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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Tang Math is a game changer. We focus on conceptual understanding, provide powerful, user-friendly, teaching tools, offer unparalleled support to teachers and administrators, and challenge students with creative and engaging materials. Tang Math takes the teaching and learning of math to a whole new level!

We have spent over 15 years creating digital math games, card games, board games and flashcards. Many of our most popular games - Ten Frame Mania, Kakooma, Numtanga, Numskill, How Much How Many, Expresso, Math Limbo, and Minus Mania - are licensed by major textbook programs and used by schools around the world.

Looking for an effective way to help your students develop their reasoning and computation skills? Tangy Tuesday and Wordy Wednesday puzzles are part of daily practice in many high-performing district in the U.S. and Canada. We offer 20, cleverly-designed, standards-based puzzles each week for 40 weeks.

We invite teachers and students to join us 2-3 times each month for Greg's virtual student lessons. Experience firsthand how our teaching tools make sense of key concepts and strategies by using a thoughtful progression of concrete, pictorial, and abstract models. Join us live or during your math block with our digital recordings.

Do your students feel overwhelmed by all the strategies they are supposed to learn? Do you feel overwhelmed by all the strategies you are told to teach? Then join us for a more sensible and systematic approach to instruction. Our theme for this school year is "Streamlined and Strategic." We have more student-tested, teaching methods to share than ever before!

Looking to reduce screen time and encourage more student-to-student interaction? We are, too! Our printed card games, board games, and flashcards target key skills and extend learning in every grade level. Together with our digital resources, they work hand-in-hand with our curriculum and provide the practice kids need.

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Tang Math is a game changer. We focus on conceptual understanding, provide powerful, user-friendly, teaching tools, offer unparalleled support to teachers and administrators, and challenge students with creative and engaging materials. Tang Math takes the teaching and learning of math to a whole new level!

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English-language learners (ELLs) come into our classrooms with a wide variety of specific and unique needs for language acquisition. It's hard to talk about them all as one group -- ELLs represent a diverse range of students in every sense. It's needless to say: Working with ELLs is often challenging and also highly rewarding.

Because there are so many apps and edtech tools available today, you might expect to find lots of them made specifically for English language development (ELD), bilingual, or dual-immersion classrooms. Unfortunately, this isn't the case: Tools designed specifically for English-language learners are few and far between (though there are definitely some out there).

There are, nevertheless, a lot of great edtech tools and strategies you can use with your ELLs, even if the tools themselves aren't ELL-specific. Some might even be tools you've already heard of or used -- with an ELL-specific use case that's been hiding in plain sight.

So, what's the best way to find and use great digital tools with your ELLs? A lot will depend on your students' specific needs, but here are a few things to think about when finding the best tools for your classroom.

1. Look for ELL-friendly supports in the tools you're already using.

Lots of online tools have built-in features to support differentiated instruction for a variety of learners. Newsela offers texts at five variable Lexile levels, many in both English and Spanish. ThinkCERCA offers leveled texts with scaffolding for students reading at different levels, including audio versions of texts. Though ELA-focused tools are most likely to have the best English-learning supports, plenty of other tools support ELLs' learning in other subject areas. Khan Academy is one popular example; the site offers a translated version of its curriculum in 12 languages. As you search, keep in mind that these tools are usually aimed at a more general student audience, so they may be better suited to intermediate or advanced ELLs, and beginning-level ELLs may need more robust support.

2. Build basic online resources and productivity tools into daily routines.

From basic translation to productivity tools for consumers, a lot of everyday apps and websites can be great for supporting ELL-centered learning activities. A note-taking tool with recording features like Microsoft OneNote offers opportunities for speaking and listening practice. Simple English Wikipedia is just like it sounds: an adapted version of the standard Wikipedia site but for ELLs, younger students, or anyone else who might struggle with reading. A translation tool is an obvious choice, and Google Translate is generally thought to be the most accessible free option around.

3. Get creative and repurpose a digital-storytelling tool.

Storytelling is an excellent, interactive learning activity for ELLs and bilingual learners of all ages and language abilities. Even though these apps tend to be aimed at younger kids (and not specifically at ELLs), they still offer opportunities for kids to express themselves while they build new language skills. Don't be afraid to age these tools up; they're great even for older ELLs. And for beginning-level English-language learners, creative projects tend to offer opportunities for low-stakes (yet still high-concept) communication-based activities. Also, keep in mind that lots of other digital-creation mediums can offer fun language-building practice, from video production to podcasting and digital design. Find something that suits your students' ages, language abilities, and interests.

4. Find tools that specifically address your ELLs' needs.

As mentioned earlier, tools designed only for ELLs are somewhat scarce, but there are definitely some options. These ELL-centric tools run the gamut. BrainPOP ELL offers a comprehensive online curriculum aimed at improving kids' language skills from beginning to advanced levels. Read&Write is a helpful text-to-speech app for students with a variety of literacy needs, including English-language learners. On the flip side, a platform like Ellevation is designed for teachers and uses robust data to track and monitor students' progress and language growth. As time goes on, we're bound to see more edtech solutions specifically for ELLs. It will be interesting to see what the future holds in this space.

5. Supplement instruction with an online language-learning tool.

Language-learning tools for travelers and consumers are everywhere and easy to find. Although these tools should never replace quality classroom instruction, for some students they could be a helpful option for extra practice or out-of-class enrichment. Because they're often aimed at a general -- mostly adult -- audience, these won't all be the best choice for kids' learning. Nevertheless, in certain situations, some language-learning apps could be appropriate depending on your students' needs. If you do go this route, look for free options that offer adaptive features that challenge students as their language skills grow. If recommending out-of-class use, keep your students' devices and level of network access in mind.

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How to Use Technology to Support ELLs in Your Classroom | Common Sense Education

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Quality edtech for ELLs isn't easy to find, but great options do exist.

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Educators face a number of challenges when designing programs that match technology with English Language Learners (ELL)-also referred to as ESOL, English for Students of Other Languages-students' capabilities. Computer literacy levels among ELL students run from having no experience at all to being able to reprogram or optimize a system for greater efficiency.

Fortunately, there are a wide range of resources available to you to help your students learn English, increase their confidence, and learn new technologies and computer skills along the way. And of course-although you probably didn't think otherwise-there are plenty of benefits of using technology with ELL or ESOL students.

Exploring the benefits of technology for ESOL students

Technology accelerates the acquisition of phonics, increases vocabulary, improves reading-comprehension skills, and encourages language development, according to Edutopia.org contributor Maya Payne Smart.

In the same article, Mark Warschauer, a university professor at the University of California-Irvine, said that authenticity is imperative for positive growth and experience. Warschauer suggests that written-conversations, online discussions, chat room conversations, and similar activities promote the development of more extensive vocabulary skills-he attributes this to mimicking other student entries they see online.

Bringing technology into the classroom clearly has multiple benefits for your and your students, especially when they're learning a second language. Students learn new vocabulary and develop skills necessary to thrive in the technology-rich 21st century, preparing them for success both in and beyond the classroom. Eager to dig in?

Educator competency

First, it's incredibly important for you, as their teacher, to feel comfortable with using technology in educational settings. As you well know, technology is quickly becoming an integral part of classroom instruction. For educators to provide students with a full-coverage educational experience, every teacher in 21 st century classrooms should possess the necessary skills to incorporate technology into lesson plans.

Feeling like you could up your game? That's OK! Professional development, private instruction, and continuing education are three channels educators can utilize to acquire or enhance their computer literacy before implementing teaching strategies and designing lesson plans supported by technology.

And then, once you've achieved adequate technological literacy, study up on the techniques and methods for success, and take a look at what's available to you online and in your district. There are numerous websites and technologies available for ELL or ESOL students, with applications that increase confidence, enhance language acquisition and development, and promote subject learning are just three options for classroom teachers today.

Techniques and methods for success

Color In Colorado published some suggestions based on a research study concerning technology and ELL students. The Visilearn Company findings were based on a 2002 survey conducted among 117 teachers regarding Special Education and ELL student technology learning. Teachers who responded to the survey identified the five techniques or methods below as most efficient for producing positive outcomes.

Provide hands on-opportunities.

Keep instructions simple, with step-by-step increments.

Use multiple large graphics.

Deliver information in small segments.

Use real-world examples and relevant exercises.

When adding technology to ELL student lesson plans, educators should also identify vocabulary gaps before providing instructions. Students may know a mouse is a four-legged rodent, but may not know it is a computer device. In addition, many computer terms do not come up in homes without computers and modern technology.

Be sure to use graphics, samples, or other visual aids to help students acquire the proper jargon-technical language-before giving instructions for completing assignments with a desktop or other computing device.

Games: playing and designing games for language development

Let's get more specific here. English Language Learners absolutely benefit from practice. In your quest to explore new ways to use technology to help your students improve their conversational skills-both oral and written-try out games they'll have fun with.

One example? Sploder is an online website that allows students to create video games, play games, review other games created by peers, write their own reviews, and practice English in a more relaxed, friendly environment.

According to Larry Ferlazzo, this experience and other online educational activities like games provide an engaging environment that is easy to navigate, engaging to participate in, and encourages face-to-face conversation.

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How to Integrate Technology to Teach ELL Students | Resilient Educator

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Educators face a number of challenges when designing programs that match technology with English Language Learners (ELL)-also referred to as ESOL, English for Students of Other Languages-students' capabilities. Computer literacy levels among ELL students run from having no experience at all to being able to reprogram or optimize a system for greater efficiency.

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