Five Things Teachers Can Do to Improve Learning for ELLs in the New Year- Entry #4

1. What is something new that I learned?

This article really introduced and highlighted the importance of increasing writing opportunities for ELL students. Before reading this article, I was predominantly aware of the importance of instruction focused on vocabulary, phonics, and integration of texts in teaching ELLs. However, I had never really known the importance of including writing in instruction for these students.

2. How can I apply this in the classroom?

I can apply this idea of increased writing opportunities for my ELLs by increasing the writing my students participate in a whole. I believe that all students should be asked to write every day so that they can learn the practiced ideals of writing, but also share their ideas and create their own work. I would love to include Writers' Workshops and daily Quick Writes to engage learners in the classroom.

3. What are my top 3 take-aways?

1. Teachers can work creatively to elicit background knowledge from students on content topics in order to increase comprehension of the material.

2.  Teachers need to understand how to design the classroom language environment so as to optimize language and literacy learning and to avoid linguistic obstacles to content area learning. 

3. Regular, open and friendly communication from the teacher can make a big difference in ELL parent participation.

4. How can I connect this information with something I have learned in the classroom?

I can connect the learned information about ELLs in this article to the information I learned in my Lit. Block classes. These classes focused on reading and writing to comprehend or compose texts. In order to help these students best reach their reading potential, students must also be given the opportunity to practice the words they are learning about themselves through their own writing.

5. How can I connect this information with something I learned in practicum/internship?

I can connect the information from this article to some of the teaching strategies I have observed in my practicum placements. Many of the cooperating teachers I have observed have focused on the students' writing in their classes. This was done through a daily quick write, which called upon the students' schema and connections to write about personal topics. This idea would be useful in connecting the knowledge that ELLs have with the information they are learning.