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Somali (Af-Maxaad Tiri, Af Soomaali, الصوماليه) belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its is closest relative is Oromo.

Somali is spoken by 6.5 million people in Somalia where it has been the national language since 1972. It is also spoken in Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya. The total number of Somali speakers worldwide is estimated at close to 15 million ( Ethnologue). The figure actually may be somewhat higher. It is difficult to collect reliable dataabout the numerous expatriate Somali communities around the world.

In Somalia, Somali is spoken by most of the people in the country. It is used in education, administration and the media. It is taught as a subject and used as a medium of instruction in the primary schools and as a subject in secondary schools. There are many radio and TV stations around the world that broadcast some of their programs in Somali.

Dialects

Somali is usually divided into three main dialect groups (Ethnologue):

Northern Somali, also known as Common or Standard Somali, is the most widely used dialect that serves as a basis for Standard Somali

Benaadir (coastal Somali) is spoken on the Benadir coast and also in the capital of Mogadishu. Speakers of Benaadir readily understand Standard Somali.

Af-Ashraaf is a distinct variety which has limited intelligibility to speakers of Standard Somali.

Structure

Somali shares many features with other Cushitic languages. For instance, Somali syllables typically end in a vowel or a single consonant, consonant clusters do not occur in the beginning or at the end of words, and roots usually consist of one or two syllables.

Vowels
Somali has five vowel phonemes, i.e., sounds that differentiate word meaning. The number of vowel phonemes can differ somewhat from dialect to dialect. The vowels can be short or long. Vowel length makes a difference in word meaning. In the table below, long vowels are marked by a macron over the vowel. In the orthography, long vowels are represented by a double vowel, e.g., Soomaali. In addition to short and long vowels, Somali has numerous diphthongs.

Consonants
Somali has 24 consonants. Like its close relative, Oromo, native Somali words do not have the consonants /p/, /v/, and /z/. These sounds occur only in borrowed words. The language is rich in velar, uvular, pharyngeal, and glottal consonants, sounds that are produced at the back of the oral cavity.

/?/ = sound between vowels in uh-uh

/b/, /d/, /ɗ/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, and /r/ can be single or doubled (geminated). In writing, geminated consonants are represented by a double consonant letter.

The retroflex stop /ɗ/ is pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled so that its underside comes in contact with the roof of the mouth. In some dialects of Somali it may have an implosive quality.

/G, X, ħ/ have no equivalents in English.

Tones and stress
The tonal system of Somali is similar to that of Oromo. There are three basic tones: high (marked by an acute accent), low (marked by a grave accent), and falling (marked by a circumflex accent). Somali tone operates at the grammatical, rather than at the lexical level, as it does in languages such as Chinese. For instance, the masculine-feminine distinction is represented by tone in words such as ínan 'boy' and inán 'girl.' Tone is closely associated with stress: high tone has strong stress, falling tone has weaker stress, and low tone has no stress. Stress typically falls on the final or on the penultimate vowel of a word.

Somali is an agglutinative language that uses suffixes attached to roots for representing grammatical information.

Nouns
Somali nouns are marked for the following categories:

Definiteness is marked with the suffix -ki or -ka for masculine nouns and -ti or -ta for feminine nouns. Indefiniteness is not marked, e.g., nin '(a) man,' and nin-ka 'the man.'

There are two genders: masculine and feminine. Gender is not generally predictable. It can be marked by a difference in tone, e.g., ínan 'boy' and inán 'girl.' It can also be marked by the definite article, e.g., buug-ga 'the book' (masculine) and hacan-ta 'the hand' (feminine)'.

Number: singular and plural. Number can be marked by a suffix, e.g, buug-ga 'the book' and buug-ga-ta 'the books.' Plurality can also be marked by a change in tone, e.g.,díbi 'ox' and dibí 'oxen,' as well as by reduplication.

There are four cases: absolutive, nominative, genitive, and vocative. Cases are marked in different ways. The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence. It is marked with a vowel change in the definite article, e.g., nin-ku 'The man + verb.' In the absence of a definite article, the nominative case is marked by a change in tone. The genitive and vocative cases are marked either by a change in tone or by a suffix.

Pronouns
Pronouns have the following features:

There are three persons: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

Third person singular pronouns are marked for gender, eg., isagu 'he' and iyadu 'she.'

Each pronoun has an emphatic and a short form, e.g., adigu 'you' (emphatic) and aad 'you' (short).

Each pronoun has a subject and an object form, e.g., anigu 'I' and aniga 'me.'

There is an inclusive and an exclusive first person plural, e.g., innagu 'we' (including the listener) and annagu 'we' (excluding the listener).

Verbs
Somali verbs consist of a stem to which suffixes are added. Verbs in indicative mood exist in four tenses, present, present continuous, past and past continuous, in addition to a subjunctive mood form for present and future tense. Verbs in Somali conjugate mainly through the addition of suffixes, although a very small number of common verbs maintain an archaic conjugation using prefixes.Verbs are marked for the following categories:

person: 1st, 2nd, 3rd

number: singular, plural

gender: masculine, feminine

mood: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, conditional

tense: present, present continuous, past and past continuous

polarity: affirmative, negative

Word order
Word order in Somali sentences is typically Subject-Object-Verb. In general, Somali has a topic-focus grammatical category that marks the information structure of sentences, i.e. those elements that indicate where the focus is located in the sentence.

The markers baa, ayaa, and waxaa places the focus on nouns and noun phrases, e.g., in the example below, the focus is on Who went out?

The marker waa places the focus on verbs and verb phrases, e.g., in the example below the focus is on What did John do?

Somali vocabulary is Cushitic in origin. The most productive ways of word derivation are reduplication and compounding. Somali has been heavily influenced by Arabic mainly through the medium of Islam. It has also borrowed words from the languages of its former colonizers, such as Italian, English, and French.

Below are a few basic words and phrases in Somali.

Below are Somali numbers 1-10.

Writing

Somali was not written until the Osmanya alphabet was developed in 1920. Osmanya is written from left to right in horizontal rows. The names of the letters were taken from Arabic.

The Latin alphabet was adopted in 1972. Below is the current Somali Latin-based alphabet with the letters listed in the traditional Arabic order. There is no standardized orthography so variations occur.

Take a look at Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Latin-based Somali alphabet.

Qod I
Aadanaha dhammaantiis wuxuu dhashaa isagoo xor ah kana siman xagga sharafta iyo xuquuqada Waxaa Alle (Ilaah) siiyay aqoon iyo wacyi, waana in qof la arkaa qofka kale ula dhaqmaa si walaaltinimo ah.

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Difficulty

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Somali Soo dhawoow - Welcome Somali (Af-Maxaad Tiri, Af Soomaali, الصوماليه) belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its is closest relative is Oromo. Status Somali is spoken by 6.5 million people in Somalia where it has been the national language since 1972.

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Arabic Vowels - Ultimate Arabic Pronunciation Guide

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Arabic linguistics

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The Sound System and Pronunciation

Somali uses all but three letters (p, v, and z) of the English alphabet. Of the thirty-three sounds, fifteen (b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, s, sh, t, w, and y) are very much like their English counterparts.

Somali has seven consonants (c, dh, kh, q, r, x and ' [glottal stop]) that do not match anything in English. The English sounds most likely to present difficulties for Somalis are those represented by the letters c, q, r, and x, since these letters are pronounced quite differently in Somali. For pronunciation of Somali letters.

In Somali, the consonants b, d, dh, g, l, m, n, and r can be doubled to indicate a sound which is pronounced with much more force than its single counterpart. Thus, Somalis often pronounce the doubled consonants in English words such as "bigger," "middle," "merry," "simmer," and "nibble" with more strength than they would be pronounced by a native speaker of English.

Vowels always have fixed value in Somali; each letter has one sound and each sound has one lette

ay
high
ey
say

u
coo
uu

noon

Long vowels (aa, ee, ii, oo, uu) are used in Somali and pronounced about twice as long as a single counterpart

English vowels will present some difficulty to Somalis, since English lacks Somali's one-to-one correspondence between vowel letters and sounds; in English, each letter has more than one sound, and each sound has more than one spelling. Typically, Somalis will pronounce English words the way they would pronounce them in Somali. Thus, boat might be pronounced "bow-at" with two syllables, and the word may might be pronounced "my."

Somalis may draw out English double vowels, as in noon or been, giving them the long sound that doubled vowel letters represent in Somali.

Tone occurs in Somali, but it is not as complex as in Chinese, in which every word has a special tone pattern. In Somali, tone rarely marks a difference in word meaning. This aspect of Somali is not likely to create a problem for Somalis learning English.

Articles

Somali and English are quite different when it comes to the and a. The definite article in Somali has gender suffixes; like French, the Somali definite article has a masculine and feminine form.

Somalis can have difficulty mastering the English indefinite article (a/an) because their own language has no equivalent. In Somali, the concept of indefiniteness is expressed by the noun alone.

In Somali, differences in gender, number, or case are marked by grammatical tone:

' inn 'girl' [gender] dbi 'ox' dib 'oxen' [number] Muse 'Moses' Mu'use 'Hey, Moses' [vocative case]

nan

'boy

inán

girl

gender

díbi

ox

dibí

oxen

number

Múuse

Moses

Mu´use

'hey,Moses'

Vocative case

The system of case marking is so different between the two languages that mistakes are unavoidable. Typically, a Somali will drop the apostrophe-s possessive in favor of a tone change, e.g., "Mary book", with a rising intonation on the first syllable of "Mary".

In Somali, most adjectives are formed by adding -an or -san to a verb or noun. Thus, gaab 'shortness' becomes gaaban 'short', and qurux 'beauty' becomes quruxsan 'beautiful'. Somalis may coin some interesting English adjectives by a similar process.

Somali adjectives often occur with a short form of the verb to be suffixed to them. For example, yar 'small' becomes yaraa 'he was small'. As a result, Somali speakers of English tend to add aa to adjectives. Thus, instead of saying "small", they might say something that sounds like "small-ah". This may cause confusion, particularly among British speakers of English, who may think the speaker is saying "smaller".

Prepositions English prepositions can cause great difficulty for Somalis. Whereas English has a great variety of prepositions, Somali has only four, and they come before the verb rather than before the noun. Because they are so few, Somali prepositions have a wide range of meanings:

Verbs usually come last in Somali sentences. As a result, Somali speakers of English may tend to put the verb at the end of a sentence. Somali lacks a passive voice. Instead of the passive, Somali uses the indefinite pronoun la 'someone', as in Goormaa la dhisey? "When was it built?" (literally, "When someone built?"). Using English passives correctly can be a major challenge for Somali students of English.

Somali has a present habitual and a present progressive tense, but they are not used in the same contexts in which these tenses are used in English. Somali uses the present progressive tense where the simple present tense would be used in English, and this feature of Somali may carry over into the English speech of Somalis. Somali speakers of English often make use of the present progressive tense ("I am going to work every day") where English speakers would use the simple present ("I go to work every day").

Somali has a rich tradition of proverbs, passed on from previous generations and embellished by individual speakers. Proverbs play a very important role in everyday speech.

Aqoon la'aani waa iftiin la'aan. Being without knowledge is to be without light.
Ilko wada jir bey wax ku gooyaan. Unity is power. (literally, "Together the teeth can cut.")
Intaadan falin ka fiirso. Look before you leap . (literally, "Think before you do.")
Nabar doogi ma haro. An old wound will not go away.

This is one area where Somalis find English impoverished. Some will go to great effort to learn English sayings and use them far too frequently; others may translate literally from the Somali and hope for the best.

Somali has had a written form only since 1972. Because only a small segment of Somali society young adults who studied Somali spelling in schoo lhas throughly mastered Somali orthography, spelling mistakes are frequent. Spelling errors occur frequently in the Somali press and in government reports. Most errors involve using single, rather than doubled, vowels or consonants.

Ma nabad baa?
Hello. [literally, "Is it peace?" standard greeting]

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Somali uses all but three letters (p, v, and z) of the English alphabet. Of the thirty-three sounds, fifteen (b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, s, sh, t, w, and y) are very much like their English counterparts.

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Does not include diphthongs

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International Phonetic Alphabet Reference Chart

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International Phonetic Alphabet Reference Chart

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only includes sounds that appear in English language

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All Spellings

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What Somali is Harder Than Your Language

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What Somali is Harder Than Your Language

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Somali is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. It is spoken mainly in Somalia, and also in Djibouti and Ethiopia. In Somali it is an offical language, in Djibouti it is a national language, and it is a working language in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. In 2015 there were about 15 million Somali speakers.

Somali has been written with a number of different scripts, including an Arabic-based abjad known as Wadaad's writing, a Latin-based alphabet and the Borama, Osmanya and Kaddare alphabets. The current official script for Somali is the Latin alphabet.

Wadaad's writing (وَداد)

The Arabic script was first introduced in the 13th century by Sheikh Yusuf al-Kowneyn to aid Koranic teaching. In the 19th century Sheikh Uways al-Barawi improved the writing of Somali with the Arabic script and based it on the Maay dialect of Southern Somalia. A Somali linguists, Muuse Xaaji Ismaaciil Galaal, radically altered the spelling conventions for Somali written with the Arabic script and introduced a set of new symbols for the vowels in the 1950s.

Source: http://www.afrikanistik-online.de/archiv/2010/2723

Sample text

Source: https://www.somalinet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=378236

Borama/Gadabuursi alphabet

In 1933 Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur invented another script for Somali known as Borama or Gadabuursi which was only used by the Sheikh's small circle of associates in Borama.

Sample text

Translation

My beloved brother Huseen, Peace.
I am well, the reer is at Đoobo.
The big burden camel has been eaten by a lion. 'Ali has come.
The goods have been received by us. Send us (some) ghee.
Out mother has come. Your brother Guuleed has gone to Hargeisa.

Nuur Bile,
Borama.

Somali/Osmanya alphabet (𐒋𐒘𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒒𐒕𐒀)

The Osmanya alphabet was created in between 1920 and 1922 by Osman Yusuf Kenadid (Cusmaan Yuusuf Keenadiid / عثمان يوسف), brother of the Sultan of Obbia. In Somali it is known as Farta Cismaanya / 𐒋𐒘𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒒𐒕𐒀 (Somali writing) or Far Soomaali (Somali writing). It replaced an attempt by Sheikh Uweys to devise an Arabic-based alphabet for Somali, and has in turn been replaced by the Latin orthography devised by Shire Jama Ahmed, a Somali linguist, in 1972.

The Osmanya alphabet is not used much these days, though during the 1970s quite a number of people used it for personal correspondence and bookkeeping. A few books and magazines have also been published in the alphabet.

Notable features

Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal rows.

The names of the letters are based on Arabic letter names.

The letters waw and ya are used to write the long vowels uu and ii respectively.

Somali is a tonal language with three tones, which are not usually marked in the Osmanya alphabet. The tones have grammatical uses: they indicate number, gender and case.

Numerals

Sample text

Kaddare alphabet

The Kaddare alphabet was invented by Sheikh Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare of the Abgaal Hawiye clan in 1952. The letters have upper forms, which are shown on the first row of the chart below, and lower case forms, which are shown on the second row.

Sample text

Source: http://www.skyknowledge.com/kaddare.htm - alphabet information based on research by Ian James, who is uncertain about the use of this alphabet.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Latin alphabet for Somali

In 1961 both the Latin and Osmanya scripts were adopted for use in Somalia, but in 1969 there was a coup, with one of its stated aims the resolution of the debate over the country's writing system. The Latin alphabet was finally adopted in 1972 and at the same time Somali was made the sole official language of Somalia. Shire Jama Ahmed (Shire Jaamac Axmed / شيري جامع أحمد‎) is credited with the invention of this spelling system, and his system was chosen from among eighteen competing new orthographies.

Notes

Tones are marked as follows: the high tone with an acute accent (á), the low tone with a grave accent (à) and the falling tone with a circumflex (â).

Vowels can contrast breathy voice and harsh voice, and vowel length

Sample text

Aadanaha dhammaantiis wuxuu dhashaa isagoo xor ah kana siman xagga sharafta iyo xuquuqada Waxaa Alle (Ilaah) siiyay aqoon iyo wacyi, waana in qof la arkaa qofka kale ula dhaqmaa si walaaltinimo ah.

Hear recording of this text by Abdisalam Farah

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Sample video in Somali

Information about Somali | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel | Learning materials

Links

Information about the Somali language and alphabets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_phonology
http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=202&menu=004
http://www.ethnologue.com/language/som
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaddare_alphabet
http://www.skyknowledge.com/kaddare.htm
http://www.dm.unipi.it/~jama/alif/qaamuus/gogoldhig.html

Somali lessons
http://www.digitaldialects.com/Somali.htm
http://learn101.org/somali.php
http://mylanguages.org/somali_audio.php
http://www.linguistics.universityofqaran.com/gpage2.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/AfSomali/videos
http://polymath.org/somali.php

Somali phrases

Online Somali dictionaries
http://www.afmaal.com/dictionary/
http://www.freelang.net/online/somali.php

Online Somali radio and news
http://somaliradio.net
http://radiomuqdisho.net/
http://www.radiofreesomalia.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/somali
http://www.voasomali.com

Free Osmanya fonts
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Osmanya.html

Somalinet - a Somali portal (in Somali & English)
http://www.somalinet.com

Cushitic languages

Other writing systems

If you need to type in many different languages, the Q International Keyboard can help. It enables you to type almost any language that uses the Latin, Cyrillic or Greek alphabets, and is free.

If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.

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Somali alphabets, pronunciation and language

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Somali is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. It is spoken mainly in Somalia, and also in Djibouti and Ethiopia. In Somali it is an offical language, in Djibouti it is a national language, and it is a working language in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.

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Chapter 1 - Somali Spelling and Pronunciation

The Somali phoneme inventory consists of between 7 to 10 vowels and 22 to 31 consonants, depending on the analysis. Numerous diphthongs are attested, vowel harmony is widespread, and vowel length is contrastive.

The syllable structure of the language is (C)V(C)(C) [items in parentheses are optional] and most words have a di- or trisyllabic structure (root morphemes and affixes are usually mono- or disyllabic).

Somali is a tone language with some properties of a stress system. Tone is both lexical (serving to distinguish the meanings of different words) and morphological (serving to distinguish different inflectional forms of the same word). The latter (inflectional) function of tone is the more prominent of the two roles. This is notably atypical of most African tone languages. The Somali tonal system consists of an inventory of three basic tones : high, low, and falling. At most one high tone may surface within a word.

Concerning stress, vowels rather than syllables are assigned stress. Stress is usually placed on the final or penultimate vowel of a word. Nonetheless, stress is often associated with tone. High tones receive strong stress ("accent"), falling tones bear weak stress, and low tones often have no stress.

B - THE SOMALI ALPHABET :

Somali is a language close to Arabic through its pronunciation.

Its official spelling dates from 1972. It is written in Latin letters.

The Somali alphabet has 26 letters, of which 21 are consonants and the remaining five are vowels, which can be long or short.

Somali Consonants follow the same order and have the same value as the equivalent letters of the Arabic alphabet, except G. They are preceded by ' (= alif) and followed by the vowels.
', B, T, J, X, KH, D, R, S, SH, DH, C, G, F, Q, K, L, M, N, W, H, Y, A, E, I, O, U.
These letters are spelt as follows :
alef, ba, ta, ja, xa, kha, deel, ra, sa, shiin, dha, cayn, ga, fa, qaaf, kaaf, laan, miin, nun, waw, ha, ya, a, e, i, o, u

Consonants

Table of Somali consonants

Spelling

Arabic letter

Phoneme

Example

English equivalent

For an English person, the letters Kh, C and X are difficult to distinguish from one another and to pronounce.

the letter "Kh" is pronounced like the Arabic letter " kha " (unvoiced fricative velar), or as the Spanish "jota".

the letter "C" is pronounced like the Arabic letter " Ain " (voiced fricative pharyngeal sound).

the letter " X" is pronounced like the Arabic letter " Hhaa " (unvoiced fricative pharyngeal sound).

We must also differentiate the letters Q and K :

the letter " K" is pronounced as in the word "kiwi".

the letter " Q" is pronounced like the Arabic letter Qaf, the occlusion is located deeper into the palate, towards the throat.

Other letters :

the letter " Dh" is pronounced as "d" in turning the tongue against the palate (retroflex).

the letter " G" is pronounced as in the word "go".

the letter " J" is pronounced as in the word "jam".

the letter " Y" is pronounced as in the word "yes".

The Somalian alif :

The ' or Somalian "alif" is a glotal stop that shortens a vowel. Thus the "o" of go' (= bed sheet) should be pronounced as in "dog" not as in "door". We also use it to separate 2 distinct vowels : go'aan (= decision). It is never used at the initial of a word.

Vowels

A-a

E-e

I-i

O-o

U-u

AA-aa

EE-ee

II-ii

OO-oo

UU-uu

No problem : the vowels have the same value as in Spanish or Italian.

Reduplicated vowels are long vowels.

Knowing all this, you can practice those particular letters within the following words :

" C" with long vowels: 1) caano = milk ; 2) caato = thin ; 3) cayaar = game.

" C" with short vowels: 1) calan = flag ; 2) cambe = mango ; 3) cusbo = salt.

And finally : good morning = subax-wanaagsan (= "subah-uanagsan") ; Good night = habeen wanaagsan.

Diphtongues

Diphtongues start on a vowel sound to finish on another vowel sound. There are five diphtongues in standard Somali.

Diphtongue

Example

ay
kayn = bush

aw
awr = camel

ey
weyn = big

oy
qoys = family

ow
cadow = ennemy

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Chapter 01 - Somali Spelling and Pronunciation

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Chapter 1 - Somali Spelling and Pronunciation The Somali phoneme inventory consists of between 7 to 10 vowels and 22 to 31 consonants, depending on the analysis. Numerous diphthongs are attested, vowel harmony is widespread, and vowel length is contrastive.

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Somali Vowels: Learn How to Pronounce Them Easily

Somali vowels when it comes to Somali Alphabet is often a sound that is certainly pronounced simply by with your mouth (in the event of nasal vowels, the use of your nose) without having any obstruction of the mouth area, tongue, or throat.You will find certainly numerous typical rules to bear in mind each time pronouncing Somali vowels. Learn More

The articulatory capabilities which usually distinguish various Somali vowel sounds are usually said to ascertain the vowel's high quality in Somali Language. In a well developed vowel system just like Somali vowel structure, there are many typical functions - height (vertical dimension), blackness (horizontal dimension) and roundedness (lips position). Learn The Somali Vowels

You'll find however yet extra possible features of Somali vowel quality, just like the velum position (nasality), sort of vocal fold vibration (phonation), along with tongue root placement.

List of Somali Vowels in Somali Alphabet

Somali Vowels in Alphabet

a

as in pat if short (a) but as in father if long (aa)

e

as in pet if short (e) but as in paid if long (ee)

i

as in sit if short (i) but as in seat if long (ii)

o

as in cot if short (o) but as in coat if long (oo)

u

as in put if short (u) but as in shoot if long (uu)

Note that the general difference in length of vowels is important because otherwise words could get mixed up and it could end up in great confusion.

Somali Semi Vowels in Alphabet

Select the hyperlinks below to find out a number of useful Somali holiday words which you'll find sorted by group. For every holiday phrase in Somali, you will find the actual English interpretation.

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How You Can Pronounce Somali Vowels When It Comes To Somali Alphabet Quite Simply | LanguagePhrases.com

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Somali vowels when it comes to Somali Alphabet is often a sound that is certainly pronounced simply by with your mouth (in the event of nasal vowels, the use of your nose) without having any obstruction of the mouth area, tongue, or throat.You will find certainly numerous typical rules to bear in mind each time pronouncing Somali vowels.

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Learn somali language lesson one somali alphapet and  vowels

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SupportEd has developed some free tools to help educators and administrators better serve English learners.

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Storybooks ESL is designed specifically for teachers, parents, and community members. It makes 40 stories from the African Storybook available with text and audio in English as well as a wide variety of languages spoken around the world.

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Ballard & Tighe specializes in creating materials designed especially with ELs in mind - and we want to share some of them with you! We put together a free distance learning packet complete with eight units you can complete with students in person and remotely.

Download our School unit preview for a peek at some of the content and resources you'll find inside the packet.

Want more free units? Fill out the form below to download the complete packet.

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Ballard & Tighe specializes in creating materials designed especially with ELs in mind - and we want to share some of them with you! We put together a free distance learning packet complete with eight units you can complete with students in person and remotely.

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As instructors, it can be frustrating to see a lack of good writing skills despite dedicated efforts. Join this useful presentation to explore why students struggle with writing.

To help students juggle the necessary high- and low-level cognitive skills, teachers must be equipped to deliver explicit, sequential, and systematic writing instruction. This webinar will introduce several multisensory writing strategies, for use with students of all ages, to fill gaps you may face as a writing teacher.

Learn highly effective strategies you can implement immediately to create better writers, including:

Ways to connect research to effective practice

The power of feedback

How to deliver writing instruction

Jenny Hamilton, M.Ed.

Jenny Hamilton, M.Ed. has been a tireless advocate for students who struggle to achieve academic success. Her training and background in behavior management enables her to share practical solutions regarding classroom management issues. She also works with teachers to raise awareness of the emotional damage that accompanies academic failure. Jenny's depth of experience in teaching elementary, middle, and high school students lends authenticity to her delivery when she trains and coaches teachers. A deep interest in the research behind best practices and the science of learning allows her to share with teachers and administrators current and relevant data on how the brain works and what can be done to change the trajectory of struggling readers and writers. She is currently an independent consultant focusing on literacy.

View Webinar

Complete form to view webinar recording and slides.

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Webinar | Strategies for Building Proficient K-12 Readers

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As instructors, it can be frustrating to see a lack of good writing skills despite dedicated efforts. Join this useful presentation to explore why students struggle with writing. To help students juggle the necessary high- and low-level cognitive skills, teachers must be equipped to deliver explicit, sequential, and systematic writing instruction.

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4 Word Challenges to Build Vocabulary at Home (Grades Pre-K-5)

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This is the second installment in Lexia's series on activities for families during school closures. Read the first installment. One aspect of being at home with children 24/7: You get to learn a lot about your kids.

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Picture Word Induction Model to teach vocabulary and simple sentence structure

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Picture Word Induction Model to teach vocabulary and simple sentence structure

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This is the 12th article in a year-long writing partnership where Valentina Gonzales and I attempt to answer some of your questions around EL instruction.

This week, I'll share a strategy on supporting SIFE students (Students with Interrupted Formal Education) as requested by Sherry. Next month, we'll continue the topic of supporting SIFE students and share a second strategy.

A Personal Connection

I want to begin by sharing that I have a personal connection to this topic: My siblings were SIFE students.

In 1986, my family fled Vietnam after being persecuted for being American sympathizers. We spent 18 months in a refugee camp in the Philippines where my brothers and sister, who were older than I was, attended makeshift refugee schools. While we were grateful for these informal schools because they provided some semblance of a normal life, they could only do so much. Eventually, we were granted asylum in the United States, and my siblings navigated the American school system as SIFEs long before the term had come into popular use.

If you'd like to learn more about this part of my story, you can find it in the foreword to Carol Salva and Anna Matis' book, Boosting Achievement: Reaching Students with Interrupted or Minimal Education ( 2017 ).

Where to start?

When we want to build a house, there are things we have to think about: siding, insulation, plumbing, electrical... the list goes on. However, no matter how well we structure the rest of the elements, the house cannot stand without a strong foundation. Similarly, working with SIFEs can be overwhelming and daunting because there are so many details to get right. There is just so much to teach: how a class works, how to get meals, going to the bathrooms, recess, breaks, specials, phonics, fluency, reading, writing, and collaborating with others. This list doesn't even include academic content work!

When building an academic house, start by laying the foundation with bricks. The foundation of a language is made of words. According to Andrea Hongisfeld and Maria Dove's interpretation (2019) of the Features of Academic Language by WIDA (Gottlieb, 2013), they consider the bricks of a language to be the individual vocabulary words or phrases. We will address how to teach the sentence and discourse level to SIFEs in next month's post.

Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM)

Words are a low-risk point from which to launch SIFEs on their schooling journey. One of the best ways to teach words is with the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM) ( Calhoun, 1999 ), which we first learned about from Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypneiski's book The ELL Teacher's Toolbox (2018). PWIM is a multi-step process to directly teach the essential vocabulary of any content area or discipline. It's also sometimes called more simply: Picture Talk.

Step 1: Select an image

Find an image that contains the target vocabulary words. For example, for an ecosystem unit, you could find an image of the ecosystem you want to teach students. Dr. Katie Toppel suggests adding the words "jigsaw puzzle" to your search terms for highly detailed images.

Step 2: Label the nouns

Project the image for students to see. Then one by one, label all the nouns in the image. Make sure to draw an arrow to the animals too. In this example, I wanted to teach students the differences between producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers. Therefore, I identified all the producers first before going onto the other categories. As the teacher is labeling the photo, instruct the students to repeat the words as they are said and copy them down in their own writing.

Step 3: Label the verbs

Now that students have content-specific nouns added to their vocabulary, we add the verbs. Go through each of the nouns you have labeled and write out the actions associated with each of them. Make sure to write these verbs in a different color to add visual differentiation.

Step 4: Make a sentence

At this point, students have both nouns and verbs to explain this ecosystem. All they are missing are the details that form the predicate of the sentence. In the example, we can add by turning sunlight into sugar. In the Wolves hunt example, we can add , which reinforces a noun they already learned in the first step.

Emotionally Appropriate

Because of their developing English skills, SIFE students are often given material that's directed at a younger audience. This can make them feel uncomfortable and discouraged. With PWIM, in contrast, SIFEs do not feel like they are receiving "baby work". When they look around the classroom, they can visually see that their peers are also learning the same content, just it in a different way. PWIM makes it possible for teachers to teach grade-level content while still being developmentally and emotionally responsive to students.

Valentina has expertly modeled PWIM in the following video for , a free online conference for teachers of ELs.

content-specific and grade-level vocabulary

to form simple sentences by sequencing: introducing the noun, verb, and predicate

by labeling visuals

are planning with their emotional and developmental needs in mind

teach content with visuals

label diagrams

chunk information

In the end, the strategy we use is less important than the philosophy that drives our practice. PWIM can be used effectively to teach content for teachers who possess a philosophy even with students like my siblings who, because of their circumstances, were not fortunate enough to experience formal and uninterrupted education.
References
Berlin, L. (2019). Forest Community [Airbrush, Acrylic, Pencil]. Adapted from Retrieved from https://www.redbubble.com/people/kizmet/works/1045759-forest-community

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108. Using PWIM to support SIFE learners | Empowering ELLs

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This is the 12th article in a year-long writing partnership where Valentina Gonzales and I attempt to answer some of your questions around EL instruction. This week, I'll share a strategy on supporting SIFE students (Students with Interrupted Formal Education) as requested by Sherry.

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Distance Learning and ELs, What Have We Learned So Far?

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Distance Learning and ELs, What Have We Learned So Far?

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webinar-based marketing platform for lead generation and customer communication

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Distance Learning & ELLs: What Have We Learned So Far?

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1 minute reading time (192 words)

There's no doubt becoming proficient in a second language is a complex process. With so much nuance and detail to learn, it's hard to know where to focus our attention, not to mention knowing the best next step for teaching our English learners.

Instead of overly relying on (stale) standardized test scores to understand students' English proficiency, we can look at their writing. Here are three key hallmarks to guide you in recognizing where students' writing lands on a continuum of proficiency:

Grab a few samples of students' writing and notice how they are using language around these three hallmarks.

What aspects and skills have they internalized?

Where are they experimenting and making errors?

At this point, what's the most productive thing to teach?

You will find that proficient students use language that ranges from simple to complex - this is what good writers do to keep their readers engaged. Once you have a sense of the types of writing skills students need to build, you can integrate the Upper Elementary Student Guide for Expository Writing and the Student Flipbook: Language for Academic Writing and Speaking as tools to better understand how to support students in moving from oral to print.

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Three Tips for Noticing Language Proficiency in Writing

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There's no doubt becoming proficient in a second language is a complex process. With so much nuance and detail to learn, it's hard to know where to focus our attention, not to mention knowing the best next step for teaching our English learners.Instead of overly relying on (stale) standardized test scores to understand students' English proficiency...

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Reccomended at LETRS training

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E.L. Achieve consults with educational agencies to equip English learners for academic achievement. Our organization was built on the premise that increasing English learner achievement requires a system-wide approach.

Along with strong pedagogy and purposeful leadership, English learners need opportunities for robust language learning.

Our research-based and federally compliant model illustrates how school systems can structure the day to ensure English learners receive explicit language instruction for these two related, but distinct, purposes:

Systematic ELD - Instruction in the English language as its own subject of study designed to grow students' proficiency in English. This is also referred to as dedicated or designated ELD.

Constructing Meaning - Explicit support for all students in acquiring the language needed to comprehend and express understanding of
grade-level work. This also serves as integrated ELD.

Learn more about creating effective systems

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E.L. Achieve: Systematic ELD and Constructing Meaning

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E.L. Achieve consults with educational agencies to equip English learners for academic achievement. Our organization was built on the premise that increasing English learner achievement requires a system-wide approach. Along with strong pedagogy and purposeful leadership, English learners need opportunities for robust language learning.

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This post comes to us courtesy of Ally Bush, Marketing/Communications Coordinator at Reading Partners. Reading Partners is a nonprofit dedicated to serving the literacy needs of our nation's students. We envision a future where all children in the US have the reading skills necessary to reach their full potential. By empowering communities through individualized instruction and measurable results, we help our students become lifelong learners. (Originally posted on ReadingPartners.org: How poetry can help kids develop reading skills )

The power of a good poem can help make reading a reality for young kids. From making reading fun to teaching kids different ways to think about phonemic sounds, poetry is an invaluable resource in any young reader's literacy journey. Here are a few ways poetry helps improve reading skills.

Motivates Children to Read

Some parents may have emergent readers who are struggling to find the motivation to pick up a book and hone their skills. If this is the case, try poetry. Kids will find joy in reciting their favorite poems with a caregiver and they'll gain important literacy skills at the same time. As poetry is typically only a few lines, it may feel less daunting to a young reader to tackle a poem as opposed to a longer book.

While being short, poetry is still packed with important literary elements such as characters, narrative structure, new words, and sometimes rhyming that can help children build foundational and more advanced literacy skills.

The musical rhythm of poems can also remind kids of their favorite songs. The next time you feel like reading a poem with your child, try singing it and see what happens.

Teaches Young Readers About Sound

Reading poetry helps children learn about voice, pitch, volume, and inflection. While these are mainly functions of speech, they're also incredibly important for children learning to read. Poetry can teach young readers about speech patterns, which can give them cues to the words on a page.

Additionally, rhyming can help kids identify sounds in words and identify word families. For example, check out this stanza in the poem "The Letter A" by Darren Sardelli:

"Without the A, you couldn't aim

You wouldn't ask for apricots

This stanza could help young readers practice the short "a" and long "a" sounds and expose them to word families such as "air" and "fair." For children learning to read, poems that play with sound and rhyme like this one can offer a new perspective on phonetics.

Like any form of reading, poetry can introduce children to new words. Poetry is unique to other forms of writing in that it typically follows a rhythm. When children read sentences and phrases that have a cadence, it introduces them to new words in new contexts.

Even though it may not seem like it, a poem that rhymes is the result of certain restrictions a poet followed during the writing process. If they want every other line of a poem to rhyme, there are a limited number of rhyming word pairs that could contextually fit in the first and third lines. For the poet, this results in surprising new connections between words. For the reader, these new connections translate to a larger vocabulary.

"The crocodile, with cunning smile, sat in the dentist's chair.

He said, 'Right here and everywhere my teeth require repair.'"

While "chair" is a common word, "repair" may be less familiar to your child in the same word family. The fact that these words rhyme creates a connection between them, which may make these specific words and other words with an ending "-air" sound easier to remember. At the very least, this poem would help a young reader add "repair" to their vocabulary.

Not only does poetry teach children new words, but also it teaches them about the power of those words. Learn more about the higher purpose of poetry, how it can provide meaning and nuance to new words, and how it relates to choosing a crayon color in Poetry: The Power of Words.

Encourages Creativity

Pablo Picasso once said, "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child."

Children have wonderful, active imaginations. Poetry can help children tap into their creativity by encouraging them to think about the new and unexpected relationships between words. In addition, having young readers try to write poetry can improve their literacy skills.

The wonderful thing about poetry is that it's subjective. Poetry can have a narrative structure, nonlinear structure, or even just be a collection of your favorite words. When children are learning to read, giving them the freedom to express themselves through poetry can be both an educational and fun experience. And who knows, the creativity of their writing may surprise you!

Reading Aloud

One of the seven most important skills for promoting literacy is supporting oral language. Reading poetry aloud, just like reading other genres aloud, can help children improve their literacy skills. When kids read aloud, they think more deeply about the sound of the words they're saying and therefore improve their reading skills.

Love the idea but don't know where to start? Here are some poetry suggestions to get your kids reading:

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Technology for ELL Distance Learning - MinneTESOL

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Helpful for explaining how to use and download different technology for distance learning. All in Somali.

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Teaching from Home Using Editable Google Slides (Online Teaching Games)

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Browse and select from millions of worksheets, or upload your own. These are digital worksheets, and you can automatically grade students’ work.

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74. Teaching Language Through Technology in Elementary Schools | ELL Strategies | Empowering ELLs

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As a Kindergarten English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and lover of technology, Katie Gardner, NBCT is constantly challenging herself to find ways to integrate different aspects of technology into her daily lessons to enhance language learning. In this guest post, Katie describes her approach to meaningfully integrating technology to teach both content and language.
If you would like a video version of this article, Katie shares her method on VirtuEL1 9.

Learning Through Centers

My ESL classroom is set up in centers based upon the language domains: reading, writing, listening, speaking, as well as vocabulary and word work. I have chosen a center framework for my large ESL pull-out class because students are interacting with one another in using both social and academic language to complete a task.

While students work in centers after our whole group lesson, I am able to act as a facilitator, rotating around to the different groups, assessing students work and supporting struggling students. Each center is differentiated so that all levels of learners can succeed ( eg. word walls, sentence stems, and anchor charts).

Students must use the "three before me" rule if they are not sure how to complete a task in order to learn and collaborate with one another. As I use the gradual release model of "I do, we do, you do", centers also allow me to see if students have mastered the standards during our whole group time.

After the center activities have been modeled with the whole group, we complete the task together, and then it is pushed out into a center for students to complete independently. Each center challenges students to use one of our classroom iPads and specific app or program to create a digital or pencil to paper product. I have found through the use of technology and various digital programs and apps that my ELs are engaged and motivated to use the language.

My students rotate throughout the centers at their own pace using their center tracking chart. Once they complete a center, they "check it off" and then are able to choose where to go next.

Below are some ways I incorporate technology into my centers:

Speaking Center: Seesaw

In the speaking center, students answer our "Question of the week" on using a complete sentence, touch the dots on the screen as a support, and then circle the picture to represent their answer.

As the school year progressed, I added "because" so students would have to explain their answer to the question. I also attached the Seesaw Skills Tracker to this so I was able to assess the students' completed work after they finished.

or are also great apps for practicing speaking skills. Students will record a video response using one of these programs to answer comprehension questions about a read-aloud story, explain the meaning of a new vocabulary word, or practice orally retelling a story in sequential order.

In this Recap video, we were learning about seasons. I have students respond to an opinion question about which season they liked best and why.

In the Flipgrid video response, my ESL summer camp was studying Fairy Tales. We had read the book Cinderella and talked about the meaning of the word "ball". Students were asked to describe the meaning of the word from the story in their video responses.

Vocabulary Center: United for Literacy

In the vocabulary center, students are asked to read/listen to a book I have chosen on United for Literacy that relates to the Science or Social Studies content vocabulary . They complete an interactive reading activity in which they write the missing text and draw a picture to represent the word. I have differentiated pages for newcomers or beginning ELL students who need to trace instead of independently write.

I created the modified books using Apple Pages and once completed, the students can take it home to serve as another type of reading resource to practice with their parents. They would scan the QR code at the top of the page, and the book would appear for them to read/listen too. The cool thing about this program is that it translates the books into many different languages to support newcomers.

Word Work Center: QR codes

In the word work center, students complete a phonics activity. For example look at the picture cards and write the CVC word, look at the picture cards and write the beginning sound, sort the picture cards in the pocket charts by ending sounds. Technology is incorporated into this center with students self-assessing their work.

Prior to placing this activity in the center, I have taken a picture of the correct answers or what the sorted pocket charts should look like. I turned this picture of the correct answers into a QR code. Once students finish the activity at the center they scan the QR code using the QR code reader app: Inigma. Students then look at the picture of the correct answers on the iPad and check their work. They will make the necessary changes so that all of their answers are correct.

Listening Center: Aurasmas

In the center, students scan listening Aurasmas to listen to me or a peer saying a sight word sentence using a content vocabulary word we are studying. Aurasma is a free app using augmented reality. Student scan a trigger image with their iPad (ex. Picture on the wall) to then see a linked video appear.

Beginning students could listen and write a simple consonant-vowel-consonant word or beginning sound. These Aurasmas are placed underneath the sight word wall so it is close by for support as well as surrounded by student-made vocabulary anchor charts with words and visuals. The Aurasmas students listen to are linked to a Tellagami, Chatterbox, Myclassavatar, or Yapp messenger character. Students will then write the 5-6 complete sentence on their writing paper.

In the writing center, students write their answers to our question of the week in their writing notebook. I have cut a regular notebook in half for my students so it is not as intimidating as a full sized notebook. They must also draw a picture to represent their writing. Sometimes students are asked to write the answer to a writing prompt seen on a Buncee or Thinglink I created that they access using a QR code.

Students take a picture of their finished writing sample, upload to Seesaw, and record themselves reading it. Below are the images of their work. Each writing task is supported with audio, word cards, picture cards, and classroom resources such as our word wall and anchor charts.

I have also created interactive writing prompts in which students must write on the iPad using their finger on top of a writing prompt I created using Buncee.

Reading: Seesaw (again)

In the reading center, students read 5-sight word sentences using science or social studies content vocabulary that are placed in a large pocket chart. Students write the missing text using the sight and vocabulary words on the reading graphic organizer I created as well as cut and glue pictures to match the sentences.

Students then take a picture of their finished work to upload to Seesaw. Students then record themselves reading their finished work and touch each dot underneath each word when reading it. This finished paper product also serves as a take-home resource to practice at home with parents.

Here is a example of when we were studying Fall vocabulary words and the recording from when we were learning about the Social Studies standard of Needs and Want. This is an sight words "see" and "the".

Takeaways

I love exploring new digital programs and tools to integrate into my ESL classroom centers to assist students in learning the content vocabulary and growing within the language domains. Integrating technology into centers has lifted student engagement and motivation in completing tasks to a new level.

My Kindergarten ELs are excited to complete a digital product or put pencil to paper using a digital prompt. With the help of technology, I am able to differentiate to support my students learning levels and act as a facilitator of student collaboration. I hope to prepare my ELs with the 21st century skills as well as academic and social language needed to succeed both in and out of the classroom. With careful tech integration, the hope becomes a reality - center by center.

Katie's Bio

Katie Gardner has 6 years experience as a Kindergarten English as a Second Language teacher in Salisbury, NC. She has presented at the district, state, regional, and national ELL and Tech conferences. She is an Apple Distinguished Educator class of 2017 and received her certification as a National Board Certified Teacher in English a New Language in 2017. Follow her on Twitter @gardnerkb1

Additional Resource

If you're interesting enhancing learning for ELs by integrating technology, please consider reading ELL Frontiers: Using Technology to Enhance Instruction for English Learners by Heather Parris, Lisa M. Estrada, and Andrea Honigsfeld. By purchasing this book, you also support this blog.

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74. Teaching Language Through Technology in Elementary Schools | ELL Strategies | Empowering ELLs

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As a Kindergarten English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and lover of technology, Katie Gardner, NBCT is constantly challenging herself to find ways to integrate different aspects of technology into her daily lessons to enhance language learning. In this guest post, Katie describes her approach to meaningfully integrating technology to teach both content and language.

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Possible source of Sentence stems for responding to texts.

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The Best Sites For Creating Not Totally Useless Word Searches | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

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I'm not a big fan of using Word Searches in class - I think they're more busy work and a genuine learning activity.

However, I have, on occasion, had students create their own, which classmates than played.

You might also be interested in The Best Sites For Making Crossword Puzzles & Hangman Games.

Here are a few tools and examples of not totally useless word searches:

Thanks to Alison Rostetter, I learned about Teachers-Direct. They have two styles of games you can create without registering. One is called Quiz-Busters. The other is sort of interesting. I'm not a big fan of Word Searches, and view them as basically busy work. At this site, you can create a Word Search - with a twist. Instead of listing the words students have to find, you list sentences with a blank and the students have to come up with the word and find it. I wouldn't spend any teacher time on creating one, but I could see having students use it to create ones for classmates to play now-and-then.

Word Search Labs is an easy tool for creating word searches online.

Novel Games' take on Word Searches has the twist of giving the definition (though I might have come up with better meanings) and then having players find the specific word. There are also other good games for language development, like Word Scramble.

Smithsonian Magazine had an intriguing kind of word search.

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The Best Sites For Creating Not Totally Useless Word Searches

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I'm not a big fan of using Word Searches in class - I think they're more busy work and a genuine learning activity. However, I have, on occasion, had students create their own, which classmates than played. You might also be interested in The Best Sites For Making Crossword Puzzles & Hangman Games.

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Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!

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School districts have sought to create systemic plans for multilingual learners that move beyond compliance to insure coherence across their programs, policies and practices for their students and families. Understanding Language partners with districts to co-create, implement and refine their plans based on student evidence.

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Busting Myths about Integrated and Dedicated English Language Development

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Busting Myths about Integrated and Dedicated English Language Development

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Technology for ELL Distance Learning - MinneTESOL

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Helpful for explaining how to use and download different technology for distance learning. All in Somali.

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The CUBED is a family of screening and progress monitoring tools that accurately, reliably, and efficiently measure decoding, language comprehension, and their product, reading. There are two main subtests of the CUBED - The Dynamic Decoding Measures and the Narrative Language Measures, which together measure 18 targets.

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The principal sets the tone of school, from the learning climate to the degree of concern for students' success. If you are ready to take on the challenges of building leadership, the Department of Advanced Educational Programs at FHSU has two accredited, fully online programs to help you satisfy state licensure requirements - a M.S.

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An educator is also a lifelong learner. A master's degree or endorsement can help you build a career in K-12 education where you can make a huge difference in students' lives. For current teachers, a graduate degree or endorsement can help you specialize your career and may qualify you for a salary increase or lane change. For professionals in a non-teaching career who have a bachelor's degree but want to move into a teaching career, an M.A. in Teaching or a post-baccalaureate teacher-certification program could be the path you're looking for.

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Put your leadership skills to good use-in the service of America's children-with this education master's degree.

*States that do not accept this program: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota.

WGU's Teachers College provides a path for students to become licensed/certified teachers in each U.S. state and territory. In some cases, our program has already been approved for direct licensure/certification in your state. In other cases, you may apply for licensure/certification through reciprocity. Your Enrollment Counselor can give you specific information on your program of interest and how you may ultimately earn a license in your state. Please note that some programs do not have a corresponding license in certain states.

A career change to become a teacher can be a professionally and personally fulfilling move to make. But it can also seem like a daunting change-especially if you already have a bachelor's degree in your field and don't want to start from scratch.

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A M.A. in Teaching degree or a post-baccalaureate teacher-prep program can be your path. Designed for aspiring teachers who have a bachelor's degree but no teaching license, these programs are a faster path to your teaching certificate.

No bachelor's degree yet? Check out our undergrad teacher-preparation programs.

The WGU Teachers College is the first competency-based online university to receive accreditation for its degree programs that lead to teacher licensure from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). CAEP is the only recognized national accreditor for educator preparation.

The teacher licensure programs offered through the WGU Teachers College have been awarded full accreditation by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) through June 30, 2026. Full accreditation acknowledges that a program prepares effective educators who continue to grow as professionals and that the program has demonstrated the commitment and capacity to continue to do so.

WGU wants to help you change yours with a Teacher Appreciation Scholarship offer, open now through June 30th. Apply to WGU to qualify and start your path towards a career as an educator.

This scholarship can be applied to any of WGU's Teachers College programs. Programs begin the first of each month, and our flexible, online format lets you complete most coursework any time or place that fits your schedule

Many of WGU's Teachers College students are career-changers-students like Wendy. Teaching is a calling-and when you hear the call, it's hard to ignore. Watch Wendy's story of moving from journalism to teacher.

Already a teacher? Imagine reaching the next level of your profession. Through one of WGU's online master's teaching degree programs, you can put yourself in an excellent position to enhance your professional prestige and earning potential. You'll develop specialized skills and knowledge in a high-demand field and become a curricular leader in your school.

You've worked to mold the futures of your students for years. Isn't it time you thought about your own future?

Earning your master's degree in education from the WGU Teachers College helps you secure a better future online, on your schedule, and on your budget. You'll start seeing the benefits immediately.

A master's degree often means an increased salary, job security, and retirement benefits. You'll also notice an immediate improvement in your teaching skills. You'll be able to reach your students in new ways and maximize the impact of every lesson. Your specialized knowledge and skills will not only benefit you, but also benefit your students and the school districts in which you teach.

"After graduating from WGU, and through all the rigor and quality of instruction that I received in the educational field, I was awarded Hawaii District Teacher of the Year in 2012."Amoreena Nestman
M.A. Teaching - Elementary Education

As a nonprofit organization, WGU provides a convenient, cost-effective path to your master's degree in education or endorsement. Tuition for all degree programs in the Teachers College is between $3,225 and $3,240 per six-month term- about half what you'd pay at other universities.

Low tuition is just the start! Tuition is charged at a flat rate each 6-month term, regardless of how many courses you complete during that term. The standard term is based upon a full course load-at least 8 competency units (credit equivalents) for post-baccalaureate and master's students. Individual progress may vary. Because you can accelerate through material you already know well or learn quickly-finishing more courses in a term without paying extra-you could end up saving even more.

competency, noun
Demonstrated knowledge, skill, or ability required to advance in a degree program.
At WGU, course competencies are defined by an expert council, including employers.

For this course, there are 3 areas you need to prove competency in.

First, let's take a pre‑assessment.

Determine what you already know from previous work and education experience, and where you need to focus your studies. Prove your competency in 3 areas in this exercise.

Competency 1 : Retrieving results...
Competency 2 : Retrieving results...
Competency 3 : Retrieving results...

Second, study course materials.

Click on the free learning resources created by education experts that will help you master the competencies.

Online. Nonprofit. Surprisingly affordable.

Discover which WGU program is the path to your unique career goals.

EXPLORE DEGREES

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Online Teaching & Education Master's Degree Programs | WGU

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national DEGREES & PROGRAMS An educator is also a lifelong learner. A master's degree or endorsement can help you build a career in K-12 education where you can make a huge difference in students' lives. For current teachers, a graduate degree or endorsement can help you specialize your career and may qualify you for a salary increase or lane change.

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Approx $125 per credit

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All MTI graduate courses include FREE textbooks and course materials which are conveniently shipped to you. We offer three-course formats for your convenience.

Distance/Correspondence

Online Self-Paced

Online With Instructor

Each format is for three (3) fully accredited college credits from our partnering universities.

Click Browse Courses to see our full catalog of offerings and formats available.

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MTI: Professional Development Courses & Graduate CE for Teachers | Nationally Accredited Graduate Courses

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All MTI graduate courses include FREE textbooks and course materials which are conveniently shipped to you. We offer three-course formats for your convenience. Distance/Correspondence Online Self-Paced Online With Instructor Each format is for three (3) fully accredited college credits from our partnering universities. Click Browse Courses to see our full catalog of offerings and formats available.

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Simple Graduate Courses
For K-12 ﻿Teachers

Low-Cost ﻿Accredited﻿ Graduate Courses For
License Renewal and Salary Advancement

*post-baccalaureate professional development credits*

Will this work in my state?

- accredited nationwide by:

*select courses accredited by:

- View Courses by Credit Amount -

Why Do Teachers Love Us?

Thank you so much for making this such a pleasant experience! I am so relieved to have been able to reinstate my teaching license in such a convenient and personalized way."-Karin T. - Bethesda, MD - Teaching Adolescents with ADHD

Thank you Joseph! I truly appreciate how quickly you evaluated the work! Have a wonderful spring and summer!"
-Billie S. - Detroit, MI - Teaching With The Brain In Mind

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I wanted you to know I enjoyed the books and coursework very much, and I plan to take further coursework through TLC in the years to come..."
-Amy S. - Lima, OH - Adolescent Girls: Queen Bees & Wannabes

About Us

Teacher's Learning Center (TLC) has been offering graduate courses for teachers for over 11 years (previously through North Dakota State University). The founder and head instructor, Joseph C'de Baca M.Ed. began holding the classes on location in the Denver-metro area (see below image). Mr. C'de Baca has 15 consecutive years of full time classroom teaching experience in Denver Public Schools. He began TLC by offering his own originally created courses on the topic of Hispanic students and issues.

Over the past 11 years the courses have been transitioned into independent-study correspondence format. Additionally, the course offerings have since expanded to include other practical and relevant topics for the modern classroom. K12 teachers nation-wide earn post-baccalaureate professional development credit from TLC's accrediting sponsor Universities. TLC courses have been taken by K12 educators in all 50 states, and also other territories such as Guam and US Military bases overseas.

Joseph C'de Baca Ma.Ed
Founder and President

Joseph C'de Baca MaEd. is a veteran Social Studies and Industrial-Technology classroom teacher of ﻿20﻿ years with Denver Public Schools. He is an adjunct partner instructor for Colorado State University at Pueblo extended studies program providing teacher training, professional development, and graduate courses for teachers. ﻿ Read More...

Vanessa Osei BA
Program Director

Vanessa started off in early childhood and over the last 19 years has worked with all age groups up through foster teens. She holds a BA in Elementary Ed with a Culturally & Linguistically Diverse endorsement. Her passions are equity work, the arts and learning!

Jesse Arseño
Operations Manager

Jesse handles the various tech and communications channels for Teacher's Learning Center. He has 8 years of full-time experience in web development and marketing. His interests include technology, kickboxing, and geopolitics.

Gideon Kyeremeh BA
Contributor

Gideon is from Ghana, West Africa & graduated from The University of Ghana with a double major in Sociology and Political Science. He is passionate about international issues & policy.

Zebediah Allen Ma.Ed
Contributor

Zebediah is a music teacher in Chicago, IL and has been teaching in low income inner city public schools for 5 years. Zeb wants to live in a world where students always listen, teachers are always well rested, and no one ever skips breakfast or lunch. As a Music Educator, he's taught at 7 schools in Chicago Public Schools.

Kei Tang Ma.Ed
Enrollment Advisor

Kei is from Hong Kong and has a Masters in Education from the University of San Diego. Her specialty is English as a Second Language. Her passions are photography, travel and her students. She speaks fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.

​Robin Lasley Ma.Ed
Instructor

Robin Is a special education teacher in an urban school located in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has taught in the same district for 14 years. She has a Masters in Education from Xavier University as well as a TESOL and a Reading Endorsement. She is interested in writing children's books, travel and do-it-yourself projects at her home.

​Whitney Hartwell Ma.Ed
Instructor

Whitney has been teaching middle school math for 19 years in Massachusetts. She received her Master's degree from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Ma. She is always encouraging her students to help others in their community too. She can often be found cheering on her sons at their various sporting events.

Low cost graduate courses for working teachers

Accredited nationwide

Study materials and assignments are mailed to you

Enjoy course study anywhere (don't get stuck in front of a computer screen!)

Great reading for enjoyment and learning - while traveling, on vacation, or anytime.

Keep your schedule free. No vacation interruptions for class attendance.

No tech hassles

No rigid class schedules or inconvenient meeting times.

No driving necessary, no wasted travel time to class locations, and no child care needed.

Online Courses For Teachers

"Act Now Before Your License Expires or the Pay Increase Due Date"

TLC
11768 Camphor Way
Seminole, FL 33772

727-273-4852

Copyright © 2020 Teacher's Learning Center.

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TLC Graduate Courses For Teachers - Online Classes for Teachers - Graduate Courses For Teachers

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Simple Graduate CoursesFor K-12 ﻿Teachers Low-Cost ﻿Accredited﻿ Graduate Courses ForLicense Renewal and Salary Advancement *post-baccalaureate professional development credits* Will this work in my state? - accredited nationwide by: *select courses accredited by: - View Courses by Credit Amount - Why Do Teachers Love Us? Thank you so much for making this such a pleasant experience!

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$150/credit

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Self-paced, media rich, online courses with textbooks mailed right to your doorstep.

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Reccomended by LETRS

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Educators - Consumables - Stories for Making inferences - Neuhaus Education Center

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Could be used to teach content vocabulary too...very cool

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"Memory for Language reflects underlying language competence"

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Come back to this

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When reading intervention is required for getting a student back on track, Neuhaus Education Center provides teachers with knowledge for why students are struggling and how to reach them, using classroom-ready tools and resources for actionable solutions. It's an intentional investment in reading success that ensures Literacy for All.

Recommendations for Virtual Instruction

Depth of Oral Language

This chart can be used to demonstrate the idea of words with similar meanings but different intensities. Students can sort these words for "problem" into three piles: big problems, little problems, medium problems.
Open/Download Depth of Oral Language Chart (PDF)

Diamante and Cinquain: Two Poetry Forms for Teaching

These patterns for the diamonte and cinquain poems can support the teaching of parts of speech.
Diamante and Cinquain Patterns (PDF)

Games

Games that support reading skills
Definition Concentration

Grammar
Identify parts of speech from a picture.
Handwriting

These stroke descriptions aid in the formation of manuscript letters.
View stroke descriptions for manuscript letters (PDF)

These stroke descriptions aid in the formation of capital letters.
View stroke descriptions for capital letters (PDF)

These stroke descriptions aid in the formation of cursive letters.

Hints from Hailey

"Hints from Hailey" are a series of videos that dives into each component of Neuhaus Reading Readiness (RR), Accurate and Automatic Reading (AAR), and Oral Language and Listening Comprehension (OLLC). These short video clips are intended for teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators who have already been trained by Neuhaus instructors and are seeking to improve their knowledge and use of Neuhaus curriculum so that students will become successful readers.
How to use Hints from Hailey Start the Year Off Right! Accurate and Automatic Reading Videos Hints Handout for AAR AAR Mastery Check Videos Hints Handout for AAR MC Oral Language and Listening Comprehension Videos Hints Handout for OLLC Reading Readiness Videos Hints Handout for RR Advanced Scientific Spelling Videos Hints Handout for SS
Instructional Charts (Small)

These small versions of the classroom charts are sized to use with small groups of students. All of the files below are sized for 8.5 in. by 11 in. cardstock. Neuhaus instruction these to be used for: Accurate and Automatic Reading; Basic Language Skills; Language Enrichment; Multisensory Reading and Spelling; Reading Readiness; Scientific Spelling; Structured Handwriting; and Written Composition.

The Layers of English

This display is a visual for teaching the history of English and the languages that contributed to English as it is today.

Mastery Check Gradebooks

Reading Readiness Mastery Check Gradebook
Use this Reading Readiness Mastery Check Gradebook to keep track of student data for the Reading Readiness Initial Mastery Check, Reading Readiness Advanced Mastery Check I, and Reading Readiness Advanced Mastery Check II. The gradebook document will open as "read only." Please save a copy to your files before using.

Accurate and Automatic Reading Mastery Check Gradebook
Use this Accurate and Automatic Reading Mastery Check Gradebook to keep track of student data for all AAR Mastery Checks. The gradebook document will open as "read only." Please save a copy to your files before using.

Language Enrichment Mastery Check Gradebook
Use this Language Enrichment Mastery Check Gradebook to keep track of student data for all LE Mastery Checks. The gradebook document will open as "read only." Please save a copy to your files before using.

Language and Literacy for Young Learners Curriculum Based Gradebook
Use this Language and Literacy for Young Learners Curriculum Based Measure Gradebook to keep track of student data. The gradebook document will open as "read only." Please save a copy to your files before using.

Mastery Checks - Accurate and Automatic Reading

Mastery Checks - Basic Language Skills

Mastery Checks - Language and Literacy for Young Learners

Mastery Checks - Language Enrichment

Mastery Checks - Reading Readiness

Naming Screening and Benchmarks

A quick two-minute screening can be administered individually to students (grades 2-6) to measure their oral language. Includes naming categories and benchmarks.
Open/Download Naming Screening and Benchmarks (PDF)

Question Starters for Deeper Thinking

These are examples of question starters that encourage students to delve more deeply into what they have read and make deeper connections. These question starters were compiled by Elizabeth Sledge and based on research by Benjamin Bloom and Robert J. Marzano.
Open/Download Question Starters (PDF)

Quick Tips from Neuhaus

Alphabet letters, building blocks, and so much more! Neuhaus has developed educational videos to support our teachers and families as a trusted shoulder-partner.
View Video Playlist (YouTube)

Rapid Recognition Chart Generator

Enter a list of six words, letters, sounds, or Final Stable Syllables, and generate 5 Rapid Recognition charts to use with your students. To use the Rapid Recognition Chart as an assessment, time the number of student readings of the chart within one minute.
Open/Download Rapid Recognition Chart Generator (Excel)

RTI Powerpoint Slides for Presentations

This presentation on the history and purpose of Response to Intervention are for use by teachers and administrators for professional development, courtesy of Mary E. Dahlgren, Ph.D.

RTI pdf's for Teachers and Administrators

Practical and "do-able" strategies for meaningful screening, meticulous progress monitoring, and rich resources for effective intervention were taken from the workshop, Really Terrific Information on Response to Intervention, Mary E. Dahlgren, Ph. D., at Neuhaus Education Center, July 7-8, 2010.

Scaffold Cards for Independent Reading

After students have developed good metacognitive thinking skills for reading, question generation guided by these cards and careful teacher modeling can aid independent reading in both narrative and expository text.

Silly Cats are O.K.

Silly Cats are O.K. is a mnemonic for the elements of a story. Use this fun form to help your students summarize any narrative.

Spelling Word Analysis Chart

Word Analysis Chart for analyzing spelling words for regularity, irregularity or those that follow spelling rules

Stories for Making Inferences

Have students guess the missing sentence and practice using clues for making inferences.
Stories for Making Inferences

Story Map

The Story Map offers another method for summarizing narratives.

Story Retelling Pictures

Ready-made pictures to print or show in a PowerPoint to accompany retelling activities in The Colors and Shapes of Language

Ready-made pictures to print or show in a PowerPoint to accompany retelling activities in Developing Metacognitive Skills

Story Retelling Rubric
Rubric for evaluating story retelling
Syllable Division Steps

Use these steps to guide syllable division and help students read longer words with ease.

Text Complexity

Use this guide to evaluate text complexity of both literary and infomrational text so that you can scaffold student understanding of complex text.

Word Bingo

Word Bingo is an activity in Multisensory Grammar. Enter a list of 24 words and generate 22 unique bingo cards and a scrambled list of your words. Great for word origin and parts of speech practice.
Open/Download Word Bingo Card Generator (Excel)

Word Profiles

Word profiles including syllables, phonemes, letters, graphemes, syllable types, origin, derivatives and figurative language can be used with the passages from Practices for Developing Accuracy and Fluency or as a guide for general vocabulary building. Use the Word profile form for in-depth study of words and keeping your own personal dictionary.

Words for Webs

This is a list of suggested semantic webs, multiple meaning webs, and derivative webs to be used in conjunction with stories in Practices for Developing Accuracy and Fluency.
Print the Word Web Wizard and use it with web forms from Developing Metacognitive Skills.

Word Webs and Charts

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When reading intervention is required for getting a student back on track, Neuhaus Education Center provides teachers with knowledge for why students are struggling and how to reach them, using classroom-ready tools and resources for actionable solutions. It's an intentional investment in reading success that ensures Literacy for All.

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Core Knowledge: Reccomended by LETRS

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The Core Knowledge Curriculum Series™ provides comprehensive, content-rich learning materials based on the Core Knowledge Sequence. Student readers, teacher guides, activity books, and other materials are available for Language Arts, History and Geography, and Science. Materials for Math are in development.

Free Downloadable Core Knowledge Curriculum

By making many of our Core Knowledge curriculum materials freely available, we work to put into practice the principle that every child in a democracy should have access to shared, enabling knowledge.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or newer to view our materials, which is available as a free download on the Adobe website.
Download Free Curriculum
Language Arts Curriculum

The Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum provides comprehensive materials to teach reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. The program is free to download and available for students in Preschool through Grade 6.

Learn More and See Tips on Implementation

History and Geography Curriculum

Through our History and Geography curriculum, Core Knowledge offers comprehensive materials to teach world and American history and geography. The curriculum follows the Core Knowledge Sequence to help students build knowledge of diverse civilizations, cultures, and concepts.

Learn More and See Integration with Other Subjects

Science Curriculum

The Core Knowledge Science curriculum offers comprehensive materials to teach scientific concepts and develop scientific practices through hands-on activities. Based on the revised Core Knowledge Science Sequence, the curriculum helps students build knowledge in the life, physical, and earth/space sciences, as well as engineering design.

Learn More and See Science in Action

Math Curriculum

The Core Knowledge Mathematics curriculum offers comprehensive materials to support conceptual understanding and procedural fluency for student success in math. Units for the middle grades 6-8 are being developed now.

Learn More and Get Started with CKMath

Recommended Titles by Other Publishers that Enhance Core Knowledge Implementation

We offer this grade-by-grade list of books sold by other publishers for schools that may be interested in adding these titles to their school or classroom libraries. All books have been reviewed by Core Knowledge staff.

Grade-by-Grade Recommendations for Additional Titles by Other Publishers

More in the Store

Visit the Core Knowledge Store to explore other content-rich materials, including the popular What Your ___ Grader Needs to Know series. Looking for print editions of items in the Core Knowledge Curriculum Series? As they become available, you'll find those in the Store as well.

Terms of Use for Free Core Knowledge Curriculum

The materials made available for download are freely available for anyone to use, adapt, and share (with attribution). No one is permitted to extract any images included in our PDF materials for use in any other way; to do so would be a violation of the agreements under which the images were licensed. No one is permitted to sell either the original program, an adaptation of it, or lesson plans that reproduce any part of it. For more information, see the Guidelines to Core Knowledge and the Creative Commons License.

Are you ready to join the Core Knowledge Community?

It uses tools like Facebook Groups and Pinterest Boards to give teachers a place to share their ideas and resources, ask questions, learn from each other, and connect with other schools teaching Core Knowledge.

Learn More and Join the Conversation

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Download Core Knowledge curriculum, including teacher guides and activity books, for Language Arts, History and Geography, and Science.

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The Best Ideas For Online Activities To Use When Teaching ELLs Remotely – Share More! | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

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I've shared a few of my ideas of what I'm doing during my daily Newcomer English Language Learners class (see VIDEO: HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF MY DAILY ONLINE LESSON FOR ELL NEWCOMERS).

I know there are a lot of other great ideas out there.

There have been four Google slides presentations of different ideas that I've seen shared regularly on social media that are filled with some cool ideas.

It's not exactly clear to me who has put some of them together - if you know, please let me know.

And if you have other resources and ideas to add, also please let me know:

50 Interactive Ideas to Engage Students Online is from Pamela Broussard.
ONLINE Ways Of PLaying WORKING VERSION Online Teaching Ideas & Advice WORKING VERSION Distance Learning Morning Meeting
Online lessons: a menu of ideas is from The British Council.

Distance Learning Activities for Zoom or Google Meet is from Not So Wimpy Teacher.

25 Strategies to Engage Students on Your Next Zoom Meeting is from Hooked On Innovation.
I'm adding this post to THE "BEST OF THE BEST" RESOURCES TO SUPPORT TEACHERS DEALING WITH SCHOOL CLOSURES.

Are you using Zoom for online classes? Here's a summary of some of its useful features, plus some ideas for how to use it with your classes: https://t.co/x5PLi16aFM

Are there any more tips you can add?#teachingfromhome pic.twitter.com/WHhw6ta121

- TeachingEnglish (@TeachingEnglish) May 13, 2020

Four questions - and answers - about teaching English online is the headline of my latest post for The British Council.

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The Best Ideas For Online Activities To Use When Teaching ELLs Remotely - Share More!

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I've shared a few of my ideas of what I'm doing during my daily Newcomer English Language Learners class (see VIDEO: HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF MY DAILY ONLINE LESSON FOR ELL NEWCOMERS). I know there are a lot of other great ideas out there.

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Syntactic Awareness: Teaching Sentence Structure (Part 1) - Keys to Literacy

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Syntactic Awareness: Teaching Sentence Structure (Part 1) - Keys to Literacy

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The ability to understand at the sentence level is in many ways the foundation for being able to comprehend text. The ways in which authors express their ideas through sentences greatly affects a reader's ability to access and identify those ideas.

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Framing Your Thoughts Sentence and Paragraph Structure Curriculum

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Framing Your Thoughts Sentence and Paragraph Structure Curriculum

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Reccomended by LETRS

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The ABCs of CBM, Second Edition: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement (The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series): 9781462524662: Medicine 

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The ABCs of CBM, Second Edition: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement (The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series)

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The ABCs of CBM, Second Edition: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement (The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series): 9781462524662: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com

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Evaluating Children's Emergent Writing | Universal Publishing

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Evaluating Children's Emergent Writing | Universal Publishing

JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

Recommended For:

Grade
Teacher Support

ISBN-13: 978-1-934732-05-2

Grade

Teacher Support

Features

This book includes all the information teachers will need to immediately begin assessing their students' writing in order to maximize every minute of classroom instruction.

Domain rubric for assessing writing development

Detailed explanations for each domain

Children's writing samples

Tips for training teachers & scoring practice

Alignment of the rubric to the Common Core Standards

Writing prompts for benchmark assessments

8 ½" x 11" Book

100 Pages

Developed by Alvernia University Professor Dr. Kathleen Muzevich. Contact Dr. Muzevich for professional development and topic-specific inquiries. For all ordering inquiries, please contact Universal Publishing.

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This book includes all the information teachers will need to immediately begin assessing their students' writing in order to maximize every minute of classroom instruction.

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Students with limited English proficiency or who are learning English as a second language require extra support as they shift to English. Although Headsprout was not designed specifically for ELLs, its high adaptability and gradual progression of skills help ELLs learn to read and comprehend English.

Multiple Opportunities to Speak and Hear English

Headsprout builds skills by providing regular contact with clearly spoken and written English, and many opportunities to speak English aloud and answer questions in English. The program starts at the non-reader level and begins systematically teaching fundamental reading skills from there.

Each lesson builds upon previous material learned, and English oral language models are presented through instruction, vocabulary exercises, story line, and comprehension activities, all with engaging animations.

Students have the opportunity to make oral responses and check the accuracy of their own responses.

Support for Vocabulary Learning

In Headsprout Early Reading, new words that may be unfamiliar are always introduced with a picture or animation that shows the meaning of the word. In Headsprout Reading Comprehension, target vocabulary words are introduced with pictures showing the meaning, and learners can also click on key words while reading passages to hear the word's pronunciation and a short definition.

Concentrated, Individualized Instruction

Headsprout provides concentrated, effective, individualized instruction where students learn at their own level and pace. The program's carefully designed instructional sequence allows learners to start with things they know or can easily do and builds from there.

High amounts of one-on-one learning are needed by many English language learners in order to succeed at reading in English. Headsprout is full of individualized interactions within each episode.

Teaching Until Objectives Are Met for Each Student

Although the core instruction is the same for all learners, some learners may require more instruction and practice, or even a specialized set of instructions based on their needs. Headsprout teaches until the objectives are met, individualizing instruction yet making sure each student meets key program objectives.

Instruction is tailored to meet the needs of each learner-and ensures that those needs are met before the episode comes to an end. Students practice and learn until they have mastered the skill.

The program ensures that a learner does not exit an instructional segment without achieving that specific learning goal. The program manages this through moment-to-moment adaptation.

Headsprout is effective because it provides English language learners with the additional practice and review needed to achieve the same educational goals as their peers.
Ongoing Assessment Helps Teachers Monitor Progress

Headsprout helps teachers remain in constant contact with student data. The reports for the classroom and for individual students help teachers make informed decisions.

Headsprout continually assesses student skills during teaching, and the reports allow you to monitor student progress and better understand each student's strengths and needs.

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Students with limited English proficiency or who are learning English as a second language require extra support as they shift to English. Although Headsprout was not designed specifically for ELLs, its high adaptability and gradual progression of skills help ELLs learn to read and comprehend English.

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Improve fluency and oral proficiency.

Use our drag-and-drop interface to quickly create speaking assignments and assessments with voice, video, images, and more.

Spend less time in language labs or scheduling practice interviews by using Lingt assessments instead.

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Lingt - Create Speaking Assignments and Assessments

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Join 10,000+ schools who have used Lingt to create 150,000+ assignments. Improve students' fluency and oral proficiency by creating fun and engaging speaking assignments with Lingt's simple drag-and-drop editor.

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A growing segment

English language learners (ELL) are the fastest growing population in U.S. schools. Online and blended learning is an affordable option to help English language learners so they learn more effectively and reach better outcomes.

Fuel Education's English language learner (ELL) program helps students grasp the complexities of our language and culture through:

Learning activities that connect to the student's prior experiences

Complex thinking and challenging activities

Language and literacy development

Observation and modeling

Instructional conversation

Supplemental, project-based instruction

The supplemental blended instructional curriculum developed by our partner, Middlebury Interactive Languages, allows students in grades 4-10 to learn the fundamentals of academic English while completing projects that relate to English language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science.

The ELL curriculum is written by PhD-level academics and language education experts working with Middlebury Interactive to help students accelerate their English language learning. It features age-appropriate themes specifically designed to engage elementary and middle school students.

The focus is on academic English; critical thinking; vocabulary building; and developing communication skills through listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

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ELL Program For Schools | ELL Support | Fuel Education

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A growing segment English language learners (ELL) are the fastest growing population in U.S. schools. Online and blended learning is an affordable option to help English language learners so they learn more effectively and reach better outcomes.

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Premade Lessons

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Instructional Support

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Need a fresh teaching resource that fits your class and teaching style? Create a customized pack of interactive and printable activities in just one minute.

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In a 1988 study, researchers asked a group of 7 th and 8 th grade students to read a passage about baseball. The group had mixed reading abilities: some students were generally strong readers, while others normally struggled. The students also reflected the general population in that some liked and knew a lot about baseball while others knew very little. The researchers hoped to find out which mattered more in reading comprehension: knowledge of the topic or reading ability. What they found might surprise you.

The students each fell into one of the quadrants below based on their previous knowledge of baseball and their overall reading ability.

When the students were asked a series of comprehension questions, who do you think performed the best? You probably guessed correctly that those with a strong reading ability and a high knowledge of baseball performed the best, but a close second place went to those who knew a lot about baseball but were generally weak readers. These baseball-savvy, struggling readers outperformed their peers who were stronger readers. As you can see in the graph below, regardless of their reading ability, those with similar knowledge of baseball performed similarly on the comprehension test.

So what does this and other research of the role of knowledge tell us about how we should structure reading instruction? It shows that knowledge matters and that the more educators do to build knowledge on a range of topics, the more likely that students will be able to comprehend future passages with similar vocabulary on similar topics.

Oftentimes educators confuse the term knowledge with background knowledge - the knowledge that students bring from their personal experiences outside the classroom. While differences in background knowledge will always exist, teachers can level the playing field by building general knowledge on different topics for all their students.

It can seem daunting to introduce complex texts on new topics to struggling readers. How can we expect a student to navigate a grade-level text on, for example, The Evolution of the Internet, a topic fraught with complex vocabulary and concepts, when they are reading well below grade level? It would seem we're setting them up for failure. The solution is in how instruction is structured through carefully sequenced materials and texts.

Let's think back to the baseball-savvy, weak readers from the study. They probably didn't develop their baseball knowledge and vocabulary by jumping headlong into a newspaper's complex analysis of a particular pitcher's prospects for the season - they more than likely learned gradually: watching, maybe even playing baseball, and then reading increasingly complex texts on baseball as their interest grew. Educators can mirror this natural progression through the use of expert pack text sets.

Expert packs are free, teacher-created sequences of texts and materials that gradually build students' vocabulary (each set contains a student-friendly glossary and activities to help learn new words) and knowledge of the topic. Students may start out reading a fairly simple text, watching a video, analyzing a graphic, or exploring a website - all of these activities are helping them to naturally build the knowledge that will allow them to become experts on the given topic even if they'd never heard of it before.

Because the text sets were created by teachers, they are specifically designed to appeal to and interest students at specific grade levels. For instance, in The Evolution of the Internet text set, teachers explained that they chose to start with video about Cybersafety, followed by a newspaper article entitled Are Teenagers Really Careless about Online Privacy? to hook students and help them see how the topic was relevant to themselves.

Each set includes:

A bibliography of all the texts/resources mentioned and where they can be accessed

A student-friendly glossary

Supports for struggling readers

Activities to complete after reading, watching, or working with different materials such as completing a Rolling Knowledge Journal, identifying a "Sensational Six" set of key vocabulary words, and making a quiz to deliver to another student

After completing an expert pack, all students, even those who are weak readers, should be able to read a complex text on the topic at their grade level. Like the weak readers in the baseball study, they'll have essentially raised their reading level on a given topic by building their knowledge of it. Students may still benefit from scaffolds when reading complex text on the topic, but now they will have a strong starting point from which to approach it. You can access free text sets on a variety of topics for grades K-10 on Achieve the Core. Newsela, also has a large selection of free text sets for grades 2-12 on current events topics ranging from the recent presidential debate to the Pokemon Go craze.

To hear a teacher's perspective on Achieve the Core's text sets and how she recommends using them in the classroom, read Shannon Garrison's blog post: Text sets: Building blocks of background knowledge.The blog post is part of the Right Tool for the Job: Improving Reading and Writing in the Classroom series on the Thomas B. Fordham Institute blog.

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Supplementing Your Curriculum with Knowledge-Building Text Sets - Achieve the Core Aligned Materials

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In a 1988 study, researchers asked a group of 7th and 8th grade students to read a passage about baseball. The group had mixed reading abilities: some students were generally strong readers, while others normally struggled. The students also reflected the general population in that some liked and knew a lot about baseball while others ...

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Teaching online is like traveling to a new country. You're not really sure where anything is, you are afraid to try new things because you might be embarrassed, and you miss the ease of your old daily life and the ability to connect seamlessly with others.

On the other hand, it can be very exciting to see student learning in new and different ways, you can take pride in the growth you experience while learning new instructional strategies, and you will make connections that sometimes can be even more meaningful because you have the opportunity for one-on-one interactions.

This article will give you some ideas on how to navigate this journey as you plan instruction for your English language learners (ELLs) through distance learning.

Needs Assessment

It's important to start your planning by looking more closely at the factors that will impact the success of your students' experiences with distance learning. You can use this downloadable needs assessment for planning ELLs' distance learning, which includes considerations for both offline and online learning.

The tools covers multiple topics; you may wish to read through them all to see which are most relevant to your work or complete the tool as part of a team. The questions can be used by individuals or teams. I also recommend ELL teachers work with grade level and/or content area teams to review these questions so all educators are on the same page when considering how to deliver instruction and what supports should be in place for students and families.

Once the team has reviewed tool, they can determine their priorities and where to put their energy for planning instruction.

District planning examples

Here are some ELL district planning documents that we have used in Roseville, MN:

Distance Learning Strategies

Survey: Distance Learning & ELLs

What does distance learning look like for ELLs in your district? Tell us in this brief survey.

Note: This section refers to some specific platforms by name, although your district may use other approved platforms. It's critical to understand online security risks for children and take measures to protect students' privacy as part of your planning.

1. Get to know your tools.

Take a look at our needs assessment and the section on tools for instruction. Depending on what Learning Management System (LMS) your district uses, there may be tutorials to help you learn how to use these instructional tools.

Keep in mind that:

the focus should be on how the tools can best support teaching and learning goals rather than on the tools themselves

it's best not to introduce too many new tools - otherwise students will spend their time learning the tools rather than learning the content

your district may have a list of approved and vetted platforms for distance learning.

See more in 4 Buckets Manage ALL Our Virtual School Tech by Tan Huynh.

2. Establish a structured learning environment.

This is a lot like arranging your classroom at the beginning of the year - without the inspiring posters! Decide what tools you want students to use regularly (only pick a few) and set up the dashboard or learning activity page. For example, you may want to have a calendar with assignments, announcements, discussion board, and a chat room. Students will know what to do every week because the lesson structure repeats with different content.

For example:

open with a video greeting that you have recorded

do two readings

comment on the discussion board

connect with a partner

write or record (audio or video) a short discussion of your take-aways from the learning, etc.

See more ideas in Five Structures for Virtual School from Tan Huynh's Empowering ELLs blog.

3. Emphasize language production.

Remember to keep the focus on academic learning and to avoid providing only skills-based activities, even if your primary activity is content review. If students are isolated in their homes, they are not likely to have much English language exposure. While this is a valuable time for students to deepen their native language skills with family members, it is critical that teachers build in activities that require students to share their thinking in English.

Look for ways to build interaction, even if you aren't using video. For example, students can post messages via writing, audio, and video and respond to each other. Recordings should be short - three to five minutes in general. If you want to try out sharing your own tips on distance learning for ELs, post to this Flipgrid!

Another strategy is to create videos that students can watch at their convenience and review multiple times for practice. (Some teachers have noted that their ELLs are struggling to keep up with "live" instruction and would benefit from videos they can review multiple times.) You may wish to share greetings, lessons, and important information this way.

See additional ideas in these posts:

4. Scaffold supports.

Differentiate instruction and activities to accommodate different English language proficiency levels. This may mean that you have different sections and tasks for identified students. If you have mainstream students performing closer to grade level, they may interact with the content tasks with minimal support.

For beginning level English learners, however, you will need to analyze the instruction, readings, and activities to provide accommodations such as:

native language or simple English explanations through video

more visuals

native language or leveled English text

an activity completed in a small group rather than independently.

Pairs and groups can be assigned in online learning platforms and it can be helpful for students to collaborate on learning just like in the classroom. Online learning doesn't mean everything has to be done in isolation - many young people are used to connecting with each other through electronic platforms and this is no different.

5. Get those creative juices flowing. (We all have them!)

Many teachers are not going to love online teaching and may grieve the lack of daily interaction with students. It is important to keep a sense of fun and personalization in the online environment. This is an opportunity to reconnect with the creative juices that might be dormant!

Students like it when teachers share little personal stories or pictures. They will also enjoy doing more creative projects and sharing them online. This could be a VoiceThread or Adobe Spark presentation, which allows students to create a slideshow and explain each slide verbally. Their classmates can respond on each slide with a text or verbal response. It's also a good opportunity for a project presentation video or graphic design/artwork assignment.

Give students choices of how to demonstrate their learning - they may surprise you with the creative work they share. My son had a talent for creating music playlists and he created a themed playlist for an assignment explaining how each song related to his insights in a novel. He also dressed up as Arthur Dent for a creative book review and I could not figure out for four months where my ratty green bathrobe had gone...until we cleaned his locker at the end of the year!

6. Look for ways to support social-emotional learning.

Many teachers have shared that their ELLs are valuing the chance to connect with them and their peers as well as continue their education through distance learning. Look for ways to help provide positive encouragement, continue building relationships, and offer support during a time of anxiety and stress. This is especially important for students who may have experienced trauma and a lot of upheaval, like refugees or students with interrupted education - particularly given the abrupt nature of many of the national school shutdowns.

For some great ideas, take a look at:

You can also look for ways to connect content to students' experiences and cultures through culturally relevant instruction.

Online Activities for ELLs

Here are some examples of activities for ELLs, with a focus on oral language development and content development.

1. Students can upload videos of themselves reading their favorite books.

2. Students can write and draw responses to a prompt (for example, "What is one way you can be helpful to your family at home?") and then students can leave questions or comments for each other.

3. Students can film themselves solving a math problem or record themselves explaining how they solved the problem, and the teacher can provide feedback.

4. Students can interview someone in their family that is important to them and create a presentation to share. They can present in both English and native language and include photos or short videos with quotes from their important person. Other students can leave written or verbal comments on slides in English or the students native language.

5. Teacher can create a presentation with slides and voice narration on a platform like VoiceThread. Students can respond orally or in writing to questions posed in the VoiceThread.

6. Teacher can provide a slideshow with visuals on a content topic and resource links for students to learn about the topic. Different students are assigned a few slides to narrate for their classmates to learn about the topic. A variation of this is for students to each get a different topic related to the unit (after learning about it from the teacher) and have them create a group presentation on that topic to share with the class.

Activity: Pass the Paper

Post a short text or image as a prompt to start the discussion.

Round 1: Everyone posts a word, phrase, or short comment about the prompt (depending on age/proficiency levels) via written response, audio, or video.

Round 2: Everyone adds a question related to a classmate's round 1 post.

Round 3: Everyone adds an answer to a classmate's question from round 2.

Round 4: Students review all questions and answers on the grid and use the information to help them write (or record) a reflection that they send to the teacher.

Planning Instruction

Once you have a sense of your goals and what tools you will use for distance learning, you can focus on developing a unit of lessons. A weekly plan as part of a learning unit can help you maintain the same structure and learning activities each week. If students get used to the structure of the online learning course or the materials they receive weekly, they can use their mental energy on language and content learning.

An example of a weekly online instructional schedule might look like this for secondary English learners:

Lesson Launch:

Introduce topic w/ video and essential question

Students interact on a discussion board and share one take-away and one question regarding each reading.

Assign group project to students related to the learning objective. (Students work in Google docs or Padlet) to create a visual to upload and share with the class.

1/2 page written reflection is submitted.

Written reflections are evaluated and feedback comments are shared in writing.

Assign two readings.

Assign 1/2 page written reflection on the essential question using evidence from text to support claims. Due Thursday.

Teacher shares link to recorded video mini-lecture on the topic.

Teacher meets with the students to have a class / small group discussion on the essential question. Teacher can share sentence stems.

Teacher shares snippets of quality written responses to the essential question through messages or class discussions and discusses what makes the response a quality example.

An example online instruction schedule might look like this for elementary English learners:

Lesson Launch:

Introduce topic w/ video and essential question

Students read aloud from books that have been sent home or available online via Epic (free to school closure) or RAZ Kids (fee based).

Assign two independent student learning activities related to the learning objective.

1/2 page written reflection is submitted by returning a packet or taking a photo of response and submitting it.

Written reflections are evaluated and feedback comments are shared in writing.

Assign two student learning activities such as a game or learning app.

Teacher introduces by video the academic language structures needed to share their thinking about essential video.

Students write 1/2 page response to the essential question using sentence frames. For beginning ELs, provide scaffolded support such as a graphic organizer with pictures and key vocabulary.

Teacher meets with the students to have a class / small group discussion on the essential question. Teacher can share sentence stems.

Teacher shares snippets of quality written responses to the essential question through messages or class discussions and discusses what makes the response a quality example.

Sample lesson: An online lesson for ELLs

An online lesson plan takes into account the asynchronous (not in real time) learning environment and need for active learning in different ways. It is unlikely that a teacher and students will be able to meet live every day at the same time, so the lesson will be prepared and shared online for students and families to work with according to their own schedule and access to a device or Wi-Fi. The lesson, which is part of a larger unit, will include certain elements such as student engagement, language production, demonstrating content learning, critical thinking tasks, scaffolded supports and an assessment.

Here is a sample lesson plan for a 3rd grade EL level 2 student group. The lesson will be delivered with SeeSaw. Here is the EL Distance Learning Lesson Plan fillable template.

Standard: 4-ESS2-1

Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.

Content Objective:

I can observe the impact of erosion.

I can give evidence to support my explanation of my observation.

Language Objective:

I can explain the impact of erosion using observation evidence in a sentence frame, "I observed that when ________ then ___________."

Introduction:

"Today we will learn about erosion. Erosion is when earth or rocks are worn away by water or wind. You will do a home experiment to learn about erosion and explain your observation on SeeSaw."

Modeling:

Show students how to set up the experiment using the materials listed in the lesson. Introduce the sentence frame and any key vocabulary by stating an example sentence for the students. "I observed that erosion happened when I poured a lot of water on the dirt."

Activity/assignment:

For your experiment you will put dirt in a small tub and put the tub at an angle or slope. Make some holes in an empty pop bottle then fill it with water and hold it over the dirt. What happens if you try different things?
1. If the dirt tub is at a higher slope?
2. If the dirt tub is flat?
3. If you have a little water come out?
4. If you have a lot of water come out?

Reflection: After students have seen each other's video explanations of the experiment, they will write an exit ticket on Padlet to state one thing they know about erosion and one thing they liked from the activity.

Teacher reflection: From the exit tickets, I can see that the students understand that more erosion happens when the slope is higher and there is more water. Next time I will think of alternatives to certain materials since not all students had dirt for the experiment.

Scaffolded support for different language proficiencies: (click all that apply in the lesson)

Adapted from Generation Genius: Weathering and Erosion - grades 3 - 5 lesson plan

Online learning tools

Here are three platforms that your district may be using. This is not an endorsement of any one product, but rather a quick guide to some resources teachers have used successfully with ELLs.

You can learn more about the privacy ratings of these and other platforms from the Common Sense Privacy Evaluation program. Please ask for guidance on the most secure ways to use any platform, including those listed below, with a particular eye on protecting personally identifiable information (PII) for ELLs and immigrant students.

Note: Some districts do not permit the use of video or images of students for security reasons. To learn more about protecting student privacy for ELLs and immigrant students, see our related resource section. Keep in mind that some free platforms may sell data to third-party vendors. In addition, Zoom is facing increased scrutiny for security problems.

Seesaw article: Remote Learning for Teachers

Privacy evaluation: Seesaw (Common Sense Media)

Strengths:

1. Focus on oral language production
2. Family connection
3. Ease of use
4. Visual platform
5. Free

Tool: Flipgrid

Flipgrid article: Remote Learning with Flipgrid

Privacy evaluation: Flipgrid (Common Sense Media)

Strengths:
1. Focus on oral language production
2. Student-to-Student connection
3. Ease of use - multiple classes
4. Visual platform
5. Free

Tool: VoiceThread

Website resources: Digital Database of Successful VoiceThread Projects

Privacy evaluation: VoiceThread (Common Sense Media)

1. Content presentation with oral and written language production
2. Student-to-Student connection
3. Ease of use - project based and collaborative
4. Visual platform
5. Free

Assessment and Feedback

Using rubrics

Students need feedback in order to learn. Whatever platform you use, you will need to determine how you will give feedback on their learning. If it is online, students can use rubrics for assignments and receive comments verbally or in writing. Comments can be encouraging and individualized to help them learn how to apply the feedback. In a non-digital system, teachers will need to try other approaches, such as phone calls, to students to review their work and questions.

A clear rubric for content and language production is helpful to guide the students' work. Allow students to revise work because it is about learning, not perfection. It's also highly likely that students will not fully understand what is expected in a task due to the new learning format. Use "second attempts" as an opportunity for them to apply your feedback and demonstrate learning.

The importance of regular feedback

The best feedback will happen frequently in multiple areas of the digital space. It could be on the discussion board, individual assignments or larger projects. Since students can't see you, they need to know you are there through your interaction and encouraging feedback. You may be nervous in this new platform and they are equally (if not more) nervous because they want to do well and they need to hear from you daily so they know they are on the right track.

Remember they do not have the advantage of asking questions in a classroom and getting your feedback as they work, so give them additional opportunities in the digital platform. We are asking learners who rely on a lot of classroom scaffolded supports to be successful to become independent learners overnight. The chart below shows the intersection between language skills and learning - how a student's language abilities impact their independent learning level.
Continuum of Language and Learning

DEPENDENT

INDEPENDENT

READING/ WRITING

Marisa

Tomas

LISTENING/

Tomas

SPEAKING

Marisa

Grading

Keep a grade book online so students know what is due, what grades they received (if grades are being used) and the feedback for assignments. If beginning-level students are attempting assignments in an online platform, teachers may want to advocate for a Pass/No Pass grading system because they will be working very hard in a language they don't fully understand to demonstrate their learning. (Some districts are using Pass/No Pass more broadly.)

Tips for Collaboration

Just as planning instruction for distance learning will take intentional thought and planning, so will collaboration. The good news is that there may be new kinds of opportunities for collaborating as it becomes an even more critical piece of the puzzle during this time of school closures, especially for ELLs. There also may be new kinds of instruction happening, such as project-based learning or more content-specific lessons, that will lend themselves well to collaboration among content-area teachers and EL educators.

Other teachers are also great resources for instructional problem-solving; collaboration between general education and ELL teachers will make lessons engaging and accessible for ELLs.

Here are some ideas on how to collaborate on behalf of ELs at a distance, which can be used among individuals or larger groups. These strategies can also be used for colleagues who have an established partnership, as well as those who are new to collaborating. And remember that it may be much easier to start small - choose just one strategy that fits your schedule and workload, and think about how to use it strategically!

Check in with a colleague to see whether they are in touch with ELLs and their families and if they need suggestions on how to make contact.

Check in with a colleague on whether they need some ideas on how to support EL instruction.

Invite a colleague to co-plan and/or co-teach a lesson.

Ask a colleague to share a question or challenge they would like to address.

Share examples of how you are collaborating more broadly with colleagues (and ask the people who are already partnering with you to do the same).

Send a note to colleagues whom you haven't worked with before introducing yourself, briefly explaining your role, and sharing ideas on how you might work together.

Share examples of student work, successful student activities, or strategies for distance learning/family engagement that seem to working well for ELs in your school or district.

Partner with a team on behalf of a specific student, group of students, or family.

Consider sending out a strategy or resource idea on a regular basis to colleagues.

Final Thoughts

It's okay to feel a range of emotions as you begin this new distance learning adventure. Remember you are making history! Also remember that you are not alone and it's important to develop your own professional learning community around this work. Since the whole world is going through an online teaching revolution due to school closings, there are a myriad (almost too many) of resources available to help with online learning.

To keep from being overwhelmed:

Don't get lost in the weeds of all the choices.

Keep your focus clearly on what you want students to learn.

Think of a creative project.

Use one or two "go to" apps that work for you and your students to adjust to this new learning environment.

Think of e-learning as Emergency Learning - and you are a learner.

Don't forget to take care of yourself.

When the Apollo 13 crew was in danger, great minds got together and solved the seemingly impossible problem of placing a square vent in a round hole. This is our opportunity to bring our great minds together and do what seems impossible - teach all students through distance learning. With creativity, a good team and some extra pots of coffee, you will succeed!

Recommended Resources

For additional resources, see:

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Distance Learning for ELLs: Planning Instruction

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Teaching online is like traveling to a new country. You're not really sure where anything is, you are afraid to try new things because you might be embarrassed, and you miss the ease of your old daily life and the ability to connect seamlessly with others.

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Student activity books to build vocabulary, grammar forms and functions, and other academic skills.

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https://www.coreknowledge.org/curriculum/science/

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Best FREE ENGLISH Learning App for Teaching ESL Learners From Home!

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Speech Time Fun: Speech and Language Activities

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EET? What are these three letters I see floating around Pinterest and speech blogs? What is the hype?

It is a tool created by Sara L. Smith that is used to improve expressive language. This tool can be used to show students all the different pieces of information they can use when describing.

But this kit costs so much money? Why do I need this whole kit? Well this kit is jam packed with goodies that will help make this strategy work! It comes with a manual, poster, a teacher strand, stickers, 2 dice, and pictures of common objects to teach the concept.

But the cost? OK, yes, my district was NOT one of the lucky ones that paid for this kit. How did I acquire it? I used Donors Choose!! If you are not familiar with that website, you can create a "project" and get donators to contribute to it. If you are familiar with Donors Choose, you know that you need to typically use one of the website's vendors for your projects. However, if you have 6 points you can use an outside vendor. I created small projects that were quickly funded, to help me earn enough points to create a special project! I put all the EET goodies into my "project" and my wish was granted! So, if you don't see your districts purchasing this kit for you, you can try this alternate method!

OK, now that you know it is possible to get this kit, let me tell you more about the goodies in it. Why do you need the manual if you read blogs? Well, it has tons of activities to help teach each bead, putting it all together, and carrying over into classroom activities. It also has graphic organizers and even a parent involvement section!

Here is an example of my a worksheet to learn the beads:

Students struggling to learn the different beads? Even with the activities in the manual? I have a BUNDLE in my TpT store that can help you! Click HERE to learn more about it and the different products within it!

Once students comprehend the beads and putting it together, we practice using various games and activities. I use Leapin Lizards and classifying fishing game from Super Duper, Ned's Head, Headbanz and so much more!

OK, so your students learn to describe common objects, and express categories, function, parts, composition, where to find it, what it looks like and more, now what? How can students use this skill in their classrooms?! Well, first, I teach them to compare/contrast using this strategy!

I used my Compare and Contrast Pictures product to show two images and students had to determine if they two had the same answer for each bead. We wrote on the therapy table using a dry erase board to record our responses. Then, we practiced expressing and even writing our responses!

What else do we do? I take nonfiction texts and show students how to recall significant details and tell/write a summary! I use passages from Readworks.org, NewsELA, EdHelper, K12reader.com, and more!

Do your students have to write a biography or research paper? They can use this strategy! The manual helps guide you to teach you how!

I really, truly just love this kit. I love tools that allow kids to use a multi sensory approach and prompt themselves. I see a lot of growth by using this tool. I was NOT formally trained but was able to learn by reading the manual and various blogs about the EET.

Have you seen my OLD blog posts about the EET? You can access them by clicking the links below:
EET Carryover Ideas Building Vocabulary with EET EET Dice Understanding Non-Fiction Texts and more
Below are some games that I love to use with the EET:

Want a better view of the components of the EET and hear more about how I use it? Want bonus ideas for lessons and activities? Watch this video below of my Periscope on this topic!

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How I Use the EET! (and why having the whole kit is SO worth it!) - Speech Time Fun: Speech and Language Activities

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EET? What are these three letters I see floating around Pinterest and speech blogs? What is the hype? It is a tool created by Sara L. Smith that is used to improve expressive language. This tool can be used to show students all the different pieces of information they can use when describing.

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Videos and Additional Information on Expanding Expression

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Videos and Additional Information on Expanding Expression

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Includes link to pinterest board with many resources

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BY Melissa

Does your child have a learning disability in oral expression or written expression? Perhaps a language impairment affects your child's ability to describe things in an organized way? Maybe your child is just a reluctant writer who struggles with how to get started? The expanding expression tool may be helpful for you.

Meet the Expanding Expression Tool

The expanding expression tool (EET) is a kit developed by a speech-language pathologist from Michigan. It is a multi-functional, tactile tool to help with language and writing development. It can be used for oral expression and written expression.

The tool uses a color-coded chart to help a student describe an object by the group it belongs in, what it does, what it looks like, what it is made of, what its parts are, where you find it, and what else you know about it. This can be a verbal or written activity.

This tool is great for tactile learners, who can benefit from using a string of beads to represent each different dot on the chart. It also offers a great visual layout for children who benefit from graphic organizers and structured activities.

Who Will Benefit?

The EET is particularly helpful for struggling/reluctant writers, but it can be differentiated for different ages, abilities, and needs. I've used the tool one on one, in small groups, and in whole-class instruction, which may include students with or without disabilities. The school's SLP and I recently presented the EET tool as a professional development opportunity for our whole staff, so general education teachers can use it in the classroom.

How It Works

At the very basic level, the EET tool helps learners describe an object. Often, students can label an object but can't tell about it. This affects their ability to categorize, make connections and associations, comprehend, compare/contrast, etc.

The EET can be used for descriptive writing, personal narratives, informative writing, and opinion writing. I've even done it specifically for animal research projects. Once students can describe an object in seven sentences, you can easily move on to stretching it to seven paragraphs.

For kids who need to write a personal narrative, for example, simply change the colors to represent what group they were with, what they did, what the setting looked like, what the characters are made of (character traits, attributes, how they feel), the parts of the story (sequence of events - great place to add dialogue!), changes to make (this is an editing step for writing), and the moral of the story/lesson learned.

Watch It in Action

There are numerous videos on YouTube showing therapists and teachers using the EET that should give you an idea of how you might use it with your child or student. Here are a few to start with.

How to Get It

The official Expanding Expression kit is a great resource that has lots of ideas and the actual tools. You can view and purchase this product at: https://www.expandingexpression.com/thekit/.

The kit is priced for professional use, and may not be practical for parents. Often, my students and I make our own EET tool using beads and a pipe cleaner. I've made graphic organizers to help students that I post in my classroom. So, if purchasing the kit isn't an option, there are definitely ways to still use EET. It's great to modify using visual choices, word choices, or asking students to describe on their own (the ultimate goal).

You can also check out Pinterest for some great free ideas that are super cute and creative.

Latest Special Needs Products

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Try This Technique for Helping Your Child with Description and Written Expression

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BY Melissa Does your child have a learning disability in oral expression or written expression? Perhaps a language impairment affects your child's ability to describe things in an organized way? Maybe your child is just a reluctant writer who struggles with how to get started? The expanding expression tool may be helpful for you.

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virtual resources that align with the support element of WIDA’s Model Performance Indicators

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virtual resources that align with the support element of WIDA’s Model Performance Indicators

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SC ESOL Virtual Supports and Accommodations.pdf

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On Demand Distance Learning Webinars for ELs

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On Demand Distance Learning Webinars for ELs

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On-Demand Webinar PD Series

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On-Demand Webinar PD Series Get ready for your English learners (ELs) to return to learning - no matter where it's taking place. Learn instructional best practices and get actionable teaching tips you can implement in your classroom right away to start making up lost instruction and keep language proficiency progressing.

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Eight Ways to Help Kids Read Complex Text

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Eight Ways to Help Kids Read Complex Text

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Blast from the Past: This entry was first issued on September 6, 2016 and it was reissued on June 27, 2020. This week several readers on social media have reposted some of my earlier writings on teaching with complex text, and this month American Educator published a new article of mine on this topic. Given that, I thought it might be a good time to pull this blog back which suggests several practical steps to teaching students to make sense of complex text. If a better question doesn't emerge in the next couple of weeks, perhaps i'll write a new follow up, adding some additional ways teachers can support the reading of complext text. Teacher Question: My district is currently "grappling" with the idea of asking students to read complex text if they are significantly below the grade level. As an example, within one fourth grade class, a teacher identified that more than half her class is 1-2 grade levels below the expectation for reading (using multiple measures). Her response is to change the level of the text, and try to move the students forward. The common theme in our schools is that growth is what matters, not proficiency. However, our new reading series expects students to perform in more complex texts. Even the "approaching" level books are above what we typically would ask struggling students to read. Could you give some specific examples of how to scaffold, when students are unable to read half the words on a page?
First, if students are reading like first-graders-that is, they are struggling with decoding (and the statement that kids can't read 50% of the words in their book sounds like kids who are more than 1-2 years below level)-then you definitely should be trying to teach them out of easier books, not grade level ones. Indeed, the complex text prescription is not for them. However, if they are that low, you should be doing more than placing them in low demand reading books. You also should be providing them with substantial amounts of phonics and fluency training in class as well (like 30 minutes per day of each), and, perhaps providing them additional training in those outside of class.

However, if your fourth-graders really are reading like second- or third graders then teaching them with grade level materials makes sense. It not only means that you would be teaching your students what your state has committed you to teach them, but you would be exposing them to content or ideas more appropriate to their intellectual functioning and interests.

Second, vary the reading demands on these students who will be working with, what for them, will be challenging text. They should be doing what athletes do, which is varying the degree of difficulty when they train. Some texts should be easier, some harder-with less scaffolding and support with the easier ones, and more with the harder ones. Traditionally, experts have argued that all instructional reading should be at the instructional level; I'm suggesting that it should vary, both up and down for maximum impact. Harder texts give students opportunities to negotiate the features of text that can be barriers to comprehension, while easier texts give them the opportunity to consolidate that learning.

Third, let the kids in on the secret. Tell them what you are doing. Make sure they know that instead of teaching them out of second grade books or other baby stuff you will be teaching them to read out of a fourth grade book; it will be harder, but also more interesting and more respectful. In my experience, which matches a lot of research on motivation, kids like challenge, especially if you'll help them to succeed with it. The point isn't to scare the students, but to let them know what's going on, why you are doing it, and assuring them that you intend to make them successful.

Fourth, if students are far behind, reverse the order that you normally use with guided reading and fluency practice. Most teachers will have kids read a selection for comprehension in the reading group and then have them practice reading that text aloud afterwards. That way, kids can quickly accomplish fluency with a text, since they have already read it once or twice and discussed it with the teacher. However, with kids two or more grade levels behind, it makes sense to reverse things. Give those kids a chance to read the text aloud once or twice before doing the comprehension reading in the group. (This can be done lots of ways: tape recorders, parent volunteers, paired reading, echo reading with the teacher... whatever). If kids have tried to read through the text once or twice before hand they will be in much better shape for trying to make sense of the harder text. Even though the emphasis of the fluency work would not be on comprehension, they'll figure out more of the ideas than you might presume and, most importantly in this context, they will have figured out enough of the decoding to have "raised their level" with that text by at least a grade level.

Fifth, preteach vocabulary that the author does not explain or define. If a word is explained in the text or you think kids can figure it out from context, do not take time to preteach it. But words that you don't think students will know, tell them ahead of time. With fourth graders it is usually enough to give them a glossary for those words.

Sixth, when reading the text for comprehension, chunk it into small sections (a paragraph, a page)... Asking questions at the end of each and guiding rereading when kids can't answer the questions. As they get better with this, stretch them out, by giving them larger chunks.

Seventh, go through the text and identify particularly complicated sentences (e.g., long sentences, sentences in passive voice, sentences with multiple clauses). During discussion time, ask a question about the ideas expressed in those sentences. If students can't answer them, then take them back to the sentence in the text and show them how to break it down to make sense of it. It's amazing that teachers, who are often willing to guide kids in breaking down multi-syllable words, don't provide similar support with complicated sentences.

Eighth, pay special attention to cohesion... kids get lost in synonyms, pronouns, etc. Get students to be explicit about who "he" is, or what animal was being referred to as "the mammal." There are exercises that can be done to strengthen these skills, like drawing connecting lines between those words, but it can be enough to question kids closely about those relations.

Even more can be done, but those supports are substantial and effective. There is an extensive body of research supporting their effectiveness, both in improving student reading achievement and in transforming frustration level text into instructional text.

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Eight Ways to Help Kids to Read Complex Text | Shanahan on Literacy

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The idea of having students read complex text, rather than instructional level texts has been controversial, but more and more kids are being asked to.

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Loving2Read - An endless library of children's books

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Use Loving2Read to help your child foster a love of reading with free children's books at their level

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Take this 1-hour course to become an official Seesaw Pioneer. After you become official, you'll gain access to exclusive resources and can connect with your fellow Pioneers! Do not take this course if you are ALREADY a Seesaw Pioneer or Ambassador.

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We cannot co-teach without co-planning because the fruits of effective co-teaching are rooted in the seeds of intentional co-planning .

If you are new to co-planning or have a limited amount of time for co-planning, this post shares my personal top five most used strategies when co-planning. I hope you find them helpful!

High-Impact Co-planning (HICP)

Let's pretend that I'm giving you a task: to put four large stones, a handful of pebbles, and a pile of sand into a gallon mason jar. In what order will you place these items? Most people would see fairly quickly that they need to space the four large stones first as they take up the most space.

It is the same concept for HICP. Co-planning a bulletin board - like the pile of sand - takes up less space and produces significantly fewer results than planning an end-of-unit summative assessment - the big stones. Not everything is worth co-planning.

The topics that support multiple days of learning need to anchor our co-planning . These include:

Unit planning

Whole-class novels

End-of-unit projects

Standards mapping

Summative assessments

Essential question sequencing

Rubrics and success criteria

Extended writing tasks (lab reports, essays)

A single session of co-planning on any of these topics will carry you and your colleague through a full unit. Though you will have to meet briefly to readjust on a daily or weekly basis, HICP will prevent you from starting from scratch each time you co-plan. These are the anchoring items of your co-planning, and they are less stress-inducing than planning the day-to-day details.

Content-Product-Process

Content-Product-Process is my go-to strategy when working with colleagues. This framework comes from Carol Ann Tomlinson and is used to differentiate work (2015). I use it to determine:

Content: what topics and content standards do students have to learn.

Product: what students have to produce to demonstrate mastery (e.g., a report, poster, animated video, essay, infographic).

Process: how students will learn the content (e.g., lectures, videos, readings, simulations, group work, individual study).

Once we identify these items, we can plan who will teach what, who will work with whom, what resources we need to provide, and what scaffolds we can build in. This process saves a significant amount of time because the questions are highly targeted.

Features of Academic Language: Word, Sentence, Discourse

Teachers often ask how can they be teachers of language when they are a science, PE, design, math, art, music, or drama teacher?

And the answer is: They need to be teachers of the language used in their content area. To be a teacher of language in this way means focusing on the three different features of academic language:

Word/phrase level: the content-specific, Tier 3 words needed to understand the content (e.g., supply-demand, photosynthesize, D minor).

Sentence level: the sentence structures used to communicate about content-related topics (e.g., According to the data, when the shape of the plane changes, the distance it travels increases).

Discourse level: the order of ideas from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph (e.g., a design brief might be organized by the problem, research, plan, specifications, prototypes, final product, and evaluation).

This framework of language comes from the WIDA Consortium, and teachers can use it when they are confused about how to support language learners. Sustained co-planning that focuses on these text structures will have an even bigger impact. By using this method, even a drama teacher can be a teacher of language - the language of drama.

WIDA Key Uses: Command Terms

WIDA conducted a research study on the most common command terms used from kindergarten through college. They organized these command terms into four categories, which they called Key Uses (Gottlieb, 2013):

When co-planning, identify the command term(s) that students are responsible for demonstrating as they learn the content and engage with the assignments. Once we identify the command terms, we are better prepared to co-plan since each command term comes with different vocabulary to use:

Recall: In the beginning, then, after that, second, finally

Explain: As a result, therefore, due to, a consequence, this occurred because

Argue: The most important, the least effective, the most significant factor

Discuss: As Abdul said, according to Ichigo, in contrast to Roberto's suggestion

Co-planning with WIDA's Key Uses is another way content teachers can become teachers of language - specifically, the terminology and prose of their content area. Being a teacher of language means making visible the language used by experts.

Deconstruct and Sequence

As you plan with colleagues, work to deconstruct the task into its essential elements. For example, the parts of a research paper can consist of:

Once we've deconstructed these parts, then sequence the order in which students must present the information. Each part then becomes a mini-task that students have to engage with. The assignment becomes more manageable. When we co-plan this way, students are less likely to say, "I do not know where to start."

This strategy can also support backward design. Once we can identify all the different parts of the assignment, we can more easily sequence them to move students cognitively towards a specific end goal in mind. When designing assessments, remember that the order of the task is just as important as the content.

Co-planning must be in the service of our colleagues, not just our studentsTwitter . We joke in our field that sometimes our colleagues run away when they see us walking towards them to co-plan. Introducing them to ideas like these can help stop the running!

When co-planning is an efficient use of time and in the service of our colleagues' responsibilities, our colleagues will see co-planning with us less like a job they have to do and more of a step they want to include in their teaching.

The best part is that these strategies can be used in-person or virtually. The virtual nature of a co-planning session does not change the need to focus on high-leverage items. I hope these strategies serve you and help make your colleagues eager to co-plan with you. They have certainly helped me structure and maximize my limited co-planning time.
References
Gottlieb, M. (2013). Essential Actions: A Handbook for Implementing WIDA's Framework for English Language Development Standards. Madison: Board of Regents of the U of Wisconsin System.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2005). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. New Jersey: Pearson.

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115. Five time-saving co-planning strategies | Empowering ELLs

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We cannot co-teach without co-planning because the fruits of effective co-teaching are rooted in the seeds of intentional co-planning . If you are new to co-planning or have a limited amount of time for co-planning, this post shares my personal top five most used strategies when co-planning. I hope you find them helpful!

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Scroll down to find the 40 Learning Packets available for FREE download today! Check back for more soon!

Learning Packets:

We are a consortium of researchers, teacher educators, and teachers who believe in the value of multilingual education and strive for equity. Therefore, during this time of crisis and difficulty, we are eager to put our expertise and passions to use to try to be of assistance. We initially designed 21 immediate-response packets for K-5, as soon as the pandemic forced schools to shut down. We then applied for and received a grant that has allowed us to create more than 100 full activity packets, ranging from Levels 1-3 of English proficiency, and grades K-12.
The breakdown of packets is as follows: Level 1 - Entry into English
K-2, 3-5, 6-8 w/literacy background, 9-12 w/literacy background, 6-8 w/out literacy background, 9-12 w/out literacy background
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K-1, 2-3, 4-5

These packets were the first wave of packets we created (Wave 1) and they fit between Levels 1 and 2 of English Proficiency

Level 2 - Building Background
K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-12
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K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12

Have you used or are planning to use our packets? We would love your feedback. Please take a few short minutes to let us know how we are doing here.

LEVEL 1 English Proficiency

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Scroll down to find the 40 Learning Packets available for FREE download today! Check back for more soon! Learning Packets: We are a consortium of researchers, teacher educators, and teachers who believe in the value of multilingual education and strive for equity.

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(Distance Learning) 2021 Scaffolds: Anchors of support  for ELLs and others

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Scaffolding Grade-Level Content for English learners

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Interactive Google Slides Sentence Strips Activity

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This resource section includes numerous articles, blog posts, and links to online networks with tips for planning distance learning for English language learners (ELLs). See our complete distance learning guide for more information.

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This resource section includes numerous articles, blog posts, and links to online networks with tips for planning distance learning for English language learners (ELLs). See our complete distance learning guide for more information.

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If you are not familiar with the Expanding Expression Tool (EET), please read my review and follow up posts here. It is available from Sara Smith at her website. Today, I want to bring you some other ideas that you can easily incorporate into your therapy using this amazing tool.

1. Choose 5-8 items from any book that you're reading and describe them using the EET. This can reinforce the events from the book while working on overall expressive language skills.

2. Use the EET stickers and give each student a different item. Set a timer and race to see who can finish writing down their descriptions the fastest. Then share aloud.

3. Use the EETchy Steppers on the ground. Tell the students they each need to stand on a stepper. Name 2 items and have your students describe the attribute that they are standing on. Switch steppers and repeat.

4. Go on an EET walk around the school. Pick different items to name and use the beads to describe at least 3-4 attributes about each item.

5. If students are having difficulty with a particular bead, spend one session on just that bead. My younger students seem to have the most difficulty with the green bead in the beginning, so we spend a lot of time naming the category of different items.

Hope these 5 simple ideas get you started with the EET or refresh your therapy if you've been using it for awhile! I love this tool and so do my students!

Bringing you speech therapy ideas and activities 365 days a year!

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If you are not familiar with the Expanding Expression Tool (EET), please read my review and follow up posts here. It is available from Sara Smith at her website. Today, I want to bring you some other ideas that you can easily incorporate into your therapy using this amazing tool.