The document discusses thematic instruction for teaching English language learners. Thematic instruction involves organizing learning activities around a central topic or theme. It makes education more interesting and relevant by bringing the real world into the classroom. Thematic instruction also promotes students' linguistic and cognitive development. The document provides examples of thematic units, such as ones focused on seasons, pirates, or inventions. It emphasizes using thematic instruction to integrate literacy skills across subjects. Teachers can scaffold ideas by building on previous themes.

1. Thematic Approach to
English Language Learners
Thematic Approach Presentation and Handout
Kyle Heaslip
TESOL 504
February 9, 2014
Nona Hall

2. Our Objective & Agenda
Our goals for our training today:
 Discussing characteristics of thematic instruction
 Resources to help use thematic instruction
 Ideas proving positive thematic instruction
strategies.

3. What is thematic instruction?

4. Thematic instruction is a set of related learning
activities and experiences that effectively support
teaching multiple content areas and skills organized
around a central topic, idea, or theme.

5. Characteristics of Thematic Instruction
It makes education important to students by making it
interesting, relevant, and bringing the real world
into the classroom.

6. Characteristics of Thematic Instruction
It seeks to put the teaching of literacy skills in reading,
science, writing and arithmetic to be practical and
broad enough to allow creativity.

7. Characteristics of Thematic Instruction
Thematic Instruction promotes students’
development in linguistic and cognitive abilities.

8. Scholastic’s
Top 5 Thematic Teaching Ideas

9. • An article done by Scholastic has shown
five different ways to instruct thematic
units. The units include roller coasters,
seasons (particularly winter), pirates,
traveling, and machines with inventions.
• The article explicitly shows the
importance of each unit and incorporates
different levels of reading, writing, math,
imagination and creativity.

10. Cross-Curricular Thematic Instruction
By: Mary Ellen Vogt
A professor at California State University states that
teachers who use cross-curricular themes create active
readers and writers by engaging students in authentic
literacy tasks that emerge naturally from interesting
and worthwhile topics and ideas.
Thematic teaching enables students to:
• Acquire, communicate, and investigate worthwhile
knowledge in depth.
• Integrate and enrich language processes.
• Practice reading different kinds of materials for varied
purposes.
• Uses prior knowledge of the world and past
experiences with languages and text.

11. Ideas concerning thematic instruction
• Building off from a previous theme is very
beneficial. It would help scaffolding specific ideas.
• By building off the previous theme, the students
will gather more information about the past unit as
well as the new unit.
• If you are in the high school level, keep your
advanced focus on the content area and
incorporate other subjects in smaller doses. (For
example, if you are a social studies teacher, focus
instruction relating to social studies and add other
subjects into the mix at a smaller pace.)

12. Example of a Thematic Unit
• Grade Level- 10th Grade- American History
• Introduce students to the 50 States
• Incorporate the state quarters
• Require students to infer and predict the meaning
of the state quarter symbols.
• Require students to choose a state to go on a “road
trip” for.
• Have the students choose three parts of the state
and write a detailed description about it.
• Create a budget for the trip.

13. References
• Herrera, S. (2010) Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods: Differentiated Instruction
for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students, Second Edition, by
Socorro G. Herrera and G. Mjuorry.
• TEACHERS. (n.d.). Scholastic Teachers. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/top-5-thematic-teaching-ideas
• Vogt, M. E. (n.d.). Cross Curriculum Thematic Unit. Cross Curriculum Thematic
Unit. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from http://www.educyberpg.com/pdf/MaryEllen%20Vogt.PDF