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Nicolle ChesshirPlanning Project – 120 Content Strategies for English Language LearnersEDFN – 745 Effective TeachingSouth Dakota State UniversityDr. Christine Nganga

As the United States continues to become more diverse, adjusting the classroom to meet the learning needs of the ELLs is

increasingly important. 120 Content Strategies for English Language Learners: Teaching for Academic Success in Secondary School

by Jodi Reiss is a wonderful tool for secondary teachers who are interested in learning strategies to help their English Language

Learning students achieve academic success. The book offers strategies that can be easily implemented into most classrooms and

offers an abundance of strategies to assist with theory and culture, instruction, and assessment. Theory and culture looks at the impact

of education theory and dominate culture on ELL students and how they can be used to help ELLs learn English and the content

material. Instruction strategies are methods of delivering instruction, modifying instruction, and class interactions to help ELL learn

English and the content material with decreased frustration and increased understanding. The section on assessments discusses

modified ways to assess ELLs content knowledge while minimizing language confusion. There is even a chapter written specifically

in preparing English Language Learners for high-stakes testing. Although the book is written to help content teachers better assist the

learning needs of ELLs, many of these strategies are beneficial in helping all students achieve academic success.

Entry # / Date Content Topic Strategy to be used& page #

Idea for implementation Additional Comments

18/30

Theoretical Considerations

Cummins’ Principles (page 7)

Provide manipulative for students to use when solving problems

Provide computer applications to provide

Scaffolds break the lesson into chunks and provides learning aids to supplement the cognitively demanding tasks


visual of math theorems2

8/31Theoretical

ConsiderationsBrown: Principles of Language Teaching and Learning (page

10)

Assign groups to prepare and perform a math skit

Incorporate the culture of the ELL into lessons and problems worked in class.

Incorporate cross curriculum work into the math lessons to increase interest and motivation in the topic

Creating interactive interesting lessons creates an atmosphere where students want to learn.These principles also encourage all students to participate in class

39/4

Culture and Content Instruction

Attention Patterns(p. 19)

Periodically, I can stop and ask the class to indicate with thumbs up, down or to the side to show me their level of understanding.

I can also use Smart Board clickers and have them give me feedback that way.

I can have students write a question mark on their notes next to concepts that they do not understand. As I walk around the room, I can monitor where

Incorporating a variety of ways for students to indicate their level of understanding will allow me to better pace the lesson. If a majority of the class is struggling, then I we will able to address the questions immediately instead of waiting for the assessment results.


students have questions and address the questions individually or to the class

49/6

Culture and Content Instruction

Special Considerations for

Math (p. 22)

Consult with ELLs early to understand how they write and interpret numbers.

I can incorporate metric measures into problems and provide the student with an English Conversion chart to aid in English unit conversion

When discussing a new concept, explain my work and symbols

Use culturally relevant word problems

Math is a foreign language in itself. Making sure all word problems are culturally familiar to all students makes learning the math concepts easier.Making sure that all of the students understand the math symbols and units is important. Also I should ensure that all students understand the meaning of numbers is important.

59/11

Meeting State Objectives and

Standards: Making Good Choices

Select Core Concepts (p. 33)

At the beginning of the chapter, I can discuss/highlight the important topics with ELLs.

I can isolate the topics/skills that will be used later in math and focus their instruction on these topics

This strategy will benefit other students as well. I can see ADD, ADHD, and dyslexic student benefiting by having the focus of the chapter narrowed to the main topics. This does not mean not teaching material, it means focusing strongly on the concepts that are needed in


future courses.6

9/13Meeting State Objectives and

Standards: Making Good Choices

Select Practical Topics(p. 36)

Choose topics that provide concrete and demonstrable

When possible, choose topics that can be represented/demonstrated with hands-on-activities

When possible incorporate graphic organizers into notes

Presenting math topics in ways that can be represented in visual graphics will help ELL students develop a deeper understanding of the material

79/18

Learning Strategies for ELL

Use Social and Cognitive strategies

together (p. 47)

Encourage ELLs to create flashcards of new terms and formulas

Use puzzle activity to reinforce terms and formulas

Assign ELL to a partner who is a native English speaker and ask them to create a problem that uses a specific formula/theorem. Have them switch with another pair and solve the other problem together documenting the solving process.

This concept will help all students, especially students who have trouble breaking larger problems up into smaller steps.


89/20

Learning Strategies for ELL

Use Think-Alouds and Modeling

(p. 50)

When I introduce an example, I can explain what is going on at each step and why I am solving the problem the way that I am.

In pairs, have the students verbalize their thought process to each other

When students go to the board, have them verbalize their thought process

Have students use think-aloud method when explaining their work to me

This technique can be done as a whole class and one-on-one. If done one-on-one, I can present the solving as more a conversation where the student helps in the justification for each step of the problem solving process.

99/25

A solid Start: Building and Activating

Background Knowledge

Begin with Brainstorming (p 56)

Pose a general question about a topic and give student’s time to think and document their thoughts.

Post chart paper with topic/terms written on them. The students in pre-determined pairs walk around and discuss and brainstorm what they already know

This strategy helps to show students that they already know a lot about a math topic before moving into it. It also shows me if I need to fill in any gaps before we get started into the new lesson.


about the topic/terms Post the chart paper in

the room and modify as new information is learned

109/26

A solid Start: Building and Activating

Background Knowledge

Spark Interest(p. 61)

In geometry use actual objects to introduce area & perimeter

Use blueprints to introduce scale and proportion

Use a familiar children’s book that follows a logical sequence to introduce proofs

In algebra use a math trick when introducing equations

Pose an interesting problem that will be solved using the math procedure discussed in class

Sparking interest will get the attention of all students. Students are more likely to be motivated to pay attention and learn when they are interested in the lesson.

119/28

Presenting New Material: Teaching

the Lesson

Use Visuals and Graphics(p. 33)

As I discuss a topic in class, write the important terms on the board to emphasis their importance

Use graphic organizers

This strategy is helpful to all students who benefit from visual representation.


so students can maintain simplified and useful notes

Incorporate photos/applets to demonstrating theorems

Create a bulletin board or chart paper where students are encouraged to share interesting websites or additional information on the current topic

Use authentic materials in units. (blue prints for proportions, bank statements when discussing compound interest, sheet music when discussing fractions, etc)

1210/2

Presenting New Material: Teaching

the Lesson

Post the Homework(p. 81)

Have the homework posted on the board for students

Provide a weekly/monthly calendar with homework assignments distribute to students

This strategy helps to keep the class organized. Running out of time at the end of the period can be hectic; having the assignments pre-assigned frees up time and reduces confusion.

13 Did They Get What I Use Think-Pair-Share Pose a problem that the This strategy enables students


10/5 Taught? Checking Comprehension

(p. 93) students will solve, have them pair up to compare/contrast solving methods, as a class discuss methods used to solve the problem

Use this as a brainstorming activity to get ELLs thinking and communicating about a topic

to confirm or clarify their information before sharing with the class. This strategy also focuses the topic of conversation for ELLs.

1410/7

Did They Get What I Taught? Checking

Comprehension

Allow Extra Wait Time

(p. 93)

Allow extra wait time for ELLs to process the question and formulate their answers

Count to myself, 3-5 seconds for understanding questions and 10-20 seconds for challenging questions, before calling on students. The extra wait time will benefit low-achieving students too. Wait time beyond 20 seconds may increase anxiety of students.

1510/13

Extending Comprehension:

Textbook Vocabulary Strategies

Have Students Develop a Personal

Dictionary(p. 106)

At the beginning of the chapter present a list of vocabulary words that will be important in mastery of the topic. Have the students write down the words and look up the definition in their dictionary.

This activity helps ELLs create a reference that progresses throughout the year. This enables the students to reference words that they are unfamiliar with until they learn the term. This is a help way for help all students learn their math terms.


Then as a class go over the words.

Have the students preview the chapter/unit and find all of the words that are new. Have the students write down the words and definitions in their dictionary

For unit specific words, a foldable could be used as well.

1610/13

Extending Comprehension:

Textbook Vocabulary Strategies

Set Up a Word of the Week Program

(p. 114)

In class I can have the word of the day. The word can be a lesson related word that we discuss in detail and the students need to incorporate into their daily class discussion, writing, or explanations

I can keep a unit word wall to help remind the students of the units vocabulary and encourage them to continually incorporate into their math communications

This will help to grow all students’ math communication. Using the official math terms to describe and explain is an issue for many students. The word of the week program will keep the words fresh for the students reminding them to continually use the correct terms.

1710/20

Extending Comprehensive:

Textbook Reading

Read Text in Small Segments and

Highlight Main Ideas

Have students read and take notes one textbook example at a time

Each of these implementations of the strategy encourages ELLs to read the section and


Strategies (p. 124) Have students read one chunk and have the students takes notes on a T-chart or foldable

Have students read and summarize, note, and question the section in their reading log

Encourage the students to read and discuss the section in heterogeneous groups

analyze their understanding. They highlight the areas that they understand and can isolate the areas that they need further explanation or resources to understand. This strategy also helps low-achieving students focus on the topic areas that need further reinforcement.

1810/22

Extending Comprehensive:

Textbook Reading Strategies

Focus on Simple Language and

Graphics(p. 131)

ELLs would focus on word definitions, equations, and examples

Provide a bilingual math dictionary to help explain the definitions as needed

By narrowing the focus of the lesson to the most important terms enables the ELL to focus on specific words that will provide the most benefit to the student.Using a bilingual dictionary enables ELLs to learn new terms in their native language and translate to English.

1910/26

Reinforcing Learning: Activities

and Assignments

Pare Down Questions and assignments

(p. 138)

Assign problems that practice the math, not reading

If doing a word problem section, assign word problems that are more direct and culturally appropriate

The point of a math assignment is to practice and verify understanding of the math topic. By assigning problems with complicated directions and wording will only lead to misunderstanding and frustration.


Reword complicated directions

2010/28

Reinforcing Learning: Activities

and Assignments

Try Peer Tutoring(p. 144)

Allow ELLs to work with a student who has demonstrated mastery on a section

Set-up an after school math tutor time where advanced students may earn community service hours by tutoring students

This enables students to receive explanations in their social language. Since students develop social language faster than academic language, this will be easier for them to understand.

2110/29

Classroom Assessments: Did They Learn What

You Taught?

Use Informational Journals for Assessment

(p. 168)

Use learning log journals to assess understanding and growth on a topic

When students keep a regular journal tracking their learning, the teacher is able to see progress. The trick is requiring that students write in their journals on a regular basis to demonstrate their growth and understanding on a topic. Criteria would have to be established for the journal entries to be used as assessments.

2210/30

Classroom Assessments: Did They Learn What

You Taught?

Give Grades for Progress and Effort

(p. 175)

Give participation grades for actively participating in group discussions

Give credit for setting up and using the correct

By awarding credit for areas of growth will encourage the ELL to continue to work hard to learn English and math. By writing words of encouragement will show the


equations Provide encouraging

comments on work

ELL that you recognize the additional work they are putting in to learn the material and encourage them to keep up the good work.

2311/1

The Big One: Preparing for High-

Stakes Testing

Teach How to Approach a Multiple-

Choice Question(p. 178)

Progress ELL from two choices up to the required amount answer options

Provide the same question worded in two different ways. Offer one as a T/F and then again as a multiple choice

Show students how to eliminate the distractors and focus on the actual question

These methods allow for ELLs to focus on key words and get used to seeing questions written in the high-stakes format. Showing students how to eliminate distractors and focus on the information required to solve the test question will help all students taking the test.

2411/1

The Big One: Preparing for High-

Stakes Testing

Use Accommodations in

Response(p. 183)

Allow student to use translating materials on the test

Allow the ELL to use these materials in class so they are familiar with them well before the high stakes test

This enables the ELL to translate difficult words into their native language. This enables the student to focus on the knowledge being assessed and not their English Language skills.

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