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English Language Proficiency Standards - these are important to include in the language objectives when lesson planning and for determining which language domains are begin addressed with the lesson.

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Proficiency Level Descriptors - these are important to refer to when monitoring the progress of the English learners. They also serve as reminders of what students can do at each level of proficiency within each domain of language.

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1. Morphology
2. Syntax
3. Phonology
4. Reading Engagement
5. Comprehension

These 5 steps are used in a flow of transition showing how they are all interrelated. All of these skills are needed when working with literacy engagement with students.

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This gives students an opportunity to work in small groups when reading literature. They can work with background knowledge and building vocabulary.

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Kristen is our guest blogger today, joining us from A Walk in the Chalk. She's sharing her strategies for reaching ELLs in the classroom by incorporating modified guided reading strategies.

Guided reading is an important component of a balanced literacy program. It is when individualized reading instruction is provided to a small group of students. The group size is typically between four to six students, and each lesson is approximately 20 minutes. The teacher meets with each group several times a week and provides targeted instruction on reading skills and comprehension strategies.

Aren't guided reading lessons the same for ELLs (English language learners) as with native English speakers? Yes and no. The same effective strategies used with native English speakers are used with ELLs, but additional strategies are necessary in order to help ELLs navigate through their new language. Let's face it: Our ELLs are learning content and the English language at the same time. In order for them to fully understand and interact with the text, certain instructional strategies require more attention, and scaffolds need to be added to support the language. Let's take a look at how we can modify guided reading instruction to best support our English language learners.

Choosing the Right Text

When we choose a guided reading text for our ELLs, it's important to keep some questions in mind. Does the book topic provide cultural relevance? Will students have prior knowledge of the topic? What background knowledge will you need to provide the students? Choosing texts that students can relate to will add to their level of comprehension.

Additionally, as with any guided reading group, we want to choose books, or texts, that are at the students' instructional reading levels. For ELLs we also want to choose books that don't have a heavy language load. If I find a book at my students' reading level, but the language is heavy with a lot of new vocabulary or grammatically complex sentences, I may choose to find a different book.

It's also important to choose age appropriate books for our ELLs. Avoid "baby" books, especially for the older students. Students may be reading at a primary level in English, but providing "babyish" books can have a negative impact on a student's self-esteem. It can also be a source of embarrassment for them. It may be more challenging to find emergent leveled books for older ELLs, but they are out there.

When choosing a text, also note areas that might be confusing. Some areas that can hinder comprehension are the use of figurative language, homophones, multiple meaning words, and new vocabulary, as well as grammatically complex sentences. Addressing these before reading will greatly support students' understanding.

Lastly, whenever we are able to integrate reading with other content areas, the better it is for our ELLs. This provides multiple exposures of a topic, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of the content. I love finding books or passages that tie into the Science and Social Studies curriculum, because this additional exposure also sets them up for further success in those classes.

English Explorer Books are excellent leveled books to use for integrating content with reading

Introduce the Text

As the text is introduced, clear and concise objectives should be provided. I post both content and language objectives at the beginning of each lesson. The content objective is "what" I want them to learn, and the language objective is "how" they will show their understanding. Setting clear objectives gives students a purpose for reading, as well as a goal that is clear and attainable.

Next, and one of the most important components of modified guided reading, is activating or building background knowledge as a pre-reading activity. ELLs often lack the background knowledge needed to fully understand a text. In order to bring cultural relevance to a topic, we need to activate the knowledge they already have, or when there is none, we need to build it for them. We can build this by using real world items (realia), videos, pictures, or shared readings. This component is crucial for setting ELLs up for success. Imagine your new student is from a tropical country, and the book you are reading with him/her is about a snowy winter. The student may not have background knowledge of what snow looks like, feels like, tastes likes, sounds like, or smells like. Using pictures, video clips, and realia can provide the background knowledge the student needs to gain a deeper understanding of the text.

As the text is introduced, we also want to frontload new vocabulary before reading. This includes both academic vocabulary, as well as any tricky everyday vocabulary. I always try to look at vocabulary through the eyes of an English language learner. A word that may not seem tricky to me could be for my ELLs.

Introducing the text, building background knowledge, and frontloading new vocabulary are critical to scaffolding the guided reading text. Spending extra time on this component will be extremely beneficial.

Check for Understanding

Next, monitoring student understanding as they read is done with quick comprehension checks. I listen to each individual child read, and then I will askhim/her open-ended questions or have him/her make a connection, a prediction, or an inference. The student then "turns off their volume" and continues to read silently while I listen to the next student. This continues as I get to each student in the group. We can't assume our ELLs understand; it's necessary to provide those comprehension checks to either help them navigate the text further or confirm that they are indeed understanding.

Respond to Reading

This is the "language objective." It's the "how" they will show what they know. You may choose to incorporate a guided writing activity, fill in a graphic organizer, use drama, participate in a discussion, or answer questions about their reading. This component will help solidify understanding and afford the use of language output in a low anxiety setting.

Students answer questions and engage in discussion with a fun Read-n-Roll activity

Word work is also an important part of reading instruction, and your guided reading lesson is a great time to incorporate it. Our ELLs need word work. Instructional time devoted to phonics, spelling patterns, and sight words will help build a foundation for learning English. I typically find areas of focus within the guided reading text. I also look for sounds in English that are different in my students' native language and focus on building awareness and pronunciation of these new sounds. Spending just a few minutes each lesson on word work will have a great impact on your ELLs' progress in both their reading and writing skills.

Integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills within a guided reading lesson will provide opportunities for students to grow in all areas of literacy. The goal is to provide ELLs with the skills, strategies, and support they need to understand and interact with the content and curriculum at each grade level. By doing this, the ultimate goal of closing the achievement gap can be better realized.

Modified Guided Reading Lesson Plan Template

Modified guided reading instruction enables the reading and language skills of students to be developed. It targets the specific needs of ELLs and provides them with a deeper and broader understanding of text. Through this practice, the literacy skills, language development and self confidence of your English language learners will flourish.

I'm Kristen Vibas, an elementary ESOL teacher living in northern Virginia, teaching since 2005. I am passionate about teaching English language learners and creating fun and meaningful resources that support them in their mainstream classrooms. You can find me at my blog, "A Walk in the Chalk," or at my TPT store, "Kristen Vibas."

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Kristen is our guest blogger today, joining us from A Walk in the Chalk. She's sharing her strategies for reaching ELLs in the classroom by incorporating modified guided reading strategies. Guided reading is an important component of a balanced literacy program. It is when individualized reading instruction is provided to a small group of students.

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Students need both comprehensible input and content and language objectives when working on their language skills. These two work together for students to have a scaffolded language program.

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These are techniques to activate students knowledge and have them engaged in their learning. Each of these advance the students ability to work on language development.

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It is important to know the levels of vocabulary that you are teaching students. There should be a variety.

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This video talks about how language objectives can bridge together concepts and introduce the lesson. They are a statement to show what the student should be able to do in English.

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It is important to have students be able to verbalize what they are learning. Students should be able to explain and write out math steps that they are preforming.

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These are some of the basic vocabulary terms in math that are foundational for students to preform math equations. Students will need to make the connection between the symbol and description.

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This lesson plan is used to engage students in a science inquiry. The goal of using this setup is to get students engaged and involved in their learning.

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It is important to explain to students what is needed in an experiment before preforming the experiment. We are explaining the students science instruments so that they know how to properly use them.

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Often in history, we are challenged to think about the arts as well and how that impacted culture. It is important as teachers to know that connection before we teach it to our students. This could help some of our visual learners.

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This is a flow chart showing ways that students should be engaging higher order thinking skills. Once students are comfortable with a task or text, they can preform these.

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When writing a test, there are standards to be followed. These are good expectations to keep in mind as you create a test for students.

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It is easy to be bias in testing but it is important to remember that students should not be setback because of their culture. You should be able and ready to rewrite the test for them or offer modifications.

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A portfolio is a way to display students work overtime. They are a good way to offer collaborative learning as well.

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Rubrics can be a quick and efficient way to grade something. You can have a clear purpose for students when providing a rubric.

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There are tiers when working in supporting a student. It is important to know what tier your student is on so you can offer proper resources.

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When you are up up to date with your state’s accommodation resources, you can serve your students better. This is a link for the Texas resources.

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The Texas Education Agency (TEA) defines accommodations as changes to materials or procedures that enable students to participate meaningfully in learning and testing. Accommodation policies may apply to any student taking the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ®) or the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) depending on his or her needs and whether the student meets the eligibility criteria, as applicable.

Refer to the Accommodations section of the District and Campus Coordinator Resources for more information and additional resources.

These policies are divided into three main categories:

accessibility features-procedures and materials that should be made available to students who regularly use them during classroom instruction

locally-approved designated supports-procedures and materials that do not require TEA approval for students who meet eligibility criteria

designated supports requiring TEA Approval-procedures and materials that require the submission and approval of an Accommodation Request Form for students who meet eligibility criteria

Archive

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The Texas Education Agency (TEA) defines accommodations as changes to materials or procedures that enable students to participate meaningfully in learning and testing. Accommodation policies may apply to any student taking the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ®) or the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) depending on his or her needs and whether the student meets the eligibility criteria, as applicable.

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Students in GT programs will be tested to enter. These are the type of questions that students could see.

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It is important to know what signs to look for in a gifted student. As a teacher, you should be able to recognize this.

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Students can connect with students across the world. This creates a unique and tight knit community.

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With my kid in high school, I don't really get to read her writing anymore. It's so fascinating, as a mother, to read her thoughts and watch her interact with her peers. I'm really enjoying getting to know my kid on a different, deeper level." Melissa Bolin

​Parent from Arlington TX, USA

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A Global Project Based Learning Community

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With my kid in high school, I don't really get to read her writing anymore. It's so fascinating, as a mother, to read her thoughts and watch her interact with her peers. I'm really enjoying getting to know my kid on a different, deeper level."

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Students can do blogging as a fun and unique way to approach writing. It is personal and grows their technological skills.

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Student blogging provides opportunities for sharing, reflection, and ownership. With ELLs, blogs can provide deeper engagement and a public forum to demonstrate their developing skills.

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It is important as a teacher to know the difference between the two programs. It is also important to know where your students should be.

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The ESL vs. bilingual education debate has existed since the 1800s when the U.S. began to experience a great influx of immigrants from around the world. Questions arose as to which was more beneficial, more economical, better for the immigrants' assimilation and better for the native English-speaking students.

ESL vs. Bilingual Education

Which one works faster?

For which do we have already capable teachers?

For which do we have more trainable teachers?

The debate has continued in fits and starts to this day, but what it boils down to is that neither is necessarily better. They're just different.

ESL Goals and Process

The goal of ESL education is to teach English to students whose native language is not English. An ESL classroom could comprise students of any number of language backgrounds, but they are all there to learn English. As such, the teacher is only required to speak English and does not need to know the native languages of all the students. In a public school setting, ESL instruction is provided in a few different ways.

Pull-Out ESL

In an ESL pull-out program, ESL students leave their regular classroom for a short period each day or week to receive ESL teaching or tutoring. Sometimes, they are pulled out individually and sometimes in small groups.

The ESL teacher may have his own curriculum, or he may tutor the students in their regular classroom subject matter, helping them to understand the English involved and/or to devise strategies to better learn and keep up with their work.

Pull-out programs are mostly used in school districts where ESL teachers are spread thin across several schools each, where the ESL population is not very large, or where classroom space is limited.

ESL Class Period

In middle and high school settings where students move from classroom to classroom for each course, ESL students may have their ESL class in place of an elective, or it may serve as their language arts course. Either way, they don't miss out on anything that happens in another course, as in pull-out programs, and they receive course credit upon successful completion each year (or semester).

Sheltered English

Sheltered English, also known as content-based English instruction, is a special type of program not entirely unlike bilingual education, where the teacher(s) of each subject or grade level teach the required curriculum of that grade level but with modifications made to accommodate ESL students.

All the students are classified as ESL

The teacher gives the lessons in English, teaching Math, Science, Social Studies, Civics, English, History, etc.

Main goal is to teach the content with a secondary goal of teaching English.

Teachers in such programs will modify the regular curriculum only by simplifying the language with which they present it. They may also make use of visual aids, gestures, hands-on activities, group work, games, and other teaching tools not used in regular classrooms to get their students to a place of understanding.

If a qualified teacher is available and the number of ESL students per grade level or course is sufficient to fill one class, then sheltered English is the best of both worlds. The students are keeping up with grade-level curriculum while learning English as opposed to being removed from one in order to work on the other.

Unfortunately, teachers qualified, patient and willing to teach both ESL and a subject are hard to come by, so this is not really a viable option for most schools.

Bilingual Education

The biggest differences between ESL vs. bilingual education are:

In a bilingual program, the non-native English speakers all have the same language background, and the teacher speaks both languages as a means of content instruction.

In the ESL classroom, the students come from various language backgrounds, and the teacher only speaks English.

There are two types of bilingual education, and both have a main goal of teaching English to non-native speakers while also teaching the necessary grade-level or course curriculum.

One-Way Developmental Bilingual Education

In a one-way bilingual program:

The students are placed into classes based on their native languages.

The teacher teaches both in that language and in English, slowly phasing out the students' native language and eventually teaching only in English.

The idea is that the students will be comfortable in the learning environment throughout the process, but they will soon enough be ready to join the language majority in regular classes.

Strongly resemble content-based classes

The teacher speaks two languages, whereas content-based ESL teachers only speak English.

One-way bilingual classes:

Two-Way Bilingual Education

In a two-way bilingual class:

The student population is 50% native English-speaking and 50% minority language-speaking. A Spanish/English bilingual program, then, would be half English-speaking and half Spanish-speaking.

The teacher would be bilingual and would teach the entire course half in English and half in Spanish.

Transition - The Spanish speakers are learning English so that they may thrive in an English-speaking educational environment.

Development - The English speakers are developing understanding and fluency in a second language.

Maintenance - The Spanish speakers are maintaining their native language and culture, precious things that are sometimes lost when young children speak English more on a daily basis than their native language, causing a disconnect between them, their families and their heritage.

In addition to content instruction, the purpose of such a class is threefold:

ESL vs. Bilingual Education

Discerning which type of program is best suited to a given student population is not difficult. A simple inventory of students' languages, available teaching staff and space will easily determine if an ESL or a bilingual program is necessary, and when done well, both are excellent ways to learn.

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The ESL vs. bilingual education debate has existed since the 1800s when the U.S. began to experience a great influx of immigrants from around the world. Questions arose as to which was more beneficial, more economical, better for the immigrants' assimilation and better for the native English-speaking students. ESL vs.

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This article outlines how to model this program for EL students. It helps show how to engage with ESL students.

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Children from families in which English is not the language of the home represent a rapidly increasing percentage of students enrolled in U.S. schools. Language minority students can be found in schools across the country, not just those in large cities or in areas near the U.S.-Mexican border. All schools must be prepared to meet the challenge of an increasingly diverse student population, including many students who are not proficient in English.

The effectiveness of various program models for language minority students remains the subject of controversy. Although there may be reasons to claim the superiority of one program model over another in certain situations (Collier 1992; Ramirez, Yuen, and Ramey 1991), a variety of programs can be effective. The choice should be made at the local level after careful consideration of the needs of the students involved and the resources available.

ESL program models

ESL programs (rather than bilingual programs) are likely to be used in districts where the language minority population is very diverse and represents many different languages. ESL programs can accommodate students from different language backgrounds in the same class, and teachers do not need to be proficient in the home language(s) of their students.

ESL pull-out
This is generally used in elementary school settings. Students spend part of the school day in a mainstream classroom, but are pulled out for a portion of each day to receive instruction in English as a second language.
ESL class period
This is generally used in middle school settings. Students receive ESL instruction during a regular class period and usually receive course credit. They may be grouped for instruction according to their level of English proficiency.
The ESL resource center
This is a variation of the pull-out design, bringing students together from several classrooms or schools. The resource center concentrates ESL materials and staff in one location and is usually staffed by at least one full-time ESL teacher.

Bilingual program models

All bilingual program models use the students' home language, in addition to English, for instruction. These programs are most easily implemented in districts with a large number of students from the same language background. Students in bilingual programs are grouped according to their first language, and teachers must be proficient in both English and the students' home language.

Early-exit bilingual programs
These are designed to help children acquire the English skills required to succeed in an English-only mainstream classroom. These programs provide some initial instruction in the students' first language, primarily for the introduction of reading, but also for clarification. Instruction in the first language is phased out rapidly, with most students mainstreamed by the end of first or second grade.
Late-exit programs
These differ from early-exit programs "primarily in the amount and duration that English is used for instruction as well as the length of time students are to participate in each program" (Ramirez, Yuen, & Ramey, 1991). Students remain in late-exit programs throughout elementary school and continue to receive 40% or more of their instruction in their first language, even when they have been reclassified as fluent-English-proficient.
Two-way bilingual programs
Also called developmental bilingual programs, these group language minority students from a single language background in the same classroom with language majority (English-speaking) students. Ideally, there is a nearly 50/50 balance between language minority and language majority students. Instruction is provided in both English and the minority language. Students serve as native-speaker role models for their peers. Two-way bilingual classes may be taught by a single teacher who is proficient in both languages or by two teachers, one of whom is bilingual.

Other program models

Some programs provide neither instruction in the native language nor direct instruction in ESL. However, instruction is adapted to meet the needs of students who are not proficient in English.

Sheltered English or content-based programs
These group language minority students from different language backgrounds together in classes where teachers use English as the medium for providing content area instruction, adapting their language to the proficiency level of the students. They may also use gestures and visual aids to help students understand. Although the acquisition of English is one of the goals of sheltered English and content-based programs, instruction focuses on content rather than language.
Structured immersion programs
These use only English, but there is no explicit ESL instruction. As in sheltered English and content-based programs, English is taught through the content areas. Structured immersion teachers have strong receptive skills in their students' first language and have a bilingual education or ESL teaching credential. The teacher's use of the children's first language is limited primarily to clarification of English instruction. Most students are mainstreamed after 2 or 3 years.

Conclusion

Successful program models for promoting the academic achievement of language minority students are those that enable these students to develop academic skills while learning English. The best program organization is one that is tailored to meet the linguistic, academic, and affective needs of students; provides language minority students with the instruction necessary to allow them to progress through school at a rate commensurate with their native-English-speaking peers; and makes the best use of district and community resources.

Citations

Excerpted from: Rennie, J. (1993). ESL and Bilingual Program Models. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. Digest based on an article in (August, 1993) Streamlined Seminar (vol. 12, no.1). National Association of Elementary School Principals.

References

Collier, V. P. (1992). A Synthesis of studies examining long-term language minority student data on academic achievement. Bilingual Research Journal, 16, p. 187-212.

Garcia, E. (1991). Education of linguistically and culturally diverse students: Effective instructional practices. Educational practice report number 1. Santa Cruz, CA and Washington, DC: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 338 099)

Lucas T., Henze, R., & Donato, R. (1990). Promoting the success of Latino language minority students: An Exploratory study of six high schools. Harvard Educational Review, 60 (1), 315-340.

McKeon, D. (1987). Different types of ESL programs. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.

Pease-Alvarez, L., Garcia, E., & Espinosa, P. (1991). Effective instruction for language minority students: An early childhood case study. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6, 347-361.

Ramirez, J. D., Yuen, S. D., & Ramey, D. R. (1991). Longitudinal study of structured English immersion strategy, early-exit, and late-exit transitional bilingual education programs for language-minority children. San Mateo, CA: Aguirre International.

Tikunoff, W., Ward, B., van Broekhuizen, D., Romero, M., Castaneda, L.V., Lucas, T., & Katz, A. (1991). A Descriptive study of significant features of exemplary special alternative instructional programs. Washington: U. S. Department of Education, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.

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Program Models for Teaching English Language Learners

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Children from families in which English is not the language of the home represent a rapidly increasing percentage of students enrolled in U.S. schools. Language minority students can be found in schools across the country, not just those in large cities or in areas near the U.S.-Mexican border.

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Not only is it important to have involved parents, but also to encourage them and help them along the way. You want long lasting healthy relationships with parent.s

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Encouraging and Sustaining ELL Parent Engagement

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The following strategies offer tips for thinking creatively about how to engage families around topics or activities that are important to them and their children.Supporting immigrant familiesFor related ideas, see the following:Ten Strategies for Supporting Immigrant Students and FamiliesHow to Support Immigrant Students and Families: Strategies for Schools and Early Childhood Programs10. Look for ways that ELL parents can help with children’s schoolworkDownload PDF versions:This article >Full guide >A. What you need to knowELL parents may feel intimidated by or unprepared to help with homework or other schoolwork, especially if they have limited educational or English skills (Zarate, 9). You can help them understand their important role in supporting their child’s success, however, with a few simple suggestions. (Related video: Reaching out to families, Kevin Eberle)B. ReflectionWhat kinds of support do you expect your parents to give their children in terms of schoolwork? What kinds of resources and educational background (and language skills) do parents need in order to give their children that help? What are other ways parents can help?C. StrategiesEncourage parents to:Provide a place where children can do their homeworkCheck that homework is completed each nightAsk their children to tell them about what they learned each dayKeep in regular contact with a teacher or staff member about their child’s progressAsk teachers about any questions that ariseLearn more about homework help programs through before-/after-school programs and the public libraryRead and tell stories in their native language.D. ExampleMarty Izaguirre is an ELL teacher in Okatie, South Carolina. Her elementary school holds Family Literacy Nights, which take place after school every other month and provide working parents with an opportunity to read to their children in both English and Spanish. Once parents come in, they find read-aloud circles (where teachers read books aloud to a small group), as well as areas where they can go and read with their child separately. The variety of activities provided to the parents allows them to join in an activity in which they feel comfortable. Adults and children are allowed time and space to read together. The school also provides an opportunity for parents and children to create their own special bookmark as they enjoy some refreshments. The events offer parents an opportunity to meet other parents, show their children the importance of reading, and learn how to support literacy development at home (Izaguirre, 2006).11. Look for ways that ELL parents can participate and volunteerA. What you need to knowThere are a number of ways to include parents in the school community and to bring them together with other families at the school. This might include school visits, volunteering, or activities that draw upon their skills and hobbies.B. ReflectionHow likely are ELL parents at your school to sign up for events or volunteer? Do they know about all of the opportunities at the school? Are there certain events or places in the school where your active parents tend to gather? Do you know what skills and talents they might have to offer?C. StrategiesInvite parents to visit the school and their child’s classroom regularly (Houk, 66).Invite parents to speak with their child’s class about their native country, a hobby, or their job.Encourage teachers to have an inviting activity ready for visiting parents.Encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom, main office, lunchroom, or library; during events or field trips; or in a student club or after-school program (Meyers, 45). (Keep in mind that volunteering may include simple things like preparing items for an activity — such as cutting out shapes and organizing supplies.) Find out what your parents’ skills and hobbies are, and look for ways to draw on their talents.Find ways to bring ELL and non-ELL families together through student performances, a student cultures night, storytelling, workshops, and exhibits (Meyers, 46). Your families might just realize that they have more in common than you — and they — originally thought!D. ExamplesIndiana teacher Miriam Soto-Pressley invites the parents of her ELLs into her classroom during reading time. The parents follow along with their children and they learn about read-alouds and how to interact with text. This helps them work with their children at home to increase reading comprehension.A group of Latino parents at a preschool center in Florida who frequently sat outside in the sun waiting for their children each afternoon built a parent gazebo for the center, as well as a butterfly garden (Alvarado, 2010).Following the arrival of a new group of students from El Salvador and Puerto Rico to a school in Massachusetts, a group of teachers decided to organize a school play that would be performed in Spanish. They distributed bilingual flyers to tell parents about auditions and asked parents to help with costumes and refreshments (based on earlier conversations they had had with the parents). On opening night, the auditorium was filled, and the school held multiple performances to accommodate parents’ different work schedules. Word soon spread around the community about the play, and the students were invited to perform at other schools. By the final performance, more parent volunteers were participating in the school community than at any other time in the school’s history (Zacarian, 119).12. Think outside the box about parent engagementA. What you need to knowOne of the most important steps in engaging ELL parents is to realize that they may be coming from a very different cultural perspective when it comes to the educational system and their role in their child’s education (Houk, 60). This may be due, in part, to:Deep respect for teachers: Many ELLs come from cultures which revere teaching and where the teachers are considered the experts, not the parents. As a result, parents may be reluctant to ask questions so as not to question the teacher’s authority, or they may assume that the schools don’t want them to “interfere” in their child’s education. Upon arrival in the U.S., newcomer parents may wonder why they are suddenly a school partner, and why in fact the school is asking the parent to do the teacher’s job. As Betty Alford and Mary Catherine Niño note in Leading Academic Achievement for English Language Learners: A Guide for Principals, you wouldn’t expect a doctor to ask the parents which medical procedure they would recommend for their child (80), and ELL parents may feel the same way about what their school is asking them to do.Education vs. educación: These parents are likely to see an entirely different role for themselves in their child’s education (Hori, 40). For Latino families, the idea of educación focuses on a child’s personal and moral development, which has an important impact on the child’s academic development. The authors of Understanding Latino Parental Involvement in Education: Perceptions, Expectations, and Recommendations note that, when asked, ”(Latino) parents believed that monitoring their children’s lives and providing moral guidance resulted in good classroom behavior, which in turn allowed for greater academic learning opportunities (9).“The group vs. the individual: It’s also important to keep in mind that many cultures outside of the U.S. are oriented more towards the group (the family, the class, the society, etc.) than the individual. In their book Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students’ Cultural Strengths, Carrie Rothstein-Fisch and Elise Trumbull explore this concept as it relates to the Latino ideas of educación:One’s social behavior in a group (such as the family or the classroom) is of paramount concern; being a respectful contributor to group well-being rather than focusing on one’s own achievement is highly valued. So when immigrant Latino parents come for a parent-teacher conference, their first question is likely to be ”¿Cómo se porta mi hijo/hija?” (“How is my son/daughter behaving?”). A teacher may find it difficult to stifle her consternation after hearing the same question from 25 or 30 sets of parents, believing that all the parents care about is their child’s behavior, when the teacher’s goal is to discuss the child’s academic progress (13-14).Nevertheless, what looks like a lack of interest to the teacher actually reflects a deep interest on the part of the parent in the child’s personal development and how this will affect the child’s ability to be successful in the classroom.B. ReflectionMake a list of five things you hope or expect that “involved” parents will do at your school. What do parents need to know in order to participate in these events? What challenges might ELL parents face in participating in these events?C. StrategiesForm small focus groups with ELL parents and an interpreter. Ask the parents:How they define their role in their child’s educationWhat their concerns, priorities, and hopes are regarding their childWhat kinds of events they would be interested in attendingThe obstacles that discourage them from participating and changes that would helpEvents where being part of a larger group might make them feel more comfortable.D. ExampleCarrie Rothstein-Fisch and Elise Trumbull share the example of a teacher who redesigned her parent-teacher conferences into group conferences for her Latino parents. She divided children by ability levels and met with the parents of children in similar levels at the same time. She also offered both English and Spanish groups. She explained report card formats, grading, her expectations for students, and what parents could do to help. Parents then had the opportunity for a personal consultation after the group discussion. One of the key benefits was that parents’ questions helped each other as they felt confident to speak up in a less threatening environment. She saw all twenty-eight parents in three days (62).13. Consider alternative schedules, locations, and kinds of eventsA. What you need to knowSometimes, when families can’t come to the school, the school has to go to the families. Meeting families in other settings such as community centers or churches can provide an informal way to start building a relationship, especially if ELL parents feel shy or nervous about going to the school. In addition, going into the community indicates a strong level of commitment on the part of the school to the families (Alford & Niño, 86). You might also try planning parent or family events around the schedules of the families, especially if they are working a couple of jobs or shifts.B. ReflectionDo you experience low attendance at family events held at school? Have you ever held any school events in the community? Were they successful? Why or why not?C. StrategiesVisit your students’ neighborhoods. Find out where families are congregating and who local community leaders are that can connect you with parents.Collaborate with apartment complex managers to make a recreation room available for families.Plan events in the community and put them on the school calendar before the school year starts, setting aside funds, such as Title I or Title III grants, to provide support for the events.Consider giving parents a few different options for meeting times based on teacher availability.Consider contacting parents’ employers about parent schedules or holding conferences closer to parents’ workplaces.Don’t limit yourself to meetings. Ask your families what kinds of events they would find enjoyable, beneficial, and convenient.Consider group parent-teacher conferences. Families may feel more comfortable in a group, and it can be an efficient option -- you provide the key information once, and then can have brief conversations with individual parents.D. ExamplesIn Philadelphia, a preschool held a parent meeting in the afternoon for parents who worked in the food service industry in the evening. More than twenty parents (mostly fathers) came to the meeting (Alvarado, 2010) to discuss their children’s preschool program.In Oregon, parent liaison Ma’Lena Wirth wrote a letter to her parents’ employers, sharing her goals for building a stronger partnership with the families and explaining that most parents couldn’t attend conferences due to their work schedule. As a result, the employer agreed to give parents time off for school events if the events started after the employer’s busy season.In New York, Susan Lafond held parent-teacher-translator conferences at the food court where her students’ parents worked so that parents could take turns coming to meet with her.In Colorado, Becky Corr made an appointment at the salon where her student’s father worked with him specifically to talk about the student’s college application.In California, a group of teachers organized a meeting for the school’s Hmong and Cambodian parents (whose people had been farmers for many generations), in which they would discuss the creation of a new school garden. The teachers were disappointed when just a few parents attended the meeting, and they took that as a sign that there was little interest in the garden. On garden day, however, eighty family members arrived with hoes and dug up the garden in a single day. As one of the parents said, “We don’t do meetings. We do gardens” (Ferlazzo, 45).14. Look for the successesA. What you need to knowEncourage your staff to look for all of the different ways, big and small, that ELLs’ families (including parents, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives) support their children’s well-being and education. For example, different relatives may be involved in taking the children to school and picking them up, providing child care, or making sure that they are getting fed and getting a good night’s sleep. While we expect all families to manage these responsibilities, ELL families may be going to extraordinary lengths to meet their children’s basic needs. In addition, older ELLs have a lot of responsibilities in their family, including working, taking care of siblings, and translating for their parents. What looks like laziness, irresponsibility, or absenteeism may in fact be the result of a lot of responsibility at home.Some of the successes and strengths of ELL students and families may include:Commitment to the family’s well-beingHigh expectations for childrenMaking education a priorityRespect for the teacherGood attendance and behaviorWell-developed cooperation skillsA strong sense of responsibility one’s self and othersResourcefulnessNote: ELLs’ parents might be largely absent from the picture, whether it’s because of difficult work schedules or a family separation (or worse) that happened before moving to this country.B. ReflectionWhat is a typical day like for your ELL students? Does that differ from the typical day of your other students? Where are they sleeping? Who is taking care of them? How do they get to school every day? What do they do after school? What challenges are they facing in their daily lives?C. StrategiesLearn what you can about your ELLs’ routines (which will vary tremendously), including the responsibilities they have in their families. Share what you learn with your staff (observing confidentiality rules) and encourage your staff to look for all of the ways, big and small, that ELLs’ families and extended families are supporting their children’s well-being and education.Find out whether these responsibilities are taking a toll on students’ school work or health, and if so, brainstorm some ideas with staff members about possible solutions.D. ExamplesSusan Lafond notes that her elementary ESL teachers had students whose families brought them to the restaurant or family store where they worked so the children wouldn’t be home alone. The kids helped out on the phone or register and did homework until the parents closed for the evening, which was often 9:00 PM or later.Kristina Robertson remembers a 3rd-grade student named Lisbeth. Lisbeth was very conscientious and came to school with neat clothing, clean and braided hair, and notebooks and pencils ready to go. When the staff did home visits, they were welcomed graciously by Lisbeth’s parents to their home. In the apartment for a family with four children, the only furniture consisted of two chairs, a kitchen table, and a mattress. The parents spoke about the importance of their children’s education and explained that every night they had their children do their homework at that kitchen table even though the parents didn’t understand English. The teachers, who had been unaware of the family’s limited circumstances, were incredibly moved by what they saw and developed a new appreciation for the parents’ commitment to their children’s education.Kristina also shares the experience of a 2nd-grade student who was missing school frequently. Kristina soon discovered that she was helping her mom (a single mom) babysit her younger siblings since they didn’t have regular childcare. The staff met with the mom and helped her find resources to provide affordable childcare support.Finally, Kristina remembers her high school students who attended school from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.., and then worked from 4:00 p.m. until midnight. All of their money supported their relatives here and in their home country, so they never had extra money (or time) for special activities. Homework was a struggle, but in Kristina’s eyes, her colleagues’ attitudes were the most difficult challenges to overcome. Once teachers discovered why the students were coming to class so tired and how hard they were working, however, they worked to modify assignments and help the students.< Communicating Important InformationParents as Leaders >

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This graph shows how everyone in the family is involved for success. It is seen as a partnership filled with communication.

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This shows ways challenges that may come up with oral development and how to combat those. It equips teachers for success in teaching oral development.

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In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Lindsey Moses Guccione shares five key challenges related to the oral language development of ELLs, as well as tips for addressing each of the challenges.

Dr. Moses Guccione is the co-author of Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies That Cross Proficiency Levels ( Heinemann, 2009).

Getting Started

As a former elementary teacher in a bilingual school, I developed a love and passion for finding effective ways to support oral language and oral reading development of emerging English language learners (ELLs). I discovered this passion when I began my first year of teaching in a second-grade classroom, where I encountered a handful of challenges related to my students' oral language development.

Many students were transitioning from a classroom with Spanish instruction into my classroom with instruction provided in English. I had students ranging from monolingual English speakers to students who had just recently moved to the U.S. from a Spanish-speaking country. The range of language proficiency levels crossed the entire spectrum. Having minimal experience with this range of diverse students and needs, I began reading, researching, and implementing new instructional ideas into my classroom. With each challenge I encountered, I gained new information about my students and their parents. I also began learning more about my own methods of instruction, and I learned a great deal each year about new challenges and successes.

Currently, I am fortunate to work with many teachers who have the opportunity to impact the lives of children and families who speak more than one language. As I work with these teachers and families, I have found five common and reoccurring challenges that they seem to face in the area of oral language development that parallel my own experiences. I detail these challenges and questions below, as well as suggestions for addressing each challenges based on strategies I used in my classroom.

Questions and Classroom Scenarios

1. What do I do if they don't know ANY English?

Understanding the characteristics of language learners at different proficiency levels helps to think about how we can best support students in their oral language and reading development. Below is a chart that gives a description of the first two levels of language proficiency as well as implications for using oral reading. This is a nice place to start when thinking about how to interact with and support our Starting and Emerging English speakers.

Levels of Language Proficiency

Description

Implications For Using Oral Reading

Level 1: Starting
Students are in a silent period in which they listen, but do not speak in English. They may respond using nonverbal cues in attempt to communicate basic needs.

The teacher and other more advanced students should model oral reading. Students in the silent period should not be forced to speak, but should be given the opportunity to participate in a group activity where they won't be singled out.

Level 2: Emerging
Students are beginning to understand more oral language. They respond using one- or two-word phrases and start to produce simple sentences for basic social interactions and to meet basic needs.

Teacher and students should continue to model oral reading. Students should be encouraged to begin taking risks with simple, rehearsed oral reading in non-threatening situations.

Opitz & Guccione (2009). Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies that Cross Proficiency Levels.

2. How do I provide instruction and support for the ELLs without holding back the students who are fluent in English?

Differentiation is the key to effective instruction for all students. Students of varying proficiency levels can learn the same content when the teacher provides a wide range of learning opportunities for students with different academic and linguistic needs. Three key strategies for this approach include differentiating or modifying the texts, creating grouping structures, and targeting the amount and nature of support based on students' needs (Opitz & Ford, 2008).

Modifying the text: Teachers can differentiate the text by selecting various levels of text difficulty on similar content, or they can also divide the text up into smaller portions appropriate for certain groups/individuals for a jigsaw activity. Another idea is to summarize text that might be too difficult and provide ways to make the text more accessible (such as vocabulary support, visual support, connecting to background knowledge, etc.).

Creating grouping structures that set students up for success: While some grouping structures can be established according to language or literacy skill levels and needs, it is also important to think about providing students exposure to interact with peers who demonstrate a wide range of different language and literacy skills. Additionally, teachers can improve engagement and motivation by creating choice/interest groups where students gather, read, discuss and work together on topics of common interest.

Targeting the amount and nature of student support: It is important to think about scaffolding the experience and using comprehensible input to make it accessible for all students. Comprehensible input means that students should be able to understand the gist of what is being said or presented. There are many ways to do this, such as selecting key vocabulary, using context or visual cues, building background knowledge, building on experiences the students have had, using consistent language, and providing images or visual representations to support vocabulary and content. Teachers can support their students by embedding comprehensible input into their whole-group instruction, but this also becomes particularly effective when used in the different grouping structures. Teachers can also modify the amount of support and interaction between teachers and students depending on their individual and group needs.

3. This student knows English - I hear him talking to his friends and on the playground. He just doesn't want to try in class.

I have heard many teachers discussing variations of this same idea. However, I would caution teachers and parents about jumping to this conclusion. Academic language (or the language specifically related to school and/or academic content) can be complicated to acquire. Students often first develop social language and demonstrate near proficiency or proficiency in English in social settings. A student may be demonstrating sophisticated use of social language, but they may have difficulty using language in more formal settings such as school.

Much of the academic language required to be successful in school - everything from instructions to expectations to content-specific vocabulary - requires assistance in acquiring. Students hear and use their social language in various settings from home, community, and school, but academic language is often only used in the school setting. These students need specific instruction and support surrounding their language development in this area.

The same children who appear to be functioning at a high level of English proficiency in social settings may actually be functioning at a beginning stage in other settings, depending on how they are called on to use language. The students need to feel safe and in a low-anxiety environment in order to begin to feel comfortable taking risks with their oral language. When they have less exposure and instruction related to academic language, this can often cause students to feel intimidated and less likely to be willing to share in class.

One idea for reducing anxiety and encouraging students to experiment with language might include allowing students to read, practice, and discuss their responses in partners and small groups before sharing out to the entire group. This allows students an opportunity to hear language modeled by peers, practice what they want to say, and possibly revise their original thought and/or language before sharing it in a public way. As students find more success with their language production and classroom participation, they will be more likely to share and take risks, and in turn continue building their confidence.

4. How is the child ever going to learn English if they don't speak it at home?

It is important to celebrate being bilingual and biliterate. Research has shown that development of a students' first language can facilitate development in the second language (Genessee, Geva, Dressler, and Kamil, 2007). Understanding this helps parents, teachers, and children to encourage the use and development of the students' home language while they are at home. All of the home literacy activities that we recommend for English speakers, such as reading aloud, making lists, discussing books, reading environmental print, etc., should also be encouraged for the English language learners in their home language. Students can begin to use more English as they feel comfortable in different settings, but it is important to note that speaking two languages will not hinder their English development.

Another important idea to remember is that we want to invite parents to feel confident in their interactions with their children regardless of their English proficiency level. As they begin to read or retell stories and discuss them at home, they are developing vital oral language and comprehension skills, and these skills will transfer over into their school language.

5. What kinds of activities should I be doing to help the student develop their oral language and oral reading?

McCauley and McCauley (1992) report four factors as necessary for acquiring a second language: a low-anxiety environment, repeated practice, comprehensible input, and drama. These are all important components of setting children up for success and language development.

A low-anxiety environment includes a setting where students feel nurtured and supported by their teacher and peers, and in turn, they feel safe to take risks without the fear of being laughed at or made fun of.

Repeated practice is just like what it sounds! Students need repeated practice hearing and using a new language. They need multiple opportunities to comprehend and express their ideas in a new language. Like with anything new that we learn, practice helps us get better.

Comprehensible input, as explained above, means finding different ways to make what is being said comprehensible and easier to understand. Things to consider with comprehensible input might include using speech that is appropriate for students' language proficiency, providing a clear, step-by-step explanation of tasks, and using a variety of techniques to support their understanding.

Drama, or a sense of excitement and engagement, can be found in activities like Reader's Theatre, dramatic play, puppetry, narrating wordless picture books, etc. All of these activities also have the other three factors embedded within them. These activities assist in the development of oral language in addition to introducing students to oral reading and rich literacy experiences and responses in a classroom setting.

Closing Thoughts

As you can see from these questions and examples, there are a lot of different approaches to helping ELLs build their oral language development skills, and you may have to try different activities until you find what works for your students. The most important thing, however, is to build your students' confidence while giving them new words and phrases to practice. Don't be afraid to try something new - and most of all, don't be afraid to have fun doing it!

About the Author

Dr. Lindsey Moses Guccione is a coauthor of Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies that Cross Proficiency Levels. She is an assistant professor at the University of Northern Colorado and teaches courses in Early Childhood Education, Literacy, and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. She is a former elementary teacher of English language learners and is currently researching how ELLs make sense of texts.

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Oral Language Development and ELLs: 5 Challenges and Solutions

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In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Lindsey Moses Guccione shares five key challenges related to the oral language development of ELLs, as well as tips for addressing each of the challenges. Dr. Moses Guccione is the co-author of Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies That Cross Proficiency Levels ( Heinemann, 2009).

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This shows how readers theater can help development oral language enrichment. It is an example of an activity that would work for this ESL development.

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Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.
- Alfred Hitchcock

One of my favorite movies is The Princess Bride, which is based on the novel by William Goldman. For those of you haven't experienced this classic, the movie begins with a little boy who is sick and home from school, and his grandfather, who offers to read the boy a fairy tale that he had enjoyed when he was young. The boy isn't very interested at first, but soon realizes that he has nothing better to do, and agrees to at least hear the beginning. The story that follows, of course, is an enchanting tale filled with unforgettable characters and exciting plot twists. Despite his best efforts to resist getting drawn in, by the end, the boy is begging his grandfather to finish the story and even admits that he would be ready to hear it all over again if his grandfather returns with the book the next day.

What resonates with me in the movie is the experience of a child falling in love with a good story. While that experience is magical in its own right, it's also an important part of becoming a strong reader. Engagement is a critical piece of building reading and comprehension skills and plays an important part in reading motivation as well.

When English language learners (ELLs) read, they may have difficulty engaging with a story if:

they lack the background knowledge to understand the plot, setting, and characters

they have not had much practice "putting themselves in the story"

they only get one or two opportunities to read a text before the class moves on to something new.

ELLs can benefit greatly from having opportunities to read a text many times because this helps them develop fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. One way to reread a text while keeping it interesting for students is through Reader's Theater. In a Reader's Theater activity, students read stories that have been scripted like a play, and they act out the story together. Students may practice their parts several times before acting the story out in front of the class, which gets them thinking about their characters and the plot in a focused way. Rather than using elaborate props, costumes, or scenery, students can be encouraged to use vocal, facial, and physical expression to engage with the script and their character.

As students continue their repeated readings of the script, they are improving their reading skills and comprehension. They also will have the opportunity to practice speaking skills, such as pronunciation, inflection, expression, and varied volume. Since the activity is meant to practice reading, students don't need to memorize their lines, which keeps the spotlight on the reading practice, not the performance.

Reader's Theater offers ELLs an opportunity to completely immerse themselves in a story, and it gives students the chance to think about how engaged readers interact with print, such as by seeing pictures in their heads - very similar to watching a movie or play. Teachers can help ELLs make this connection by explaining how they can visualize the plot in their heads while they read and as they practice bringing stories to life.

Reader's Theater has something for all students, regardless of their language level. Beginning English speakers can have a small role with one or two short sentences, or if the student is at the "silent period," he or she can be assigned a non-speaking role such as an animal character. The more advanced a student's speaking skills are, the more the student can focus on improving expression and clarity in their role.

How to Get ELLs Started with Reader's Theater

Take a look at the way Amber Prentice uses a concept sort for teaching vocabulary before starting a Reader's Theater activity based on The Great Kapok Tree!

One of my colleagues in the St. Paul Public School District, Amber Prentice, frequently uses Reader's Theater with her seventh- and eighth-grade ESL students. She explained to me how she does it from start to finish.

Introduction

When she first introduces Reader's Theater to her students at the beginning of the school year, she talks a little bit about what to expect and explains that this activity is meant to help them improve their reading and speaking abilities.

Story Selection

Amber tends to get her scripts from Reader's Theater books or websites. She notes that it can be difficult to find stories with enough parts for all students in a class; while some teachers may choose different stories for different groups of students, Amber uses the same story for the entire class. If only a few roles are available in the story she has chosen, she breaks the class down into separate "casts" so that all students have a part.

Amber thinks this is helpful for her ELL students because it provides them with maximum exposure to the plot. Students will understand the story very well by the end of the activity, and they will be able to laugh at all the right lines and be more involved in other groups' performances.

Vocabulary

After she has chosen a story, Amber goes through it and selects the vocabulary words students will need to know in order to understand the plot. She then previews the vocabulary with a variety of activities until she is confident that they have mastered the definitions.

Read-Through

Next, Amber reads the whole play out loud to her students and asks comprehension questions to make sure they understand the story.

Roles

She then assigns roles or allows students to choose parts in the play, depending on the level of the students. She makes sure students know how to read the script by highlighting their parts and helping them understand that reading cues such as "Narrator" or "Woman enters the room" should not be read.

Practice

Amber gives her students ample time to practice their play and read their parts. She circulates through the room and gives feedback to students as they read. If students are reading without expression, she prompts them to try the line with more feeling. If students are stumbling with pronunciation, she models the correct pronunciation for them.

Staging

Before students do their performance for their classmates, they practice the staging and create any simple props they think will be helpful to the story.

Evaluation

Before the performance, Amber explains how the students will be graded. She reviews each element in the following list, making sure that students understand what each part means and showing examples of what she wants to see from the students as they are reading.

Students are evaluated based on:

As students become more proficient at Reader's Theater, they can use the list to evaluate each other, as well as give helpful feedback.

Performance

Once the students have practiced their lines, prepared simple props, and understand how they will be evaluated, they are ready to perform! Each group presents its version of the story, which also gives students an opportunity to compare how each group's interpretation is similar or different.

Amber has found that students approach Reader's Theater in a variety of ways. She had a group of boys that she thought might not like the activity because they would be afraid to look silly. Instead, the boys were very enthusiastic, found costumes, made masks, and gave animated performances to make the story a true dramatic success. Other students have taken Reader's Theater a little more slowly and want specific instructions as to how to put their story together.

Benefits of Reader's Theater

From the start of the activity to the finish, students read through the story about 15 times. Amber acknowledges that her students would never want to read a story so many times if it weren't for Reader's Theater. Within the context of this engaging activity, however, it has proven to be popular with the students, and she has seen noticeable improvements for her students as a result of repeated exposure to the text. They begin to develop fluency and comprehension because they become very familiar with the text and the plot structure. They also improve their pronunciation and presentation skills because they have so much practice reading and listening to the stories. Finally, the students begin to show more self-confidence while reading out loud and getting up in front of the class.

Since it's an activity she uses on a fairly regular basis, her students now know what to expect, and they can jump right into new scripts as soon as they receive them. Amber noted, too, that there is a lot of potential for using Reader's Theater to bring history and science to life, as well as narrative stories.

Variations on Reader's Theater for English Language Learners

Student Scripts

Rather than using prepared scripts, students can write a script on a topic of their choosing, or they can summarize a book by using the Language Experience Approach to re-tell the main parts of the story. The teacher then works with the students to create dialogue that makes sense for the parts of the story and formats it into a script that students can use that for their performance.

This exercise can be used to reinforce content-area concepts. For example, in history class, students can re-enact an event such as the Boston Tea Party by making up dialog to match what happened. In a science class, if the students are learning how a vaccine works, they may want to create a script about the development of vaccines, with characters who discuss how vaccines are created and used. They may wish to cast famous scientists as the main characters of the play.

Memorization for Beginners

For ELLs with emerging literacy skills, it may be easier for teachers to repeat lines verbally to help students memorize them. Also, it may be appropriate for students to first do the play in their native language, and then again in English. This helps reinforce their understanding of the story and allows them to transfer the confidence they feel from their native language performance into their English language performance.

Peer Interaction

Another way to practice the read-through is to pair students as they are rehearsing their parts with another student who can model and support the fluency of the ELL.

Diversity in Subject Matter

Teachers should try to find scripts that represent a variety of cultures, including folk tales that ELLs can relate to. Students may be able to tell the class stories that they grew up with. For example, many cultures have different versions of stories like Cinderella that students will find familiar.

Performance Opportunities

Teachers may want to create opportunities for ELLs to perform for audiences other than their classmates. This is especially beneficial if there are younger grades the ELLs can visit. For example, after performing the piece in class, ELLs can perform it for a younger child or class of children. After practicing in class, students should be comfortable performing the story in a different setting.

I believe that one of the most important things we can do as teachers is to help our students fall in love with reading. Reader's Theater is a wonderful way to engage ELLs and get them excited about great stories. Please see the Hotlinks section for more information on how to use Reader's Theater in your classroom. You'll find links to websites that offer free scripts for learners, as well as instructions for using Reader's Theater effectively. Happy teaching and happy acting!
Reader's Theater: Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud
This Reading Rockets article explains how Reader's Theater offers an entertaining and engaging means of improving fluency and enhancing comprehension.
Reading AtoZ.com: Reader's Theater Scripts
Reading AtoZ offers scripts for all elementary grade levels which are sorted into different reading levels.
Teacher Vision: Reader's Theater
Here you'll find an article by Sam Sebesta describing Reader's Theater and its benefits, as well as a listing of recommended reading.
Teacher Vision: Popular Drama & Literature Resources
This website has "Popular Drama and Literature Resources," including links to Reader's Theater scripts. Although a membership is required to access most of the resources, the site is worth looking at, just to get ideas for the different kinds of scripts that can be used in Reader's Theater. The site also offers a free seven-day membership.
Introduction to Reader's Theater: A Guide to Classroom Performance
This book by Gerald Lee Ratliff includes background on Reader's Theater, lesson plans, recommended readings, and scripts that can be used in the classroom. The book is available for sale on Amazon.com.
Reader's Theatre Strategies in the Middle and Junior High Classroom
This book by Lois Walker discusses using Reader's Theater in language development with adolescent students.
Reader's Theater Tips
This informative site from Aaron Shephard site has step-by-step instructions on how to implement Reader's Theater in the classroom, as well as a link to a book by Aaron Shephard called, "Readers on Stage."
Reader's Theater Scripts and Plays
This section from Teachingheart.net offers links to numerous scripts, as well as some books with collections of Reader's Theater plays and activities.
Literacy Connections: Reader's Theater
This webpage has description of Reader's Theater and links to many useful websites that offer tips for doing Reader's Theater in the classroom, including where to find scripts online.

Classroom Video: Concept Sort

Take a look at the way Amber Prentice uses a concept sort for teaching vocabulary before starting a reader's theater activity based on The Great Kapok Tree. You can see more strategies from Amber's classroom and her complete interview in our Meet the Experts section.

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Reader's Theater: Oral Language Enrichment and Literacy Development for ELLs

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Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. - Alfred Hitchcock One of my favorite movies is The Princess Bride, which is based on the novel by William Goldman.

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This video shows the teachers role as the advocate. The teachers plays an important role in this student’s everyday life.

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This article shows practical ways to be an advocate for students. It encourages you with the questions and statements to say and ask.

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I began my teaching career in 1997 as a mainstream, 3rd grade teacher at a suburban public school near Houston, Texas. Our school had one teacher designated to serve English language learners (ELLs) through a pull-out setting. I understood my job as teaching students the general education curriculum while she taught my ELLs the English language. I never knew exactly what my students did when they were with the ESL teacher; nor was I sure whether she knew what they were doing when they were with me.

Fast forward to the present and my current activities-working with teachers across the U.S. to strengthen their knowledge and skillset for serving students who are learning English as an additional language. From this vantage point, I can see that my early years as a teacher did not provide a great structure for teaching content or language and that all educators need to know how to serve all students.

The problem is that English learning specialists may be preaching to the choir. We gather on Facebook groups, Instagram, or on Twitter to share information with one another. But we need to spread this mission to our educator friends-those who may not see themselves as ELL specialists yet need to know more about teaching students who are learning English as an additional language. We have to become advocates for English language learners. Here's how:

Learn all that you can about the laws and policies concerning ELLs in your state.

How we serve English language learners is mandated by federal law. From that, states build their own laws and policies. Knowing these laws will help you to serve students and teachers. Educators need to understand these important considerations:

Attend meetings that involve English language learners.

While attending PLCs, RTI meetings, etc. use your knowledge about laws and policies regarding ELLs to advocate for students' rights. Be a voice for students during such meetings and share these rights with families of ELLs. One way to connect with ELLs families when there is a language barrier in the messages you send home is through Talking Points , a free app that translates messages into senders home languages.

Volunteer to present strategies that support ELLs.

English language learners spend most of their day in classrooms with mainstream teachers who may or may not be certified to teach ELLs. Either way, ongoing professional development on strategies that support language and content acquisition will help teachers understand how to leverage language to maximize academic growth. Ask your administrator if you can present at a professional learning meeting. Select research-based strategies that are powerful for all students but necessary for ELLs. Even if you share an article or facilitate a book study, your teachers will benefit.

Plan with grade-level teachers.

Regular grade-level planning is the best way to make an impact on instruction. You can support mainstream teachers on the spot with accommodations and scaffolds that meet the needs of their students. If weekly planning is not possible, try long-term planning on a monthly basis. Virtual planning also becomes a feasible option when meeting in real time is impossible. Some teachers use shared lesson-planning templates on Google Drive or other sharable platforms. Planning together is a great opportunity to sneak in small bits of professional learning, too. It can provide a casual space for educators to share teaching techniques that improve student achievement.

Seek professional learning opportunities within and outside your district.

Several years ago, I worked as a professional development specialist in a suburban district with a large ELLs population. We offered to send ESL and content teachers to a Title III symposium for two days to learn about research-based information that would help them serve English language learners. Many coteachers attended together and were able to build relationships while learning as a team. When we only train EL specialists on strategies, we limit the potential for their use and for student gains. , , , your local TESOL affiliate, and ASCD offer opportunities for in-person PD.

For no-cost, virtual PD, access these resources:

<LINK URL="https://sites.google.com/view/virtuel/home?authuser=0" LINKTARGET="_blank">VirtuEL</LINK> (a free, online conference for teachers of English language learners)

Podcasts (<LINK URL="https://anchor.fm/highest-aspirations" LINKTARGET="_blank">Highest Aspirations</LINK> by Ellevation or <LINK URL="http://voiced.ca/the-boosting-achievement-esl-podcast-with-carol-salva/" LINKTARGET="_blank">Boosting Achievement</LINK> with Carol Salva)

Twitter (EL leaders to follow: <LINK URL="http://www.twitter.com/LarryFerlazzo" LINKTARGET="_blank">@LarryFerlazzo</LINK>, <LINK URL="http://www.twitter.com/TanELLclassroom" LINKTARGET="_blank">@TanELLclassroom</LINK>, <LINK URL="http://www.twitter.com/emilyfranESL" LINKTARGET="_blank">@emilyfranESL</LINK>, <LINK URL="http://www.twitter.com/MsSalvac" LINKTARGET="_blank">@MsSalvac</LINK>, <LINK URL="http://www.twitter.com/Toppel_ELD" LINKTARGET="_blank">@Toppel_ELD</LINK>)

Online Book Studies like #ELLChat_BkClub (to learn more about this, visit <LINK URL="http://ellchatbkclub.blogspot.com" LINKTARGET="_blank">ellchatbkclub.blogspot.com</LINK>)

Facebook Groups such as Advocating for ELLs, Leading ELLs, Colorin Colorado's ELL Educator Group

Consider sending out an email regularly to spotlight an instructional method that supports ELLs. One colleague created a Padlet with resources (all tied to ELLs instruction) that he's curated. He shares this with content teachers in his district. Another ELL specialist creates a Smore page where she regularly highlights three instructional strategies that teachers can access in either 1, 5, or 15 minutes.

Build a team and momentum.

No matter your role, you can gather a team to support ELL students. Every educator (along with the parents) that works with the students on your campus is a part of their success. The team has a higher success rate when each member recognizes that we can't do it alone. A team can also provide the structure to make this work ongoing. What is regularly discussed and revisited is remembered. We have to bring ELLs and the instructional methods that are most powerful to the forefront, not just at the beginning of the school year and then again at testing season, but all throughout the year.

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Be an Advocate for English Language Learners

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I began my teaching career in 1997 as a mainstream, 3rd grade teacher at a suburban public school near Houston, Texas. Our school had one teacher designated to serve English language learners (ELLs) through a pull-out setting. I understood my job as teaching students the general education curriculum while she taught my ELLs the English language.