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How Teachers Can Support ML students Write 

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How Teachers Can Support ML students Write 

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https://blog.betterlesson.com/strategies-for-student-voice-motivating-reluctant-writers

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This blog is the fourth in a series that highlights the work of the "Meeting the Needs of All Learners" Master Teacher Project. Each author is an experienced educator from the Kansas City area with deep expertise in differentiation and working with students with disabilities and English Learners. Learn more about the project

One of the greatest challenges in classroom teaching is the prevalence of so many different needs and backgrounds in one classroom. Meeting the needs of all learners, especially in writing, can be a huge challenge - but ultimately can also result in the greatest of rewards.

I've found that motivating reluctant writers boils down to relationships and creativity. It's through my relationships with students and my understanding of their backgrounds and interests that I'm able to tap into their creativity and motivate them to write.

This became eminently clear to me when I managed to tap into one reluctant writer's creativity quite by accident. This particular student was an English learner who did well in all of his classes but hated writing and did the bare minimum required. However, when I tasked the students with writing their own versions of a song we had studied, his interest and motivation were finally piqued. When recording their writing, most students simply read their songs as poetry, but this student chose to record himself singing his song. I had inadvertently discovered the key to unlocking this student's creativity. It was through music - which made sense given this student was enrolled in both choir and orchestra classes.

Like that middle schooler, all of our students have a well of creativity at their core - including, and often especially, those with the greatest gaps in education, language, and/or ability. They simply may not know how to access it and translate it into the written word. The teacher's job is to somehow tap into that creativity. These are the steps I use in that process:

Get to know your students' interests and backgrounds and what they're excited about. This is particularly helpful for those students who are learning English and/or have disabilities, as we often need as many tools in our toolbox as possible to reach them.

Some strategies to help with this process include:

A vital component to students overcoming their reluctance to write is their perception of their own abilities and their confidence in themselves. This is particularly true of our English Learners and our students with disabilities. We will often hear from these students the statement that they can't write - not that they don't want to, but that they can't. It's our job as educators to seek different ways to build their confidence and their willingness to try. Creating an environment where trying is more important than "getting it right" is critical to this process.

Some strategies to help in building students' confidence include:

The information gathered in step one (and that is continually updated throughout the school year) is absolutely critical here. Use knowledge of the students and their interests to provide creative writing opportunities that are exciting for them.

For example:

Provide mentor texts based on student interests. These texts might be the lyrics of a song, the story behind a video game, a recipe or cooking article, a blog post about cats, a how-to article on changing a car's oil, etc. After studying the mentor text with the students, guide them through the process of writing their own version of that text. In my classroom, I've used, which is a picture-rich, wordless text that immigrant students can relate to and all students can emulate. For more ideas, see Using Mentor Texts and Frames to Teach Writing .

Provide non-traditional storytelling options. Offer students the opportunity to express themselves in ways that aren't always tied to the written word. Discuss the nature of stories and of individual voices and how one's voice can be shared in unique ways. Explore these alternate storytelling options with students (i.e., through a podcast, a digital presentation, a short video, a speech, musically, artistically, or dramatically). These alternate methods can be especially critical in the process of helping language learners and students with disabilities find their voices. See Using Movement and Drama to Teach Language and Using Rhythm and Music to Teach Language and Content for more ideas on this.

Encourage student creativity through shared writing projects. Solicit student ideas and work collaboratively in small groups or as an entire class to create a piece of text. The pressure is less when it's a collaborative effort and students have more opportunity to fully express their ideas when they're not also tasked with writing them down. Having someone script out their ideas can really help in the brainstorming process and can serve as a road map for the story to follow. This is especially helpful for students who already struggle to express themselves, whether because of a disability or because they are still learning the language. See Using Mentor Texts and Frames to Teach Writing for more information and examples of shared writing activities.

The most important thing to remember in trying to motivate students to write is that every student is different. What works for one student may not work for the next. The key is to keep trying, to keep exploring new texts with students, to keep seeking alternate ways for students to tell the stories they have inside. It's a process and that process may not start with the written word. The journey may begin with illustrations and images and no words at all. Ultimately, the goal is for students to tell their stories in whatever way they are able, and of course, the hope is that their capacity for story-telling will grow over time.

Explore A.J.'s strategies and more on the Meeting the Needs of All Learners homepage.

has been in education for twenty years and is currently an ELL instructional coach for her district. She is also a children's and young adult author with a passion for the teaching of writing. She is a BetterLesson Meeting the Needs of All Learners Master Teacher. Connect with her at @ajculey or @tyrabbisaurus.

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Strategies for Student Voice: Motivating Reluctant Writers

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This blog is the fourth in a series that highlights the work of the "Meeting the Needs of All Learners" Master Teacher Project. Each author is an experienced educator from the Kansas City area with deep expertise in differentiation and working with students with disabilities and English Learners.

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How Teachers Can Support ML students Write

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How Teachers Can Support ML students Write

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https://twowritingteachers.org/2021/04/22/recording-revision-repetition/

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I shut the door to my closet and sat on the big green Rubbermaid tub, the one filled with hand-me-downs for the next kid. In the quietest place I could think of, hiding from my four children, I pressed record and started reading.

Stumbling once or twice, I went back into the Word document and adjusted the writing accordingly, then tried to record again.

So it went for each piece of writing for the Slice of Life Story Challenge in March, where I created an audio recording of my voice to accompany the alphabetic, where I learned a ton about myself as a multilingual writer. I realized that sometimes,we do our best teaching when we think, brainstorm and write alongside students. Writing every day helped me rethink the writing process, so in the classrooms where I coach, we are sharing new ideas with students.

Here, I offer three suggestions for how to support writers in the classroom with recording, revision and repetition.

RECORDING AS A REVISION TOOL

Because I grew up speaking both Farsi and English, with a lot of Arabic peppered in from my father's Bahraini side, my brain is a melange of words that don't always come out the way I initially intend. In my experiences as a newspaper writer and as a writing teacher, I have learned that recording my voice before getting to the end of the writing process supports my composition.

Oral rehearsal - the practice of saying aloud what we want to write - is a useful strategy for all students, since what we think we can say and what we say, we can write. And it is typically thought of as a planning tool. Before putting pen to paper, teachers might ask students to say aloud what they want to write, thinking across their fingers as they add details.

But for multilingual students particularly, recording an audio track as part of composing writing, before its final iteration, enhances alphabetic writing changes as a revision tool. Students are often better equipped to hear where they meant for writing to sound differently, and thus, able to adjust the writing on paper before preparing the piece for an audience.

I had to hide in my closet to find space for recording. In the classroom, teachers can prompt students to record themselves using headphones and apps like Mote or Google Voice Recorder, both easy extensions available for free downloading.

Often, the writing process in classrooms includes the recording and presentation of a 'final' piece. But as a multilingual writer, I value recording and auditory composition throughout the process far more than its inclusion at the end alone. Revision looks different for each and every writer, particularly for our multilingual students. Teaching students that audio recordings can be used as a revision tool is a helpful way for students to recognize that composition is personal and nuanced.

Recording and listening back to my writing helps support the cadence of sentences and various sentence lengths. I know, for example, where I want to isolate a sentence, and I know when I prefer a staccato list. Through recording and listening back to my words, I am able to more fluidly compose.

Implications for the classroom:

1. Explore a few options for audio recording, and determine which app feels easiest for you and your students.

2. Offer audio recording as a writing tool earlier in the writing process, introducing the strategy of revising writing after recording to ensure it sounds the way the author intended.

3. Show more than one writing process image, so students know that the process looks different for each writer.

Writing process with recording as an oral rehearsal and revision tool.

Traditional writing process, visual by Maureen Murray, a Chicago teacher.

AUTHENTICITY IN TRANSLANGUAGING

When I write about my families or memories, more often than not, my writing includes a line or two of Farsi. It is the language I grew up speaking and it's the language of my ancestors, as my parents were both born and raised in Iran. Including the English translation for readers felt empowering on its own - this idea that I could toggle between English and the other language that makes up the rest of my mind. But I quickly realized that I wanted for readers to hear the lyricism and poetry of the words in Farsi, not just the translation.

Translanguaging is when a person's full linguistic capabilities are used, honored and exalted; when one peppers in various languages when it makes sense to the speaker and writer. Listen to a piece with Farsi translanguaging here.

Recording my voice provided that opportunity, adding the authenticity of my voice as the author; adding the personalization of my translanguaging.

When multilingual student writers are able to use all parts of their language repertoires, they are able to access all parts of themselves (España and Herrera, 2020). As writing teachers, if we encourage these practices, we exalt the whole child. Forcing multilingual students to compartmentalize their languages, like checking baggage at the door, as Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul once lamented, serves no one.

Implications for the classroom:

1. Use multimodal writing mentors in minilessons and for small group examples that include translanguaging, so that multilingual students see the array of possibilities when composing. It is important for all teachers and students to make space for these textured pieces of writing, and seek opportunities to celebrate this work too, multilingual or not.

2. Encourage the fluid inclusion of various languages when students speak, draw, and create.

3. Ensure students are exposed to multiple languages in your classroom - whether in read alouds, short video clips, music tracks or classroom (virtual!) visitors.

Book recommendations: Octopus Stew (Velasquez 2021); Fry Bread (Maillard 2019), and Drawn Together (Minh Le 2018)

REPETITION

When I look back at my month of slice of life writing, I quickly realized that at least half of the entries include a repeated line or phrase.
My heart became whole in Iran. Life was less complicated then.
I found myself reflecting. Was it a stylistic choice, rendering my writing more poetic, or was it necessary for me, to ensure my writing stayed on topic? The truth is, it's likely a combination, but I found that the through-line supported my writing organization. It felt like a life-line that kept my writing and voice steady throughout. There were times when I had written a repeated phrase across the text but removed it once the whole piece was completely composed; it didn't stay each and every time. And yet, I felt I needed it.

For personal and narrative writing of multilingual writers especially, the use of repetition throughout a piece of writing feels supportive and useful as a strategy to keep the writing cohesive.

Implications for the classroom:

1. Explicitly teach students how to craft a line or phrase that could provide glue throughout the piece to tie all the parts together by asking, "What do you want readers to take away?"

2. Once the piece is composed, ask students to cross out the line to determine if it stylistically sounds better kept in, or removed. The purpose is to keep the piece beautifully woven together.

3. Include mentor texts with repetition used throughout, calling attention to the author's purposeful craft move.

Book recommendations: What Color Is My Hijab? (Ibrahim 2020); Watch Me (Richards, 2021); Magnificent Homespun Brown (Doyon, 2020); You Matter (Robinson, 2020); Big Papa and the Time Machine (Bernstrom, 2020).

Recording for revision, encouraging translanguaging, and repetition are useful strategies to exalt and empower multilingual writers. As teachers of multilingual students, encouraging translanguaging and recording as revision is akin to telling students: every aspect of you is valued. Every aspect of you is important.

Learn more:

Published by Nawal Qarooni

Nawal is an educator, literacy consultant and writer based out of Chicago, IL. Nawal worked as a classroom teacher, literacy coach and curriculum developer in Brooklyn and Chicago before launching NQC Literacy in 2014. She and her team support schools and districts by facilitating professional development and coaching around a holistic, balanced approach to literacy instruction: always looking through lenses of cultural-sustainability, inclusion and equity. Nawal earned a Bachelor of English from the University of Michigan, a Master of Teaching from Brooklyn College, and a Master of Journalism from Syracuse University's Newhouse School. She won a New Jersey Press Association Award for her international reporting and transitioned into education as a New York City Teaching Fellow. She is the proud daughter of immigrants and her role as a mother to four multiethnic, multilingual kids shapes her approach as an educator. You can find Nawal in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood or on Twitter at @NQCLiteracy. View all posts by Nawal Qarooni

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Recording, Revision and Repetition: Empowering Multilingual Writers

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Recording for revision, encouraging translanguaging, and repetition are useful strategies to exalt and empower multilingual writers. As teachers of multilingual students, encouraging translanguaging and recording as revision is akin to telling students: every aspect of you is valued. Every aspect of you is important.

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How Teachers Can Support ML students Write

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How Teachers Can Support ML students Write

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https://ncte.org/blog/2018/07/meeting-the-new-mainstream-how-ela-teachers-can-help-bilingual-students-succeed-in-the-writing-classroom/

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For the English teachers in Christina Ortmeier-Hooper's workshop, it was the longest seven minutes of the day.

She had asked them to respond to a prompt in a language other than English. As the seconds ticked down, some struggled through, crossing out words and sweating verb tenses, some switched topics to something that matched their limited second language vocabulary, and some simply gave up.

"I just felt so silenced," one teacher wrote later. "Every word seems to take so long to get on paper."

The exercise is a shorthand for the daily struggles English language learners face when writing in a second language.

In her recent book, Writing across Culture and Language: Inclusive Strategies for Working with ELL Writers in the ELA Classroom, Ortmeier-Hooper argues that ELL students are falling through the cracks in mainstream English classes.

"One of the default positions is that if a student is struggling with writing, we need to go back to basics," such as drilling students on grammar, sentences, and paragraphs, says Ortmeier-Hooper, who has taught in both ELA and ELL classrooms. But that approach cuts short the experience students get with longer, more complex writing projects-leaving many stuck on remedial academic tracks.

"They don't develop confidence; they develop a lot of fear," she says.

With ELL and multilingual students estimated to make up a quarter of all public school students by 2025, Ortmeier-Hooper points out it's important for ELA teachers to add strategies that will help these students build their writing skills.

And teaching strategies that help ELL students-better assignment design, stronger revision strategies, and clearer feedback-ultimately benefit all students in the room.

The Quiet Kid in the Back of the Room

Inside and outside classrooms, Americans are living in a culture that is at once more global, and also more anti-immigrant, than at any recent time.

In the book, Ortmeier-Hooper describes an Iraqi refugee, Ahmed, who texts friends in English, Turkish, and Arabic, watches soccer on Telemundo, and acts as a translator for his parents. But in his English class, this multilingual teen has "started to embrace anonymity because he feels like he doesn't see any other choice," she writes.

"It's a complicated balance for students," says Ortmeier-Hooper. "They're not quite sure if their language background is a deficit or an attribute."

And for ELA teachers, who might see five sections of students a day, "they're not sure what to ask, what's an appropriate question, what makes people feel singled out."

As a starting point in a multilingual classroom, ELA teachers can give students assignments that offer them entry points to talk about their literacies, identity, and community. "It opens lines of communication with students," she says, and it can uncover literacy lives that are often hidden in monolingual classrooms.

"Writing is a lot about risk-taking and trust, so I think teachers need to find a way to build that trust," she adds.

More Time, Fewer Drafts

A second important step is assignment and curriculum design.

In ELA classes where teachers are often pulled in many curricular directions, "there's a tendency to front-end load a lot of writing instruction,"says Ortmeier-Hooper.

Teachers may put a lot of time into the invention stage of a project, mapping, webbing, helping students come up with a good topic and in getting out a first draft. But then the class runs out of time for revision.

For students writing in a second or third language, first drafts take even longer. By the time they've decoded the assignment, read new articles or texts, mastered new vocabulary, and wrestled their ideas onto the page, "they literally run out of time," says Ortmeier-Hooper.

That cuts out time on the back end of the assignment for revision, which can be a crucial time to deepen the draft, to rethink audience and purpose and play with language.

"If that revision piece is really cut short, the students get the draft done, the teacher marks it up, they make corrections and hand it in, and it's done," she says. "There's a certain amount of relief that it's done."

But then the class rushes on to the next assignment, and ELL students have to start from scratch on a new assignment.

Slowing down the process, giving students time to have "writerly conversations," to rethink audience and purpose, to play with new language and master revision skills, is something that can help all students, says Ortmeier-Hooper. "I see a lot of students at the college level who are straight A English students, but they're very hesitant to take risks with writing."

Big Paper Moment

A teaching strategy that Ortmeier-Hooper says can work at all levels of writing instruction is called a Big Paper approach.

In this strategy, the class begins with an example text in a specific genre that the teacher projects overhead for the whole class to deconstruct. The second step is for the class to then collaboratively build a text in that genre together-also on the "big board."

The overhead approach makes the text visible to all students in the room and also allows students to mark up words and follow the discussion more closely. "It's a really powerful way of sending a message that writing can be changed to have different effects on readers," says Ortmeier-Hooper.

"It helps the teacher lead specific conversations around writing, to say, 'Let's look at this, let's take this apart, seeing what's happened to here,'" she says. The common text brings ELL students into the conversation because they aren't constantly grappling with a new text or set of vocabulary.

"They can look at it and say, 'I've already read this, I know the story, the argument, now I can look more closely at language use, at paragraph structure and a lot more.'"

Exercises like this can deepen the class discussion, according to Ortmeier-Hooper, even as they allow ELL students to feel like they're on a level playing field.

"Imagine if you had all 25 students in the room actively engaging and questioning and thinking more concretely about audience and purpose, about how the text is working. That benefits the top 10 students in your class as well as everybody else," she says.

The New Normal

While there's much work to do to make English classes more inclusive for ELL students, Ortmeier-Hooper believes ELA teachers are up to the challenge.

"The wonderful thing about ELA teachers is that they have been years ahead of the curve in embracing multicultural literature and diverse literature in the classroom. That's been a real strength," she says.

As English teachers see the number of multilingual students in their classrooms grow, she's optimistic that they will adapt to this new normal.

"I think all the intentions are in the right place. I think figuring out how to do it is the hardest part," she says.

Trisha Collopy is a Minneapolis writer and a copy editor at the Star Tribune. She has written for the Washington Post and the Star Tribune, among other publications. She has taught first-year writing and currently mentors first-generation college students through 360 Journalism at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
Read a sample chapter from Writing across Culture and Language or order the book.

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Meeting the New Mainstream: How ELA Teachers Can Help Bilingual Students Succeed in the Writing Classroom - NCTE

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For the English teachers in Christina Ortmeier-Hooper's workshop, it was the longest seven minutes of the day. She had asked them to respond to a prompt in a language other than English. As the seconds ticked down, some struggled through, crossing out words and sweating verb tenses, some switched topics to something that matched their limited second language vocabulary, and some simply gave up.

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What is ONE thing you can do to encourage ML writers to start writing and keep writing?

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What is ONE thing you can do to encourage ML writers to start writing and keep writing?

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https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/elementary-school-writing-apps-and-websites

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Top Picks

RELATED

Print | Save as PDF

Writing Platforms and Communities

Writing A-Z

Abundant, thorough resources help both teachers and students

Bottom line: This full-service program can help teachers easily weave writing into their curriculum.

Grades: K–6 Price: Free to try

Night Zookeeper

Impressive, subscription-based writing resource with individual feedback

Bottom line: This platform will inspire young writers but does require a generous budget.

Quill

Let students do the writing to make grammar lessons more meaningful

Bottom line: This tool offers excellent opportunities for grammar and writing practice, well-tailored to students' abilities and needs.

Grades: 1–12 Price: Free, Paid

BoomWriter

Collaborative writing platform has the potential to motivate

Bottom line: There's creativity possibility in this tool's unique brand of collaborative and competitive writing, but teachers should take care to keep things positive.

Edublogs

Encourage student expression and maintain digital portfolios with easy-to-use blog creator

Bottom line: Edublogs is a fantastic platform for any teacher committed to providing consistent opportunities for creation and reflection.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Paid

StoriumEdu

Collaborative writing game inspires purposeful storytelling

Bottom line: With some planning and customization, this unique card game can motivate thoughtful and sustained creative writing in your classroom.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free to try

ThinkCERCA

Structured literacy program inspires deep analysis, thoughtful writing

Bottom line: This is an expertly scaffolded and pedagogically sound resource for developing critical reading and writing skills.

Writable

Stellar program scaffolds the writing process with peer review and feedback

Bottom line: This is an intelligently structured tool for teaching writing and review that focuses on process as much as product.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free to try

NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program

Wildly engaging contest turns students into novelists in 30 days

Bottom line: A thoughtful adaptation of the famous and fun grown-up novel writing contest, NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program is brimming with advice and encouragement as well as classroom support.

Storytelling and Book Makers

Tell About This

Photo and word prompts inspire storytelling; app records the results

Bottom line: Versatile tool can be used as a pre-writing or publishing activity.

Grades: Pre-K–1 Price: Free to try, Paid

Write About This

Fun pictures and prompts are great for getting kids to start writing

Bottom line: The tool’s flexibility for many possible applications makes it an excellent bet.

Grades: Pre-K–5 Price: $3.99

My Story School eBook Maker

Sleek platform is a great artistic tool, intro to digital creation

Bottom line: This is a great and accessible option for getting kids telling stories and introducing them to digital creation tools.

Book Creator

Magically easy way to create and publish digital books and multimedia

Bottom line: This is a top-quality creation tool that lets students of many ages and abilities publish their own digital books.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free to try

Elementari

Storybook creation tool offers cool blend of ELA, art, and coding

Bottom line: This is a great storytelling tool for younger kids that also offers an entry point into coding and computational thinking.

Grades: 1–5 Price: Free, Paid

Storybird

Social storytelling site helps kids create, publish storybooks

Bottom line: A great fit for teachers looking to develop students' writing and digital citizenship skills through storybook creation.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free to try

Me: A Kid's Diary

Unique take on self-exploration relies on prompts to guide reflection

Bottom line: With plenty of ways to express and document their thoughts and more, this app can help students learn something new about themselves.

Shadow Puppet Edu

Resource-rich video slideshow maker a gem for a variety of classrooms

Bottom line: Easy-to-use free tool is a must-have for elementary classrooms; just keep an eye on sharing and privacy.

StoryJumper

Free storybook creation site has great support for classrooms

Bottom line: Reliable storytelling tool gives students solid tools to create, collaborate, and share work including real, printed books.

For Special Needs Students

Read&Write

Useful text-to-speech extension unlocks the written word

Bottom line: This handy set of accessibility tools helps students get the access they need when they need it, promoting independence and building confidence.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free, Free to try

Pictello

Fabulous tool can help kids create social stories

Bottom line: Pictello is a great way for kids to create social stories that can help them find their unique voice and prepare for internal and external struggles.

Grades: 1–5 Price: $19.99

CAST UDL Book Builder

Sensitively designed so any student can write and share books

Bottom line: CAST UDL Book Builder is an excellent resource to get kids started on digital content creation; it's simple and straightforward and caters to a variety of learning styles.

Get tips for using these tools in the classroom

See related resources

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Elementary School Writing Apps and Websites | Common Sense Education

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Help younger students create, critique, and share writing. Explore this Elementary School Writing Apps and Websites Top Picks list of 24 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.

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https://learningattheprimarypond.com/blog/ways-to-support-reluctant-and-struggling-writers/

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7 Ways To Support Reluctant and Struggling Writers in K-2 - Learning at the Primary Pond

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Some of our students dislike writing, find writing difficult, or struggle for some other reason. Here are 7 suggestions for helping struggling writers!

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Can they write in their home language??? Translanguging ???????
Yes!!!!

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https://www.middleweb.com/37649/7-things-to-do-now-for-our-ell-writers/

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A MiddleWeb Blog

There is no time to waste. Our middle grade English learners are relying on us to help them advance in language proficiency quickly. The sense of urgency on our part must rise. Whether we teach ESL, math, science, language arts or another subject, we teach students first and they are counting on us.

Writing supports every curriculum and is a lifelong skill that our students will need post-secondary. Here's how you can build the writing skills of your English learners now:

Model, Model, Model

Each kid benefits from seeing how to write before they DO the writing. BUT for English learners this is even more important because language structures may vary from their native language.

For example, if I want my students to write about themselves describing their age, I might show them that in English we write: " I am nine years old." This is different from other languages like my native language where a person might say, "I have nine years." Modeling what we expect from students gives them a clear goal for their writing.

Be Explicit

With English learners, being explicit with instruction is more than important. ELs have a heavy load. They are learning a new language, learning content, and possibly learning how to navigate a new culture. When we are explicit with instruction, we create a clear path to learning for them.

Content and language objectives are a great way to start when being explicit. For instance, "Today we are going to revise our writing for word choice. We will do this by reading our draft to a partner and discussing sound words." Then use an anchor chart that supports these objectives. Show students how you to do it using clear, actionable steps and let them try.

Anchor Charts

Anchor charts that are clear and interactive and are made with student input are best for all students. If kids can go back to the anchor chart while the teacher is working with a small group and they use the anchor to support their independent learning, then it's a good chart. The best anchor charts have minimal text and are supported with sketches, pictures or graphics.

An anchor chart is like a finger print of the teaching that took place. In some cases, students need their own mini-anchor chart to keep in their writing journal for easy reference. Taking a picture of the chart and printing it small or making a copy of the chart on a sticky note is a way to give the student an artifact from the lesson. On the contrary, if students cannot read the anchor chart, then it is useless to them and becomes nothing more than wallpaper.

Language Level

Know and understand each student's language level and use this information to guide you as you plan instruction. Second language learners may need linguistic supports to achieve success with grade level expectations. As beginners in language, they may first need to use pictures in their writing. Labeling, copying, and talking about the pictures will support their language and writing growth.

The use of leveled sentence and paragraph frames will also benefit students as they continue to learn English. Remember that even students who are near grade level in English will still benefit from support in writing. Academic writing and grammatical structures can pose a struggle for students who are learning content and language simultaneously.

Sentence Stems

The use of sentence stems has become more common. And that's a great thing. However, we can do better if we tailor the use of sentence stems to meet the specific needs of ELs.

Beginner ELs have extremely different writing needs than Advanced ELs. Both have needs and we want both of them to grow in proficiency, but if we prescribe the same sentence stem to them, we are doing a disservice. It would be like a doctor prescribing the same treatment to each patient who walked into his door.

Instead, we need to assess each student and prescribe what they need at the time (not all year because if we do a great job, they won't need the same supports all year).

​Targets

This seems pretty obvious, but it's often forgotten. We all need targets. When I decided to go back to college to get my master's degree, I had to complete an Action Research Project. I had never heard of one before, so in my mind it was a vague project. It was totally new to me. I couldn't imagine how long it needed to be, what sections it had to include, what it looked like in general, etc. I needed examples of Action Research Projects in order to be able to hit the mark.

Our kids need the same, and these examples need to be attainable for them. They should be peer examples and not by adult authors. Yes, mentor texts are great, and I love reading them to my students, too. But I can't possibly expect my ELs to write like Kate DiCamillo right now. I need them each to feel successful, and then I continue to lift the bar. Succeed, lift the bar, repeat. We have to immerse them in the genre.

​Talk

The opportunity to talk and listen to a peer is vital for ELs. In the early stages of language development, they may be reluctant and that's okay.

However, the opportunities for talk should always be present. Structured conversations don't have to take long (35 seconds to 2 minutes) but their value is tremendous! My favorites are using talking heads or Q Triple S A.

We know that the person who does the talking is the one who is doing the learning. Unfortunately, if the talk is mostly coming from the teacher, then the teacher is probably learning more about the subject than the students are.

As a young teacher, I was guilty of being center-stage in my classroom and talking more than my students. I thought it was my job to deliver the content TO them. It was only after I realized that my talking was preventing them from uncovering the content that I had a mindshift. I had to let them do the talking.

I restructured the classroom environment and provided the students a way to discuss, negotiate for meaning, evaluate their thinking, and clarify by holding structured conversations.

Writing Is a Potent Elixir

When students talk before they write, their writing becomes more solid and definitely greater than without talk.

Writing is not just a way to check for understanding. Writing can help students to build on their existing knowledge. It can help them dig deeper into their thoughts and understandings.

​Writing is a powerful way to support learning. ​

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7 Things We Can Do Right Now for Our ELL Writers

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A MiddleWeb Blog There is no time to waste. Our middle grade English learners are relying on us to help them advance in language proficiency quickly. The sense of urgency on our part must rise. Whether we teach ESL, math, science, language arts or another subject, we teach students first and they are counting on us.

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Use Graphic Organizers and Sentence Frames
Provide Explicit Instruction
Utilize Students’ First Language
Let Students Talk
Be Careful with the Red Pen

https://theeducatorsroom.com/tips-for-supporting-multilingual-learners-with-writing/

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Caitlin Johnson is a K-5 teacher of multilingual learners in Minnesota. She loves learning about her students' cultures and languages. She is currently studying to obtain her master's degree in literacy education at Concordia University, St Paul.
If you are a teacher, you've seen the look of a reluctant writer. You've probably witnessed the eye-rolling, crumpling of paper, staring off into space, or playing with an eraser. As an elementary teacher of multilingual learners, (MLs) I have seen my fair share of reluctant writers too. Throw another language into the mix, and a subject that's already hard becomes even harder. After researching how to engage and support my students with better writing instruction, I would like to share a few instructional scaffolds and strategies that I hope other educators will also find helpful. The best part? Strategies that are best for multilingual learners benefit all students.
Use Graphic Organizers and Sentence Frames
Multilingual learners have the difficult task of learning a new language while also building their content knowledge. One way to support students with this challenge is to provide graphic organizers. Research shows that graphic organizers can reduce the cognitive load for MLs by allowing them to organize information using pictures and words rather than complete sentences during the planning stage of writing (Squire & Clark, 2020). Anytime I assign a writing task, I like to provide a graphic organizer for my students to plan with. Sometimes, we plan our writing together, or sometimes they do it independently. When they use a graphic organizer, I always allow them to draw, write or use a combination of both. I have found that using graphic organizers allows my students to organize their thoughts and understand the genre better, which usually results in better writing.

It can also be helpful to provide sentence frames and word banks during writing. Sentence frames can be a great way to model the type of sentence structure or grammar that you are looking for. They also allow students to focus on the content, rather than getting caught up in having perfect grammar or sentence structure. While they can be beneficial, it's important not to overdo them. I've been guilty of over-scaffolding writing tasks by providing too many sentence frames for students who really didn't need them. I've found that, while they are great for many students, they can sometimes stifle creativity if they are overused.
Provide Explicit Instruction
Explicit instruction on writing conventions, organization, and vocabulary is especially important for multilingual learners (Squire & Clark, 2020). All students, and especially MLs, benefit from having the organization and writing of different genres modeled for them. It is also important to provide explicit vocabulary instruction. The other day, my students were learning about traditions, and how people share their traditions with their communities. For a writing task, I planned to have my students think of and describe a tradition that their family has. I could not assume that they knew what a tradition was, nor could I just spew off a definition then send them on their way to write. It was crucial for me to provide examples and visuals to explain the meaning of the word because I knew that they needed to know it in order to understand and complete the writing task. We often think about the importance of explicit vocabulary instruction for reading, science, and social studies, but sometimes we forget that it is just as important for writing.
Utilize Students' First Language
Research has shown that we are doing a great disservice to our students if we require them to use only English in the classroom. Rather, we should be providing our MLs with opportunities to utilize their first language in a process called translanguaging. According to researchers Patricia Velasco and Ofelia García (2014), "translanguaging does not view the language of bilinguals as separate linguistic systems. The term stresses the flexible and meaningful actions through which bilinguals select features in their linguistic repertoire in order to communicate appropriately" (p. 7). In other words, we should be celebrating a child's ability to speak two or more languages, and we should highlight the idea that when we allow them to use their first language in the classroom and in their academic writing, their learning will actually be enhanced.

The idea of translanguaging has been studied by a variety of researchers and is based on the idea that by allowing our students to think, plan and write in their primary language, they will be able to have much more complex thoughts on the topic than if they were restricted to only using English. When they are given permission to use some words in their native language while writing, this helps prevent their thoughts from being interrupted or slowed down because they don't know how to write something in English. Eventually, they will develop proficiency in English, and they will have more advanced thinking skills that are needed to produce better writing (Velasco & Garcia, 2014). I used to think that as an English teacher, I was supposed to encourage students to always use English. I've since learned the importance of allowing them to translanguage, and I don't just allow them to use their first language in the writing process, I encourage it.
Let Students Talk
Research suggests that learning is social and that students need opportunities to talk with their peers and discuss their writing plans before being required to write (Squire & Clark, 2020). I have found that the overall quality of my students' writing is better when they have opportunities to brainstorm, collaborate, and sometimes even write with a partner. When they have the chance to express their thoughts out loud before being required to write, this boosts their confidence and motivates them to begin writing. Not only that, but it also gives students a chance to practice their speaking and listening skills as they are communicating with a partner. It also provides an opportunity for some students to practice translanguaging if they are with a partner whose native language is the same as theirs (Squire & Clark, 2020).
Be Careful with the Red Pen.
While it is important to provide constructive feedback on things such as grammar and writing conventions, we need to be careful not to discourage our students by marking up every single error. Researchers Adrienne Wiley and Jonathan McKernan (2017) maintain that when providing feedback to MLs, it is important to focus on content first, than on writing conventions and grammar. They suggest that prior to assigning a writing task, teachers should determine which grammar concepts or conventions they think are most important for that particular task. Maybe it's using pronouns appropriately, or correctly using past tense verbs. Whatever it is, pick just one or two things that you are going to focus on, and make sure your students are aware of what you will be paying attention to.
Conclusion
A few shifts to our writing instruction can go a long way for the success of our multilingual learners. I hope that you found some of these suggestions to be helpful and that you are inspired to try some of them in your classroom. After all, multilingual learners deserve the support and scaffolds that will allow them to reach their highest potential as writers.

References
McKernan, J., & Wiley, A. (2017). Examining the impact of explicit language instruction in

writers workshop on ELL student writing. The New Educator 13(2), 160-169.

Clark, S.K., & Squire, A. (2020). Exploring how fourth-grade emerging bilinguals learn to write

opinion essays. Literacy Research and Instruction 59(1), 53-77.

García, O., & Velasco, P. (2014). Translanguaging and the writing of bilingual learners.

Bilingual Research Journal 37(1), 6-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.893270

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Tips for Supporting Multilingual Learners with Writing - The Educators Room

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Caitlin Johnson is a K-5 teacher of multilingual learners in Minnesota. She loves learning about her students' cultures and languages. She is currently studying to obtain her master's degree in literacy education at Concordia University, St Paul. If you are a teacher, you've seen the look of a reluctant writer.

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PICTURE, WORD, INDUCTIVE MODEL (PWIM)

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Rooted Linguistics: Serving Teachers of Multilingual Learners

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Phoenix children’s hospital speech therapy

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Using Pictures to Promote Language Development

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This article was originally posted on 2-25-2017 and has been updated on 9-17-2020 to include information relevant to distance learning. “A picture is worth a thousand words” or so we’ve heard.…