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Lily Wong Fillmore is a linguist (Ph.D. in Linguistics from Stanford University) and an educator (volunteer teacher in farm labor camps from 1954 to 1964); and member of Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education faculty (1974-2004). Much of her research, teaching and writing over the past four and a half decades has focused on issues related to the education of language minority students.  She has explored social and cognitive processes in language learning, cultural differences in language learning behavior, sources of variation in learning, and primary language retention and loss.  She has conducted studies of second language learners in school settings that include Latino, Asian, American Indian and Alaskan Native children. Since her retirement from the Berkeley faculty in 2004, she has worked with educators in urban school districts (Denver, Boston, NYC, San Francisco, Albuquerque and Fresno), and with the Council of Great City Schools, to improve academic language and literacy instruction for English learners and other linguistically diverse students.

The Foundations course presents the research and theory of action that frame the subsequent 10 courses. It builds on the premise that ELLs and struggling students must have access to grade level content and receive instruction that builds their capacity to engage in complex thinking as well as understand and produce complex forms of written and spoken language.  The Foundations course provides participants who subsequently enroll in the ELA and/or Math courses with a common language and understanding of the important role that academic language plays in learning grade level content and the central role that teachers play in creating engaging and rigorous learning experiences.

Citation: n.a. ( 2023, November 1). Council of the Great City Schools. The Nation's Voice for Urban Education.www.cgcs.org

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Council of the Great City Schools / Council of the Great City Schools - Homepage

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Congratulations to Boston School Committee Member Michael O’Neill for winning the 2023 Green-Garner Award.

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One Way Immersion Program typically includes native- English speakers or native speakers of the second language as most students enrolled. Students in this program use both languages to learn content and language simultaneously.

Two-Way Immersion Programs 50 % one language and 50% English Speakers. Taught by Endorsed teachers and General Education licensed teachers. Produce fully bilingual learners—50% instruction in English and 50% in partner language.

Citation: n.a. ( 2023, November 1). Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.www.doe.mass.edu/ele/programs/dle.html.

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Dual Language Education

A Dual Language program is defined in the M.G.L. 71A, as "a model designed to promote bilingualism and biliteracy, cross-cultural competency, and high levels of academic achievement for both native English speakers and ELs from a single language background. Provided, however, that students shall develop and maintain their first language while adding a second language and shall receive the same core curriculum as all students in the state...(and) that the instruction for such students shall be provided in two languages throughout the program." Most importantly, dual language programs are additive bilingual programs because all students develop and maintain their home language while adding a second language to their repertoire.

According to the 3rd edition of the Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education (Howard et al., 2018), the term dual language refers to any program that provides literacy and content instruction to all students through two languages and that promotes bilingualism and biliteracy, grade-level academic achievement, and sociocultural competence-a term encompassing identity development, cross-cultural competence and multicultural appreciation-for all students.

Two-Way Immersion

Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programs typically include approximately an equal number of students who are monolingual or dominant in English at the time of enrollment and students who are monolingual or dominant in the partner language at the time of enrollment. There may also be students who have proficiency in both languages at the time of enrollment. In TWI programs, no less than one third and no more than two thirds of the student population are monolingual or dominant in either English or the partner language at the time of enrollment.

Essential Features of Effective TWI Programs

The student body of TWI programs includes native English speakers and native speakers of the partner language who are learning English. These programs can be effective for students at varying proficiency levels in English and the partner language, students with special needs, and students who come from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds and educational experiences when they first enter the program.

The design of TWI programs allows students to master academic content while becoming bilingual, biliterate, and multiculturally competent. Although there is flexibility in how TWI programs are structured and implemented, certain features of TWI programs are essential. Essential components for TWI programs include:

1. maintaining a minimum of 50&percnt; of the daily instructional time in the partner language (at the secondary level, this may vary);

2. opportunities for students to integrate language and content instruction that are intentional and carefully planned;

3. high academic expectations for all students; and

4. initiating the program in the primary grades (PreK-K) and extending the program through at least the elementary school level (grade 5).

One-Way Immersion*
*Note: The Department will be working on One-Way Immersion Guidance. The information below is in draft form and will be updated when guidance is finalized.
One Way Immersion (OWI) programs typically include native English-speakers or native speakers of the second language as most of the students enrolled. In OWI classrooms, instruction takes place in two languages, English, and the partner language. Students in this program use both languages to learn content and language simultaneously.

Essential Features of Effective OWI Programs

The goal of dual language immersion is to establish strong literacy skills in English and partner language in the early grades and produce fully bilingual, bi-literate students by the end of elementary school. For example, students whose primary language is Spanish would learn in English and Spanish in a one-way immersion program model. Another example would be for students whose primary language is English to learn together in Mandarin and English, or in French and English, etc.

The design of OWI programs allows students to master academic content while becoming bilingual, biliterate, and multiculturally competent. The One-Way Immersion model provides 50&percnt; of instruction in the partner language ( for example, Spanish) and 50&percnt; of instruction in English to Spanish-speaking learners. Teachers who provide instruction in these classrooms should have a bilingual endorsement.

Although there is flexibility in how OWI programs are structured and implemented, certain features of OWI programs are essential. Essential components for OWI programs include:

1. maintaining a minimum of 50&percnt; of the daily instructional time in the partner language (at the secondary level, this may vary);

2. opportunities for students to integrate language and content instruction that are intentional and carefully planned;

3. high academic expectations for all students; and

4. initiating the program in the primary grades (PreK-K) and extending the program through at least the elementary school level (grade 5).

What is the difference between One-Way Immersion (OWI) programs and Two-way Immersion (TWI) programs?

100&percnt; Students from the same language group

50&percnt; from one language group and
50&percnt; English speakers

Taught by BE Endorsed Teachers and General education licensed teachers

Taught by BE Endorsed teachers and General Education licensed teachers

Produce Fully Bilingual learners
(Additive model - Keeps developing and building on the native language while adding a second language)

Produce fully bilingual learners
(Additive model - Keeps developing and building on the native language while adding a second language)

50&percnt; of Instruction is in English and
50&percnt; in the partner language

50&percnt; of instruction is English and
50&percnt; in the partner language

Professional Development for Dual Language Education

Bilingual Education Online School Course for School Leaders Sessions RLO
List of Dual Language Programs

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massachusetts department of elementary and secondary education

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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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The goal of the Massachusetts public K-12 education system is to prepare all students for success after high school. Massachusetts public school students are leading the nation in reading and math and are at the top internationally in reading, science, and math according to the national NAEP and international PISA assessments.

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Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English Promising Futures 

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Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English Promising Futures 

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Book that dives into what it takes for EL students to be successful with the learning of English

A consensus study of the educational research on ELs past 25 years. What works? For too many ELs continue to languish in our schools, despite educators following research validated "best practices."

Citation: https://www.nap.edu/catolog/24677/promoting-the-educational-success-of-children-and-youth-learning-english

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10 Strategies for Building Relationships with ELLs

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10 Strategies for Building Relationships with ELLs

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10 Easy Research based best practices for building authentic and supportive relationships in the classroom

Citation: Lbreiseth, L. (2023b, August 25). 10 strategies for building relationships with Ells. Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/building-relationships-ells

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One of the biggest topics that educators are thinking about this year is the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL). Building relationships with students is a key aspect of SEL for students of all ages.

The good news is that there are a lot of ideas educators can try now and throughout the year. You might think of it as "going slow to go fast" - a process that not only builds confidence and community but increases engagement and supports students' later academic success.

What's in this article

We have compiled some of these ideas and resources for building relationships with English language learners (ELLs) and their classmates below in the following strategies:

Before getting started

As you read, keep in mind that many of the following activities can be differentiated for varying language proficiency levels. These strategies offer opportunities for:

And we encourage you to keep in mind Kristina Robertson's popular piece of advice: try just one new thing at a time!

Note: This article was originally written for online and hybrid settings. For tips on using these strategies in distance learning, see our recommendations at the end of the article.

Essential Question

As you read this article, consider the following essential question:
In what ways can I build strong relationships with multilingual students this year?
Strategies: Getting to Know Students

Share your stories!

If you try any ideas from this article, we'd love to hear how it went! Post your story on social media here:

Show respect for your students by taking time to learn how to pronounce and spell their names correctly. Ensure that students' names are written correctly in student databases, especially as schools move to more online systems. A misspelled name can impact the services and instruction a student receives.

When you ask students to say their name, listen carefully and repeat it until you get it right.

Ask students to record their names for you so that you can hear their pronunciation. (You can ask them to send you a voice recording or use an online platform like NameCoach.) Share recordings with colleagues who work with the students so that they also pronounce the students' names correctly.

Model the correct pronunciation of students' names to the class so that all students can say it correctly.

Use students' names when greeting them each day.

Consider asking students to share examples of how people mispronounce their name and how that makes them feel.

Learn more about different naming conventions in your students' cultures and languages.

Refrain from coming up with a nickname or a version of the name that's easier for you to say.

Project ideas:

Assign a multimedia or written project in which students share:

If your students are using technology, this is a good way to introduce online platforms they will be using this year.

You might also read aloud books from our booklists on names for children and young adults. After listening, students can record, write, or draw stories about their own names.

Using tech: SeeSaw can be used with primary grades. SeeSaw has related activities already prepared in their "Activity Bank," such as " Your Name is Everything You Are."

For older students, consider using:

What are your students' experiences, interests, hobbies, talents, goals, and strengths? Tapping into these " funds of knowledge" can:

foster relationships, friendships, and student confidence

make students' strengths more visible to peers and educators

engage students across the curriculum.

For example, the children of migrant farmworkers might have a wealth of knowledge about agriculture, seasonal harvest, and different regions of the country. (You can learn more about " funds of knowledge" from this helpful guide.)

Bring these topics into the class by:

giving students a chance to share their interests or strengths in surveys, peer interviews, writing prompts, and art projects

encouraging students to express themselves by decorating a virtual locker or bringing in something they can hang on the wall of the classroom

talking with family members about their child's interests and talents

talking with members of the students' communities about their insights

providing time for students to discuss current events of interest

learning more about culturally responsive practice (and what it looks like during a pandemic).

Note: See some great strategies from Judie Haynes and Carol Salva that incorporate these ideas into activities to start this coming new school year.

Project ideas:

Ask students to share a photo or drawing of themselves that is important to them and to explain why. (You can learn more about this strategy that ELD Team Lead Cindy Close in Douglas County, CO shared with us from Education Week.)

For a more in-depth assignment, ask students to create a project focused on one of their hobbies, interests, or talents that they can share with the class. Some examples might include a collage, a short presentation, poem, or a short video.

Using tech: The platforms mentioned under strategy one will work well for these ideas. You might also consider:

a digital photo album site, such as Google photos

a digital collage site, like PicCollage

a photo finding mission app, like Plum's Photo Hunt

Flipgrid, where students can post their digital picture while they talk about why that picture or object is important to them.

You can welcome students' languages by learning a few words or phrases, such as a greeting or how to say "thank you," or asking them to teach you and their peers some words. They will appreciate the gesture and enjoy being the teacher (and the expert) for a change!

This not only highlights the language skills that your student has, it celebrates the gift of multilingualism and gives other student a chance to think about what it is like to go through the day learning in a different language. (Learn more in our section on what it feels like to be a language learner.)

You might also look for places where you can display flags from students' countries or other photos that are meaningful for students.

Project ideas:

Create a classroom bulletin board, either online or on the wall, where students and families can add homemade signs to a world map with important words such as "hello," "friend," and "thank you." (Thank you to Amanda Goman for sharing this idea on Twitter!)

Tech ideas: Look for ways to create and decorate a shared virtual space or virtual bulletin boards with tools such as Padlet, Corkulous, or Bitmoji. (Note that some of Bitmoji's avatars are not appropriate for students, especially of younger ages.) Various Google Classroom tools include places to save images as well.

Provide opportunities for students to share important traditions throughout the year. You may wish to ask students early in the year what their favorite holidays are and then plan a lesson on that holiday with their family. Look for these opportunities throughout the year and across the curriculum, as well as including them as a part of family outreach events.

Project ideas:

Invite students and families to prepare a presentation or respond to a writing prompt about:

a family story, folktale, or local legend

a favorite saying, poem, or song from their native language

a recipe

a family or holiday tradition.

Tech ideas: Any of the creation tools mentioned above could be used for these projects.

The demands on teachers of ELLs this year will be many; however, making time for regular personal interaction with students will strengthen your ability to deliver effective, meaningful instruction and keep in touch with them during a fluid situation. To help carve out this time:

talk with colleagues and administrators about ways to fit that interaction into instruction, office hours, or family engagement

look for opportunities to co-teach or collaborate with colleagues or paraprofessionals to use time efficiently

consider using phone calls, blogs, messaging, or other forms of written communication with students as a way to check in

collect examples of success and share them with administrators to advocate for more time if needed.

Project ideas:

Ask students to prepare 3-5 (appropriate!) questions they would like to ask you in an interview, such as your favorite food, a favorite toy from childhood, or a book you enjoyed reading. After reviewing and approving their questions, schedule time for them to interview you, in person or online, which they can share with the class through a written summary, video, or presentation. If time allows, you may wish to interview them as well!

Tech ideas: Brainstorming questions would work well in small groups on Jamboard, a digital whiteboard that is a Google extension. Interviews could be done orally asynchronously via Flipgrid or Voxer, a voice messaging app for phone or desktop. Final video could be posted on any of the creation apps listed above (Seesaw, Nearpod, Peardeck, Buncee, etc.)

Strategies: Connecting Experiences to Learning

Once you get a better sense of your students' life experiences, you can connect them to learning by:

looking for ways to connect these interests to the curriculum

asking students to brainstorm ideas on what they would like to study

using an inquiry-based or project-based learning approach that allows students to take the lead in identifying a question or problem to solve/research

assigning students research projects that focus on issues or concepts that apply to their own community

identifying community assets, guest speakers, or local organizations that can support this learning

offering students opportunities to present their work in public, whether to classmates, parents, or community members.

Project ideas:

Consider taking on a classwide project (or group projects) that students help plan and design to address a topic or concern of interest.

Tech ideas: Use Jamboard to brainstorm questions students want to answer in their project or inquiry. Once the questions are posted on Jamboard, they can sort and categorize the questions. Jamboard allows students to post a sticky note and see what others are posting in real time. This can be used in break out groups and/or asynchronously.

Sharing personal stories can be powerful experiences for students and their classmates as well. Provide opportunities for students to share their stories both privately and publicly, whether through artwork, in writing, or in conversation. If a student shares some difficult experiences, consider whether more support is needed through follow-up conversations with families or counseling.
Notes of caution
If you do invite students to share personal stories:

Attend to student cues on whether they wish to share their personal experiences with classmates: Many students have endured traumatic experiences that they may not wish to share. Explain at the beginning of any storytelling activity that it is voluntary and provide alternative assignments as needed. Some students may be willing to share their experiences with their peers or in a more public format such as school assemblies, the school newspaper, or self-published books.

Be aware of the "dangers of a single story": Be mindful of what Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls "the danger of a single story" in her 2009 TED talk; in other words, when learning about a student's life story, remember that your own experiences and assumptions, as well as the stories of other individuals, may not reflect your student's life. In addition, students who have the same racial background, speak the same language, or who hail from the same country may not have much in common, and in fact may experience some tension if they come from different groups with histories of conflict.

Don't single students out because of their identity: Never put students on the spot as a "representative" of their race, gender, ethnic group, gender identity, country of origin, experience, or other aspect of their identity. Honor students' experiences and perspectives for what they are, especially if those experiences and perspectives challenge your assumptions.

Project ideas:

Work with students to present a brief personal story they want to share in writing, artwork, video, or audio. This small project may grow into a larger, longer project, such as an autobiography project or yearbook project (which could work well online!).
Tech ideas:

Storybird is an easy to use digital storytelling platform that allows students to create stories with characters and elements provided by dragging, dropping, and writing in your story.

Make Beliefs Comics is a comic strip storytelling platform.

Book Creator is an iPad app that can be used with young students.

There is a lot of attention on social-emotional learning right now for good reason. All students have experienced disruption to some level in their social and academic lives, and many students have also experienced hardship, loss, illness, trauma, and deep levels of stress and anxiety. As district leader Nathaniel Provencio notes in the video below, creating a supportive, nurturing environment for your students, regardless of setting, is a critical step in helping them navigate the uncertainty of the coming year.

Some ideas include:

keeping a calm and predictable environment

creating calm corners

preparing students for transitions

giving students sensory and stretch breaks

teaching tools for mindfulness and stress relief, such as breathing exercises or visualizations

sharing resources such as this "virtual calming room"

encouraging students to show kindness, develop empathy, and share appreciation for each other

encouraging your students to identify and focus on their strengths and resilience, as discussed above

In addition, keep an eye out for situations in which students may need additional support from counselors. Learn more about the impacts of COVID-19 on immigrant families and these trauma-informed school strategies during COVID-19 from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Project ideas:

Ask students to share an experience through writing or discussion about a time that they overcame a difficulty or reached a goal. Ask them to reflect on what made that achievement possible.

Tech ideas: Use one of the storytelling platforms above so that students can share this experience as a story or their own superhero comic.

Many educators use circle time as a chance to check in and learn more about how students are doing. We have also heard from middle and high school educators that advisory periods offer powerful opportunities to connect with students. One ELL educator shared that her colleagues at the high school level were reluctant take on advisory periods. However, in a survey at the end of the year, the overwhelming majority favored keeping the advisory periods as a way of getting to know students better throughout the year.

In addition, other educators use private mailboxes, student mood charts, journal entries, and other personal ways for students to let teachers know how they are doing.

As you work with ELLs, make sure that all students have opportunities to participate in these activities and scaffold their participating with strategies such as offering sentence frames for discussion to help scaffold students' participation.

Project ideas:

Think about different topics and questions to use during circle time or advisory, perhaps alternating between general updates and focused activities. You also wish to invite students to come up with topics and themes.

Another teacher, Jorge Bermudez, shares his alternative high school's experience with rethinking their advisory periods in the video below.

Offering students opportunities to reflect about own identity can help create an " identity-safe classroom " and also lay important groundwork for later discussions. It can also challenge the notion of "color blindness," a perspective which ignores important aspects of students' identity and experiences. When discussing identity:

Honor students' experiences and perspectives for what they are.

Avoid assumptions. Dr. Ayanna Cooper speaks more about this in her interview clips below about Black immigrant students.

Never put students on the spot as a "representative" of any aspect of their identity or experience.

Become familiar with some of the myths related to ELLs and immigrant students. If needed, share these with colleagues.

Keep in mind that students may be masking some part of their identity. For example, some Indigenous students from Latin America may not share their Indigenous culture or language with the school, or the fact that Spanish is not their first language.

Project ideas:

Look for ideas that fit your classroom in the following collection of resources:
Elementary School Middle and High School Professional development and collaboration
Closing Thoughts

There will be a lot of trial and error in the coming year. As Kristina Roberston says below, if something doesn't work, go back to the drawing board and try again! Don't let those bumps discourage you from continuing to build the critical connections that you, your students, and your families need this year. They may just be what helps everyone get through a school year like no other!

Discussion/Reflection Questions

What is one takeaway that resonates with you from this article?

What is one activity you might try?

What strategies have you used in the past to build strong relationships with students? How might you adapt them this year?

What will be hardest about building relationships this year with students and families?

What are you feeling nervous about year?

What are you looking forward to this year?

More Recommended Resources

Social-emotional resources

Interactive strategies for building relationships & distance learning

Recommended blogs

Getting to know your ELLs and their families

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Kristina Robertson, Becky Corr, Susan Lafond, Areli Schermerhorn, and Beth Skelton for their contributions to this article.

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10 Strategies for Building Relationships with ELLs

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One of the biggest topics that educators are thinking about this year is the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL). Building relationships with students is a key aspect of SEL for students of all ages. The good news is that there are a lot of ideas educators can try now and throughout the year.

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Boosting Achievement Students with Interrupted or Minimal Education 

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Boosting Achievement Students with Interrupted or Minimal Education 

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Dive into this great resource and gain an understanding of students with Interrupted or Minimal Education. Explains the definitions as well as strategies that can be used to support these EL students in the classroom.

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How to Support Academic Language Across Contents?

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How to Support Academic Language Across Contents?

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Understanding Relationships and Convergences within Contents and Why it is important

Citation listed below image

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The article will give insight into how to develop a lesson plan that includes ELLs starting with the question what will the end product be? How will I know that students have mastered the standard that is being discussed?

Citation: n.a. ( 2023, November 1). How to Develop a Lesson Plan that Includes ELLs. www.colorincolorado.org

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In content-area classes, English language learners (ELLs) face a double challenge: they must learn language and content at the same time. In order to succeed in these classes, ELLs need the literacy, language skills, and background knowledge necessary to master that new content knowledge.

One way to address that challenge is through effective lesson planning. Depending on their different stages of English proficiency and literacy, ELLs will benefit from the skills that a well-designed lesson can address. For additional tips on language instruction, see our tips for mainstream teachers.

This video showcases a 5 th-grade team planning a science lesson. ESOL specialist Katy Padilla plays a key role in advocating for ELLs throughout the lesson planning process.

Lesson planning for the ELLs: Step by step

Effective lesson planning requires a number of steps from initial preparation to the final review of material. This blog post on lesson planning with sheltered instruction offers a general roadmap for that process.

Identify standards and objectives

First, identify your goals for the lesson. What are your target standards? It is helpful to post these clearly so that students know what they will be focused on learning and eliminate unnecessary information that does not meet your objective.

Next, identify your content objectives and language objectives:

The content objectives focus on the content you will be teaching, such as a math, Science, Social Studies, or language arts objective.

The language objectives focus on the academic language functions that students need to master in order to access grade-level content.

It is critical to teach language objectives explicitly so that ELLs (and their peers) can learn the content and language they need.

For example, Jennifer Himmel shares the following examples in her popular article about how to write language objectives for content-area lessons:

3rd grade Science, States of Matter

Content Area Standard

Content Objective

Language Objective

California: Students know that matter has three forms: solid, liquid, and gas.

Students will be able to distinguish between liquids, solids, and gases and provide an example of each.

Students will be able to orally describe characteristics of liquids, solids, and gases to a partner.

Build background knowledge

Background knowledge is the hook that students hang new information on. When planning lessons for ELLs, it is important to both:

access students' existing background knowledge

build background knowledge that students.

To start this process, you need to:

1. Identify key background knowledge needed for the lesson

2. Identify students' existing background knowledge

3. Build background knowledge students need

Teach key vocabulary

Selecting words to teach

Select key vocabulary that students need to understand the content. Dr. Diane August notes that there are different kinds of vocabulary words that may need to be taught across different content areas:

words that are critical to the meaning of the lesson or text

words with multiple meanings ("plot," "table," "key," and "yard")

homonyms ("son"/"sun")

general academic words

academic vocabulary in a particular content area.

You can see additional recommendations on how to choose which vocabulary words to teach in this overview of the ACCELL project that Dr. August led at the American Institutes for Research.

Strategies for instruction

Write an ELL-friendly definition for each and post them where students can see them throughout the lesson.

Try different strategies to teach each word. If there are five words to be pre-taught, use different ways of engaging the students to hear and produce each word in context.

Give students ample opportunities to practice each new word both in oral and written languages.

Look for cognates, or words from different languages that are related. For example, Spanish and English have many cognates ("information" /"información") and they are particularly common in terms related to academic content. Learning how to use cognates can bolster Spanish-speaking ELLs' comprehension significantly.

Discuss word families and how different forms of words are used. ELLs may need explicit instruction in which form of a word to use. Help students look for spelling and usage patterns, such as past tense verbs ending in "-ed." Since English has so many exceptions, this isn't always a foolproof strategy, but a basic knowledge of these patterns, rules, and spellings will help.

Related resources

Support academic language development

Academic language, or the language of schooling, is the language that students need to succeed in their content-area classes. It is important for educators and students alike to understand the differences between social and academic language and why textbooks, tests, assignments, or class presentations may be more challenging for students than social conversations.

There are a number of ways to support academic language development, such as:

previewing the text

teaching grammatical structures relevant to a particular content area ("greater than" and "less than" in math class)

showing how the targeted academic language is used in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in your content area.

For example, what is the difference between the language students use to write a science report vs. the language used in a class message board? Sharing examples and teaching specific phrases or structures, especially when they related to a specific content area, can be a helpful way to help students feel comfortable in multiple settings.

Dr. August also encourages educators to familiarize themselves with some features of academic language that may present challenges such as the following:

visual presenations of information, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, maps, and equations

figurative language

syntax, such as passive voice and complex sentences

nominalization, which refers to using a word that is not a noun as a noun or noun phrase (i.e., "the rich").

Collaborating with an ESL specialist can be a helpful way to start identifying areas of academic language where additional support would be helpful.

Related resources

Video: Instruction of Key Academic Vocabulary with High School ELLs

Video: Pre-teaching concepts and vocabulary before a lesson

ESOL specialist Katy Padilla shares more in-depth information about her "Super Secret Science Club," an informal lunch activity for 5th-grade ELLs where they see a preview of the afternoon's lesson.

Video: Bricks and mortar in language instruction

Dr. Cindy Lundgren discusses the concept of "bricks and mortar" when thinking about effective vocabulary instruction for ELLs.

Learn some additional strategies for scaffolding and differentiating instruction.

Scaffolding instruction means to put in place some supports that can help students access grade-level content. In addition, your students may be at varying levels of English language proficiency, and some differentiation might be necessary. It's ok to start small -- and remember that this is an area where an ESL teacher can provide some helpful ideas!

Some strategies for scaffolding and differentiating include:

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

Video: Pre-teaching concepts and vocabulary before a lesson

Video: Using "realia" to build background

Use peer review and cooperative learning strategies

Using peer learning can be a powerful way to help students master content. Here are some ways to get students working together:

Use graphic organizers. Have students work in collaborative groups and use a graphic organizer as a scaffold for specific tasks, such as identifying main ideas or relationships between information, etc. It gives a purpose while reading while interacting and using the language.

Assign reading partners. Pair ELLs with friendly fluent readers. Ask partners to read aloud to each other, alternating sentences or pages. After partner reading, ask them to summarize what they read. For variety, use choral reading once in a while. Assign different sections to each team, ask them to rehearse, and then ask teams to read chorally.

Use Think-Pair-Share (TPS). TPS is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question about an assigned reading. This technique requires students to (1) think individually about a topic or answer to a question; and (2) share ideas with classmates. Discussing an answer with a partner serves to maximize participation, focus attention and engage students in comprehending the reading material. Read more in the following articles:

1. Increase Student Interaction with "Think-Pair-Shares" and "Circle Chats"

2. AdLit.org Classroom Strategy: Think-Pair-Share

You may also wish to look for ways to engage students through hands-on learning and project-based learning. Learn about other ways to effectively using cooperative learning strategies in these articles:

Consider how to incorporate different language skills into the lesson

When learning a new language, students need to master four key skills:

(Drs. Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria Dove note that they like the acronym SWIRL, which includes "interaction" in the list.)

You can learn more about these skills in What Language Skills Do ELLs Need?, as well as ideas for teaching these skills both in person and online in Teaching ELLs Online: How to Develop Students' Language Skills.

For example, you can support ELLs' writing skills by modeling the kinds of writing used frequently in your particular content area, such as lab reports in chemistry class, or a persuasive essay in social studies. Help students understand what the purpose of different kinds of writing are, and review vocabulary that would be typically used in these kinds of assignments. Be sure to provide examples of the different kinds of writing to your students so they can learn and compare models.

Review and assess what students have learned

There are many ways to review and assess content following instruction. For example, graphic organizers are a helpful way for students to demonstrate that they understood the concepts and content, even if they only use a symbol or write one or two words for each category. Graphic organizers can also be used as a pre-teaching or post-teaching strategy for introducing or reinforcing key concepts and how they are related. The more connections ELLs make to the overall content and organization of the content before reading, the easier it will be to focus on and understand what is important. When teachers and/or students use graphic organizers at the end of a lesson, this helps to reinforce and synthesize lesson content.

For example:

Related resources

Video: Using informal assessment with ELLs

In this video, Ms. Samantha Kirch demonstrates the ways she uses informal assessment to gauge student understanding, as well as the kinds of support offered to ELLs who need some extra practice with the concept of drawing conclusions.

Examples from the Content Areas

For examples of content-related lesson plans and strategies for ELLs, take a look at the following:

Closing Thoughts

Finally, we want to close with some thoughts from expert ELL educator and administrator Kristina Robertson. First, she encourages educators to only introduce one new thing at a time when teaching ELLs. And she reminds educators not to be afraid to go back to the drawing board if it doesn't go well the first time! While your lesson planning process may involve some trial and error, you will start to see positive results when you take ELLs into account in your planning. You will soon be on your way to planning lessons that engage, include, and support the ELLs in your class.

Video: Try one new thing at a time

Video: When new things don't work

Kristina Robertson shares her advice for dealing with strategies that just don't work.

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How to Develop a Lesson Plan that Includes ELLs

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In content-area classes, English language learners (ELLs) face a double challenge: they must learn language and content at the same time. In order to succeed in these classes, ELLs need the literacy, language skills, and background knowledge necessary to master that new content knowledge. One way to address that challenge is through effective lesson planning.

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ELPT Language Proficiency Test Performance Level Descriptors

Review the English Language Proficiency Test Descriptors at each Grade band to build an understanding of the expectations of the ELPT test that EL students take in the Spring of every school year.

Citation: LDOE elpt-performance-level-descriptors

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EL Connector Crosswalk Document with ELA LA Standards to LA Connectors for English Learners 

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EL Connector Crosswalk Document with ELA LA Standards to LA Connectors for English Learners 

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Teachers review the EL Connector Crosswalk Document to gain an understanding of how the LA ELA standards align with the ELP standards for the English Learners. This can be utilized during PLC times and teachers can make specific annotations on lesson plans utilizing this document.

Citation: Crosswalk Document- Louisiana Student Standards for ELA to Louisiana Connectors for English Learners. ela-connector-for -els-crosswalk-doc - LDOE

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English Learner Identification FlowChart 

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English Learner Identification FlowChart 

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Visual representation of how EL students are identified in Louisiana. Teachers need to understand the process.

Citation: English Learner ( EL ) Identification Flowchart

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Watch the infographic to review the tiered system of the Word Play Strategy. Tier 1 ( High Frequency words, everyday words), Tier 2 ( academic words), and Tier 3 ( content-specific words). The word-play strategy is a research based strategy that came from great city council schools.

Citation: Word Play Infographic

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Follow the steps to produce impactful and meaningful anchor Charts for your ELL students.

Citation:

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Rooted Linguistics: Serving Teachers of Multilingual Learners

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Anchor charts should be an imprint of our teaching. They should be remnants we leave behind to remind students of the important parts of the lesson. They should serve as mini-teachers so that as we work with small groups, our independent readers and writers can rely on the anchors to guide them instead of interrupting the small group. (Below you can find a poem to place on bare walls that explains to parents why the walls are empty. Great for beginning of the year.)

If anchor charts are not being used by students, then they are simply wallpaper.

For English learners, anchor charts can pose big problems. Not only can they be overwhelming wallpaper, they can be confusing due to the amount of words. They can cause more confusion than assistance. Here's how we can make sure that our anchor charts serve our English learners and all students and are all not a waste of space and time.

The first thing we have to consider when working with English learners and anchor charts is that the anchor charts should be made in front of the students. English learners (and all students) benefit from seeing and hearing the process that happens live in action. Seeing and hearing while making the chart in front of the students helps with brain imprinting. Modalities of visual and auditory are reached.

Second, anchor charts should be explicit. Here's how to___. Step one, step two, step three. Be direct and clear. Don't use a lot of unnecessary words. Just stick with the most essential parts of what students need to know. For example, if I want to teach my students how to talk with partners about nonfiction, my anchor chart might look like the one here.

Third, include graphics, icons, or pictures to support comprehension. Notice in the Nonfication Partner Talk anchor chart, I included specific visuals for my students to help them later when they use the chart without me. The pictures will remind them of what we discussed.

Last, location, location, location! Put your most important, most valued charts where students can see them and use them. Think about the real estate in your classroom. Where you place your anchor charts means something. Think about that ocean front property. It has value. Once they no longer need a chart, put it away where students can find it but it's not taking up prime real estate. Many students, especially English learners, benefit greatly from having their own small copy of important anchor charts. I achieve this by either making person copies on sticky-notes or taking pictures of my anchor charts and printing them out small for students who need them. They keep them in a section of their reading or writing notebooks.

Your students should know how to use the anchor charts in the class, why they are on the walls, and where to find them. If they can't answer those questions, then it's time to reflect on that chart.

Resources used:
Units of Study for Teaching Reading
Meredith Alvaro

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​ Have you ever walked into a classroom and looked around in awe at the beautiful charts and posters? The beautifully decorated boarders and store bought matched sets? But when you ask the students...

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Dive into learning strategies for ELL students that are research-based and best practices aligned

Citation:

Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy,
and Practice. Caslon.

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A flow is an instructional tool that provides teachers with all the items necessary for daily lessons. Flows follow the district-approved 3Ls Strategies (Framed Motivation, Word Play, Reading Closely, and Juicy Sentences), district-provided scope and sequence, and curricula.

Flows are designed to strengthen student writing and cover standards addressed within the 5-day teaching cycle.

Citation: Council of Great City Schools

FLOWS have the "wordplay strategy" and "juicy sentences" embedded in the FLOWS/ The purpose is for students to write the entire time that they are working on FLOWS - 3 L based Language, Learning, and Literacy

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Instructional Strategy that can be utilized to deepen and strengthen ELL students' responses in the classroom and steer away from yes or no answers. Students are given opportunities to pose questions to continue learning.

Citation: Seidlitz,J, & Perynn, B. ( 2011). 7 Steps to a Language-Rich Interactive Classroom: Research-Based Strategies for Engaging All Students.Seidlitz Education.

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Watch this video of a student's progress of only being in the US for 7 months and how much he has learned. The importance of having a Growth Mindset.

Citation: bit.ly/GersonVideo1

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Recorded Spring 2015 7 months in US Schools What Motivation Can Do%21

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Sentence Frames and How they Support Oral Language Development and Fluency 

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Sentence Frames and How they Support Oral Language Development and Fluency 

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Affective Filter- described as an “Imaginary barrier” between a language learner and new input.  The barrier consists of negative motivational and emotional factors that interfere with a learner’s ability to receive comprehensible input.  If a learner feels embarrassed and stressed about speaking in front of peers, it is difficult to receive comprehensible input.

Some things Teachers Can Do to Lower the Affective Filter Include:

Avoiding public correction of errors

Not forcing students to speak before they are ready

Allowing ELs to seek clarification in their native language

Providing feedback on language production ONLY at the student’s level of language proficiency

Providing frequent opportunities for peer interaction

Creating a welcoming, culturally responsive classroom environment

Getting to know the student’s parents/guardians and maintaining an open relationship with them.

Citation: ESL students Exceeding Expectations

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This activity gets students using all domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a fun and interactive manner.  QSSSA is beneficial for students who are SLIFE because it occurs in a low-stress environment, where students have the wait time to negotiate meaning and practice responses with a partner before sharing chorally with the class. Students are guided in their structured conversations by sentence stems and precise, easy-to-follow directions from the teacher

Citation: pg 67 of Boosting Achievement Students with Interrupted or Minimal Education

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Gives ELL students the opportunity to begin their writing with a starting point. Assists them with a visual for writing as well. It is important that ELL students are writing on a daily basis and this also will assist with preparing for the ELPT test due to the writing section on the test.

Citation: Best Practices with Writing

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Amira Learning is an artificial intelligence system that has been studied at Brown University. She has over 65 micro-interventions that are built into her system to assist students with their reading comprehension. Her interventions are based on the science of reading scope that includes phonemic awareness, vocabulary etc. These data reports can be pulled for teachers to dive further into their small group instruction during the ELA block to be more purposeful with instruction.

Citation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UTvUuZL7iEQqvvZ-fp71OYApFlEe7YdlLzxGHGJA9TE/edit#slide=id.p

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Achieve 3000 is a platform that is aligned to the ELA standards of the state. EL students can be assigned articles that align to their Reading Lexile level. This also aligns to challenging our ELL students with complex text and not watering down the curriculum. The questions that Achieve 3000 asks are text-dependent questions and students are asked to type responses not just with yes or no responses but are asked to really think through the questions by utilizing sentence Starters such as I agree... I disagree because _____________.

Citation: www.clever.com

Achieve 3000

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Dreambox is a Math Computer Program that is utilized in the district to assist with Math Standards that are consistent throughout the Eureka Tier 1 Math Curriculum. EL students are being challenged with this platform by seeing word problems and engaging with the Tier 1 Eureka Curriculum. Data reports are pulled and utilized by teachers to hone in on strengths and weaknesses with the Math Standards and they can be used in small group instruction.

Citation: www.clever.com

Dreambox Learning

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ELL students can use screencastify to record themselves in real time to explain a math word problem or talk through the complex text and pose questions. This can be a tool that is utilized in small group instruction during a technology center or can utilize for homework for students responses in upper grades ( 3rd-12th). Will help with student engaement and is building on student ownership with critical thinking.

Citation: www.screencastify.com

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Flipgrid is an interactive platform that can be utilized with EL students to build engagement in the classroom as well as give students an opportunity to build confidence with hearing to themselves read out loud and can record themselves. Students can utilize this program to work out word problems in Math and can be used for Science and Social Studies. Teachers can provide immediate feedback in real time as well as students providing feedback to one another.

Citation: www.clever.com

Flipgrid

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National Geoghrapic Learning for ELL Students 

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National Geoghrapic Learning for ELL Students 

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Reach Higher and Inside the USA are the ESL Curriculum that is utilized for Newcomers, Emerging, and Progressing 1 EL Students. Reach Higher is for Grades 1-5 and then Inside the USA is for Grades 6-12. The curriculums focus on students interacting with the platforms online. Students complete lessons via sections online.

Citation: www.clever.com

National Geographic

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Google Classroom is a platform that EL students can use for submitting written assignemnts via typing. Teachers can provide immediate feedback to students in real time as they are working on their writing.

Citation: www.clever.com

Google Classroom

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Teachers can use edulastic and give weekly common formative assessments online for all content areas ( ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies) that is based on standards. The platform breaks down the standards to assess the strong and weak standards. This will help teachers plan and assist with helping EL students to see what the strongest or weakest standard is and how they can reteach etc.

Citation: www.clever.com

Edulastic

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DBQ Sources can be used to challenge EL students with the Social Studies Tier 1 Curriculum. Sources will be given to students and they have to analyze and answer source based questions. This ties back to the state assessment as well that students have to take at the end of the year. Literacy is implemented as well since students are asked to read and respond to sources.

Citation: www.clever.com

DBQ Sources

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Vocabulary.com can challenge EL students to review specific academic and content specific vocabulary words that will be utilized across all content areas. ( ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies)

Citation: www.clever.com

Vocabulary.com

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Yoga, learning how to take deep breaths and count to ten

Will help ELL students to build positive relationships with peers and teachers in the classroom

Citation: Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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Overview

Most people experience anxiety at some point in their lives. These exercises may help you relax and find relief.

Anxiety is a typical human reaction to stress. But too much anxiety can get in the way of living a healthy, happy life. If you feel caught up in your anxiety, try one or a few of the following exercises anytime and anywhere to find relief. The goal is to perform exercises that can quickly help you relax.

Why anxiety exercises work
They address your body's stress responses - such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and tense muscles - and help replace them with what your body feels when you're relaxed.

When you're feeling anxious, you might notice that your heart rate and breathing get a bit faster. You may also begin to sweat and feel dizzy or lightheaded. When you're anxious, getting your breathing under control can relax both your body and mind.

To get your breathing under control when you're anxious, follow these steps:

1. Sit in a quiet and comfortable place. Put one of your hands on your chest and the other on your stomach. Your stomach should move more than your chest when you breathe in deeply.

2. Take a slow and regular breath in through your nose. Watch and sense your hands as you breathe in. The hand on your chest should remain still while the hand on your stomach will move slightly.

3. Breathe out through your mouth slowly.

4. Repeat this process at least 10 times or until you begin to feel your anxiety lessen.

Have you ever heard the "finding your happy place" expression? Painting a mental picture of a place that makes you feel relaxed can actually calm your brain and body.

When you start to feel anxious, sit in a quiet and comfortable place. Think of your ideal place to relax. While it can be any place in the world, real or imaginary, it should be an image that you find very calming, happy, peaceful, and safe. Make sure it's easy enough to think about so you can return to it in your mind when you feel anxious in the future.

Think of all the small details you'd find if you were there. Think about how the place would smell, feel, and sound. Envision yourself in that place, enjoying it comfortably.

Once you have a good picture of your "happy place," close your eyes and take slow and regular breaths through your nose and out of your mouth. Be aware of your breathing and continue focusing on the place you've imagined in your mind until you feel your anxiety lifting. Visit this place in your mind whenever you feel anxious.

When you feel anxious, you might notice strain or tension in your muscles. This muscle stress can make your anxiety more difficult to manage in the moment you're experiencing it. By relieving the stress in your muscles, you can usually reduce your anxiety levels.

To quickly relieve your muscle tension during moments of anxiety:

1. Sit in a quiet and comfortable place. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Breathe slowly into your nose and out of your mouth.

2. Use your hand to make a tight fist. Squeeze your fist tightly.

3. Hold your squeezed fist for a few seconds. Notice all the tension you feel in your hand.

4. Slowly open your fingers and be aware of how you feel. You may notice a feeling of tension leaving your hand. Eventually, your hand will feel lighter and more relaxed.

5. Continue tensing and then releasing various muscle groups in your body, from your hands, legs, shoulders, or feet. You may want to work your way up and down your body tensing various muscle groups. Avoid tensing the muscles in any area of your body where you're injured or in pain, as that may further aggravate your injury.

Counting is a simple way to ease your anxiety. When you feel anxiety washing over you, find a quiet and comfortable place to sit. Close your eyes and slowly count to 10. If necessary, repeat and count to 20 or an even higher number. Keep counting until you feel your anxiety subsiding.

Sometimes this relief occurs quickly, but other times it might take a while. Stay calm and patient. Counting can relax you because it gives you something to focus on besides your anxiety. It's a great tool to use in a crowded or busy space like a store or train where other anxiety exercises might be more challenging to carry out.

Anxiety exercises take practice
Relaxation is a skill you learn. Much like physical exercise, it takes practice.
Choose an anxiety exercise and try it until you're feeling less anxious.
If one exercise doesn't work, try a different one.

Mindfulness is the practice of being present in your current state and surroundings, gently and without judgment. Staying present can help you create a calm state of mind when you feel your thoughts racing and anxiety building.

To bring yourself outside your thoughts into the present:

1. Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit and close your eyes.

2. Notice how your breathing and body feel.

3. Now shift your awareness to the sensations you observe in your surroundings. Ask yourself What's happening outside of my body? Notice what you hear, smell, and feel in your environment.

4. Change your awareness several times from your body to your environment and back again until your anxiety starts to fade.

It can be hard to think clearly when you feel anxious. Sometimes anxious thinking can make us believe harmful thoughts that are untrue or make us do things that make our anxiety worse. It can be helpful to break or interrupt your anxious thoughts so you can think clearly and react appropriately to your thoughts.

Here's how to break your anxious thought cycle:

Ask yourself whether endless worry is a problem for you. If the answer is yes, it's good to be aware of that.

Try different ways of interrupting your anxious thought process, such as:

Singing a silly song about your anxiety to an upbeat tempo, or speaking your anxieties in a funny voice.

Choose a nice thought to focus on instead of your anxiety. This could be a person you love, your happy place, or even something you look forward to doing later that day, such as eating a nice dinner.

Listen to music or read a book.

Be conscious when you shift your attention from your anxiety to a task at hand and notice how you feel.

Do you feel worse?
Anxiety exercises may not work for everyone and may actually make symptoms worse for people who have a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). If you have GAD, consult your doctor for more effective treatment options.

Anxiety can intrude on thoughts and activities, and sometimes it's hard to make anxiety go away. But know that it's possible to get relief, even if you feel caught up in it. Next time you're feeling anxious, give one of these anxiety exercises a try.

Also, check out the best apps for anxiety. From nature sounds to acupressure, these apps offer a variety of techniques. However, if your anxiety often interferes with your daily life, happiness, and activities, consider seeing a mental health expert for further help.

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Anxiety Exercises: 6 Exercises for Relief and Relaxation

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Try one or more of these six exercises that you can do anywhere to help relieve your anxiety, relax your mind, and get back to your life.

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Gives EL students an opportunity to give their brain a break and rest before moving in to another content area

Also helps promote student engagement and builds teacher student relationships in the classroom.

Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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I don't know about you, but when I sit through a faculty meeting or professional development session of any sort, I start getting antsy by the 30-minute mark. If you can relate, just imagine how your students must feel when they've been sitting for too long. Educational brain breaks are the perfect way to help your students redirect their energy and focus when they start to fade.

I find it super-beneficial to incorporate quick mindful, physical, and mental check-ins with my students as a regular part of my classroom routine. These breaks include all types of movement, yoga and breathing exercises, as well as jokes, quick videos, and more. The activities I use have helped me throughout my lifetime, so I love sharing them with my students. Here are my favorite educational brain breaks that are sure to increase productivity and give your kids a much-needed way to unwind before the next lesson.

Mindful Educational Brain Breaks

1. Use transition times for mental check-ins

Transitions are a big part of the elementary school day. When I first started teaching 19 years ago, I was surprised by just how much time it takes to get ready for specials or to bring students back from centers. It's hard not to feel like that's lost time. That's why using transition time for mental health check-ins is such a game changer. Mental health check-ins can help students get in touch with their emotions, refresh and recharge, acknowledge and cope with negative thoughts and overwhelming feelings, and be more focused throughout the day.

2. Pretend to breathe like an animal

Source: Stephanie Sanders

This video shows students how to pretend to breath like some of their favorite animals. The snake breath involves hissing while slithering from side to side, while the whale breath has students pretend to breathe out through a blowhole! Tap into creativity by picking other interesting animals and acting them out through breath.

3. Do a 10-minute guided meditation

These guided meditations are educational and are perfect to use as brain breaks whenever you and your students just need to breathe. Catch your breath with any of these 20 guided video meditations.

4. Practice "focus ball" breathing

Walk your kids through the following exercise: Stand or sit with legs and feet together. Bring your palms together in front of your chest. Keep your fingertips touching as you pull your palms apart, forming a ball with your fingers. Press your fingertips together until you feel the muscles in your hands and arms activating. See if you feel your core tighten too. Now close your eyes and as you breathe in, inflate your ball, and as you breathe out, flatten the ball by pushing your palms together. (Repeat these instructions for 60 seconds).

Learn more: Mindful.org

5. Try the old ear-nose switcheroo

This is a quick and easy challenge to reset the brain. Instruct kids to touch their left ear with their right hand and at the same time touch their nose with their left hand. Then have them switch their hands and touch their right ear with their left hand and their nose with their right hand. Switch back and forth a few times. Then have them close their eyes, take a deep breath, and blow it all out.

Learn more: YouTube: Ear-Nose Switch

6. Take a yoga break

Source: The Pyjama Foundation

Inspire kids to move, stretch, and practice mindfulness with yoga. These printable yoga cards make it easy to incorporate yoga into your educational brain breaks. Each page includes a picture and description of the pose, and each page includes poses of increasing difficulty from level 1 to level 5. And don't worry, it's not a huge time commitment. The sequence on each card is designed to take only a few minutes.

7. Stretch it out

It's never a good idea to spend too much time sitting in one position. Allow kids to take a break and bring some flexibility back into their spines. Have them stand with their feet shoulder-distance apart. Put their left hand on their hip and raise their right hand overhead. Lean to the left and stretch their arm as far as they can to the left. Repeat on the right side. Then stand tall and slowly roll down one vertebra at a time until their hands reach the floor (or at least their shins). Have them take a deep breath then slowly roll back up. Repeat as necessary.

Learn more: Mom Junction

8. Focus on sound

Have kids sit quietly with their eyes closed. Ring a chime or gong. Have them listen carefully to the chime, feeling the vibration in their body as the sound reverberates and then slowly fades. Tell them to breathe slowly and deeply as they focus on the sound.

9. Do a quick mindfulness activity

Mindfulness activity cards provide great educational brain breaks. Stash a pack in your desk and pull them out whenever you need them. Each card will give a prompt for kids to try that will let them refocus and recharge. Perfect for moments when you need to bring down the energy in the room.

Buy it: Mindfulness Cards for Kids at Amazon

10. Chill out with this cross-body exercise

Have kids stand tall and cross one leg in front of the other while pressing the outsides of their feet together. Now have them cross their arms over each other at the wrists. Clasp their hands and curl their arms into their chest. Take a few breaths, and uncross and cross the opposite way for a few more breaths.

11. Float with jellyfish

When you really need to take the energy in your room down a notch, turn off the lights, set a timer, and put on a calming video. For example, Cat Trumpet put together a jellyfish aquarium video where kids will find themselves under the brilliant blue sea in the middle of a swarm of jellyfish. They'll be mesmerized by the slow, fluid motions and lulled into calmness by the soothing music.

12. Break out the hot hands

This is a good break when you sense a weariness in the air. Have kids rub their hands together vigorously until they warm up. Tell them to close their eyes and place their hands over their eyes. Instruct them to breathe deeply as they clear their minds and refocus.

13. Try cat and cow poses

Source: Flow and Grow Kids Yoga

Have kids start on all fours and then give them the following instructions to complete the cat and cow yoga poses: Place your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees. Arch your back to the sky and tuck in the tailbone (cat pose). Let your head fall between your arms. From there, sink the belly towards the ground, and lift the chest and chin (cow pose). Gently alternate between the two poses while breathing deeply.

14. Do nothing for two minutes

Never underestimate the power of stillness. When the energy gets a little ramped up, and it's time for the entire class to take a pause, have them drop everything and glue their eyes to the screen as you show this countdown. The gentle lulling of the waves and the sight of the sun sparkling off the water will reset their nervous system in a jiffy.

Learn More: Calm

15. Spread your wings (in slow motion)

Walk your kids through this winged movement: Sit cross-legged on the floor. Stretch your arms down by your sides with your palms facing inward toward your body. Slowly raise both arms while rotating hands forward. When your arms reach shoulder level, your hands should be facing forward. Continue raising arms, slowly rotating palms so that by the time hands are overhead, palms are facing each other. Slowly lower arms, repeating the rotation (palms facing each other, palms facing forward, palms facing sides) until they are once again resting at your sides. As you raise and lower your arms, stretch them as long as you can, as if you are scraping the sides of the room and the ceiling. Repeat slowly three times, breathing deeply.

Physical Education Brain Breaks

16. Play Silent Ball when you have downtime

You can play a quick game of Silent Ball anytime, anywhere. Play a quick three-minute game right before dismissal or before transitioning to a new activity. All you need is a small squishy ball. The rules are simple: 1) stay quiet and 2) don't drop the ball when passing it around. This activity is one of those educational brain breaks that builds a positive classroom community, fosters friendly competition, and boosts nonverbal communication. Enjoy the silence.

17. Line up in unique ways

Kids are very social and curious beings. Most of them love to chat with one another at any chance they can get. Lining up to leave the room for anything is the perfect chance for them to mix and mingle. Make a more productive use of this time by having students line up in special ways. Some fun ideas include lining up in alphabetical order by name, by birth date, or by height order.

18. Just jump!

Sometimes kids just need to bounce their energy out. Have them pretend they are bouncing on a mini-trampoline (this will keep their movement on a vertical plane instead of all over the room), and give them a couple of minutes to let loose!

19. Take a cue from the stadium

Here's one for a group of kids-start the wave! Beginning at one end of the room, kids stand up and throw their arms overhead, bringing them back down as they return to their seats. Each row follows until you reach the other end of the room. Amp it up by encouraging your kids to tap their feet or tap their hands on their legs so that they are in constant motion. This activity works great on Zoom too!

20. Stir the pot

Have kids visualize they are standing in front of an enormous cauldron. Inside the cauldron is an ooey-gooey pot of caramel. Take hold of a large stirrer and plunge it to the bottom of the pot. Slowly begin to stir in a clockwise direction. Have them use their whole body to help get a full range of motion in their wrists and shoulders. Instruct them to throw their hips into the action. After a minute or two, reverse the direction.

21. Make it rain

Conjure up a rainstorm! Sitting or standing at a desk or table, have kids tap one finger on the desk, then two, then three, then four, then their whole hand until you all feel like you're in the middle of a deluge. Work your way backward from five down to one as the storm ebbs away.

22. Energize with these

First, instruct kids to touch their left elbow to their right knee, then touch their right elbow to their left knee. Switch back and forth, going slowly at first, building speed until they are going at a vigorous pace. Next, do some windmills by standing tall with their feet shoulder-width apart and their arms stretched out. Bend at the waist and touch their right hand to their left toes, then their left hand to their right toes. Switch back and forth.

23. Make X's and O's

Walk kids through the following exercise: Sitting in a chair with your feet on the ground and legs together, curl your body into your lap, folding yourself into a tiny O shape. Next, open your arms and legs wide, forming an X shape with your body. Pull back into an O shape, then back out to an X shape. Repeat three times.

24. Energize in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Get hearts pumping with a quick sequence of exercises. Call out five actions for your students to do as quickly as they can. For instance, five jumping jacks, four push-ups, three sit-ups, two squat jumps, and one tree pose.

25. Take a cruise on an imaginary skateboard

Have your kids line up next to a wall and place one hand on the wall. Tell them to plant the foot closest to the wall and swing the other leg, as if pushing off the ground on a skateboard. Start slowly, with tiny swings, moving up to power pushes. Repeat on the other side.

26. Take a break to groove

Music is a great way to reset the mood in a room and raise the energy level. Put on a fun song and have a 30-second freestyle dance party. Here's a big list of school-appropriate songs for kids.

27. Or take it to the next level

Teach your kids the steps to popular dances such as the Cha-Cha Slide, the Macarena, or the Kidz Bop Shuffle.

28. Ramp up with a round of cherry pickers

This easy activity will get your students' hearts pumping and give their brains a boost. Have them jump up off the ground, then down to the floor into a push-up position. From there, instruct them to hop their feet up into a frog position, then pop up to a standing position.

29. Clap on, clap off

When you say "clap on," kids clap their hands vigorously together. When you say "clap off," they stop as quickly as they can and freeze. Or follow along with this a fun video.

30. Skip it out

When the energy is fading and kids need to get their blood flowing, put on a peppy song and pull out the imaginary jump ropes. Have kids skip or jump rope in place until the song ends.

31. Make like a blender

Tell kids it's time to make fruit smoothies. Ask them to pretend they are in a blender and they are strawberries (or blueberries or bananas, etc.). Dramatically pour orange juice or yogurt into the air in front of you. Tell kids when you flip the switch that they need to wiggle and jiggle (separately, not together) until they are each individually blended up. Start with a slow speed, moving up to medium speed, fast speed, and finally turbo speed. And then reverse it! Start at turbo speed and go back to slow speed.

32. Celebrate with a silent cheer

This activity is perfect for the end of an activity or a sustained amount of work time-especially for kids who are learning remotely. Let kids stand up and silently cheer and gesture in celebration. How animated can they get?!

33. Do a full-body workout

This kid-friendly exercise video is great for your body and brain! Kids can follow along through a set of workout moves that will get their blood pumping.

34. Play popcorn

Students will all be sitting in their chairs, and at any time, a student can jump up and say, "Pop!" Once they do, that student remains standing. If two students pop up at the same time, everyone takes their seats, and the game starts over. How quickly can the entire class pop without having to start over?

35. Hit the wall

Pushing against a solid object is a good way to displace extra energy from your body. Have kids stand facing a wall with their arms stretched out in front of them, palms on the surface of the wall. Push the wall away with all their strength for a count of ten. Relax for five seconds, then push again. Other activities they can do at the wall include calf stretches and wall push-ups.

36. 3, 2, 1 blastoff!

Instruct kids to stand and then squat down with their hands on the ground in front of them. All together, count down 3, 2, 1. When you get to zero, they should push up like a rocket, jumping as high as they can-letting all of their energy burst from their center.

37. Quick as a snap, wink

This is a quick and easy refocusing activity. Tell kids to snap their left fingers while they wink their right eye. Switch to snapping their right fingers while winking their left eye. This activity is particularly effective for younger learners who may find both activities challenging.

38. Balance break

A great way to get kids out of their chairs is to practice balance. Have them hop on one foot. Then up the ante by having them stand on one foot and bend their other knee out in front of them.

39. Tabletop push-ups

Kids can use their desk, a chair, the side of their couch-anything really. Have them place their hands on the table and focus their eyes in the center, moving down slowly and pushing back up.

40. Try some facial gymnastics

Have kids get their silly on for 30 seconds. Tell them to wiggle their eyebrows up and down as fast as they can. Then try to raise one eyebrow at a time.

Mental Brain Breaks That Are Educational

41. Take a comedy break

Comedy is a great release when the atmosphere is feeling a little intense. Show a funny video clip or have kids volunteer to tell a joke or pose a few silly riddles. We have compiled a number of jokes by theme on WeAreTeachers for kids of all ages for guaranteed laughs. For example, your students will love one of our most recent additions, 34 Cat Jokes for Kids. From there, you can find dog jokes, seasonal jokes, food jokes, and much more.

42. Share fun facts

In addition to joke compilations, we have plenty of fun fact lists on our site with themes that will thrill your students. Plus they're an educational way to teach your students new information during brain breaks. Get started with these fun feline facts to accompany the jokes above. Meow!

43. Practice another language

Source: startasl.com

Teach your kids the alphabet in sign language. Use brain breaks to practice by singing the ABCs while signing the letters. Then practice vocabulary words by spelling them out loud while signing the letters.

44. Find out how it's made

Remember that classic Sesame Street video about how crayons are made? We watched in awe as crayons rolled off the assembly line, wrapped in paper, and then slipped into those familiar cardboard boxes. Kids today are just as fascinated by how things are made! Here are our favorite videos about how things are made-from fireworks to LEGO.

45. Take a doodle break

According to researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, downtime is essential for brain health. Kids need time for their growing brains to integrate and process the vast amount of information they receive each day. In other words, it is actually beneficial to give our kids time to allow their minds to wander. Try this: Set a timer for three to five minutes and let kids silently doodle with pencil and paper or a dry-erase board and marker while soft, calming music plays in the background.

Learn more: Sage Journals

46. Try a directed-drawing activity

Directed drawing activities walk your students through the process step-by-step so anyone can create their very own masterpiece. Teachers can lead the session by drawing on the whiteboard or chart paper while students follow along. Even better, there are plenty of videos on YouTube that lead the lesson, giving you a little break too. We have done the work and gathered some our favorite free directed-drawing activities for kids. Grab your favorite art supplies and get creative!

47. Gather your favorite GIFs

Make a slideshow of your favorite GIFs and have your kids act them out. Funny animals are a good place to start!

48. Find the object

Kids don't even have to get out of their seats for this one, but they can! Have one student start by finding an object and saying, "I see something beginning with the letter [fill in the blank]." The first person to guess the item correctly gets to choose the next object. This can be a fun one to play on Zoom too! You can have kids add in additional clues to help.

49. Clap for a little call-and-response

Pep things up with a little call-and-response clapping. It's simple to do and is often used in the classroom to get students' attention. Simply clap out a pattern that your kids will repeat back to you. Switch out the pattern a few times until everyone is focused and engaged. Alternatively, try a vocal call-and-response. Sing out a few riffs and have kids echo the tune back to you.

50. Color yourself mellow

Even grown-ups have picked up on the coloring craze as an excellent way to calm down and zone out. Put on some nice mellow background music, set a timer, and pass out some of these free mandala coloring pages.

51. Try a brain-break spinner

One way to make sure educational brain breaks are effective is to change up activities. Check out these online movement spinners for Wheel of Fortune-type games that help you add variety to brain breaks!

53. Would You Rather?

Students of all ages love participating in Would You Rather? videos, which can be found all over YouTube these days. Each video is approximately 8 minutes long, and students are given two scenarios where they choose which one they would rather participate in. Topics range from food items to activity choices to places to visit and more. As students choose the scenario, they move to either the right or left side of the room. Students then perform 30-second rounds of a specified exercise before repeating the process with another choice. Some of our favorite Would You Rather? channels include PE with Mr. G, Phonics Man, and Fix and Play. Students love when their teacher participates with them in the fun!

Learn more: PE With Mr. G

52. Write it out

Don't underestimate the power of journaling or creative writing. Give your kids a 5- or 10-minute break to open up a page of their notebook and write about anything they'd like. They don't have to share it with the class or do anything else with it; just use the quiet time to focus on something they love and want to write about.

Educational Video Brain Breaks by Grade Level

54. Brain-break compilations by grade level

If you are looking for a sample of brain breaks suitable for your students by grade level, look no further. We have created separate links of 25 videos each for individual grades at the elementary level. Go down the list and find your favorite!
Kindergarten Brain Breaks First Grade Brain Breaks Second Grade Brain Breaks Third Grade Brain Breaks Fourth Grade Brain Breaks Fifth Grade Brain Breaks
What educational brain breaks do you love? Share them in the comments!

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Quick, easy educational brain breaks that will help students re-energize, refocus, and give their brains a much-needed boost.

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Include EL Families send home any communication from the school in their language ( Spanish, French, Vietnamese)

This will create authentic and meaningful relationships with the families and the school. They will feel like they are a part of the community and will want to help support the school further.

Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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What do these words mean and why? ELL students need to understand what emotion words look and sound like. This applies to the real world as well when they go and find a job.

Citation: Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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Have EL students discuss and share their family traditions that they do in the classroom as well as having them bring in items that represent their culture to share with classmates. This will help support authenticity and rappoire in the classroom.

Citation: Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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Positive Messages from Peers on Sticky Notes 

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Positive Messages from Peers on Sticky Notes 

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Students create positive feedback to peers in regard to actions that took place from students that made someone else smile or happy. This creates a classroom that is positive and warm as well and EL students will want to participate more in conversations.

Citation: Positive Messages from Peers

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Have School Events Center Around the Cultures that are Represented at the School

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Have School Events Center Around the Cultures that are Represented at the School

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This past month was Hispanic Heritage Month. Several Schools across the District had Hispanice Heritage Month Events. Other schools and district personnel were invited to attend. Have these type of events monthly at the school level to build rappoire and support for the EL students at the school.

Citation: Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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Be sure to highlight the celebrations and Successes of EL students in the classes at the school. This can be done in a variety of ways. Calling out students names over the intercom on Fridays if they are doing a great job in their classes with participation etc. This will build up intrinsic motivation for students and they will want to participate more in class and will increase their confidence levels.

Citation: Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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Students need to understand how to listen to their bodies and to calm themselves down in situations since this applies to the real world as well. The more they are able to focus on their breath and ground themselves the more in the present moment they will be and can focus on the learning that is taking place.

Citation: , L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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To make EL students feel Welcome teachers can learn the language that the students speak. The students will want to teach the teacher the language. This also will help the EL students to open up more and to participate more in classroom conversations if they feel heard and seen.

Citation: Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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Help every student feel included and engaged

WIDA understands that multilingual learners might join your classrooms at any time during the school year. They arrive with a variety of cultural and linguistic experiences. While many learners were born in the United States, some may have several years of schooling in their home countries, some may have experienced interrupted schooling, and others may not have had the opportunity for formal schooling at all.

As a teacher, you can provide an inclusive and nurturing classroom environment for all students. Here are some tips:

Learn all you can about students' experiences, interests and abilities

Provide learning experiences and materials that reflect the identities and experiences of all students

Broaden intercultural understanding among all students in the classroom

Collaborate with other teachers and specialists to tailor learning materials and experiences

Gather some background: collect a writing sample, listen to a reading, have a conversation

Remember - a smile goes a long way

A welcoming classroom is about community and equity. By keeping these two ideas in mind, you can create an environment where students feel safe, visible and valued and where they are provided access to rigorous curriculum that engages and challenges them in meaningful ways.

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Help every student feel included and engagedWIDA understands that multilingual learners might join your classrooms at any time during the school year. They arrive with a variety of cultural and linguistic experiences.

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EL students have difficulty with writing. Therefore, they can be given sentence starters. In this way students are able to use the sentence starters to restate and answer the questions on assessments. This also applies to the ELPT ( English Language Proficiency Test) because students are going to have to write in complete sentences on the assessment.

Citation: Robertson & Ford. (2020, February 18). Language acquisition: An overview. Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-acquisition-overview

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EL students who are speaking in class and participating will carry over to the ELPT test. EL students will have more confidence with reh test when they have to take the speaking section.

Citation: Robertson & Ford. (2020, February 18). Language acquisition: An overview. Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-acquisition-overview

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Scaffold Assessments with the different phases of second language acquisition and meet the EL students where they are. For example oral rubrics on assessments, visuals on assessments, modifying assessments by eliminating some answer choices, etc.

Citation: Robertson & Ford. (2020, February 18). Language acquisition: An overview. Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-acquisition-overview

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How Assessments can Align to the ELPT Test 

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How Assessments can Align to the ELPT Test 

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English Language Proficiency/ Development Standards and Levels

The purpose of the English Language Proficiency ( ELP) Louisiana K-12 Connectors for English Learners. (Linked Below) is for teachers to see how the ELP standards are connected to the Louisiana K-12 ELA anchor or main standards in the following categories: Reading, Speaking, Writing, and Listening.

Assessments - Teachers having this knowledge and understanding of the ELP standards will truly be impactful on all state assessments LEAP and of course the ELPT ( English Language Proficiency Test). If teachers are utilizing this document they will be hitting all of the domains that the ELPT test covers Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. This will empower teachers to make more strategic instructional plans for their EL students.

Citation: https://www.louisianabelieves.com/docs/default-source/english-learners/ela-connector-for-els-crosswalk-doc.pdf?sfvrsn=791921f_4

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Cultural Considerations and how this Applies to Assessments for ELL students 

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Cultural Considerations and how this Applies to Assessments for ELL students 

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Assessments for EL students

When planning assessments new teachers can keep in mind that students might be confused around animal names so maybe if a test is focusing on an informational text regarding animals keep that in mind and explain that to them prior to the test or if students are struggling with certain vocabulary words it could be due to the cultural load so explaining that to them.

Citation: De Oliveira, L. C. (2019). The handbook of TESOL in K-12. Wiley. ISBN-13: 9781119421740

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How does SEL apply to ELL students for assessments?

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How does SEL apply to ELL students for assessments?

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Assessment

EL students will perform better on assessments in the classroom if they feel like their teacher supports them and truly listens to them. Therefore, SEL lessons are very important in providing support to check in with our students to assess and see where they are with their emotions which will gauge teacher instruction daily.

Citation:

Breiseth, L. (2023, July 28). 10 strategies for supporting SEL for ells: “Grow as you go.” Colorín

Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-ell-salina

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Blog | Explore STEM Insights from Pitsco Education

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Discover hands-on STEM tips, resources, and insights on Pitsco Education’s Blog. Empower students, inspire educators, and connect learning to the real world.

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It is imperative that our EL students are holding collaborative conversations around all content areas and that they are being challenged in the classroom with the Tier 1 Curriculum. A way to encourage student ownership and learning is for EL students to participate in purposeful discussion in the classroom as well as using the accountable talk phrases above.

Citation: Accountable Talk Posters enhance Student Ownsership