This resource is used to help ELL students recognize letters and their corresponding sounds. Students work to identify high-frequency words, correctly pronounce letter sounds, and match letters with their sounds. Bright and colorful games engage students, with rewards that keep them learning.

Teach Your Monster to Read would work best with younger ELLs or newcomer students. I would suggest assigning lessons that align with the targeted skill while also providing support at the student's language level.

This is a great resource for younger EL students or newcomers as it helps build basic language skills. I would suggest teachers use this in conjunction with small group instruction lessons.

Teachers can use this (free) program to support students in reading comprehension and test-taking strategies.

I would suggest introducing Readworks during small group instruction where students can work on specific strategies.

Teachers new to teaching ELL students should read this article to learn how information about the children can be used to help build relationships with both students and families as well as using the information to create meaningful instruction.

Contrary to belief, it is beneficial for students to use their native language while learning English. Several ELLs enroll in U.S. schools with little to no knowledge of the English language. In this resource, the author discusses the value of ELL’s home language. He offers research-based evidence as to why students should embrace and continue using their native language while learning English. If EL students come to school literate in their native language, they can learn English more quickly because they can transfer the acquisition skills of one language to another.

ELL students are the largest growing population in U.S. schools. Teaching newcomers can be overwhelming for any teacher and WIDA does a great job listing easy-to-implement strategies. WIDA discusses how to welcome newcomers and the importance of doing so.

Several additional resources are also included for further investigation.

ELLevation is used to organize data from diagnostic assessments and ACCESS. ELLevation also lists strategies that match students’ language proficiency levels and is used to track student progress.

Our school district uses this resource to keep track of EL students' data from ACCESS and Star assessments. Teachers can reference the scores of EL students, find their English language proficiencies, and find effective, research-based strategies for each student. I highly recommend EL and classroom teachers to schedule a meeting to go over student data and devise a general plan for the classroom.

This resource offers strategies to support EL’s in reading. Many of these are already implemented in everyday classrooms. Still, teachers need to be more intentional when working with EL’s as they require explicit instruction and time to practice the skills.

Reading Rockets has great resources on reading instruction. As reading is integrated into every content area, this article is a must read for all teachers.

Colorín Colorado has a plethora of resources for EL teachers. This particular site offers information regarding the role of academic language in the classroom. Social vs. academic language is discussed as well as how cognates can be used to aid in language learning.

Teachers should be aware of the differences between social and academic language acquisition. Once they are aware, teachers need to know how to plan and teach both to students.

As always, Colorín Colorado offers additional resources at the end of this article.

The website discuss why technology is so important for ELLs in their language learning. It also offers nine different technology tools that are free and can be easily implemented into everyday lessons. As with any instruction support tool, technology usage should be planned and purposeful in learning. The authors also offer suggestions on how to use technology when communicating with families.

Here are a few ways to incorporate reflective teaching practices:

• Keep a journal. Take notes about your lessons. Write down what went well and what might need to be changed.

• Invite peers to observe. Ask a trusted co-worker to observe a lesson. Ask them for positive and constructive feedback.

• Record your lessons. Take a video of yourself delivering a lesson. This gives an overall view of the classroom and you may see things you did not know were happening. Ask a colleague to sit in with you when you watch to help make sure you are kind to yourself.

• Be honest! If you feel things are not going well, it's okay. Reach out to your peers or instructional coach and ask for help.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Contact your instructional coach or ELL district coordinator. They have information regarding training and may be able to register teachers for professional development courses.

• Attend live webinars. Some are free, some may be at a cost to you. WIDA offers free webinars on subjects such as how to help students with bilingual writing and strategies for supporting multilingual newcomers.

• Visit sites such as Colorín Colorado or Edutopia. They have many resources for working collaboratively with EL teachers, ELL families, and students.

• The first, the affective filter, states that learners must feel safe and comfortable in an environment before they take chances in the classroom. (Lavendez, 2010). Teachers should work towards creating a space where all students feel valued and free to make mistakes in their learning.

• Comprehensible input + 1 is a hypothesis that states teachers should deliver instruction at a slightly higher level than a student's current proficiency (or ability) level. This works best when teachers know their EL students' current proficiency levels and work toward that next level. Make sure to use visual aids and less complex vocabulary during instruction.

  
  

Lavadenz, M. (2010). From theory to practice for teachers of English learners. The CATESOL Journal, 22(1), 18-47. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1112046.pdf

BICS is usually developed first. This happens through social interactions; listening to peers and teachers or playing at recess or other unstructured times. This social language is necessary for students to communicate their basic needs to others. BICS can take 6 months to five years to develop. Teachers should provide plenty of team/class building activities while making sure students feel comfortable practicing their English skills.

CALPs refer to content-specific vocabulary. This can take anywhere from four to seven years to develop. When teaching content vocabulary, teachers should front load words with pictorial aids, realia, or movements/gestures to aid in understanding. Students should also have opportunities to work in collaborative groups where they can problem-solve and use the content vocabulary.

• Pre-production, or the silent period. Students should not be required or forced to use English if they are not comfortable. They are processing and taking in their new language and environment.

• Early production-Students use small words and short sentences. There will be many errors.

• Speech emergent-Students begin using longer sentences and try to increase their vocabulary. They still need lots of support.

• Beginning Fluency-Social language is fairly fluent.

• Intermediate Fluency-Students can speak fluently with minimal errors. They still need support in an academic context.

• Advanced Fluency-Students are fluent across both social and academic contexts. (Robertson & Ford, n.d.)

Robertson, K. and Ford, K. (n.d.). Language acquisition: An overview. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-acquisition-overview

1. A teaching philosophy can help remind teachers of their values. What's important to you as a teacher?

2. It describes teaching methods used in the classroom. Getting these in written form can spark reflection and discussion on best practices.

3. It helps to set goals for both teachers and students. What are the professional goals you have? What academic goals do you have for students?

4. It includes the ways students are assessed; are you a traditional test-giver or do you provide alternative methods of assessing students?

Writing a new teaching philosophy can take time, but it helps to reflect on how teachers teach, assess, and learn. Once it's written down, create a pictorial image or flyer. Hang it in your classroom or keep it in a safe place to reference often.

• Human reader: Having a teacher read the question and answer choices helps students spend less time decoding the words and more time focusing on what is being asked. This is especially useful for math word problems as they tend to be lengthy. Human readers also help pace students while testing.

• Small Group Environment: Fewer students in a classroom decrease the need for privacy/testing folders which are bulky and take up space and block light. Students can be spread out in the room during testing. Having fewer students can also lessen the anxiety of having a lot of people in the room.

• Extended Time. Students may need additional time to process test questions or work out math problems. Students feel less pressure when they are not on a timed schedule.