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Students will predict the plot of the story Ten Apples Up on Top using a picture walk.

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Students will use nouns to answer "who" and "what" anticipatory questions about the text.

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Students will demonstrate understanding of how apples are used throughout the read aloud of the book Apples.

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Students will demonstrate listening comprehension by answering the question "what do people make with apples" using a complete sentence.

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QSSSA is a strategy to engage students in meaningful academic conversations that are accessible by all. Students will start by putting their hands on their head and taking their hands off when they have an answer to the stem, "People make ______ from apples."

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"… core structure to building academic fluency because it is the most basic conversation structure for fluid use." (ELLevation, 2019)

Gives sentence stem to "respond in a complete sentence and use academic vocabulary appropriately." (ELLevation, 2021)

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I think the use of this strategy is still emerging in my learners. I think over time and with practice they could become very independent with QSSSA and with using the sentence stem, but given that this was the first time they needed a lot of additional scaffolding! I think that this strategy is a good way to engage all learners in sharing their ideas using complete sentences. We did this activity as a whole group rather than in pairs due to our small class size and so that we could model expectations.

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Students will demonstrate comprehension by acting out the story, The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything.

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Students will identify clothing and body parts by listening and doing the corresponding physical response while reading "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything."

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The purpose of TPR is for students to demonstrate understanding by engaging in choral movements.

Students will listen to the read aloud The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything and model the actions associated with each clothing item (shoes go clomp clomp=stomping).

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"When you teach vocabulary, related to classroom objects or anything represented in pictures… great way to reinforce vocabulary and check for understanding even before the student feels comfortable saying the word in English." (Singer 2018)

"since students’ receptive skills (listening and reading) generally precede their productive skills (speaking and writing), TPR gives them a way to demonstrate comprehension and participate fully with grade-level content. When students use a hand or body gesture to symbolize a key term, they often learn the terms more quickly and retain them for longer." (Colorín Colorado, 2024).

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I love this strategy! I think that my students are the most engaged with they can use their bodies to show what they know and understand. This strategy not only kept them engaged throughout the story but it showed that they could listen and comprehend the language being used and model the appropriate physical response.

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The purpose of the strategy making predictions is to generate student interest in a text.

Students will make predictions during a picture walk of the text, Ten Apples Up on Top. Teacher may prompt with anticipatory questions such as "who do you think the story is about" or "what do you think they will do with the apples?"

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"We use text features to preview the possible structure or topics in a text so it is easier to read." (Singer, 2018).

"If your child is able to make good and fairly accurate predictions while reading, chances are she comprehends the story well." (Reading Rockets, 2020).

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I don't use this strategy as often as I think I will in the future! It was so fun to see my students begin their engagement with the text before we even read it. They were interested in the plot and what the possibilities of the story were. I think that increasing their engagement in this way reduced their affective filters and helped them to use language in a fun and exciting way!

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Students will identify emotions of characters in the story.

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Students will use academic vocabulary to make inferences about the characters.

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The purpose of making inferences about the characters is to ensure that students comprehend the texts they are reading.

Students will engage in a second read aloud of Ten Apples Up On Top. When the character of the bear enters the story, the teacher will ask the question, "How do you think the bear feels when the animals come into his house?" Students will answer using a language frame and word bank.

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"Learning to draw conclusions and inferences is a skill that develops over time. The skill requires children to put together various pieces of information, and relies on good word knowledge. Help your child develop skill by providing experience with inferential information, making implied information more clear, and helping your child draw conclusions based on the evidence." (Reading Rockets, 2019).

"Learning to draw conclusions and inferences is a skill that develops over time. The skill requires children to put together various pieces of information, and relies on good word knowledge. Help your child develop skill by providing experience with inferential information, making implied information more clear, and helping your child draw conclusions based on the evidence." (Reading Rockets, 2019).

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I adapted this strategy to include a language frame and some extra movement for my students. I was really impressed that they were able to identify the characters feelings. They were not able to identify why he was feeling this way yet, but given exposure to more language, I think they will! When I did the same activity with my native English speakers who are four years old (this group is three), they were able to give supportive reasons. I think given more time and language exposure, these students will be able to do the same! I plan to use this strategy again this year.

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Students will use dictation and drawing to respond to the prompt "What do you like to do with your family?"

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Students will use appropriate and relevant verbs to dictate and describe what they like to do with their family.

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The purpose of building background is to help generate student interest and understanding about a topic.

Students will watch a video about things families do together and read the book World of Families before completing a drawing/dictation about what they like to do with their families.

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"Connecting to student's prior knowledege (1) makes your teaching relevant to your students, (2)values students background, and (3) helps students build on what they know with new information" (Singer 2018)

"Having the right background knowledge is critical to ensuring that students understand a lesson. This knowledge provides a foundation on which the rest of the lesson can be built. For ELLs, it can make a significant difference in their comprehension of the lesson and any related materials or texts." (Breiseth, L., 2021)

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I think that building background really helped to give my students a variety of ideas and the associated language to dictate/draw about these ideas. Because of this, every student did not give the same answer as sometimes occurs, but rather was able to use the resources to relate to their own lives and apply it to their writing! I love using this strategy!

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Students will taste different types of apples and identify their favorite type.

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Students will use nouns and adjectives to appropriately answer the question "What is your favorite type of apple and why?"

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The purpose of providing a model of teacher writing is to provide an exemplar response to model academic language and drawing.

Students will use nouns and adjectives to appropriately answer the question "What is your favorite type of apple and why?"

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"Modeling is at the core of good teaching for all students, and also essential for ensuring Els understand both your content and language expectations for your tasks." (Singer, 2018)

"Modeling is at the core of good teaching for all students, and also essential for ensuring Els understand both your content and language expectations for your tasks." (Singer, 2018)

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Modeling through teacher writing is something I do almost every time we do a drawing/dictation/writing activity. This specific use of this strategy reaffirmed my belief in it's importance. Many times students do not understand the language being used when directions are being given, so modeling exemplar responses bridges that gap! We also used an anchor chart to identify our favorite apples before engaging in this writing activity. Students are still referencing their favorite apples and why on the anchor chart daily!

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Students will use 1:1 counting to identify how many seeds are in their apple.

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Students will use a complete sentence to identify how many seeds are in their apple.

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The purpose of this strategy is to provide students with a scaffold to engage in academic conversation.

Students will make an apple craft that depicts the parts of the apple. After the craft is complete, students will demonstrate 1:1 counting by identifying how many seeds are in their apple using the language frame "My apple has ___ seeds."

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"helps students learn and apply conversation skills to both prompt peers and respond in the natural flow of student driven conversation" (Singer 2018)

"Signal words act as anchors to signal students as to what type of word should be provided." (Continental Press, 2018).

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Language frames are a strategy I typically use when making requests to help build language, such as at snack time to request milk or water. This activity showed me just how many different ways this strategy can be used! I love how it encourages students to use complete sentences full of academic vocabulary to demonstrate a math concept! I will definitely be using this strategy again in more academic contexts.

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Students will obeserve different characteristics of leaves.

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Students will describe leaves using adjectives.

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The purpose of this strategy is to provide students with the academic vocabulary needed to engage in conversations.

Students will take laminated leaves out of a sensory bin and use the word bank to describe their leaves using adjectives (bumpy, pointing, round, red).

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"An effective word bank includes words students understand but rarely use to help them use precise vocabulary relevant to the task." (Singer 2018).

"You can provide a prompt for students to answer, but require students to select vocabulary from a provided work bank to help them reinforce their understanding of each word they previously learned in class." (Model Teaching, 2023).

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I love this strategy! I had never thought to use a word bank with my students to help them use academic vocabulary in a task. I have used this strategy since this first attempt and will be using it more in the future. I love how simple it is and how it can be combined with other strategies. I combined a brief "feelings" word bank with my making inferences strategy to support students in using words to identify feelings. I think this strategy was extremely effective in helping students to use adjectives appropriately and to engage with the activity.

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Breiseth, L. (2024, October 28). Background knowledge and ELLs: What teachers need to know. Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/background-knowledge-and-ells-what-teachers-need-know

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When students learn new information, they need a hook to hang it on. Background knowledge is that hook.

Having the right background knowledge is critical to ensuring that students understand a lesson. This knowledge provides a foundation on which the rest of the lesson can be built. For ELLs, it can make a significant difference in their comprehension of the lesson and any related materials or texts.

When thinking about background knowledge and ELLs, it's helpful to think of two areas:

accessing students' existing knowledge

building new knowledge.

Finding out what your students know about a particular topic can help you figure out how to make meaningful connections to their experiences, which is an important step in making your instruction more culturally responsive. This can also help you be strategic about which background knowledge to provide.

Here's a step-by-step process to help you think through important considerations for ELLs when looking at the background knowledge needed for your lessons.

Recommended reading

To see more research about the academic and cognitive benefits of culturally responsive instruction, see Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond.

1. Identify key background knowledge needed for the lesson

Review your lesson plan and:

look for key concepts, events, and references that students will need to understand the lesson

take a second look for areas that you may be taking for granted, such as names of places, daily activities that may vary across countries, cultural customs, and events from pop culture, etc.

identify vocabulary needed to comprehend the content

determine what background knowledge is most critical for students to understand the lesson.

Video: An overview of background knowledge and ELLs

ELL teacher Amber Prentice discusses the necessity of accessing and building students' background knowledge before a lesson begins.

2. Identify students' existing background knowledge

Find out what background knowledge your students have on your lesson plan's topic. You can do this by:

Note: Choose strategies that match your students' language and literacy levels. For example, having students speak in groups may be a good fit for younger students who aren't writing yet or for older students with interrupted formal education who are still developing literacy skills. Graphic organizers are helpful to use with younger students who have some language background or older students who are acquiring new language skills.

During this process, keep in mind that:

ELLs bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their classrooms.

ELLs' background knowledge varies greatly from one student to another.

ELLs' background knowledge will likely differ from students who were raised in U.S. (and that students' background knowledge will vary by U.S. regions too!)

By getting individual student input, you will have a better idea of what students know about a topic. Then you can look for ways to connect the content to things that are familiar, students' experiences, and their funds of knowledge.

For many more ideas on accessing and activating students' background knowledge, see How to Connect ELLs' Background Knowledge to Content.

Note: ELLs may bring different perspectives or frames of reference to the topics you are discussing, such as in the example at the end of the article about how many continents there are. It's important not to frame background knowledge as a question of what's "right" or "wrong," but to approach these teachable moments with an open mind and encourage all of your students to do the same.

Video: Story setup: Pre-reading strategies for comprehension

Buffalo teacher Michelle Lawrence Biggar shares pre-reading strategies that will help lay the groundwork for ELLs before tackling a new text. Strategies include previewing vocabulary, activating background knowledge, and introducing academic concepts (such as literary elements) important to the text in an ELL-friendly way.

3. Build background knowledge students need

Once you have identified some areas of background knowledge your students need, build that knowledge by:

using pictures, real objects ("realia"), maps, or personal experiences. Relate material to students' lives when possible.

pre-teaching important vocabulary words and concepts

explaining concepts and labeling them with key words ELLs can remember. For example, "This is the Statue of Liberty. Liberty means freedom. Liberty means libertad. The people of France gave us the Statue of Liberty..."

Home language connection

You can also use resources in students' home languages, such as books or videos. If you work with bilingual colleagues, such as teachers, paraprofessionals, or family liaisons, ask them if they have any recommended resources. And if you don't have any bilingual support available, considering connecting with a PLC online to find more resources. Other ELL educators around the country have a wealth of knowledge to share, particularly around low-incidence languages where there might not be as much material.

Video: Pre-teaching concepts and vocabulary before a lesson

ESOL specialist Katy Padilla collaborates with a fifth-grade team to plan a science lesson about vascular plants. You can also hear more about the planning process from Katy's related reflection interview.

Video: Teaching ELLs the names of all 50 states

ELL teacher Amber Prentice explains how she teaches ELLs the names of all 50 states in her middle school geography lesson.

4. Target background knowledge needed to understand texts

When reading grade-level text with ELLs, it's important to think carefully about which background knowledge (and how much) to provide.

Build text-specific knowledge by providing students with information from the text beforehand, particularly if the text is conceptually difficult or has an abundance of information that is important. For example, if there are six main topics on the animal kingdom, highlight them beforehand.

Establish the purpose for reading (e.g., "Now we are going to read to find out about a country called France. What are some things we might learn about France as we read?")

Select a specific comprehension strategy for students to use.

Look for books that students will find relatable. For more recommendations on selecting these books, see our related tips on using "mirror" books with students.

For more in-depth discussion of how much background knowledge to provide when reading grade-level texts, take a look at these blog posts from Dr. Diane Staehr Fenner, which discuss an American Educator article from Dr. Tim Shanahan on this topic:

5. Avoid assumptions

It is critical to avoid making assumptions about what background knowledge students do or don't have. Not only is this important for instruction, but it is critical for creating a welcoming classroom environment in which students feel respected.

For example, Dr. Ayanna Cooper shares a story in the video below about U.S. history teachers who mistakenly thought their Haitian student was an African American student who had a deep knowledge base about U.S. history. As mentioned above, the better you know your students, the better you can plan lessons that will give all students access to grade-level content.

Videos: ELL educators speak about background knowledge

Recommended Resources

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Background Knowledge and ELLs: What Teachers Need to Know

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When students learn new information, they need a hook to hang it on. Background knowledge is that hook. Having the right background knowledge is critical to ensuring that students understand a lesson. This knowledge provides a foundation on which the rest of the lesson can be built.

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Colorín Colorado. (2024, April 5). Total Physical Response. https://www.colorincolorado.org/teaching-ells/ell-classroom-strategy-library/total-physical-response

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Strategy Overview

How This Strategy Supports Language Development

When using TPR, teachers model an action for each new vocabulary or phrase or ask students to create an appropriate gesture for key terms and phrases. Then, students respond to commands using that word or phrase by doing the action or gesture.

TPR is a language teaching method developed by James Asher in the 1960s that is based on the way babies learn their first languages. Because students are not required to speak to demonstrate comprehension, the method lowers their stress. And since students' receptive skills (listening and reading) generally precede their productive skills (speaking and writing), TPR gives them a way to demonstrate comprehension and participate fully with grade-level content. When students use a hand or body gesture to symbolize a key term, they often learn the terms more quickly and retain them for longer.

TPR can be used in any content area at any grade or age level to increase comprehension and retention of key vocabulary and phrases.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Select essential vocabulary words and phrases for the unit of study.

2. Determine an appropriate gesture for each word or phrase. Review each concept for the possibility of adding a gesture or ASL sign to the word when teaching and practicing this concept in class. Use handspeak.com to find ASL gestures for many words and phrases.

3. Introduce the new word or concept in context with the gesture (and/or a prop, image, or manipulative). Write the word or phrase on the board.

4. Ask students to repeat the gesture in the context of a command such as, "Hold up the picture of the __;" "Show me __;" "Point to the ___."

5. Introduce the next word or phrase in context of the unit with a gesture (and/or a prop, image, or manipulative).

6. Practice both new words and phrases with commands. Mix and match the 2 words and phrases using commands such as, "Put the picture of the ___ on top of the ___." "Show me ___ and ___."

7. Continue introducing up to 7 new vocabulary and phrases with gestures. Practice all of these new words and phrases in the context of total physical response commands.

8. Ask students to practice the concepts with gestures with a partner. One partner says the key term and the other partner does the appropriate gesture and explains in complete sentences what the term means. In this way, students will link the term to the gesture and the meaning.

9. Use gestures as a quick formative assessment tool. Simply ask the class to, "Show me the gesture for ____." Look around the room at the responses to gauge comprehension.

Lessons Learned

Not all words or concepts need a gesture or ASL sign attached. Some are better learned through a video, picture, or realia. See the examples above.

Be careful to establish comprehensible input for any gesture that is representative of a concept. While many verbs and some adjectives can be easily acted out or gestured, some gestures can be misconstrued, if the word is not clearly explained first. For example, standing up from a chair as a gesture for "stand up" is unlikely to be confused with another concept. However, touching your head for the "heading" of a text could be misinterpreted as "head" rather than "heading."

Students may quickly learn gestures associated with words, but not actually understand the meaning of the word. Continually check on comprehension of gestures that are symbolic for abstract concepts.

Start practice sessions by having the entire class gesture or demonstrate the response to the command. Divide students into small groups for demonstration purposes later in the lesson.

Stop modeling after a few repetitions, so you can gauge students' comprehension, not their ability to follow you.

Partners and small groups can practice commands with each other after they have practiced in the whole group. One student will need the list of commands to give their small group: "Show me an acute angle." "Show me precipitation." "Point to the picture of the telescope."

When possible, use ASL gestures for vocabulary so you teach both ASL and a meaningful gesture for the words.

Include manipulatives, pictures, or props for some words.

Teach collocations and phrasal verbs as one phrase rather than as individual words ("pick up," "drop off," "open your book").

Include commands for any physical demonstration of comprehension including: "show me," "point to," "draw," "look at," "walk to," "hold up," "take out," etc.).

Invite students to help create gestures for keywords once they understand the process.

When students are watching each other to do the gestures, they are still learning. However, if you want to quickly assess which students know the gesture for a word, you can ask students to close their eyes for a minute while you say the terms.

TPR works in any content area. Students can gesture everything from content-specific terms like "parabola" to general academic terms like "identify" and "compare."

Do not require students to make any gesture. Gestures support learning and help with retention, but students do not personally have to do each gesture in order to benefit from watching others do the action.

Differentiation

Entering/Emerging

This method was developed for entering and emerging level students. If teachers use TPR for abstract terms (e.g. "metaphor," "justify," "therefore"), they should probably translate those terms for entering/emerging students as the gesture may not be comprehensible without it.

Students at entering levels of language development can simply show the gesture for key concept words instead of explaining what they mean. They can explain their understanding of the concept and gesture in their heritage language.

Developing

Students at this level can identify new words and phrases in texts and create their own gestures for them to help them remember the terms.

Expanding

Give students the opportunity to give the commands to the whole class using the key vocabulary. Other students in the class can respond to the command by doing the gesture.

Examples

Co-Teaching Considerations

Content or Grade-Level Teacher

1. Choose the essential content vocabulary or concepts.

2. Determine a logical sequence for introducing the terms so they are connected and in context.

English Language Development Teacher

1. Translate abstract terms for entering/emerging level students.

2. Give TPR commands to a small group of entering/emerging level students to ensure comprehension of the terms.

3. Ask comprehension questions in heritage language as an additional comprehension check.

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Strategy OverviewHow This Strategy Supports Language DevelopmentWhen using TPR, teachers model an action for each new vocabulary or phrase or ask students to create an appropriate gesture for key terms and phrases.

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Continental Press. (2018, April 23). Tips for Teaching English Learners Video series: Sentence Frames & Starters Build Confidence [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAfQvpAl6QQ

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Tips for Teaching English Learners Video Series: Sentence Frames & Starters Build Confidence

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ELLevation. (2019). Using QSSSA to enhance classroom conversations with John Seidlitz. https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/highest-aspirations/episodes/S3E01-Using-QSSSA-to-Enhance-Classroom-Conversations-with-John-Seidlitz-e51e5t/a-al9e7m

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S3/E01: Using QSSSA to Enhance Classroom Conversations with John Seidlitz by Highest Aspirations

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How might we create and nurture a classroom and school culture that encourages respectful conversations where everyone has a chance to participate? What are some practical ways to increase quality conversations with English learners? What is QSSSA and how might it help engage all students in high quality classroom conversations? We discuss these questions and much more in our conversation with John Seidlitz, founder and CEO of Seidlitz Education. Seidlitz Education’s mission is to support school districts and teachers with increasing academic achievement for English Language Learners. They provide research-based consultations, trainings, coaching, and products with innovative educational tools that focus on ways we can help give students the gift of academic language. We are always looking for user-friendly ways to help teachers give students rich background knowledge and the ability to communicate in academic settings.
John Seidlitz is an independent educational consultant and the author of Sheltered Instruction Plus: A Guide for Texas Teachers of English Learners; Navigating the ELPS: Using the New Standards to Improve Instruction for English Learners; and a contributing author for The SIOP® Model for Teaching History-Social Studies for English Learners.
He is the co-author of numerous publications including the 7 Steps to Developing a Language-Rich Interactive Classroom®. Mr. Seidlitz has also been a guest lecturer for many regional and national language development conferences.
He taught social studies and ESL, served as a secondary ESL program coordinator, and held the position of education specialist at ESC Region 20 in San Antonio, Texas. In 2005, Mr. Seidlitz founded Seidlitz Education which is dedicated to the mission of Giving Kids the Gift of Academic Language™.
You can find a full transcription of our conversation with John Seidlitz here.
Be sure to subscribe to Highest Aspirations on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. Also, please consider leaving us a rating and review on iTunes to let everyone know how we’re doing. This will help us get the word out and bring in more great guests. Finally, we love to crowdsource from the community! If you have an idea for a topic or guest for an upcoming episode, please reach out to stevens@ellevationeducation.com. As always, you can find more free resources, including our Whiteboard Wednesday short video series, curated news articles, blog posts, and at ellevationeducation.com/ellcommunity. You can join the community there to get a weekly email with fresh content you can use and share with others.

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Ellevation Education. (2021, July 26). Foster Interactions with QSSSA [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u38RyoBIXvg

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Singer, T. W. (2018). EL Excellence every day: The Flip-to Guide for Differentiating Academic Literacy. Corwin.

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Model Teaching. (2023, November 16). Using Word banks as a simple tool to support ELL vocabulary understanding. Model Teaching. https://www.modelteaching.com/education-articles/teaching-strategies/using-word-banks-as-a-simple-tool-to-support-ell-vocabulary-understanding

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Because there is a correlation between vocabulary development and academic success, the bottom line is that the more academic vocabulary a student understands, the more successful he or she will be in school. Understanding the meaning of individual words is critical for reading comprehension, spoken and written communication, and learning in the classroom. Therefore, teachers need to provide the right tools to help their students whose primary language is not English.

In an educational context, words are typically categorized into three tiers of difficulty and frequency. Tier 1 words are used in everyday language and are often quickly picked up through social settings and conversations. Tier 1 words typically don't require any direct instruction, and rarely do they have multiple meanings. Examples of Tier 1 words include blue, boy, teacher, walk, six, and sun.

On the other hand, Tier 2 words are high-frequency words seen and heard in various settings. These words also include multiple meanings depending on the content or context in which they are used. They are inherently more complex than Tier 1 words and often require direct instruction for ELLs. Some examples of Tier 2 words include contrast, estimate, measure, predict and arrange. Tier 2 words have meanings across multiple content areas, such as "compare and contrast the life cycles of two animals" and "explain the color contrast in this piece of art." Because these words can have multiple meanings, they can be taught to students explicitly through intentional, direct instruction. Considering which tier 2 words exist in your content lesson, and planning for ways to support students in learning them authentically and in context, can serve as one of many ways in which you can begin support to your ELL students to ensure their academic success.

Tier 3 words are low-frequency words that are typically content-specific. Students can usually learn them as they are exposed to them through reading, instruction, or other means. Some examples of Tier 3 words include economics, revolution, molecule, and photosynthesis. Teachers can usually teach Tier 3 words implicitly in a more authentic context without separate instruction. While this article will not discuss specific strategies for tier 3 words, you might consider how you can utilize the word bank strategy to support tier 3 words on occasion as part of your classroom lesson as well.

Because tier 2 words are high- frequency words that students will encounter often, and because these words can have multiple meanings across content areas, it is critical for your English Language Learners to interact with these words in a variety of ways across content areas. Students need exposure to a word many times before it becomes a part of their vocabulary. Therefore, students must keep using these new Tier 2 words in other contexts such as conversation and writing. You can support students in this practice by posting new words on a word wall to serve as visual reminders and references. Hold students responsible for keeping a vocabulary journal where they record their new words, perhaps by requiring students to update the journal as they see the word used in other contexts. This journal could be a simple list of words and definitions or a more organized place to keep all definitions, like a graphic organizer.

Students should also be encouraged to use these new words in their conversations. While this may not come up naturally, you can look for opportunities to encourage academic talk in which the words will inevitably arise. For example, you could pose a guiding question as a warm-up and have students turn and talk to a partner about the question, requiring them to use the academic vocabulary in their response. During transitions, you could give students a word and ask them to use it in a sentence and share that sentence with a partner.

It is also essential for students to use these words in their writing as well. To encourage this, you could provide a word bank when having students respond to a prompt and explain they must use all the words in the word bank accurately in context as they respond. See Figure 1 for an example of this next. You can provide a prompt for students to answer, but require students to select vocabulary from a provided work bank to help them reinforce their understanding of each word they previously learned in class. In this example in figure 1, students are participating in a science class, and the teacher has prepared a simple prompt using vocabulary words related to their astronomy lesson. Notice the words chosen for this activity- these words, like revolution, could have multiple meanings depending on the classroom in which the child is learning. These tier 2 words selected help reinforce student's understanding of the English Language while simultaneously helping them review important academic content they learned in class.

For students that might require even more support, you can instead turn the writing assignment into a "cloze activity" by providing them with a paragraph with blanks and a word bank to choose from to fill in the blanks. Cloze activities assist students in still practicing their understanding of the vocabulary words, but provides even more support to students that may struggle with writing complete sentences on their own. See figure 2 for an example of this. Note here that the teacher has constructed a scaffolded response to a prompt, where students are still able to practice their understanding of the vocabulary words, but can do so within a fill-in- the blank activity. This type of activity is best used for students with significant deficits in writing, to be used as a support method to help more easily practice understanding of tier 2 words.

Word banks are a simple and easy-to-implement strategy to quickly differentiate instruction and support English Language Learners in mastering tier 2 vocabulary. Combining this strategy with other support methods can help accelerate student achievement and vocabulary master across content areas. To learn more simple ideas for Vocabulary Support, explore our cost-effective quick course: Simple ELL Vocabulary Strategies

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Using Word Banks as a Simple Tool to Support ELL Vocabulary Understanding

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Using Word Banks as a Simple Tool to Support ELL Vocabulary Understanding by Model Teaching | October 13, 2021. When you know that you need to support your ELL students, but feel overwhelmed with how to provide the right differentiated strategies to your students, start focusing on one strategy at a time.

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LeSieg, T., & McKie, R. (1961). Ten apples up on top. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB04903385

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Esbaum, J. (2009). Apples for everyone. Random House.

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Williams, L. (1986). The Little Old Lady who was Not Afraid of Anything.

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Super Simple Songs - Kids Songs. (2024, November 7). The People In My Family | Mother Father Sister Brother and more! | Super Simple Songs [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDua9ms9_eg

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The People In My Family | Mother Father Sister Brother and more! | Super Simple Songs

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Fun Learning for Kids. (2025, June 29). Families Work Together: Learning Family Roles for Kids Learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2us6j8i9sw4

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Families Work Together: Learning Family Roles for Kids Learning

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Michele Van Pelt: Preschool Stories for Everyone. (2020, September 15). A world of families [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y800eF_DTUM

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Michele Van Pelt: Preschool Stories for Everyone