Instructional Strategies for ELL Students

ELL students are learning the same material as English speaking students. How can it be fair to teach a student new material and a new language in the same way a student with English as a first language is learning the material? Though it can still be harder to learn material in a language you are not yet comfortable with, there are some great tools to help ELL students. Thinglink is a great resource used to develop a story for students using pictures and small words. This way students can see the material in a picture or even match it to a small word or sentence. It is a fun app but also a great learning source that may be less intimidating for ELL students. Another great source is NewsELA. This website has many educational articles but the best part about it is that it can be used for students with varying reading levels. Students of all levels can read about the same topic, even the same article, but can use to sidebar to change the reading level to fit their needs. This is great to challenge students as well as adapt to lower levels and still not skip over any information. WIDA is a great strategy for teachers to use when working with ELL students. You can use the standards to mark the level a student is at but you can also look at harder levels to determine what you as a teacher can do to help your students progress to the next standard. These are just a few strategies to remember when teaching an ELL students, but the most important thing I have learn is the importance to adapt to any situation. All students learn differently.