Category Archives: Listening & Speaking

Planning for ELLs with SWRRL

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When we’re asked into classrooms to support ELL students, we often start by asking teachers to plan with three guiding questions in mind…

1)  What is the content my students are learning?  (Content Objective)

2)  What is the language students need to know in order to complete the task?  (Language Objective)

3)  How will I provide rehearsal ?  (What will the content/language objective look like in action?)

We ask teachers to remember the acronym SWRRL as they think about how to provide rehearsal.  It stands for:

441461168_f7daebf28a_oSay it

Write it

Read it

Repeat it

to Learn it

ELLs need multiple opportunities to rehearse or practice language in order to “own the language” or truly make it part of their vocabulary.  Give ELLs plenty of chances to do SWRRL with new language!

Say It:  Callbacks, turn and talks, say it like a lion, say it like robot, read a response to a question aloud to a partner

Write it:  Use sentence frames, write as a whole group, write in partners, write individually

Read it:  Read aloud, read sentence frames aloud, read what students have written, read text to a partner, read chorally in whole group

Repeat it:  Use cooperative learning structures to give students opportunities for repeated chances to say, write or read the new language.

 

Want more info on how to incorporate more opportunities for SWRRL in you classroom?  Contact your ELL Instructional Coach!  We love to help!

Differentiation for Preproduction/Early Production students in the Classroom

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Belmont Elementary School offered a flex session to staff focused on strategies that could be used in the classroom when teaching preproduction (level 1) English Language Learners. The session was led by Hilary Walker, an ELL teacher and team leader at Belmont and Molly Williams, an ELL Instructional Coach for Lincoln Public Schools.

The main discussion centered around the idea, “When teachers use scaffolding with comprehensible input in mind for level 1 English Language Learners, students will be able to acquire the necessary language to access academic content,” and because of this idea, it is very important to consider input processes (reading and listening) and output processes (writing and speaking) in instruction.

Participants took part in a “show, not tell” experience as they watched lessons and discussed the instructional strategies that enhanced learning through taking language acquisition needs into consideration.

To view the video that highlights effective strategies for level 1 English Language Learners, click here.

To view the powerpoint, click here.

After discussing effective strategies to use keeping language acquisition in mind, three activities were introduced that could be used in the general education classroom promote learning with appropriate scaffolds. The activities were Classroom Surveys, Story Retelling Cards, and Using the Story of Puzzles. To see those activities, click here.

Additional Resources:

Online resources are also a great way to use technology to support input and output processes. There are some great sites that focus on the rich culture of oral storytelling and also the form and function of language and learning. To access a list of online resources, click here.

There are also some great articles through Colorin Colorado and Reading Rockets that have published ways to support preproduction students in the classroom. Click on the specific titles below to read more:

Support ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: Reading Instruction

Oral Language Development and ELLs: 5 Challenges and Solutions

To watch the YouTube video in full entitle Immersion by: Media that Matters click here.

ELL Students at Lincoln High Using iPods

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The ELL level 1 students at Lincoln High School have been using iPods to improve their language skills since November of 2011. Ben Kreimer, a UNL senior majoring in journalism, has documented their progress in a short video clip.

http://docushare.lps.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1089099/IPods%20in%20ELL%20Classrooms.mov

Increasing Math Achievement Through Sentence Frames and Opportunities for Math Talk

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Student participation and communication (math talk) are integral to students’ learning of math concepts.  Many students, ELL and non-ELL alike, often have trouble finding the words to accurately express their thinking in math.

Providing sentences frames allows all students to:

  • fully participate in math discussions.
  • contextualize and bring meaning to vocabulary.
  • use the vocabulary they learn in grammatically correct and complete sentences.

See examples of sentence frames.

Students also need opportunities to practice verbalizing the language of math.  It is very difficult for ELLs to feel comfortable using new language in whole group settings without first having the opportunity to practice that language.  Allowing time for partner talk or small group discussions provides students a safe setting to practice that new language.

See video of students in cooperative groups.

Using Cooperative Groups in Math

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English learners need to have opportunities to speak and listen to the new language they are learning. Although math concepts may be familiar, the language isn’t ELL students need safe opportunities to use new language. It is much less intimidating to speak to one or two other students than it is to speak in front of the whole class or to the teacher. Teachers can have students turn to their partner and tell how he/she got the answer, or what a term means. Teachers can organize small groups and do activities such as Fan and Pick, Jigsaw, and Four Corners. Cooperative learning groups give students opportunities to practice their new learning in the content as well as the language.