A World of Language Learners - Teaching ideas for those teaching English Language Learners

Discover 5 Inspiring Immigrant Civil Rights Books

January 20, 2020 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

Immigrants have and continue to make a lasting impact on the struggle for civil rights in the United States. Discover biographies and picture books that tell the stories of how American immigrants have fought for civil rights. These books about immigrant civil rights will help introduce ELLs and all students to the important contributions of these individuals. Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click on an Amazon link and make…

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5 Strategies for Teaching Sight Words to ELLs

January 13, 2020 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 4 comments

Sight words are one tool for helping students learn how to be fluent readers. The challenge for English Language Learners (and all students) in learning these words is that the majority of sight words and other high-frequency words, do not have visuals that are easily associated with them. This can make it more challenging to give meaning to these words. Teaching sight words in the context of a phrase or sentence allow students to better remember them. Here are some…

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How to Fold a Mini Book

January 5, 2020 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

Creating a mini book is a simple way to quickly make a large number of books for reading and writing. You can teach students how to fold a mini book with simple to follow directions. Students can then use blank mini books for drawing and writing. Mini books are also a simple way to add to the number of simple to read books that students have access to. Learn how to fold a mini book with these step by step…

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Setting Language Goals with ELLs

December 30, 2019 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

Goal setting is helpful for students to reflect on their learning. Students can set goals at any point in the year. Setting language goals is particularly beneficial at the beginning of the school year, at the beginning of the calendar year, and before beginning WIDA or other language testing. For English Language Learners, setting a language goal helps them to become of how they are progressing learning the English Language. This can look different depending on the student’s age and…

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Rhyming and Word Families with ELLs

December 22, 2019 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

Teaching rhyming and word families are simple ways to include phonemic awareness and phonics activities. Recognizing and producing rhymes is one aspect of phonemic awareness. This is a skill that emergent readers experience through games, listening to stories and nursery rhymes. For older ELLs, rhyming often does not come as naturally. Rhyming ability is one predictor of reading success. It is not necessary to spend a large amount of time on rhyming activities. Short exposure is just as beneficial as…

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Gift Guide for Students

December 16, 2019 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

Students enjoy getting small gifts during the school year. You can give students gifts for their birthday, a holiday, or the end of the school year. They don’t have to be expensive. They also don’t need to be candy. Many of these gifts make fun classroom incentives as well. Target or the Dollar Store often have many of these items. If you prefer to shop online or want to buy in larger quantities Amazon has some deals. Disclosure: This post…

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Winter Holidays for ELLs

December 9, 2019 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

Holidays are a great opportunity to teach students about different traditions and infuse fun into learning. For some English Language Learners, they might be unfamiliar with the winter holidays that their classmates have celebrated for years. It can be helpful to go over basic holiday traditions and facts before the holiday begins. For American holidays such as Martin Luther King Day, Groundhog Day, or Veterans day most students will celebrate them (though it is important to be aware if this…

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Creating a Writing Center for ELLs

November 24, 2019 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

Students becoming better writers through practice. At the beginning levels, ELLs benefit from copying words with pictures, making lists, and using sentence frames to write simple sentences. A writing center is one way to tools that support students writing. Picture Support A writing center is a great place to add in picture vocabulary support. You can use a poster, word wall cards, or a picture dictionary. A simple way is to set out a vocabulary folder and blank writing paper….

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Thanksgiving Activities for ELLs

November 10, 2019 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 2 comments

Thanksgiving is an opportunity to integrate American culture into lessons. Some ELLs will have celebrated Thanksgiving their entire life. These students will be able to share their family’s traditions around the holiday. Other students will have never experienced the holiday before and will benefit from a basic overview of what the holiday is. Here are some ideas for integrating the topic of Thanksgiving into your November lessons. Include Multiple Perspectives As you teach students about Thanksgiving, here are resources to…

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13 Thanksgiving Books for ELLs

November 3, 2019 aworldoflanguagelearners Comments 0 Comment

There are Thanksgiving books on a range of topics to share with students. One theme I like to focus on around Thanksgiving is gratitude and being thankful. Students can read and listen to what others are thankful for and then write and talk about what they are thankful for. Families have many unique traditions around Thanksgiving. Immigrant families often add in their own cultural traditions to this holiday. Books are a great way for kids to learn about some of…

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