Holistic Assessment
Purpose 4
Embedded Files
FOCUS ON WHAT STUDENTS KNOW BY PAYING ATTENTION TO HOW THEY EXPRESS THEIR UNDERSTANDING USING ALL THEIR LANGUAGE SKILLS.
Multilingual Sentence Scramble Activity
Multilingual Sentence Scramble is a hands on activity designed to strengthen sentence structure, word order, and comprehension for multilingual learners. Students physically rearrange cut up sentence strips, first in English, then explore how those ideas would sound or be structured in their home language. This low prep strategy builds grammar awareness, supports vocabulary development, and creates space for cross linguistic comparison in a fun, interactive way. Educators, with this activity, you are not just looking to see if students got the correct sentence pattern, you are look at how they process meaning, use language patterns, and apply transferable knowledge from their home language.
Materials:
Pre-cut sentence strips (simple to complex depending on proficiency level)
Scissors and envelopes or bags for sentence parts
Labeled sentence templates for visual support (Subject + Verb + Object)
Optional translation charts or bilingual dictionaries
Recording sheets for completed sentences
Procedure:
Prepare Sentences: Create several target sentences connected to current content or vocabulary. Print and cut them into individual word or phrase cards. Keep each sentence in a separate envelope.
Model the Task: Demonstrate how to rebuild a scrambled sentence using a sentence frame. Read the sentence aloud and emphasize correct word order. Discuss the meaning.
Student Remix Time: Distribute envelopes to pairs or small groups. Students rebuild the sentences, read them aloud, and confirm meaning. Then, challenge them to “remix” the sentence by changing the subject, verb, or object.
Multilingual Extension: Invite students to translate the sentence into their home language (with a partner or using a chart). Discuss how word order or grammar shifts between languages.
Gallery Walk (Optional): Have students post their completed English and home language sentences around the room for a multilingual sentence walk.
Assessment: Monitor students as they rebuild and remix for correct sentence structure, collaboration, and understanding. Collect students’ final English and home language sentence versions. Look for:
Accurate reconstruction of sentence structure
Clear subject-verb-object understanding
Thoughtful translation or comparison
Extension (Optional): Have students reflect: “What did you notice about how your language builds sentences compared to English?”
Dual Language Anchor Charts
This activity empowers multilingual learners to demonstrate and consolidate their content knowledge using both English and their home languages. Students collaboratively create dual language anchor charts that reflect key academic concepts, processes, or vocabulary. This not only honors students' linguistic assets but also allows teachers to see a fuller picture of what students understand, beyond English proficiency alone. These charts serve as lasting classroom references that promote comprehension, ownership, and language development.
Materials:
Chart paper or digital whiteboard (Jamboard, Padlet, Canva)
Markers or digital annotation tools
Bilingual dictionaries or translation tools
Word banks, sentence stems, or visual support
Content based topic or question from current unit of study
Procedure:
Choose a Concept to Anchor: select a key idea, vocabulary set, or process that students are currently learning such as the water cycle, character traits, causes of the American Revolution. Ensure it is rich enough to explore across languages.
Group & Plan: students work in pairs or small groups, ideally with shared home languages. Provide guiding questions:
What’s the big idea?
What words or images help explain it?
How can we show this in both English and our language?
Model Dual Language Anchoring: create a sample anchor chart. For example, for “Photosynthesis”:
English: “Sunlight helps plants make food.”
Spanish: “La luz del sol ayuda a las plantas a hacer comida.”
Include visuals and labels in both languages. Emphasize meaning making over translation perfection.
Student Creation Time: groups create their anchor charts, drawing images, adding definitions, examples, and connections in both English and their home language(s). Encourage the use of personal or cultural references when applicable.
Gallery Walk & Share Out: post charts around the room or in a digital gallery. Students walk through, discuss, and ask questions about each group’s work. Highlight how different languages express similar ideas.
Assessment: look for evidence of understanding and language use:
Are students capturing key content accurately?
Are they drawing from both English and home language(s)?
Are visuals and labels supporting meaning?
Optional Reflection: ask students to reflect on what they learned about this topic by thinking about it in more than one language and ask students how did using both languages allow them to demonstrate what they knew.
Resources:
Hardt, D. (2018, May 1). Keep the charts alive! - teaching for biliteracy. Center for Teaching Biliteracy. https://www.teachingforbiliteracy.com/keep-the-charts-alive/
iSL Collective. (n.d.). 386 scramble English ESL worksheets PDF & Doc. iSL Collective. https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-worksheets/search/scramble
World Press. (2024, September 6). Cut apart sentences for ells - a world of language learners. A World of Language Learners - Teaching ideas for those teaching English Language Learners. https://www.aworldoflanguagelearners.com/cut-apart-sentences/
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