Positive Transfer Strategies for ELs by Alexandra Colmenares

Karaoke Day!

alexacolmenares722 — 2025-04-17 18:40:05 UTC

Singing helps students familiarize and memorize vocabulary words in the second language.

Word Scavenger Hunt

alexacolmenares722 — 2025-04-17 18:46:01 UTC

The teacher will write down several vocabulary words on flashcards and place them face down on the ground all over the classroom. The teacher will say an action word and the students will need to turn over the flash cards to find the word. Once the word is found, the students will act it out.

Charades!

alexacolmenares722 — 2025-04-17 18:53:07 UTC

A student will act out an action word and the class will raise their hand to guess what the word might be.

Messenger and Scribe

alexacolmenares722 — 2025-04-17 19:14:24 UTC

There will be six sentences on sticky notes displayed in different spots of the classroom. The students will be grouped into pairs and then play one round of rock paper scissors. The loser will be the scribe and the winner will be the messenger. The messenger will visit each sticky note one by one and study the sentence. The messenger will then return to their scribe and tell them the sentence. The messenger cannot make grammatical or spelling corrections. After all the sentences are written, the students will go back to their seats. The six sentences will be displayed on the whiteboard with the correct spelling and punctuation. The groups will highlight or circle their mistakes and rewrite the sentence correctly.

Vocabulary Four Square

alexacolmenares722 — 2025-04-17 19:32:04 UTC

Students will choose a vocabulary word from the word wall that they have never seen before. Students must provide a definition, synonym, picture, and sentence using the vocabulary word. If the student is able to finish early, they can write down where they might have seen this word in their life on the back of the paper.