When spring is in the air, take advantage of the nice weather and integrate seasonal topics into your lessons. Learning about springtime is a fun way to help Multilingual Learners (MLs) learn about the environment around them. Here are some fun spring teaching ideas for MLs. Teach about Animals Animal life cycles are great for teaching transition words. One fun activity is to show students a video of an eagle or other animals with eggs or newborn babies. In the…
Learning how to compare and contrast are higher-order thinking skills and an important component of reading comprehension. They are also a great way for students to practice language skills and build academic language. When students compare they look for things that are the same. When they contrast they look for items that are different. Here are some activities to introduce comparing and contrasting to students. Comparing and Contrasting with Pictures Show students two sets of pictures. Have them compare and…
Help students learn to appreciate the environment around them and learn new vocabulary. You can also use some of these resources to create text sets for students. Using multiple texts will help to build students’ background knowledge and increase their vocabulary as they read or listen to new texts. Here are some ideas for celebrating Earth Day with ELLs. These are also great activities to get students outdoors and/or learning about the world around them. Learn About Climate Change Earth…
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…
Task cards are a great tool to support English Language Learners. There are many leveled sets available, making it easy to differentiate. There are cards with short reading passages, grammar practice, writing prompts, speaking questions, and more. Take a look at these five ideas for using task cards with your ELLs that will keep them engaged throughout the lesson. 1. Play a Game Kids love playing games. You can keep the game simple and print out a basic game board….
Learning about prefix and suffixes can help increase students vocabulary. When they learn about the meaning of common affixes the are able to greatly increase the number of words that they understand and can use. Reading vocabulary words in context helps to give them greater meaning than when they are in isolation. I created a set of prefix and suffix task cards to help my ELLs read affixes in the context of a short paragraph. This set of task cards…
What is Oral Language? Oral Language skills are an important component of language development. It is made up of at least five key components (Moats 2010) including phonological skills, pragmatics, syntax, morphological skills, and vocabulary. Students need opportunities throughout the day to practice their speaking and listening skills. For English Language Learners this is particularly important so that students gain proficiency in speaking and listening in English. Research shows that ELLs need a low-anxiety environment, repeated practice, comprehensible input, and drama…
There are many benefits to using task cards with English Language Learners. Come learn about 5 of the most important.
10 ESOL Teacher Must Haves As an ESOL teacher I worked with students in a variety of settings. Here are my 10 ESOL teacher must haves that I have found to be valuable tools for working with students in a wide range of ages and levels. 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. Teaching…
Teaching ELLs Context Clues English Language Learners often read text without fully comprehending all of the words that they are reading. Using context clues are one way to help ELLs increase their overall comprehension of the text that they are reading. Many of the strategies of teaching context clues to ELLs is similar as when a native English speaker learns this strategy. There are some differences though. Think about what would make sense This is one of the first context…