8) Additional ELD strategies
Are there additional strategies I can use to support my Multilingual Learners’ English language development (ELD)?
Video: Build on Opportunities to Promote English Language Development
This video shares the importance of using routines (circle time, clean up time) in the classroom to build rich language environments and help expand English language development for young Multilingual Learners.Read More
Podcast: High Quality Instructional Materials as Equity for English Learners
This podcast covers some of the systematic issues in schools that keep Multilingual learners from adequately progressing. The discussion then shifts to specific supports and considerations for curriculum design that make grade-level content accessible for all learners.Read More
Article: Caught in the Crosshairs: Emerging Bilinguals and the Reading Wars
This article raises questions about how to meet the needs of Multilingual Learners during reading instruction. For example how to ensure that phonics instruction focuses on word meaning as well as decoding.Read More
Video: Language Function Wall—1st Grade
This video shows a first grade class engaged in the creation of a "Language Function Wall." This strategy helps students develop powerful academic language over the course of a thematic unit.Read More
Video: Barrier Games
This video shows PreK students engaged in barrier games, a fun activity that builds speaking and listening skills.Read More
Strategy Overview: Así se dice
This strategy, designed by Literacy Squared, engages students in translation as a means of providing them with a deeper understanding of how ideas are conveyed across languages and cultures. It is designed to raise cross-language awareness.Read More
Planning Guide: Teaching for Spanish-English Transfer
This K-6 Planning Guide aids teachers in preparing grade-level appropriate transfer lessons. It is organized using both the Common Core State Standards in Spanish and the ELA standards. Implications for transfer lessons are offered for each grade level.Read More
Video: Cross Language Connections
This video shows a variety of language-transfer lessons to help Multilingual Learners develop meta-linguistic awareness and compare and contrast their two (or more) languages.Read More
Video: Oral Language Analysis—K-3rd
In this video, the teacher gathers a small group of Multilingual Learners to engage in a brief discussion in response to structured prompts regarding an artifact from the class' ongoing content learning. The teacher records each child's oral responses, and then analyzes the record to identify follow-up instruction they can provide during upcoming Designated ELD time.Read More
Resource Guide: A Deeper Look at Early Literacy
This interactive guide offers a comprehensive approach to literacy for Multilingual Learners. It is an overview of the language and literacy skills and instruction that children need at different stages of development. Common literacy terms are defined, instructional strategies are offered, and a picture of instruction, aligned across the grades is explained.Read More
Video: Making Butter—Small Group Instruction
In this video, the teacher works on a hands-on project to make butter with Multilingual Learners. The small group instruction supports multiple opportunities to practice oral language and writing in an authentic context.Read More
Video: Our Chicks Have Hatched!—A Home School Connection
The first clip of this video is a conversation between a parent and a child as they discuss a school project about chicks that have been sent home. The second clip shows how the school project was made in the classroom. Children interact with live chicks in the classroom while the teacher helps them identify and write the language they want to use to express what they have learned.Read More
Video: English, Spanish, and Chinese, too
This video is an example of an interaction between a teacher and a child that respects and promotes all types of language learning in the classroom. The teacher and child read together and build a conversation about speaking in English, Spanish, and Chinese.Read More
Video: A Boy and His Puzzle
As a boy plays with a puzzle, both an English-speaking peer and the teacher help him develop and practice English learning.Read More
Video: Toy Animals
This video clip shows both English and Spanish-speaking teachers developing student content knowledge about animals through oral conversations. Students then paint animals using toys as examples and share knowledge about their paintings so teachers can write down what each child says.Read More
Video: Sharing at the Easel—Transference
This clip is an example of a teacher listening to a child narrate what she has drawn, and carefully labeling it with the child's exact words. The teacher acknowledges responses given in both English and Spanish.Read More
Video: My Pumpkin Story—Metalinguistic Awareness
A teacher works with Wendy to orally discuss and write a story about a recent pumpkin project. When the teacher asks Wendy to take her writing home, the interaction changes to Spanish so Wendy can talk to her Spanish-speaking mother about her project.Read More
Video: Soyul & Teacher Yvette—Sandcastles
This video is an excerpt of the intentional work Teacher Yvette makes to help Soyul, a Korean-speaking Multilingual Learner, ask a friend to build a sandcastle. It is an example of providing support to help build peer interactions so children can practice language in an authentic context.Read More
Video: Soyul & Teacher Yvette—Beginning a New Language
This video is a series of excerpts from the first months of preschool for Soyul, a Korean-speaking Multilingual Learner. The video showcases instructional moves that the teacher, Yvette, makes to teach English language development during Soyul's initial silent period.Read More
Video: Relationships, Strategies & Culture
The focus of this video is to exemplify how purposeful oral language interactions contribute to a positive relationship with both children and families in early education. The teacher in this video "reaches across the language divide" to ensure both the child and parents know that the home language is respected and valued.Read More
Video: The Stages of Preschool Second Language Acquisition
In this video, the term the four stages of second language development for early education are described and then exemplified through teaching vignettes between one teacher and one Korean-speaking Multilingual Learner.Read More
Video & Video Guide: Adventures in Preschool Second Language Acquisition
This video showcases the relationship between one teacher and one Korean-speaking Multilingual Learner and her family. The video includes vignettes of teaching, interviews with the teacher, the family, and administrators, and many rich examples of English development teaching strategies. The accompanying guide suggests moments in the video to pause to notice teachers’ practice, along with prompts for reflection and discussion.Read More
Website: Amigos Bilingües
This website offers many video read-alouds in both Spanish and English. Many of the texts can be found in both languages, allowing the teacher to preview content in a home language and then let students transfer that knowledge to the text in their second language.Read More
Resource Guide: Barrier Games
This is a list of resources for barrier games to use in the classroom. These games are designed to encourage oral language practice since one student is given information that another student needs.Read More
Digital Book: Developing Oral Language with Barrier Games
Barrier games are designed to promote oral language since one student is given information that another partner student needs. The lesson design encourages students to ask information of one another. This resource provides many example barrier games.Read More
Website Article: Selecting Texts for Strategy Teaching with English Language Learners in Mind
This article reviews multiple ways that teachers can think about text selection to provide additional supports for Multilingual Learners. Pairing texts by similar theme or text structure are two examples discussed in the article.Read More
Webinar: Designated ELD – Sentence Unpacking in Small Groups
This webinar discusses standards-aligned English Language Development (ELD) instructional design. Specific considerations are offered on how to differentiate instruction using proficiency levels and small group instruction. A "sentence-unpacking" strategy is introduced as a means of using content-rich, grade-level text with all students.Read More
Video: Model Curriculum for English Learners – Weathering and Erosion (3rd grade)
A multilingual teacher uses numerous supports in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to develop the content understandings of beginner Multilingual Learners.Read More
Video: Model Curriculum for English Learners – Historical Perspectives (3rd grade)
An ELD teacher shares how she uses language objectives to design instruction for intermediate-level Multilingual Learners.Read More
Video: Differentiating Instruction in Writer’s Workshop in a 3rd-Grade Dual Immersion Classroom
A third-grade teacher talks through her implementation of a writer's workshop and her one-on-one conferencing with Multilingual Learners. This allows her to differentiate instruction and accelerate each student's English language learning.Read More
Blog: Adjusting Our Talk with ELLs
This blog post offers specific instructional moves the teacher can make to ensure that Multilingual Learners understand spoken language in the classroom.Read More
Video: Oral Language Development Through Integrated & Designated ELD
This video showcases a series of ELD lessons in a kindergarten class, aimed at preparing Multilingual Learners to orally give and write an opinion. The teacher incorporates both direct instruction and multiple opportunities for students to work with peers.Read More
Video: Integrating ELD Instruction Using Text Reconstruction
This is a 2nd-grade lesson of the text reconstruction ELD strategy, designed to provide access and practice in both English and content instruction. This strategy encourages Multilingual Learners to communicate as they engage with informational text.Read More
Strategy Overview: Fractions, Factors, and Functions, Oh My! Are My ELs Attaching Meaning to Math Words?
This guide helps teachers plan meaningful activities to make math accessible, hands-on, build on students' prior knowledge, and be language-focused. In these resources, teachers can read about the dos and don'ts of math vocabulary instruction for Multilingual Learners.Read More
Strategy Overview: Anchor Charts for Synonyms – A Vocabulary Strategy
The use of anchor charts in the math classroom creates rich opportunities for teachers to collect, discuss, and practice vocabulary with Multilingual Learners.Read More
Strategy Overview: Strategic Grouping for Home Language Supports
Small group instruction is a key part of instruction for Multilingual Learners. In this resource, teachers find guidelines and rationale for different strategic groupings.Read More
Strategy Overview: Do Leveled Readers Help or Hurt My ELs?
Leveled text can be problematic for Multilingual Learners because it does not always expose them to the rich, authentic, and challenging language associated with grade-level texts. In these resources, teachers can read about the dos and don'ts of selecting text and scaffolding teaching for Multilingual Learners.Read More
Strategy Overview: Narrative Input
After a shared reading of a text, students retell, act out, and/or capture key vocabulary and content information with a variety of experiences. This multi-day strategy builds on student's storytelling and oral language skills.Read More
Website Article: 8 Strategies for Preschool ELLs’ Language and Literacy Development
This resource provides a list of research-based strategies to support Multilingual Learners in their language and literacy skills. Strategies include: providing systematic instruction, providing children with opportunities to use language with adults and peers, and designing instruction that integrates all early literacy skills.Read More
Tip Sheet: Language Modeling and Conversations
This tip sheet lists strategies that teachers can use to support Multilingual Learners’ oral language skills. Strategies include: adjusting questions and responses to match children’s cues, using pictures and gestures when introducing new words, and expanding children’s statements.Read More
Tip Sheet: How to Use Bilingual Books
This resource explains how to use a variety of bilingual books to support Multilingual Learners’ language and literacy development. This tip sheet also includes a list of books with side-by-side translations, books that include a second language throughout the book, and books available in multiple languages.Read More
Tip Sheet: Supporting English Language Development When Children Have Little Experience with English
This resource provides several ways that teachers can support Multilingual Learners (MLs) in their English language development, even if teachers do not speak the learner's home language. Strategies include modeling English in one-on-one conversations, waiting for MLs to process language, and using a mix of closed- and open-ended questions.Read More
Tip Sheet: Supporting DLLs with Classroom Schedules and Transitions
This resource includes tips for teachers to provide Multilingual Learners (MLs) with ways of understanding and participating in classroom transitions. Strategies include providing consistent and predictable schedules, using gestures and visual cues, and using MLs' home languages to explain schedules.Read More
Website Article: 5 Meaningful Ways to Support DLLs at Storytime
This resource explains how to adjust storytime experiences to ensure that Multilingual Learners (MLs) can fully benefit from these experiences. Intentional storytime experiences that incorporate children's home languages, visuals, props, and culturally relevant materials promote MLs' comprehension, vocabulary, and early literacy skills.Read More
Website Article: Promote Peer Support and Interaction
This website article describes how teachers can intentionally structure social opportunities for Multilingual Learners (MLs) and explicitly teach children communication strategies. This article is one part of a multi-page resource about supporting MLs and ML children with disabilities.Read More
Video: Tips for Teaching Newcomers
This video introduces instructional tips that elementary teachers can use to support instruction for newcomer Multilingual Learners, including visuals, gradual release, shared writing, and recognizing what students are bringing to their learning.Read More
Video: Engaging Kindergartners with Academic Vocabulary
In this video, the teacher encourages kindergartners to listen for and use academic vocabulary to practice oral language fluency. The teacher uses a variety of strategies including chants, choral response, partner discussion, and extended wait time.Read More
Strategy Overview: Decodable Readers Protocols
This document discusses the varied ways in which teachers can use decodable texts with Multilingual Learners, to offer more or less support. These texts are important for students to practice sound and spelling patterns, high-frequency words, and phonics lessons.Read More
Video: Juicy Sentence Example with Butterflies (K)
This video is an example of a teacher facilitating a "juicy sentence" discussion with a group of kindergarteners learning about butterflies. The juicy sentence strategy helps Multilingual Learners access complex text through the study of a mentor sentence.Read More
Strategy Overview: Selecting and Using Academic Vocabulary in Instruction
This document reviews criteria for how to select academic vocabulary for instruction with Multilingual Learners and offers other supports for vocabulary instruction.Read More
Blog: Resources on the Idea of “Wait Time”
This is a collection of resources that explain why wait time is so critical for Multilingual Learners. Teachers can use strategies to increase wait time in order to allow more thinking time and increase the quality of student responses.Read More
Article: Understanding the Silent Period with English Learners
This article offers both verbal and non-verbal actions that a teacher can take during language interactions with Multilingual Learners in the "silent period" of English language acquisition. Connection is important to both build relationships and meet these students' individual language needs.Read More
Strategy Overview: The Art of Listening to English Learners
This article offers teachers tips on how to listen to Multilingual Learners, especially those who are just beginning to share their thinking in English. While listening, teachers can informally assess language to inform their future instruction.Read More
Video: Conferring with Young English Language Learners
In this short video, a teacher discusses strategies that support one-on-one conferring with Multilingual Learners, even when she does not speak the home language of the student.Read More
Video: Model Curriculum for English Learners- How Do I Feel? (Kindergarten)
In this video, a designated teacher for Multilingual Learners talks through her objectives for a read-aloud lesson. She builds in practice opportunities for the students to use the language of feelings, the language of sequence, and specific use of pronouns. She also uses instructional tools like graphic organizers and an end-of-unit rubric to support student experiences in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English. A link to the whole unit plan is available on the video's YouTube page.Read More
Website: Teacher Interactions and Strategies to Support Speaking for Dual Language Learners
This resource provides a list of strategies that teachers can use to support Multilingual Learners’ speaking skills. For example: Repeating and elaborating on children’s talk, reinforcing words from the unit of study, using visual cues and gestures, and providing MLs with more time to process speech.Read More
Website: Teacher Interactions and Strategies to Support Listening for Dual Language Learners
This resource provides a list of strategies teachers can use to support Multilingual Learners’ listening skills, such as using visual cues and gestures to accompany speech. Teachers can integrate reading, writing, listening, and speaking in both languages. Teachers can also introduce key vocabulary in the home language prior to teaching in English.Read More
Blog: How Can Cognates ‘Beneficiar’ English Language Learners?
This blog discusses how teachers can intentionally use cognates to build comprehension for Multilingual Learners. This practice helps emphasize connections between Spanish and English.Read More
Website Article: Using Cognates with ELLs
This article and accompanying video remind teachers about the power of cognates: words that are almost or exactly the same in two or more languages. When teachers highlight these words during instruction, they help Multilingual Learners develop their own word-learning strategies.Read More
Website: Environment and Materials to Support Dual Language Learners
This resource describes the ways that teachers can set up their classroom environments to support Multilingual Learners. For example, teachers can include labels and other functional print in the home language and display and provide culturally relevant materials.Read More
Video: Draw & Label Strategy- 3rd grade
In this demonstration of the "Draw & Label" strategy, the teacher teaches academic and content vocabulary while drawing and creating a language resource for the Multilingual Learners in the class. This resource helps them engage with and practice content area vocabulary and concepts in multiple modalities.Read More
Video: Draw & Label Strategy- Kindergarten
In this demonstration of the "Draw & Label" strategy, the teacher teaches academic and content vocabulary while drawing and creating a language resource for the Multilingual Learners in the class. This resource helps them engage with and practice content area vocabulary and concepts in multiple modalities.Read More
Video: Shared Research Project- 1st grade
In this video, the teacher provides guidance on how to conduct research projects with Multilingual Learners to investigate a topic in which children are interested. The shared research project provides a hands-on, inquiry-based experience to help give content meaning and develop academic language and literacy skills.Read More
Video: Shared Research Project- 3rd grade
In this video, the teacher provides guidance on how to conduct research projects with Multilingual Learners to investigate a topic children are interested in. The shared research project provides a hands-on, inquiry-based experience to help give content meaning and develop academic language and literacy skills.Read More
Video: That’s How You Say It/Asi se dice- 2/3rd grade
Students learn both literal and conceptual translation skills by engaging in the "That's How You Say It/Asi se dice" strategy. The teacher assigns students to strategic groups and chooses a specific passage of text for them to translate. Students have the opportunity to negotiate word meanings and compare and contrast their two languages as they work together to write and share their translation.Read More
Video: Transfer and Integrated ELD in a Bilingual Classroom
The teacher in this bilingual classroom makes an intentional plan to develop literacy and oral language skills in two languages. She begins content instruction in Spanish to strengthen Multilingual Learners' understanding of key concepts, and then purposefully transitions to an integrated ELD block to offer speaking and writing practice in English.Read More
Video: Integrated & Designated ELD- 2nd grade
In this integrated ELD video, the teacher uses numerous structured supports, visual cues, and small grouping strategies throughout the lesson. Multilingual Learners have multiple opportunities to practice hearing, reading, speaking, and writing academic English language.Read More
Video: Integrated & Designated ELD- Kindergarten
In this integrated ELD video, the teacher focuses on developing the academic English language that Multilingual Learners need to access content instruction. She uses chants, repetition, small group instruction, and numerous other supports.Read More
Strategy Overview: Collaborative Practice
This set of resources guides teachers in developing the structures and supports that learners need to engage in effective group work. This thoughtful setup can enable Multilingual Learners to engage in positive social and academic interactions with peers.Read More
Strategy Overview: Oral Language Analysis
In this formative assessment, the teacher gathers 1-4 Multilingual Learners to engage in a brief discussion in response to structured prompts regarding an artifact from the class' ongoing content learning. The teacher records each child's oral responses, and then analyzes the record to identify follow-up instruction they can provide during upcoming Designated ELD time.Read More
Strategy Overview: Vocabulary in Context
This resource introduces teachers to all of the ways that vocabulary can be introduced, reinforced, and practiced across multiple lessons and activities. This helps Multilingual Learners learn key academic and content words in context.Read More
Strategy Overview: Teacher as Language Model
This resource outlines strategies teachers can use to model and extend Multilingual Learners' oral language skills. Strategies include narration (describing what the teacher is seeing and thinking) and amplification (paraphrasing a child's statement in more complex and extended language and asking a follow-up question).Read More
Strategy Overview: Sentence Patterning Chart / La tabla de formación de oraciones
This resource introduces a strategy to model and write good descriptive sentences with Multilingual Learners. It combines language-based supports with opportunities for children to practice academic vocabulary and apply it to structured, content-based writing.Read More
Strategy Overview: Graphic Organizers
A graphic organizer is a visual map or diagram that displays relationships between facts, concepts, or ideas. For Multilingual Learners, this kind of visual display of information can lessen cognitive load and support transfer of knowledge across languages.Read More
Strategy Overview: Draw and Label
The teacher talks about a content concept while drawing and labeling an image with academic vocabulary. Through this strategy, the teacher uses oral and visual cues to help students develop and practice the language in context and learn key content.Read More
Strategy Overview: Deconstructing Text
This guide supports teachers in modeling and facilitating the analysis of written texts. Deconstructing texts supports learners' comprehension and deepens their understanding of how formal, written language is structured.Read More
Strategy Overview: Cooperative Strip Paragraph
This shared writing technique structures support for Multilingual Learners in content-based, academic writing. The cooperative learning structure offers students the chance to engage in the writing process in small groups with same language or English proficient peers.Read More
Video: Language Functions and Graphic Organizers
This video highlights the importance of using graphic organizers aligned to specific language functions, to help Multilingual Learners begin and develop writing. Graphic organizers can support children’s conceptual knowledge and several cognitive skills as they develop language in context.Read More
Video: Making Language Visible, Tangible, & Comprehensible
In this video, educators explain and demonstrate how to add meaning to words by making concepts more visible and tangible. For example, teachers can explicitly teach words through multiple modalities of writing, speaking, and listening, and use visual cues and gestures to accompany speech.Read More
Video: Bilingual Provider Preview and Review
In this video, a teacher explains how to preview books in children’s home languages. The teacher introduces and explains new vocabulary words and reads a text in the child's home language before reading the text in English. The teacher also uses the home language to preview concepts to activate and build background knowledge.Read More
Video: How to Support Concepts in Home Language
This resource discusses how previewing and reviewing learning material in the home language can support Multilingual Learners’ content learning. Previewing concepts in the home language helps to activate and build background knowledge prior to teaching concepts in English.Read More
Video: When and What to Support in Home Language
This resource discusses how to reinforce target words and provide language-rich experiences to help give language meaning and purpose. Teachers can support content learning throughout the day by previewing concepts in the home language to activate and build background knowledge.Read More
