EAL Activities by eric julius ley

Making Meaning

leyejulius — 2025-09-07 12:29:48 UTC

Learners explore an already familiar topic (possible, a theme in guided reading) through connection making, wondering, building explanations, and synthesizing in order to achieve deeper meaning.

NDA (Name, Describe, Act)

leyejulius — 2025-09-07 12:39:15 UTC

Learners notice and describe an image in ever increasing layers of detail. For young children or for students learning another language, the routine can also help to build language proficiency. It also helps boost working memory.

The Story Routine: Main-Side-Hidden

leyejulius — 2025-09-07 12:41:23 UTC

Learners document the central story being told but then are asked to move beyond that (i.e., side stories and hidden stories).

The Leaderless Discussion

leyejulius — 2025-09-07 12:50:38 UTC

Learners watch a video or read a text in advance. Then, they create 2 questions they are interested in discussing. After which, they engage in a sequence of asking question, responding/sharing one's thinking, then summarizing the discussion.

Multilingual Writing Partners

leye4_5 — 2025-09-09 13:42:09 UTC

Uses both English and home languages to build academic language skills. Helps students move from spoken to written language through authentic collaboration.

Frayer Model with Translanguaging

leye4_5 — 2025-09-09 13:55:35 UTC

A simple tool to help EAL students learn key vocabulary words by using visuals, definitions, and examples. They can also make connections between English and their first language, as it supports their comprehension, builds their confidence, and honors their linguistic identity.

Multilingual Simon Says

leye4_5 — 2025-09-10 08:19:57 UTC

One-line: Students take turns (each week) teaching four body parts (nose, ears, shoulders, feet) in their home language, then lead the class using the frame: “Simon Says touch your _______ (home word).”

Shared Family Story

leye4_5 — 2025-09-10 08:33:52 UTC

Students bring a short sentence from their family in their home language, translate it into English, and add a drawing. Together, the class builds a bilingual story collection.

Multilingual Gallery Walk

leye4_5 — 2025-09-10 10:13:09 UTC

Students build a visual concept web around high-function unit words (e.g., family, community, school). Each web has drawings, English labels, and translations in students’ home languages. Together, the class creates a multilingual gallery wall

Transform & Respond (Reading and Speaking)

leye4_5 — 2025-09-10 10:48:18 UTC

Transform & Respond is a post-reading speaking activity where students take repeated sentence patterns from a predictive text and transform them (e.g., from a statement to a question)

Dot & Spot the Words

leye4_5 — 2025-09-10 11:42:02 UTC

Break a word into sounds with phoneme fingers, mark the letter(s) for each sound with dots, then brainstorm at least three words for each sound-feature.

Phonics Moles

leye4_5 — 2025-09-10 11:49:17 UTC

A movement-based game where students practice different spelling patterns for the same sound (e.g., long a: a_e, ai, ay). Secret “moles” try to trick classmates into running to the wrong corner, making it fun and engaging.

Guess the Object

leye4_5 — 2025-09-10 12:00:25 UTC

Students describe a secret object using adjectives (color, size, property, use) while classmates guess.