This document discusses strategies for teaching bilingual learners and thematic instruction. It provides 10 strategies for teaching basic communication skills and 5 for cognitive academic skills. It also lists the top 10 strategies, with building background knowledge and modeling expectations as the top two. Thematic instruction is defined as organizing curriculum around broad themes and integrating subjects. It allows for more hands-on and creative learning through projects. Some effective practices discussed are using realia, investigations, demonstrations and giving students breaks to engage and relax.

1. Classroom Strategies and
Activities for Bilingual Learners
By: Michelle Bilotti
BLE 504
Week 2

2. Five strategies suitable for instructing bilingual
learners in basic interpersonal communication skills
(BICS)
1. Build background knowledge and
connections to students' lives and prior
knowledge to increase comprehension
2. Give students a break – allow time for
technology or website learning on programs
such as http://www.starfall.com
3. Keep pacing and grouping appropriate
4. Model expectations for students
5. One-on-one communication

3. Five strategies for instructing bilingual learners in
cognitive academic language proficiency skills
(CALPS).
1. Scaffold instruction
2. Use hands on activities
3. Introduce academic language
4. Include content and language objectives for
students to monitor their learning and to follow
their comprehension of the lesson
5. Apply higher-order questioning that
incorporates critical thinking questions in
lessons for students to respond to and interact

4. My Top 10 Strategies
(#1 Being the Best)
10. Include content and language objectives
9. Keep pacing and grouping appropriate
8. One-on-one communication
7. Use hands on activities
6. Give students a break – allow time for technology
5. Apply higher-order questioning that incorporates
critical thinking questions
4. Introduce academic language
3. Build background knowledge and connections
2. Scaffold instruction
1. Model expectations for students

5. Major characteristics of
thematic instruction
According to www.funderstanding.com, "Thematic
instruction is the organization of a curriculum
around macro "themes.“
• Thematic instruction integrates basic disciplines
like reading, math, and science with the
exploration of a broad subject, such as
communities, rain forests, river basins, the use of
energy, and so on."

6. Major characteristics of
thematic instruction continued…
• Thematic instructions involves making changes to
the class schedule, or designing the instruction,
by combining hours normally devoted to specific
topics, organizing field trips, teaching in teams,
bringing in outside experts, and so on.
• Thematic instruction is often project-oriented, it
allows more creativity and freedom from
students through presentations, art, and projects.

7. Ideas to share from articles
• From Sheltered Instruction: Best Practices for ELLs in the Mainstream,
by Hansen-Thomas, Holly , the author states, “Classes such as science
and math often are relatively more comprehensible for ELLs…By virtue
of its motivating, interactive, hands-on nature, science is a course in
which ELLs are often successful. In many science classes, students
work in pairs or small groups on interesting, motivating tasks that
require students to engage in learning by doing--dissecting frogs,
growing plants, and sorting potato chips--to understand anatomy,
biology, and classification systems. Implementation of interesting
content, along with supports to scaffold student learning such as realia
(for example, math manipulatives), investigations, and demonstrations
can help provide the assistance ELLs need to be successful (Chamot
and O'Malley 1994).”

8. Ideas to share from articles
continued…
• While not from an article, the video, ‘How to Get
Started With English Language Learners’, gave
great advice for all educators to keep in mind:
• “CARRIE O’DONNELL: But then also, let them
have breaks where you put them at a listening
center sometimes. Don’t expect them to go the
whole day doing everything in English because
it’s exhausting for them. So, by putting them at
the listening center or the computer periodically,
it just lets them relax.”

9. My ideas on teaching thematic units
successfully to ELLs

10. References
• Hansen-Thomas, H. (2008). Sheltered Instruction:
Best practices for ELLs in the mainstream. Kappa
Delta Pi Record, 44(4), 165-169.
• Roberts, D. (Director). (2007). How to get started
with English language learners : Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• So You Don't Like Standardized Tests-What's the
Alternative?. (n.d.). Funderstanding Education
Curriculum and Learning Resources. Retrieved
June 27, 2014, from
http://www.funderstanding.com