The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide

Larry Ferlazzo teaches English Language Learners and English-proficient students at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. He is the author or editor of twelve books on education, and writes a weekly teacher advice column for Education Week. Katie Hull Sypnieski teaches English Language Learners and English-proficient students at Arthur A. Benjamin Health Professions High School in Sacramento, California. She is a Teacher Consultant with the Area 3 Writing Project at the University of California, Davis and is a co-author of The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox and Navigating the Common Core with English Language Learners.

About the Authors vii

Acknowledgments xv

About the Contributors xvii

Introduction xxi

PART ONE: GETTING STARTED WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 1

1 ELL Instruction: The Big Picture 3

ELL Population Growth 4

How Are English Language Learners Described? 5

Adolescent English Language Learners 7

A Primer on ELL Research 8

A Quick Tour of ELL Best Practices 12

2 ELL Classroom Basics: Building a Positive and Effective Learning Environment 17

The First R: Building Relationships 18

The Second R: Resources in the ELL Classroom 36

The Third R: Establishing Routines 43

PART TWO: TEACHING BEGINNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 47

3 Key Elements of a Curriculum for Beginning ELLs 49

Key Elements of a Curriculum 50

4 Daily Instruction for Beginning ELLs 115

Picture Word Inductive Model Unit Plan 116

PART THREE: TEACHING INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 161

5 Key Elements of a Curriculum for Intermediate ELLs 163

Key Elements of a Curriculum 164

6 Daily Instruction for Intermediate ELLs 213

Designing Thematic Genre Units 213

A Sample Unit: Problem-Solution 215

Sample Lesson Plans 245

Inductive Lesson Plan 245

Using Text to Generate Analytical Writing Lesson Plan 251

A Sample Week in a Two-Period Intermediate ELL Class 258

PART FOUR: TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN THE CONTENT AREAS 263

7 English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom 265

What Is the Organizing Cycle? 267

8 Teaching Social Studies 283

Building Relationships with Students 284

9 Teaching Science 301

Introduction: Science and Language 302

10 Teaching Math 315

Introduction 316

Challenge: Reading Mathematics Texts 317

Challenge: Knowledge of Appropriate Academic Vocabulary 319

Challenge: Participating in Mathematics Conversations 321

Challenge: Understanding Abstract Concepts 324

PART FIVE: WORKING WITH SPECIFIC GROUPS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS 327

11 Supporting Long-Term English Language Learners 329

Who Are Long-Term

English Language Learners? 330

How Can We Best Support LTELLs? 330

How Did Larry and His School Try to Put These Recommendations into Action? 331

12 Working with Elementary ELLs 339

Who Are Elementary English Learners? 340

Do Elementary English Language Learners Have Different Needs? Does Their Instruction Need to be Different from that of Older English Learners? 342

Program Types in Elementary 342

The Core Elements of Supportive Instruction for Elementary English Language Learners 345

What Does a Model Classroom that is Highly Supportive of Elementary English Learners Look Like? 345

What Does a Model Classroom that is Highly Supportive of Elementary English Learners Sound Like? 347

What Does a Model Classroom that is Highly Supportive of Elementary ELLs Feel Like? 349

Instructional Strategies that Support Elementary ELLs 352

13 Teaching Adult Ells 355

The Differences in Teaching English to Adults Versus Children 356

How to Foster Success with Adult Learners 362

14 Teaching ELLs with Learning Differences 371

Considerations for Further Investigation 372

Considerations for Determining Services 373

Considerations for Placement/Scheduling 375

Resources 376

PART SIX: FURTHER STRATEGIES TO ENSURE SUCCESS 377

15 Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Teaching 379

What Is Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Teaching? 380

The Organizing Cycle 381

16 Addressing Additional Opportunities and Challenges 393

Student Motivation 394

The Advantages of Being Bilingual or Multilingual Lesson Plan 395

Social Emotional Learning 408

Textbook Integration 410

Error Correction 412

Limited Access to Educational Technology 414

Multilevel Classes 415

Co-Teaching and/or Working with an Aide/Paraprofessional 419

Classroom Management 421

Book Selection 422

Supporting ELL Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFEs) 424

17 Home Language of ELLs 427

Seeing Home Language as an Asset 429

A Mini Lesson on the Value of Home Languages 430

Research on Home Languages in the Classroom 431

Turning Bloom’s Taxonomy into a Home-Language Framework 434

Abandoning English-Only Policies 440

Conclusion 442

18 Using Learning Games in the ELL Classroom 445

Research Support 445

What Are the Qualities of a Good Learning Game? 446

19 Assessing English Language Learners 461

Assessing ELLs: Key Principles 462

20 Reflective Teaching/Professional Development 487

The Bread in the Pond 487

Why Should We Have an Intentional, Formal Process for Reflecting? 488

Why I Began Filming Myself and Why I Continued 489

Adopting a Reflective Mindset 490

Afterword 497

Notes 499

Index 539