Teaching English Language Learners

Word cloud of assessment and synonyms Assessments seek to inform future instruction and to identify which students may need extra attention. When developing questions for summative assessments, teachers consider numerous…

Background knowledge in head with graphics that show types of background knowledge Background knowledge includes all information that is relevant to the understanding of a new topic (Lent, 2012). I…

Stick figures saying "hello" in different languages" My colleagues and I took part in an interactive experience to mimic the experience of ELLs. We played the game “Taboo” with an…

Here is an info-graphic that I developed to summarize ten common strategies that are used to help ELLs across all contents. Although this is not an exhaustive list of best…

Tier-two words are words that more-advanced speakers and writers use across different content areas (Ferlazzo, 2017). Tier-three words are content area-specific words that are integral to understanding a discipline (Ferlazzo,…

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview two ELLs about their experiences assimilating to United States culture and schools and their advice for both teachers and other ELLs. One of…

Connected gears that say "Language," "Beliefs," "Priorities," "Values," and "Culture" Culturally-responsive pedagogy employs the cultural backgrounds of students to make learning more relevant and meaningful to them. As real-world relevance…

The SIOP Template is a great way to plan lessons with content and language objectives. Here is a sample lesson plan using the SIOP template. This lesson is intended for…

Speech bubbles that say "Language" in various languages English language learners are students whose primary language is not English but who are attending a school in which the primary language…

People high-fiving Traditionally, language learning has focused on semantics and form in speaking rather than function. English language learners were assessed by their proper use of proper tenses, verb forms,…