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Creating Independence in an ESL Classroom
We all love independence! Independence is weaved throughout our lives and with us everyday. How do you bring independence into your ESL classroom? In my first year of teaching that was one of my biggest struggle. I was literally running all over the place! All I heard during class was “Teacher!” After my first year , I vowed to search for the secret. I knew it had to be a complicated formula. What was the secret? The answer is so simple. Routines and consistency is they key to bringing independence in your classroom. Here are some tips that you can use in your classroom. Establish Expectations The first step…
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7 Effective Tips to Survive Testing Season with your ELLs
Surviving Testing It is here! Testing season…it is almost like it should get it’s own season. For English Language Learners this can be an extremely stressful time for your students. There have been many times that the ELLs burst into tears, anxiously clicked through the exams, and asked to take 20 bathroom breaks. I am not a strong believer of “survival mode” however I found myself there when it comes to testing season. This past month my students had a district Common Assessment, WIDA, IREADY, and MAP Assessments. They are also preparing for the upcoming state assessments. Initially I was going through the motions when this time of year came…
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Literacy Stations for ELLs
I simply love using stations in my classroom. The students are very engaged with the activity, and it is a great way to create independence in your classroom. The students, with the proper routines and procedures, are engaged and working efficiently. Here are some stations that I use in my classroom to promote independence and to encourage academic achievement. The first station that I use is vocabulary station. At the vocabulary stations I usually have different activities the students can do. For example, I have a vocabulary activity called Scrabble Tiles. The students use scrabble tiles to spell out vocabulary words. Then they use those words in sentences. Another activity…
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Getting My ESL Class Funded on Donors Choose (My Ups and Downs)
In the beginning I struggled with getting funded on Donor’s Chose. My students in my ELL classroom needed technology and new books. I would post a project for $1200, and let it sit there hoping it get funded. I didn’t realize at the time that I need to put in some elbow grease to get the project funded. Within a year I have had a total of 10 projects funded with Donor’s Chose! I have included some tips on how you can get your project funded on Donor’s Chose. Reach out to all your family and friends first. I always make them aware that I am trying to fund a…
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ESL Speaking Activities: Numbered Heads
Que? Shuh? Que Dijo? I constantly was hearing the words “what?” in a wide range of languages. My students were simply not speaking in English. I knew I need to make a drastic change. After attending a conference, I was introduced to Numbered Heads. It turned into such a huge success in my classroom. I can remember when I first tried it two years ago, and was thinking could this ever work for my newcomers. I am here to tell you that it works! It increases engagement and holds the students accountable during discussion time. I am here to explain how you can incorporate this activity for newcomer ELLs. This…
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Getting Your ELLs to Speak: Practical Tips for Your Classroom
Yes. No. I see the dog. These are how my students sentence complexity was on a daily basis. At first I was okay with them speaking this way, as long as they were speaking. Year after year I noticed my students were not making significant growth on the end of the year language assessment. The problem was right in my face. I was not being intentional with my speaking lessons. I also realized my students were not speaking in compound and complex sentences. I was so excited to hear the ESL students speaking, that I wasn’t setting high expectations as to HOW the should be speaking. After some serious reflection,…
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ESL Speaking Activities: Target Talk
Target Talk in my classroom has completely transformed introducing learning objectives in my classroom. A learning objective tells what the student will be doing in class. Before students would simply say the target, and we would move on. Now when the students are talking about learning objectives, they actually dive into what the learning objective means. We often make connections and predictions to events in the world. Below are directions on how you can introduce Target Talk into your classrooms. 1. Post the learning objective in kid friendly language. This is really important because you want the learning objectives to be accessible to the students. This also helps the students…
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A Step by Step GuideDo you want to know how to write language objectives? Download the Language Objective Guide to use the graphic organizer with this process. This guide will walk you through how to write language objectives step-by-step. You may be thinking what is a language objective? You might not be sure about content objectives. Teacher talk can get a little overwhelming. I know when I first started I had no idea what all these words mean. Here is a list of commonly used words with their definitions. A content objective tells the student what they will be learning during the lesson. For example, I can analyze the connections and distinctions between individuals,…
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ESL Curriculum Guide (Free Sample)
There is a wide range of newcomer ELLs. Some students may have a strong educational background in their native country. You might have some students who have interrupted schooling. There are others who might have went to school,but only for a few years. When they arrive in your classroom ready to learn, you have a melting pot of situations. I want you to know you are not alone. I would like to share with you some effective tips I have used in my classroom. You need a plan. I cannot stress this to you enough. Before you get into how you are going to teach the students, you first need…
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ELL Activities: Differentiating for ELLs using Ed Apps
“I feel so smart!” Students were excited as they were logging into their computers to start on their assignments. The students were not aware that the assignments were tailored for each of their needs. One of the pitfalls of differentiation is the looming questions teachers have to hear in their classrooms. “Why is their assignment different from my assignment?” There are two great online tools I am using in my classroom that have transformed my teaching practice and allowed me to reinvent my differentiation practices. It is important to note that my school is not a 1:1 school. I have been using these strategies on desktops and tablets that have…
