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XWA EKC Secondary Work Session - Assessments

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Document 2 - EAL Co-planning: Paragraph-level and Sentence-level Strategies

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Document 2 - EAL Co-planning: Paragraph-level and Sentence-level Strategies

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Labsite Schedule

• G7 Science with Mr. Stephen Bonnar @ 8:55

• G9 Individuals & Societies with Mr. Nicholas Tan @ 11:40

• G8 Design & Technology with Ms. Anchal Jain @ 2:30

Labsite Throughline

• XWA LEAD-SIOP framework, with focus on:

Strategies: process grid

Interactions: teamwork

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• Scaffolding is most commonly known as as temporary support needed until students can participate in or complete a task independently (Honigsfeld & Dove, 2022).

• We must be intentional and strategic with our scaffolding practices as well as avoid turning scaffolding into rescuing our students and doing most of the work for them (Thompson, 2021 as cited in Honigsfeld & Dove, 2022).

• Teaching subject matter content to English learners requires amplifying and enriching the linguistic and extralinguistic context, so that students do not get just one opportunity to come to terms with the concepts involved, but in fact may construct their understanding on the basis of multiple clues and perspectives encountered in a variety of class activities (Walqui 2006 as cited in Honigsfeld & Dove, 2022).

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Labsite Schedule

• K/G1 with co-teachers Sharmeela, Mizah, Joanna, and Beatrice: Teaching Labsite @ 9:00; Debrief & Revise @ 9:20; Reteach @ 9:40

• G2/3 with co-teachers Amy P., Lindsey, Connor, and Yans: Teaching Labsite @ 10:15; Debrief & Revise @ 10:35; Recess; Reteach @ 11:30

• G4/5 with co-teachers Amy H., Simon, Nicole, and German: Teaching Labsite @ 1:30; Debrief & Revise @ 1:50; Reteach @ 2:10

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"We Need to Talk About Scaffolding" by Dr. Carl Hendrick

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"We Need to Talk About Scaffolding" by Dr. Carl Hendrick

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A new replication challenges the evidence behind one of education’s core ideas.

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Responsive Teaching: 7 Guiding Principles by Dr. Carl Hendrick

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Responsive Teaching: 7 Guiding Principles by Dr. Carl Hendrick

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Canva Whiteboard: https://tinyurl.com/XWAEKCwhiteboard

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Labsite Schedule

• G2/3 with Ms. Amy Pauleon: Prebrief @ 8:10; Demo @ 8:40; Debrief @ 9:10

• K/G1 with Ms. Sharmeela Brar: Prebrief @ 9:30; Demo @ 10:00; Recess; Debrief @ 11:00

• G4/5 with Ms. Shirleyta Gerald: Prebrief @ 1:30; Demo @ 2:00; Debrief @ 2:40

• Divisional Meet @ 3:45-5:00

Labsite Throughline

• XWA LEAD-SIOP framework, with focus on:

Strategies: Think-Write-Pair-Square

Interactions: teamwork

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Labsite Schedule

• G8 Theater with Ms. Michelle Ferguson @ 8:40-10:00

• G7 Physical & Health Education with Mr. Richard Ferguson @ 11:20-12:40

• G8 Math with Ms. Kayla van Endt @ 1:05-2:25

Labsite Throughline

• XWA LEAD-SIOP framework, with focus on:

Strategies: visuals, word banks, input/output (including vocabulary)

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LEAD-SIOP Framework: K/G1 Example from Sharmeela, Beatrice, Joanna, and Mizah

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LEAD-SIOP Framework: K/G1 Example from Sharmeela, Beatrice, Joanna, and Mizah

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Here is a tool that may be helpful for selecting high-frequency vocabulary words.  Thank you, Chris, from Secondary Computer Science! 

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Here is a tool that may be helpful for selecting high-frequency vocabulary words.  Thank you, Chris, from Secondary Computer Science! 

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Web VP Classic v.4 ** One-word VP-Classic NEW Jan 2018 - Corpus based school subject lists (MSVL - Middle School Vocab. Lists)

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"Save the Last Word" is a structured discussion protocol in which participants listen to others' interpretations of a selected text excerpt before explaining their own perspectives, ensuring everyone in the group has a voice and building active speaking and listening skills; it is beneficial because it fosters equitable participation, encourages deeper thinking, and helps quieter individuals contribute meaningfully to group discussions.

Find a word/sentence/phrase that you think is really important.

Number off 1-4.

Person 1 shares (just the word/sentence/phrase). Everyone takes 1 minute saying what they think about the sentence that was shared.

Person 1 then has “the last word” and summarizes what everyone has said, and tells what they’re thinking now.

Repeat with everyone else in the group.

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BEFORE - Extant Literature on Language Scaffolds

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BEFORE - Extant Literature on Language Scaffolds

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XWA EKC Work Session - Extant Literature on Language Scaffolds

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DURING - Modifications using Language Scaffolds and Translanguaging

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DURING - Modifications using Language Scaffolds and Translanguaging

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https://tinyurl.com/XWAEKClanguagescaffolds

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XWA EKC Annie_Primary Labsite Note Catcher

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Question #1: Where does translanguaging fit in?

Response #1: Pedagogical translanguaging— the intentional and purposeful use of students’ home languages to support English language learning and content—works best when both students and teachers have strong language and literacy skills. It’s effective in bilingual immersion programs (e.g., one Mandarin teacher + one English teacher), where strategic bridging between languages can accelerate both content learning and biliteracy. For younger primary students outside such programs, home language and literacy skills may be too limited to leverage for English acquisition. In these cases, a structured literacy approach—teaching English clearly through “I do, we do, you all do, you do” (*in any order*)—can effectively support language development.

Question #2: What does amplifying look like, when kids are beginners (i.e., in language acquisition when they are being exposed to a new language for the first time)?

Response #2: Great question! Here are some general guidelines (Honigsfeld, 2024):

Foundational Reading:

Use pre-reading strategies rich in visuals to set the stage for comprehension (pictures, videos, realia, concept maps, anticipation guides).

Introduce keywords on anchor charts with visuals, so you are teaching language in context.

Offer digital texts with read-aloud features so students can follow along.

Use parallel or side-by-side texts in students’ home languages—or provide audio versions.

If students speak but don’t read their home language (i.e., they're bilingual but not biliterate), focus on audio supports. Consider co-planning with the EAL team to add home-language audio for key concepts on Seesaw (only as needed because, sometimes, visual support + verbal scaffolds in English provide enough comprehensible input.)

Foundational Writing:

Don’t wait for "full" English proficiency—start writing from day one with clear, explicit instruction.

Combine writing with sketches and labels.

Show completed models and exemplars to set clear expectations.

Encourage students to keep personal dictionaries or vocabulary journals for academic and content terms.

Question #3: Apart from translanguaging, what are other ways to help multilingual children understand the tasks at hand?

Response #3: Another helpful strategy alongside translanguaging is making cross-linguistic connections—explicitly comparing two languages side by side, often through syntax study.

When planning language support, think of techniques not as random add-ons, but as parts of a connected system grounded in the big picture framework of input + output—both essential for language growth. Choose a few routines that resonate with you, use them consistently, and ensure they work together to give students rich opportunities to both receive and produce language. The goal is an integrated approach, rooted in rich content, not a collection of isolated activities. Below are a few concrete ideas:

(1) Comprehensible input

• Graphic organizers

• Visuals (e.g., Picture Word Induction Model)

• Short videos under 5 minutes

(2) Quality output

• Provide many opportunities for talking and writing through "We do" and "You all do" tasks (e.g., process grid and collaborative strip paragraph routines). Multilingual learners thrive when there are structured spaces for practicing their new language across all domains (i.e., SWIRL = Speaking, Writing, Interacting, Reading, Listening).

• Set up purposeful partnerships. For example, initially pair a newcomer student with a peer who shares the same home language but who speaks English at a higher level. During turn-and-talk, the newcomer student can orally rehearse in his/her home language, while the partner can report out in English. (Note: Ensure there are already strong language scaffolds in place, as some "language model" peers might feel frustrated from always having to be the "teacher.")

• Preview and review content in the home language, with EAL team support. During the lesson, STAY in English to encourage productive struggle. The alternative-- constant, on-going translations and interpretations-- can accidentally allow bilingual/multilingual learners to bypass language learning.

Question #4: How can we effectively amplify students’ vocabulary?

Response #4: Teach vocabulary in context. I'd recommend quality over quantity: focus deeply on a smaller set of words. As a general ballpark, this would be about 5-10 vocabulary words every 2-4 weeks. For a more detailed breakdown, see page 8 of the linked document (i.e., "Vocabulary" section of the "EAL Strategy Menu" tab).

To amplify vocabulary, I’d suggest a sentence-level routine where students build sentences with key vocabulary—have you tried Sentence Patterning Charts (SPC)? They’re a great way to teach grammar in context. Early in the year, you might start with fewer columns than the example.

Consider weaving in UoI-related nouns and verbs during this routine. That way, you are teaching content and language together; this not only supports reading comprehension (i.e., input), but equips students with rich language to express complex ideas (i.e., output).

Question #5: How do we implement this when teaching Music / P.E.?

Response #5: The short answer is (1) use both planned and on-the-spot language scaffolds, and (2) create structured opportunities for interaction—remember, not just input, but lots of output. For a more detailed response, see Response #3 above. Specials are a wonderful gift for multilingual learners. I find they give students joyful opportunities to showcase their strengths beyond literacy and, at the same time, build rich oral language through complex play and teamwork. Thank you for all you do!

In addition, this article offers ideas for creating language-rich environments in Music and P.E., and I'd be curious your thoughts.

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Professional Development for Language Acquisition and Literacy | Be GLAD

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Question #1: How can I embrace allowing students’ use of AI without overusing it?

Response #1: This is such an important—and challenging—question. Educators everywhere are working through these issues, and you all are on the leading edge of this! I recently came across this article, which highlights helpful ideas for supporting academic integrity in the age of AI; you might find the practical tips near the end useful. Have you seen Tony Frontier’s book "AI with Intention"? His "Guiding Principles for Teachers" chart (attached above) might spark some great conversations with your team. Below are a few quick notes:

• . . .the greatest threat AI poses to education may not be that students use AI tools to cheat, but that they receive answers from AI tool and think they've learned. Potentially even more debilitating, students come to see intelligence as something that is external, instantaneous, and effortless rather than something that is developed through a process that is internal, circuitous, and effortful (Frontier, 2025).

• To use AI with intention means teachers and students apply conscious effort, in specific ways, to AI tools to support intentional teaching and intentional learning (Frontier, 2025).

• Intentional learning: cognitive processes that have learning as a goal rather than an incidental outcome (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989)

• Intentional teaching: the alignment of success criteria, feedback, learning strategies, teaching methods, activities, and assessments to support students' intentional learning (Hattie, 2023)

Question #2: How can we motivate students with the language input that we provide?

Response #2: Interesting question! The short answer would be, when you are providing language input, focus on effective explanation, not extra bells and whistles. Have you read Zach Groshell's recent book, "Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching" (2024)? Groshell argues that we can motivate students, by conveying our ideas with impact and clarity. He focuses on these 7 areas of explanation:

• Explain with undivided attention: Set the conditions for focus

• Explain clearly: Say only the words that need to be said

• Explain interactively: Alternate between inputs and outputs

• Explain with visuals: Pair speaking with images and drawings

• Explain with examples: Show what it is and what it isn't

• Explain with stories: Use narrative, emotion, and gestures

• Explain and release: Gradually fade guidance

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Groshell’s overarching idea: effective teaching isn’t about withholding information, but about giving students what they need to think deeply. I think that, if he were to answer your question, he would say that explicit teaching (i.e., including language input) can be quite engaging and motivating, especially when grounded in the cognitive science of how the brain learns.

Question #3: How does translation help language output in an appropriate way?

Response #3: Great question! I’ve found translation is most helpful before and after lessons. Especially for multilingual learners with strong home language and literacy skills, previewing and reviewing content in the home language can help them build background knowledge and ease cognitive load, allowing them to focus on new language in class, rather than both language and content at the same time.

During your lesson, I recommend that you STAY in the language of instruction to support productive struggle. This is an example of pedagogical translanguaging—the intentional and purposeful use of the home language to support language and content learning. In contrast, frequent, spontaneous translation (i.e., written language) and interpretation (i.e., oral language) can accidentally allow bilingual/multilingual learners to bypass language learning. For more details, see Response #1 in the "EAL + Specialists" section of the Primary column.

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Email:

annie.chang.ng@gmail.com

LinkedIn: Annie Chang Ng

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XWA: Best Practices for Multilingual Learners

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XWA: Best Practices for Multilingual Learners

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Canva Whiteboard: https://tinyurl.com/XWAEKCwhiteboard

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XWA EKC - Building Bridges: Best Practices for Multilingual Learners

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EKC Asynchronous Courses: Multilingual Learners

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EKC Asynchronous Courses: Multilingual Learners

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Login to Erin Kent Consulting community via email or SSO today.

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XWA: Language Scaffolds and Translanguaging

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XWA: Language Scaffolds and Translanguaging

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https://tinyurl.com/XWAEKClanguagescaffolds

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Grades K-5

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Special Offer: Enter coupon code BOOKIT in the shopping cart page to receive free shipping within the U.S. when you order any professional book online

Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more.

"What is the very best instruction for English learners? How do we capitalize on and further develop the linguistic knowledge and skill of this segment of society? Nonie Lesaux and Julie Harris are exceedingly well qualified to address these questions. On the cutting edge of EL instruction, their combination of research knowledge and practical experience makes for guidance that can be trusted, and implemented, in classrooms throughout the country." -- Nell Duke, Series Editor, University of Michigan

In today's linguistically diverse elementary classrooms, research suggests that a universal approach to building academic vocabulary and conceptual knowledge holds huge promise for closing the opportunity gaps among English learners. In Cultivating Knowledge, Building Language, Nonie Lesaux and Julie Harris present a knowledge-based approach to literacy instruction that supports young English learners' development of academic content and vocabulary knowledge and sets them up for reading success

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

1. What We Know About Reading Development Among English Learners

2. Understanding Oral Language for Literacy and the Special Case of Academic Language

3. The Knowledge-Building Classroom: Deep, Process-Oriented, and Interactive Learning

4. Provide Consistency by Organizing Lessons Within a Cycle

5. Develop Academic Content Knowledge by Studying Big Ideas

6. Develop Academic Vocabulary Knowledge by Studying a Small Set of Words Deeply

7. Unlock Language by Developing Word-Learning Strategies

8. Extend Learning With Language Production Projects

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Special Offer: Enter coupon code BOOKIT in the shopping cart page to receive free shipping within the U.S. when you order any professional book online Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more. "What is the very best instruction for English learners?

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Grades 6-12

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Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners

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Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners

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https://companion.corwin.com/courses/WTTMLL

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Verifying you are human. This may take a few seconds.

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Grades PreK-1

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Strive-for-Five Conversations | The Scholastic Teacher Store

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Teachers know that encouraging children to talk and listen improves their ability to communicate. But until now, they haven't had a way to accelerate the development of children's language skills that's aligned with the science of reading. This book gives time-strapped teachers a power tool: the

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K-G2 (Burkins & Yates, 2021); G3-5 (Cunningham, Burkins, & Yates, 2023)

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Grades K-5

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The Six Shifts Where Science of Reading Meets Balanced Literacy. We provide resources, professional development, and literacy audits for busy literacy educators like you.

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Grades K-12

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The Writing Revolution - Empower teachers to help students

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By training educators in The Hochman Method©, The Writing Revolution (TWR) aims to help all students become proficient writers, readers, and critical thinkers.

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(Baker, Lesaux, Jayanthi, Dimino, Proctor, Morris, Gersten, Haymond, Kieffer, Linan-Thompson, & Newman-Gonchar, 2014)

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Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School

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Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School

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Grades K-8

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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.

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WWC | Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School

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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.

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(Graham, Bollinger, Booth Olson, D’Aoust, MacArthur, McCutchen, & Olinghouse, 2018)

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Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers

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Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers

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Grades K-5

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This practice guide was prepared for the WWC by Mathematica under contract ED-07-CO-0062.

The following research staff contributed to the guide: Cay Bradley, Virginia Knechtel, Nancy Murray, Bryce Onaran, and Cassie Pickens Jewell.

These videos were prepared by WestEd under the Doing What Works Contract (ED-PEP-11-C-0068).
All videos are based on recommendations from the WWC practice guides and are designed to complement the guides.

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teaching elementary school students to be effective writers

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WWC | Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers

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This practice guide provides four recommendations for improving elementary students’ writing. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common roadblocks. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared toward teachers, literacy coaches, and other educators who want to improve the writing of their elementary students.

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(Graham, Bruch, Fitzgerald, Friedrich, Furgeson, Greene, Kim, Lyskawa, Olson, & Smither Wulsin, 2019)

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Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

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Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

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Grades 6-12

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WWC | Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

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This practice guide presents three evidence-based recommendations for helping students in grades 6-12 develop effective writing skills. Each recommendation includes specific, actionable guidance for educators on implementing practices in their classrooms. The guide also summarizes and rates the evidence supporting each recommendation, describes examples to use in class, and offers the panel's advice on how to overcome potential implementation obstacles.

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AFTER - Extra Resource: Paper Bundle for Structured writing paper + Modified writing paper with language scaffolds

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AFTER - Extra Resource: Paper Bundle for Structured writing paper + Modified writing paper with language scaffolds

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Language is essential for learning, communication, and collaboration.

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All learners are worthy of high expectations.

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As educators, we are more than our grade level or subject discipline. We are advocates for learning, learner growth, and well-being.

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Scroll down to see a list of 4 interview questions on our language history.

Select the questions you would like to be asked. Choose two out of the four questions listed.

Interview each other guided by your partner’s selected questions

Tip: In the classroom, you can use this partner discussion activity to support students to apply both their developing academic vocabulary knowledge and their developing content knowledge about the cycle’s big idea.  In each cycle, the interview questions feature the target words and the scenario for the interview relates to the shared text.  To promote word analysis, sometimes the target words take a different morphological form (e.g., a prefix or suffix is added).

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1. What languages or language varieties did you grow up hearing, speaking, or learning?

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1. What languages or language varieties did you grow up hearing, speaking, or learning?

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Follow-up prompt (optional): How did your experiences with those languages shape your identity or confidence in school?

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2. Can you recall a time when you misunderstood something because of language?

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2. Can you recall a time when you misunderstood something because of language?

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Follow-up prompt (optional): How did you feel? What helped you understand eventually?

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3. Have you ever had to learn a new type of language (e.g., academic, technical, digital, or workplace jargon)?

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3. Have you ever had to learn a new type of language (e.g., academic, technical, digital, or workplace jargon)?

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Follow-up prompt: What strategies helped you learn and use it effectively?

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4. What do you wish schools had done to better support your language learning or use?

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4. What do you wish schools had done to better support your language learning or use?

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Follow-up prompt: What would that look like for multilingual learners today?

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Question #1: How much should we translate or what is the best level of scaffolding for different groups?

Across all subjects, including P.E., I recommend staying in the language of instruction to encourage productive struggle. Frequent translation (i.e., written language) or interpretation (i.e., oral language) can unintentionally hinder language learning for bilingual or multilingual students. Of course, safety is the priority—using students' home language in urgent situations, especially during physical activities, can be critical. For resolving peer conflicts, you might use their home language to support co-regulation, invite sharing in either language, and then paraphrase the issue and solution back in English (e.g., "[Name the emotion.] You wanted ___, but ___. You think it's fair if ___. We've agreed to ___.).

To support multilingual learners with varying English language proficiency levels, check out this P.E. toolkit by Constantinou & Wuest (2015)—they share practical ideas for integrating academic language to support multilingual learners. Skip to pages 15–19 for teacher and student strategies for P.E., across different stages of language acquisition.

Question #2: What are positive ways to help students use AI to build their skills and not as a replacement?

Response #2: Such an incisive point. Please see Response #1 in the "EAL" section above. Relatedly, I'd love to learn more from you about how teachers and students are using AI! In musing about the important role of P.E. in students' education, I learned a lot from this article and would be curious your thoughts.

Question #3: How can we make this accessible while in the gym or in the pool? Some flip books? Some consistent starters?

Response #3: Good point! Flip books, with or without words, are great visuals for multilingual learners. But, do you find them time-intensive to prepare? If so, maybe do so only for the most challenging concepts or routines, where modeling and peer interaction alone aren't enough to ensure understanding.

Your idea about consistent starters is great. Consider word-level vocabulary, too. I like to think of sentence starters as cement and vocabulary as bricks; together, they help students build language and express complex ideas.

• This article offers some sentence starters for P.E., along with the idea of interactive, thematic word walls. I wonder—could a digital word wall be projected in the gym?

• In this article on academic language in P.E., Constantinou (2015) describes how you could use a word quilt or Venn diagram with P.E.-related language and concepts. But, I’m curious to hear your thoughts. One of the great things about P.E. is learning through movement, so these ideas might feel a bit too cerebral for some and, if overemphasized, could make the class too teacher-centered— perhaps reducing time for the interactive, cooperative learning that is so essential for multilingual learners’ language development, which brings me to my next point.

In places where posting or projecting visuals is challenging, like the pool, I’d focus on oral language*. Fisher, Frey, & Gonzalez (2025) offer some helpful strategies you probably already use:

• Be a model of language: Be role models of language we want students to use. This means we should focus on clear articulation when we speak. Exposure to good language models and richness of input increases students' language development.

• Provide welcoming opportunities for students to speak: Students need time to practice language. That means intentionally carving out those opportunities. Participation is part of the equation. Multilingual learners may feel more comfortable participating with a partner or in a small group.

• Coach language production: Coach students as they participate in language production. As students engage in speaking, we can keep a close eye on the process. Just as sports coaches do with their team during practice, we can coach students linguistically in the classroom.

In addition to the above, Fisher, Frey, & Gonzalez (2025) recommend the following accommodations for promoting richer student output and building confidence:

• *Think-Pair-Square: After asking an open-ended question, give students time to think, then pair them to share responses. Next, have pairs join with another pair to continue the conversation.

• Sentence stems: A sentence stem gives students the momentum to form complete sentences in English. Some are generic like "I believe..." or "I agree...," while others include academic vocabulary tailored to specific content, such as:

"During the game, I used the skill of ____ (e.g., coordination, agility, teamwork) to ____ (e.g., maintain possession, defend, score a point) because ____."

“Five types of movement are…”, “___ is a movement that helps me…” and “When I ___, I move my….” (Gonzalez, 2021).

• Word banks: Word banks are words that students can select from as they talk in groups or pairs. If the class has a word wall in place, it can be used as a word bank during discussions. Remind students to use the word bank as they talk with partners. You might say, "When you discuss with your partner, your goal is to use at least 2 of the words from the word bank/wall."

• *Oral Rehearsal: Before calling on students, have them turn to a partner and practice what they'll say if selected. You might say, "I’m about to call on a few of you. Before I do, please share with your partner what you plan to say."

Question #4: Is it ‘fair’ if we always pair more able students- does it then drain and place ‘teaching’ expectations on them?

• Excellent point! I agree that mixed partnerships can be tiring, perhaps for both students. It may help to collaborate with the EAL and/or language arts teams to group students with language needs as a factor. In the past, I’ve sorted students by a discrete language skill, split the list in two, and paired #1 with #11, #2 with #12, and so on, to narrow the gap. Still, beyond partnerships, it’s important to intentionally build in language scaffolds. This way, we avoid putting too much language pressure on peer language models, who—as you kindly shared—are students too.

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by Valentina Gonzalez

Many children count the minutes until their art, music, or physical education (PE) class period begins. This could be their time to shine, where they find inspiration or feel the safest. On the other hand, some students dread going to these same classes. They might feel insecure about their skills, shrink in the environment because they don't understand, or feel as if they aren't seen or valued.

Dr. Brené Brown says, "Those who have a strong sense of love and belonging have the courage to be imperfect." Students need to know that it's okay to make mistakes. Those mistakes are part of the process, both in language and in learning art, music, and PE. In fact, creating environments that immerse students in engaging conversations can promote a sense of belonging in art, music, and PE classrooms while building language and skills to succeed.

Two ingredients are essential for acquiring language: comprehensible input (Krashen, 2017) and multiple opportunities for low-stress output (Loewen & Sato, 2018). This means that students must understand what they hear or read and have opportunities to express themselves verbally or in writing in safe, risk-free environments. Art, music, and PE can be great places to provide these opportunities for students. The four ideas below bring comprehensible input and low-stress output into art, music, or PE. They will enhance language acquisition for English learners, but they are effective for all students too.

1. Bring in Books

Consider the unit of study, and grab all the books available on that concept. Bring them into the classroom, and make them available to students. Try sharing one as a read-aloud at the beginning or the end of the class period. If it's a long book, read an excerpt. Do a book talk on a given day. For example, on "Book Talk Tuesday," select a book to tell students about. These techniques encourage reading and get students excited about the topic, too. The campus library media specialist is a great resource for books. Some teachers regularly collaborate with the campus library media specialist on finding books to complement the units of study.

2. Incorporate Group or Partner Talk

Make peer-to-peer interaction a priority. Intentionally plan opportunities for students to put their heads together and discuss a question, image, song, or topic. In this article, Nancy Motley shares how to "Target the Talk." A good tip Motley offers for effective group or partner talk is setting clear criteria and modeling them before students begin. For instance, be sure students know who their group or partners are and what the speaking expectations are. Some teachers number students off and ask students to share numerically in groups. Another effective technique for structuring peer talk is QSSSA, which is similar to turn and talk but incorporates wait time, sentence stems, accountability, and more to deepen the conversational routine.

3. Provide Sentence Stems

A sentence stem (also known as a sentence starter) is merely the beginning of an answer, provided to help students express a thought in a complete sentence. Sentence stems capitalize on what is known about the importance of verbalizing to internalize. When asking students to talk with partners in a group or answer a question verbally, sentence stems provide inertia to communicate the thought effectively.

The artist wanted to convey...
The image makes me think...
I think the mood is...
One message I see in this painting is...
A detail I notice in the artwork is...
This artwork makes me think...
The art I like most is...

The musician wants to convey...
The piece makes me think...
I think the mood is...
One message I hear in this piece is...
The instrument that is most significant to me is...because...
This music makes me think...
In my home, we listen to...

One important sport in my family is...
To be healthy, the body needs...
A healthy body needs...
In my home, we eat...
One way to stay active is...
An example of a team sport is...
Being a good team member means...

Encourage students to add "because," "however," "furthermore," or "in addition" to elaborate on their thoughts.

Put Up a Thematic, Interactive Word Wall

Interactive word walls that are unit-based, thematic, and visual help to link knowledge and make instruction more comprehensible. Word walls are not limited to reading, writing, math, and science classrooms. They are actually very powerful in any classroom.

Image a gym where second-grade students are learning about the elements of movement. PE teachers have designated a section of the wall for a word wall titled "Movement with a Purpose." Under the title are five columns: Balancing, Throwing, Skipping, Running, and Jumping. During the unit, students and teachers add pictures and words to the columns on the word wall. They also include sentence stems, such as, "Five types of movement are...", "___ is a movement that helps me..." and "When I ___, I move my...."

An overarching goal in education is to help students think and communicate effectively. Art, music, and PE classrooms that offer opportunities to develop language allow students to negotiate for meaning, talk to peers, and dig deep into ideas. Cultivating language in art, music, and PE classrooms helps all students build effective communication skills that they can apply in content classrooms and everyday life.

Art, music, or PE teachers who would like to learn more about engaging instructional methods that increase participation while cultivating a language-rich classroom, can inquire about the 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom book and professional learning opportunities.

References

​​Krashen, S. (2017). The case for comprehensible input. Language Magazine. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.languagemagazine.com/2017/07/17/case-for-comprehension/.&nbsp;

Loewen, S. & Sato, M. (2018). Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching. 51. 285-329. 10.1017/S0261444818000125.

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Four Ways Art, Music, and PE Teachers Can Make Language Flourish

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by Valentina Gonzalez Many children count the minutes until their art, music, or physical education (PE) class period begins. This could be their time to shine, where they find inspiration or feel the safest. On the other hand, some students dread going to these same classes.

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(No questions at the moment.)

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Question #1: How to best implement all this strategies in Diploma classes and to more complex subject specific terms and concepts?

Response #1: Great question! I'd be curious what the WIDA-levels are for multilingual learners who are taking rigorous Diploma classes. At that point, I am guessing that perhaps some may not need so much language scaffolding? If so, rather than try to implement more or all of the strategies, I'd actually remove them.

I’d keep integrating cognitive strategies into my lessons (see attached chart and Response #2 in the EAL section on Zach Groshell’s work about the power of explanations and explicit teaching). At the Diploma level, I’d focus more on content since it’s dense and students are likely ready and hungry for it. That said, in terms of second language acquisition, researchers note that Core Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) can take 5-7/10 years to develop, far longer than Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BISC), which take 6 months-2 years. I'd recommend Chapters 4 and 5 of Growing Language & Literacy: Strategies for Secondary Multilingual Learners by Honigsfeld (2024). Here are just a few of her guidelines and practical ideas for supporting "expanding" + "bridging" multilingual learners:

• Scaffolded note-taking: Support students in capturing their ideas; extracting main ideas and key details from what they see, hear, or read; and creating a shorthand for learning complex material. (For a more in-depth dive into note-taking, which is so important for dense content, check out Hochman & Wexler's "The Writing Revolution 2.0.")

• Read widely: Read across genres and topics

• Read deeply: Use a critical and analytical lens

• Read strategically: Employ a pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading protocol

• Read collaboratively: Make reading social and dialogic

Question #2: For videos, they often go by really fast for EAL learners even with subtitles on and it’s difficult for them to catch things. What would you suggest to help students learn concepts/ideas from videos?

Response #2: Excellent point on how it’s not just about what video we choose, but also how we use it.

To ease comprehension with complex concepts/ideas, consider these criteria:

Length: Keep videos under 5 minutes.

Speed: Toggle the settings to 0.75 playback speed.

Content: Ensure content connects directly to your standards, central idea, and/or lines of inquiry.

Language: Choose videos with clear language in the target language (i.e., English). Consider parallel videos in the home language, if available.

For more details, check out this ELLevation article here.

Once you've chosen your video, consider the following ideas from Silverman & Hines (2009)(Note: This is a PreK-2 study.)

Use videos to preview and review the material. This can help students build background knowledge and ease cognitive load, allowing them to focus on new language during your lesson, rather than both language and content at the same time.

Show the video more than once to reinforce learning.

Guide students to notice and discuss key words in the context of the video—avoid just playing it without discussion, as explanation helps both content and language learning.

Use multimedia to enhance, not replace, thorough vocabulary instruction in class.

At the secondary level, for developing multilingual learners, consider note-taking, such as outlines with key information already provided, along with open space for student notes, illustrations, or reflections (Honigsfeld, 2024).

Question #3: Language scaffolds are great for teacher-given articles but what about the article/websites that students find on their own? Really tempting for students to just click “translate” for a whole article/website (Relevant for I&S as independent research is a big part of the fundamental skills).

Response #3: Oh, very interesting! I hadn’t thought of independent research as a key part of I&S—your students are very lucky to have such rich experiences. I can absolutely imagine them clicking “translate” while researching. I love your intuition to steer them away from over-relying on their home language. With that in mind, what do you think about allowing translation as a language scaffold, then having students read and annotate the article(s) again in English? Remember, newcomer multilingual learners often benefit from previewing and reviewing in their home language. While we should generally stay in the language of instruction during our lesson to encourage productive struggle, it can be very helpful to provide parallel texts before and after the lesson. Consider a purposeful, structured approach: instead of letting students choose either language, require (some) students to use BOTH languages for self-selected articles.

In addition to accessible texts (i.e., input), I'd have students write about their reading (i.e., output), which I imagine you already do and would encourage you to keep doing. Writing helps students process information and track their research; as Doug Lemov (2024) puts it, “Writing not only helps you discover what you know, but also what you think.” Have you heard of Tony Frontier’s recent book AI with Intention? The final chapter focuses on empowering students to use AI tools intentionally, with sample prompts for different goals—one being summarizing. I wonder if the following could help your students synthesize their understanding of articles in English:

• For a nonfiction passage: "I just read the attached article. Going one step at a time, ask me about the author's central argument, claims, and evidence. Then, check my thinking for accuracy. Next, ask me to turn my responses into a coherent summary. Finally, give me feedback as to the accuracy and conciseness of my summary."

Honigsfeld (2024) also includes AI prompts. The following stood out for your question:

• Ask for assistance with grammar and vocabulary: "Can you help me identify any grammatical errors or suggest alternative words in this sentence?"

• Ask for feedback on a specific piece: "Could you review this paragraph I wrote and offer suggestions for improvement?

Question #4: In I&S, jigsaw and station rotation are often used. Full translations of articles – helpful or a hindrance?

Response #4: I’m so happy that jigsaw and station rotations are familiar routines in I&S! Multilingual learners benefit from teacher and peer interaction to develop language (re: You all do), and what you describe supports their growth across the language domains: Speaking, Writing, Interacting, Reading, and Listening (SWIRL).

To answer your question, increase language scaffolds for new, complex content. You might:

• Provide full translations.*

• Maintain texts in English but modify them with language scaffolds for accessibility, amplifying rather than simplifying language (e.g., add definitions in parentheses [prompt AI to generate them for a lower grade- or age- level], break up the text into chunks with visual supports).

• Ask your EAL teammates to take a look at materials with particularly tricky content and language, and ask them what they would do.

For old or simpler content, reduce or eliminate language scaffolds; students should have enough content knowledge, such that they can work through the language of your article without too much cognitive overload and frustration. At the same time, although that's generally what I would do, we know that differentiation is essential. *For some students, perhaps require that key articles be read in both languages (see Response #3 above).

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Question #1: We use the PEEL paragraph writing method in Language and Literature, but it can be applied to academic writing across all subjects. Would it be possible for us to use a consistent color scheme for MEAL/PEEL across the board?

Response #1: Very interesting idea! Using the same PEEL routine with consistent color-coding could help multilingual learners focus their attention on new content and language, instead of juggling different routines. This wonderful potential for interdepartmental, interdisciplinary collaboration reminds me of XWA’s Key Principle #3: "We are more than our grade level or subject—we are advocates for learning and growth." I see PEEL working well across humanities for opinion and argumentative writing. For the sciences, the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning approach fits neatly with scientific inquiry. Given this, I wonder if several core writing methods shared across departments might be even more effective than just one.

Question #2: I am struggling to find good short video resources in Japanese.

Response #2: I’m guessing you’re looking for parallel videos in Japanese to match content in the English Language Arts pathway. I love that the Language A and Language B pathways work together, leveraging students' home language to access their second language. This can really bring ease to students' content and language learning. At the same time, thank you for surfacing the reality that resources in other languages like Japanese can be quite limited—I’ve seen this in Spanish, Mandarin, and French immersion programs, where teachers often have to create their own materials.

Back to your question. Since creating everything from scratch may not be practical, have you considered taking turns among the languages? For some units, the Japanese and Chinese Language Arts teams could select content that already have rich language resources, while the English Language Arts team could be the one finding parallel videos and materials, which are likely more plentiful.

Question #3: Where can we get good graphic organisers to use in class? Any resources to recommend?

Response #3: Great question!

• Have you heard of Thinking Maps? Honigsfeld (2024) recommends it for multilingual learners, but the site is not entirely open access.

• Lesaux & Harris (2015) recommend the pairing of graphic organizers with text structures. See this document, under the "Common Text Structures and Corresponding Graphic Organizers" section of the "EAL Strategy Menu" tab.

I’d love to hear a bit more about the “why” behind your question. Which graphic organizers do you currently use, and which do you find most effective? I’m also curious about when you bring them into lesson design—do students use them mainly for pre-planning and understanding content, and then shift to outlines (like PEEL) for structuring essays and developing their own arguments? I’d love to chat more with you.

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Question #1: To what extent is translation helpful or a hinderance?

Response #1: Great question! Translation can be helpful when used with purpose. For example, we can preview or review complex content in the home language but, during lessons, stay in the language of instruction to encourage productive struggle. Translation (i.e., written language) and interpretation (i.e., spoken language) can get in the way when there’s frequent, unplanned, spontaneous back-and-forth switches between languages. Over time, multilingual learners may end up only or over-relying on their first language, missing opportunities to strengthen their additional language.

Question #2: How can we as a school ensure consistency in terms of our approach/policy to use of translation and speaking home languages/mother tongue?

Response #2: This is a powerful question. It may be helpful to first build a shared understanding of pedagogical translanguaging—the intentional use of the home language to support both content learning and second language acquisition. What might this look and sound like across different disciplines within the unique context of XWA? In exploring this, we can draw on Zheng (2021) and Hamman (2018), who advocate for pedagogical translanguaging but also caution that overly fluid language spaces can unintentionally create inequities. At XWA, this might take the form of conditions where Mandarin—and Mandarin speakers—unintentionally become more dominant both socially and linguistically across learning environments. As an example, for student activities like singing contests, secondary students might vote primarily for peers performing in their home language, which could unintentionally favor Mandarin-speaking students.

Has your department explored co-creating language pledges or agreements with students? If so, what was the experience like? This practice is a key feature in many K–12 bilingual immersion programs and university-level language immersion settings, as it facilitates biliteracy by normalizing risk-taking in language learning.

Question #3: What can I do as a teacher to make sure my daily teaching doesn't become monotonous?

Response #3: I really appreciate your awareness of how important motivation and interest are for learning. I’m curious—which parts of your daily teaching tend to feel monotonous? In language-rich, knowledge-building classrooms, a recurring set of core learning tasks can actually serve an important purpose: they help multilingual students become familiar with expectations and processes. This repetition isn’t rote, but intentional, allowing students to engage more deeply in thinking, discussion, and writing. When tasks feel familiar, multilingual learners- who experience the heavy cognitive load of both content and language- can focus more on the lesson’s big ideas (Lesaux & Harris, 2015). Another approach is to draw on the power of clear explanations and explicit teaching, grounded in cognitive science about how the brain learns (Groshell, 2024); this might help daily teaching feel engaging rather than monotonous. For more on the science of learning, please see Response #2 under the EAL section of this column.

Question #4: How best to plan conscientiously with all this in mind - to build on what we have in place - yet make things better for students?

Response #4: Great question! Keep the big picture of “comprehensible input” and “quality output” in mind.

• BeGlad, a team working with multilingual learners in California, recommends 5 key strategies you can find here: https://begladtraining.com/blog/give-me-5/.

• An alternative method is "core learning tasks" that Lesaux & Harris (2015) suggest as integral to knowledge-building learning cycles for multilingual learners: see "Core Learning Tasks" in the "EAL strategy menu" tab.

Whether BeGlad, Core Learning Tasks, or something else, the idea is to shoot for structured spaces for input and output (which you likely already do in some form already!). Think of language scaffolds not as random, add-on techniques, but as parts of a connected system grounded in the big picture framework of input + output—both essential for language growth. Choose a few routines that resonate with you, use them consistently, and ensure they work together to give students rich opportunities to both receive and produce language. Repeat the same routines from unit to unit, so that students can shift their working memory from learning the routine to learning the new content alongside new language. The goal is an integrated approach, rooted in rich content, not a collection of isolated activities.

Below are a few concrete ideas:

(1) Comprehensible input

• Graphic organizers

• Visuals (e.g., Picture Word Induction Model)

• Short videos under than 5 minutes

(2) Quality output

• Provide many opportunities for talking and writing through "We do" and "You all do" tasks (e.g., process grid and collaborative strip paragraph routines). Multilingual learners thrive when there are structured spaces for practicing their new language across all domains (i.e., SWIRL = Speaking, Writing, Interacting, Reading, Listening).

• Set up purposeful partnerships. For example, initially pair a newcomer student with a peer who shares the same home language but who speaks English at a higher level. During turn-and-talk, the newcomer student can orally rehearse in his/her home language, while the partner can report out in English. (Note: Ensure there are already strong language scaffolds in place, as some "language model" peers might feel frustrated from always having to be the "teacher.")

• Preview and review content in the home language, with EAL team support. During the lesson, STAY in English to encourage productive struggle. The alternative-- constant, on-going translations and interpretations-- can accidentally allow bilingual/multilingual learners to bypass language learning.

Question #5: How best to divide the work between teams to ensure we add value and are efficient in achieving the results (without feeling overwhelmed)?

Response #5: I appreciate the way you’re highlighting the importance of creating systems, which is key for long-term sustainability. I’d love to continue this conversation. Could you share which teams and what results you’re referring to? Is there an existing shared drive of resources? What do your meeting agendas look like? I love your commitment to adding value through teamwork, and I hope to respond to your question more effectively with more context.

Question #6: How to implement the sentence structures for arts subjects?

Response #6: Great question! This article shares some examples of sentence stems for art. It may also be helpful to think beyond discipline-specific structures and include cross-disciplinary ones, since what students practice with you can support their learning in other subjects as well. For more ideas, please see this document—especially the "Sentence-level Work" tab and the "Sample Sentence Starters and Frames" in the "EAL Strategy Menu" tab.

Question #7: How do we use more visuals with auditory activities (i.e., music teaching)?

Response #7: Great question! This article recommends thematic, interactive word walls for creating language-rich environments in classes like Music. I’d love to hear more about your classroom setup, so we can think about how visuals might be meaningfully incorporated. Music and language (and Math!) all share so much in common, as they require students to tune into patterns. Your students are fortunate to learn from you!

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(No questions at the moment, although there was a good question earlier about the relevance of maps and timelines across content areas.)

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Question #1: Do we have examples of how writing can be used effectively within maths to support student understanding?

Response #1: That’s an excellent question—thank you for raising it. I’ll look into this further. In the meantime, I’d be interested in your perspective on this article, which discusses how mathematics as a discipline depends on building background knowledge, too. I can see immense potential for students to write about their growing mathematical knowledge and explain their thinking! Relatedly, I wonder if you’ve come across strategies for supporting student talk in mathematics. While not identical, oral language and writing are closely intertwined as forms of language output, often strengthening and reinforcing one another. Below are examples from this document under the "Math Table Tent" tab:

• Ask for Clarification

What does ___ mean?

I don’t understand.  Please repeat.

Could you say that another way?

I understand ___.  Is that right?

To improve my work/solution, I could ___.

That solution makes sense because ___.

• Explain

The strategy I used was ___.

I noticed that ___.

I solved the problem by ___.

I know my solution is accurate because ___.

• Report Back on Group Work

Our group decided that ___.

We found that ___.

A pattern we found was ___.

We didn’t finish, but so far we ___.

___ happened because ___.

• Agree

My strategy is similar to yours because ___.

To build on ___’s ideas, I would ___.

I agree with ___, and I would add ___.

• Disagree

I had a different thought ___.

While you mentioned ___, what about ___?

I respectfully disagree because ___.

A more efficient way to do this might be ___.

It seems that you thought ___, but I thought of it like ___.

Question #2: What kind of visuals are suitable for high-level math?

Response #2: Great question! Groshell (2024)'s recent book "Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching" is a great resource, as he grounds many of his examples in Math. Below are two that might be directly relevant to your query on visuals:

• Have you come across the term “worked example” before? It refers to the step-by-step illustration of how to complete a task or solve a problem. For improving how we teach students, Groshell (2024) highlights the worked example effect, a finding supported across many studies that shows that teaching without worked examples increases students’ cognitive load and hinders learning, compared to teaching that provides plenty of worked examples. I believe you already make good use of worked examples in your high-level math instruction. I would strongly encourage you to continue to do so, from the perspective of how the brain learns, for both monolingual and multilingual learners alike.

In addition to worked examples, I’d also highlight the value of visuals that include non-examples, which you may already be incorporating into your teaching. Groshell (2024) notes that teachers sometimes not only provide too few examples, but also focus solely on positive examples while leaving out non-examples. He explains, "Non-examples create a clear contrast to positive examples, helping learners discern what is—and what is not—an instance of the concept being taught. Without non-examples, students may struggle to fully grasp the range and variation within a concept (Ling Lo, 2012)." Groshell (2024) also emphasizes that effective non-examples should include minimally different juxtapositions, such as in the attached example, as they sharpen students’ understanding of key distinctions.

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Question #1: To re-look work that student has to own. Declutter for student learning

Response #1: I really appreciate this reflection. The Design Department’s dedicated work in developing language scaffolds for students is impressive. Your emphasis on decluttering for student learning brought to mind Jal Mehta’s work. Mehta highlights that codifying knowledge and building a recognized canon are essential steps for our profession. He argues that teachers should not be seen as semiprofessionals who simply implement the ideas of others; rather, we are professionals engaged in serious knowledge development and the creation and iteration of best practices. The ongoing efforts of the Design Department exemplify this approach and contribute meaningfully to the professionalization of teaching.

Question #2: I wasn’t aware of the updated research on recasting. I will use it more, though I suspect delayed correction would still be helpful as an additional step to encourage assimilation.

Response #2: Excellent point—I agree with you. While recasting can provide valuable language input, it’s also important to avoid constant correction or overcorrection. As educators, we should create and yield space for students to take risks and make mistakes, which is especially important for multilingual learners as they learn a new language. Even if we don’t correct every moment, we can intentionally observe common patterns and use data from both anecdotal observations and assessments to guide our targeted reteaching. Thank you for emphasizing the importance of nuance and centering students’ needs in our instructional decisions.

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Question: Making sure my prompts are age-appropriate

Response: This is such a thoughtful reflection. I'd love to hear more next time I'm on site.

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Question: How can we carefully select the video to cater to the needs of the student?

Response: It’s great that you’re emphasizing the importance of choosing videos carefully, since not all are created equal.

Consider these criteria:

Length: Keep videos under 5 minutes.

Speed: Toggle the settings to 0.75 playback speed.

Content: Ensure content connects directly to your standards, central idea, and/or lines of inquiry.

Language: Choose videos with clear language.

For more details, check out this ELLevation article here.

Once you've chosen your video, consider the following:

Feel free to show the video more than once to reinforce learning.

Guide students to notice and discuss key words in the context of the video—avoid just playing it without discussion, as explanation helps both content and language learning.

Use multimedia to enhance, not replace, thorough vocabulary instruction in class.

For a deeper dive, check out the Silverman & Hines (2009) article here.

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Question #1: What are the different ways to explicitly teach vocab in KG2?

Response #1: Great question! Have you read "K-2 Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom"? The authors, Burkins & Yates (2021), recommend using strategies that help children across all four processing systems:

• Phonological: Have children listen carefully to each of the sounds in the pronunciation of the word, and then say the word several times themselves, hearing each sound- feeling them in their mouths- and the full pronunciation of the sound.

• Meaning: Share a simple definition of the word, including a visual or a metaphor if helpful. Have students say the word again and tell a friend what it means in their own words.

• Context: Use the word in the context of a sentence. Have children do the same. Offer multiple examples of how the word is used.

• Orthographic: Look at the features of the written word, even if many of them represent phonics concepts not yet familiar to the age group. Say the word slowly again, as you match the sounds to the spellings.

For more information, check out their section on vocabulary. You might want to read this article on explicit vocabulary instruction that outlines the following routine:

1. Define the word in kid-friendly terms.

2. Analyze the word’s structure.

3. Clarify the word’s context.

4. Connect to students’ word networks.

Question #2: How much do we help with translation in the classroom?

Response #2: It depends on several factors—like students’ confidence, home language skills, peer models, and teachers’ language abilities. In general, stay in the language of instruction, using the home language strategically for previews and reviews. This encourages productive struggle. We want to steer away from constant translation (i.e., written language) or interpretation (i.e., oral language), because this can unintentionally let learners bypass valuable language learning.

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Expand Vocabulary Skills: Fun, Memorable & Engaging Methods

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Build vocabulary with fun, engaging methods. Discover practical tips to enrich language and comprehension in an enjoyable and effective way for all learners.

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Question: How to adapt the ?

Response: I'd love to know the rest of your question. I think you're getting at the important role of adaptive teaching in meeting the diverse needs of our multilingual learners. Please feel free to share with me next time, if you'd like.

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Question #1: How much do you support MLL without compromising the pace of the class?

Excellent question. I appreciate your focus on the whole group. I’d move the class forward while tracking and flagging students who need extra help. But, some researcher-practitioners believe that our classroom instruction should meet the needs of ~80% of our students; if you notice <80% of your class is meeting your expectations, it may be a sign to respond by re-teaching and/or slowing down. Whatever instructional decision you make, be reassured to know that teaching multilingual learners is demanding. Systems-level support for early intervention is essential—it’s not sustainable to shoulder it alone as individual teachers.

I’d also focus on building strong Tier 1 instruction. Recently, a common refrain in our field is that we can’t “intervene” our way out of a Tier 1 problem. Have you heard of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol or SIOP model (click here for a planning document)? It’s a widely-used approach among EAL teachers for supporting multilingual learners through 8 key components:

• Preparation

• Building background

• Comprehensible input

• Strategies

• Interaction

• Practice and application

• Lesson delivery

• Review and Assessment

Ideally, through co-planning, homeroom and EAL teachers integrate SIOP components into lessons. Fisher, Frey, and Gonzalez (2025) explain that this approach intentionally addresses multilingual learners' needs from the start, rather than retrofitting general lessons with accommodations or alternatives.

Question #2: When are students allowed to use their mother tongue to show their understanding and when does understanding need to happen in English?

Your question shows both sensitivity and high expectations for multilingual learners, which is wonderful. For Grade 2, I’d give flexibility for using the home language during oral rehearsal (e.g., turn-and-talk), but keep writing tasks in the language of instruction (English). With logographic languages like Chinese, younger students’ home language and literacy skills may not be developed enough to support second language acquisition. Giving the option to use home languages during writing routines (e.g., cooperative strip paragraphs, drafting) tends to work better for secondary students, because they generally already have strong home language and literacy skills from which to build another language.

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Question #1: How to best support MLL learners with assessments?

Response #1: Great question! For all assessments, including outcome measures (e.g., MAP), clarify instructions in students’ home language while following testing protocols. For formative and summative assessments, consider language scaffolds—such as vocabulary banks, sentence or paragraph frames, clear rubrics with visuals, and strong models—since you’re assessing content, not language.

Question #2: How will this look like with new students who have zero English?

Response #2: See my response under “EAL/Specialists” at the top of this column—it’s a bit longer, but I hope it offers insight into your question. You’re right—some newcomers are learning English for the first time, and it’s a privilege to be their first English teachers. I understand it can feel overwhelming to move students from Point A to Point B, so I appreciate your high expectations—and encourage you to be gentle with yourself, too. Every student’s journey and timing are different and, by Grade 3, they should be taking more responsibility for their own progress. Remember, “zero English” is usually temporary, some students understand more than they show, and all bring valuable assets to our community. It will be exciting to discover these as the year unfolds.

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Question: In the responsive classroom pedagogy, you don’t want to repeat what students say because then they rely on you and don’t listen to their peers. But we were taught today that we need to repeat what students say to help language learners. I’m wondering is it always helpful to repeat or is there a balance with repeating the students’ words?

Response: Excellent question! Responsive classroom pedagogy is wonderful, and I appreciate your insight about how simply repeating what students say can sometimes hinder their listening skills, collaboration, and independence. I completely agree. In this resource on dialogic conversation by Burkins & Yates (2021), they use the term "repeat," but I’d offer “recast” (a term from speech language pathologists) as a better way to describe this. For example, if a student says, “Me hungry,” a teacher might respond, “You’re hungry? I’m hungry too.” This provides quality language modeling and helps multilingual students strengthen their language skills through meaningful interaction.

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Question #1: Having hands-on applications of texts teachers will use as well as going over some tech that could make the process faster might help increase uptake of these methods

Response #1: Great point! I've noted your recommendation! Thank you for your feedback.

Question #2: Questioning on best practise of using the picture model - is it a working a document for the students, or is it prepopulated and explicitily taught before lessons or both?

Response #2: For the picture model, I find it works best as a co-created, working document with students. For multilingual learners, this helps manage cognitive load and avoids overwhelming them with too many words. I like to build it step-by-step—starting with nouns, then adjectives, then verbs—while leaving adverbs for later. Here is Valentina Gonzalez doing a quick demo of the routine and a written resource that she created.

Question #3: At this point, there isn’t a question nor topic that is still circling in my mind.

Response #3: Thank you for sharing. :)

Question #4: Planning time that is required for each lesson.

Response #4: It depends on several factors—such as how long your team has taught the unit, your comfort and/or agreement with the existing resources, and whether you’re co-planning with the EAL team. Quality lessons do take time, and I’m happy to chat more about this next time I’m on site.

Question #5: How to differentiate such that it is not oversimplified for the mainstream learners.

Response #5: Great question! If all your students are learning new content, don’t worry about differentiation yet in your inquiry lessons. Instead, focus on helping everyone build an organized, coherent, and accurate schema of background knowledge. However, for writing instruction, you’ll likely need more differentiation. I recommend starting with the "Sentence-level work" tab in this document. Here are a few quick examples from The Writing Revolution 2.0 by Hochman & Wexler (2023):

• Sentence expansion.  Ask fewer question words of students who are having difficulty.  For example, give all students a kernel, but ask some students who, when, why, and where while asking others only who and when.

• Because-but-so.  Give all students the same stem.  But, ask some students to provide complete sentences for all three conjunctions while asking others to write a sentence for only 1 or 2 conjunctions.

• Single Paragraph Outlines (SPOs).  Have all students complete an SPO, but provide some students with the topic or the conclusion sentence while asking others to come up with those sentences independently.

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XWA EKC Annie_Primary Labsite Note Catcher

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Observing Teachers: Please jot directly into document.

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XWA EKC Annie_Demo and Teaching Labsite Note Catcher

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Labsite Teachers + Observing Teachers: Please feel free to use as needed.

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G6 - Original slides from OpenSciEd

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G6 - Teaching points from OpenSciEd

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XWA PRIMARY EKC Work Session - Transdisciplinary Writing

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XWA Primary Demo + Teaching Labsites - October 2025

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XWA Primary Demo Labsite_K:G1_October 2025

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K/G1 Read-Aloud PDF from Kristine Kirby: Maybe Something Beautiful

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K/G1 Read-Aloud PDF from Kristine Kirby: Maybe Something Beautiful

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XWA Primary Demo Labsite_G2:3_October 2025

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XWA Primary Demo Labsite_G4:5_October 2025

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Extra Resource: White Paper on the 7 Roles of AI for Students (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)

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Extra Resource: White Paper on the 7 Roles of AI for Students (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)

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Assigning AI 7 Approaches for Students with Prompts.pdf

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Extra Resource: Effective and Efficient Differentiation

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Extra Resource: Effective and Efficient Differentiation

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This video introduces a practical approach to differentiation in OpenSciEd: start with one highly scaffolded version of a task, then scale back supports to create a continuum that meets diverse student needs-without watering down the thinking. It shows how small, intentional changes can make tasks more accessible while keeping the sensemaking central.

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A Key Approach to Effective and Efficient Differentiation - OpenSciEd

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This video introduces a practical approach to differentiation in OpenSciEd: start with one highly scaffolded version of a task, then scale back supports to create a continuum that meets diverse student needs-without watering down the thinking. It shows how small, intentional changes can make tasks more accessible while keeping the sensemaking central.

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Accomodations for Oral Language Skills (Fisher, Frey, & Gonzalez, 2025)

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XWA Secondary: Assessments - December 2025

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XWA Secondary Assessments - December 2025

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XWA Secondary Assessments - December 2025 (1)

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XWA Secondary Assessments - December 2025 (2)