# data[].attributes.headline
Supporting MLs in the Mainstream Classroom - A World of Language Learners

# data[].attributes.subject
Supporting MLs in the Mainstream Classroom - A World of Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Multilingual Learners typically spend the majority of their day in a mainstream classroom. This is especially true for elementary age students. English Language Learns (ELLs) receive either pull out support from an ESOL teacher or co-teaching support. Some MLs do not receive any support other than from their classroom teacher. A quick way to think about supporting MLs in the mainstream classroom, is to create a welcoming classroom environment and provide language supports and scaffolds.

Who are Multilingual Learners?

MLs are students that are learning multiple languages. Some of them are also classified as ELLs depending on how much English they have learned (usually based on the score of a standardized assessment such as the WIDA ACCESS. Some MLs are ELLs and all ELLs are MLs. Here are strategies for supporting MLs in the mainstream classroom.

Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment

Building a strong classroom community with a welcoming environment is a key strategy for supporting MLs in the mainstream classroom. The mainstream classroom is where students spend the majority of their time. When students feel that they are safe in their learning environment, it lowers their affective filter. This makes it easier for the student to learn new information.

Learn about students culture and interests

A quick way to start getting to know students at the beginning of the year is to give out student interest surveys. Students can write or draw about topics that they enjoy and are relevant to them. You can use this information to find books on these topics, including examples that relate to topics of student interest, and simply have conversations with students about what they are interested in. Being aware of a student's home culture can help to minimize misunderstandings if classroom expectations are different from those in the student's home. Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity has great information for educations about how to create a classroom that is welcoming for students from different cultural backgrounds.

Diverse Books

Include diverse books in your classroom library. Start by adding books that reflect the students that are in your classroom. When students can see themselves in the books that they read and listen to this helps to make reading more engaging and seem more relevant. Next move on to including books with characters from cultures and backgrounds from around the world. This helps students learn about those that are different than themselves. Books can be mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors according to professor Rudine Sims Bishop.

Create Predictable Routines

Classroom routines and clear expectations are helpful for all students. For MLs they can reduce confusion about what the teacher is expecting. Model for students how to complete simple tasks such as where to put materials and how to ask to go to the restroom. Procedures and expectations are likely to be different at home and school so making them visual and predictable will help eliminate confusion.

You can use pictures or photographs to introduce classroom procedures and expectations at the beginning of the year and when review is necessary throughout the year.

Include Scaffolds to Support Students

Scaffolds are supports that aid in student learning. One important component of scaffolds is to observe students and being to fade out scaffolds as they are no longer necessary. If you have a classroom where some students need more scaffolds than others try offering tiered levels of support.

Give all students the chance to respond

Begin a lesson with an open-ended question that allows all students the chance to respond. Nancy Motley recommends using the questions "What do you see? What do you notice?" along with a picture to start a lesson. This allows all students the chance to contribute regardless of their level of background knowledge about the topic.

Have students talk with a partner instead of or in addition to calling on students to share with a larger group. This increases the opportunities students have to talk and creates a less intimidating environment.

Have all students answer a question by drawing or writing down their answers on a whiteboard.

Use talking chips to keep track of how often students talk in a small group. Let students know that they can answer a question or share an example but that everyone should try and put in their talking chips. This helps students that take over a conversation think carefully about what they want to say and encourages more reluctant students to take part in a discussion.

Visuals

Add in visuals. This simple strategy helps newcomers learn basic vocabulary (what a door, pencil, ext it). It is also helpful for students with higher language levels. Use pictures to show classroom routines. Include pictures for phonics and vocabulary lessons. Start a science lesson with an image of the topic students will be learning about.

Add a vocabulary folder or picture dictionaries organized by topic into your writing center. Include picture word walls for content or seasonal topics.

Sentence Frames

Sentence frames can be simple or complex. They help model correct grammar structure for students. You can provide multiple sentence frames and have students choose the one that they feel capable of answering.
I see _______. I can ______. I like ______. The ______ is _______. First, I can ______. Then I can ______. I like _______ because ______.
Sentence frames are helpful for speaking or writing activities.

Oral Language

Create structured opportunities for students to practice speaking. Support with sentence frames and modeling. Use strategies that are low stress such as talking with a partner and small groups. If possible allow students to talk in their home language.

Integrate speaking opportunities into reading and writing lessons. When a group is working on reading comprehension or listening to a story pause and have students talk about when they read or heard. The book Talk Read Talk Write gives many examples of the benefits of talk in language arts and content classrooms and how to set up this structure.

Translanguaging

Most strategies for supporting MLs are ones that benefit monolingual students are well. Translanguaging is unique to students that know another language to draw on. One key way of supporting MLs in the mainstream classroom is to encourage the use of translanguaging. "Translanguaging is when a multilingual person's full linguistic repertoire is used and honored, instead of trying to keep narrowly focused on a single language" (Espana and Yadira Herrera 2020). If you work in a bilingual classroom than translanguaging might be a natural practice in your classroom. But this practice is still possible even if the classroom teacher only speaks one language.

Include bilingual books and books in students native language in your classroom library.

If possible, sometimes group students so that they can discuss topics in their home langauge.

Invite students to take notes and write in their home language. Students can still share what they have written by using strategies such as labeling a picture to help classmates understand what they have written.

En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students and Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers have additional information and activities about using translanguaging in the classroom.

Background Knowledge

Create opportunities to build background knowledge as a class. Text sets are one way to accomplish this. Group texts together by theme. If students are reading a book about spiders in a guided reading or phonics lesson read aloud a nonfiction book about spiders. This will expose all students to new terms. Then when they are attempting to read a book on their own or in a small group you will know that they have all heard of this topic before. You can also use articles, videos or photographs to pair with books students are reading.

Phonics

As you are teaching phonics avoid nonsense words. For students that know another language, it can be confusing to try and decode words that have no meaning attached. Spend time teaching words that will increase their vocabulary.

Include pictures in phonics lessons. This will help students to attach meaning with the new words that they are learning how to read.

For older students first, determine if they need phonics instruction. Many older ELLs are literate in their home language. Some might need instruction with sounds that do not appear in their home language but will quickly catch onto decoding in English. Other students will benefit from systematic phonics instruction. Nonfiction decodable books and high/low decodable books are helpful materials to use with older students.

Teacher Resources

Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity has teachers reflect on their own culture and how it is the same/different than their students. It also has suggestions about how to create a classroom environment that is culturally relevant and responsive for the students in the classroom.

Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers Give both ESOL and classroom teachers strategies and activities to support students translanguaging in the classroom.
Reading & Writing with English Learners: A Framework for K-5 gives teachers a framework for setting up reading and writing lessons that support ELLs.
Talk Read Talk Write gives simple strategies to integrate speaking opportunities into the content classroom. This helps students increase oral language opportunities and increases reading comprehension.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Supporting MLs in the Mainstream Classroom - A World of Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about supporting MLs in the mainstream classroom. Start with creating a welcoming classroom enviorment and putting language supports in place.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Three Strategies to Support English Language Learners in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.headline
Three Strategies to Support English Language Learners in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.subject
Three Strategies to Support English Language Learners in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3 Strategies to Support English Language Learners in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scaffolding such as visual guides and templates can make it easier for ELLs to grasp material in courses with complicated vocabulary.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Access a wealth of resources on supporting Multilingual Learners (MLs) and English Learners (ELs) in our Resource Library - SupportEd

# data[].attributes.headline
Educating English Learners: A Review of the Latest Research - D. August

# data[].attributes.subject
Educating English Learners: A Review of the Latest Research - D. August

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's October in the Rio Grande Valley; the summer heat has receded and the school year is in full swing. Rolando Diaz teaches sixth-grade science at Del Valle Middle School. His class is a mix of English language learners (ELLs) with varying levels of English proficiency. He also has a few newcomer students, mostly from Mexico and Central America. Although all the students are Latino, they have varying degrees of Spanish proficiency.

Today, Mr. Diaz is teaching a lesson on ecology. To prepare for it, he has added several scaffolds to the district-mandated science curriculum. He presents slides to guide the lesson, providing students with visual support for what they hear him say.

Students also have a workbook that corresponds to the slides. For each slide, students engage in an activity that helps them process information. In this case, it is "partner talk" requiring them to describe a variety of habitats in terms of food, shelter, and temperature. They also use a bilingual glossary with pictures and English and Spanish definitions for the lesson's target vocabulary words. The glossary asks students to answer a question about each word and draw a picture or provide an example. For instance, for "ecosystem," they describe one near their house.

Mr. Diaz begins the lesson by introducing the content and language objectives for the day. Next, he explains several general and domain-specific words using the slides.

He quickly gives each definition in English, asks a student to read the definition in Spanish, presents an example for each definition, and asks students to discuss each word's meaning. A few weeks ago, he taught a mini-lesson on recognizing English-Spanish cognates, so they discuss whether "habitat" and "ecosystem" are also cognates.

Students then form groups to explore the schoolyard habitat. In each group, students are assigned various roles-mapmaker, bug collector, vegetation inspector, soil sampler, or data collector-and they complete a corresponding chart. For example, the vegetation inspector measures and records the height of the tallest vegetation and works with the mapmaker to record the location.

At the end of the lesson, students listen and follow along as Mr. Diaz reads the section of the grade-level text that discusses features of the ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park. After each section of text, students answer questions orally about the text, illustrations, and other visual displays. Mr. Diaz provides sentence starters and sentence frames to scaffold responses for his students with lower levels of English proficiency.* He intentionally pairs newcomers with bilingual peers so they can converse in Spanish before writing in English.

A longtime teacher, Mr. Diaz has effectively planned and carried out instruction on a specific science topic. He has ensured that students with varying degrees of English proficiency can access the academic content, strengthen their literacy skills, and engage with and learn from their peers.

I've worked with Mr. Diaz and many others like him to incorporate these best practices into their teaching. His teaching reflects the latest research on educating ELLs. In this article, I discuss this research, which includes seven principles from a recent consensus report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. ¹ The report, Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures, examines what the research tells us about learning English from early childhood through high school, identifies effective practices for educators, and recommends steps policymakers can take to support high-quality educational outcomes for children and youth who are learning English.

These principles and practices build on findings from previous reviews on the same topic, ² as well as U.S. Department of Education best-evidence syntheses. ³ While dual language programming for ELLs is effective for developing English proficiency and content-area knowledge in English-with the extra benefit of maintaining and developing students' first language, validating their culture, and providing opportunities to enhance cross-cultural understanding4-this article focuses on instruction delivered in English, an important component of dual language programs. (For more on dual language programs and early childhood education, see " Encouraging the Development and Achievement of Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood.")

1. Provide Access to Grade-Level Course Content

For ELLs, exposure to grade-level course content provides crucial access to the language required for academic achievement and for becoming fully proficient in English. ⁵ This exposure helps students develop the concepts and skills needed to master grade-level coursework as they move up through the grades. Grade-level coursework, in turn, helps ensure students perceive the materials as worth working on, engaging, and meaningful. ⁶

In the reviewed studies that focus on the elementary grade levels, a variety of authentic materials were used to support learning. For example, in an English language arts intervention, newspaper articles, diaries, and historical and fictional accounts were used to teach students about immigration across different time periods. ⁷ In an intervention for young children, the read-aloud books and videos focused on habitats. ⁸ A middle-grades science intervention used the same texts and experiments used with gifted and talented students. ⁹

It is important to keep in mind that many skills and types of knowledge transfer from students' first language to their second, and that ELLs may have already acquired core content in their first language. ¹⁰ For example, students who have learned math concepts and skills in their first language do not need to relearn the concepts and skills, but do need to learn the English academic language associated with them. ELLs whose first language shares cognates with English do not need to learn meanings for cognates whose meanings they know in their first language-only English labels for these cognates.

Because grade-level materials in English are challenging for ELLs, instruction using these materials must be coupled with methods that support ELLs. The following principles elaborate on this theme.

2. Build on Effective Practices Used with English-Proficient Students

Many of the practices that have proved effective for ELLs are adapted from practices that have proved effective for English-proficient students. For example, in the area of literacy interventions, it is helpful to teach ELLs the same skills as their English-proficient peers-the skills of hearing the individual English sounds or phonemes within words (i.e., phonemic awareness); using the letters and spelling patterns within words to decode the pronunciation (i.e., phonics); reading text aloud with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression (i.e., oral reading fluency); using strategies to learn new words; thinking about what they are reading (i.e., reading comprehension); and writing with the organization, development, substance, and style appropriate to the task and audience. ¹¹

Effective practices for middle-grades students similarly build on practices that have been effective with English-proficient students. For example, in science, the 5-E approach-Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate-has been used to guide successful interventions for ELLs. ¹² Approaches deemed effective for building vocabulary in English-proficient students have also been used in successful interventions for ELLs. ¹³ Examples include teaching vocabulary in the context of rich and varied language experiences, teaching individual words, teaching word-learning strategies, promoting word consciousness, and using words in writing. ¹⁴ In social studies, approaches include reading and writing about informational passages that provide multiple perspectives on historical events. ¹⁵

That said, not all practices deemed effective for English-proficient learners are effective for ELLs. For example, one study16 found that the use of literacy practices that included only higher-level questioning and discussion about the meaning of text had a strong relationship to improved reading comprehension for English-proficient students, but had little discernible benefit for ELLs. The study also found differences with respect to teacher-student interactions. "Telling"-defined as the teacher providing students with information, rather than engaging them in the creation of information through coaching, recitation, or other forms of interaction-had a statistically significant positive effect on ELLs' reading comprehension, but a negative effect on the comprehension of English-proficient students. The researcher posits that in the first case, the literacy practices (e.g., higher-level questioning and discussion) may have been at too high a level for ELLs to benefit without the appropriate supports. In the case of "telling," the researcher suggests that ELLs benefited because they were provided with more support for engaging with core content in English-a level of support that was not necessary for English-proficient students.

3. Provide Supports to Help ELLs Master Core Content and Skills

ELLs also benefit from visual and verbal supports. ¹⁷ For students in the elementary grades, visual supports include the strategic use of pictures, short videos, and graphic organizers to represent complex vocabulary and concepts. ¹⁸ Verbal supports include student glossaries; words glossed in context by the teacher; and whole-class, small-group, and partner discussions that focus in part on clarifying key ideas. ¹⁹ In the middle grades, visual supports include graphic organizers such as diagrams, tables, and concept maps for science, and illustrations and multimedia for language arts. Verbal supports include bilingual glossaries, as well as sentence and paragraph frames. In several studies, students were taught strategies to support learning; ²⁰ in one such study, students learned strategies to help them write. ²¹

For ELLs who are newcomers, especially those in the upper grades, core content provided in their home language will support them in developing their knowledge and skills while they are acquiring proficiency in English.

4. Develop ELLs' Academic Language

Academic language is defined as language used in school, in written communications, in public presentations, and in formal settings. ²² Academic proficiency is "knowing and being able to use general and academic vocabulary, specialized or complex grammatical structures, and multifarious language functions and discourse structures-all for the purpose of acquiring new knowledge and skills, interacting about a topic, and imparting information to others." ²³

It is important to note that academic language differs across content areas. In science, for example, the challenges of mastering academic language apply to vocabulary (e.g., learning everyday words with science meanings, general academic vocabulary, and discipline-specific vocabulary); syntax (e.g., passive voice, compound and complex sentences, and the nominalization of verbs, adverbs, and adjectives); and discourse (e.g., learning to attend to precise meanings in science text and talk). Students must also learn to master the nonlinguistic forms of language prevalent in content areas like science and math (e.g., diagrams, graphs, charts, maps, and equations). ²⁴

One series of experimental studies developed academic language in the context of teaching mainly science content. ²⁵ The studies used the types of visual and verbal supports previously described to help students make sense of content, develop general academic and domain-specific vocabulary, engage in opportunities to talk in pairs and small groups, and practice writing to extend their learning. These studies are well reviewed in two U.S. Department of Education practice guides for educators. ²⁶

With regard to vocabulary instruction, recent research indicates embedded instruction is a promising technique for developing ELLs' vocabulary when that vocabulary is not conceptually complex. ²⁷ In embedded instruction, students are given access to word meanings through on-the-spot child-friendly definitions of the target words (and, in some cases, examples and gestures). The research also indicates that instructional condition interacts with word type, with conceptually complex words much harder for students to acquire and thus needing more instructional support. ²⁸ (For more on helping students with their oral language development, see " Meaningful Classroom Talk.")

5. Encourage Peer-to-Peer Learning Opportunities

One of the key principles of instruction in a second language is enabling students to interact via speaking, listening, reading, and writing with peers in their second language. ²⁹ Speaking is important to generate feedback, encourage syntactic processing, and challenge students to engage at higher proficiency levels. As a result, it is no surprise that in many of the studies cited thus far, peer-to-peer learning was an important component of the intervention. In fact, in some studies, it was the focus.

For example, in one study implemented in the elementary grades, peer-to-peer learning was used to develop first-graders' literacy skills in a dual language program. ³⁰ Using the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) program, the peer-to-peer learning classrooms provided a structured routine in which the teacher modeled the language activities of the day; students practiced the activities in pairs for 15 minutes while the teacher supervised; and students then turned to story sharing, a partner reading activity that lasted for another 15 minutes. Teachers paired high-performing readers with low-performing readers and then taught the students to use the PALS procedures. During each segment of the session, the high-performing students performed the role of coach first, and the low-performing students followed. On average, PALS students demonstrated significantly greater growth than control students in phoneme segmentation, nonsense word fluency, and oral reading fluency.

In the middle grades, many of the interventions that had positive outcomes for ELLs also provided opportunities for collaborative peer learning. ³¹ An important feature of these studies is that peer talk, in pairs or small groups, focused on course content.

In planning for peer-to-peer interactions for adolescents, teachers need to consider students' growing awareness of their social status in peer groups in school and their community. ³² For ELLs, this includes how they are perceived by peers proficient in English. ³³

6. Capitalize on Students' Home Language, Knowledge, and Cultural Assets

Studies on cross-language transfer ³⁴ indicate significant relationships between performance in ELLs' first and second languages in word reading, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, and reading strategies. Findings from evaluation studies comparing bilingual programs with mostly English-only programs indicate that, over time, ELLs instructed bilingually either perform on par with or outperform ELLs instructed only in English, ³⁵ providing indirect evidence of positive transfer.

Experimental studies ³⁶ conducted with elementary school children suggest that instructional routines that draw on students' home language, knowledge, and cultural assets support literacy development in English. Examples of the instructional routines include previewing and reviewing material in children's first language, storybook reading in students' first language, ³⁷ providing opportunities for students to engage in conversational exchanges during instruction that permits some interpretation to take place in their first language, ³⁸ providing first-language definitions for the targeted vocabulary, ³⁹ providing instruction in word-learning strategies that help ELLs uncover the meanings of cognates when encountered in English texts, ⁴⁰ and introducing key concepts by connecting them with children's prior knowledge or experiences at home and in their community. ⁴¹

As was the case for studies conducted with children in grades K-5, middle-grades studies that showed positive effects capitalized on ELLs' assets. While none of the studies were implemented in bilingual settings, the interventions included bilingual glossaries, background materials in students' home languages, teacher explanations in students' home languages, partner work in students' home languages, and instruction to help ELLs take advantage of their home-language knowledge and skills. ⁴²

7. Screen for Language and Literacy Challenges, Monitor Progress, and Support ELLs Who Are Struggling

Historically, ELLs have been both overidentified and underidentified as having a disability. ⁴³ Both cases-identifying students as having a disability when they do not in fact have one (i.e., overidentification) and failing to identify students for special education services that they need (i.e., underidentification)-are problematic. Measures used to assess ELLs for reading and language challenges must distinguish language development from disability.

Most intervention research has focused on ELLs with reading difficulties. Findings from numerous studies cited in previous reviews of promising and effective instructional practices for ELLs ⁴⁴ suggest that districts should establish procedures and provide training for schools to screen ELLs for reading challenges, consider collecting progress monitoring data more than three times a year for ELLs at risk, and use data from screening and progress monitoring assessments to make decisions about necessary instructional supports.

The studies also suggest the types of reading skills that should be assessed at different grade spans to determine whether ELLs are in need of additional instructional support. For kindergarten and first grade, skills include phonological awareness, familiarity with the alphabet and alphabetic principle, the ability to read single words, and knowledge of basic phonics rules. For children at the end of first grade and in the next few grades, skills include the ability to read connected texts accurately and fluently. For students in grades 2-5, oral reading fluency should also be assessed. However, these grade spans are predicated on ELLs beginning their schooling in kindergarten and must be adjusted for students entering U.S. schools in later grades and who may have already acquired these skills in their first language.

The studies provide two other recommendations: first, districts with performance benchmarks should use the same standards for ELLs and English-proficient students in the early grades, but should make adjustments in instruction when ELL progress is not sufficient; and second, teachers should be trained to use formative data to guide instruction. ⁴⁵ With regard to formative data, one study suggests that students' writing samples should be used on an ongoing basis to determine areas for improvement. ⁴⁶ Students' writing samples are excellent sources for formative assessment because they shed light on language challenges common to all children, as well as challenges and opportunities related to primary language influence on English. ⁴⁷

Almost all studies related to screening, monitoring, and intervening are studies of ELLs in elementary grades. ⁴⁸ Recommendations based on these studies include implementing intensive small-group interventions for at least 30 minutes in small homogeneous groups, and providing training and ongoing support for teachers, interventionists, and other school personnel on how to deliver small-group instruction effectively, as well as how to implement effective teaching techniques that can be used outside small-group instruction (e.g., instructional pacing, error corrections, and modeling). ⁴⁹ Another important recommendation is that additional supports should be provided to ELLs struggling in English literacy that address the other skills crucial for success in school, such as vocabulary, listening, reading comprehension, and writing. ⁵⁰

Where Additional Research Would Help

While there are some studies on effective practices for ELLs in science, studies focused on math and social studies are still very limited, compared with studies of English-proficient students. More research is also needed on promising and effective teaching methods for developing ELLs' home language, knowledge, and skills, and equalizing the social status of students from different ethnic/language backgrounds with the social status of white and native English-speaking students in schools.

For bilingual programs in particular, research is needed on the features that influence the successful acquisition of language and content. These features should include student ratios of English speakers to partner-language speakers in two-way programs, the number of instructional hours allotted to each language, the proportion of school staff and leadership who are bilingual, and the use of target languages within and across content areas. ⁵¹ And since most of the intervention research focuses on ELLs in grades K-2, and on pre-reading and reading skills, additional research is needed to understand how to intervene with older ELLs struggling in reading and with ELLs at all grade levels struggling in math, science, and social studies.

Finally, the social and emotional factors that influence student dispositions toward learning and academic performance (e.g., student motivation and engagement) must also be studied. More effective instruction, positive teacher attitudes toward teaching ELLs and high expectations that they can succeed, and engaging school climates can foster ELLs' motivation to learn and commitment to their educational success in the elementary school years and beyond. ⁵²

Experienced teachers knowledgeable about supporting ELLs, such as Mr. Diaz, already incorporate many of these principles in their instruction. But more needs to be done to make sure this research gets into the hands of all classroom teachers, and to ensure additional research is conducted that can strengthen teaching and learning.

Diane August is a managing researcher and the director of the Center for English Language Learners at the American Institutes for Research. Previously, she was a senior research scientist at the Center for Applied Linguistics and a senior program officer at the National Academy of Sciences. This article is drawn from chapters 7 and 8 of the report Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures, published in February 2017 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which is available online.

*For more on scaffolding, see " One Sentence at a Time" in the Summer 2017 issue of American Educator. ( back to the article)

†A useful resource for finding reading and math programs deemed effective for all students is this website created by the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University. ( back to the article)

‡Nominalization refers to using a word that is not a noun (e.g., a verb, adjective, or adverb) as a noun or as the head of a noun phrase (e.g., using the adjective "rich" as a noun, as in "the rich"). ( back to the article)

§For more on ways English language learners bring cultural assets to schools, see " The Potential and Promise of Latino Students" in the Spring 2017 issue of American Educator. ( back to the article)

Endnotes

1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2017).

2. Diane August and Timothy Shanahan, eds., Developing Reading and Writing in Second-Language Learners: Lessons from the Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth (New York: Routledge, 2008); Fred Genesee et al., eds., Educating English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research Evidence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 245; and Claude Goldenberg, "Unlocking the Research on English Learners: What We Know-and Don't Yet Know-about Effective Instruction," American Educator 37, no. 2 (Summer 2013): 4-11, 38.

3. What Works Clearinghouse, which has particularly high standards for evidence of effectiveness, has two publications related to English language learners: Scott Baker et al., Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School, NCEE 2014-4012 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2014); and Russell Gersten et al., Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: A Practice Guide, NCEE 2007-4011 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2007).

4. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth.

5. Lily Wong-Fillmore and Charles J. Fillmore, "What Does Text Complexity Mean for English Learners and Language Minority Students?" (Stanford, CA: Understanding Language, Stanford University, 2014), http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/06-LWF%....

6. Ellen A. Skinner and Jennifer R. Pitzer, "Developmental Dynamics of Student Engagement, Coping, and Everyday Resilience," in Handbook of Research on Student Engagement, ed. Sandra L. Christenson, Amy L. Reschly, and Cathy Wylie (New York: Springer, 2012), 21-44.

7. Maria S. Carlo, Diane August, and Catherine E. Snow, "Sustained Vocabulary-Learning Strategy Instruction for English-Language Learners," in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: Bringing Research to Practice, ed. Elfrieda H. Hiebert and Michael L. Kamil (Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2005).

8. Rebecca Silverman and Sara Hines, "The Effects of Multimedia-Enhanced Instruction on the Vocabulary of English-Language Learners and Non-English-Language Learners in Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade," Journal of Educational Psychology 101 (2009): 305-314.

9. Diane August et al., "The Impact of an Instructional Intervention on the Science and Language Learning of Middle Grade English Language Learners," Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 2 (2009): 345-376; and Diane August et al., "Helping ELLs Meet the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science: The Impact of an Instructional Intervention Focused on Academic Language," Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 7 (2014): 54-82.

10. Cheryl Dressler and Michael L. Kamil, "First- and Second-Language Literacy," in Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth, ed. Diane August and Timothy Shanahan (Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2006), 197-238.

11. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth.

12. August et al., "Impact of an Instructional Intervention"; and August et al., "Helping ELLs."

13. Michael F. Graves, The Vocabulary Book: Learning and Instruction, 2nd ed. (New York: Teachers College Press, 2016).

14. Nonie K. Lesaux et al., "Effects of Academic Vocabulary Instruction for Linguistically Diverse Adolescents: Evidence from a Randomized Field Trial," American Educational Research Journal 51 (2014): 1159-1194.

15. Sharon Vaughn et al., "Enhancing Social Studies Vocabulary and Comprehension for Seventh-Grade English Language Learners: Findings from Two Experimental Studies," Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 2 (2009): 297-324.

16. Jennifer O'Day, "Good Instruction Is Good for Everyone-or Is It? English Language Learners in a Balanced Literacy Approach," Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk 14 (2009): 97-119.

17. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth.

18. Bryan A. Brown, Kihyun Ryoo, and Jamie Rodriguez, "Pathway towards Fluency: Using 'Disaggregate Instruction' to Promote Science Literacy," International Journal of Science Education 32 (2010): 1465-1493; Silverman and Hines, "Effects of Multimedia-Enhanced Instruction"; and Lorena Llosa et al., "Impact of a Large-Scale Science Intervention Focused on English Language Learners," American Educational Research Journal 53 (2016): 395-424.

19. See, for example, Maria S. Carlo et al., "Closing the Gap: Addressing the Vocabulary Needs of English Language Learners in Bilingual and Mainstream Classrooms," Reading Research Quarterly 39 (2004): 188-215; and Fuhui Tong et al., "Integrating Literacy and Science for English Language Learners: From Learning-to-Read to Reading-to-Learn," Journal of Educational Research 107 (2014): 410-426.

20. August et al., "Impact of an Instructional Intervention"; August et al., "Helping ELLs"; Vaughn et al., "Enhancing Social Studies Vocabulary and Comprehension"; and Lesaux et al., "Effects of Academic Vocabulary Instruction."

21. Jung-In Kim and Kara M. Viesca, "Three Reading-Intervention Teachers' Identity Positioning and Practices to Motivate and Engage Emergent Bilinguals in an Urban Middle School," Teaching and Teacher Education 55 (2016): 122-132.

22. Catherine E. Snow and Paola Uccelli, "The Challenge of Academic Language," in The Cambridge Handbook of Literacy, ed. David R. Olson and Nancy Torrance (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 112-133.

23. Alison L. Bailey, The Language Demands of School: Putting Academic English to the Test (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), 10-11.

24. Helen Quinn, Okhee Lee, and Guadalupe Valdés, "Language Demands and Opportunities in Relation to Next Generation Science Standards for English Language Learners: What Teachers Need to Know" (Stanford, CA: Understanding Language, Stanford University, 2014), http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/03-Quin....

25. See, for example, Brown, Ryoo, and Rodriguez, "Pathway towards Fluency"; Carlo et al., "Closing the Gap"; Llosa et al., "Impact of a Large-Scale Science Intervention"; Kihyun Ryoo, "Learning Science, Talking Science: The Impact of a Technology-Enhanced Curriculum on Students' Science Learning in Linguistically Diverse Mainstream Classrooms" (PhD dissertation, Stanford University, 2009); Silverman and Hines, "Effects of Multimedia-Enhanced Instruction"; Tong et al., "Integrating Literacy and Science"; and Vaughn et al., "Enhancing Social Studies Vocabulary and Comprehension."

26. Baker et al., Teaching Academic Content and Literacy; and Gersten et al., Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction.

27. Michael D. Coyne, D. Betsy McCoach, and Sharon Kapp, "Vocabulary Intervention for Kindergarten Students: Comparing Extended Instruction to Embedded Instruction and Incidental Exposure," Learning Disabilities Quarterly 30 (2007): 74-88.

28. Diane August et al., "The Moderating Influence of Instructional Intensity and Word Type on the Acquisition of Academic Vocabulary in Young English Language Learners," Reading and Writing 31 (2018): 965-989.

29. See Rod Ellis, Instructed Second Language Acquisition: A Literature Review (Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education, 2005). The purpose of this literature review is to examine theory and research that has addressed what constitutes effective pedagogy for the acquisition of a second language in a classroom context. In other words, the review seeks to answer the question: How can instruction best ensure successful language learning?

30. Mary Beth Calhoun et al., "Effects of a Peer-Mediated Program on Reading Skill Acquisition for Two-Way Bilingual First-Grade Classrooms," Learning Disability Quarterly 30 (2007): 169-184.

31. August et al., "Impact of an Instructional Intervention"; August et al., "Helping ELLs"; Nonie K. Lesaux et al., "The Effectiveness and Ease of Implementation of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Linguistically Diverse Students in Urban Middle Schools," Reading Research Quarterly 45 (2010): 196-228; Lesaux et al., "Effects of Academic Vocabulary Instruction"; and Vaughn et al., "Enhancing Social Studies Vocabulary and Comprehension."

32. Brooke K. Cisco and Yolanda Padrón, "Investigating Vocabulary and Reading Strategies with Middle Grades English Language Learners: A Research Synthesis," RMLE Online 36, no. 4 (2012): 1-23; and Kim and Viesca, "Three Reading-Intervention Teachers' Identity Positioning."

33. Guadalupe Valdés, Learning and Not Learning English: Latino Students in American Schools (New York: Teachers College Press, 2001).

34. Dressler and Kamil, "First- and Second-Language Literacy."

35. Ilana M. Umansky and Sean F. Reardon, "Reclassification Patterns among Latino English Learner Students in Bilingual, Dual Immersion, and English Immersion Classrooms," American Educational Research Journal 51 (2014): 879-912; and Rachel A. Valentino and Sean F. Reardon, "Effectiveness of Four Instructional Programs Designed to Serve English Learners: Variation by Ethnicity and Initial English Proficiency," Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37 (2015): 612-637.

36. Carlo et al., "Closing the Gap"; Lauren Aimonette Liang, Cheryl A. Peterson, and Michael F. Graves, "Investigating Two Approaches to Fostering Children's Comprehension of Literature," Reading Psychology 26 (2005): 387-400; Llosa et al., "Impact of a Large-Scale Science Intervention"; and William M. Saunders and Claude Goldenberg, "Effects of Instructional Conversations and Literature Logs on Limited- and Fluent-English-Proficient Students' Story Comprehension and Thematic Understanding," Elementary School Journal 99 (1999): 277-301.

37. Liang, Peterson, and Graves, "Investigating Two Approaches."

38. Saunders and Goldenberg, "Effects of Instructional Conversations."

39. Llosa et al., "Impact of a Large-Scale Science Intervention"; Diane August, Lauren Artzi, and Christopher Barr, "Helping ELLs Meet Standards in English Language Arts and Science: An Intervention Focused on Academic Vocabulary," Reading and Writing Quarterly 32 (2016): 373-396; and Silverman and Hines, "Effects of Multimedia-Enhanced Instruction."

40. Carlo et al., "Closing the Gap"; and Darci A. Burns, "Examining the Effect of an Overt Transition Intervention on the Reading Development of At-Risk English-Language Learners in First Grade" (PhD dissertation, University of Oregon, 2011).

41. Llosa et al., "Impact of a Large-Scale Intervention."

42. August et al., "Impact of an Instructional Intervention"; and August et al., "Helping ELLs."

43. Ester Geva and Katherine Herbert, "Assessment and Interventions for English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities," in Learning about Learning Disabilities, ed. Bernice Wong and Deborah Butler, 4th ed. (Amsterdam: Academic Press, 2012), 271-298.

44. Baker et al., Teaching Academic Content and Literacy; and Gersten et al., Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction.

45. Gersten et al., Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction, 6-7.

46. Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam, "Assessment and Classroom Learning," Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice 5 (1998): 7-74.

47. Kim and Viesca, "Three Reading-Intervention Teachers' Identity Positioning."

48. Burns, "Examining the Effect of an Overt Transition Intervention"; Carolyn A. Denton et al., "Intervention Provided to Linguistically Diverse Middle School Students with Severe Reading Difficulties," Learning Disabilities Research and Practice 23 (2008): 79-89; Barbara Gunn et al., "Supplemental Instruction in Decoding Skills for Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Students in Early Elementary School: A Follow-Up," Journal of Special Education 39 (2002): 69-79; J. Ron Nelson, Patricia F. Vadasy, and Elizabeth A. Sanders, "Efficacy of a Tier 2 Supplemental Root Word Vocabulary and Decoding Intervention with Kindergarten Spanish-Speaking English Learners," Journal of Literacy Research 43 (2011): 184-211; Carolyn R. Ransford-Kaldon et al., Implementation of Effective Intervention: An Empirical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Fountas & Pinnell's Leveled Literacy Intervention System (LLI); 2009-2010 (Memphis, TN: Center for Research in Educational Policy, 2010); Emily J. Solari and Michael M. Gerber, "Early Comprehension Instruction for Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners: Teaching Text-Level Reading Skills while Maintaining Effects on Word-Level Skills," Learning Disabilities Research and Practice 23 (2008): 155-168; Sharon Vaughn et al., "Effectiveness of an English Intervention for First-Grade English Language Learners at Risk for Reading Problems," Elementary School Journal 107 (2006): 153-180; and Sharon Vaughn et al., "Effectiveness of a Spanish Intervention and an English Intervention for English-Language Learners at Risk for Reading Problems," American Educational Research Journal 43 (2006): 449-487.

49. Gersten et al., Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction, 10-11.

50. Baker et al., Teaching Academic Content and Literacy.

51. Andrea Boyle et al., Dual Language Education Programs: Current State Policies and Practices (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2015).

52. For a general review, see Allan Wigfield, Jessica R. Gladstone, and Lara Turci, "Beyond Cognition: Reading Motivation and Reading Comprehension," Child Development Perspectives 10 (2016): 190-195; and Tahir Jahan Khan, Azlina Murad Sani, and Sarimah Shaik-Abdullah, "Motivation to Read in a Second Language: A Review of Literature," International Journal of Research in English Education 2, no. 4 (2017): 41-50.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's October in the Rio Grande Valley; the summer heat has receded and the school year is in full swing. Rolando Diaz teaches sixth-grade science at Del Valle Middle School. His class is a mix of English language learners (ELLs) with varying levels of English proficiency.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our nation's moment of reckoning with the deficit view of multilingual learners has arrived. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and exacerbated long-standing inequities that stand in the way of MLs' access to effective instruction. Recent events have also caused us to reflect on our place as educators within the intersection of race and language. In this innovative book, Sydney Snyder and Diane Staehr Fenner share practical, replicable ways you can draw from students' strengths and promote multilingual learners' success within and beyond your own classroom walls.
In this book you'll find:

Practical and printable tools that guide you on how to implement culturally responsive teaching in your context

Case studies and reflection exercises to help identify implicit bias in your work and mitigate deficit-based thinking

Authentic classroom video clips in each chapter to show you what culturally responsive teaching looks like in practice

Hand-drawn sketch note graphics that spotlight key concepts and reinforce central themes with memorable illustrations

There is no time like the present for you to reflect on your role in culturally responsive teaching and use new tools to build an even stronger school community that is inclusive of MLs. No matter your role or where you are in your journey, you can confront injustice by taking action steps to develop a climate in which all students' backgrounds, experiences, and cultures are honored and educators, families, and communities work collaboratively to help MLs thrive. We owe it to our students.
See What Readers Are Saying About Culturally Responsive Teaching for MLs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our nation's moment of reckoning with the deficit view of multilingual learners has arrived. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and exacerbated long-standing inequities that stand in the way of MLs' access to effective instruction. Recent events have also caused us to reflect on our place as educators within the intersection of race and language.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching Academic Content to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching Academic Content to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School

# data[].attributes.body
Baker, et al., 2014

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to ELs

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to ELs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This practice guide was prepared for the WWC by Instructional Research Group under contract ED-IES-12-C-0016.

The following research staff contributed to the guide: Joseph Dimino, Kelly Haymond, Russell Gersten, Madhavi Jayanthi, and Rebecca Newman-Gonchar.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WWC | Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This practice guide provides four recommendations that address what works for English learners during reading and content area instruction. Each recommendation includes extensive examples of activities that can be used to support students as they build the language and literacy skills needed to be successful in school.

# data[].attributes.headline
Essential Actions for Multilingual Learners' Access to Social-Emotional Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Essential Actions for Multilingual Learners' Access to Social-Emotional Learning

# data[].attributes.body
SupportEd

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Essential Actions for Multilingual Learners’

# data[].attributes.body
Staehr Fenner et al., 2024

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kagan’s FREE Articles - Research & Rationale - Research proves effectiveness of Kagan Structures.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kagan specializes in staff development and educational resources for teachers. Visit our online store, magazine and message board � the leading authority on cooperative learning, classroom discipline and multiple intelligences.

# data[].attributes.headline
Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

# data[].attributes.subject
Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

# data[].attributes.body
Z. Hammond

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From math, literacy, equity, multilingual learners, and SEL, to assessment, school counseling, and education leadership, our books are research-based and authored by experts on topics most relevant to what educators are facing today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction.

# data[].attributes.body
Jeff Zwiers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students are often asked to use language in school--but they don’t really need to. They often give answers to questions that other students and the teacher already know. All too often, students are being “tested” rather than being challenged to communicate important, needed, and complex ideas to others....So, how can we enhance the communication of any activity in any discipline in any lesson? To begin, we look for and build up three features of authentic communication. For example, let’s say my initial idea for a lesson activity is having students listen to me read an article aloud about Columbus and then answer comprehension questions in pairs. How can I bulk this up with communicativeness? I can strengthen the following features:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In my last post, I shared briefly about a strategy that I use to build vocabulary for my beginning English Language Learners (ELLs) called the K.I.M. Strategy. Today I want to share with you in more detail about what this strategy is, why I use it, and how I differentiate it to meet the needs of ALL students.

The K.I.M. Strategy is a low prep, high yield strategy that supports ALL levels of learners across ALL content areas. Now, you can't get much better than that!

What is it? It's a direct vocabulary instruction strategy. The acronym stands for Key word, Important information, Memory clue and S entence. I have my students do this right inside their notebooks (no-prep), but you could also use a graphic organizer or vocabulary booklet (low-prep).

Why I use it! I use it because it's effective in building vocabulary, and my students enjoy it. As vocabulary grows, so does comprehension. I teach English language learners who happen to be of low socio-economic status. Those are two subgroups who come to school with significantly lower vocabulary knowledge than their English only and higher SES peers. I believe explicit vocabulary instruction is a crucial component of instruction, especially for kids in these subgroups. However, as we know, every child benefits from direct and purposeful vocabulary instruction. I say purposeful because looking up definitions in a dictionary is not purposeful, or meaningful, IMO.

How I use it! In my students' notebooks, I have designated a section to vocabulary. This includes notebooks across content areas (math, science & social studies).

The K.I.M. Strategy format is easily modified to meet the needs of students. For example, my beginning English language learners build their basic vocabulary using K.M.S. because they are new to the language, I do not have them add "Important information;" I simply want them to learn words and what they are.

My intermediate and higher students always include K.I.M., and usually add "S" for a sentence as a follow up activity.

A typical vocabulary lesson looks something like this... Before I give my students a word, I show them examples, pictures or drawings of the word. Then I'll say, this is a "_____." So, what do you think "_____" means? I let them explore the meaning first based on the visuals that I provide. I then steer them to the important information that they need to add in their notebook.

Here's a recent example with my 6th grade math group. They were starting a geometry unit and needed to learn some new vocabulary. I used the document camera to project my notebook.

The visual of my notebook provides them with a scaffold to ensure accuracy with their spelling and the "important information" of new terms. Memory clues and sentences are independent activities.

First, they drew 6 KIM boxes for their 6 new words...

... then, I drew various sized and shaped quadrilaterals on the whiteboard.

I said, "These are all quadrilaterals. What do you think a quadrilateral is?" Hands shot up and students shared their guesses. With teacher support, we narrowed down the information to the most important information. Students then filled in the Key word - quadrilateral, the Important information - 4 sided shape with 4 angles, then they drew a quick picture for a M emory clue.

Next, I drew several examples of parallel lines and told them that these lines are parallel. "What do you think the word parallel means?" Again, hands shot up. After that, a right angle, and so on...

On this day I did not have them write a sentence because of time constraints, but that could be a follow up activity at a different time or day.

When I do direct vocabulary instruction, I typically teach about 5 new words in a lesson, but that can vary. I also typically add a fun, kinesthetic activity as an exit ticket. Recently I needed to teach my students just 2 words, "ascending" and "descending." We did the K.I.M. Strategy for those 2 terms, then towards the end of class we did a quick human number line activity! I passed out index cards with a percent written on each, then told them to get into "ascending" order. Once that was complete, I mixed them up and told them to get into "descending" order.

For the follow up activity of the geometry terms, I wrote each term on an index card, and corresponding pictures on another. I randomly passed out all the cards and told them to find the classmate who has the matching term or picture for their card, then stand next to each other. That was their exit ticket for that day.

We are a good ways into the school year now, so my students know the process and expectations of using the K.I.M. strategy, however, when the strategy was first introduced, I did provide an anchor chart for students to use as a reference.

If you are looking for a new way to incorporate direct vocabulary instruction into your lessons, I think you'll find this strategy to be effective, engaging and super easy to implement. I also think that your students will find it to be a fun way to learn new vocabulary. It's my go-to strategy this year for teaching new vocabulary.

If you have a great strategy for direct vocabulary instruction, I'd love to hear about it!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
K.I.M. - A Highly Effective Strategy to Build Vocabulary Across Any Content Area

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An educational blog for sharing ideas, strategies and resources that support English Language Learners.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Supporting English language learners in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.headline
Supporting English language learners in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.subject
Supporting English language learners in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.headline
Preparing an Engaging Social Studies Lesson for ELLs: 12 Tips for Educators

# data[].attributes.subject
Preparing an Engaging Social Studies Lesson for ELLs: 12 Tips for Educators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There are many ways to engage English language learners (ELLs) in Social Studies and History instruction, as well as in related subjects, such as Geography, Civics, and Economics. Many of these strategies can also support students' access of grade-level content while drawing on their own unique background knowledge and perspectives. Here are some ways to get started!

Background Knowledge and Key Concepts

1. Assess students' background knowledge

One of the most important areas to prioritize in Social Studies and History instruction for ELLs is the role of background knowledge. ELLs bring their own valuable experiences to the classroom, and their background knowledge may differ than their peers. Students may also still be learning to show and share that knowledge in English.

You may find the following:

Students have relevant experiences and/or knowledge related to the content you are studying - even if the context is different from their peers. For example, students may have experienced elections in their home countries, and that experience may be different from U.S. elections. These differences provide an important opportunity for class discussion and learning as long as they are handled in a sensitive and respectful ways.

Students have limited background knowledge on the content you are studying, including on topics that might seem well-known to their peers.

Note: For students with interrupted schooling, knowledge on certain academic topcis may be limited; however, these students are likely to have important " funds of knowledge" and strengths, such as resourcefulness and resilience.

First and foremost, it's important to determine what your students know about a topic. How? There are several ways, including:

These steps will give you an idea of the connections your students may be already making, as well as areas that you need to fill in.

How To Build Social Studies Background Knowledge

Teacher Amber Prentice Jimenez explains how she builds her ELLs' background knowledge in a lesson about the 50 states.

2. Identify key concepts necessary for understanding the lesson

When choosing your key concepts, keep in mind the following:

What are the key objectives for this lesson?

What are the key concepts and points they need to learn?

How might you connect this topic to students' experiences?

What references or concepts to history, pop culture, or other topics may need to be explicitly explained?

Are there any tough topics or controversies that might come up in your discussions? If so, prepare for these topics with our in-depth guide, Navigating Tough Topics in the Classroom: Tips for ELL Educators.

Content and language objectives

Another way to focus your instruction is through objectives. Content objectives focus on the material, while language objectives focus on vocabulary or language structures that students should be able to use throughout the lesson (Haynes and Zacarian, 28).

Think about how you are going to:

Introduce these concepts using simple language

Break the concepts down into the most basic elements

Keep the objectives visible to students during the unit (i.e., post them on the board or provide a simple outline to keep in binders)

Translate them if possible into students' languages

Here is an example of content and language objectives together:

4th History-Social Sciences, California

Content Area Standard

Content Objective

Language Objective

Distinguish between the North and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres, using coordinates to plot locations.

Students will be able to identify key points on a map or globe.

Students will be able to verbally use key vocabulary to identify specific points on a map or globe.

3. Identify key skills needed to complete the lesson

Think about what students will be asked to do in order to meet their learning objectives. Will they need to read a timeline or a map? Will they need to compare two pieces of text? Will they need to examine a primary source? These skills may need to be taught explicitly in order for students to be successful.

See more ideas in the following:

Language and Literacy

4. Identify key vocabulary and academic vocabulary

Another important element of Social Studies and History instruction is academic language and vocabulary. ELLs must learn the academic language and vocabulary needed to comprehend and produce new content - all while learning the new content and concepts at the same time!

Start by identifying key terms, words, idioms and phrases - TWIPS, according to Dr. Zacarian (19). Choose the vocabulary that your students need to know in order to support their reading development and content-area learning, in addition to key content vocabulary. Remember to prepare student-friendly definitions for TWIPS ahead of time. It may be helpful to look at other Social Studies vocabulary lists as well. (This is also an area where content-area teaches and ELL specialists can work together!)

On the 4th-grade standard above, that might include examples such as the following:

Terms: pole, Equator, meridian, hemisphere, latitude, longitude

Words: map, globe, North, South, East, West

Idioms: on the Equator

Phrases: Degrees North, Degrees South, Degrees East, Degrees West

In addition, look for words that have multiple meanings or homonyms:

Word with multiple meanings: prime, pole, plot, key, degree

Homonyms: pole/poll

Other tips include the following:

Include signal and directional words: Remember that students may also need explicit instruction in signal or directional words ("because" and "explain"), especially since those words that are likely to appear frequently in the content materials or activities.

Don't overlook the basic words: There may be many words used through a lesson that native English-speaking students will understand but that ELLs don't know. Keep an eye out for these words, no matter how basic, and make a list of words that your students have questions about so that you can refer back to it when teaching the lesson in the future.

Use visuals and realia when possible: Having a reference for new words is particularly helpful for ELLs, whether through visuals or (real objects).

Keep words visible and accessible to students: Post words on a word wall, or try using a "portable word wall" chart that students can put in their binder. The chart might include categories such as new words, old words, people, everyday words, words to review, etc. (Haynes and Zacarian, 59-60).

Remember to include lots of student practice: For students to really know a word, they must use it - or they will lose it. Use new words in class discussions or outside of class in other contexts if appropriate, such as on field trips. Give the students as many opportunities to use and master the new vocabulary as possible, both in writing and speaking activities. You may find this six-step process for teaching academic vocabulary from Dr. Robert Marzano helpful.

5. Draw upon students' home languages

Students' home languages are a valuable resource that you can tap into, even if you don't speak those languages. Using students' home language can give them an opportunity to identify content they already know or master new concepts before transferring those ideas and learning how to express them in English. Ideas include the following:

Use bilingual glossaries, such as these content-focused glossaries from New York University.

Draw on cognates, words that are related in two languages. They have a similar pronunciation, spelling, and meaning. Many academic English and Spanish words are cognates, such as geography/geographía.

Plan group work in which students can use their language with peers to discuss main ideas or vocabulary words, brainstorm ideas, or write summaries.

Look for related content materials in the students' native language from publishers like Scholastic or National Geographic/Cengage.

Collaborate with a bilingual paraprofessional and identify areas where bilingual language support will be most helpful.

6. Prepare to preview the text

It can be helpful to preview the text with students before diving in. Here are some strategies:

Chapter Walk: In a "chapter walk", students predict what the chapter will be about based on pictures and highlighted features of the textbook. An activity like this may take some time at first, but if you use it with regularity, however, it will become easier and quicker, and students will be able to do this on their own at the beginning of a new chapter.

Navigating Textbooks: In addition, at the beginning of the school year, teach your students how to navigate a textbook effectively so that students can pick out and use textbook tools throughout the year.

You may also consider pre-teaching vocabulary or content in mini lessons or small group work before introducing the lesson to the whole class.

Student Engagement

7. Prepare multimedia, visuals, and related readings

These resources can be used to build background knowledge and provide context for ELLs, especially when students are learning new concepts and words. Ideas include:

Using visuals, such as photos from books, magazines, or the Internet to supplement textbooks.

Showing brief, focused video clips of history or social studies programs.

Listening to a short podcast or radio clip of an interview or speech.

Discussing additional readings such as related articles, poems, letters, and graphic novels.

8. Plan plenty of opportunities for students to interact with the content

Give students lots of opportunities to engage with and review the material in different ways:

Graphic organizers: Use graphic organizersto review key concepts and vocabulary words.

Flash cards: Have students make their own flash cards with pictures, definitions, key facts, etc.

Working with the text: Teach students to underline, highlight, and make notes. You may also find that sticky notes, Wikki Stix, and highlighting tape are a big hit with students (68). According to Haynes, some school districts order extra textbooks for their ELL classes so that teachers can keep a highlighted copy on hand as a student reference.

Use acting: Have the students write skits about the material they are learning, or create an activity in which students provide a physical representation of a particular event or vocabulary word.

Samantha describes her approach for checking understanding and offering some differentiated assignments in a third-grade Social Studies lesson about different types of economic resources: natural, capital, and human.

9. Plan to include group work throughout the unit

Peer learning activities such as Reciprocal Teaching and Think-Pair-Share can be powerful tools for engaging ELLs with content learning.

In peer work, use modeling and clear instructions to ensure students understand:

How the activity works

Their role in group work

The objective of the activity

Any key vocabulary or phrases they should be using.

Here are some other tips on group work for ELLs from Haynes and Zacarian:

Assign students group roles that match their language ability (37).

Promote students to new roles as their language skills improve (42).

Make sure that mainstream students understand that they will be working in diverse groups, and that everyone's contributions are important (41).

Keep an eye on the balance of student participation; if some students are speaking more than others, ask them to think of some ways to even participation out (42).

Ask students to reflect on their group work after they have finished an activity. Haynes and Zacarian include a chart in their book with some guiding statements for student reflection (48).

10. Use inquiry- and project-based learning

Look for ways to make learning hands-on through project-based learning (PBL) and inquiry-driven assignments. These avenues can give ELLs different kinds of opportunities to explore a topic that interests them in different modalities and formats.

Assignments and Assessments

11. Be creative and flexible with writing assignments

Writing can be an important way for students to show what they've learned:

Be creative and flexible: When choosing writing activities for students, be creative and open to different ways for students to express their new knowledge. I have seen students successfully convey what they learned by writing letters, poems, news articles and mosaics with vocabulary key points. Writing an essay may be more difficult for ELLs, and although they will need to learn to write an essay, they should be allowed to demonstrate their learning through a variety of writing activities.

Look for writing exercises that relate to the topic at hand: This may include a biography or autobiography, a letter from the point of view of a historical figure, or a short news article about a famous event.

Provide models: Give ELLs explicit structures and sentence frames to follow. Frames may vary in complexity and specificity, but they will help students to model correct structures and usage from the beginning.

12. Plan to adapt homework and assessment as needed

While it's important to have high expectations of ELLs, it is also important to have realistic expectations of the amount of work they can do. Haynes and Zacarian note, "The teacher's goal should be to making learning accessible and meaningful for every student without lowering expectations or sacrificing rigor" (104-105).

They continue in Chapter 7 of their book to provide a number of helpful rubrics and step-by-step procedures for evaluating your homework and assessment activities with ELLs in mind. And Haynes also suggests that teachers "adjust homework assignment to your ELLs' English language proficiency (and) modify assessment so that your ELLs have an opportunity to show what they have learned."

As you look for ways to help your students learn this new content, remember that you aren't just teaching them required social studies standards - you are helping your students adjust to a new life and country. That preparation has a potentially significant ripple effect because your students may be helping their own parents navigate this new country as well, and they may need to prepare for a U.S. Citizenship exam one day in the future.

Through social studies lessons, you also can prepare your students to be engaged and well-informed participants in our society and democracy, an opportunity they might not have had in their own country due to their religion, gender, or ethnicity. When you think about it that way, teaching ELLs to master new social studies content is so much more than adapting a lesson plan - it's a chance to prepare a new generation of young people to lead us into the future.

In addition, I recommend taking a look at the following resources:

Note: Lesson Planning to Ensure Optimal Engagement of ELLs (Chapter 2 of Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas) provides a number of helpful resources, including a checklist for modifying lesson plans for ELLs. In addition, Appendix Two of the book (not available online) provides a lesson modification worksheet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Preparing an Engaging Social Studies Lesson for ELLs: 12 Tips for Educators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are many ways to engage English language learners (ELLs) in Social Studies and History instruction, as well as in related subjects, such as Geography, Civics, and Economics. Many of these strategies can also support students' access of grade-level content while drawing on their own unique background knowledge and perspectives.

# data[].attributes.headline
How ELLs Can Be an Asset in History Class

# data[].attributes.subject
How ELLs Can Be an Asset in History Class

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
English Language Learners

These strategies support newly arrived high school English language learners and encourage them to share their own histories.

In many U.S. public high schools, newly arrived immigrants who need English language support are placed together with native speakers of English. These teenage English language learners (ELLs) face linguistic, emotional, and cultural challenges and may lack a knowledge of United States history.

In an effort to support and educate these recent immigrants, here are some strategies to consider that will also enable the ELLs' experiences to enrich history class.

Work on a KWL chart as an individual or group activity or give a brief diagnostic quiz.

Provide supplemental videos and texts in the native language with or without translations.

Gauge and develop background knowledge

An ELL who arrives in this country as a teenager may not have the same understanding of historical events that their classmates have. Even with a strong command of English, an ELL may have never heard of the Fourth of July or the U.S. Civil War.

Before a new ELL arrives, have a brief discussion with the class about how to make the newcomer feel welcome. This can be a beneficial starting point for developing the intercultural communication skills that historians need and is impactful and meaningful to English language learners.

When an ELL comes to class, greet them with a smile, introduce them to the class, and welcome classmates to introduce themselves. Using Google Translate can facilitate comprehension. A few minutes of this at the start of the class can leave a lasting impression on the ELL and promote future interactions.

Give the newcomers an opportunity to talk about life in their home country if they're interested and it supports the curriculum. They can give a slide presentation or simply share photos and answer questions from classmates. Provide model questions and observations that are culturally sensitive and respectful, a skill that all historians must have, and be explicit about the purpose and benefits of this type of communication.

Offer opportunities for all of the students to collaborate on cultural projects. For example, they can make a Venn diagram to compare countries or create collages to show how a country has changed over time.

Incorporate journaling and voluntary share-outs. Journaling gives ELLs the time they need to process information and produce language. Check their writing for clarity and content, help them with pronouncing what they've written, and encourage them to read their journal aloud, even if it's one sentence, but only if they're comfortable doing so.

Engage ELLs in the classroom conversation

ELLs thrive when they feel that they are valued members of the community. Encouraging them to be active classroom participants will also give their classmates more opportunities to learn from ELLs.

Provide translated copies of materials, and allow students to use a translation app. Google Translate offers ways to translate digital copies of texts, including PDFs and hard copies.

Display posters in multiple languages with lists of enduring issues, terms, and vocabulary.

Support using the home language

Allowing ELLs the opportunity to use their native language supports comprehension and encourages biliteracy through adulthood, certainly a valuable skill for an historian.

When speaking in class or preparing slides for presentations, limit the usage of expressions, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang, and cultural references that may not be relevant to the goal of the lesson. Simple language translates to other languages more clearly.

Disseminate important information (homework assignments and upcoming tests) both in text form and orally in English and the language of the ELLs to ensure that it's received accurately.

Use simple and relevant language

Although using authentic text and colloquial expressions is part of the language acquisition process, it can cause obstacles for ELLs.

Incorporate realia that reflect the topic-for example, an old bowl, a blanket, a doll- anything visual that can be touched and passed around.

Display visuals on the walls, and invite students to work with groups to analyze them.

Utilize visuals

These can help the language learning process through increasing comprehension and supporting memory.

Provide graphic organizers, sentence starters, and paragraph models.

Demonstrate how to annotate using guided questions, and provide basic essay models.

Give students a list of questions to answer as they're writing a response to a prompt.

Offer scaffolding

Provide supports that give ELLs the opportunity to maintain the same momentum as their peers and demonstrate that although they struggle with the English language, they're intellectually capable.

During a lecture, pause to have students write a two-to-three-sentence summary or response in their own words. Ask basic questions like "What is the topic of today?" "Why is it important?" "What was the cause and effect of this topic?" "What enduring issue is this topic related to?" ELLs are likely to lose focus when following a lecture and taking notes, so such pauses are especially important for them.

Collect an exit ticket at the end of every class.

Provide opportunities for in-class test reviews. This could be in the form of aKahoot game that students play during class time and have access to after class for additional practice at their own pace.

Have frequent comprehension checks

These help ELLs to focus, clarify misunderstandings, and reinforce key information.

We need to continually adapt to the unique needs of our ELLs with the goal of maintaining rigor and outcomes that are supportive of their future. The methods above not only support ELLs but can be beneficial to all history students as we prepare them for an increasingly globalized world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How ELLs Can Be an Asset in History Class

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here are strategies that support teaching history to high school English language learners (ELLs) and invite them to share their experiences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of the greatest challenges in helping English language learners (ELLs) master Social Studies content is the role of background knowledge. The resources below provide ideas and guidance for planning effective Social Studies lessons for ELLs as well as for choosing appropriate academic language and vocabulary.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of the greatest challenges in helping English language learners (ELLs) master Social Studies content is the role of background knowledge. The resources below provide ideas and guidance for planning effective Social Studies lessons for ELLs as well as for choosing appropriate academic language and vocabulary.

# data[].attributes.headline
Next Generation Science Standards: Offering Equitable Opportunities for ELLs to Engage in Science

# data[].attributes.subject
Next Generation Science Standards: Offering Equitable Opportunities for ELLs to Engage in Science

# data[].attributes.body
E. Miller

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Emily Miller is a second- and third-grade ESL and Bilingual Resource Teacher in Madison, Wisconsin and a member of the Next Generation Science Standards' (NGSS) Elementary Writing and Diversity & Equity Teams.

In that role, Emily served as the lead writer of the NGSS case study for ELLs, which is based on science instruction in her diverse classroom using strategies for English language development and records of her students' experiences engaging with the NGSS.

In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Emily provides an overview of ways in which the NGSS provide ELLs with more equitable science learning opportunities, as well as considerations for implementing the NGSS with ELLs.

Note: For more on the NGSS and our related blog posts, take a look at our NGSS resource section!

Overview

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) identify science, engineering practices, and content that all students at the K-12 level should master to be prepared for college, careers, or citizenship.

As part of the initiative, the NGSS Diversity and Equity Writing Team, led by Okhee Lee, involved teachers who specialize in teaching science to students from diverse demographic groups to inform the writing process, including Netosh Jones, Urban Education; and Rita Januszyk, Gifted and Talented Education. I represented ESL/Bilingual Education.

Our task was to ensure that the NGSS are accessible to diverse populations of students through bias reviews of the standards, teaching the NGSS in our classrooms during the writing process, and writing about our experiences in the form of case studies. (See additional information in Appendix D: Making the Next Generation Science Standards Accessible to All Students.)

NGSS shifts

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) make use of current cognitive research about how students learn science and what they can understand and do at different ages. They describe learning as Three Dimensional, involving a blend of science and engineering practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts (ideas that cut across disciplines).

There are five major shifts in the NGSS:

1. The standards are organized around a small set of disciplinary core ideas.

2. They build and apply these ideas coherently across time.

3. The science and engineering practices take a central role.

4. They include crosscutting concepts.

5. They focus on explaining phenomena and solving problems in the natural and designed world. (In science, the term "phenomenon" refers to any naturally occurring event that will take place under certain, predictable conditions (i.e., a sound when a chair hits the floor, a waterfall, a chemical reaction, etc.).

The NGSS will offer new opportunities for ELLs in science class. Based on current college and career trajectories, ELLs, as a group, have been excluded from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities. As the NGSS are more rigorous than most current states' standards and involve language intensive practices, they present both opportunities and challenges for ELLs.

However, among the eight science and engineering practices outlined in the NGSS, there are four components that are particularly exciting in classroom practice because they provide equitable learning opportunities for ELLs. These components include the following and are explained in more detail below:

the use of crosscutting concepts

the science and engineering practice of modeling

the practice of developing explanations and designing solutions

the addition of engineering practices and core ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

Scientists observe phenomena in the natural world through a specific (scientific) lens that can be taught to students through the use of crosscutting concepts (Miller, E., et al, in press). These are essential but implicit ideas (e.g., patterns, systems and systems models, scale and proportion), that scientists use across settings to make sense of natural phenomenon, but they have been largely overlooked by teachers and invisible to students. These crosscutting concepts can be acquired intuitively after many experiences in science, but without explicit teaching, students do not flexibly use the lenses to ask questions and describe phenomena.

Now, with the NGSS, the teacher might guide the lesson and/or unit with one of the seven crosscutting concepts emphasized in the standards in mind. For example, when a child observes the ice caves (ice pillars fused together to form caves in the red cliffs on the shoreline) of northern Wisconsin, they might say, "Wow, that's amazing!" They would observe and delight in the caves' "magical" features.

However, a scientist would approach the same phenomenon differently; their lens inspires different types of questions:

"Where have I seen something similar to the ice caves, and under what conditions are they formed?" (Crosscutting concept: Patterns)

"What is it about the molecular structure of water that cause these to be formed this way?" (Crosscutting concept: Structure and function)

A scientist might also consider the entire system involved, the weather changes and climate specifics that interacted with the earth and water to form the ice caves. (Crosscutting concept: Systems and systems models)

Crosscutting concepts and ELLs
Crosscutting concepts can be positioned explicitly in the driving question. They should frame the experience of the phenomenon and the approach for the entire unit.
The seven crosscutting concepts provide a repeated structure of language support because they can occur repeatedly throughout the year, across science disciplines. Understanding for ELLs can be reinforced as each crosscutting concept calls for specific language, discourse, and vocabulary with which to approach making sense of science. Teachers can explain and build on the continuity of the crosscutting concepts, even across the school day, and use tools such as conceptual webs, a picture dictionary, and purposeful, guided lessons to provide more access to the science content and encourage participation in collaborative sense making.

Modeling

Developing models is an active process in which the student engages and will progress throughout the years, from Kindergarten to twelfth grade. Models can be drawings, diagrams, 3-dimensional objects, and representations that are student-created and are revised as new evidence comes to light. They must show relationships between variables, have a causal mechanism, and predict or explain phenomena. The model serves as a student-centered, often conceptual or abstract, explanation of the student's own understanding of the phenomenon. It can provide valuable insight for the teacher as to planning next steps to appropriately build learning and progress the lesson.

Modeling and ELLs
Teachers should attempt to include the practice of developing and using models into every lesson that is designed with ELLs in mind.
For ELLs, the evolving model can serve as a language scaffold supporting the students' communication of their science and engineering ideas while enabling discourse between students. Not only are the students more determined to learn the vocabulary of the components in their model in order to describe and predict the phenomenon, they also have a developing, often pictorial, description of how they make sense of the science. This process of referring to the models can enable receptive and productive language and aid in meaning making between students.

The process of revising models based on new information is also language intensive. It requires that students work collaboratively to account for contradictory evidence in their models. The conceptual model can become the conduit for other science and engineering practices; the students can engage in argument about why they should revise their model in a certain way or ensure that the patterns they observe in the data are represented in the model. Finally, the student-generated model is a window into the students' current understanding of the core ideas and is an opportunity for informal or summative assessment.

Modeling provides for:

An authentic and meaningful discourse around complex science ideas

A student-centered language scaffold

An avenue for engagement with other science and engineering practices

Informal or summative assessment opportunity for ELLs

Developing Explanations

Another NGSS practice that involves complex language and offers more equitable learning opportunity for ELLs is constructing explanations and designing solutions. The Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (C-E-R) approach is a useful tool for helping students understand this process.

Claim-Evidence-Reasoning approach

The scientific explanation involves a claim about the phenomenon under study; evidence, which is the scientific data that supports the claim; and reasoning, which is the justification linking the evidence and claim (McNeill, K. L. & Krajcik, J., 2012; Zembal-Saul, C., et al, 2013). This complete scientific explanation represents a structure of English language that needs to be taught to all students, and one that all students (ELLs and non-ELLs) struggle to produce.

Table 1: Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Summary

Developing Explanations

Claim

Answers the question; might be a "yes or no" question

Evidence

Scientific data that supports the claim with appropriate and sufficient evidence

Reasoning

A justification linking the evidence and the claim and showing why the data counts as evidence to support the claim

The process of developing these explanations mirrors how scientists communicate, insisting that each other's claims make use of the appropriate evidence in a logical manner. Developing solutions in engineering similarly relies on generating ideas through language and makes use of the evidence collected. To engage in this practice, the student needs to take all of the information that they have encountered about the natural problem and design the best solution, keeping in mind the constraints of the problem.

Developing explanations/designing solutions and ELLs
Developing explanations and designing solutions can leverage classroom discourse in an authentic context that involves engaging with the scientific phenomenon and making sense of the phenomenon.
The science and engineering practice of developing explanations and designing solutions makes use of general science understanding, logical reasoning, creativity, and language, and can be scaffolded so that it is an arena where ELLs shine and contribute in meaningful ways to the overall discussion. ELL students can be supported to develop explanations by having the Claims-Evidence-Reasoning template remain static so that the ELL can expect the same structure and participate in high-level thinking.

C-E-R Examples & Templates

As you teach your students how to use the C-E-R method, it may be helpful to look at some examples. For example, younger students can use the following basic template:

For older students, you may wish to try a more detailed C-E-R Template, which you can see filled in with this sample lesson on plants, or this scientific explanation template, which provides a C-E-R chart and sentence frames for constructing a scientific explanation.

Evidence walls

Another way to support students in developing explanations is through the use of an "Evidence Wall". The Evidence Wall is a centrally located display of evidence composed of sentences on sentence strips, graphs, photos and drawings. It provides a way for students to locate and use the language they need for their C-E-R. In addition, the constant use of the student-created conceptual models can be leveraged to generate claims that adhere to the use of evidence. Non-ELLs do not have the corner on abstract thought, logical reasoning and creative ideas, and with purposeful, "planful" lesson design, ELLs have an arena to demonstrate their capacity in science.

Engineering

Engineering, in the spirit of NGSS, can be thought of as applied science. Students must use the core ideas that they developed in the unit to solve an engineering problem based on real-world issues in the natural or designed world. The Framework for K-12 Science Education, which provides a foundation for the NGSS, describes specific engineering practices that correspond to, but are not the same as, the science practices in NGSS. Engineering can be introduced at the beginning to set the context for the science learning, or it can occur at the end of the unit to assess the students' understanding of the science ideas.

Example: Flooding in Cities

For example, the teacher could set up a problem on the sand table that mimics a city being flooded and pose the engineering problem, "Based on what we know about how rivers respond to changes in water volume and velocity, what is the optimal solution to keep the city safe?"

The students would then need to go about developing the prerequisite knowledge about rivers to solve the problem. The unit would end with the students developing, comparing, and refining their solutions.

Another equally engaging way to introduce engineering into the curriculum is at the end of the unit. In this example, the students would first learn about water and how it travels over, and changes, land. The teacher could assess the student understanding of the disciplinary core ideas by posing the problem of the city being flooded and then see if the students' solutions showed correct application of the core ideas through the generated solution. In the first approach, engineering is used to frame the learning; in the second approach, engineering is an assessment tool.

Engineering and ELLs
Engineering provides a relevant context for ELLs to connect between their real-world knowledge and school science.
ELLs can demonstrate an understanding of the disciplinary core ideas through their solutions. Through the engineering application, they are extended more than one avenue to grapple with the complex ideas and demonstrate science mastery. Also, engineering presents another contrastive opportunity for students to use the discipline specific and general language involved in the disciplinary core ideas. This repeated experience of making sense of science through meaningful application generates flexible and creative thinking in a highly engaging setting, without a new barrage of required language. Finally, engineering is the perfect context for collaborative grouping and is an avenue for authentic discourse that involves academic language.

Possible lesson template for ELL inclusion: A possible lesson template for ELL inclusion incorporates many opportunities for ELLs to engage in all of the high leverage language and complex thinking tasks. Within each step of the unit design, strategies for ELLs are incorporated appropriately to meet content and language objectives. Here is a brief outline of the template, with a more detailed description below:

Develop a Model - Literacy connection: Explain relationships and causal mechanisms

1. Experience Phenomenon - Driving Question
Investigate Phenomenon - New evidence

2. Revise Model - Literacy Connection: Argue for revision
Investigate Phenomenon -Collaborative Research

3. Revise Model - Based on research

4. Engineering Connection - Assessment:Use evidence to explain optimal design of engineering solution

Example: Planning a rain garden

In step one the students might conduct an investigation of their school yard to answer the driving question "How does rain water move across the land and how does it affect the organisms that live there?" They might collect data about the different topography they encounter, where water collects in puddles, and the patterns in the distribution of plants and animals. They would develop an initial model that predicts and explains the changes rainwater has on earth materials and organisms. This is an opportunity to use the model to describe in writing or orally a causal mechanism for the phenomenon. The teacher could select one model to serve as a class model. Next the students conduct a series of new investigations to prepare for refinement of their initial models based on new and more detailed evidence.

In step two, students would collaboratively engage in revising their models to account for their new evidence. This could include new information about the amount of water that flows into storm drains, new understandings about how permeable different types of soil are to water, and ideas about the moisture requirements of different plant species. Students could argue in writing or orally for different revisions of the class model, supporting their arguments with evidence. In the above example, many students might have initially expected water to seep into the soil in the field. They might notice after further investigation that the rainwater flows in sheets across much of the field to storm drains.

Step three: Students will follow up their evidence gathering with research (reading literature, conducting an interview of an expert, or a video), based on a question generated in the step two revision. Once again, the students return to their model to account for the new evidence they have gathered. (For example, the students may discover that the water in the storm drains flows directly into the lakes, but it likely carries materials that are unsuitable for organisms living in the lake.) Student should be able to explain with the model the impact of a new situation, like heavy rain fall, or loose gravel, on the system.

Step Four could be the assessment opportunity for the teacher. After inspecting rain gardens and researching the positive impact they have on the ecological system, students could individually use their models to predict an ideal place for a rain garden in their school yard. The engineering design problem would be ideal for students to show their newly acquired science understanding of the relationships among rainwater flow, earth materials and organisms to solve a problem (lesson based on Follow the Drop (2013), Earth Partnership for Schools).

Strategies for ELLs in Science

In order to ensure that ELLs can fully engage with the practices described above, it's essential to continue to support their language development throughout the year, which can be done in a number of ways. The following list of strategies provides some ideas for reinforcing the practices described above, particularly in terms of academic language and discussion within a scientific context.

Table 2: Science Support Strategies for ELLs

Strategy

Description

Example

Literacy strategies

Literacy strategies clarify and unpack the structure of texts, graphs, and scientific genres of writing. With literacy strategies ELLs are prompted and supported in accessing academic language.

teaching the uses of graphic organizers

reading trade books or literature with scientific themes

language functions: Describe, Explain, Predict, Infer, Conclude

concept map, word wall, Venn diagram

science journal

activating prior knowledge

Language support strategies

Language support strategies are often referred to as ESOL strategies that support the development of language, structures, and new vocabulary (academic and non-academic) in the science classroom.

hands-on activities,

realia (real objects or events)

multiple modes of representation (gestural, oral, pictorial, graphic, textual)

presentation of key science vocabulary in context - both general academic terms and discipline specific terms

Discourse strategies

Discourse strategies involve tools and protocols that enable student-to-student communication to promote authentic sense-making in academic contexts.

expertise groups (jigsaw)

purposeful turn and talk

monitoring tone and speed of speech

collaborative group protocols and roles

Home language support

This strategy involves building on and making use of students' home language to support science learning in English. It includes teaching students how to create linguistic and cultural bridges between school science and the home to capitalize on emerging bilingualism.

introduce key science terminology in both languages

making contrasts explicit (use of language as well as words and structures)

highlight cognates as well as false cognates in both language

allow code-switching, opportunities for bilingual communication in the classroom

Home-culture connections

Students have historical, socio-cultural and community based "ways of knowing" and making sense of science. These connections allow teachers to access and build on the assets which the students bring from their homes, communities and locally-based natural settings.

students' cultural artifacts

community resources (e.g., local scientist)

place-based

socio-political action

funds of knowledge (a passed down family skill

conceptual web

allowing code-switching

Author's Note: Emily Miller is consulting with Earth Partnership for Schools and Community, a place-based program in Wisconsin. Some of the materials in this article are being adapted for Earth Partnership.

Earth Partnership for Schools, University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. (2013).

Fathman, A., Crowther, D. (Eds.) (2006). Science for English Language Learners: K-12 Classroom Strategies. Arlington, VA: NSTA.

Lee, O., & Buxton, C. A. (2013). Integrating science learning and English language development for English language learners. Theory Into Practice, 52(1), 36-42.

Lee, O., Miller, E. & Januszyk, R., "All Standards, All Students: Next Generation Science Standards," Journal of Teacher Education. In press.

McNeill, K. L. & Krajcik, J. (2012). Supporting grade 5-8 students in constructing explanations in science: The claim, evidence and reasoning framework for talk and writing. New York, NY: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

Miller, E., Niemi, K.J., Brunsell, E., Kneser, D.M. (In press). Exploring Crosscutting Concepts. In E Brunsell, D.M. Kneser, & K.J. Niemi (Eds.), Introducing Teachers and Administrators to the NGSS: A Professional Development Facilitator's Guide (79 - 82). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press

Next Generation Science Standards. (2013). Case Study 4: English Language Learners.

Rosebery, A. S., & Warren, B. (Eds.). (2008). Teaching science to English language learners: Building on students' strengths. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association.

Zembal-Saul, C., McNeill, K. L., & Hershberger, K. (2013). What's your evidence? Engaging K-5 students in constructing explanations in science. New York, NY: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

You are welcome to print copies or republish materials for non-commercial use as long as credit is given to Colorín Colorado and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact [email protected] incolorado.org.

More by this author

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Next Generation Science Standards: Offering Equitable Opportunities for ELLs to Engage in Science

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Emily Miller is a second- and third-grade ESL and Bilingual Resource Teacher in Madison, Wisconsin and a member of the Next Generation Science Standards' (NGSS) Elementary Writing and Diversity & Equity Teams. In that role, Emily served as the lead writer of the NGSS case study for ELLs, which is based on science instruction in her diverse classroom using strategies for English language development and records of her students' experiences engaging with the NGSS.

# data[].attributes.headline
Seven Steps to Using Next Generation Science Standards with ELLs

# data[].attributes.subject
Seven Steps to Using Next Generation Science Standards with ELLs

# data[].attributes.body
E. Miller

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Seven Steps to Using Next Generation Science Standards with ELLs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Guest blogger Emily Miller served on the Next Generation Science Standards Elementary Writing Team, as well as on the Diversity & Equity Team. Drawing upon that work, she has put together this seven-step framework for engaging ELLs and for developing language with the NGSS and shows how to use it wi…

# data[].attributes.headline
Using ELL Strategies in the Science Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Using ELL Strategies in the Science Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How science teachers can use ELL strategies to help students have a better grasp of the vocabulary of science.

Middle school science students filter into the classroom, gradually transitioning to speaking English as they finish conversations in their first language, Korean or Chinese. One of a series of slides is up on the board, each cuing an activity to get them talking about the subject in the target language, preparing them for the challenge of the vocabulary-dense content area of science.

The volume of science terms discourages many students early on, especially students who don't often see themselves reflected in the content, particularly girls and students of color. To address the needs of the large language learner population at our school, the two of us-English language learner teacher Kent and science teacher Gina-teamed up to create resources to support students as they grow as both scientists and English speakers.

While these resources were designed with language learners in mind, the activities have proven highly effective in increasing confidence with science vocabulary for native English speakers as well.

Teachers can easily modify each of the resources below to fit different science units or even different content areas and support learners as they transition away from figuring out what to do and instead focus on content, skills, and vocabulary, reducing the amount of time needed for instructions. For example, when students see a vocabulary puzzle in class, they discuss with a partner or small group (in English or their first language) the multiple ways to approach it and then immediately get to work.

Supporting English Language Learners in Science Classes

Interactive student-to-student talk: Using the target language for frequent student vocalizations and student-to-student interactions is a primary goal and the main area we focused on when we developed these resources. Each class starts with an opportunity for students to warm up their science vocabulary, activate schema relevant to the day's lesson, or retrieve previously learned content, all while practicing their academic interpersonal English skills. We have slides and activities to engage students in partner talk using unit vocabulary, and teachers can easily adapt them for a range of content.

Vocabulary puzzles: Vocabulary puzzles tap visual, kinesthetic, and interpersonal modalities and can be differentiated with little difficulty. Teachers can scaffold the puzzles for different linguistic levels by cutting them into fewer larger pieces before tackling all the pieces separately. Students can also lay pieces on top of the completed puzzle, using it as a key. Once students are confident with the vocabulary, they can use the cards in a dominoes-style game where students make connections between different terms to build an interconnecting board.

Student roles in jigsaw discussions: Dividing up content using a jigsaw strategy gives students the chance to dig in more deeply with a smaller amount of information and offers all learners the opportunity to feel more like an expert about specific content material. This also allows for the leveling of source material to give every student an entry point into the topic. Clear student roles in the discussion ensure that every student is contributing and is engaged during the interactive portion of the jigsaw.

These tools also support effective collaborative talk as students are tasked with asking questions, summarizing main ideas, and using a recording tool to offer a window into their conversations. The teacher can easily change the roles to meet the needs of the students, content, or task.

Fishbowl discussions: Once students feel comfortable with the content vocabulary, it's important that they get an opportunity to apply it. Fishbowl discussions consist of a small group of students conversing about a unit-related topic while another group of students observes the discussion. Topics are designed to prompt debate, deep thinking, and connections to student experiences, as well as promote the application of unit content and vocabulary.

Tailoring both the student preparation sheet and the observation sheet gives the teacher the opportunity to guide students toward the right content and discussion norms. For example, after noticing that girls were often excluded from discussions involving groups that had a majority of boys, we added an "invites quieter member to share" section to the observations sheet.

The fishbowl format facilitates high-level discussions in the target language and supports students in developing academic and collaborative discussion skills. In classroom reflections, students often point to fishbowl discussions as the activity that really pushes them and helps them learn.

Students thrive in learning spaces where they can be engaged and successful-where they can feel themselves learning. Integrating activities like those above into a science or other content class gives every student entry points for success and the tools to support them in making progress. We encourage teachers to give these strategies a try, measure how classroom interactions shift, and plan their next steps in supporting all learners in communicating about scientific topics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using ELL Strategies in the Science Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How science teachers can use ELL strategies to help students have a better grasp of the vocabulary of science.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Authors: Stephen Fleenor with Tina Beene
Teaching Science to English Learners is a go-to resource for science educators to promote listening, speaking, reading, and writing in their classrooms. Each chapter outlines specific, easy-to implement that foster academic language development and comprehension of science concepts, with specific scaffolds highlighted for each language proficiency level. The second in a set of books designed to help content-area teachers create learning environments in which English learners thrive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Science to ELs - Seidlitz Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching Science to ELs Authors: Stephen Fleenor with Tina Beene Teaching Science to English Learners is a go-to resource for science educators to promote listening, speaking, reading, and writing in their classrooms.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching Science to English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching Science to English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teaching Social Studies to ELLs (by Tina Beene), 2017
Teaching Social Studies to ELLs outlines educator Tina Beene's practical, in-depth approach to differentiation in the secondary social studies classroom. This resource offers specific examples of engaging accommodations for all language proficiency levels plus strategies that maximize content mastery while students acquire academic language. Included throughout are activities which support and engage all ELLs with social studies content and accelerate language acquisition. The clearly structured, colorful, and accessible format of Teaching Social Studies to ELLs helps teachers meet the unique needs of their ELLsin each component of a typical social studies lesson.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Social Studies to ELLs - Seidlitz Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching Social Studies to ELLs (by Tina Beene), 2017 Teaching Social Studies to ELLs outlines educator Tina Beene's practical, in-depth approach to differentiation in the secondary social studies classroom. This resource offers specific examples...

# data[].attributes.headline
Guiding Principles and Resources for Teaching Science to MLs

# data[].attributes.subject
Guiding Principles and Resources for Teaching Science to MLs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching strategies, or pedagogy, refers to the methods and practices of teaching.

# data[].attributes.headline
Promising Practices Related to Science and Engineering Instruction

# data[].attributes.subject
Promising Practices Related to Science and Engineering Instruction

# data[].attributes.body
practices related to science and engineering instruction

# data[].attributes.headline
Helping English Learners Understand Science

# data[].attributes.subject
Helping English Learners Understand Science

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teaching science to English as a second language students can pose real challenges. ESL students are not only learning English, they are also learning the language of science.

In an academic year, students are responsible for learning hundreds of science vocabulary terms. For English language learners, it can be difficult to navigate the language of science unless a series of scaffolding strategies are put in place.

First of all, every lesson should begin with a "Do Now" activity that activates students' prior knowledge. Keep in mind that ESL students may have different background knowledge compared to other urban students.

ESL students may have first-hand experience with many of the science concepts we teach. After all, our foreign-born students may have lived in a range of climates, in rural areas or may have even lived through earthquakes or hurricanes. Allowing ESL students to access and share their prior knowledge provides them with a sense that they already know science, despite their language barriers.

Visual aids can also help us reach our English language learners. As the saying goes, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. Abstract concepts such as particles, energy, expansion and contraction can be made easier to understand with visual aids.

For those of us fortunate enough to have a projector and a smartboard, sites such as Fossweb.com and teachersdomain.org have short, animated clips that illustrate concepts in every field of science. When students can see concepts illustrated, they get a better understanding of them.

An inquiry-based approach to science is also effective at reaching ESL students. Hands-on science requires less interaction with the dense language of science textbooks and allows for more meaningful learning of concepts by engaging students in science activities. By developing questions, forming hypotheses and carrying out investigations, students become more versed in the language and process of science. Rather than being told the facts, in an inquiry-based classroom students must draw their own conclusions.

An inquiry-based approach also encourages students to collaborate and communicate as they learn. ESL students can benefit from having to communicate orally as they carry out activities with their peers and work together to record data. Students also need to make claims, back up their claims with evidence and draw conclusions. All of these processes require communication among peers as well as whole class instruction.

While an inquiry-based approach may lessen some of the language demands put on ESL students, at some point all students need to use a textbook to find information. ESL students need additional scaffolds to make their way through the complicated language used in science textbooks. Be sure to preview the key vocabulary words used in the chapter and provide a glossary in the students' native language if possible.

As most science terms have a Latin or Greek origin, students may find that the vocabulary terms are similar in many languages. Use graphic organizers to help students find the main idea and supporting details in a text, and be clear about what key concepts we want students to extract from the text.

Graphic organizers can also help students show what they know. As we assess students with varying levels of fluency and academic literacy, we want to make sure we allow ESL students an opportunity to demonstrate their level of understanding of science concepts.

Students can use graphics such as arrows or numbers to demonstrate changes such as increases and decreases when learning about mass, volume and density. Graphic organizers such as concept maps allow students to develop language skills while showing their knowledge of relationships by making them link vocabulary terms with clauses such as metamorphic rocks -> are formed by -> pressure and heat.

Science is really a way of thinking that involves gathering information, making inferences and then organizing and explaining the information. In other words, science involves all the literacy skills found in every other content area.

Science teachers can be key in helping our English language learners develop the academic literacy they need to succeed in all subjects by providing ESL students with strategies to help them develop their thinking skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching science to English as a second language students can pose real challenges. ESL students are not only learning English, they are also learning the language of science. In an academic year, students are responsible for learning hundreds of science vocabulary terms. For English language learners, it can be difficult to navigate the language of science unless a series of scaffolding strategies are put in place.

# data[].attributes.headline
Unlocking the language of social studies. In Planning meaningful instruction for ELLs. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Unlocking the language of social studies. In Planning meaningful instruction for ELLs. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
*Footnote

Key Issues

1. The field of social studies includes many disciplines (e.g., archaeology, history, philosophy, psychology, financial literacy, multicultural studies, economics), each with its own set of language demands.

2. Social studies may be the most difficult content area for English language learners (ELLs) because they may be unfamiliar with many of the topics, particularly in relation to history.

3. Many terms in social studies are abstract, hard to translate, and culturally based.

4. Social studies textbooks and curricula assume that students have a great deal of background knowledge-knowledge that U.S. students accumulate over time from one grade level to the next.

5. Many strategies and approaches are available for enhancing the learning experiences of ELLs in social studies classrooms of all types.

Read the scenario below and reflect on how you would answer the teachers question to herself.

The sound of excited, high-pitched voices reached the ears of fourth-grade teacher Sheila Covington scant seconds before Catherine, Angélica, and Kamelya demanded her opinion.
"Miss Covington! Miss Covington!" chimed the girls. "We have a question."
Knowing that a question from these three students could range from the merits of the latest video game to the political situation in the Middle East, Sheila mentally braced herself.
"We don't understand something," began Angélica. "I was born in Mérida, México, which makes me Mexican."
"Yes, and I was born here in the United States, so I'm an American!" asserted Catherine.
"But Kamelya's parents . . . ."
"I was born in Russia," stated Kamelya calmly and clearly, "but I am Turkish. Everyone speaks Turkish in my family and that's the only language we speak at home. It was only when I entered school that I learned Russian, but I am not Russian."
"But, Miss Covington, that just doesn't make sense to us," explained Catherine and Angélica.
"Ah, the complexities of a multinational, multicultural identity are tough concepts to explain," thought Sheila. "I have noticed that an increasing number of our immigrant ELL students have complex identities. Now, how can I explore and clarify the ideas of nationality, citizenship, and culture with 9- and 10-year-olds?

About the Field of Social Studies

According to the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS, 2010), social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence (NCSS, 2010). The field of social studies within the U.S. context has three important distinctions: (1) it is designed to promote civic competence as determined by U.S. norms; (2) it is cumulative, building on content learned over many years; and (3) it is integrative, incorporating many disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology. The National Curriculum for Social Studies (2010) is organized around ten themes:

1. Culture

2. Time, Continuity, and Change

3. People, Places, and Environments

4. Individual Development and Indetity

5. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

6. Power, Authority, and Governance

7. Production, Distribution, and Consumption

8. Science, Technology, and Society

9. Global Connections

10. Civic Ideals and Practices.

The aims, focus, and characteristics of the social studies curricula all contribute to making the diverse disciplines of social studies difficult subject areas for ELLs. The integrative nature of social studies assumes that students have certain knowledge and skills in many other disciplines. In addition, the emphasis on democracy might be completely new for students and in direct contradiction to some of their traditions or political perspectives. The NCSS further states:
The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world." (emphasis added; NCSS, n.d., para. 3)
As the chapter-opening vignette illustrates, cultural diversity and the results of worldwide population migration are readily encountered in U.S. classrooms. Today's educators must be prepared to interpret such encounters with sensitivity because the outcomes affect not just academic achievement but the well-being and personal identity of ELL students. As Salinas, Franquiz and Reidel (2008) point out, "Because late-arrival students have binational, if not transnational, experiences, there is the possibility for potentially divergent understandings of citizenship" (p. 74). In an increasingly diverse society, the plurality of identities challenges traditional views of citizenship and nationality, amplifies the notion of global identity, and gives credence to Gloria Anzaldúa's poem "To Live in the Borderlands Means You" (1999).

Besides the difficulties inherent in multinational identities, and as the challenges listed in this chapter suggest, some educators believe that social studies may be the most difficult content area for ELLs because of the invisible features of many of the topics in the field. The following list explains some of these features:

1. Content may be new. For example, concepts such as liberty, democracy, taxation, civil rights, and free will might be completely unknown by students coming from countries with long-term dictatorships or dictatorial regimes.

2. Topics are not only abstract but language-dependent, too. For example, students will encounter abstract concepts such as justice, responsibility, and First Constitutional Congress, which require students to depend more on reading and listening.

3. The field of social studies incorporates many disciplines. The field of social studies incorporates many disciplines, as listed previously, and it utilizes numerous skills and processes from math, science, and language arts.

4. The field relies on extensive background knowledge. For ELLs who received part of their elementary education outside the United States, the lack of prior exposure to the elementary social studies curriculum may pose enormous challenges because they will need to learn not only the grade-level content but several years of previous social studies curricula.

5. History is presented in a linear manner, like a timeline. This presentation may cause some confusion for students coming from educational systems where history is learned around selected dynasties or periods.

Additional potential challenges for ELLs in social studies classrooms include:

Most high school ELLs have not had seven or eight years of instruction in U.S. elementary and middle schools, and their prior knowledge may be significantly different from that of their U.S. peers.

Social studies vocabulary can be highly technical and abstract.

Often, ELLs are not familiar with historical concepts, terms, or U.S. governmental processes.

Social studies require very high literacy skills because much of the instruction comes through teacher lecture and textbook reading.

Textbooks often lack clear and complete explanations of the topics they present.

Textbooks often use passive voice, intricate sentences, and pronouns that can make it difficult for ELLs to understand passages.

The worldview(s), perspectives, and values presented in textbooks and public school curricula may be very different from those of ELLs' families and countries.

ELLs may not be accustomed to offering their personal opinions and challenging texts and others.

In addition to lack of familiarity with the language and content of social studies, ELLs may encounter additional challenges with a number of classroom activities. For example (and as reviewed in previous chapters), many ELLs may be unfamiliar with group work, debates, timelines, and oral reports. They may never have questioned authors or teachers' ideas, and they may have never ventured their own opinions before.
Another area that presents challenges for ELLs is the perspective from which U.S. texts are written, that is, from local and national viewpoints. Students coming from other nations may have significantly divergent worldviews. For example, when studying the diverse peoples of the West, Chinese students may feel that textual descriptions of Chinese laborers are incomplete, inaccurate, or biased. Similarly, when studying the continents, ELLs may find that their knowledge about the continents is considered erroneous because in many countries, children are taught that there are five continents, not the seven taught in U.S. schools. Because social studies is inherently culture-specific, the perspective presented in the textbook and in the school curriculum may be different from what ELLs learned in their native countries.
Disciplines within social studies, however, can provide ideal settings for teaching ELLs. A case in point is world geography. As suggested by Salinas, Fránquiz, and Reidel (2008), an emphasis on cultural geography can be ideal for connecting the content of the curriculum with students' lives. In the area of physical geography, the study of physical features such as plains, mountains, rivers, valleys, and lakes, among others, can be taught using many types of educational supports such as visual aids, hands-on activities, illustrations in textbooks, or searching the Internet.
In sum, academic success in social studies classrooms requires that students acquire much of the background knowledge that children raised in the United States have learned over many years. In the following sections, we discuss some of the particular characteristics of the language of social studies that may pose challenges for ELLs as they try to learn both language and content.

Scenario, Continued
Later that day, after school, Sheila sat down to consider how she could approach the identity issues brought up by Catherine, Angélica, and Kamelya. To generate some ideas, she turned to Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies prepared by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the CCSS. As she encountered pertinent phrases, she jotted them down. After a few minutes of scanning, she had generated the following list:

Multidisciplinary

Perspectives: personal, academic, pluralist, global

Of the 10 themes and/or organizing strands stated in the standards, these seem to apply the best:

1. Individual Development and Identity

2. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

3. Power, Authority, and Governance

Global Connections

Thinking back to exactly what the girls had said, Sheila suddenly realized the implicit meaning buried in the phrase I am _____. While common usage of English permits one to say, "I am American," as Catherine had done, the actual message conveyed can be multifaceted unless specified by the speaker. For instance, Catherine's statement could be interpreted as:

I am an American citizen.

I am an American national (meaning "I was born in America").

My culture is American.

America is the continent of my birth. (Remember: Canadians, Guatemalans, and Peruvians are "Americans," too!)

The phrase I am _____ reflects a state of being. As such, it is intimately connected to identity.

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and CCSS

The 2010 revision of the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSSS) provides a framework for teaching, learning, and assessment in social studies that includes a clear articulation of curriculum objectives and reflects alignment across the different sections of the document. This 2010 revision is organized around the ten themes of social studies and offers a sharper focus on five areas:

Purposes;

Questions for exploration;

Knowledge: what learners need to understand;

Processes: what learners will be capable of doing;

Products: how learners demonstrate understanding.

A quick review at the current social studies standards framework, the CCSS for English language arts (Grades 6-12 Literacy in history/social studies), and recently published social studies textbooks and blogs reveals a clear focus on academic language use. The CCSS and the accompanying NCSSS have moved a traditional focus on learning facts, dates, and names to a focus on skills, understanding a variety of perspectives, gathering information to support claims, and creating understandings of the world. Under the CCSS, social studies classrooms are surrounded by language, with students discussing what they view in a recently discovered photograph, reviewing original sources and Internet materials, and collaborating with each other. In classrooms like these, students are learning how to identify trustworthy sources of information online, how to comprehend what they are reading, and how to present their findings-orally and in writing-supported by evidence. Thus, all students, including ELLs, will need to access content knowledge and demonstrate that knowledge using a wide variety of via a variety of texts and modalities.

The Specialized Language of Social Studies

Read this passage:
Runaway horses, stampeded cattle, prairie fires, blizzards, heat, sunstroke, Indians, lice, snakes and the pure loneliness of the open plains-all of these and more faced the western pioneers of the 1800's. Certainly there were those who gave up, moving back to the security of the East, but many more stayed and helped build and shape the West one sod shack at a time, one small farm at a time and eventually one town at a time. They traveled forth on horseback, in Conestoga wagons . . . some even walked. For them it wasn't a question of how long it would take, only that it had to be done. And they did it. (American Westward Expansion 2006, para. 9)
In the passage above, analyzed by Brown (2007), we can observe the complexity of language and content for students who may not have knowledge of the westward expansion. The text is filled with rarely encountered terms, such as stampeded, prairie fires, blizzards, open plains, western pioneers, sod shack, Conestoga wagons. New terms like these can overwhelm readers and cause them to misinterpret the passage. The type of grammatical constructions (such as dependent or multiple clauses that connect a series of ideas, concepts, and facts, as in the excerpt above) may cause students to be unable to differentiate main points from supporting details.
This type of complexity is also present at the discourse level. For example, in middle and high school history classes, students are often expected to write argument papers about a particular issue. This is a difficult genre, and as stated by Achugar and Schleppegrell (2016), it requires that students construct the claims, analysis, and evidence before they can construct effective arguments. Often, the specific linguistic features (like those for an argument paper) needed for students to successfully access and produce different types of genres are not necessarily taught within the social studies classroom, yet students are expected to be able to produce comparisons, syntheses, persuasive arguments, analyses, and classifications in the history classroom.
The social studies language register, characterized by an abundance of unfamiliar vocabulary terms, difficult grammatical constructions, and distinctive genres, can present many challenges even to the average native English-speaking student. Thus, for ELLs-even those at advanced levels of language proficiency-the language of social studies can pose numerous obstacles. More detailed explanations and examples showcasing the uniqueness of the language of social studies are presented below. These explanations and examples are organized into sections about vocabulary, sentence level features, and discourse features.

Word/phrase level

The social studies register includes a vast number of words, phrases, and expressions drawn from the social sciences, natural sciences, and the humanities. Each of the more than 10 disciplines covered in social studies has its own set of specialized terminology and concepts that students must understand and be able to use appropriately in order to succeed in this area. For instance, Figure 11.1 presents definitions and examples of general, specialized, and technical academic vocabulary terms needed to understand psychologist Erik Erikson's eight stages of human emotional development.
The vocabulary terms in Figure 11.1 pertain to just one short unit on human development. However, the vastness of the field of social studies in terms of disciplines and content suggests that the number of new terms, phrases, and expressions that ELLs encounter in the social studies classroom is extensive. In fact, in a study by Eric Dwyer (2007) investigating the vocabulary used in textbooks according to grade level, the findings indicated that the increase of social studies vocabulary by grade exceeded that of other content areas (as cited in Cho & Reich, 2008, p. 236).

Terms used in social studies and in other subjects Terms associated with social studies Terms associated with a specific social studies topic
Figure 11.1 Types of vocabulary in social studies. STOP AND DO Select two areas and grade levels from the list below and jot down the academic terms and expressions that students need to know in order to participate successfully in the discussion of the corresponding topics.

Anthropology, elementary: understanding time capsules

Archeology, middle school: learning how to think like an archeologist

Economics, elementary: why and how we save

Geography, high school: demographer's challenge: understanding megalopolis

History, middle school: exploring the perils of colonization

Sociology, high school: theory and practice of crime and punishment

Another consideration in planning for and successfully teaching social studies vocabulary is that many terms may not have direct translations to other languages. For example, in the Russian language, words like privacy, challenge, take care, and efficiency have no direct translation. As you might expect, terms in other languages also do not have direct equivalents in English. For example, the French term malencontreux is an adjective that means "unfortunate, ill-timed, untimely, and inopportune" all at the same time. Also in French, the terms gare and station both translate as station in English; the former is used only for trains or buses, while the latter is used only for the metro, subway, or underground.
Another challenging aspect about many of the terms and concepts used in social studies, particularly in relation to history, is that words can be culturally situated and may have different meanings for students coming from other countries. A case in point is the term colony. For most students born in the United States, the term colony is positively associated with the thirteen colonies, independence from Great Britain, and the beginning of the United States. For many immigrant students, however, the terms colony and colonization are associated with oppression, enslavement, and, in some cases, genocide.
How can we communicate "across unshared worlds" and "different points of departure" (Hasan, 2004)? The diversity of linguistic, cultural, social, and political perspectives makes it very difficult to translate terms and concepts to other languages, particular when dealing with sociocultural terms. For example, how can the nonspecific words brother and sister be translated into Mayan when that language has specific terms for younger brother or older brother? In another context, while finding words for colors in other languages is not difficult, the connotations that different colors have in different languages might make a fully nuanced translation rather tricky. Take, for example, the color red, as in seeing red (representing being angry) or the red light district. In Russian, the color red connotes beauty and is similar to the way golden is used in English. Hence, throughout the years, we have used the directly translated, color-bound phrases Red Square and the Red Army instead of the more socioculturally contextualized translations of "Golden Square" and "the Golden Army." One final example is the meaning of the color white. In the United States and in many European countries, white is associated with purity and moral goodness, hence, brides wear white during their wedding. In China, brides wear red because this color is associated with good luck, happiness, and prosperity, and people wear white only when a family member has died. In China, white is associated with weakness, paleness, and a lack of vitality.
Thus, it is not difficult to understand why language is so intertwined with culture. We have all heard that Eskimos have 27 words for snow and that the Puyallup Indians in the Northwest have numerous terms for salmon. For someone in Florida, snow is that "cold, fluffy, white stuff" that falls on the ground during the winter. For Eskimos, as for skiers, snow may take very different forms and textures that require different labels. Clearly, language is culturally bound.
STOP AND DO
People living in the northwestern portion of the United States use many synonyms and colloquialisms to refer to rain. Can you list at least six synonyms or phrases to use in place of the word "rain"? (One example is "mist.")
Some words and phrases have different layers of meaning because of their symbolic nature and emotional charge. Think about the terms buffalo, colony, swastika, holocaust, Indian reservation, Crusades, Inquisition, and conquistador. For some students, some of these terms may bring a host of feelings and additional layers of meaning.
Finally, another level of difficulty for ELLs in the social studies class is that many of the terms and concepts discussed are highly abstract, and their meanings are difficult to convey by giving a simple explanation or using visuals or illustrations. Some examples are the words democracy, economy, citizenship, the Harlem Renaissance, and capitalism. Unlike science or math classrooms, social studies classrooms do not often include the use of hands-on experiments or manipulatives.
STOP AND THINK
Sentence level features

The following text comes from a social studies textbook:
The Non-Intercourse Act of 1809-a watered-down version of Jefferson's embargo aimed solely at Britain and France-was due to expire in 1810. To Madison's dismay, Congress dismantled the embargo completely with a bargaining measure known as Macon's Bill No. 2. While reopening American trade with all the world, Macon's Bill dangled what Congress hoped was an attractive lure. (Kennedy, Cohen, & Bailey, 2001, p. 228)
In their analysis of this text, Cho and Reich (2008) highlight the challenges faced by students: (1) the need to know the different meanings of discipline-specific words (e.g., act, bill); and (2) encountering advanced vocabulary words such as embargo, dismantle, dangle, and lure, which they will most likely not find in their everyday lives. In addition to the vocabulary, the structure of the sentences tends to be very complex, where relationships of cause and effect are embedded in ways that make them difficult for ELLs to recognize (Cho & Reich, 2008, p. 237).
Other characteristics of textbooks and materials used in social studies classrooms include the use of the passive voice; complex and dense texts; and the abundance of dependent clauses or multiple clauses that connect a series of facts, ideas, and concepts in one long sentence. These and other features make it difficult for ELLs to differentiate main ideas from supporting details.
Cause-and-effect relations, discussed in Chapter 8, are also pervasive in social studies texts. An examination of texts and tasks used in social studies showed that selected linguistic signals cue student to time references, cause and effect, and comparison and contrast in text structures. Such signals include verb tenses and condition, expressions of time, rhetorical markers (e.g., temporal phrases, conjunctions), and causative words (e.g., thus, hence). Observations by Short (1994) in social studies classrooms demonstrate that explicit instruction of these signal words can be very beneficial in improving students' reading and writing skills. See Figure 11.2 for words that signal different types of organizational patterns.
Figure 11.2 Terms that signal a type of organizational pattern. STOP AND THINK Using the information about the specific characteristics of social studies vocabulary and grammatical constructions discussed in this chapter, imagine how an English learner might feel when opening a thick social studies textbook. What predictions can you make about the challenges that ELLs face?
Discourse Level Features

At the discourse level, we will discuss two specific aspects of the language of social studies: (1) the difficulties presented by social studies textbooks and other kinds of texts for all students, particularly ELLs, and (2) the different genres of language that students need to produce to be successful in the social studies classroom.

Difficulties Presented by Social Studies Textbooks and Materials.

In most social studies textbooks, facts and details are often condensed. In addition, concrete or anecdotal details, which can help ELLs connect unfamiliar concepts with what they know or have experienced, are often omitted. ELLs' difficulties with reading comprehension are further compounded by textbooks containing a high concentration of new vocabulary or complex sentence patterns.
Research studies have analyzed the main characteristics of history and social studies textbooks and the challenges that selected features pose to ELLs when reading these texts (see, for example, Brown, 2007; de Oliveira & Obenchain, 2018; Schleppegrell & Achugar, 2003). The following list summarizes the main findings from these studies that may pose challenges to ELLs as they try to crack the textbook code:

There are few graphic cues.

There is a less predictable sequence compared with narratives. Thus, it is harder to predict what will happen next.

Insufficient glossaries cause students to look up terms in dictionaries.

Expository texts assume that readers have the necessary background knowledge to understand the text, and the texts do not fill in the gaps when readers lack relevant background information.

Some readers' prior knowledge may be mismatched and could interfere with comprehension of the text.

Vocabulary in social studies can be highly technical and abstract.

Written discourse, particularly if it does not include pictorial or graphic material, lacks nonverbal clues to meaning, for example, facial expressions, intonation, or gestures.

Instantaneous clarification and feedback are not possible, unlike face-to-face communication. Readers of written text must figure out what they are reading without input from the author. Without seeking the assistance of other people, readers must draw on their own prior knowledge and knowledge of the language and writing conventions in order to construct meaning from the text.

Few terms, usually no more than 10, are defined per chapter.

Sidebars, boxes, highlights, and other materials break up the main narrative, causing students to be uncertain about how to approach the text.

Diverse Written Genres.

As discussed above, the field of social studies encompasses several disciplines, each with its own sets of vocabulary and phrases, sentence level features or grammatical structures, and discourse features. This range of fields requires that students in social studies classes develop strategies to access and, more important, produce a diversity of genres. Figure 11.3 presents a list of different genres or types of tasks used routinely in social studies classrooms across the country. Each task demands that students produce different kinds of texts, each of which may have different organizational and linguistic features.

Figure 11.3 History and geography presentation and writing genres.
As the figure indicates, there are a great variety of text types, all of which create many challenges for students. Due to the diversity of demands in each genre, Schleppegrell (2005) advocates for the explicit teaching of how to write in a variety of styles, including writing styles that ask students to define a problem, speculate about alternatives, and reformulate information to support a point. For example, teachers can help students understand the differences among historical account, historical explanation, and argument by providing students with a comparison of the different types, as illustrated in Figure 11.4. This kind of information not only helps students understand the goals and characteristics of each genre, it also provides a model for students to organize information when comparing two or more items.

Historical account

Establishes the sequence of events, with causal reasoning about why things happened

Why did it happen? (analyze)

Historical explanation

Defines and evaluates; explains and interprets the factors that led to, or the consequences of, historical events

What brought this about?
or
What was the result of this?(explain and interpret)

Historical argument

Promotes a position on or interpretation of events

What is your judgment of what happened? (evaluate)

Figure 11.4 Selected genres of history.
Source: Adapted from Schleppegrell (2005).
The final section of this chapter provides selected strategies that have proven useful for teaching specific aspects of social studies content and language.

Strategies for Teaching and Learning Social Studies

Szpara and Ahmad (2007) recommend three broad practices to support ELLs in high school social studies classrooms: (1) developing socially supportive classrooms, (2) explicit teaching of academic skills; and (3) reducing cognitive load and increasing accessibility of complex content knowledge. We build on these recommendations and extend them by providing very specific strategies to accomplish those goals. Many of these strategies have proven successful not only with high school students but with middle and elementary school students, too.

1. Developing socially supportive classrooms

This section suggests ways in which teachers can create a safe space where ELLs' languages, cultures, and experiences are recognized and affirmed (Nieto & Bode, 2018) and where ELLs feel comfortable taking the risks necessary to learn language and content.
Link the unfamiliar with the familiar by tapping students' previous knowledge. By using KWL charts (with the headings Know, Want to Know, and Learned; see chapter 3) or analogies, or discussing concepts and ideas relevant to students' lives, teachers can link students' experiential knowledge with curricular content. For example, a teacher might help ELLs understand the tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain by having students talk about the issues that arise when parents or other adults change the rules.
Use collaborative groups for tackling complex reading materials. By dividing the reading material and assigning each group a section, the reading becomes more manageable for students. Students' responsibilities include reading and understanding their assigned sections and teaching those sections to the rest of the class by using visuals, performances, or realia. In this way, students are not overwhelmed by lengthy or complex texts.
Level the field by making students the teachers and teachers the learners. ELLs have a wide array of experiences that make them experts in some aspects where native English speakers might have very little knowledge. Think about topics such as long-distance transportation, immigration, world geography, and currency exchange, among many others. Immigrant students may be very knowledgeable in these areas and can shine when they have opportunities to discuss these topics. Teachers can also become learners by attempting to learn students' native languages, geography, currency names and values, and other culture-specific information and customs.
Build on the "funds of knowledge" of students, families and communities. Throughout this book, we have discussed the importance of building on the knowledge and skills held by ELL students, their families, and the communities in which they reside (Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 2005; Johnson & Newcomer, 2018). When teachers get to know students and their families and communities, they can appreciate the richness of cultural and cognitive resources available to support and enhance meaningful learning. For example, in a fourth- and fifth-grade combined, sheltered classroom, students asked their parents and family to list all the countries they have visited or lived in and to list the languages they spoke. After combining all the information by placing thumb tacks on a world map and listing all the different languages, students and teacher decided to focus on the linguistic diversity that existed in their classroom and the surrounding community. Throughout the school year, the teacher and students invited community members to come and read a book in their native language. Students created an archive of oral and written language samples, explored language families, and found out about the countries in which those languages were spoken. The learning was tremendous both in terms of the appreciation and validation of the community's linguistic diversity and also in terms of students' better understanding of the world's linguistic diversity.
Promote an oral history approach. Oral history projects help students understand that history includes the collection and recording of personal memories as historical documentation. Complex issues can become more accessible when they are developed from students' background and experiences. In working with data obtained from oral histories, students are engaging in many of the historical thinking skills outlined in the U.S. history standards (Ernst-Slavit & Morrison, 2018). Some topics that lend themselves to this kind of approach include dependence and interdependence, the interaction of human beings and their environment, the causes and results of war, resource development and use, scarcity, acculturation, migration, and the impact of economic or technological changes on societies. When students work on oral histories, they enhance their understanding of the past and their own personal experiences. They also enhance their English language proficiency by using their oral skills as they interview and present information and their literacy skills by recording and transcribing oral interviews. Using an oral history approach also promotes parental involvement, native language use in meeting instructional goals, validation of the students' cultures and experiences, and enhancement of self-esteem (Ernst-Slavit & Morrison, 2018).

2. Explicit teaching of academic skills

In this section, we discuss the various ways in which teachers can help students learn the necessary thought processes and academic skills needed to access the texts, tasks, and teacher talk in the social studies classroom.
Offer explicit instruction of learning strategies. Several instructional approaches, such as Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA), Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD), Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP), and Specially Designed Academic Instruction of English (SDAIE), focus on explicit instruction of learning strategies for ELLs. For example, teachers should not assume that their students know how to skim or scan reading materials, use a planner, or break tasks into manageable sections. ELLs' prior schooling experiences may not have included these types of academic strategies.
Plan for academic classroom discussions. Because much of what transpires in social studies classrooms takes place via whole-class discussions, English language learners need to be involved and encouraged to practice extended academic talk with their peers and with the teacher. Through effective academic classroom discussions (Zwiers & Crawford, 2011), also called instructional conversations (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988), teachers can help students develop skills in answering both factual and higher-order questions and prompt students to elaborate on, justify, or evaluate their own (or a peer's) comments (Ernst-Slavit & Pratt, 2017). Zwiers (2008) also suggests that classroom discussions:

Allow for repetition of terms, phrases, and grammatical and thinking processes, which is conducive to the acquisition of those terms and processes.

Encourage students to think quickly, respond, organize their thoughts into sentences, and ask for clarification.

Allow students to observe how others think and use language to describe their thinking.

Encourage students to practice how to ask questions and request clarifications. One issue for ELLs is that they often do not know how to ask questions or how to request clarification. When teachers ask all the students in the class if they understand the task at hand or the requirements for the homework, it is not uncommon for ELLs to remain quiet or pretend to have no questions even though they might not have understood the directions. Modeling, role playing, planned interviews, a short handout containing four or five sentence or question starters, (leveled to the English proficiency level of your ELL students), and small-group discussions can provide ELLs with opportunities to practice what to say in interactive settings where participation is expected. Here are some examples of sentence and question starters:

"I like how you . . . ."

"I was unclear about . . . ."

"What did . . . mean?"

"Could you tell me more about . . . ?"

Use deliberate instruction about how to navigate textbooks. In Chapter 9, we discussed some of the problems that ELLs encounter with mathematics textbooks. Social studies textbooks can also pose challenges for language learners, partly because of the density of the material (that is, the high concentration of information per page). Helping students learn about the different features of a textbook provides many benefits, particularly because many ELLs come from cultures where reading is done from right to left, where the table of contents is in the back of the book, and where textbooks are primarily in black and white and contain few or no illustrations. Figure 11.5 lists many of the features that characterize textbooks in general. Reviewing these textbook features with students may help them become familiar with the text and learn some strategies, such as distinguishing between the main ideas and the supporting details in a portion of text.

Organization of text

Table of contents Glossary

Page numbers. Index

Organization of ideas

Synopses Subheadings

Titles Headings

Conclusion

Graphical aids

Illustrations Charts and tables

Photographs Diagrams

Maps

Elaboration and emphasis

Captions Footnotes

Margin notes

Bold, italicized, or highlighted text

Extension of understanding

Questions. Links to digital media

Figure 11.5 Common text features.
Use graphic organizers. Graphic organizers offer students visual models for organizing, understanding, and applying information regarding terms and concepts and their relationships (Gallavan & Kotler, 2007). The popularity of graphic organizers has increased in recent years because they are useful in helping students understand complex material and manage data before, during, and after reading. Many books, materials, and websites provide a wide array of graphic organizers suitable for any purpose imaginable. This diversity of formats and models allows teachers to keep their students engaged. For examples of how to apply diverse graphic organizers in the social studies classrooms, see Gallavan and Kottler (2007).

3. Reducing cognitive load and increasing accessibility of complex content knowledge.

"Reducing cognitive load" does not mean simplifying the material or "dumbing down the curriculum." On the contrary, the goal is to encourage cognitive complexity by using linguistic simplicity. Suggestions for accomplishing this goal include: (1) locating materials in the first language to provide some background knowledge, (2) finding materials for ELLs on the same topic that are written using simpler language (e.g., some topics in fifth-grade textbooks are similar to those in eighth-grade and eleventh-grade textbooks but are written in much simpler language), and (3) providing outlines or PowerPoint presentations to further support students' understanding.
Use role play to make abstract concepts concrete. If ELLs are unfamiliar with the concept of dilemma, a role play may be created in which students in a grade level have to make a difficult decision. ELLs do not need to participate to benefit from this activity; observing other students or participating in writing the script can benefit them, too.
Preview reading assignments. As discussed in Chapter 9, students can preview reading assignments via a summary, outline, or PowerPoint presentation, or they can take the textbook home for review. This affords students excellent opportunities to become familiar with the topics and concepts to be discussed before they are introduced by the teacher.
Provide or encourage students to locate materials and information in their native language. Locating materials in the native language that relate to the unit or lesson to be discussed can help students have advance knowledge of the terms, concepts, and content objectives before the lesson is given. For example, when studying geography, students can search for atlases, books, and other materials at their school or local libraries. Many websites offer translations of topics, key vocabulary terms, and materials for social studies classes.
STOP AND THINK
When studying Martin Luther King, students can preview King's "I Have a Dream" speech in several languages (i.e., Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Marathi, Portuguese, and Russian) at Martin Luther King Online, at http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches.html. For a quality site about cross-cultural communication, see Culture Crossing at http://culturecrossing.net/index.php. This website offers a wealth of information about hundreds of countries, including basic information about communication styles and cultural norms. How might you use these two resources to support your ELLs?
Use cognates with your Spanish-speaking students. As noted in other chapters in this text, there are many cognates (words that are written similarly) in English and Spanish. Figure 11.6 lists examples of cognates pertaining to social studies, particularly history and geography. As you can see, your Spanish speakers may know more terminology than you think! It is important to realize, however, that cognates are also found in Russian and several other languages, especially European languages.
Figure 11.6 English-Spanish cognates in social studies
Conclusion

The field of social studies may present multiple challenges for English language learners because of the diversity of disciplines and topics that may be completely new for ELLs, the abstract nature of terms and concepts, the overreliance on textbook reading and teacher lecture, and the culture-specific background knowledge that is required to interpret and contextualize knowledge. When it comes to history, one of the main issues for ELLs is that students may not have the cumulative knowledge that U.S. students have attained through study in previous grade levels. Within social studies, however, a few areas of study, such as world geography, cultural geography, and physical geography, can provide ELLs with opportunities to build on what they know and teachers with opportunities to utilize a variety of instructional supports for enhancing the teaching and learning process. Careful planning and deliberate and explicit instruction regarding vocabulary, sentence level features, and discourse features that comprise the language of social studies benefits all students, but particularly ELLs.

Extensions

For Reflection

1. Culturally unfamiliar topics. As mentioned in Chapter 11, many ELLs may not be familiar with famous people in U.S. history (e.g., Franklin D. Roosevelt), with places and settings of historic importance (e.g., the Oregon Trail), and concepts and topics tied to democracy (civil rights). Think about other topics and concepts that might be unfamiliar to students who did not grow up in the United States. What strategies can you use to make these topics more accessible to your ELLs?

2. Building on ELLs' experiences. Earlier in the chapter, we discussed that world and physical geography are excellent topics to build on ELLs' background knowledge and experiences. Think about other social studies topics that can be taught by building on what ELLs already know.

3. Explore further. For information about the role of talk and interaction in the social studies classrooms, read the following articles:

Ernst-Slavit, G., & Morrison, S.J. (2019). "Unless you were Native American...everybody came from another country": Language and content learning in a grade 4 diverse classroom. The Social Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2018.1539700

Gibbons, P. (2015). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching English language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. https://assets.pearsonschool.com/asset_mgr/current/201511/gibbonschapter.pdf

Mason, M., & Ernst-Slavit, G. (2010). Representations of Native Americans in elementary school social studies: A critical look at instructional language. Multicultural Education, 18(1), 10-17.

For ideas about teaching language and content, including social studies, see these recent publications:

Sharkey, J. (Ed.). (2018).Engaging research: Transforming practices for the elementary school. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.

Lindahl, K., & Hansen-Thomas, H. (Eds.). (2018).Engaging research: Transforming practices for the middle school classroom. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.

Stewart, M., & Hansen-Thomas, H. (Ed.). (2019). Engaging research: Transforming practices for the high school classroom.Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.

For Action

1. Adapting instruction. Identify a chapter in a social studies textbook pertaining to your grade level or teaching context. List all the specific terms, concepts, and sentence level features you think will be difficult for ELLs, particularly those ELLs in the beginning stages of English language proficiency. Select a list of potential strategies for facilitating instruction of those difficult aspects. Make a plan about how you or the teacher can teach those specific aspects so that all students in the classroom can access and demonstrate knowledge of the chapter you have identified.

2. Community cultural exploration. Search for places in your community where ELLs and their families might spend time on evenings and weekends. For example, explore the possibility of attending a religious service in another language; visiting an ethnic market; attending a Sunday language school; or having a meal in a small, family-owned ethnic restaurant. During your visit, note the different resources (e.g., artifacts, communication, traditions) available in that location that could be used in your teaching context.

References

Achugar M., & Schleppegrell M. (2016) Reflection Literacy and the Teaching of History. In Bowcher W.L., Liang J.Y. (Eds) Society in Language, Language in Society. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
American Westward Expansion. (2006). Retrieved September 27, 2009, from http://www.americanwest.com/pages/wexpansi.htm
Anzaldua, G. (1999). To live in the borderlands. Borderlands-La Frontera. The New Mestiza (pp. 194-195). San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books. http://www.revistascisan.unam.mx/Voices/pdfs/7422.pdf
Brown, C. L. (2007). Strategies for making social studies texts more comprehensible for English-language learners. The Social Studies, 98(5), 185-188.
Cho, S., & Reich, G.A. (2008). New immigrants, new challenges: High school social studies teachers and English language learner instruction. The Social Studies, 99(6), 235-242.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS). (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy
de Oliveira, L. C., & Obenchain, K. M. (2018). Teaching History and Social Studies to English Language Learners Preparing Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers. London, Palgrave: Macmillan.
Ernst-Slavit, G., & Morrison, S.J. (2018). "Unless you were Native American...everybody came from another country:" Language and Content Learning in a Grade 4 Diverse Classroom. The Social Studies, 109(6), 309-323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2018.1539700
Ernst-Slavit, G., & Pratt, K. L. (2017). Teacher Questions: Learning the Discourse of Science in a Linguistically Diverse Elementary Classroom. Linguistics and Education, 40, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2017.05.005
Gallavan, N. P., & Kottler, E. (2007). Eight types of graphic organizers for empowering social studies students and teachers. The Social Studies, 98(3), 117-123.
Gibbons, P. (2015). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching English language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Hasan, R. (2004) 'Reading picture reading: a study in ideology and inference'. In J. A. Foley (Ed.) Language, Education and Discourse: Functional Approaches. (pp. 43-75) London: Continuum.
Johnson, E., & Newcomer, S. (2018). Funds of knowledge mentors: Partnering with Latinx youth to incite dispositional shifts in teacher preparation. Journal of Latinos and Education, DOI: 10.1080/15348431.2018.1531761
Kennedy, D.M., Cohen, L., & Bailey, T.A. (2002). The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Lindahl, K., & Hansen-Thomas, H. (Ed.). (2018). Engaging Research: Transforming Practices for the Middle School Classroom. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.
Mason, M., & Ernst-Slavit, G. (2010). Representations of Native Americans in Elementary School Social Studies: A Critical Look at Instructional Language. Multicultural Education, 18(1), 10-17.
Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & González, N. (2005). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. In N. González, L. C. Moll, & C. Amanti (Eds.), Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. New York, NY: Routledge.
National Council for the Social Studies. (2010). Executive Summary. Washington, D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved from https://www.socialstudies.org/standards/execsummary
Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2018). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Salinas, C., Fránquiz, M. E., & Reidel, M. (2008). Teaching world geography to late-arrival immigrant students: Highlighting practice and content. The Social Studies, 99(2), 71-76
Sharkey, J. (Ed.). (2018). Engaging Research: Transforming Practices for the Elementary School Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2005). Helping content area teachers work with academic language: Promoting English language learners' literacy in history. Final Report for Individual Research Grant Award #03-03CY-061G-D. Davis, CA: University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
Schleppegrell, M., & Achugar, M. (2003). Learning language and learning history: A functional linguistics approach. TESOL Journal, 12(2), 21-27.
Short, D.J. (1994). The challenge of social studies for Limited English Proficient Students. Social Education 58(1), 36-38.
Stewart, M., & Hansen-Thomas, H. (Ed.). (2019). Engaging Research: Transforming practices for the high school classroom. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.
Szpara, M. Y., & Ahmad, I. (2007). Supporting English-language learners in social studies class: Results from a study of high school teachers. The Social Studies, 98(5),189-195.
Tharp, R.G., & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zwiers, J. (2008). Building academic language: Essential practices for content classrooms, grades 5-12. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Zwiers, J., & Crawford, M. (2011). Academic conversations: Classroom talk that fosters critical thinking and content understandings. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chapter 11: Unlocking the Language of Social Studies* – Planning Meaningful Instruction for ELLS

# data[].attributes.headline
Opportunities and Challenges for ELLs in the Science Inquiry Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Opportunities and Challenges for ELLs in the Science Inquiry Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Opportunities and Challenges for ELLs in the Science Inquiry Classroom (Part 1)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Good science starts with a question. Using inquiry science, children discover answers to their questions in the same way that scientists do - with experiments, predictions, observations, and conjectures.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Classroom Protocols in Action: Science Talk