apps, sites & More
English language learners in particular benefit from the reinforcement of vocabulary and concepts through pictures, graphics and video. They also benefit from being able to use technology to express themselves. Technology helps English language learners find a voice, easing the transition to a new language. (Brozek and Duckworth, 2011)
Read&Write for Google
Tips for Using Read&Write for Google Chrome to Support Writing
How to create a vocabulary list in Read&Write for Google - Youtube video
VOCABULARY & learning to READ WEBSITES
Language Guide
Simple vocabulary reference - learning site organized by themes (body, clothing, food, family, etc.).
Reading Bear
50 segments teach all the main phonics rules with over 1200 vocabulary items. Students can view or listen to audio flashcards.
Imagine Learning
ELL "Newcomer" Demo: www.imaginelearning.com/students/profiles/Pathways.aspx
This program is available through a web based license for $99 U.S. It is used by many schools at the elementary level for new arrivals level 1 and 2 ELLs. It works on iPads as well as laptops. The program tracks the student’s progress, and adjusts for their level. It also provides first language support in 15 LANGUAGES to help very new arrivals with limited language get
Learning Chocolate
Screencast video for students on how to use this site
This website is designed to help students become familiar with vocabulary using simple matching games, fill in the blank and dictation exercises. The vocabulary is arranged in practical categories such as parts of the body, camping, bedroom, the 5 senses, character traits, etc.
Spelling City
This website is designed to help K-12 students master vocabulary and spelling. There are ready-made word lists or users can input their own words to be learned. There are three options for learning words: testing, practicing or playing a game (11 in the free version, 35+ in the Premium version). Students enjoy the games and the immediate feedback.
Starfall
This a learn-to-read website. It is designed primarily for first-grade students, but is beneficial for ELLs. It features interactive songs, games, activities and stories for reading and practical skills such as reading the calendar, learning directions such as left and right. It also features an "All About Me" where students describe themselves and create an avatar that looks like them.
Full website description and review from TESL-EJ: http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume13/ej51/ej51m2/
Epic!
Epic! is free for Elementary School Teachers and Librarians. This digital library targets K-6 and provides access to 25,000 picture books, non-fiction texts and novels at different lexile levels, as well as "Read-to-me" audio books. These books can be used for read alouds, shared reading and independent reading. It works on all devices.
Scribjab
Scribjab is a web site and iPad application for K-9 language learners to read and create digital stories (text, illustrations and audio recordings) in multiple languages. ScribJab was created by two Simon Fraser University professors with a grant from Heritage Canada.
reading, grammar & vocabulary sites for supporting Students across content areas
*See additional tools posted on Programming Tab > Making Content Comprehensible - a number of accessibility tools are listed to help simplify digital texts and provide text-to-speech support for students.
Read Theory
Gr 1-12 students read passages followed by a comprehension quiz. Students receive immediate results on how they did; their progress is continually tracked and accessible in teacher account. Students take a placement test the first time they log in and from there, the site is adaptive so it will randomly assign quizzes to students at their identified reading level. All passages have been written by professional writers and educators for this free website.
CommonLit
This a free collection of fiction and non-fiction texts for Gr 3-12. The site allows for guided reading mode where students are prompted with comprehension questions as they read, texts have a built-in text-to-speech function so they can be read aloud to students,
Newsela
An educational website that provides access to a large bank of high quality news articles, texts sets and primary source documents across a wide variety of themes: science, history, literature, art, health, etc. New articles are posted daily including a growing bank of Canadian content. Each article can be accessed at five different reading levels. There are quizzes, writing prompts and a student-friendly annotation tool. Free and Premium Teacher Accounts
News In Levels
This site is designed for students of English. Short, concise news articles at three reading levels are added daily to the bank of articles. Each article is accompanied by a news video and a vocabulary glossary. Student exercises are available for some of the news stories.
Learning English with CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/learning-english
This is a joint project between CBC Edmonton and the Government of Alberta. Every week, new video and audio content at two difficulty levels is posted on a variety of real-world interactions and conversations with community members and people in the workplace. This resource is not specifically designed for K-12; preview content before using with students.
Flocabulary
A learning program for all grades that uses educational hip-hop music and accompanying exercises and graphic organizers to engage students and increase achievement across the curriculum. One feature, the Word Up Project is designed to teach K-8 students Tier 2 words. Paid service - can sign up for a free 45 Day Trial.
Vocabulary Flashcards & Games: Quizlet - Kahoot - Quizizz
Build your own flashcards or find millions of ready-made flashcard sets across all subject areas. These sites offer free teacher accounts (with some premium features). Students can learn and review terms independently, test their knowledge against peers or work collaboratively to identify the correct terms in timed games. These sites vary in how they report results, but most offer excellent analytics about how students did, how long it took them to answer each question, which question was most challenging, etc.
Multilingual Glossaries
Middle School Math definitions provided in English and 14 other languages - digital tool. https://my.hrw.com/math06_07/nsmedia/tools/glossary/msm/glossary.html
Glossary of academic terms and translated equivalent - these booklets can be printed out or downloaded. Available in approx. 40 languages for ELA, Math, Sciences, and Social Studies (American based) at a range of grade levels: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/resources/glossaries
English Grammar 101
This site is an ideal companion for classrooms or it can just as easily be used as a self-paced program for individual study. The series consists of 15 modules representing approximately 150 hours of classroom instruction. It is recommended that students have reading skills at the sixth grade level or higher. English Grammar 101 teachers core grammatical concepts through simple, step-by-step instruction. Students receive immediate feedback from single-click answer checking and instant scoring. Each module includes a pretest, lessons, quizzes, reviews, and a post test. Seven day free trial. Lessons available via paid subscription.
Apps to support ELLs
Google Translate App
This is a powerful tool for ELLs! With a phone or iPad, the child holds up their device to any text and it is instantly translated into their own language. Imagine the possibilities for students to quickly connect new learning to their own understandings and background knowledge. See below two demo videos on how easy it is to use:
