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English Learners with Disabilities Toolkit

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This tool contains information that states can use to ensure their parent-focused assessment information is inclusive of assessments taken by English learners with disabilities. It also contains information on how to ensure that these parent resources are shared with local education agency staff who can distribute information to parents.

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While modeling the think-aloud strategy "teachers verbalize aloud while reading a selection orally. Their verbalizations include describing things they're doing as they read to monitor their comprehension. The purpose of the think-aloud strategy is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text." (Farr,Connor, 2015). Think-alouds can be used before and during reading. They can also be used individually, with small groups, and in a whole group setting. Teachers need to model this strategy before letting students do it on their own or in small groups. When modeling, the students are able to answer the questions that the teacher is asking. Come up with questions to ask for students to use as a guide. Give the students many opportunities to practice this strategy before letting them do it on their own. "When teachers model strategy use (such as through think-alouds) and then provide appropriate scaffolding during practice sessions, students are more likely to become effective strategy users." (Ehevarria, Vogt, Short, 2015, pg. 134).

There are a variety of ways to embed the think-aloud strategy into the curriculum. According to Reading Rockets, there are three parts to the think-aloud strategy: modeling, coached practice, and reflection. Once these three components have been gone through extensively, the students will be ready to use the think-aloud strategy on their own. Using those three parts is a way of scaffolding our instruction for students and using a bottom-up approach. "There is no magic formula or set of steps which will make this method (or any other) successful. Success lies in how you use it - which means choosing appropriate texts, listening carefully to students, determining students' abilities, and adapting the method to your own students' needs and abilities." (Farr, Connor, 2015).

Content Area Examples

"Learning strategies can transfer to new tasks." (Echevarria, Vogt, Short, 2015).
Mathematics: When teaching a new math concept, the teacher can use think-aloud strategies to model what steps students should be taking. The teacher can talk about the questions and processes that need to go through a student's head as they solve the math problem. "Self-regulated learning emphasizes autonomy and control by the individual who monitors, directs, and regulates actions toward goals of information acquisition, expanding expertise, and self-improvement." (Echevarria, Vogt, Short, 2015). This is important because students will need to utilize the different strategies they have to complete the math problem.

Science: Teachers can use the think-aloud process to discuss the scientific processes and experiments. When asking students to explore and evaluate, the teacher can model the thought processes and questions that go along with those tasks. This can be critical for students because they will be learning the framework for how to approach a posed science question.

Reading: While doing an interactive read-aloud, the teacher should model the think-aloud strategy to show students what questions and thought processes need to happen when you read. This will show the students how to make connections, ask the right questions, and predict what will happen next.

Social Studies: While discussing different cultures, places, and historical times, think-alouds can be a great strategy to help students delve deeper into their understanding. The students will use questions modeled by the teacher to help them further their comprehension. If they are reading their text book about a difficult topic, such as the Holocaust, they can use the think-aloud strategy to help them understand better. Two of the key statements that will help students in social studies is: "I was confused by.." or "I have to reread that part because".

Why should we use think-alouds?

Purpose: The purpose for using a think-aloud is to help students improve their comprehension. Students need to:

"Draw on background knowledge as they read

Make predictions as they read

Visualize the events of a text as they read

Recognize confusion as they read

Recognize a text's structure/organization as they read

Identify/recognize a purpose for reading

Monitor their strategy use according to the purpose for reading the text" (Farr, Connor, 2015).

Wayne Wright discusses the need for "using scaffolding, promoting higher order thinking skills, and teaching learning strategies." (Wright, 2015, 89). We use think-alouds to help students realize what questions and statements skilled readers use to make sense of the text.

English Language Learners

While using the think-aloud strategy for English Language Learners, be sure to have the spots that are most beneficial to stop and think-aloud already planned out. Using this strategy is very beneficial for ELLs because they are going to be able to relate back to their prior knowledge and stop and think when they need to. This strategy will also have them reflect on whether or not they understood what they read. Creating an open and inviting environment for students to share their answers is important. The think-aloud strategy helps students to realize the questions, connections, and prompts that should be going on in their head while they read a text.
This video models the think-aloud strategy. She has already modeled it for the students, so this time she is asking for more student involvement. She prompts the students with statements like: "I predict that..." Listen in to see how she is helping her ELL students comprehend the story more.

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While modeling the think-aloud strategy "teachers verbalize aloud while reading a selection orally. Their verbalizations include describing things they're doing as they read to monitor their...

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K-12 English Learner Toolkit Practices and Actions.pdf

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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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Copy of Designated Vs Integrated ELD- Resource Document.docx

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Research Says

1. Read-alouds where the teacher explains and discusses new vocabulary

2. Reading and writing activities that encourage the use of new words

3. Teacher modeling of new and high-utility vocabulary usage (Blachowicz et al., 2006; Graves, 2007; Chung, 2012)

4. Using the target words in sentences that construct a narrative (August et al., 2005).

5. Multiple exposures to target words within a variety of contexts (Blachowicz et al., 2006; Beck et al., 2002; Carlo et al., 2008)

I have taken these research-backed practices and synthesized them into a system of teaching high-utility Tier 2 vocabulary words.

Past Practices: Teaching the "Wrong" Words

I used to select vocabulary words from a text and pre-teach them prior to reading the text as a class. This worked well to teach vocabulary in context and scaffold comprehension during Visible Reading (my version of guided reading). The practice of pre-teaching, though, was not really the problem. The problem was the type of words I selected to teach; they were not often frequently-used across various disciplines. Despite the fact that the word "thatched", for example, is not as widely used across content classes as the word "significant", I devoted a disproportionate amount of time to teaching words like it that gave little return on investment.

I did not have a way to evaluate which words to teach. When faced with so many choices, I froze and didn't teach any.

The concept that words are "tiered" comes from Beck, MeKeown, and Kucan's book Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (2002). They suggested that words fall under one of three "tiers". Tier 1 words are commonly used such as "and", "but", "when" and also concrete words such as "laptops" and "table". Tier 3 words are domain-specific vocabulary such as "cytoplasm" and "cash flow". Tier 2 words are known as "Goldilocks" words because they appear frequently across various disciplines. They are the high-utility words that empower ELs to have command of academic language. Unfortunately, I wrongly ignored teaching Tier 2 words my first few years in the field. I encourage you not to repeat my mistake.

Knowing what words to teach an effective language instruction practice. is Choosing the words to teach is just as important as the method of vocabulary instruction . Teaching Tier 2 words is not only about teaching words' meaning, but also about incorporating strategies to internalize those meanings mentally and even physically.

Current Practices: Teaching Academic Word Lists

I developed this process after reading by Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002). Of all the books about teaching vocabulary, this is my most trusted resource. They described a concept called Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction "Academic World Lists" (AWL), which are sets of the high-utility, Tier 2 words that are found most frequently across academic texts such as journals, reports, and newspapers (Coxhead, 2000). The Tier 2 list consists of 570 words including "contain", "factors", "significant", and "effect". The document that I use each year to plan my vocabulary instruction is found here.

I was excited to learn about this concept for two reasons: 1) time pressure and 2) transferability. One year of schooling does not allow anyone to teach anything near 570 words, but, with AWL, the Tier 2 words narrowed down the terms that would be most helpful to ELs' language development. Also, these words appear frequently in ELs' science, humanities, math, design, and art lessons, so teaching them in English class would prepare them for reading texts in these other content classes.

Below are two of my favorite videos on how to teach Tier 2 words. The first one comes from the Institute for Education Sciences, and the second comes from Beth Skelton, an education consultant, who presented for VirtuEL19 on the topic of vocabulary instruction.

Step 1: Select Target Words

When I first developed this program, one vocabulary unit would consist of 8-9 words, but I found that it took too much time out of the regular class period. Now I select only 3-4 words, and the process takes only 10 minutes from my lesson cycle.

For the younger students and those ELs who are on the Entering and Beginning phases of language development, I select the vocabulary AWL words to learn because my ELs usually aren't familiar with any of the academic words. A pre-test would confirm what experience also indicates.

For my older ELs and students that are at the Expanding and Bridging phases of language development, I diagnose their prior knowledge with a simple pre-test as shown below. Notice that I do not use multiple choice, and I expect them to explain their answers. Their writing reveals the level of understanding more than multiple choice answers do.

Step 2: Create "Context Cards"

I create a series of cards on Google Slides (the Google Drive version of Microsoft Powerpoint). Each card consists of a question with the target vocabulary word accompanied by a sentence frame to scaffold the answer. Also, each slide has an image taken from Clipart.org. Here's an example:

Step 3: Teacher Models Answer

The first few times that students are introduced to the word "increase", I provide answers using the sentence stem. I make sure to provide lots of context clues to help ELs construct the meaning of "increase". I might say:
"If the noise increases, I would go to my neighbor and politely say that it's 10PM, and the increase in the noise is making it hard to sleep. If there was an increase of noise from 11AM to 5PM, I would not mind because I'm neither home nor sleeping."
I ask students to orally answer the vocabulary question using the sentence starter. This also serves as a check for understanding, and their answers indicate if I need to provide more examples. The important thing to remember is that I make students explain their answers, which forces them to create context for the vocabulary word.

Step 5: Quick Write Answers

Now students Quick Write their answers in their English notebooks using the sentence starter. The ELs are not expected to write the question, just the answer which includes the sentence starter. As students QW, I walk around to check the answers of students who have not given an oral response.

Below is an example of an ELs' QW to internalize "increase". The Context Card for this question was: "Should Vientiane International School Increase the time students have for lunch?" The sentence stem was: "VIS [should/ should not] increase the lunch time because...

Step 6: Sign Language Vocabulary Word

This is when students and I discuss what they think the vocabulary word means. By now, students' spoken and written answers indicate that they understand the vocabulary word because of all the various contexts that have been provided by me and other students. It's probable that they can create an EL-friendly definition of the word.

To scaffold their understanding, I have ELs learn a gesture for each vocabulary word. According to James Asher's theory of Total Physical Response (TPR), a person's memory is enhanced when associated with a physical movement (Asher, 1969). Let's face it - language is incredibly abstract. Many ELs (and adults!) would rather be playing outside than learning mundane academic vocabulary. By having students gesture a word, they become both more engaged in the process and more likely to remember it.

I find it helpful to ask students to learn the American Sign Language (ASL) for the words since they already have an established system. The ASL website provides a dictionary, and each word has a short video to demonstrate the gesture. Every time I display a Context Card, I can ask students for the action associated with the word.

Below is a video of me teaching this process using this Context Cards to teach the word significant.

Notice how they're listening to each other's ideas, adding to it, and asking questions. Observe how they are actively using examples to explain the meaning of significant. Look how interactive this experience is compared to completing workbook exercises. Notice how little time it takes to teach the word.

FAQs about this process
How long does a "unit" last?
I have found that it takes 10-12 sessions to have ELs internalize the target words' meaning. For each unit, I create 12 Context Cards for the word "increase". We engage with each word once a day over 12 class sessions. If a student does not grasp "increase" on a particular day, there are 11 more days when he can learn its meaning.
Are AWLs worth teaching?
Yes, because I have repeatedly seen how words taught using this process are used in other classes. For example, the word "increase" and "decrease" appeared in Mr. A's 7th grade science class when they were learning about the concept of friction. My ELs have already developed an understanding of "increase" in my English class, so when these Tier 2 words showed up on one of Mr. A's graphic organizers, my ELs had no problem engaging in the task.

In another example, an EL used the word "increased" in a presentation for Humanities class. Mr. J, the Humanities teacher, wanted students to research and present the causes that created different conflicts. Dexter, a 7th grade EL, decided to student the cause of the French Revolution. One of the causes was the increase price of bread. He intentionally used the word "increase" in his presentation slide.
It's Not Learning in Context
There are two ways that I attempt to build context for this approach to vocabulary instruction. The first is by adding students' experiences into the Context Cards. For example, my school has an annual trip at the beginning of the year called "SALSA" when each grade travels together. Some schools call this the "Week Without Walls", and its purpose is to develop a sense of community. When I was teaching the word "factor", I created a question that required them to use "factor" within the context of this SALSA trip. Below is an example of the Context Card.

One way I build context into this approach is by adding students' experiences into the Context Cards. For example, my school has an annual trip at the beginning of the year called "SALSA" when each grade travels together. Some schools call this the "Week Without Walls", and its purpose is to develop a sense of community. When I was teaching the word "factor", I created a question that required them to use "factor" within the context of this SALSA trip. Below is an example of the Context Card.
Is this challenging?
Writing about the things one might pack on a trip is not that challenging. To make it more difficult, I combine two vocabulary words into one Context Card. I only do this after the seventh day of interacting with the word because I want to make sure that they understand both words well enough to provide an appropriate answer. Below is an example of how I combined the words "increase" and "factors":

While I'm not 100% sure that this is the best method to teach vocabulary. I am certain that if I teach vocabulary through: 1) visuals and actions, 2) various contexts, and 3) engagement through discussion and writing then my ELs stand a chance of internalizing the vocabulary word in a meaningful way.

For me, teaching vocabulary has been one of the most difficult skills to learn and master. Looking back, I naively searched for the "silver bullet" solution to effective vocabulary instruction. With perspective and experience, I realized that vocabulary instruction takes many shapes, has many forms, and changes depending on the lesson cycle. I hope that these vocabulary articles have shown you the process for creating your own robust vocabulary program that will support your learners.

This article also concludes the Visible Literacy series. If you've followed the series, I hope three things stick out: 1) ELs learn best by constructing knowledge, 2) language learning is a social experience aided by scaffolds and discussions, and 3) literacy is an invisible process that can be made visible through scaffolding learning.

Takeaways

1. Words fall into three "tiers".

2. Tier Two words consist of academic vocabulary.

3. Educators can create a process to systematically teach academic vocabulary within context.

If you like your own copy of Unit 1 Slides, you can click on this link.
Next week's post is the final vocabulary post, and it will conclude the Visible Learning Series. I'll end the series sharing my process of teaching Tier 3 vocabulary words, which are high-utility academic words that are used across content areas.

Asher, J. (1969). The Total Physical Response Approach to Second Language Learning. The Modern Language Journal , 53 (1), 3-17.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford.

Blachowicz, C., Fisher, P., Ogle, D., & Watts-Taffe, S. (2006). Vocabulary: Questions from the classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 41 (4), 524-539.

Carlo, M. S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C., Dressler, C., Lippman, D. Lively, T. J. & White, C. E. (2008). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Journal of Education, 189 (1/2), 57-76.

Chung, S. F. (2012, September). Research-Based Vocabulary Instruction for English Language Learners. The Reading Matrix, 12 (2), 105-120. Retrieved from http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/september_2012/chung.pdf

Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly, 34, 213-238. Retrieved from http://www.uefap.com/vocab/select/awl.htm

Graves, M. (2007). Conceptual and empirical bases for providing struggling readers with multifaceted and long-term vocabulary instruction. In B. Taylor & J. Ysseldyke (Eds.), Effective instruction for struggling readers, K-6 (pp. 55-83). NY: Teachers College.

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#17. Tier 2 Words: Words that Make a Difference - ELL Strategies | TanKHuynh

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Research Says Read-alouds where the teacher explains and discusses new vocabulary Reading and writing activities that encourage the use of new words Teacher modeling of new and high-utility vocabulary usage (Blachowicz et al., 2006; Graves, 2007; Chung, 2012) Using the target words in sentences that construct a narrative (August et al., 2005).

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The previous three articles presented research on why vocabulary instruction is important to ELs' academic achievement , how to help ELs learn strategies to quickly understand Tier 1 vocabulary words , and how to teach Tier 2 words which usually consist of high-utility academic words. The goal of this article is to share a process of teaching content-specific vocabulary to ELs, often referred to as Tier 3 vocabulary words.

Teaching Tier Three Words in Context

Tier Three words are usually those that are mainly content specific and used least frequently. Because they are generally used within a specific discipline, it is best to bring context from that content area to teach them.

I'll share an anecdote to describe how I teach Tier Three words. I went into Mr. A's 7th grade science class to help the ELs and non-ELs better learn their science content. Mr. A wanted to teach the concepts of "precise" and "accurate" in order to show them how to evaluate data. I noticed that Anny (an EL) was experiencing difficulty comprehending what he meant. After the usual Google Translate strategy failed to produce any understanding, I had Anny share her data with me. We plotted her data on a "bullseye". Then we matched her data to Mr. A's diagram.

After she compared them, our dialogue sounded like this:

Below is a video showing this exact lesson . I used Anny's science data to help her understand "precise" and "accurate" in the actual science context. They're Tier Three words because they have a specific meaning when scientists employ them to discuss science data.

Using the science context to demonstrate meaning is an example of how to teach vocabulary that is "in context". Indeed, research suggests explaining words in context is more effective than through non-contextualized instruction (Biemiller & Boote, 2006 as cited by Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008).

Additional Resource on Vocabulary Instruction in General

The most effective book on vocabulary instruct is Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions and Extended Examples (Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy) by Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2008). It describes the theory around acquiring vocabulary and provides specific strategies to help students learn vocabulary. By purchasing the book, you also support the blog.

Approaches to Learning Tier 3 Words

I use a combination of four approaches when teaching Tier 3 words. I always try to find an image that is related to the target word because ELs comprehend ideas better when it's associated with an image. I also try to use the picture to explain the Tier 3 word. For example, if the target word is "photosynthesis", then I would find a diagram that shows the process of a plant turning water, sunlight, and oxygen into energy.

The third approach is to provide a non-example, a word that does not fit the target word's definition. This strategy is best used when the EL has already learned the features of the target word. When a non-example is offered, they can compare the differences between the target word and the non-example. The approach that produces the most enduring understanding of a vocabulary word is the fourth one: providing multiple contexts. Provide various situations in which the Tier 3 vocabulary word is incorporated.

Below is an infographic that illustrates these four approaches. Images courtesy of talekids, tzunghaor, Anonymous, and nicubunu.

Quizlet & Tier 3 Vocabulary Practice

In addition to these four strategies, the content teachers and I find the app Quizlet helpful to teaching Tier 3 words because it allows for images to be associated with the selected words. Moreover, the ability to play games and have a portable set of flashcards makes it a highly interactive tool. Here's an actual Quizlet vocabulary set that I used to help 7th graders learn science vocabulary during an ecosystem unit . Mr. Arno thought the Quizlet was quite effective in helping the ELs learn the content vocabulary that he shared it with his non-ELs as well.

The only downside to Quizlet is that it doesn't allow students to see the vocabulary word in multiple contexts unless the teacher creates multiple contexts in the Quizlet set.

Though the strategy that I use for Tier I and Tier 2 words differs from that of Tier 3 words, they all share the same principle of learning vocabulary by building a context for ELs through the texts that ELs are reading or the content they're learning. In my approach, vocabulary is never learned through antiquated, out-of-context vocabulary workbooks. It's learned through authentic learning experiences in addition to interactions with the content and fellow classmates.

I hope that you have enjoyed this collection of articles. They represent the core of my English language instruction to ELs and have been formed through years of research, trial, and error.

The next series will be about the set of articles from WIDA's Essential Actions Handbook. It's a collection of articles that shares 15 essential actions -hence the name- that teachers can use to support ELs. Like this Visible Learning series, I will share how I implemented WIDA's 15 actions. I hope you to see you next week.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford.

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#18. Tier 3 Words: Teaching Content-Specific Vocabulary - ELL Strategies | TanKHuynh

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The previous three articles presented research on why vocabulary instruction is important to ELs' academic achievement , how to help ELs learn strategies to quickly understand Tier 1 vocabulary words , and how to teach Tier 2 words which usually consist of high-utility academic words.

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Students of a national-origin-minority who are limited in English language proficiency (United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2016). The acronym ELL or ELLs, is used to refer to students whose home/native language is any language other than English, and who are in the process of learning academic English (CDE, 2015).

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Homepage | Multilingual Students with Exceptional Needs

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Students of a national-origin-minority who are limited in English language proficiency (United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2016). The acronym ELL or ELLs, is used to refer to students whose home/native language is any language other than English, and who are in the process of learning academic English (CDE, 2015).

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ELLs need to be given frequent, extended opportunities to speak about content material and work through complex texts in English.

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A vetted selection of resources and best practices specifically for educators who support young Multilingual Learners.

The Multilingual Learning Toolkit, an online hub of research-based key principles, instructional practices, and accompanying resources, is the result of a collaborative effort between practitioners, experts, and researchers. The key audience for this work is teachers who work with Multilingual Learner children in PreK-3rd Grade as well as program administrators and higher education faculty members.

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About Multilingual Learning Toolkit * Multilingual Learner Children

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The Multilingual Learning Toolkit, an online hub of research-based key principles, instructional practices, and accompanying resources.

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Online teaching resources for multilingual learners

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Here are some helpful digital resources to support teaching and learning for multilingual learners.

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The California Department of Education promotes the Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents (CMD), a secure database to assist local educators in both locating and uploading their own free parental notification documents translated into non-English languages. While documents will be most relevant for educators in California, the database serves as a model for other educational systems looking to expand resources in other languages.

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21009 Elementary School Teacher Toolkit REVISED.pdf

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21009 Middle School Teacher Toolkit REVISED.pdf

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Creating and nurturing an inclusive, affirming classroom community is a central priority for educational equity and access for English Learners, made even more critical and urgent in a pandemic climate where social isolation, economic crisis and racial injustice have intensified. It is imperative th…

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My Name My Identity Educator Toolkit Final

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GR 2 Domain Information Document w Standards.pdf

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GR 0 K Domain Information Document w Standards.pdf

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Copy of Listening Comprehension Strategies.pdf

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English Lang. Proficiiency and Lang. Functions.pdf

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A Tool to Scaffold Instruction for English Learners-1.pdf

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Copy of Language Targets Handout Samples.pdf

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States, districts, and schools have asked for help with gathering information on student progress, given the shift to distance learning. In response, Understanding Language created two one-hour virtual sessions focused on strengthening Formative Assessment practices in remote and non-remote environments.