How do you teach students what a sentence is? The Sentence Patterning Chart, a strategy from Project GLAD, makes teaching sentences concrete and fun. Try singing sentences with your students and see for yourself!
Category: ELL
Wait Just a Second!
What if I told you that you could drastically improve student engagement and learning in just a matter of seconds and with little to no prep time? You can with the power of WAIT TIME!
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Over-Scaffolding: Beware of the Temptation!
We went into teaching to support students with learning. Sometimes, though, our well-intentioned supports can get in the way of learning and growing.
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Language-Focused Strategy Groups: Supporting Language Learning in Writing Workshop
Do you have ELL students in your classroom? Support their language development within the writing workshop with language-focused strategy groups!
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Chants for Writing: Support Routines, Conventions, and Craft
Chants are a highly engaging teaching strategy that support multilingual and monolingual learners alike. Try them out for teaching routines, conventions, and craft in writing workshop.
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Expanding Vocabulary and Use of Transitions in Students’ Writing
The work of Elfrieda (Freddy) Hiebert, professor and founder of textproject.org, explains further that “lists do not help our kids retain or expand their word knowledge. Students need networks of words that are grounded in ideas.”
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English Language Development Frames
When my sister and I were kids, we played Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo. I witnessed her saving the princess at least three times during our summer video game marathons. I watched as she passed through all the levels seamlessly. She knew what was expected of her at each level that would prepare her for… Continue reading English Language Development Frames
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One Voice, Many Languages
"Suddenly, the most beautiful words filled the air. Eva was rehearsing her writing aloud, in Spanish. I quickly reached for my phone and recorded her, so she'd remember her plans. But Eva didn’t need that. The words came right back, this time, on paper."
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A Writing Conference with an English Language Learner Using Google Translate
Read on for a snippet of a writing conference using Google Translate with an upper elementary student who is learning English.
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Helping Silent Kids Talk in a Conference
Last week, I had a little brainstorming session with one of my favorite groups of teachers and we came up with a list of tried-and-true teaching moves to help the truly non-talking kids open up a little when it comes time to talk about the work they've been doing.
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Digital Tools Invite Writers to Compose – #NCTE13
Two of the sessions I attended at NCTE in Boston helped me think about ways two digital tools could be meaningfully integrated into early childhood and elementary school classrooms to engage young writers. The "Exploring Collaboration of Multimodal Literacies in Early Childhood: Digital Filmmaking, Designing, and Co-Authoring" panel discussed the way digital video cameras could enhance learning, while two of the presenters in "Writing Workshop Is for All Students: Using Visuals, Oral Language, and Digital Tools to Maximize Success and Independence for English Language Learners" suggested the incorporation of digital cameras.
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Supporting ELL Students in Writing Workshop
One of the best closing sessions I attended at the Writing Institute was given by Amanda Hartman. "Scaffolds and Supports We Can Put in Place to Support Our ELLs (K-2)" was a 45-minute session that provided teachers with practical ways to support English Language Learners, or ELLs. While the session was targeted to primary grade… Continue reading Supporting ELL Students in Writing Workshop
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 