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How to Use Photographs to Teach Writing with MLs

How to Use Photographs to Teach Writing with MLs

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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How to Create Vocabulary Folders for MLs

How to Create Vocabulary Folders for MLs

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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How to Use Patterned Texts with MLs

How to Use Patterned Texts with MLs

Predictable or patterned texts can be a helpful tool for multilingual learners (MLs) in the ELD classroom. While these books often support language development through repeated sentence structures and high-frequency vocabulary, they often include words that are challenging for students to decode independently. Because of this, patterned texts are not typically the best fit for guided reading with beginning readers until they have developed the necessary phonics skills and sight word knowledge. Instead, ELD teachers can use these books during…

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How to Teach Prefixes and Suffixes to MLs

How to Teach Prefixes and Suffixes to MLs

Teaching students the meaning of prefixes and suffixes is a great way to increase their vocabulary. When they know basic prefixes and suffixes they are better able to use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words. This is true for all students, but it is particularly helpful for Multilingual Learners (MLs), as they may not be familiar with some of the words that have affixes from past exposure. Some suffixes can make changes to words such as tense,…

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Ten Fall Books for MLs

Ten Fall Books for MLs

Here is a collection of books for read-alouds, text sets, and mentor texts to use during the fall season. These books feature diverse characters and have vivid illustrations. Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click on an Amazon link and make a purchase. This does not cost you any extra money. Autumn Story Books Hiking Day– Follow a family as they hike up Hickory Hill and reach the summit. They see…

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How to Teach Vocabulary to ELLs

How to Teach Vocabulary to ELLs

How to teach vocabulary to ELLs can be one of the biggest concerns for teachers that are new to working with English Language Learners. How do you teach a lesson when some of your students are unfamiliar with the words that you are using? Which words are the most important ones in a story? Which words are worth the time it will take to find visuals or preteach them? Here are some strategies to help you support your ELL’s vocabulary…

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Sentence Starters and Frames for MLs

Sentence Starters and Frames for MLs

Using sentence starters and sentence frames is one strategy to support students in speaking, reading, and writing. A sentence starter is when you give students the beginning part of a sentence and they fill in the rest. A sentence frame is when there are blanks inside a sentence that students fill in. Here are some ways to use sentence stems and frames as a scaffold to support your multilingual learners (MLs). Sentence stems are helpful for getting students started with…

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Summer Learning Tips for ELLs

Summer Learning Tips for ELLs

Encourage students to continue learning throughout the summer. Here are some summer learning ideas to help kids have fun and keep learning to share with parents or use in a summer school program. Practice Native Language It might seem counterintuitive, but the summertime is a great opportunity for ELLs to practice their home language. International trips this year might still be postponed. Students can practice speaking their native language at home, reading books in their native language, or learning how…

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Language Domains: Read Speak Listen Write with MLs

Language Domains: Read Speak Listen Write with MLs

The four language domains of reading, speaking, listening, and writing are all important components of learning a new language. The domains often overlap. One area can benefit from practice on the same topic in a different language domain. A student’s background knowledge plays an important role in how quickly they progress in these domains during a particular unit. Whenever possible, create lessons that give students practice in multiple language domains. Reading  Learning how to read is complex and made up…

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Phonics for MLs

Phonics for MLs

Teaching phonics is an important aspect of a literacy program. This is especially true for ELLs. Phonics is the relationship between sounds and the letter or letters used to write them. Phonics connects sounds with letters and combinations of letters. In the English language, there are 26 letters and 44 sounds (called phonemes). A grapheme is how to spell each sound with either a single letter or letter combinations. Phonics helps students learn specific sounds in the English language. For…

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