Instructional Strategies

Local Education Agency (LEA) Responsibilities

The LEA must ensure...

Adequate and appropriate resources are available to all EL students.
All interventions used are monitored and data is collected.
A timely referral process is used for RTI or Special Education services.
Bilingual or ESL certified teachers attend RTI or Special Education meetings.
Equal opportunities to participate in curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular activities.
EL students are not prohibited from participating in honors programs or AP courses (cannot be screened out based on ELP levels).
EL students are not segregated from their non-EL peers for periods of time longer or shorter than their English proficiency level requires.
EL students are not segregated from their non-EL peers during subjects like physical education, art, music or other activity based classroom instruction.
EL instructional plan includes graduation requirements, sample graduation plans including required coursework and documents opportunities for programs or courses designed to support post secondary education.
Documentation exists for ELs tested and not tested and the reasons why including MDE waivers if applicable.
Students referred to other programs were tested using WIDA/Alternate.
Use of appropriate accommodations and adaptations are documented.

*Responsibility Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition. (2016) English Learner Tool Kit (rev. ed.). Washington, DC:Author.Michigan Department of Education 2017-18 Title III School and District Monitoring Indicators and Review Process Aligned to ESSA.

Teachers of ELs

The teacher must...

Support oral language development.

- Directly teach new vocabulary
- Provide opportunities to learn new words in context through hearing, seeing and saying
- Use non-verbal cues, visual aids, gestures and hands on methods
- Establish clear routines
- Provide immediate feedback
- Provide opportunities to converse with teachers
- Explicitly instruct and prepare students for talking with others

Explicitly teach academic English.

- Know the difference between informal language and academic language
- Expose students to sophisticated vocabulary used correctly
- Provide opportunities and instruction for using academic language

Value cultural diversity.

- Accept and explore different perspectives
- Provide opportunities to interact with different cultures (reading, school traditions, rituals, assembly programs, cafeteria food, etc.)
- Involve parents and community

*Responsibility Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition. (2016) English Learner Tool Kit (rev. ed.). Washington, DC:Author.

Instructional Strategies for English Learners

EL students need content objectives and language objectives.

Language objectives should focus on Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

Reading Strategies

Choral Reading

Group of students read the passage together aloud with or without a teacher.

Oral Rehearsal

Practice reading or saying before sharing with the class or group.

Main Idea

Cut a sticky note into four tags. Use the tags to mark main ideas or VIP (Very Important Parts) in each paragraph of the text. The tags are moveable, so students can change their minds. Have students discuss their VIPs and then as a class go over the correct answers and allow students to move their tags if needed.

Sentence Stems (Using sentence strips)

Provide a stem for answering the question. Ex. What color is the dog? The dog is __

Repeated Readings

Student rereads a passage several times, either silently or aloud and receives help with unfamiliar words. The intent is to increase reading fluency.

Sentence Frame

Write out the answer you would like to see and leave a few blanks for the student to fill in. Give time for oral rehearsal before calling on student to share.

Simultaneous Round Table

4-5 students at a table. Every students gets a piece of paper and pencil. Teacher gives a review concept. All students respond at the same time by writing or drawing on their paper. Teacher signals for students to stop. All students pass their paper clockwise to the next person. Students continue to write on each paper when they receive it. Students may write something they read on another piece of paper if it is not already on the new paper. Continue until time is up.

Vocabulary Strategies

Vocabulary words

Only 5-7 words.

Word work - Making connections

Print out words and place them in front of you and your partner. Review the words by making connections with them. Say things like...this word reminds me of… I heard the word____ when… this word is like_____ because. Make as many connections to past learning as possible.

Word work - linking vocabulary words together

Have students pair words together and tell why they put them together. Provide a sentence stem that says, “I think ____ and ____ go together because… Have students to agree or disagree with what their partner said and tell why. Encourage students to challenge themselves by linking more words together. Remind them it must make sense.

Making Content Comprehensible for Students

Give students a passage to read that contains the vocabulary words. Have students read with a partner and underline (highlight) vocabulary words as you hear them. If student misses some words they can find them with their partner at the end of the paragraph. Trade jobs for each paragraph. Read the passage again and have students find words or phrases based on a question you pose or a sentence stem you provide. Students then underline or highlight with a different color words or phrases that might help to answer the question. The next step is to have students answer the question or complete the stem using the words and phrases they selected.

Classroom Accommodations

Accommodations Checklist & Resources - General Education Classroom Accommodations - Pam Schwallier, Kent ISD

Checklist & Resources

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