Embedded Files
English language learners (ELLs) often feel like outcasts in the classroom, and it is the teacher's responsibility to ensure that all students feel included, heard, and cared for. Read further for some ideas about how to make sure all students feel included in the classroom and find learning accessible.
Writing Journals
A great way to foster reading and writing skills as well as build relationships with students is to use writing journals between yourself and your students. This literacy strategy is simple: students write to you, the teacher, in whatever language they choose (ELLs can even use a mix of English and their native language!) and you write back to them. The journal entries can be about whatever the student wants to write to you about. Writing back to your student can create bonds between you as well as model good writing!
Students can practice their English reading and writing skills through authentic communication with their teacher, building relationship as well as skills.
Group Multimodal Learning Activities
Giving students opportunities to work in groups helps foster a feeling of unity within the classroom and allows for connections to be build between peers. Working together will help all students not only feel included and feel like they belong in the classroom community, it will also allow them to help one another learn. Not only should kids be allowed opportunities to work in collaborative groups, they should also be given opportunities to learn using multiple literacies. Visuals and hands-on activities that get kids moving and thinking together are valuable for all students, and they are especially valuable for ELLs who might otherwise struggle if simply told to "read the material." Reading together, writing together, thinking and discussing together will benefit all of your students.
When my students played "Adverbs Charades," a game which involves brainstorming adverbs on notecards and acting them out in conjunction with verb cards to get your peers to guess them, my students were engaged, learned new vocab words from one another, and helped each other learn. This activity involved reading, writing, kinesthetic activity, and teamwork. They begged to play it again!
Sentence Stems
Using sentence stems and discussion starters can benefit all students, as academic language does not come naturally to anyone and must be explicitly taught and practiced. ELLs especially benefit from the guidance and practice using different types of language in different contexts.
Discussion starters offer students a jumping off point when they aren't sure how to express their thoughts or how to speak appropriately in academic settings. Practicing them and using them often can boost student confidence and help them see themselves as capable academics.
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