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Digital Resources to Support Instruction

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Digital Resources to Support Instruction

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(Theories of Language Development, n.d.)

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Application of Theories to Teaching Philosophies

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Application of Theories to Teaching Philosophies

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(Competency 7: Research-Based Practices for Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) Diagram, 2025)

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iReady is a curriculum-based instructional support resource that helps students work on areas which they may need extra support based on an online assessment they take every three months. There are videos, supports, and games to use and play while learning. Use this when students need support or extra practice on concepts.

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Log in to i-Ready®, online assessment and instruction that helps teachers provide all students a path to proficiency and growth in reading and mathematics.

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ABCya is an interactive website for Language Arts, Math, and many other skills for pre-K through 6+ grade.  There is an option to work on the website in Spanish.  There are standards-based learning activities, and there is a page for parents and teachers for further ideas and tools for teaching at any grade level.

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ABCya! • ABCya! • Learning Games and Apps for Kids

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Educational games for grades PreK through 6 that will keep kids engaged and having fun. Topics include math, reading, typing, just-for-fun logic games… and more!

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Starfall is a great ELL website for Pre-k-5th grade. It includes interactive language aspects that keep students excited to learn as they are playing a “game” while learning.  There are interactive lessons, pronunciation activities, numbers, vocabulary and more.

There is a strong emphasis on reading. There is a tab for parents and teachers where you can find worksheets, books, music, projectables, and lesson plans

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Starfall Education: Kids Games, Movies, Books & Music for K-5 and above

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At Starfall, children have fun while they learn - specializing in reading, phonics & math - educational games, movies, books, songs, and more for children K-5 and above.

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Reading Rockets is a website that helps educators with reading strategies specifically for ELL students. Educators can research a topic and the website provides research on strategies to help students read at their grade level. These articles are produced by educators and professionals in the education field.

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Explore reading basics as well as the key role of background knowledge and motivation in becoming a lifelong reader and learner. Watch our PBS Launching Young Readers series and try our self-paced Reading 101 course to deepen your understanding.

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Reading Rockets is a website that helps educators with reading strategies specifically for ELL students. Educators can research a topic and the website provides research on strategies to help students read at their grade level. These articles are produced by educators and professionals in the education field.

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UsingEnglish.com: English Language (ESL) Learning Online

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Master the English language with UsingEnglish.com! Discover ESL resources, improve your vocabulary, and join a thriving community of learners and teachers.

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Prodigy is an English and Math game that children love to play.  Each child starts by taking a placement test.  Prodigy’s adaptive algorithm continues to track the child’s progress.  Parents and teachers can keep track of the child’s progress with weekly reports.  You can set goals, print practice sheets, and set the questions to go along with the current standard being taught in the classroom.

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Colorin Colorado is an award-winning website with material for students, teachers, and families.  It is geared toward native Spanish-speaking ELLs.  There are articles written by educators with ideas, resources, data-based strategies, and tips that cover multiple aspects of language skills for your students.  There are videos, articles, newsletters, books, and toolkits.

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A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners

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This website is an ELL website that focuses on reading.  It’s best for preschool to 3rd grade.  There are interactive resources to use on the website or pull off to use in lesson ps.  There are printable exercise and reading activities for the whole class.

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Donate with confidence

Reading Is Fundamental is a 501(c)(3) non-profit

Join RIF to disrupt the literacy crisis

Reading Is Fundamental and our partners work to change the trajectory of the alarming U.S. literacy crisis, which creates barriers between our nation's children and their opportunities.

children in the U.S. cannot read proficiently.

of U.S. children living at or below the poverty line have no books at home.

of 4th graders read below grade level, setting them up for difficulty in school and beyond.

RIF in action

Since 1966, we've partnered with educators, families, and literacy advocates to change the trajectory of the literacy crisis. Check out the latest from RIF.

Designed by research, powered by joy

Our research-backed solutions, resources, and programs are created by literacy experts to ensure that kids develop a foundation for discovery, growth, and learning. In 2022 alone, we reached more than 34 million children with nearly 6 million books and reading resources-both in person and online.

Latest news and stories

Learn how we're making a measurable impact for children in communities like yours.
All news and stories

Press and articles

Check out RIF's programs, events, and campaigns making news.

Blog

Read on for thoughts from RIF staff and special guests on a variety of timely reading topics.

Podcasts

Hear from RIF leadership on the literacy landscape and the impact we're making.

Press and articles

Check out RIF's programs, events, and campaigns making news.

Blog

Read on for thoughts from RIF staff and special guests on a variety of timely reading topics.

Podcasts

Hear from RIF leadership on the literacy landscape and the impact we're making.

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Partner With RIF To Inspire the Joy of Reading

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Together, we can disrupt the trajectory of the literacy crisis and open the door to opportunity for every child.

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PBS’s landing page has a title, Bring the World to Your Classroom.

PBS Learning Media is a website that provides educators and students with access to classroom-ready resources.  It is a free comprehensive media-on-demand digital content library that offers PreK-12 classrooms a flexible way to integrate media into daily instruction

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PBS LearningMedia | Teaching Resources For Students And Teachers

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Inspire your students with thousands of free teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards.

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Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

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Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

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Piaget's theory of cognitive development, Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development is the idea that children's thinking skills develop in four stages, depending on their age. This is helpful for teachers to know because they can have a better understanding of where the students should be in the learning process and how they learn depending on their age. Using this theory can help a teacher to teach according to the student's strengths at the time and age they are learning. Teachers can guide their teaching approaches and philosophies based on the Piaget's Theory

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Vygotsky believes that a major part of language acquisition is from having social interactions and understanding the cultural norms around you. For educators, this is important to know in order to create an environment and lessons where students and teachers are interacting and collaborating with one another. This theory is also important to understand when forming your teaching philosophy because to understand the students' background knowledge you will need to understand where they come from. This will guide how you are teaching them and how you can make connections with the students.

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Steps to Write Your Own Teaching Philosophy

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Steps to Write Your Own Teaching Philosophy

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A good teaching statement demonstrates what a teacher brings to the classroom—not only their qualifications and personality, but also specific examples of how they make their teaching align with their values. (Lab, n.d.)

A teaching philosophy contains goals, beliefs and values that you hold to yourself as well as your students. Your teaching philosophy should change based on your students, your setting, and your experiences. Once you have your own teaching philosophy, you should reflect on that philosophy to see if anything needs to be changed, and to see if you are following your own words. Here are some steps for writing your own teaching philosophy...

What beliefs and values do you have  regarding education, learning, and teaching

What goals do you have for your students

How do you plan to implement readings, activities, discussions, assignments, etc. to help students meet those goals

How you evaluate and assess student work

How you will create an inclusive teaching environment

(Lab, n.d.)

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Click here for an explanation of what it means, and what you can do, to be a Culturally Responsive Teacher.

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Reading to your student allows the students to hear the words and focus on their meaning instead of worrying about how to pronounce them, or possibly not understanding the word due to how they pronounce it. Students can focus on the content of the text. Read Alouds also lend to discussion of meaning and information.

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ELLs should be given the opportunity to collaborate with others to strengthen their language skills. Often they know the knowledge but need assistance communicating that knowledge. Collaboration allows them to learn from one another.

Working in small groups with students helps to give them the support they need that might go unnoticed in a larger setting. Students can ask questions in the small setting, and teachers can keep an eye on their particular needs.

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Teaching students to highlight main ideas within a text is an important strategy for all of our students. Highlighting puts larger texts into smaller chunks to focus on. When they highlight specific phrases or words, they can look at the answer choices and match the words to the words they highlighted in the text. Chunking helps students focus on smaller ideas and vocabulary so they aren't overwhelmed.

Another tool to use is crossing out multiple choice answers that are obviously wrong. Students can do this by hand or use online tools that cross out answers for them. Again, if we eliminate some answers and only have to focus on a couple, we helped students focus on a smaller chunk of information.

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It is important to give our students extra time on assessments in order for them to process the information and form their answers. ELLs might know the information but have a difficult time communicating what they know. They need time to process and not rush just to get done on time.

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This is especially important for students who struggle with writing. ELLs might know the information but struggle to write what they know. Instead of worrying about forming the sentences and words, allow them to answer orally.

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Reflecting on you own lessons ensures that you are staying current with the needs of your students. Reflection requires you to determine if that lesson needs changing, or if students need more, based on how that lesson went. Reflection means growing and adapting to meet the needs of your students.

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Engaging in Intentional Practice (Observations)

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Engaging in Intentional Practice (Observations)

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Educators must engage in intentional practice to refine their skills and professional judgment (National Education Association, n.d.). Reflecting on your practices requires observing others' lessons to learn about what you are doing or not doing in your classroom. Asking a mentor, or peer, to observe and give you feedback on your lessons also helps to reflect on what you are currently doing, or not doing, in your classroom.

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Becoming a part of a community of educators helps teachers grow and reflect on their practices. Working with others allows insight on tips, strategies, theories, and practices you might not know about. It allows for the collaboration of ideas which helps to grow pedagogy. Having an open mind and allowing other ideas in to your current pedagogy results in growth for educators.

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Attending workshops and webinars allows you to learn the latest strategies for meeting our diverse learners. You can find workshops and webinars that focus on ELL strategies on websites like Colorin Colorado, WIDA, and TESOL International.

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To grow your knowledge and skills teaching ELLs, seek graduate programs or certifications from universities. There are certificates such as a Master's in TESOL, and a TESOL Endorsement. Many universities offer specialized coursework in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) or Bilingual Education.

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Working with a mentor or a coach, who has experience working with ELL students, can provide guidance and feedback to help you when working with your students.