errors once they focus on the circled area. If they are still stuck, I give them the answer and ask them to explain why it is correct. If they don't know the answer, I ask them to consult with a classmate. If no one else knows the answer, we review the structure as a group.

Reach out to your ELL/bilingual colleagues, reading specialists, special education teachers, and parents.

Educators and staff who work regularly with ELLs, as well as bilingual parents, may be a valuable source of information about language patterns or difficulties. While it may be difficult to find time to meet on a regular basis, increased collaboration among language teachers, content teachers, mainstream teachers, and support staff will most likely improve student support.

While teaching ELLs may be daunting, there are a number of ways you can support their language acquisition - and in the process get them on the road to academic success!

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Supporting ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: Language Tips

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If you are a mainstream teaching trying to figure out how to offer language support to ELLs, you are not alone! Many teachers around the country are working with ELLs for the first time, and they have a lot of questions. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to support ELLs' language acquisition by adapting strategies already in use.

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The Best Approach to Teach Children with Learning Disabilities 

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The Best Approach to Teach Children with Learning Disabilities 

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This research based website provides activities and techniques in to increase word recognition skills and improve reading comprehension with children who have LD.

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Effective Reading Interventions for Kids with Learning Disabilities

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Research-based information and advice for sizing up reading programs and finding the right one for your child with a learning disability.

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Techniques Used to Modify Instruction to Accommodate Special Needs Students 

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Techniques Used to Modify Instruction to Accommodate Special Needs Students 

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This website provides information to teachers and adults on how to most effectively teach students with special needs.

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How to Adapt Your Teaching Strategies to Student Needs

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Teachers are often asked to modify instruction to accommodate special needs students. In fact, all students will benefit from the following good teaching practices. The following article takes the mystery out of adapting materials and strategies for curriculum areas.

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Reteaching Activities 1. Modeling 2. Student Self Assessment 3. Graphic Organizers 4. Picture Associations 5. Games 6. Peer Tutoring

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BIG Phonics Activity Centers BundleThis is a big bundle of some Hands-On Learning's phonics activity centers. Students can prepare for early reading with these fun activities. Teachers will love the practical application!How can you use these activities?Skill ReviewLiteracy CirclesInstructional ApplicationAssessmentSmall GroupsActivity CentersPhonics InstructionEarly FinishersJust For...