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Decodable Books for MLs
Decodable Books for MLs

Decodable Books for MLs

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  Decodable Books for MLs: The Importance of Decoding with Meaning What are Decodables? Decodables are books or passages that have controlled text. The words are simple to decode based on phonics skills that students have learned. They typically follow a sequence of skill progression such as consonants and short vowels, blends and digraphs, long vowels, affixes. MLs benefit from using decodables because they are able to successfully sound out most of the words they are reading independently. This gives…

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best back to school books
Best Back To School Books For Multilingual Learners

Best Back To School Books For Multilingual Learners

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The beginning of the school year is a great time to read back to school books, including those about starting at a new school, culture, respect, names, and identity. Diverse back to school books that feature a range of characters allow students to see their own and other cultures represented. It is especially important for MLs to read and listen to books where they see characters similar to themselves represented. Here are some diverse back-to-school books to use for a…

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5 Easy Back to School Activities for MLs
Easy Back to School Activities for MLs

Easy Back to School Activities for MLs

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The beginning of the school year is an important time for creating a classroom community. It is also important to help students feel comfortable in the classroom. Here are some simple back to school activities that will help you support your MLs and help them to get ready for a new school year. See What You Have in Common Have students fill out an interest survey and then let them see similarities they have with other students. Depending on your…

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using can/have/are charts with MLs (ESL students)
5 Ways to Use Can/Have/Are Charts with Multilingual Learners

5 Ways to Use Can/Have/Are Charts with Multilingual Learners

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Can/Have/Are charts are a simple way for students to organize information about a particular topic. These charts are helpful for MLs (Multilingual Learners), but all students benefit from using them. Anchor Charts Use can/have/are charts as an anchor chart for a unit. Put up the blank charts and work with students to add in words and phrases for each category. Use the premade chart as a reference for yourself to give students ideas, and after the anchor chart is finished,…

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How to use photographs to teach writing
How to Use Photographs to Teach Writing with MLs

How to Use Photographs to Teach Writing with MLs

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Using photographs to teach writing is a powerful ESL teaching strategy for Multilingual Learners. A single high-quality image can spark ideas and naturally build academic vocabulary. Photos also make differentiated instruction simple: every student writes about the same image, but you can adjust the amount of writing, the level of support, and the sentence complexity to meet each learner where they are. As a bonus, photo prompts are a simple way for ELD teachers to introduce content-based learning to students….

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Simple strategies for teaching grammar to MLs
Simple Strategies for Teaching Grammar to Multilingual Learners

Simple Strategies for Teaching Grammar to Multilingual Learners

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Grammar is a set of rules that helps organize words into sentences so they make sense. It explains how words work together to form a clear meaning. Teaching grammar is a concept that is easy to skip over when there is a limited amount of time in your schedule. Many native English speakers develop grammar skills naturally over time and can often tell if a sentence “sounds right.” However, this is not always the case for multilingual learners (MLs). The…

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Powerful Immigrant Civil Rights Books over pictures of books
Powerful Immigrant Civil Rights Books for MLs

Powerful Immigrant Civil Rights Books for MLs

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Immigrants have, and continue to make a lasting impact on the struggle for civil rights in the United States. Now more than ever is the time to learn their stories and support their advocacy. Discover immigrant civil rights books, including 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 MLs and all students to the important contributions of these individuals. Disclosure: This post…

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How to Use Thematic Units for ELD over top a group of students working.
How to Use Thematic Units for ELD Students

How to Use Thematic Units for ELD Students

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  An ELD (English Language Development) thematic unit combines content information with language standards. According to WIDA, Multilingual Learners are “best served when they learn content and language together in linguistically and culturally sustaining ways.” Using themes to teach language standards helps students to organize new information. It provides content for students to speak, read, listen, and write about. As the unit progresses, all students have a common background knowledge from earlier in the unit that they can build on….

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winter holidays
Winter Holidays for ELLs

Winter Holidays for ELLs

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Winter holidays can be a fun experience for those students who celebrate them. Some holidays are a great opportunity to teach students about different traditions and infuse fun into learning. Some English Language Learners 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…

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How to make vocabulary folders for MLs
How to Create Vocabulary Folders for MLs

How to Create Vocabulary Folders for MLs

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Vocabulary folders are a convenient way to organize vocabulary pages. I used illustrated vocabulary sheets to help my English Language Learners speak and write about new vocabulary. They are also helpful for younger students with spelling. Some primary classroom teachers I supported had a set of these folders on student tables or in a writing center. All students had access to them. I also used them with small groups of ELLs. These folders are simple to set up. Vocabulary Folders…

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