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If we want students to demonstrate specific skills and practices, then we gotta clarify them, teach them, and provide feed forward around them.

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A fun structure for adults AND students - to build engagement within interactions through clarity, prep, and format!

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Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software - Canva

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This is a nice checklist to bolster engagement and interactions in the classroom. I recommend highlighting what you are rockin' and identifying two to implement in the next few weeks - keep it simple; bit by bit incorporation results in a kick-butt learning environment!

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Super important to be bringing ourselves through some questions around how we are planfully incorporating interactions in our learning spaces.

Check this resource out to identify where you are, where you'd like to be, and how you'd like to commit to getting there.

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Realia: Real-Life Materials Every Teacher Should Be Using

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Realia: Real-Life Materials Every Teacher Should Be Using

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Real-world objects can have such an impact on building background, making content accessible - planfully engaging realia within learning experiences grounds the learning, increase engagement, and enhances working memory.

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Chris Parker

If you've been teaching for some time without using realia in your lessons, you're missing out on one of the most effective ways to bridge the gap between teacher and learner. Realia can make it easier for you to quickly show your students what a word or phrase means within context.

It also has countless benefits for students because it not only helps them connect new vocabulary or other parts of speech to things found in the real world, but also enhances learning by appealing to the three senses of sound, sight, and touch. If you're not familiar with this concept or are unsure of how to incorporate realia into your teaching practices, here's a quick guide with some tips on how to do so.

What Is Realia?

The concept of realia is simple, as it's anything that you or your students would encounter in the real world that is brought into the classroom. This could be anything from your home or theirs or from virtually anywhere else, such as nature or a store. The beauty of using realia is that it can fit just about any topic you're teaching, and the materials can be easily found in most cases.

Examples of realia include:

Videos

Music

Toys

Maps

Manuals

Utility bills

Magazines

Newspapers

Recipe books

Stuffed animals

Office supplies

Classroom items

Advertisements

Restaurant menus

Cereal/soap boxes

Application forms

Train or bus tickets

Ideas for Realia-Based Activities

As for specific activities and games that you can use realia with, here are some creative ones that can work well for teaching students of all ages. After first introducing vocabulary words to your students, these activities will then strengthen what they've learned so it sinks in and becomes knowledge.

Remember the Object

Place a group of objects on a desk and individually cover them using cups, cloths, or anything that you can quickly lift. One by one, reveal each object quickly before hiding it again and then ask students which object they just saw.

When a student has correctly called out the name of an object, uncover the object and repeat out loud what it's called (and do the same if nobody correctly responded).

Tip for Older or More Advanced Students:

If playing this game with more advanced students or older ones, it can be expanded upon by briefly revealing every object in a certain order and then asking students to call out each item in the order in which they were revealed. You can also make it more difficult by asking students to say which items are next to each other (e.g. "The red pen is next to the black marker.")

The Guessing Game

Set out items on a desk and ask students to guess something specific about them. For example, if you're teaching a lesson about items that one might find while shopping, you can ask your students to guess how much each item might cost in a store while saying its name.

If it's objects that might be used for something, such as those found in an office, you'll do the same, but instead of asking about their price, you can ask students to guess what they're used for.

Nature Survival

Also known as Island Survivor, this popular game involves having students describe how they would use particular items or objects to survive in nature. The items should be in clear view on a table or desk while you call upon students one by one to name the items while explaining how they'd use them.

Although it may seem like some items might not work as well as others in a real survival scenario (e.g. a pencil), the beauty of this game is that it gets students to think long and hard about objects, which enhances both vocabulary and contextual learning.

Tip for Group Lessons:

Although this game is normally played with each student being called upon one by one, you can also put students into groups and have them work together to brainstorm ideas of how each item would be used. This can lead to increased interest in the game and peer-to-peer scaffolding where students transfer knowledge between each other as they repeatedly say the words in front of their peers.

What Do You Feel?

To enhance kinesthetic learning, which is learning through hands-on experiences, you can hide objects in a bag, then allow students to put their hands in the bag to feel them without actually seeing them. Ask students to call out the names of each object and only reveal them after they do so or if they struggle to respond.

As you're revealing each object, hold it up in front of the class while saying its name out loud so that all students can hear you. Get everyone else in your class involved by asking others specific questions about each object, such as whether they have one at home or how they would use it in a particular scenario.

Roleplaying Activity

Regardless of which age group you're teaching, roleplaying can be universally used to teach vocabulary and grammar, and there's no limit to the types of realia that you can incorporate into each roleplay activity.

However, you'll want to tailor each activity, as well as the materials or objects used to your group of students. This is especially true for Business English students, as the materials should be more business-focused than those used with regular ESL students.

Regular ESL Students:
For most ESL students, you can easily create a roleplaying activity around everyday realia. For example, if you're teaching vocabulary related to foods, you can have your students act out a scene in a restaurant with food items where some play the role of customers and others play the role of waiters.
Business ESL Students:
Business English students can roleplay with PowerPoint presentations, sales charts, application forms, or other business-related realia to act out employee/manager, interviewee/hiring manager, or sales agent/client scenarios.

Scavenger Hunt

If you have plenty of space available in your classroom to place things around the room, then you can do so with various objects in a scavenger hunt-like game. So, for instance, if the topic is food, you can place a pair of bananas in one location, a can of beans in another, and a can of soda elsewhere. Have your students locate these objects and then describe what they are and where they are.

Example:
A student finds the bananas and says, "Those bananas are on the desk."

Another student points at the can of beans and says, "That can of beans is under the chair."

A third student locates the can of soda and says, "This can of soda is near the chalkboard."

Not only does this activity teach students vocabulary words, but it also incorporates prepositions of place (e.g. those, this, that, etc.). For more advanced students, you can make it more difficult by asking them to describe the objects with other forms of grammar.

A Few Important Tips for Using Realia

1. Use Engaging Realia

Any materials or objects that your students can physically interact with and experience first-hand, whether it's stuffed animals with children or newspapers with adults, can be more advantageous over realia that is more hands-off and only incorporates one sense (e.g. sight or sound), as it creates more memorable learning experiences.

2. Create Realia in Class

To engage your students even more with realia, you can incorporate it into lessons by having them create it in class. Examples of this would be having your younger students create maps with the names of buildings labeled (e.g. hospital, library, etc.) or your older and more advanced students working as a group to write a newspaper article using target vocabulary.

3. Have Students Bring Their Own

Whenever possible, you should try to have your students bring their own realia to class instead of providing it to them. Younger students are often excited to share realia from their home with others, which leads to increased engagement, and vocabulary will sink in better for all learners, regardless of age, when they're seeing how these words fit within the context of their lives outside the classroom.

What Are the Benefits of Using Realia?

Incorporating realia into your lessons is beneficial because it:

Connects vocabulary to real-life things

Motivates students by making learning fun

Saves time by showing rather than explaining

Activates schemata (puts things into context)

Stimulates creativity by involving the senses

Utilizes the senses (sound, sight, and touch)

Appeals to visual/kinesthetic (hands-on) learners

Get to Know Your Students

While realia may not be appropriate for every lesson, the many benefits of using it are undeniable, so you should always make a point to incorporate it when it makes sense to do so. If you're teaching the same student or group of students on a regular basis, over time you may start to notice what types of realia they respond well to. By getting to know your students in this way, you'll know how to be more effective when it comes to choosing realia for future lessons.

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REALIA: Real-Life Materials Every Teacher Should Be Using

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An informative guide that explains the concept of realia, provides examples, and covers multiple realia-based activities for all ages and levels that can be used in ESL lessons

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27 bang-out easy formative assessment structures to provide real-time assessment that will inform instruction, what differentiation needs to be put in place based on the data and the student profiles in the classroom, and what interventions need to take place to address gaps.

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A few years ago, I came across "10 assessments you can perform in 90 seconds" by TeachThought and really enjoyed the formative assessment strategies they outlined. Using formative assessment strategies in class during instruction-or "simple assessments," as they call them-is easy and provides the instant feedback teachers need to identify which learners need more help and adjust their instruction and lesson plans accordingly. Visit the blog above to get more detail on the following techniques:

1. New Clothes

2. Dos and Don'ts

3. Three Common Misunderstandings

4. Yes/No Chart

5. Three Questions

6. Explain What Matters

7. Big Picture

8. Venn Diagram

9. Draw It

10. Self-Directed Response

Combining these 10 with 10 others we've blogged about in the past gives teachers 20 great formative assessment strategies for checking on student learning. Be sure to click through to learn more about these formative assessment strategies.

Want more? Here are seven more strategies you can use to elicit evidence of student learning.

1. Entrance Tickets. We've blogged about and explained the Exit Ticket, so why not have an Entrance Ticket? Here, the teacher asks a question at the start of a lesson, and students write their responses on index cards or strips of paper. Answers are used to assess initial understanding of something to be discussed in that day's lesson or as a short summary of understanding of the previous day's lesson. The teacher designs the lesson around the fact that information on student learning will be coming in at the start of the lesson and can be used to improve the teaching and learning in that lesson. Be sure to write the question so it is easily interpreted and analyzed, allows time for you and/or the students to analyze the responses, and leaves space for you to adjust the lesson, if needed.

2. Keep the Question Going. With this formative assessment strategy, you'll ask one student a question and then ask another student if that answer seems reasonable or correct. Then, ask a third student for an explanation of why there is an agreement or not. This helps keep all the students engaged because they must be prepared to either agree or disagree with the answers given and provide explanations.

3. 30-Second Share. With this strategy, students take a turn to report something learned in a lesson for up to 30 seconds each. Connections to the learning targets or success criteria are what you'll be looking for in the language used by the student. Make this a routine at the end of a lesson so all students have the opportunity to participate, share insights, and clarify what was learned.

4. Parking Lot. This is an underused strategy for students and one that can surface questions before learning, as well as during and after. This tool also offers an anonymous place for questions that may be directly related to the content or tangential to the current topic and provide insight into student thinking. Simply save a spot on your whiteboard to write down ideas or questions that aren't completely relevant in the moment but should be revisited later.

5. One-Minute Paper. This might be considered a type of exit ticket as it is typically done near the end of the day. Ask your students, either individually or with a partner, to respond in writing to a single prompt. Typical prompts include:

Most important learning from the day and why

Most surprising concept and why

Most confusing topic and why

Something I think might appear on a test or quiz and why

3-2-1. At the end of the learning, this strategy provides students a way to summarize or even question what they just learned. Three prompts are provided for students to respond to:

3 things you didn't know before

2 things that surprised you about the topic

1 thing you want to start doing with what you've learned

Assessment Reflection. This strategy is a post-assessment reflection completed individually first and then shared in a small group. After an assessment, the teacher provides a list of questions so learners can reflect on their assessment experience. During group discussion, ideas are collected as new information to support students to better prepare for and engage in future assessments. Consider the following or similar questions. You might also use strategies such as Plus, Minus, Interesting, or Plus/Delta.

How engaged were you with this assessment? Why?

What did you feel most confident about? Why?

What did you do that led to your success or confidence?

What was the most difficult part of this assessment? Why?

What would you do differently next time?

What was the most confusing? Why?

What do you know about the topic that the assessment didn't allow you to show?

Dig in

All 27 of these formative assessment strategies are simple to administer and free or inexpensive to use. They'll provide you with the evidence of student learning you need to make lesson plan adjustments and keep learning on target and moving forward. They'll also give your students valuable information so they can adjust their learning tactics and know where to focus their energies.

If you're not quite sure where to get started, the following discussion questions can help.

Questions for teachers

How do you use formative assessment data to inform instructional decisions?

How can formative assessment strategies foster a learning environment of collaboration and engagement?

How do formative assessment strategies elicit evidence of student learning?

What is one strategy you could try tomorrow and why?

How do you use formative assessment data to drive school-wide instructional academic decisions?

How can you model formative assessment strategies in staff meetings, PLCs, and meetings with teachers?

What are three formative assessment strategies you could bring to your teachers and staff? Why do you feel these would be most effective at your school?

Get more formative assessment tips and tricks in our e-book "Making it work: How formative assessment can supercharge your practice."

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27 Easy Formative Assessment Strategies for Gathering Evidence of Student Learning

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All 27 of these formative assessment strategies are simple to administer and free or inexpensive to use. They provide the teacher with the evidence of student learning needed to make lesson plan adjustments and keep learning on target and moving forward.

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Bringing kids through the interactive and color-coded experience of dissecting a complex word can be so powerful - for that word, specifically, but more importantly, to increase awareness of how the English language is a code of morphemes in endless combinations to make and/or change meaning - an important skill to build!

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A simple, interactive review experience in which students are split into two teams, with at-bat players requesting one of four-leveled questions (increasing complexity gets them to a 'higher base'), and once the teacher 'pitches' the question, having five seconds to answer before someone in the 'field' can answer the question and get them 'out' - goofy, fun, language-heavy, effective!

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With Review & Assessment, differentiation can and should be taking place while NOT losing the integrity of the assessment and what learning is being evaluated.

These seven ‘angles’ can be where differentiation exists that either intensifies or scaffolds the experience.

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Seven Discourse Moves That Get Kids Talking AND Listening!

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Seven Discourse Moves That Get Kids Talking AND Listening!

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This Blanke (TCM Blog) article lays out the process of incorporating 'discourse moves' in a way that’s accessible and applicable

for any age or space.

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Student discourse boosts their learning and engagement. Teachers can support kids in talking to learn in the classroom by reflecting on their own word choice and being strategic about the things they say. This article includes seven teacher discourse moves that will benefit students' mathematical conversations. Plus, watch a on-demand webinar for more support with mathematics instruction.

Talking for Learning

Student talk is a critical component of effective teaching and learning. Maximizing the quality and quantity of student discourse takes practice, time, trust, listening, and commitment. The benefits of letting kids talk in the math classroom are worth the commitment. Remember, those who do the talking do the learning.

Focusing on the Things We Say as Teachers

What we say as teachers matters. As classroom teachers, we spend hours setting up our physical classroom environment and spend weeks building a community of learners, so now is the time to truly reflect on the things we say as teachers that will benefit our students' mathematical conversations.

If you choose one or two of these Teacher Discourse Moves to focus on for the next few weeks, you will see your students begin to engage in deeper mathematical conversations and arguments and begin to ask questions of each other. As you incorporate more Teacher Discourse Moves in your lessons, it can be helpful to actually write down one or two of the questions or statements in your plan book to remind yourself to use them as you continually develop your skills.

Move #1: REVOICING

The teacher or student revoices another student's contribution and asks if his or her interpretation of that idea is accurate. This might sound like:

So you are saying that...

So let me clarify...

I think I heard you say...

Do I have this right?

If I am understanding...you said...

Is this what you are saying?

Move #2: REPEATING

The teacher or student restates another student's idea in his or her own words and reflects on how it is alike or different from his or her idea. This move presses students to become active listeners in math class. This might sound like:

Can you repeat what _____said in your own words?

What is another way that we could say the same thing that _____shared?

Is what ______said what you meant? Does it need clarification?

Move #3: REASONING

The teacher asks students to apply their own reasoning about someone else's ideas or argument. This encourages students to think beyond their own personal ideas and build connections between differing ideas and strategies. This might sound like:

Do you agree or have a different idea?

Why?

Were you thinking the same thing or did you have another idea?

Thumbs up if you agree with _______idea/strategy.

Thumbs sideways if you respectfully have a different idea/strategy.

Move #4: ADDING ON

The teacher prompts students to add to another student's idea/strategy. This helps get multiple solutions/ideas on the table and can assist students toward making connections of various ideas/strategies. This might sound like:

Who can say something more about this?

Can you add more to this idea?

Who thinks they can explain why this is a good move/idea/strategy?

What is our group considering about this idea?

Move #5: WAIT TIME

Wait time has been emphasized for decades and has been shown as one of the most valuable teacher discourse talk moves. This move allows ALL students extra time to process information, formulate ideas, arguments and questions. This might sound like:
3

Take your time to think...

We will wait...

Think in your head silently about this...

Let's take some time to think...

Hands down...time to think privately...

Let's ponder on that thought...

Move #6: PASS IT ON

The teacher asks students to refrain from raising their hands and calls on students to share their own idea or an idea shared by their group or partner. Students begin to ask each other about ideas and strategies. This might sound like:

Remember to ask your friends for clarifying questions when they share an idea/strategy.

Does anyone have anything to share about my idea?

I was wondering what others think of my idea.

Our group is curious if other groups thought about the problem like we did.

Move #7: THINK ALOUDS

A teacher models aloud how a good mathematician thinks and talks about problems that are posed. This helps students develop the habits of mind of being a mathematician. This might sound like:

As I am reading this problem, I am thinking of...

This problem reminds me of another problem we solved last week. Can anyone think of which one?

I remember _______ solved a problem like this one. What strategy was it that _____ used?

Teachers can encourage and guide student discourse to increase engagement in the math classroom and improve student learning. Teachers can reflect on their own word choice and be strategic about the things they say in order to benefit students' conversations. Incorporating these seven teacher discourse moves is an excellent way to develop your own skills.

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7 Teacher Discourse Moves That Lets Kids Talk

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Improve student discourse in the math classroom for enhanced learning benefits with these 7 teacher discourse moves.

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Planfully incorporating “Discourse Moves” really sharpens the

learning. This 'STEM4ELs - Discourse Moves' resource is worth printing up and

having at-the-ready when pushing for deepened engagement.

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Such an accessibly visual way to build background around how morphemes (smallest units of meaning) work throughout our language - this strategy expands student capacity big time!

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26 Sentence Stems for HOTS Conversations in the Classroom

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26 Sentence Stems for HOTS Conversations in the Classroom

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If we want for our students to use and practice language and new concepts, providing sentence frames (Accountable Talk Stems) will enhance the interactions. This will not only develop language and content ownership; it will also empower our students to engage in conversations with active listening and respectful courtesy evident. A win, for sure!

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by Terry Heick

Note: You can purchase a similar, classroom-ready version of these stems on printable cards, if you find that useful.

Meaningful conversation can make learning more personal, immediate, and emotional.

During meaningful conversations, students are forced to be accountable for their positions, to listen, to analyze opposing perspectives, and to adapt their thinking on the fly.

There are many popular strategies for these kinds of conversations, each with slightly unique rules and applications. Among them are Socrative Discussions, Accountable Talks, Debate, and Literature Circles. Whichever strategy you employ, students need support.

It is sometimes argued that these kinds of conversations favor students that are confident expressing themselves verbally, and that's hard to argue. But consider that academic writing favors gifted writers, traditional tests favor those comfortable with proving what they know, learning through technology favors students with a more diverse history of using technology, and so on.

And all can benefit from scaffolding so that students are given different levels of support-maybe unique tiers of index cards with easier to use or more natural stems-so that they can be successful on some level.

If you have any useful conversation stems, let us know in the comments so we can update the list!
26 Sentence Stems For Meaningful Conversation In The Classroom Clarifying
Could you give me your thesis in one sentence?

Is it your position that...

To be clear, you're saying that...

I'm confused when you say Z, Can you elaborate?
Paraphrasing
Put another way, you're saying...

So you're saying that...

Is it fair to say that you believe...

I hear you saying that...
Agreeing
I agree with Y because...

Z's point about X was important because...

The evidence for Z is overwhelming when you consider that...

X and I are coming from the same position.

Despite disagreeing about Y, I agree with Z that...
Disagreeing
I see it differently because...

The evidence I've seen suggests something different.

Some of that is fact, but some of it is opinion as well.

I agree that Y, but we also have to consider that...

We see Z differently.
Building On
Y mentioned that...

Yes-and furthermore...

The author's claim that Z is interesting because...

Adding to what X said,...

If we change Xs position just a little, we can see that...
Summarizing
Overall, what I'm trying to say is...

My whole point in one sentence is...

More than anything else, I believe that...
26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Discussion In The Classroom

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26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Conversation In The Classroom

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During meaningful conversations, students are forced to be accountable for positions, to listen, and to analyze opposing perspectives & ideas.

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Using Discussion as a Summative Assessment

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Using Discussion as a Summative Assessment

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Such a relevant and useful article on engaging planful peer-to-peer conversations as a means of deepening interactions and providing real-deal data for assessment in unique and real-world formats. The level of prep for a teacher is low while the carry is perfectly hefty for the student - a great opportunity for assessing ownership AND developing language and confidence!

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Verbal participation in discussions is a tried-and-true formative assessment, but it can also be rubric-based and summative.

Anna Godeassi / The iSpot

Throughout my two decades in education, I have experimented with a variety of approaches to assessment, including projects, models, debates, and traditional assessments. In the past two years I've been teaching high school online, and I've abandoned traditional tests in favor of more compassionate forms of assessment. My new favorite is the discussion assessment, and I hope I can inspire you to add it to your assessment toolbox whether you're teaching online like me or in a classroom.

My first foray into discussion assessment involved the cellular energy unit in my biology course. Many students struggle to see the relevance of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and thus find the concepts overly challenging. I decided to experiment with discussion as a way to help students engage with the concepts on a deep level but also feel encouraged to explore, share understandings, and learn during the assessment process.

At a recent professional development session, I heard the phrase "compassionate assessment." It was loosely defined as supportive, rather than punitive, assessment practices. My discussion assessment is compassionate, as it supports critical thinking, allows students to teach each other, and provides students an opportunity to master content. In the best discussions, students ask probing questions that take the class into new territory, and we all learn together. At the end, students have expressed how interesting and fun the class felt-something that never happens after traditional tests.

Getting Started

To get started with discussion assessments, outline a few meaty questions before you begin your unit. For a class of 20-25 students, I find that six questions in a 90-minute period is the maximum. Start with those essential unit questions you want students to understand, and then branch out to some of your favorite extension topics that you will touch on, or hope students will want to explore. Students' questions and work during the unit often inspire great discussion questions, so it's OK to not be thoroughly backward-planned.

I like to tease these questions throughout the unit. Since I'm a science teacher, my units are driven by phenomena, so I am always coming back to the driving phenomenon we are working to explain. My students answer a lesson question each day (which I use instead of a traditional objective or learning target), so the idea of having layers of questions makes sense to them. When we finally arrive at the end of the unit, students are ready to synthesize their learning about the questions we've been working to answer.

Implementation

To have a successful and productive discussion, I give students a full class period to choose their questions and to start writing response outlines. We typically use a claim, evidence, and reasoning framework (you'll want to teach this structure before the discussion prep, if necessary). I encourage students to find visuals to support their responses.

Allowing students choice over which question to answer is important; if we want students to show what they know, they must be able to choose the questions they understand the best. It's also impossible for every student to share their thinking in response to all six questions, so limiting preparation to three or four questions helps. If possible, assign discussion preparation through your learning management system so you can track students' preparation.

On the day of the discussion, students run the show, and you moderate. I begin by calling on a student and asking them to share their claim. I provide discussion starters to support productive talk and record student contributions in a spreadsheet.

Every student is called on for the questions they prepared, but students may participate in all questions. Students agree and disagree with each other, build on each other's ideas, and ask clarifying and probing questions. When students express ideas that are incorrect, they help each other understand-and most important, no points are deducted. Students can only earn points during the discussion, which results in a wonderfully supportive experience for all members of the classroom community. The rubric I provide to students delineates how I score the quantity and quality of their participation and makes sure that each student is contributing to the discussion for all questions prepared.

Documentation and Adaptation

Students must take notes during the discussion. This not only holds them accountable for learning, it also results in notes that support the formal writing assessment I assign afterward, in which students choose one discussion question to respond to in a paragraph.

This written assessment makes the process more rigorous-adding a writing task allows students to synthesize what they learned in the discussion. I've found that this student writing is of much higher quality compared with short-answer responses on previous traditional assessments, which makes them more rewarding for me to evaluate.

But what about students who don't prepare, don't participate, or are absent? I simply turn the discussion questions into an alternative assessment and require that students choose two or three of them to respond to in paragraph form. This way, all students have the opportunity to demonstrate deep content knowledge and critical thinking. I always suggest that teachers try a new approach in their least favorite unit or the unit where previous projects or assessments have not worked out. Some additional teacher resources to inspire you include these discussion sentence stems and a discussion rubric, which you can adapt or modify for your class.

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Using Discussion as a Summative Assessment

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Verbal participation in discussions is a tried-and-true formative assessment, but it can also be rubric-based and summative.

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Proactively creating templates that will hold content using few words, color-coding, clear organization, and specific and repeated academic vocabulary results in enhanced outcomes for all learners. This 'argumentative essay format/checklist' is an example of how to do this; it can be cross-applied to all sorts of writing tasks.

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There are three types of vocabulary: every day, cross-disciplinary, and technical (content-specific). Being really planful with plenty of follow-up for cross-disciplinary and technical vocabulary is huge for all learners - in terms of language development AND content mastery.

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Four Ways to Teach Vocabulary and Comprehension

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Four Ways to Teach Vocabulary and Comprehension

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A solid article on expanding vocab﻿ulary AND comprehension through read-alouds, graphic organizers, creating mental images, and think-alouds.

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Teaching these literacy strategies simultaneously can engage students in active processing, improving performance in both areas.

As a teacher and researcher, I know the importance of vocabulary instruction for improving reading comprehension. There is some evidence that a reciprocal relationship exists between the two and that improving one may improve the other. It is especially important to explicitly and directly teach these skills to our youngest students. Teachers can use evidence-based strategies for delivering vocabulary instruction to improve reading comprehension and vice versa by integrating literacy across content areas. These should engage students in active processing, which is essential to student learning and retention.

I'd like to share four active ways to teach vocabulary and reading comprehension that have worked well for me.

1. Read-Alouds

Teachers can incorporate vocabulary into a read-aloud, first by reading through the book and identifying vocabulary words to be targeted for instruction. Preteach the vocabulary words to the students, and during the read-aloud discuss their meaning by providing brief, student-friendly definitions (for example, if a character is described as anxious, the teacher could add, "That means worried or scared"). Next, review the context of the words within the story. Students should repeat the vocabulary words for correct pronunciation and then visualize the meaning of the word and connect it with a memory.

Using the example of "anxious," students would connect the word to a time they were feeling that way. Provide students with an example where vocabulary words are used differently from how they were used in the story. For example, if the story was about a child who was anxious about going to a new school, provide the students with a scenario like "I was anxious when I had to go to the doctor and get a shot."

Follow up the read-aloud with vocabulary activities and word play: For example, have students provide a sentence using the targeted vocabulary words. One activity could involve having the students act out the meaning of a word ("If you're feeling anxious, how would you look?"). Another possible activity is to display several pictures and have students identify the picture that goes with the given vocabulary word, or students provide the vocabulary word that matches a given picture. This activity targets students' receptive and expressive language skills.

Extend the lesson: This could be accomplished by incorporating questioning techniques. For example, ask the students how or when they might feel anxious, or what they could do when they feel that way. Another extension of the activity is to have students illustrate the vocabulary word or write a sentence that includes the word.

2. Graphic Organizers

Definition: Working together

Characteristics: Helping, sharing, taking turns

Examples: Building a Lego tower with a friend, helping each other clean up toys

Nonexamples: Fighting over a toy, leaving someone out of a game

One way to teach vocabulary is to use graphic organizers, which are useful for both fiction and nonfiction information and for teaching across content areas. Graphic organizers help students to organize their ideas when responding to texts or completing writing tasks. In addition, graphic organizers benefit students with recalling and transferring information. Deciding on which graphic organizer to use can be a personal preference or depend on the task. For example, a story map would be suitable for fictional text, but not necessarily useful with nonfictional text. With nonfiction text, use of a Frayer model or T-chart in optimizing vocabulary instruction makes the most sense.

T-chart: Teachers can use a T-chart for comparison of examples and nonexamples of the vocabulary word through words, pictures, or sentences.

Story map: A story map helps students to understand the elements of a story, such as characters, setting, problem, and solution, or sequential points of the story, such as beginning, middle, and end.

Frayer model: With a Frayer model, teachers help students learn vocabulary words by incorporating a student-friendly definition, characteristics, examples or synonyms, and nonexamples or antonyms. A Frayer model can be used before reading to activate background knowledge, during reading to teach new vocabulary, or after reading to assess understanding of vocabulary. For example, using the word cooperation, we can complete the Frayer model as follows:

3. Mental Imagery

Help students learn how to make a mental picture of text. First, choose text that is very descriptive. Next, read a few sentences, pause, and share your thinking by "drawing" a mental image of the sentences. Be sure to incorporate all the senses (I see..., I hear..., I smell..., etc.). Have the students share their imaginings and note their different mental images.

For more interactive practice, provide a student with an illustration that is rich in imagery and have them describe what is in the illustration, while the other students and teacher make a mental image. Then, have students share their "picture."

4. Questioning Techniques

Teach students how to predict, clarify, question, and summarize. Teacher modeling and student practice will be necessary. The use of rich language and discussion surrounding text and concepts improves children's vocabulary and comprehension.

Predict: Before reading, use the book cover or title to talk about what will happen. During reading, discuss what will happen on the next page or chapter. After reading, ask the students to say what they think will happen if the story continues. Or ask the students to rewrite their own ending.

Clarify: Clarify can be used to explain a decoding strategy or to clarify an idea or unknown meaning of a word. For example, the teacher can model this: "I know the sound of 'ch' and 'st' at the end makes it a closed syllable, so this word must be 'chest.'" An example of clarifying an idea can be modeled as such: "The main character was 'drowsy,' so he went to take a nap. 'Drowsy' must mean 'tired.'"

Question: Model for the students how to question by using the statement "I wonder ..." For example, "I wonder why the character did...," "I wonder why the author wrote this sentence...," or "I wonder why ____ happened."

Summarize: Have the students retell a story in their own words. Completing a graphic organizer, such as a story map, will help them to organize their thoughts and remember the story elements. They can refer to it when retelling the story.

All of these techniques can be modified for use with older students or emergent bilingual students. For example, older students will be able to provide elaborate written responses rather than just drawings. Older students can also be exposed to multiple meanings and tenses of vocabulary words. For emergent bilingual students, the use of gestures, real photos, objects, or drawings may help with understanding of vocabulary words. In addition, teachers can incorporate the vocabulary word in their native language to parallel the word in English.

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4 Ways to Teach Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension

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Connecting vocabulary and reading comprehension simultaneously can engage students in active processing, improving performance in both areas.

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The more Greek and Latin roots are seen and discussed, the more accessible text will become and the more complex writing will become!

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If you are an upper elementary teacher, then chances are Greek and Latin Roots are part of your scope and sequence. But if they aren't, OR if you are a departmentalized math/science teacher there is still plenty of great reasons why you should be explicitly teaching your students root words.

Hopefully by the time you get through with this post you'll be thinking about all the ways you can sneak in a few minutes of vocabulary instruction to help your students learn about these important words parts.

Why should I teach Greek and Latin Roots?

There are tons of reasons why you should prioritize teaching roots to your students, but here are just three ways focusing on roots will help your students:

Helps build vocabulary - When students know, understand, and can identify root words, they are able to grow and expand their own vocabulary. Having a solid understanding of roots will help students be able to predict the meaning of and confirm unknown words they encounter. Greek and Latin roots help students connect new and unfamiliar words to words that they know and understand.

Improves spelling - Greek and Latin roots usually have predictable spelling patterns. The more roots students know, the more their spelling will improve. If students know how to spell common root words, they will probably be able to spell any word that has a root in it.

Students feel empowered when they understand the rules to the English language. Teaching Greek and Latin roots is just one way you can help your students understand the rules to our language.

Builds confidence as a reader and a writer - Both of these things I just mentioned will have a huge impact on your students as readers and writers. When students vocabularies improve, they feel confident to read more challenging texts AND they are willing to use more descriptive and specific words in their writing.

The more time you spend exposing your students to Greek and Latin roots the more they will become aware of them. They will start to see them in their independent reading and start to explore using more complex root words in their writing.

How should I teach Greek and Latin roots?

Ok so now that you understand why it's so important to actually teach Greek and Latin roots. Let's talk about how to actually teach your students all about roots.

Explain what a root word is and how it helps students - before you even being to teach specific roots, students need to understand what a root word is and how it will help them. Make sure students understand the difference between a root word and a base word.

Root Word - A word part that has a specific meaning, but cannot be a stand alone word on it's own. For example, aud is not a word by itself, but the root aud means to hear or listen. When it is paired with a prefixes or suffix, it creates a word that is related to listening: audible, audience, auditory, etc.

Base Word - A word that can always stand alone. Base words do not need prefixes or suffixes to be complete. But they can be paired with prefixes and suffixes to modify or change the meaning of the word. Happy is an example of a base word. Happy is a word on its own. If you pair it with the prefix un- you get unhappy. Adding the prefix un- will change the meaning of happy to mean not happy.

Make sure you don't use the terms base word and root word interchangeably. It's really helpful for students to understand the difference between the two. Anytime students understand why something is important they will have more buy-in for the learning process.

Explicitly teach the root - Students need explicit instruction on new root words. I like to use an anchor chart like the one pictured above that lets the student know the root, the definition of that root, and a list of other words that have that same root. It's always so fun to see students make connections to other words that have that same root.

Expose students to Greek and Latin roots on a regular basis - If we want our students to actually remember and retain root words, then we need to frequently expose them to new roots and review roots that we've previously taught. One of the best ways to do this is through a root of the day or root of the week routine. When you make root words part of your regular vocabulary routine, you don't have to worry about students forgetting what you've taught.

Engage in fun vocabulary activities - using games to teach vocabulary is one of the things that can make it so much fun. Let your students play games or engage in hands-on activities that will help them retain and remember what each root means. I love using hands on sorting activities in vocabulary centers or playing whole group games like Greek and Latin Root Word Bingo.

Evaluate student's understanding of roots in their reading and writing - ultimately, you want your students to have a strong enough understanding of roots that they can effectively use them in their writing, and they can correctly identify the meaning of root words in their reading. You can easily assess this in an ongoing basis throughout the year. If you have taught a specific root then be on the look out for students to sprinkle in words with that root in their writing.

Or if you are conferring with a student and you see a word that has a root in it, ask them if they know the meaning of that word. You don't need to formally assess with a worksheet or quiz to make sure your students understand the meaning of Greek and Latin roots.

Another thing that I found to be really effective and easy to incorporate was to use a Root Word of the Week routine. This weekly vocabulary routine allowed us to really dig in and focus on the meaning of one root at a time, and the regular routine meant that we were always adding new Greek and Latin roots to our vocabularies.

Greek and Latin Roots - Word of The Week Routine:

Day 1 : Introduce new root to students.

Have them make a prediction about the meaning of the root word

Have them write down what they already know about that specific root

Have them share if they have seen any words that have that root in it

Day 2: Explicitly teach the Greek and Latin Root

Have students use a reference material to look up the definition of the root

Confirm/compare to yesterday's predictions

Make a list of ALL the words they know that have that root

Day 3 - 4 - Explore & Engage

Review the root of the week as well as any other root words that you have taught

Students can draw pictures that represent the root of the week

Play games or engage in hands-on activities that allow them to explore the meaning of the root

Day 5: Evaluate

You can quickly assess the root of the week by having students write a few sentences that have that root in it.

I also like to make the evaluation of root words an ongoing basis. Students will often need exposure to root words a few times before they can solidify their meaning.

As you can see, there are sooooo many different things that you can do to teach your students Greek and Latin roots. Hopefully you have some new ideas on how to spice up your vocabulary instruction in your classroom.

Happy Teaching!

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5 Ideas for Teaching Greek and Latin Roots in Upper Elementary

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Learn how to incorporate greek and latin roots into your vocabulary instruction no matter what subject you teach. I'll also explain why root words are so important for students to know.

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A content-specific word wall can be a wonderful resource; consider a morphology wall as an amped up and more cross-applicative resource that is student-generated and referenced on the regular!

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| | Filed Under: Advanced Word Study, Reading

Word walls for upper elementary? Try a morphology wall! Morphology walls are a great tool for teaching and reviewing prefixes, suffixes, bases, and roots. By using a "Morphology Wall" in your classroom, you can help your students better understand how words are put together and how to use that knowledge to determine the meaning of unknown words.
💡Want to read more about the power of morphology instruction? Click here to read all about teaching morphology in grades 4-5!
This post will share what a morphology wall is, benefits to having one, tips for setting up and using one, strategies for making it interactive, and free posters to create your own wall!

What is a Morphology Wall?

A morphology wall is a collection of morphemes (prefixes, suffixes, bases, and roots) displayed and referenced to help your students learn about the power of morphology and the structure of words (and how they relate). The morphemes (the smallest meaningful unit of a word) are arranged in groups based on their function in words, such as root words, prefixes, and suffixes.

This can be a whole class display (using wall space, bulletin boards, markerboard space, or even cabinets) or students can have personal morphology walls - super easy to do with digital resources (more about this in the section about having limited space).

You can use teacher-created posters with given examples, or you can have your wall be co-created with students adding in example words.

Benefits of Having a Morphology Wall

Here are some benefits to having and using a morphology wall:

1. It can help students to better understand how word parts are combined to form words.

2. It can help students to see how the meaning of a word can be changed by adding or removing certain word parts (prefixes and suffixes).

3. It can help students see the connection between known words/word parts and use that connection to determine the meaning of unknown words.

4. It can provide students with a reference tool that they can use when they encounter unknown words in their reading.

5. You can use the wall to continually review and practice morphemes (word parts- prefixes, suffixes, bases, and roots) all year long.

Tips for Using a Morphology Wall in Grades 4-5

Here are my three top tips for using a morphology wall effectively with your students.

Tip #1 - Build the wall gradually throughout the year.

Introduce focus word parts (prefixes, suffixes, and roots) gradually throughout the year. After introducing and teaching them, add them to the morphology wall. Continue to add to the wall and build it out throughout the year.

Tip #2 - Build a regular routine that uses the prefixes, suffixes, bases, and roots on the wall.
✨More questions and activity ideas in the next section about making the wall interactive.
Use the wall regularly as part of a daily or weekly routine. You can do this by asking students a question of the day or giving a task that requires the use of the morphology wall to answer the question or complete the task.

Tip #3 - Encourage students to use the wall while they are reading.

Encourage students to use the wall to figure out the meaning of unknown words when they come across them in their reading. You will definitely need to model this for them. Also encourage students to take note of words that use the morphemes from the wall in their independent or assigned readings. They can even collect these words in a morphology notebook or journal.

Making a Morphology Wall Interactive

In order for the morphology wall to be effective, it needs to be interactive and used regularly. Here are some ideas:

Use It As a "Evolving, Living" Wall

As you introduce/review/teach morphemes (prefixes, suffixes, roots), add them to the wall. Continue to add to the wall throughout the year with more advanced morphemes.

Have Students Identify Affixes or Roots Based on Given Meaning

Regularly review the meaning of affixes and roots from the wall by having students identify which affix or root matches a specific meaning.

You can do this by saying: I am thinking of a morpheme that can be added to the beginning of a word. What type of morpheme am I? (prefix). My meaning is wrong or bad. What morpheme am I? (mis-)

Have Students Practice Using Affixes from the Wall for Specific Purposes

Affixes have specific functions/meanings that are important for students to know and be aware of. But, it is a lot to learn and requires repetition and continual review. The morphology wall is a perfect tool for this.
What suffix from the wall could I add to a verb to change it to a noun that shows a person who does that action? (-er, -or) Which suffix would I add to a word to show that something is made of a certain material? (-en) Which prefix could I add to a word to show that something has been done before? (pre-) Which affixes could be added to a given base word?
Ask students questions like:

Create Word Sums or Morphology Word Matrices

Give students a base or root (or use a base/root of the week) and have the students use the base/root and affixes from the morphology wall to create word sums or word matrices.
💡Click here to read a detailed post about word matrix activities AND grab free teaching posters to help you introduce matrixes to your students.
Tip: When you begin word sums or word matrices, uses bases to begin with to scaffold students' understanding. Bases are morphemes that can stand alone as complete words without affixes. Examples: friend, care, build, use, love, care

Have Students Generate Words (and Use Them in Contexts) from Word Parts on the Wall

This is similar to creating word sums or a morphology word matrix, but it can be used to zone in on a specific affix (versus bases/roots that word sums and matrices usually focus on)
Choose a prefix from the wall. Make a list of 5 words that use that prefix. Choose one to use in sentence. You can allow for student choice or use the focus morphemes for this activity. Assign students an affix. Have them generate as many words as possible with that affix in a specific amount of time.
Example tasks to give students:

Use the Morphology Wall to Analyze and Breakdown Multi-Morphemic Words

When students come across words that have prefixes and/or suffixes, the wall can be used to break those words down into their individual morphemes. This task is similar to creating word sums, but you are starting with a completed word that is found authentically in student text.

Example: Use the morphology wall to break the word "construction" into its individual morphemes. Write the meaning of each. Then write the meaning of the word.

Making a Morphology Wall with Limited Space

If you are an intervention teacher who rotates classes/students or you just have limited space in your classroom, here are some ideas for creating a wall with limited space:

1. Use a digital morphology wall using Google Slides. You can still have this be interactive by having students access their digital "wall" when you are doing any of the activities described in the above section.

2. Another option is to create a portable morphology wall on a trifold using smaller versions of the morpheme posters.

3. You can have a rotating morphology wall where you only post the morphemes you are focusing on and then you have students refer to a digital reference or morphology notebook that has the entire collection.

Get FREE Prefix, Suffix, and Roots Posters Here to Make Your Own Morphology Wall!

Get all of the prefix, suffix, base, and root posters shown on this post by entering your email in the form below! They posters will be sent to your inbox in a PDF file with digital access links included in the PDF file.

Want Activities and Resources for Teaching Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots?

If you need morphology resources and activities, I recommend these. You can use the "Of the Day" resources to teach your target morphemes and then use the morphology warmups to continually review and apply morphology skills throughout the year.

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Filed Under: Advanced Word Study, Reading Word walls for upper elementary? Try a morphology wall! Morphology walls are a great tool for teaching and reviewing prefixes, suffixes, bases, and roots. By using a "Morphology Wall" in your classroom, you can help your students better understand how words are put together and how to use that knowledge to determine the meaning of unknown words.

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Using Word Matrices to Build Vocabulary!

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Using Word Matrices to Build Vocabulary!

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The 'word matrix' provides an opportunity to decode the riddle of language, to break communication down into collections of meaning, and to do so visually, kinesthetically, interactionally. Huge benefits!

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| | Filed Under: Advanced Word Study, Reading, Writing & Grammar

Teachers know that vocabulary is an important part of reading and language comprehension but teaching vocabulary can be a challenge. One tool that teachers can use to increase student vocabulary is word matrix activities. This post will go into more detail about what word matrixes (matrices) are, activities you can do with them, and free teaching posters to help you get started with word matrix activities in your 4th and 5th grade classroom!

What Are Word Matrixes/Matrices?

A word matrix shows written morphemes (affixes, roots, and bases) that can be combined to construct words. Students use a word matrix to create known words and new words that use a common base or root and a group of affixes.

A word matrix is designed with prefixes on the left, a base or root in the center column, and suffixes on the right. All of the words that are constructed from the matrix must contain the base word/root that is shown in the center of the matrix.

A matrix rarely represents all of the words that can be built from a given base or root. This allows you to customize it to your needs. The matrixes you use with your students can be as simple or as complex as your students are able to handle.

A matrix may also include one or more secondary base elements. This allows students to create compound words from the matrix.

Matrixes may also include secondary prefixes and suffixes. Examples: dis + re + spect + ful and in + spect + or + s. These allow students to create words with multiple prefixes and suffixes.

Why Use Word Matrixes

Using word matrix activities is beneficial for many reasons. Here are a few:

1. They increase students' understanding of affixes and how they influence base words and roots that they're added to.

2. They support understanding of parts of speech and how words are used in sentences, which support an understanding of syntax.

3. They increase students' vocabulary by allowing them to see the connection between known words/affixes and new words that they create or encounter in their reading.

4. They increase students' understanding of root words when you are introducing new roots. Students are able to see how those roots are used in lots of different words depending on the addition of prefixes and suffixes.

5. Word matrixes are great for reviewing the spelling conventions with suffixes, such as doubling the base word, dropping the E, and changing the y to an i.

Introducing a Word Matrix

When you first introduce word matrix activities to your students, you want to keep it simple and easy.
Here are some possible steps to introducing a completed word matrix to students:
Start with a familiar base word (care, help, teach, etc.) and one that does not require spelling changes of the base when suffixes are added. You can also control the affixes that you present on the matrix. Make sure and use affixes that students are familiar with when first introducing matrixes.

1. Explain how the matrix is set up. Discuss the columns and the morphemes that are organized in each column. Tell students that prefixes are in the first column, a base or root in the middle column, and suffixes in the last column.

2. Discuss the base and its meaning. Explain that the base will be used in every word that the students create.

3. Read the prefixes and discuss their meanings. Model how to use a prefix from the matrix with the base to create a word. Discuss the new meaning of the word. If using word sums, show how the word is constructed. (Example: mis + spell → misspell)

4. Read the suffixes and discuss their meanings. You could also discuss parts of speech with the suffixes. Model how to use a suffix from the matrix with the base to create a word. Discuss the new meaning of the word and any parts of speech changes. If using word sums, show how the word is constructed. (Example: spell + er → speller)

5. Model how to create words using prefixes + bases + suffixes. Discuss meaning and parts of speech changes. If using word sums, show how the word is constructed. (Example: mis + spell + ing → misspelling)

6. After modeling, have students create additional words using the matrix. Record the words they create (and the word sums). Continue to discuss the meaning or parts of speech changes.

7. When finished creating words, encourage students to choose one word to use in a sentence (either written or verbally with a partner).

*For matrixes with roots, the only difference is that you may need to model pronunciation and spend more time discussing the meaning.

Here are some other things your students will need to know and understand to be word matrix masters (all of these are included in the free printables available near the end of the post):

1. How to read a matrix

2. What word sums are and how to read them/write them

3. How spelling conventions affect the rewritten word (from a word sum)

4. How to use secondary prefixes (re + con + struct) and suffixes (help + ful + ness)

5. How to use secondary base elements to create compound words (day + care, after + care)

Different Activities Using a Word Matrix

Once students know how a matrix works, there are several activities you can use:

1. Start with a completed matrix and have students create word sums and words

2. Give a list of word sums and an empty matrix. Have students write the words and complete the matrix.

3. Give students a list of words and an empty matrix. Have students write the word sums and complete the matrix.

4. Give students an empty matrix with only the base/root filled in. Have them complete the matrix while writing word sums and words. This is a more advanced activity, but many teachers prefer this when working with matrixes directly with students.

Extension Activities After Completing a Word Matrix

The power of the matrix activities is in the discussion and application, or use of the words created. After you have completed a word matrix with students or studied a completed one, there is so much more than can be done with the words created.

Here are some ideas:

1. Have students choose words to use in sentences. They can do this in writing or verbally with a partner. They could even try using several words from the matrix in a short story.

2. Assign specific words to use in sentences. Have students share their unique sentences with partners, small groups, or the whole class. Discuss the usage of the word.

3. Have students choose words to write the meaning of each morpheme and then the meaning of the word. They can use a dictionary to check their definition/tweak it.

4. Sort the words created by part of speech.

5. Have students choose a word created and write 5 more words that use the same prefix or suffix.

6. Choose two words and have students compare and contrast them. They could discuss parts of speech, meaning, and use of specific affixes.

7. Have students choose a word and write a synonym and/or antonym for the word.

8. Sort all or a selection of the words by spelling conventions. Students could sort the created words by if a spelling change was made to the base or not. Example: hopeful (no spelling change to the base), hoping (spelling change to the base), and hopelessness (no spelling change to the base).

Get the Free Posters for Getting Started with Word Matrix Activities HERE

Want Ready-to-Use Word Matrix Activities?

If you want completed word matrix activities to use with your 4th and 5th grade students, check out this resource that includes 30+ completed matrixes (bases and roots) in multiple versions to fit your needs!
Free Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots Posters Using a Morphology Wall in Grades 4-5 Teaching Morphology in Grades 4-5 Morphology Word Chains with Freebies Morphology Word of the Day Activity (Free Templates) Morphology Activities for Grades 4-5
More Morphology Blog Posts and Resources

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Using Word Matrix Activities to Increase Vocabulary (Free Posters)

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Morphology word matrixes are a powerful tool to help students understand the structural elements of words and build their vocabulary.

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Highly recommend Morpheme Walls/Exercises in which the vocabularic backgrounds of kids are expanded and kids are given advantage by learning to cross-apply and use morphemes to decipher meaning throughout their language experience.

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The structure of Cornell Note-Making provides our students with clear representation of main ideas and supporting details AND provide them a sense of organization - so both academic AND executive function skill-building is taking place. A win-win!

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As we are co-developing the capacity of our students to engage and sustain attention, they need us to prioritize the pause as an instructional move. The pause elicits thinking, increases buy-in, and when done with consistency, messages accountability. Though this article might be a bit activating for some educators, such a great (quick) read!

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In my work, I often visit multiple lessons, one after the other. This affords the opportunity to compare the way teachers in the same school interact with their classes. Quite often I seen common strengths; I also observe variations. Some of the variations can be found in the way teachers hold the room, focus attention, reinforce expectations, notice students who seem distracted or who are not participating and create a sense that every student is involved and is seen.

I've often sat back to evaluate this. When a teacher seems to have a strong read on the room, holds attention and creates this fully involved, engaged atmosphere - how do they do it? On the flip side, when a teacher seems not to notice off-task behaviours, peer chat, or that students in the corners are not remotely involved.. what is it that they're not doing that they could be?

I think it comes down to this: the teachers that sustain focused attention successfully, all around the room, make a point of checking and scanning the whole space at regular intervals, minute to minute. They take stock. And to do this, they give themselves a moment to do so; they take a beat. They pause. (I know - the blog title is a spoiler!)

Where teachers lose this sense of full engagement and fight against the off-task hubbub, they often don't allow themselves the time to notice... never mind the time to intervene. They move from one thing to another without stopping. They don't pause, scan, check and insist on expectations being met or to see who might be mentally checking out. They don't fully read the room and seem to just hope that students will follow the ideas or the instructions; they have to assume that things they say are being heard because they're not giving themselves time to check, all around the room.

A high frequency Walkthrus technique is Signal, Pause, Insist. It works when, after the signal for attention, the teacher stops to scan; they pause to survey, to take stock of the situation and then to use verbal or non-verbal cues to ensure all students are with them, focusing attention where it needs to be. Without a pause to scan.... the signal flows directly into teacher talk and students feel that the teacher doesn't fully mean it when they say 'eyes on me' or 'give me STAR'. It's just a thing they say that they don't mean.

Similarly when using Cold Call or Check for Understanding or any technique that embeds the idea of thinking time, you need to pause after asking .. you need to take a beat to scan and check... to see if people appear to be with you, acknowledging through their body language that they understand that they know they are included in the circle of people who might be asked. This might then lead into longer thinking time but that 'pause and scan' moment comes first. It communicates ' yes I mean you, I mean everyone and I will notice and check'. Your pause is also the students' pause; what Bill Rogers would call their 'take-up time'. They need it as much as you do.

Pausing comes into play at other times. When explaining or telling a story.. the pauses are part of how you express ideas and allow people time to process them. During those pauses, teachers who do this well are silent.. they scan the room. They look towards or even physically go to the corners. The pause allows them to notice things.. to pick up on details of student activity that can't always be done at the same time as talking and giving an explanation. Students can detect this; if they are seen, they feel seen; monitored; included. They sense that what they do will be noticed. It's all part of creating a sense of belonging, reinforced minute to minute by the pausing and scanning. It's some awkward act of scrutiny - it's a natural process, turning this way and that, to survey the full group of people involved in the learning.

`Perhaps, beyond the practicalities that pausing supports - buying time for scanning - it's the sense that a teacher who regularly pauses to take stock is in control; they project a measured steadiness that communicates confidence. And the opposite is true - teachers who rush from moment to moment, don't notice things because they don't give themselves the chance to. But they also communicate a sense of being slightly less than fully at ease; they are coping but not confidently in control of the lesson and all the interactions within it. A double hit.

It sounds obvious... but it really is a big variable, Those that pause with full assertive confidence and those that don't... it can make all the difference . Take time to notice, take time to scan the room. To scan the corners. Be steady, be measured. Take a breath. Take a beat. Take a moment. Pause.

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The View From The Back: The Power of The Pause

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A series of short posts, focusing on the challenges of teaching all students successfully, informed by lesson observations. In my work, I often visit multiple lessons, one after the other. This affords the opportunity to compare the way teachers in the same school interact with their classes.

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"Within, Beyond, About" Question Frame Resource (from F&P's Continuum)

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"Within, Beyond, About" Question Frame Resource (from F&P's Continuum)

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If you have ever struggled to think of questioning within comprehension-generating student conferences or responsive small groups, this resource is great, and is beautifully broken down so that the questioning is appropriate to a kid's current/next-stage capacity as a developing reader!

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"Within, Beyond, About" Questiion Frame Resource.pdf

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A simple tool like this SWIRL Data-Catcher can be a great way to note (by circling) when a 'domain' has been chosen by a student, and be a great guide for individual student conferences when striving to increase productive language, ie. Speaking, Writing, Illustrating. Always seeking to make gathering data doable and durable - check it out!

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Lesson Plan TEMPLATE w/ HOT Open-Ended Questioning

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Lesson Plan TEMPLATE w/ HOT Open-Ended Questioning

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Here is a workshop model lesson plan TEMPLATE with Bloom-grounded open-ended questioning attached to ground, deepen, and enhance student thinking, production, and ownership!

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"How to Build Background: 15 Ideas and Strategies"

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"How to Build Background: 15 Ideas and Strategies"

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This is a VERY, what I call, 'right-now-resourcing' article by Shelly Rees around the specific ways educators can quickly and efficiently activate prior knowledge, build background, and escalate academic vocabulary. Considering how language-embedded learning targets will drive what input needs to be made comprehensible and what background needs to be co-constructed is crucial to student ownership and capacity - this article helps with that lift.

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How to Build Background Knowledge - 15 Helpful Ideas & Strategies - Appletastic Learning

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Teaching students how to build background knowledge is essential for their success in the classroom. With a strong foundation of facts and ideas, including prior knowledge, students can better understand more complex topics as they progress through school. But building background knowledge doesn’t have to be boring - there are

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SWIRLing Preguntas (contributed by Megan Peabody-Alvarez, Middle School Spanish Teacher)

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SWIRLing Preguntas (contributed by Megan Peabody-Alvarez, Middle School Spanish Teacher)

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Ms. Peabody-Alvarez expects kids to rise to the occasion of SWIRLing, and provides the opportunities (prompts and supports like what is represented within the document attached here), so that her 8th Grade Spanish students are invited into and held accountable for actively engaging at the receptive level (Reading/Listening) and productive level (Speaking/Writing/Illustration). Very cool, Ms. Peabody-Alvarez! Thanks for sharing!

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"Eight Quick Checks for Understanding" - Jay McTighe

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"Eight Quick Checks for Understanding" - Jay McTighe

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Wow, this article is a wealth of resources for checking student understanding in interesting ways that are quick, accessible AND utilizing productive language - all of which informs instruction and cultivates an interactive class where no one disengages - CHECK IT OUT!

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Formative assessment is a proven technique for improving student learning, and the strategies shared here by Jay McTighe work both in the classroom and remotely.

Bob Daemmrich / Alamy Stock Photo

Using formative assessments designed to check for understanding and provide students with feedback and support is one of the most effective ways to improve and enhance student learning. Yet because of the need to cover large amounts of information and develop many skills, teachers may not take time checking to make sure students understand a concept or can effectively apply a skill, and, if they don't, figuring out ways to improve their learning.

Thankfully, there are practical, proven formative assessment techniques that teachers can use as a quick "pulse check" to gauge students' understanding. The eight techniques here can be applied across grades and subject areas in virtual, hybrid, and in-person learning environments.

The results of these checks should not be graded since the purpose of formative assessment techniques is to obtain feedback to use in improving teaching and learning, not to evaluate learning. It's important that students understand the purposes of these techniques, that mistakes are OK-and even expected-and that they will not be graded on their responses.

Thumbs up: I understand _____ and can explain it in my own words.

Wave hand: I'm not completely sure about _____ and doubt I could explain it.

Thumbs down: I don't yet understand _____ and cannot explain it.

Ask students to display a designated hand signal to indicate their degree of confidence in their understanding of a concept, principle, or process. For example:

Self-assessment and self-reporting can be unreliable, so use a random calling technique to periodically select students with their thumbs up (e.g., pull names out of a bowl) and ask them to explain.

In virtual learning environments, students can signal on camera or post designated emojis to signal their understanding levels.

Present students with a few binary-choice statements or questions containing an understanding or a common misconception and have them select a response (e.g., True or False, Agree or Disagree) and share it via a whiteboard, cell phone app, or hand signal (e.g., thumbs up or down). This efficient technique is particularly effective to use in checking students' prior knowledge or potential misconceptions before beginning new instruction.

True/False: When dropped from the same height, a bowling ball will land before a marble.

Agree/Disagree: Is this an example of alliteration?

Here are a couple of "choosing" formats with examples:

In virtual learning environments, students can use the chat box feature to record their choices, or respond to a poll.

3. Picture It

Draw a visual web of factors affecting plant growth.

Develop a concept map to illustrate how a bill becomes a law.

Create a story map or sequence diagram showing the major events in the story.

Visual representations, such as graphic organizers and concept maps, are widely used to enhance learning, and can also be used as formative assessments. Have students create a visual or symbolic representation (e.g., a graphic organizer, web, or concept map) of information and abstract concepts and then be prepared to explain their graphic. Picturing techniques are especially useful to see if students understand how various concepts or elements of a process are related.

In virtual learning environments, students can post their visuals on a Google slide or Pinterest board, or in Nearpod or Jamboard.

4. Troubleshoot It

1. Identify the flaw or error, and (even better)

2. Correct it.

One of the most efficient and effective quick checks for understanding involves troubleshooting. Present students with a common misconception or a frequent procedural error. See if they can:

Present a rough draft of writing and ask students to serve as an editor to mark compositional and grammatical errors.

Have students review work on a multistep word problem to identify computational mistakes and reasoning errors, and correct them.

In a photography class, show photos reflecting common compositional errors or flawed exposure or lighting, and have students recommend needed corrections using photo editing software.

Their responses will provide a quick check of the depth of their understanding.

5. Summarize It

Compose a tweet in 280 characters or less answering the question: What is the big idea that you have learned about _____?

Record a one-minute podcast or vodcast using an app on a smartphone or tablet to summarize the key concepts from one or more lessons.

Prepare a weekly letter to your teacher (or parents) summarizing something that you now understand as a result of your learning during the past week.

Here are a few examples of this technique:

Create a "real life" word problem to see if other students understand how to calculate surface area.

Locate a news article or blog post that presents an example of the tension between individual rights and the common good.

Find examples of symmetry somewhere in our school or on the playground.

Understanding is revealed when students can transfer their learning to new situations. Accordingly, one of the best checks for understanding is to see if students can apply material in a somewhat novel context. This technique includes asking students to find or create new and novel examples to illustrate a newly learned concept.

Develop a five-minute lesson to teach a younger student about how supply and demand can affect the price of things. Use one or more specific examples that we have not discussed.

Your friend has been absent and missed the last two lessons where you learned about community helpers. Draw a picture of at least five helpers in our community to help them understand the concept of a community helper.

This is a more involved, but valuable, formative assessment technique. Ask students to teach a new concept or skill to someone else-a new student, a student who has just returned from absence, or a younger child. You'll be able to gauge their degree of understanding as you review or observe their lesson. Here are two examples:

In virtual learning environments, students can record a lesson using a laptop, tablet, or cell phone camera.

8. Analogize It

A more sophisticated technique invites students to develop an analogy or metaphor to illustrate a newly learned concept or skill. The effectiveness of their explanatory analogy or metaphor can give you insight into their understanding. However, be cautious when interpreting student responses to this technique-a student may very well understand a concept but be unable to generate an appropriate analogy. Asking students to explain their analogies will give you further insight into their understanding.

A fraction is a part of a whole like a wheel is a part of a bicycle.

Formative assessment is like tasting a meal while you're cooking because it provides feedback that a cook can use to make adjustments to improve the meal.

Here's a prompt for students: A _____ is like a _____ because _____.

Students can also create visual analogies (combining techniques 3 and 8). In virtual learning environments, students can post their analogies and metaphors in a chat box or on a Google slide or Pinterest board.

Note: Several of these techniques (especially 1, 2, 5, and 8) can be naturally used in conjunction with another popular formative assessment technique-an exit card-given to students at the end of a class period or end of the school day.

While these techniques can provide valuable information about the effectiveness of teaching and the quality of students' learning, they're not ends in themselves. Instead, they should be seen as the first step in a " feedback cycle." The next step is to act on that feedback-reteaching something that many students failed to learn; correcting misconceptions that may be revealed; and/or providing scaffolded support to students who need it. Moreover, when students are given feedback, they must also be given opportunities to use it, such as revising their work, practicing the skill, or correcting errors. (Getting feedback without a chance to use it is like eating without digesting!) Then, the formative assessment cycle reboots as revisions can be assessed again, with progress noted and new learning goals set.

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Formative assessment is a proven technique for improving student learning, and the strategies shared here by Jay McTighe work both in the classroom and remotely.

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Great resource as you continue to strengthen the existence of Speaking, Writing, Illustration, Reading, and Listening within each lesson!

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Language skills are important for every student, especially in terms of academic language and vocabulary.

Speaking, writing, reading and listening (SWRL) skills can and should be taught to students as part of every subject area, as these skills are paramount in learning the deep academic content taught in schools. But these language skills are especially critical for English learners to ensure their success in school and in an ever-changing world.

There are multiple strategies that can be employed in each of these areas. The following strategies are but a few that may be helpful as you continue your journey of improving your practice and meeting the needs of each student in your classroom.

Speaking

Student interaction opportunities should be plentiful in the classroom. Often times, the balance of teacher talk to student talk is disproportionately weighted toward teacher talk. It makes sense, as teachers are charged with sharing knowledge and skills and ensuring that students understand, learn and are able to apply the skills they are learning across the content areas.

However, in order for students to deepen their understanding, and clarify and negotiate for meaning, they must talk about what they are learning. Because teaching and learning are social endeavors, increasing student-to-student interaction opportunities will help increase student understanding and learning of the content and skills being taught.

Consider the 10/2 rule. This rule states that for every 10 or so minutes of input, students should have two minutes of processing time. The numbers are not absolute; instruction and input should range from five minutes to 20 minutes depending on the complexity of the material, the grade level of your students, and their language proficiency levels.

For example, after several minutes of teaching students a specific concept or skill, have them turn to a partner and name the key points, explain the process described, etc. This provides English learners with the opportunity to both process the content and language that they are learning with another student, and seek clarifications as needed.

Alternatively, students can be given an opportunity to write or sketch about the concepts being taught. It is key to remember that materials must be taught in a comprehensible way to the students, and scaffolding - such as the use of sentence frames, starters and signal words - should be included to support student discourse.

Another important concept in teaching English learners deeper speaking skills in the classroom is to model and hold students accountable for using complete sentences based on their proficiency level. The WIDA consortium as well as the ELPA21 consortium both have helpful documents and tools to determine the kind of language students at various proficiency levels should be able to produce.

When having students answer a question, ask them to speak in a complete sentence and hold them accountable for doing so. Consider the following interaction:

Teacher: What is the title of the book we are reading?

Student: "The Solar System."

Teacher: Say that in a complete sentence, please.

Student: The title of our story is "The Solar System."

Teacher: Thank you!

We can teach students to utilize the "turn the question around" strategy, wherein they utilize the words from the question to answer the question. We can support students in utilizing this strategy by first teaching them explicitly how to utilize it through modeling and demonstration.

They can then practice the strategy in their interactions with peers as well as when answering teacher-led questions. Giving students a frame or sentence starter can be helpful, as well as an anchor chart that shows the strategy.

Have students incorporate the appropriate vocabulary words you are teaching and practicing into their speech as well. The idea is to call attention to the key vocabulary that is being studied in the unit, as well as words and phrases from previous units of study, and have students use precise words in their speech.

For example, consider the following exchange:

Teacher: What will we be doing in this experiment?

Student: Taking the iron out of the breakfast cereals.

Teacher: What is another word for "taking out"?

Student: Extract.

Teacher: Tell me again in a complete sentence, please.

Student: In this experiment, we will extract the iron from a breakfast cereal.

When encouraging students to use the accurate, precise vocabulary word, you can begin by asking, "What is another word for ..." or by pointing out the word on a word wall, chart or vocabulary list. The idea is not to punish students for utilizing a more simple word, but rather to help them to incorporate higher level academic vocabulary into their speech.

Writing

High-quality writing is challenging for many students, and English learners are no exception. Many students are not comfortable with writing and are intimidated by writing. One way to lower the anxiety over writing is to provide students with low-stakes writing opportunities early and often.

At times, teachers think of writing opportunities as lengthy, complex tasks that students must complete over multiple class periods as well as through homework. Lengthier writing opportunities such as essays and short answer questions may be appropriate, but short, frequent, low-stakes writing opportunities can help students feel more comfortable with writing.

There are many opportunities within any class period to have students write. The use of quick-writes is an effective way to get students to write more often.

Essentially, any questions that a teacher asks throughout the course of the day can be turned into a writing assignment. Asking students to write a quick response, or even create a sketch or picture to demonstrate their understanding of the content helps students to reduce anxiety around writing.

Teachers ask many simple, comprehension-level questions throughout the day, and these questions lend themselves well to writing. However, students can also be asked higher-order thinking questions and encouraged to write a response.

To effectively incorporate quick-writes, first brainstorm what questions you might ask students throughout the instructional time you have with them. Choose the questions that will lend themselves best to having students write. As a scaffold, write a quick response you would like to see form your students. Use these as a model for students. You can also use your own response as a way to brainstorm sentence frames or starters to support student responses.

Once you have the prompts and a model for students, set some expectations for the writing. For example, you may ask students to write a certain amount, as measure by the number of lines of text, a specific number of sentences, a paragraph, half a page or a full page of writing.

Asking students for a specific number of facts or details is also helpful. Starting small and increasing the expectation along the way will help students to increase the amount and quality of writing students produce.

Reading

Challenges in reading for English learners are compounded by several factors, including students' previous schooling and native language literacy levels, as well as the complex vocabulary, syntax and sentence structures that are presented in academic texts.

To help English learners read grade-level, complex text, it is important to provide reading instruction, vocabulary instruction and appropriate scaffolding. Reading instruction should be aligned to the instructional needs of the particular student. English learners may benefit from instruction in the foundational skills as well as particular fluency and comprehension skills matched to their skills and needs.

Vocabulary instruction in general-academic and domain-specific vocabulary is critical for English learners. Vocabulary instruction, as tied to reading, should be comprehensible and in context. In other words, choose words that are both high utility and important to the text.

Vocabulary can and should be taught before, during and after reading the text. Begin with teaching words before reading that are not taught in context of the text. During instruction, point out the words that you taught before reading, and teach and emphasize the additional vocabulary words that have embedded contextual definitions or that are easily taught through the reading of the text.

Upon encountering key vocabulary, as well as specific sentences or phrases that are critical to the central idea or to comprehending the text, have the students read or repeat the section aloud or with a partner. One effective way to have students read key vocabulary and text is to say, "Read that with me." In this case, students should chorally read the word or text.

Note that choral reading involves students actually reading the text, not just repeating what you have read. There are several ways to approach this; sometimes teachers read an entire text to students for the first read as a way to introduce the text, model prosody and build background. Other teachers conduct a cold read, wherein students have never heard or read the text before.

Having the students chorally read text will both lower the effective filter as every student in the class attempts to read the text as well as encourage all eyes to be on the text. Students can also echo read the text, where they repeat what you have read, or the teacher can conduct a cloze read, wherein the teacher pauses or uses a signal to indicate when students should read the next word.

Adding in visuals is another effective tool to emphasize reading comprehension with students. Look for pictures that will support the content and vocabulary of the text that will be read.

Students can start off with an exploration of the pictures. Have them discuss the pictures, including their background knowledge about what is depicted, as well as predictions as to how the pictures relate to the text. While reading the text, utilize the pictures to support comprehension.

Pictures can help make abstract concepts and vocabulary more comprehensible to the students as well as help make the content more engaging.

Listening

Teaching listening can be a bit of a challenge, but there are several strategies that can be incorporated into the classroom to both help English learners listen more effectively as well as to assess students' listening skills.

The first step is to let students know that they should be listening at a specific time. Although we may think everything we say is of the utmost importance, we can usually also identify some specific points within instruction that are critical. Be sure that students are aware of which portions of the lesson are most critical and align to the lesson objectives.

Having students engage is discourse opportunities with each other also help to encourage listening. For example, after students have engaged in a portion of the lesson, listened to a series of directions or watched a video clip, for example, have students discuss what they heard with a partner.

Depending on the proficiency levels of the students you are working with, you can adjust the amount of content or length of time spent in listening before students process and debrief what they have heard. Keep the amount of time shorter for students at lower proficiency levels and increase the amount of time as students develop proficiency in English.

"Listen and sketch" is a Project GLAD strategy that is helpful to assess student listening skills. In essence, students first listen to a section of text read by the teacher or played on an audio advice. Choose text that is rich in descriptive language or that lends itself to visualization. Instruct the students to consider and reflect up on the images that are formed in their brain as they are listening to the text.

After listening to a chunk of the text, students should sketch the images that were formed in their brain, or their visualizations. Give a short time for students to sketch. Students can label each sketch with a number to sequence, add a title as instructed so that the teacher can see what the student sketched for each chunk of text, or fold a piece of paper to differentiate the various sections.

When teaching English learners, it is important to keep in mind that students will need instruction in both content and language. By incorporating SWRL into every lesson, English learners will gain skills to achieve at higher levels.

While not every lesson will lend itself to incorporation of each of these skills, consistently look for opportunities to incorporate instruction in speaking, writing, reading and listening in every content area.

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MultiBrief: SWRLing with EL: Speaking, writing, reading and listening

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Language skills are important for every student, especially in terms of academic language and vocabulary. Speaking, writing, reading and listening (SWRL) skills can and should be taught to students as part of every subject area, as these skills are paramount in learning the deep academic content taught in schools.

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An abbreviated look at what the SIOP Model is - language-embedded instructional practice where ALL kids have access to, interactions around, and opportunities for demonstrating content proficiency.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Broken down into eight components, this tool provides the opportunity for an educator to self-assess one's practice, and set goals specific to how language-embedded instruction will be developed.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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(SIMPLIFIED) Language-Embedded Lesson Plan Template (Workshop Model)

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(SIMPLIFIED) Language-Embedded Lesson Plan Template (Workshop Model)

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Having a plan for the "I Do", "We Do", and "You Do" of a lesson in which language is explicitly pre-taught, practiced, and demonstrated, questions are open-ended, and interactions are meaningful - is key! This (SIMPLIFIED) template can help with steering the ship planfully and sustainably.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Language-Embedded Lesson Plan Template (Workshop Model)

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Language-Embedded Lesson Plan Template (Workshop Model)

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Having a plan for the "I Do", "We Do", and "You Do" of a lesson in which language is explicitly pre-taught, practiced, and demonstrated, questions are open-ended, and interactions are meaningful - is key! This template can help with steering the ship planfully.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Eight solid reasons for why learning targets are crucial to cultivating a meaningful and effective learning experience for (and with) students.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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An exercise for taking a standard/MLR, simplifying it to its 'non-negotiable need to know', and creating content and language objectives in direct alignment of ALL kids leaving class able to 'rock' the bumper sticker'd 'need to know'!

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Build Your Lesson’s Bumper Sticker (TEMPLATE)

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Work smarter not harder as you use this 'cheatsheet' to navigate how to HOTS the verbage within your content and language objectives/targets...

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Fantastic, FREE resource that, using AI, translates (limited languages), generates texts and skill-builders, brainstorms interactive experiences, and LOTS more!

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MagicSchool.ai - AI for teachers - lesson planning and more!

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Join over a million teachers saving hours of time using the #1 AI Platform for Education, MagicSchool, to help lesson plan, differentiate, write assessments, write IEPs, communicate clearly, and more!

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Check out this ridiculously useful (free!) resource for adapting text for readers of all levels!

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Use existing curriculum, or generate standards-aligned content with real, cited sources.

Choose a grade level and language, and watch Diffit create complete, differentiated resources. ✅

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Use existing curriculum, or generate standards-aligned content with real, cited sources. Choose a grade level and language, and watch Diffit create complete, differentiated resources. ✅

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Broken down into eleven essential categories, this tool offers image-accompanied words for teachers to print up, laminate, and have 'at-the-ready' so that brand new NEWcomers are explicitly invited into and empowered within their new learning community (categories are: directions/cue-ing, in-room nomenclature, articles of clothing, materials, subjects/content, shapes, colors, destinations, the body, emotions, affirmations).

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Instructional Moves for Increasing Invitation & Empowerment

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Instructional Moves for Increasing Invitation & Empowerment

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Broken down into cultivating relationships, operational structures, instructional practices, vocab and literacy-specific development, and fostering resourcefulness, this tool can be a checklist for increasing access AND rigor within any classroom for ML students and ALL students.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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What is Realia and How to Use/Leverage it?

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What is Realia and How to Use/Leverage it?

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Getting 'real' brings a concept to life, provides visuals for vocabulary, and engages kids interactively!

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Supporting SLIFE Learners (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) 

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Supporting SLIFE Learners (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) 

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An expansively thorough resource provided by the Diane Fenner through the Maine DOE for educating and empowering SLIFE learners within our classrooms/schools and beyond!

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Excellent and COMPREHENSIVE resource for all things Multilingual Learning! Professional Development, Texts/Resources, Ideas...

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To deliver excellence one needs to know what is expected. Rubrics work. Use this rubric as an open template for any and all academic and behavioral skill-building and/or projects and students will be far more likely to meet and exceed standards with explicit feedback provided in relationship with the skill's/project's rubric (to step it up even more, have the kids co-construct what a 1, 2, 3, or 4 looks like in relationship to the skill or project!).

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Fantastic short reminder around the importance of using visuals and other nonverbal modes of communication/meaning-making - for ML students AND ALL students. Tons of ways to integrate visuals meaningfully in the every day classroom!

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People can consume and communicate an astonishing amount of information purely visually-by creating and observing images, infographics, and various forms of art. National, state, and provincial standards acknowledge the importance of visual literacy by requiring the use of multimodal texts in K-12 classrooms. The term visual literacy describes the skills and competencies needed to think critically through photographs, illustrations, and moving images. (Note: Students with visual impairments also demonstrate a form of this literacy using assistive technologies.) And although we begin interpreting information visually from birth, visual literacy is a learned skill, not an intuitive one. When coupled with discussion, visual literacy also provides crucial opportunities for critical thinking.

Building New Knowledge

A central principle of teaching is that we move from the known to the new; that is, we seek to anchor new knowledge in existing schema. Using strong visuals in lessons can help students activate prior knowledge and engage with new information. In a 2021 EL article, Pollock and colleagues note that using visual representations can be a powerful teaching strategy because visuals offer another channel for knowledge-building.

A display of a visual at the beginning of class can spark discussion about previously learned material. For example, a U.S. History teacher might use a Matthew Brady photograph of wounded soldiers in a hospital to recall learning about the state of medical treatment during the Civil War. The National Archives offers maps, photographs, cartoons, and other artifacts that teachers can incorporate into lessons.

For another example, a middle school science teacher who wants to introduce new concepts on environmental protection could use photographs, diagrams, and video from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to teach about data collection and the health of coral communities. Time series photographs taken at three research sites during the disaster can assist students in exploring the negative impact on coral in ways that text alone could not (Koval et al., 2021).

Selecting the Right Images

Teachers select written texts carefully, considering their content value, developmental suitability, and potential to offer just the right amount of challenge. Visual texts deserve the same deliberation. An important criteria when choosing visuals is that they are sufficiently complex to offer opportunities for engaging in critical thinking, not just information consumption. Guidance about the qualitative factors of written text complexity require examining a text's structure, coherence, and audience appropriateness (Fisher et al., 2016). These same characteristics can inform teacher selection of nonlinguistic representations.

Cappello (2017) offers criteria for image selection in lesson planning that aligns with recognized measures of linguistic text complexity:

Levels of Meaning and Purpose: There are multiple levels of meaning that require critique, include symbols that invite students to draw conclusions, and convey ideas or concepts.

Structure: The compositional devices challenge perception and the supplemental information provided, such as the caption, title, or key, offers further ways to understand the visual.

Language convention and clarity: The visual register may be formal (e.g., art, scientific diagrams) or informal (e.g., a child's drawing) but represents the subject clearly.

Knowledge demands: The background or prior knowledge needed to make meaning of the visual may be discipline-specific, such as understanding a math concept, or may reference texts or personal experiences.

Quadrants and Questions

To encourage deeper thinking and discussion when evaluating an image, teachers can use a quadrant approach and divide the visual into four sections. Each quadrant should spotlight details that might otherwise have been overlooked in the whole image. Then teachers can ask students what they notice, what is surprising, or what might be missing.

Another useful protocol is to cycle through these three questions (Cappello, 2017):

We developed a visual literacy lesson for use by American literature teachers at the school where we work to activate prior knowledge and engage in critical thinking. We used Carrie Mae Weems's 1991 photograph "Thoughts on Marriage" to foster discussion among students who were preparing to read the 1892 feminist short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The photograph shows a close-up of a woman in full bridal regalia (the familiar) with clear tape over her mouth (the mystery). Teachers initially paired this photo with a single line from the Gilman story: "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage." While the initial exploration of the image used Cappello's three questions, subsequent interrogations involved both the photograph and the text, which students compared for similarities and differences in representations of marriage a century apart. In doing so, the students learned something about early feminist literature and its discussion of traditional roles for women in marriage.

Visual literacy isn't just for secondary students. In the video that accompanies this column, kindergarten teacher Lisa Forehand uses a two-page spread in The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (Philomel Books, 2013) to discuss how Duncan, the protagonist, used his creativity to resolve disputes between the crayons. The image contains no words, but rather illustrates how Duncan addressed the crayons' complaints. Forehand applies a close reading protocol to the visual content, asking students to write arguments about how well Duncan listened to other characters. To do so, the students draw on evidence from the complex visuals and accompanying written text.

Elevating Critical Thinking

Since an emphasis on linguistic knowledge prevails in schooling, nonlinguistic information often ends up taking a back seat. Yet the images selected in textbooks and other teaching materials can offer a broader lens for understanding the academic, social, and emotional concepts we teach each day. With the right implementation, visual literacy instruction can elevate critical thinking and discussion in your classroom.

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Analyzing images gives students opportunities to think critically.

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"Six Essential Strategies for Teaching ML Learners"

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"Six Essential Strategies for Teaching ML Learners"

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As you plan your lesson/unit/experience, use this article as a checklist of sorts to ensure that you are hitting all six sub-components to ensure that your learners feel valued, are invited in, are held with high expectations (ML AND ALL learners, really).

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Over 10 percent of students in the United States-more than 4.8 million kids-are English language learners (ELLs), and the number is on the rise. Though these students do not learn differently than their native-English-speaking peers, they do have particular educational needs.

To learn about these needs-and best practices for addressing them-I interviewed a range of educators and observers, including Larry Ferlazzo, an educator and author of The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide; longtime teachers of English as a second language (ESL) Emily Francis and Tan Huynh; and the journalist Helen Thorpe, who spent a year observing a teacher who works with ELLs.

The group emphasized that the strategies listed here, which include both big-picture mindsets and nitty-gritty teaching tactics, can be incorporated into all classrooms, benefiting both native English speakers and ELLs.

1. Cultivate Relationships and Be Culturally Responsive

No surprise here. A successful classroom, our educators agreed, is one in which students feel known, appreciated, and comfortable taking emotional and intellectual risks. That requires intentional planning and consistent messaging by the teacher.

Emily Francis, an ESL teacher in Concord, North Carolina, makes clear that she wants her students to "embrace their culture and their language as a foundation of who they are" and to consider their acquisition of a new culture and language "not as subtractive, but as additive." To help support students who may never have attended school before or may be coping with migration-based trauma, Francis emphasizes that little things make a big difference. "The first thing that I need to think about is, how is my student feeling in my classroom?" she says. "Are they sitting next to a buddy they can ask a question in their home language? Do they feel comfortable tapping me on the shoulder if they have to go to the bathroom?"

But creating a supportive environment is also about cultivating an appreciation of diversity-it's critical that both the curriculum and the classroom environment honor and reflect the lives of the students. For instance, Francis makes certain that her classroom library is reflective of her students' diverse backgrounds and identities.

ESL teacher Katie Toppel, who teaches near Portland, Oregon, champions the value of home visits to get to know students' families and takes care to incorporate the particulars of students' lives, such as pets' names and favorite sports, into lessons. Students are most engaged when they feel a personal connection to a lesson or unit, a connection that's created in part by a teacher's investment in culturally competent relationships.

2. Teach Language Skills Across the Curriculum

English language learners should not be learning the fundamentals of English in isolation; they should be applying their developing language skills to rich academic content in all subjects.

"It is key that in mainstream classrooms, teachers understand their role as language teachers," says Valentina Gonzalez, a district leader in Katy, Texas, suggesting that all teachers should be aware of the specialized idiom they work within. "If we teach math, then we teach the language of mathematics. If we teach science, then we teach the language of science." Math teachers, in other words, should take the time to teach the unfamiliar vocabulary of mathematics- add, subtract, calculator, solve -concurrently with the teaching of math skills.

3. Emphasize Productive Language

The educators I interviewed agreed that productive language skills-hard-to-master dimensions of language fluency like speaking and writing-should be front and center from day one, even if students feel hesitant about them.

Beginning ELLs often develop receptive language skills like listening and reading first. Educators who are unaware of the typical path to fluency may believe that students who can follow verbal or written directions will be able to produce oral or written language, but that's usually not the case.

To support reluctant speakers, Tan Huynh, an educator who blogs at Empowering ELLs, suggests using sentence frames. "For example, when a science teacher wants ELLs to produce a hypothesis, they might offer the sentence, 'If _____ was added, then _____ because _____.' This sentence frame provides clues that empower ELLs to sound and think like scientists," Huynh says.

Andrea Honigsfeld, a professor of education at Molloy College in Rockville, New York, suggests that all lessons touch on every letter of the acronym SWIRL, which stands for Speak, Write, Interact, Read, Listen. The approach intentionally privileges productive language skills "from the beginning," she says.

4. Speak Slowly-and Increase Your Wait Time

Easier said than done. Still, many of the teachers I spoke to said this simple change is vital. You can record yourself speaking in class to measure your cadence, and adjust.

"Adding in an extra three to five seconds after we pose a question offers all students time to think," explains Gonzalez. "However, for English learners, it also gives time to translate, process their thinking, translate back into English, and develop the courage to answer. If we call on students too quickly, many of our students will stop thinking about the answers-or trying to answer at all."

That means undoing some of our own habits, according to Larry Ferlazzo, a high school ESL teacher in Sacramento, California. "Researchers have found that typically most teachers give one to two seconds between asking a question and expecting a student response," he says. "The same researchers have shown that if you wait three to five seconds, the quality of responses is astronomically greater."

5. Differentiate-and Use Multiple Modalities

All kids learn better when they engage with material in multiple ways: Lessons that involve writing, speaking, drawing, and listening, for example, give students four opportunities to deepen their understanding of the work. For ELLs, those additional engagements also provide a little breathing room so they can work through the language barrier.

Helen Thorpe, a journalist who spent a year observing Eddie Williams's classroom in Denver in order to write a book about immigrants called The Newcomers, marveled at Williams's method of differentiation. "Eddie would enunciate very clearly in English multiple times, he would write it on the board, and he would go to the projector to give a visual. And, finally, he'd be asking the kids to verbalize aspects of the lesson themselves," she says, tracing Williams's efforts to move his students from receptive to productive language fluency.

Toppel uses a strategy called QSSSA to scaffold classroom discussions with ELLs. The letters stand for Question (the teacher poses a question, then gives ample think time); Signal (a designated motion like a thumbs-up, a finger on the nose-something that lets students indicate that they're ready to answer); Stem (the teacher provides a sentence starter for the question-for example, for "What is your favorite place to read a book?" the stem might be, "My favorite place to read a book is _____"); Share; and Assess.

6. Incorporate Students' Native Languages-and Don't Be Afraid of Technology

Bilingualism is the goal, of course, not replacement.

Ferlazzo uses a strategy called "preview, view, review," which leverages a student's native language skills as a foundation for learning the new language. He introduces a topic and encourages students to preview it in materials in their home language (often using multilingual videos and other online resources); he then teaches the topic in English, and then has students review the information in their home language.

Ferlazzo also encourages teachers to embrace technologies that students find helpful, like Google Translate. He stresses that the app can be a useful way for students to translate words quickly-but warns that it can quickly "become a dependency" if it's used as more than a handy dictionary.

Thorpe agrees that Translate can take pressure off teachers, who sometimes find that they "just stand at the front of the room and say things over and over. And if the kids didn't know what those words are, they're out of luck." Translation technology means you can say it once (or twice) and let the students use the technology to translate key words and phrases.

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6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

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We interviewed educators with decades of experience in teaching ELLs and tapped a network of experts and observers to find the strategies that work.

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Congin's Mr. Galvin (kindergarten) rocking "Zoophonics"!

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Congin's Mr. Galvin (kindergarten) rocking "Zoophonics"!

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So important to create movement and whole-body experiences throughout the learning day. Check out this five-minute video shared by Mr. Galvin who rocks bringing the learning kinesthetically to life, so that kiddos can rapidly hear, identify, and produce sounds and letters!

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Want to get great at something? Get a coach

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How do we improve in the face of complexity? Atul Gawande has studied this question with a surgeon’s precision. He shares what he’s found to be the key: having a good coach to provide a more accurate picture of our reality, to instill positive habits of thinking, and to break our actions down and then help us build them back up again. “It’s not how good you are now; it’s how good you’re going to be that really matters,” Gawande says.

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Frayer Model Video

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The Frayer Model is a graphic organizer for building student vocabulary. This technique requires students to define target vocabulary and apply their knowledge by generating examples and non-examples, giving characteristics, and/or drawing a picture to illustrate the meaning of the word.

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Creating and Sequencing Text-Dependent Questions to Support English Language Learners

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Creating and Sequencing Text-Dependent Questions to Support English Language Learners

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Article from Achieve the Core

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Equity in education starts with having the same expectations for all students. English Language Learners (ELLs) are often excluded from Shifts-aligned instruction, despite the fact that the Shifts were designed with all students in mind, and with the hope of narrowing existing opportunity gaps. This is sometimes a result of district policies and other times a result of efforts to protect ELLs from content that teachers fear may frustrate or discourage them. The reality is, however, that with strategic planning and scaffolding from the teacher, ELLs can engage in-and benefit from-Shifts-aligned instruction just as their native speaking peers do, even while they're still developing English language skills.

Today I'll be focusing on the Shift calling for students to "Ground reading, writing, and speaking in evidence from text, both literary and informational." Essentially this Shift says that we want our students-all our students-to have opportunities to practice a skill they'll be expected to hone throughout college and their careers, the ability to read and comprehend a text and then make sense of and communicate about what they've read.

What about our ELL students whose tested reading level is several years below grade level? Can we still expect them to answer text-dependent questions? The answer is yes!

When I was teaching, I'd often try to incorporate a number of non-text-dependent questions in the hope of keeping my ELLs (and other students) engaged and to give them an opportunity to participate in class discussion, but the reality is that I was underestimating their potential and denying them the literacy work they needed to engage in to improve their overall literacy.

So what can teachers do to ensure their ELLs can work meaningfully with text-dependent questions? Use those questions (and the order in which they're placed) as a scaffolding strategy.

Let's look at an example from a lesson on the popular education article site Newsela: First-generation college students find support for their unique challenges. Newsela allows teachers to alter Lexile level, but for the purposes of this blog post, we'll assume that the teacher has completed a text complexity analysis and selected the Lexile level appropriate for his or her grade. This is one of the questions associated with the lesson.
"Write a short paragraph that explains the central idea of the article. Use at least two details from the article to support your response."
You can see how answering a conceptual question like this could pose challenges for ELLs for whom large portions of the vocabulary, and other text elements, could be unfamiliar.

One of the most efficient scaffolds a teacher can employ to support ELLs (and native speakers!) is to strategically choose and order text-dependent questions in a way that builds and reinforces key pieces of information from the text. This means including a mix of factual and vocabulary-focused questions as well as more inferential questions like the one above that require students to put pieces of information together to draw a conclusion. This is a research-based strategy recommended in the Institute for Education Sciences' Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School.
Developing Questions that Scaffold Meaning Making
Answering the question above is like completing a puzzle. Eventually, you'll want students to be able to put the whole puzzle together and craft an answer that explains how the article spotlights the unique challenges faced by first-generation college students and how they're finding ways to address those challenges by forming a supportive community of other students in the same situation.

Before they can complete that puzzle, however, students need to start fitting together pieces of the puzzle by defining vocabulary, understanding key factual points, and filling in gaps in background knowledge. For instance, some texts may focus on places, events, or activities that are familiar to U.S. students, but may be completely foreign to non-native students, making it difficult for them to identify which parts of the text are most significant. Strategically crafting a question sequence that focuses on these key puzzle pieces can scaffold comprehension, and also can help teachers see where confusion sets in.

Continuing with our example, here are some factual and vocabulary-based questions a teacher might ask in order to build a foundation that helps students prepare to answer the more conceptual question:

Answering these questions will require students to move through the text, re-read key portions, and think about key points the author makes. Students now have a solid foundation to build from when answering inferential questions, including the question posed above.
Timing
A key thing to remember when structuring assignments is to make sure that all students will get to answer challenging, inferential questions during the time allotted. This means that teachers must think strategically about how fast their students work, and determine the optimal number of factual/vocabulary questions to pose prior to asking more inferential questions. Depending on their proficiency, it may take some students longer than others to work out the answers to factual questions, but just answering the factual questions isn't enough. We need to hold the same expectations for both native and non-native speakers, so if some of your ELLs are consistently only getting through the factual, scaffolding questions, then you need to readjust the ratio.
Crafting Well-Written Questions
Another critical thing to consider is how questions are written. First and foremost your questions should be clear and grammatically correct. Don't take it for granted that questions from textbooks check those boxes! You may need to rewrite questions in order to make sure you're modeling clear and correct writing for students. Secondly, make sure your questions are direct and concrete: a vague question does not have a higher cognitive demand than a concrete question. For example, here are two ways you could ask the same question about the article above:
What effect does being a first-generation college student have on Audrey Olmos-Govea? Describe some of the challenges Audrey Olmos-Govea faces because she is a first-generation college student.
The differences are subtle, but the second question articulates exactly what you want of students: you want them to describe the challenges this particular student faces. The first question is more open to interpretation: some readers might note that Audrey seems more determined or has become more resourceful because she is a first-generation college student. If your goal is for students to return to the text and identify the named challenges, then the question should be clear about what you want.

As you review or create questions, make sure to consider these criteria:

Of course, strategic question selection/organization is only one component of a well-rounded scaffolding plan for ELLs. It is an important one to remember, however, since it can be done seamlessly within a whole-class lesson and help students-both ELLs and native speakers-engage in the same high-quality, Shifts-aligned instruction. Anything less is unfair to our students.

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Creating and Sequencing Text-Dependent Questions to Support English Language Learners - Peers and Pedagogy

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Equity in education starts with having the same expectations for all students. English Language Learners (ELLs) are often excluded from Shifts-aligned instruction, despite the fact that the Shifts were designed with all students in mind, and with the hope of narrowing existing opportunity gaps. This is sometimes a result of district policies and other times [...]

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An Idea for Bringing In Realia - Units of Measurement in 'Real Life'!

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An Idea for Bringing In Realia - Units of Measurement in 'Real Life'!

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The "Nifty Thrifty Fifty" (Leveraging Morphemes)

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The "Nifty Thrifty Fifty" (Leveraging Morphemes)

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While there can be controversy around the usage of word walls, having explicit instruction around morphemes (smallest units of meaning, ie. "re-" or "dis-" or "-less") is crucial to building background and developing a student's resourcefulness when engaging unfamiliar language.

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Simple quadrant of questioning that escalates the challenge from within > beyond > evaluative...

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"Easy to use/reference" resource for question stems that bring student thinking from: recall > comprehension > analysis > application > evaluation > create

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Super simple, quick introduction to the SIOP Model...

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Reflections on Teaching Multilingual Learners

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SIOP consists of instructional features that cover eight aspects of lesson design and delivery: Lesson Preparation, Building Background, Comprehensible Input, Strategies, Interaction, Practice & Application, Lesson Delivery, and Review & Assessment.

Each SIOP lesson has content and language objectives that are clearly defined, displayed, and orally reviewed with students. These objectives are linked to subject area standards and curricula, and the academic vocabulary and language that students need for success. For teachers, the goal is to help students gain important experience with key grade-level content and skills as they progress toward fluency in academic English. Students know what they are expected to learn and/or be able to do by the end of each lesson. Also within this component, teachers provide supplementary materials (e.g., visuals, multimedia, adapted or bilingual texts, and study guides) because grade-level material may be difficult for many second language learners to comprehend. Adaptations are provided through a number of ways, such as differentiated texts, supportive handouts, and audio selections such as those that may come with texts or are available online. Also, meaningful activities must be planned to provide access to the key concepts and provide opportunities for students to apply their content and language learning.

In SIOP lessons, teachers help students connect new concepts with their personal and cultural experiences and past learning. Teachers sometimes build background knowledge because some immigrant language learners have not attended schools in the new country, or are unfamiliar with the cultural references in texts. At other times, teachers activate students' prior knowledge to tap into what students already know, to identify misinformation, or to discover when it's necessary to fill in gaps. The SIOP Model places emphasis on students building a broad vocabulary base. SIOP teachers increase attention to vocabulary instruction across the curriculum so students become effective readers, writers, speakers, and listeners.

SIOP teachers realize that English learners acquire their new language differently from majority language speakers and their instruction includes a variety of SIOP techniques so students comprehend the lesson's key concepts. Examples of language accommodation techniques include teacher talk that is appropriate to student proficiency levels; restatement; paraphrasing; repetition; written records of key points; and previews and reviews of important information. Additional techniques include demonstrations and modeling of tasks, processes, and routines; gestures, pantomime, and movement to make concepts more clear; opportunities for students to engage in role-plays, improvisation, and simulations; visuals and supplementary materials, such as pictures, real objects, illustrations, charts, adapted texts, audiotapes, CDs or online resources (perhaps in the students' home languages, if available); and hands-on, experiential, and discovery activities. Further, teachers explain the academic tasks they expect students to perform, orally and in writing, with demonstrations, modeling, and sample products as needed.

This SIOP component addresses student learning strategies, teacher-scaffolded instruction, and higher-order thinking skills. Some students aren't familiar with learning strategies and benefit from learning how to use them flexibly and in combination. SIOP teachers frequently scaffold instruction (provide support, as needed) so second language students can be successful with academic tasks. As English learners master a skill or task, teachers remove supports that were provided, and add new ones for higher levels of application. The goal, of course, is the gradual increase of student independence, so that second language learners can achieve independence . SIOP teachers also ask English learners a range of questions, many of which require higher levels of thinking, thus going beyond questions that can be answered with a one- or two-word response. Instead, they ask questions and create projects or tasks that require students to think more critically and apply their language skills in more extended ways. Students' answers may contain few words but the goal is for those words to represent complex thinking.

Students learn both conversational and academic language through interaction with one another and with their teachers. However, it is academic proficiency that is associated with school success. In SIOP classes, oral language practice helps students develop and deepen content knowledge, and it supports their second language listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. In pairs and small groups, second language learners practice new language structures and vocabulary that they have learned, as well as important language functions, such as asking for clarification, confirming interpretations, elaborating on one's own or another's idea, citing evidence in the text to support claims, and evaluating opinions. Opportunities for oral language practice are especially important since oral language proficiency impacts all aspects of educational achievement.

Practice and application of new material is important for all learners because it helps them master newly learned skills. SIOP teachers ensure that lessons include a variety of activities that encourage students to apply both the content and language skills they are learning through hands-on materials, group assignments, partner work, projects, and so forth. For second language learners to learn the target language, it is imperative that every lesson provides opportunities for them to practice and apply content information, as well as literacy and language processes (i.e., reading, writing, listening and speaking).

Throughout SIOP lessons, tasks, activities and teaching practices support the content and language objectives. SIOP teachers routinely ensure that students know a lesson's content and language objectives, so everyone knows what they're to learn and be able to do. SIOP teachers introduce (and revisit) meaningful activities that appeal to students, they provide appropriate wait time so students can process concepts, and the classroom instruction fosters high motivation and engagement.

As part of each SIOP lesson, teachers make time for review and assessment throughout a lesson. In fact, a lesson may begin with a review of previous learning or a check of students' knowledge of a topic. SIOP teachers check on student comprehension frequently to determine whether additional explanations or re-teaching are needed. By doing so, they can also provide feedback on correct and incorrect responses, a practice shown to benefit second language learners. Effective SIOP teachers also review key vocabulary and concepts with students throughout the lesson and as a final wrap-up they review the content and language objectives. The assessment information gleaned throughout the instructional period is then used to plan subsequent lessons.

Based on: Echevarria, J., Vogt, ME. & Short, D. (2017). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model 5e. New York: Pearson.

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SIOP consists of instructional features that cover eight aspects of lesson design and delivery: Lesson Preparation, Building Background, Comprehensible Input, Strategies, Interaction, Practice &amp...

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Building the "Bumper Sticker" for Standard-Aligned Objectives

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Building the "Bumper Sticker" for Standard-Aligned Objectives

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This is a resource to support teachers in honing in on what the "non-negotiable take-away" is from a lesson, so that kids are incredibly clear on what they are to rock and be able to be demonstrate by the lesson's end.

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Build Your Lesson’s Bumper Sticker (TEMPLATE)

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A tool to help you meet students where they are in their language development

The Can Do Descriptors highlight what language learners can do at various stages of language development as they engage in the following contexts:

Bilingual and English-immersion early care and education programs

Bilingual, Spanish-immersion and English-immersion K-12 language programs

Bilingual, Spanish-immersion and English-immersion K-12 content-area classrooms

Similar to the WIDA English Language Development Standards Statements, the Can Do Descriptors describe what learners can do with language across different content areas. Although the Can Do Descriptors relate to the ELD Standards Statements, they don't replace them but are used to supplement the standards statements during instruction.

Educators and early childhood practitioners can use the Can Do Descriptors to

Better understand what students at different levels of language proficiency can do with language

Expand their understanding of what the process of language development can look like

Collaborate around scaffolding that students need to engage in content-area learning and develop language at the same time

Differentiate instruction and classroom assessment for language

Interpret ACCESS for ELLs test scores

The Can Do Descriptors have not yet been updated to reflect the 2020 Edition; however, they remain available as a valuable tool for communicating with stakeholders about what students can do at each language proficiency level. WIDA is monitoring educator use to help inform the timing for updating the materials.

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A tool to help you meet students where they are in their language developmentThe Can Do Descriptors highlight what language learners can do at various stages of language development as they engage in the following contexts:

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Ahmednur Isaaq Lewiston High School
Teacher Sarah Stocker

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Here is our Connors-Specific SIOP Re-BOOT Slide Show (Interaction is this year's Priority!!)

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Here is our Connors-Specific SIOP Re-BOOT Slide Show (Interaction is this year's Priority!!)

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You can also do this for Building Background.

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I Do, We Do, You Do: Scaffolding Reading Comprehension in Social Studies

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VocabGrabber : Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus

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VocabGrabber lets you automatically create lists of vocabulary from any text.

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Visual thesaurus for Clumsy | Graphwords.com

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Visual and textual thesaurus for Clumsy from Graphwords.com, the most comprehensive online service for synonyms and definitions.

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Log in to Mentimeter – Create and access dynamic presentations - Mentimeter

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Welcome back! Log in to quickly access your presentations, review results, or create a new Menti. Engage your audience with interactive content.

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Video Resource for Teachers and Students

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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One Pager

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Log in to Mentimeter – Create and access dynamic presentations - Mentimeter

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Welcome back! Log in to quickly access your presentations, review results, or create a new Menti. Engage your audience with interactive content.

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ReadingQuest Strategies | A to Z List of Strategies

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Literacy and reading comprehension strategies for use across all content areas.

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Listenwise | Listening Comprehension Matters

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Listening comprehension matters | Listenwise

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Explore the best podcast lessons for grade-level rigor. Curriculum aligned lessons with literacy & language supports, great for English Learners. Free sign up!

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video

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Comprehensible Input Demo for Language Rich Classrooms Training