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Halloween Activities
Best Halloween Tips and Activities for MLs

Best Halloween Tips and Activities for MLs

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Many children look forward to Halloween each year. Multilingual Learners (MLs) who are newcomers may not have experienced Halloween in the past or celebrated it in a much different way. These students will benefit from a basic explanation of what the holiday is and the different ways that it is celebrated in their community.  This will help alleviate the confusion that may come up otherwise. Here are some Halloween activities and tips to use as you introduce the holiday to…

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How to use patterned texts with MLs
How to Use Patterned Texts with MLs

How to Use Patterned Texts with MLs

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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 build a personal picture dictionary for MLs
How To Build A Personal Picture Dictionary For MLs

How To Build A Personal Picture Dictionary For MLs

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A personal picture dictionary is a helpful tool to build your students’ vocabulary. Newcomer ESL students and Multilingual Learners (MLs) benefit from seeing pictures as they learn new vocabulary words. Beginning readers also benefit from using a picture dictionary to help with spelling. When you create your own picture dictionary for students to use, this gives you the flexibility to introduce the vocabulary or phonics words before adding them to the dictionary. Add in content vocabulary that goes along with…

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prefixes suffixes
How to Teach Prefixes and Suffixes to MLs

How to Teach Prefixes and Suffixes to MLs

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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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Diverse spring books
Diverse Spring Books for MLs

Diverse Spring Books for MLs

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Spring is a great time to read books about the environment, animal and plant life cycles, and other outdoor topics. For English Language Learners (along with all students), it is important to read books with characters from diverse backgrounds. Try to integrate characters with similar backgrounds as the students you work with so that they can see kids that are similar to themselves in the books that they are reading and listening to. Here is a list of spring books…

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Labeling Pictures
Labeling Pictures to Support ELLs

Labeling Pictures to Support ELLs

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Students at the beginning stages of writing need support with vocabulary development. One way to give this is to have students label pictures. This supports English Language Learners and beginning writers in learning new vocabulary and using beginning sounds. Here are some benefits of having students label pictures before they start writing. Vocabulary Support As students label a picture, they are getting practice writing the vocabulary word. ELLs might not know all of the objects and actions in a picture….

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Using sentence starters and sentence frames with MLs
Sentence Starters and Frames for MLs

Sentence Starters and Frames for MLs

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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
Summer Learning Tips for ELLs

Summer Learning Tips for ELLs

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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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mood and tone
Teaching Mood and Tone to ELLs

Teaching Mood and Tone to ELLs

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Mood and tone are closely connected concepts. Tone is the author’s attitude towards the topic. Mood is the overall feeling the reader gets when they are reading the text. Mood is particularly subjective. The important part is that students are able to defend their reasoning with evidence.  Here are some ideas for teaching these topics to your ELLs. Review Feelings A quick review of feelings is a great way to begin a unit on mood or tone. This can help…

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Language Domains Read Speak Listen Write with MLs
Language Domains: Read Speak Listen Write with MLs

Language Domains: Read Speak Listen Write with MLs

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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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