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Avalon, M.A., A Plasencia, C. Chavez, & J. Rascón.2007. "Modified Guided Reading: Gateway to English as a Second Language and Literacy Learning." The Reading Teacher 61

Cloud, N., Genesee, F., Hamayan., E. (2009) Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Celebrate Reading in Two Languages: A Bilingual Booklist. http://www.colorincolorado.org/booklist/celebrate-reading-two-languages-bilingual-booklist

Maria. “Vocabulary Strategies for English Language Learners.” Everyone Deserves to Learn, www.everyonedeservestolearn.com/2016/10/vocabulary-strategies-for-english.html.

Ottawa, Sarah. “Supporting English Language Learners with Formative Assessments .” Getting Smart, 4 Apr. 2016, www.gettingsmart.com/2016/04/supporting-ells-with-formative-assessments/.

“Reading Instruction for Beginner ELLs.” Colorincolorado, 15 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=174&v=hcrQZXV72hM.

“Teaching Reading and Comprehension to English Learners, Grades K-5.” PCG, 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=s4A85oOjZW0.

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Individualize instructions (based off of routine in class assessments) 

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Individualize instructions (based off of routine in class assessments) 

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"Every decision you make in class every day is based on your assessment of what is most appropriate at that time given what you know about your students and what you think you need to do to advance their learning" (Cloud, N., Genesee, F., Hamadan, E., p. 186)

-Check for understanding from ELL students
-Keep an account of where students are starting at by doing reassessments
-Track student's progress and areas that they need to improve in linguistic skills
-Keep anecdotal notes to monitor students' progress
-Group students in appropriate groups for guided readings
-Using assessments to monitor students progress
-Reteach or go back to basics if students need
-Students help create academic goals
-Students take ownership in the assessment process
-Students self-assess
-Students peer-assess
-Keep evidence of the students progress

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The Latin root word for "assessment" is assidere which means to sit beside. In my work as an English Language Learner (ELL) specialist, I advocate for educators to intentionally sit beside their students to more deeply understand and support their learning trajectory at the classroom level. That is to say, I strongly advocate for an intentional formative assessment approach for ELLs.

Schools can go beyond traditional summative and interim measures to ensure a more balanced assessment approach that brings to light the nuanced and complex process of academic language development. By implementing formative assessments for ELLs, educators can develop a "language lens" that uncovers and showcases the growth of this culturally and linguistically diverse population.

Where do we start?

First, we can examine what comprises our current assessment systems in place. We have large-scale, "big data" summative assessments that give us "big data" once a year on student proficiency. We also have interim assessments that measure growth against benchmarks periodically throughout the year, often with the audience largely being district and school-level stakeholders.

These summative and interim assessments provide "snapshots" of ELL performance and are not always reliable or valid on the ELL population. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves if we have systemic, systematic formative measures in place that provide feedback on teaching and learning specifically for our ELLs? Do we have a "photo album" approach of ELL development? If not, we can add specific formative practices into our assessment system that celebrate student growth and provide next steps for instruction at the classroom level.

What are some effective formative assessment practices for ELLs?

What's important to remember is that formative assessment is flexible and intended to focus on feedback for both the teacher and the student. As an initial step, I highly recommend that teachers keep portfolios of student writing samples to show individual student growth over time. Through portfolios like journals and learning logs, student work can be the centerpiece in conferences and school data meetings.

Next, I suggest that teachers work with students to co-create appropriate goals for using more sophisticated academic language. It's critical to promote student ownership of the assessment process through goal setting, self-assessment as well as peer assessment opportunities.

How can collaboration strengthen formative assessment?

A critical step in strengthening ELL formative assessments is to create and sustain collaborative time to analyze student work. Evidence-based conversations between educators about what students are producing can directly lead to ideas for effective student feedback and instruction. Professional learning communities are also opportunities for collaboration with ELL specialists to deepen content teachers' understanding of language and literacy. One final tip is to consider building data walls of multiple measures of ELL data quarterly to facilitate data-driven coaching cycles and team planning. In these ways, we can offer a "photo album" approach to show progress over time, celebrating students' journey of academic language development.

We know that ELLs are a diverse group of students with unique assets and varying factors affecting academic performance. Many educators need support in reaching ELLs and teaching academic language yet they often don't know where to start. By implementing more formative assessments for ELLs with the appropriate language supports, teachers can better understand their students and become stronger teachers of academic language. After all, all teachers are indeed language teachers!

Formative Assessment Ideas

Journals or learning logs to show growth over time in a portfolio

Academic conversations to explain new learning

Cornell notes or graphic organizers to structure note-taking

Student-teacher conference or small group discussions to recount learning

Exit slips to show "I think..", "I wonder...", "I still want to know..."

Fill-in-the-blank or "cloze" activity using sentence frames

Reciprocal teaching

Recording student language through technology

Drawing or role playing

Gallery walk of student work where students give each other feedback on stickies

Word or concept sorts based on unit themes or student-created categories

One word or one phrase response using whiteboards

Self-checklist or peer-checklist

Label or sequence visuals like pictures, photos or realia (real life objects)

Student-generated questions for peers

Please see the Language Snapshot Tool (for formative language assessment) here for free.
This blog is part of the Supporting English Language Learners Series with support from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more, stay tuned for the culminating podcast, infographic and publication.
For more, see:
Sarah Ottow is the founder, director and lead coach at Confianza: Educating for ELL Equity. Follow Confianza on Twitter: @ELL_Confianza Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update. This post includes mentions of a Getting Smart partner. For a full list of partners, affiliate organizations and all other disclosures please see our Partner page.

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Supporting English Language Learners with Formative Assessments

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The Latin root word for "assessment" is assidere which means to sit beside. In my work as an English Language Learner (ELL) specialist, I advocate for educators to intentionally sit beside their students to more deeply understand and support their learning trajectory at the classroom level.

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"Guided reading is a "gateway" into second language and literacy learning because teachers model efficient and supportive reading behaviors for their learner and show them how the language and other text features function" (Avalos et al.2007).

- Select readings that help focus on students' vocabulary (only introducing a few new vocabulary words with each story)
-Model phrasing
-Model that reading is fun
-Use echo reading techniques
-Group students according to previous assessments in similar levels
-Make sure it is interactive
-Present information in sequence
-Use patterned and predictable text

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Use resources already familiar to students (Bootstrapping) 

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Use resources already familiar to students (Bootstrapping) 

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"Helping ELLs learn to read and write in English and in their home language is not only possible in all schools but also extremely important in order to better prepare students for the linguistically complex globalized world that they will live in once they have finished school"(Cloud, N., Genesee, F., Hamadan, E., p. 81).
-The home language should not be seen as a hinderance
-The home language should be seen as a way to facilitate learning in English
-Understand that a students may be learning English as a third or even fourth language
-Try to become familiar with your students' cultures
-Bridge gaps in the students learning by relating lessons and activities back to students previous knowledge or home language
- Use bilingual books
- Use students language while labeling or writing

The link below shows a list of books that are available that are bilingual- ColorinColorado.org

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Books make wonderful memories - especially when you share them with someone you care about! Take a look at the young people in your life, then find a book to share - perhaps as a gift or reading aloud to (or along with) them this season and all year long. The memories will last long after the covers of the book are closed.

Some of the books on this list are bilingual, meaning that you will find both English and Spanish within the same book. Other titles are originally in English, and have a Spanish translation available. The links to Amazon.com provide more information about each book.

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Celebrate Reading in Two Languages: A Bilingual Booklist

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Books make wonderful memories - especially when you share them with someone you care about! Take a look at the young people in your life, then find a book to share - perhaps as a gift or reading aloud to (or along with) them this season and all year long.

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Engage students in different activities and give them time to develop their English skills...

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Engage students in different activities and give them time to develop their English skills...

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"In case we give the impression that the diverse components of literacy development.... exist in isolation and therefore, can be taught in isolation, it is crucial to emphasize that literacy development is an integrated process" (Cloud, N., Genesee, F., Hamadan, E., p. 61).

-for phonics
-phonemic awareness
-vocabulary in English
-vocabulary in other subjects (Math, science, social studies)
-speaking
-listening
-blending
-pair and share
-allowing students to use pictures, mimic writing and language experience approach
-integrate English learning in all different subject matters
- be patient

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Teaching Reading and Comprehension to English Learners, Grades K-5

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Use meaningful vocabulary words and language to reduce confusion

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Use meaningful vocabulary words and language to reduce confusion

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"Front loading  is very important with ELLs; it builds the oral language and background knowledge they need to support storytelling and comprehension before they actually get into the book" (Cloud, N., Genesee, F., Hamadan, E., p. 46).

-Use picture books to differentiate vocabulary
-Reduce oral language spoken to students especially when giving directions
-Reduce the amount of words being read in comparison to their native English speaking peers until they are able to advance to this level
-Reduce the amount of written words students are required to write
-Text can be differentiated to accommodate ELL students
-Students may need more simplified instruction or language
-Reduce idioms and local expressions until the student has build enough language skills to picking up these parts of language up from their peers
-Use many different visual guides to help support language
-Use hand gestures or pantomiming to help get students to understand