This document provides several strategies and techniques for effectively teaching English Language Learners (ELLs). It discusses that ELL students benefit from building background knowledge, using visual aids, explicit instruction, modeling, social learning environments, and a focus on academic vocabulary. Specific strategies recommended include think-pair-share, graphic organizers, stop and jot, get the picture, attribute webs, four corners vocabulary, and foldables. The document emphasizes building background knowledge, using visuals, and scaffolding instruction to make content comprehensible for ELL students.

1. Vanessa L. Capaldo
Wedgwood Middle School

2. Understanding the Needs of English Language Learners
• ELL students need help increasing background
knowledge.
• ELL students need visual aids such as images, graphs,
photos, and maps to build visual literacy.
• Make the abstract concrete. An abstract concept is
difficult for ELL students. To make the concept
concrete, use a kinesthetic approach, such as a
foldable.
• ELL students need teacher modeling and guided
interaction. Use graphic organizers for every content
area and model how to use them.

3. Understanding the Needs of English Language Learners
• ELL students need to learn authentically. Lessons
must be connected to real world use, which will
increase their motivation to learn.
• ELL students need explicit, direct instruction in all
content areas concepts, academic language and
reading comprehension.
• ELL students will be most successful when learning in
a social environment. Pairing ELL students with an
English-proficient student will benefit them greatly as
a scaffolding technique.
• ELL students lack knowledge of vocabulary,
particularly academic vocabulary in science, social
studies, and math.

4. Building Background Knowledge
• ELL students struggle academically because of lack of
background knowledge.
• Teachers must EXPLICITLY link concepts to students’
background experience.
• Teachers must make CLEAR LINKS between students’
past learning and new concepts. For example, ask
students to do a brainstorm on what they may
already know about a concept before introducing it.
• Key vocabulary must be EMPHASIZED.

5. Using Visual Aids
• Make visual aids meaningful to support understanding.
• Have students respond to visuals orally and in writing to
check for understanding.
• To introduce a new concept with visuals, try a gallery
walk. Display pictures related to the concept around the
room. Give students a note card and have them walk to
each picture and make predictions about what they
think the new concept will be based on what they see.

6. Using Graphic Organizers
• Graphic organizers are beneficial for interpreting and
summarizing texts and concepts.
• Graphic organizers promote active learning and
engagement.
• Graphic organizers can help develop higher order
thinking skills.
• Model how to use them.
• There are MANY graphic organizers available online for
every content area.

7. Modeling
• When modeling how to do an activity:
• Slow down
• Use repetition, particularly when modeling a
vocabulary assignment. The more students hear the
new word, the better.
• Model in steps. For example, “Step one, let’s say the
word”, “Step two, let’s spell the word.”
• Use think-aloud strategies. Tell students how you
would think when doing the assignment.

8. Vocabulary
• Scaffold the teaching of vocabulary. Provide word banks,
word walls, and graphic organizers.
• Vocabulary should be studied in many different ways for
words to be learned and remembered. Use word sorts,
cloze sentences, vocabulary games, songs, etc. Expose
students to vocabulary in as many ways as possible.
• Have students create personal dictionaries for learned
vocabulary. They can refer to the words when needed.
• Take any chance to explain the many idioms, prefixes,
suffixes and odd words/phrases in the English language.

9. Additional Tips
• A good rule of thumb for teaching ELL students is to
always provide “think time” when asking a question.
Then, require that they write down their answer before
speaking. This helps them get their thoughts in order to
avoid embarrassment.
• Check for understanding and use informal assessments
as often as possible. Informal assessments can be as
simple as “thumbs up, thumbs down”, white boards, and
response cards.

10. Think-Pair-Share Strategy
• Cooperative learning strategy that helps promote higher
order thinking and helps students focus their thinking
and stay actively engaged.
• Helps students to build on the ideas of other students.
• Low risk strategy to test for background knowledge.
When sharing thoughts first, ELL students can avoid the
embarrassment that could come from giving an
incorrect answer.

11. Think-Pair-Share Strategy
• Step One
• Pair ELL students with a pre-assigned, English
proficient student.
• Ask students to determine who will go first: the
person with the longest hair, most buttons on
clothes, etc. This will be Partner A.
• Step Two
• Pose a question related to the day’s lesson or as a
review from a previous lesson.
• Give students at least 15 seconds to think on their
own ("think time").

12. Think-Pair-Share Strategy
• Step Three
• Give 30 seconds (use a timer) for Partner A to
respond to the question. Partner B can write down
Partner A’s answer.
• When time is up, tell students it is time for Partner B
to share. Don’t forget to add think time again!
Partner A will record Partner B’s answer. Give 30
seconds again.
• Step Four
• Ask for volunteers to share with the whole group.
• Allow each partner to share, or, as a variation, ask a
partnership to share each other’s answers.

13. Think-Pair-Share Strategy
• Especially for ELL students, it is important to provide
think stems for them to use with this strategy. This is
to help them respond and not be at a loss as to how
to begin or what to say.
• Write them on sentence strips and hang around the
room for future reference.
• Thinks Stems to begin with could include:
• I think….
• I believe…
• An example of _______ could be…
• I learned…
• The difference between ______ and ______?

14. Think-Pair-Share Strategy
• Variations on the Think-Pair-Share Strategy:
• Think-Pair-Write-Share – after giving think time,
have students write their answer first and then share
with their partner. Build in time for writing answers.
• Read-Write-Pair-Share – have students read a short
passage from a text, write their response, share with
a partner. Again, adjust the time frame.
• Draw-Pair-Share – have students view to an image,
write a response to it, and share with a partner and
whole group.

15. Let’s Try It!
• With the person seating next to you, decide who has
the earliest birthday of the year. That person is
Partner A.
• Your question to ponder is:
• “What is something new that you learned about
ELL students so far today?”
• Think time (15 seconds)
• Partner A share
• Think time (15 seconds)
• Partner B share
• Whole group share

16. Stop & Jot Strategy
• This strategy can help students connect prior
knowledge to information in the text, promote better
understanding of the content, and can be used as an
informal assessment.
• Tell students that you are going to read the text
together and stop at regular intervals to record
thoughts. Tell students that they should write for
about I minute when asked to respond to the reading.
This time can increase as students get used to
responding.
• Remind them that you do not want them to
summarize or retell the story.

17. Stop & Jot Strategy
• To help them begin their response, post sentence
starters, such as*:
I think...
I wish…
I wonder…
• At the end of the reading selection, students will
select a thinking stem and write for 3 minutes. This is
when they will write what they learned or something
they did not understand about the reading.
• Volunteers may share their response to the whole
group.
*Additional stems are available in your handout.

18. Get the Picture Strategy
• ELL Students often have trouble forming pictures in
their minds while reading. As a result, they have
trouble getting involved in the context of the reading.
• Give students a piece of white paper. Have them fold
the paper into fourths. You may have them number
the panels.
• Tell students you want them to read along with you,
and that you will stop and ask them to picture what is
going on in the text.

19. Get the Picture Strategy
• Have students draw pictures within their squares of
what is happening in the text.
• Tell students that they can use stick figures if they feel
they cannot draw what they are thinking.
• For content area text, if students are struggling with
what to draw, ask them to draw a scene of someone
performing the concept or speaking about it with
someone.
• Ask them to add a caption.
• Ask volunteers to share by holding up their drawing or
re-drawing it on the board.

20. Let’s Try it!
• As a practice, you can choose to do a Stop & Jot OR a
Get the Picture strategy. Respond to the following
newspaper passage:
“Compared with cars, motorcycles are an especially
dangerous form of travel. The federal government
estimates that per mile traveled, the number of deaths
on motorcycles in 2009 was about 37 times the number
in cars. Motorcyclist deaths have been rising in recent
years—more than doubling by 2008 from the record low
in 1997. In 2008, more motorcyclists died in crashes than
in any year since the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) began collecting these fatal
crash data. In contrast, passenger vehicle occupant
deaths reached a record low in 2008.” (Daniels, 2011)

21. Vocabulary Attribute Web
• An attribute web is a fancy term for a bubble map or a
brainstorming map.
• In the center triangle, students will write the term or
concept being studied.
• As a class and as teacher models, students will fill in
the rest of the circles with the term or concept
definition, synonyms of the term or concept,
antonyms, part of speech, examples in real life, etc. It is
the teacher’s choice as to what goes in the circles.

22. Four Corners Vocabulary
• Students can do this with an English-proficient
partner.
• Using several different vocabulary words from the
current unit, assign one to each partnership.
• Partners will discuss the word and what they
remember about it from a previous lesson.
• To demonstrate their knowledge, they will
complete the Four Corners chart by writing in the
word, using the word in a sentence, providing the
definition, and drawing an illustration of the term.

23. Vocabulary Foldable
• ELL students benefit from a hands-on activity.
• My students love foldables and we use them every
chance we get.
• This foldable is taken from Laura Candler’s site:
• http://www.lauracandler.com/ - great site for K-12 and
covers all content areas.

24. Vocabulary Foldable
• Have students fold their papers in half the long way
(hotdog) and cut on the four dotted lines to form five
flaps.
• Choose 5 vocabulary words to introduce to your
students. Have them write one word on the outside of
each flap in the top triangle.
• Give students time to complete the other three
sections of the flap. In the bottom triangle, under the
word, have them draw a symbol or picture that will
help them remember the word. Then have them open
the flap and write the definition and a sentence.

25. Words to Use
• Slither - To glide or slide along like a reptile
• Vehicle - Something used to take people or goods
from one place to another
• Identical - Exactly alike and equal
• Unique - Being the only one of its kind
• Probability - a number expressing the likelihood
that an event will happen; chance

26. Vocabulary Foldable
• Allow students to color their foldable and make it their
own.
• When all the flaps are completed, allow some time for
students to share their pictures and sentences with a
partner or with the class.
• They can then glue their foldable into a notebook for
future reference.

27. Content Area Lesson Planning Opportunity
• Using your ELPS handout, plan a lesson geared
toward your ELL students.
• Lesson plan templates are provided if you
would like to use one.

28. References and Resources
Books
The SIOP Model for Teaching English Language Learners
Vogt, Echevarria & Short
Making Content Comprehensible for English Language Learners
Vogt, Echevarria & Short
Texts and Lessons in Content Area Reading
Daniels and Steineke
Websites
Laura Candler’s Teaching Resources
http://www.lauracandler.com
Eduplace Graphic Organizers
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/