Instructional Considerations for English Learners
Tips for Supporting English LearnersThere is much to consider when working with English Learners. From cultural considerations, to academic modifications, each student you meet will have their own unique needs. Working cross-culturally has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me. As ESL teachers, we have the opportunity to encounter the world through the children we teach. When events don't go exactly as planned, sometimes the only thing we can do is to be willing to sit in the awkward until it starts to make sense. We are advocates, helping students make sense of their world.
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Formative Assessments
All students benefit from having the opportunity to reflect on their learning through informal formative assessments. These strategies give teachers an indication of how their students are progressing toward learning targets. Formative assessments are also very engaging, and support other great strategies for English Learners including cooperative learning, oral rehearsal, and using graphic organizers.
Learning TargetsClearly defining the learning target, the purpose for the learning, and the success criteria lets students know exactly what they are about to learn and how they will know when they've been successful. This is "What, Why, How" model I created to help students know the reason behind our learning.
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Graphic OrganizersUsing Graphic Organizers helps English Learners to see relationships between words and ideas. When working with difficult concepts like cause and effect, compare and contrast, and cycles, using an organizer is a visual way to reinforce the impact one item has on another. We also use graphics to help students organize their thoughts for writing. When used as a plan, graphic organizers can take the mystery out of the writing process, allowing students to participate in writing activities before they fully understand the components of each genre. Follow the link to a document released by WIDA showing how these selected graphic organizers can be used to support the 5 ELP standards.
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ScaffoldingThe Oreo Cookie Guide to Scaffolding is a way to look at what your students can-do in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing and matching that with the content they need to know. We build on modifications to make the content accessible to our learners. My husband thought a better metaphor would be a sandwich, since we are trying to get students to understand the "meat" of the lesson. I prefer sugar, so an Oreo cookie sandwich it is!
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