Working With ELL Students

Over the past week, a number of excellent ELL resources came through my inbox.  Being mindful of strategies to support ELL students can elevate the supports and instruction for all the students in your room or school! This is the time of year when schedules are finalized for the coming year.  Will you be working with ELLs? Here are some good starting points.

If you don’t regularly use ALL of the amazing resource on Colorin Colorado, now is the time to visit the site and bookmark your favorites! http://www.colorincolorado.org/teaching-english-language-learners

Reading Rockets groups resources by themes and keywords.  Follow this link to see all of their resources specific to ELLs. http://www.readingrockets.org/reading-topics/english-language-learners

Stanford has assembled a set of high quality, research based tools for ELLs. http://ell.stanford.edu/teaching_resources   My favorite Venn diagram is based on the Mathematical Practices, ELA practices and Science practices  and can be found here http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/VennDiagram_practices_v11%208-30-13%20color.pdf

CCSSO created a framework for ELLs to support the Common Core Standards and NGSS. There is a LOT of helpful information for tiering/scaffolding work in ELA, math and science within this framework document.  The FLARE, formative language section, that begins on p 72 is a start point for identifying vocab, tiering instruction and designing scaffolds. https://www.ccsso.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/ELPD%20Framework%20Booklet-Final%20for%20web.pdf

Great research article on effective math instruction for ELLs http://laschoolreport.com/new-ways-of-teaching-math-to-californias-english-learners-are-getting-results-report-says/

Resources and ideas for ELLs shared out by Student Achievement Partners (achievethecore.org)

• Written work and classroom discussions are a critical part of college- and career-ready instruction and your English Language Learners CAN participate in these rich learning opportunities with the right support. Try some of these scaffolding techniques to support ELLs in accessing grade-level writing and discussion activities.
• Written language is different than everyday spoken English, and can pose comprehension challenges for all students, but especially English Language Learners. Structure classroom discussions focused on helping students take apart a sentence to discover how vocabulary, syntax, and grammatical choices convey meaning. This new protocol helps teachers identify "juicy sentences," provides a 10-step protocol for conducting a classroom discussion, and includes video examples. Special thanks for Core Advocate Aaron Grossman who helped design the protocol!