This activity is heavily scaffolded for beginners. Students orally create the word bank and sentences, but I write the words and sentences on the board using
I love using short films to teach reading comprehension skills, and my students love watching them!
What are language functions? LFs are the "reasons" we use language; it's our purpose, or goal, when we express ourselves. Perhaps we want to express our needs or wants, explain a process, describe an experience, or persuade someone to do something. Whatever the purpose, we use language to perform these functions. Examples of Language Functions: -express wants/needs -sequence -compare/contrast -opinion -persuade -inform -describe -analyze -cause/effect -summarize -ask questions Students use language functions in every grade level and across all content areas, so what better way to set English learners up for success than by explicitly teaching the academic language needed to successfully use language functions. Here is how this looks in my ESOL classroom. Planning I like to plan certain LF units during specific times of year. For example, Compare/Contrast is fun in the fall due to apples and pumpkins. Cause/Effect is great in the winter because I like to use the topic of seasonal changes on plants and animals. Opinion/Persuade is great in the spring because I use the topic of plastic pollution, which ties into Earth Day. I sprinkle other LF units throughout the year, but those three I pretty much keep at the same time each year. You could teach any LF at any time of the year; it's very flexible. Each unit, in my classroom, lasts about 3-4 weeks, but again, it's flexible. Which language functions will my students need in order to be successful with the grade level content? When I sit down to plan a unit, I brainstorm science and social studies topics that my students will be learning about during year, then I pick the LF and topic I want to focus on. When we connect LF units with the content our students are, or will be, learning in their general education classrooms, it gives students the language tools and confidence they need to participate and succeed. Language Functions Planning Process This is the tool I use to plan out my language function units. It helps me map out the BIG picture first, then hone in on the details. The main components of my planning are: 1- identify the language function 2- identify content areas topics 3- create learning targets 4- locate activities to support the four language domains 5- determine the scaffolds needed Learning Targets I like to backwards plan by first identifying what I want my students to be able to do by the end of each LF unit. This becomes the learning target(s) for the unit. I have targets for both expressive (speaking and writing) and interpretive (listening and reading) language. A focus on the verb is important because it's what we want students to do, for example: identify, use, label, illustrate, explain, etc. The learning targets are then posted and referenced throughout each unit. Activities Once I've identified the learning targets, I start collecting activities and resources at various proficiency levels to practice viewing, listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. I also think about how I'll build background knowledge for the topic. I love to incorporate videos, so YouTube, BrainPOP Jr. and EPIC Books are places I typically go to first for engaging video resources. Building background knowledge using a short video is highly effective, IMO. It's an engaging way to get students talking about what they already know or think about a topic. This planning phase is all about finding materials that will help facilitate the language function. Since I work with a wide variety of proficiency and grade levels, I need a variety of resources. Here are some of my favorites for the 4 language domains. Listening I primarily use videos for this domain. I tell my students what to listen for and will stop the video in designated places to give them time to process and respond. Again, my top 3 places to find videos in order of preference are YouTube, BrainPOP Jr (paid subscription) and EPIC Books. EPIC has some really great videos, and it's a free resource! ReadWorks.org is another great site. The reading passages there have an audio component, so it's not a video, but it's an article read aloud. You could create your own questions for the article, but comprehension question are already provided for each passage. Nice! Reading For reading materials I look through my school's bookroom first. Then I check out Reading A-Z (a subscription my school pays for), Readworks.org, EPIC books (both are free), another online subscription resource from Benchmark Education, and lastly my own collection of books. Reading Materials for Cause and Effect The picture above shows some of the reading materials I gathered for my cause and effect unit. I searched for resources that demonstrated how changes in climate or weather impact plants and animals. Reading Materials for Opinion/Persuade As you can see, I'm a "spreader outer." By spreading out all of my resources during this planning phase, I can quickly see what I have and what I still need. Speaking I want my students talking everyday, so we do a variety of speaking activities in my ELD groups. This is probably the number one reason why I love the pull-out model of instruction, but that's a blog post for another day. Some activities I use are talking mats, games, class discussions, partner talks and simply sharing our thinking. Oral language is the foundation of language and literacy so I'm intentional about providing structured (and unstructured) opportunities for students to use oral language each time we meet. Talking Mat Activity for Cause and Effect Students chose the cards they wanted to talk about, then used the sentence frame as needed. One of my favorite speaking activities is having students record a Flipgrid video. They always moan about it at first, but then they get into it and enjoy watching and responding to their classmates' videos. It's also a great way to measure progress. You have recorded examples of your students speaking throughout the year! I like to jot down notes while I listen (and re-listen) to their recordings. This helps me target certain areas that my students need additional practice with, then I create or find mini-lessons for those skills. Writing Writing is integrated with listening and reading activities. Students generally have something to respond to each time we meet. (They usually write inside their ELD notebooks.) Similar to speaking, I'll have students writing at each meeting, even if it's a short task. I frequently use graphic organizers for writing responses. I like to reduce the size of the graphic organizer to about 75% and trim the edges, then I'll have students glue it into their notebooks. Opinion Writing At the end of each LF unit, there is a written or oral language component, sometimes both. It's an assessment to demonstrate their ability of applying the language function. Usually it's a prompt written in their ELD notebooks, but it could also be a digital activity. This past spring, at the end of our Opinion/Persuade unit, students had the choice to either create and present a PowerPoint presentation, record a Flipgrid video, or create and present a poster. Google Jamboard is another platform I frequently use for their end of unit writing task. Scaffolds Let's talk scaffolding for a moment. This is where we consider the specific language needs of our students and the appropriate supports for them. Scaffolds will vary from group to group. Some groups/students will need sentence frames, while others may only need sentence stems. Some groups will need more modeling than others. Some will need more visuals. Some will need extra opportunities to practice. Some might need L1 support. All will need explicit vocabulary instruction. We want to challenge our students without frustrating them, so picking appropriate scaffolding is key. Language Function Unit in Action For each unit, I display a "language board." It's a jumping off point and a reference tool that provides what the language function is, gives an example, along with key words. Next, I build some background knowledge so that students can connect to the reason we use the LF. It could be as simple as asking, "What do you already know about..." Then we dive into the plans and activities for listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. They spend the next 10-15 days practicing and using the language for the language function. Language Function Board for Opinion & Persuade Introductory Lesson for Opinion/Persuade Model OREO Opinion Writing Opinion Lesson - real life example to connect students' experiences with learning target Reading Activity- Will students' opinions about plastic bags change? Intermediate ELD group- students gave their opinion about plastic bags prior to reading. In Closing The best part about incorporating language function units into my ESL classroom is that ALL of my ELD groups are learning the same language function. This makes planning so much more manageable. Instead of planning 10 different lessons for ten different groups, all of my groups are learning the language of persuade at their language level. I love it! And more importantly, my students love it too! These units are fun, engaging, flexible and highly effective at building academic language. Do you teach language functions? If so, do you have a favorite? If not, do you want to? Here are links to some of my Language Function resources. Happy LF Teaching,
An ELD Lesson Format That Makes Planning Easier Are you looking for lesson plan ideas that incorporate all four language domains for your kindergarten and 1st grade English learners? I have a weekly system that makes ELD lesson planning easier, provides quality lessons and keeps students engaged throughout the year. One of the key resources I use to implement weekly plans with my K-1 students is a Reading A-Z online book subscription. The reason I love using these printable books is that my students can write in them and then take them home at the end of the week. Don't have a subscription? That's OK! This system still works;) Step 1 is determining students' starting points for reading. My beginning readers/beginning English learners usually start at level aa or A. Step 2 is choosing a book that has relevant and meaningful vocabulary, as well as a repetitive sentence structure. This is important because I want students to build their everyday vocabulary and become familiar with basic sentence structure, as well as exposure to sight words in context. Here are some of my favorite titles... Main Components of Weekly ELD Lessons These lesson components don't change. Each day of the week is devoted to certain components which makes lesson planning much more manageable. - build or tap background knowledge - vocabulary - reading - oral language - writing - word work Additional components: - sight words - sentence structure - letter formation There's enough variety throughout the week that my K-1 students stay engaged and even look forward to the familiar structures and activities. What's great about having a system in place is I know exactly what each week looks like and which components are taught on each day; the only thing that changes is the book. What Does a Week of Lessons Look Like? 👉🏼 Pick an appropriate book and make enough copies for all of the students, plus and extra copy for you. I choose the double sided option for copying, that way all I do is fold the pages and staple the spine. It's super simple! 👉🏼 Tap into background knowledge. This is the first thing we do on Mondays when we start a new book, and it can be as simple as asking, "What do you know about ____?" It gets them thinking about the topic and connecting it to their prior knowledge. I do my best to choose books that my students likely already have some background knowledge of. 👉🏼 Introduce vocabulary. Before we open the book, I lay out pictures from the book. Then we practice identifying the pictures and saying the words. *I always print one copy of the book in color, then cut out the pictures or illustrations to use as vocabulary cards. I also write the vocabulary words on index cards or cut up sentence strips for a post reading matching activity. Once we've practiced identifying and saying the vocabulary words, it's time to open the book. 👉🏼 Identify a sight word- I usually identify a repetitive sight word in the book and have students hunt for and highlight the word on each page. 👉🏼 Read with a purpose. I tell the students something like, "Now we're going to read to find out... " and finish that sentence depending on what the book is about. At the beginning of the school year, when I am reading with my beginning readers/English learners, we do echo reading or choral reading. As the weeks progress and my students' literacy and language skills strengthen, they begin reading more independently and I gradually release that support. 👉🏼 Talk about the book. This is where I can support their oral language development by asking questions about the book. I also model my own response, then they take turns sharing their thoughts and ideas. 👉🏼 Respond to reading. After reading the book, students respond to the book. There is a space in the back of the book to write, so that's were we do the writing. After writing (or before), students add an illustration and color it. Lastly, they share their writing and illustration with the group. 👉🏼 Word Work/Phonics. I always pull word work from the book. I look for a word that I can build word family words with, usually CVC words, then have students practice writing them on a white board. Word work for my students still learning letter names and sounds looks different, so the word work activities are chosen to meet the needs of each group. Other weekly activities are sentence structure and letter formation. For the sentence structure activity I take a repetitive sentence from the book and write it on a sentence strip, then cut apart the words. If I have 5 students in a group, then I have 5 different sentences cut apart. Each student gets one sentence and is tasked with putting the words in order, then reading the sentence aloud. Letter formation is also an important skill we practice each week. I try to tie the weekly letter to something in the book. Lastly, I'll sprinkle in additional activities such as letter identification, read aloud books, thematic monthly vocabulary, and games to keep each week fun and engaging. I think it's important to make learning fun, and my students seem to really enjoy this system. Monthly Thematic Activities Weekly Format of ELD Lesson Components I meet with my groups 4 times a week, 30 minutes at a time. Here's how I structure each week. Monday - tap into background knowledge, introduce vocabulary (pictures are laid out on the table), identify and highlight a sight word, read with a purpose, matching activity- vocabulary words with pictures Tuesday - review vocabulary, reread the book, sentence structure activity, write & illustrate Wednesday - I don't see my K-1 students on Wednesdays Thursday - reread the book (less support), word work from the book (activity depends on the group), color their illustration and share their writing Friday - reread the book (support only as needed), letter formation, add an additional fun activity (game or read aloud), exit ticket out the door (a sentence from the book with no picture support) and a high five;) After Reading the book, students match word cards with their pictures. Exit ticket out the door- reading without picture support. This structure could be easily implemented with a variety of books; they don't have to be Reading A-Z books. But I do really like that students own their books, can write in them and take them home to read to family members each week. Graphic organizers are another great tool for incorporating the writing component when using non-consumable books. If I didn't use this online book subscription, I'd use book sets from my school's bookroom along with some good graphic organizers. Having a structure in place for weekly ELD lessons eliminates the guesswork from lesson planning, and that's huge! If you have a Reading A-Z subscription, try this out with your K-1 students, even K-2! If you don't have a subscription, grab some book sets and graphic organizers and do the same structure. Let me know how it works for you! 🙌🏼 Below is a monthly thematic resource bundle linked to my TPT store. I devote one week out of the month to building monthly themed vocabulary. Each month comes with printable books, a digital book to project for a shared reading, vocabulary cards, a writing activity, plus a fun BINGO game. Each month is also sold separately Happy Teaching!
If Language Functions were a car, then Language Forms would be the tires, gas, engine, steering wheel and all the other parts that make that car drive.
When the kids are bored, encourage them to get outdoors and play with sidewalk chalk. Here are 10 awesome games and activities to play with sidewalk chalk!
This activity is a great introduction to speed and motion. Students measure the time it takes to walk 5 meters and use this to calculate their average speed. They are then given the challenge to see if they can estimate an unknown distance using their average walking speed and the amount of time it takes to walk the unknown distance. Needed Materials: Meter sticks or metric measuring tape Timers/stop watches Sidewalk chalk, tape, cones, etc for marking start and ending calculators To do this activity, find a place outside with plenty of space. I use the blacktop at my school and have the students mark their distances on the ground using sidewalk chalk. You can also do the activity on the field and use cones or other markers. Measure and mark an unknown distance for the students to estimate in part 2. I do between 10 – 20 meters. In part 2 of the activity, students will measure the time it takes to walk this unknown distance and use this to estimate the distance. You can set up several different distances too. Students love being outside and gathering data. This is a great way to introduce calculating speed and the speed equation. It also shows students that the equation can be rearranged to calculate distance.
The chalk walk is a quick and simple gospel presentation to teach kids about God's love. All you need is a sidewalk and some sidewalk chalk.
Let's be real, planning weekly lessons in the ESL classroom can be an overwhelming task. Factors include caseloads and the sheer number of students/small groups serviced. Also, heterogenous groupings with a variety of language levels make it difficult to target specific language needs of students. Perhaps you're a new teacher and simply haven't had the guidance yet on planning ESL lessons. Here are a few tips to help make planning less stressful. ESL instruction is often vague because, in most cases, there's no curriculum to follow or even to guide. We are left to our own devices to plan and provide lessons for our students that build language skills in the four language domains of listening, reading, speaking and writing. That alone can make planning overwhelming. Tie in grade level content and setting language goals, and it's a LOT to consider! Let's start with a few pre-planning tips. These will support successful lesson planning. PRE-PLANNING TIPS 1- Lesson Planner Book It's really important to have a place to keep all things planning in one place. I don't know where I'd be without my lesson plan book. Things I keep in my planner in addition to lesson plans are: 1- Student lists with ELP levels broken down by each domain, 2- The curriculum my students are learning in their gen ed classrooms so that I can integrate my ELD lessons with the grade level content whenever possible, 3- A calendar to keep me on track with events that impact my instructional schedule, such as meetings and testing, 4- Language goals and data collection to track student progress. There are some really awesome print and go planners, as well as digital planners out there. Find one that suits your needs AND brings you joy. :) 2- Know Your Students One of our main goals is to take students from their current language proficiency level to the next level. Knowing students and their needs is critical to planning appropriate lessons. Students have an English Language Proficiency (ELP) level, but what does that mean exactly? So, my student has an ELP level 3, but what can she do in each language domain? I won't know what to teach her if I don't know the starting point for her. Look at the breakdown of all 4 language domains and identify the weaker domains for each student. Keep this information in your plan book, or somewhere easily accessible. This is valuable information, but it's a very small piece of data. More importantly, I need to know what my students can do right now. Their latest scores might be 6 months old, so I want to also gather current data. Assessments I give at the beginning to determine starting points: phonemic awareness (newcomers) phonics writing (give a prompt that students have plenty of background knowledge) reading I need to know what level of reading I can expect from students, not just with decoding, but more importantly comprehending. For writing, if my student is a newcomer with little to no English, I want to see a sample of their writing in their native language. This will give a lot of information about the literacy skills new students bring to the table. Once I know what my students CAN DO, I can then plan targeted ELD lessons to meet their language and literacy needs. Without this information, I'd be trying to hit a target in the dark, and that's not servicing the students or myself. 3- Student Placement in Small Groups Each small group, in my opinion, should be homogeneous. I group students according to needs, not necessarily by ELP level, although generally it works out that most level 3 students, for example, have similar needs, but not always. Grouping students with similar needs is key to targeting the skills they need to move from one level to the next. OK, I've got my plan book, my student data and my small groups identified by need. Now what? Tips to Make Lesson Planning Less Stressful 1- Consistent Weekly Activities Incorporate consistent activities that target your students' needs, preferably that don't require planning time, and add them in your plan book every week. For example, I go through my plan book and add "phonics" to certain days for certain groups each week, so that's one less thing I need to plan. I have all the phonics materials on hand, so I simple print out and copy what I need and go. I also do an Idiom of the Week activity and a "Friday Focus on Grammar" for other groups. Those automatically go into my lesson plan book each week as well! Several of my groups have a warm-up activity when they first come into my room. The activity takes about 5-10 minutes, but that's another chunk of time I don't need to plan. My level 1s and 2s have an irregular sight word booklet, and my level 3s and 4s have a Restate the Question writing prompt. Irregular Sight Words - Warm Up Activity Finding consistent and meaningful weekly activities to add to your plan book cuts down on planning time. Other examples of weekly activities: -Grammar lessons (so many possibilities- What do YOUR students need?) -Vocabulary - multiple meaning words, synonyms/antonyms, shades of meaning words, content vocabulary, affixes, thematic monthly vocabulary, etc. -Idiom of the Week -Word Work - Affixes is a great focus area! -Read Alouds -Let's Talk! -oral language activities (purposeful oral language development is so important) One of my favorite "Let's Talk!" activities is projecting a picture and having students talk about what they see happening. It could be content related or simply an interesting photograph. An awesome resource for this is Chuck Dillon's website. He's such a fantastic illustrator! Each picture has tons of action, which means there's never a shortage of things to talk about. Pick a couple of "Weekly Activities" and plug them into your plan book each week. Here's a blog post that shares "3 Weekly Activities that Do Not Require Planning." 2 - "Go-To" Activities These are helpful to have on hand whenever you feel unsure about what to plan next, or you just need a meaningful "filler" lesson. We all need those from time to time. These lessons are still high-quality lessons that target the needs of our students, but they don't require planning time. Some Go-To Activity Examples: PWIM with any picture (picture word inductive model) Inferring using pictures 5 Ws and H using pictures Mind Maps Language Games This Build a Sentence activity uses the PWIM strategy to generate words about a picture. In this activity, we use the words to generate sentences of varying lengths. And on this particular day, I also challenged my students to use position words in their sentences. To start, I ask students to tell me something they see in the picture. The students generate the words and I write them on the board in different colors depending on the part of speech. Students also generate the sentences, and I support with grammar, as needed. It's a great activity to have on hand, as it covers many skills and is easily adaptable. They are "one and done" lesson activities that are meaningful AND build language skills. Having a variety of these resources to pull from definitely makes planning less stressful because I know I have language building lessons that I can plug in whenever needed. 3- Language Function or Thematic Units If you know me at all, you know I LOVE planning and teaching language function units. This truly makes my planning less overwhelming. MOST, if not all, of my students across multiple grade levels work on building language around the same language function, so when I plan, I have one LF in mind for everyone. Whoo-hoo! For example, when I teach the language of Compare and Contrast, I focus on that language with all of my groups. I don't have 10 different groups doing 10 different things; they are ALL learning the language of Compare/Contrast, which makes planning SO much more manageable! Some groups might need more focus on expressive language skills while others need more practice with receptive language skills, but I know that the overarching focus for all is the language of Compare/Contrast. Plus, often times I can reuse lessons with multiple groups. Halleluiah! And by tweaking lessons with some additional scaffolds, I can use them with even more groups. This is a huge time saver! Language Function: Compare/Contrast Language Function: Fact/Opinion Each language function unit lasts about 4 weeks; and once it's planned out, there's not a lot of additional planning that needs to be done during that time period. I don't start a new unit until all my groups are finished, so while I'm finishing up the unit with some groups, I use "filler" lessons with the groups that are already done. To learn more about incorporating language function units in the ESL classroom, check out the blog post links below. 4- Reusing lessons is honestly my #1 tip for making planning more manageable and less stressful. And maybe you can't use an entire lesson with multiple groups, but you can use a portion of the lesson. How many groups can I use this lesson with? How can I tweak this lesson so that I can use it with more groups? Those are questions I ask myself as I plan. RECAP: 1- Incorporate Consistent Weekly Activities (phonics, grammar, vocabulary) and plug them into your plan book each week. 2- Go-To Activities (have a variety of meaningful filler activities on hand) 3- Language Function Units (all groups learning the same Language Function) 4- Reuse Lessons with multiple groups! As I mentioned earlier, sometimes the overwhelming feeling of planning comes from the sheer number of students and groups serviced. Or it could be that our numbers are low, but we service 6-12 grade levels. Many ESL teachers travel between schools. There's a variety of reasons that can make planning stressful. Regardless of the reasons, having these tools in your teacher toolbox can help make planning less stressful. Linked below are some of the blog posts and instructional resources mentioned in this post. Teaching Language Functions with English Learners Language Forms and Functions in the ESL Classroom
This resource is #1 for a reason! I almost always use graphic organizers to teach reading comprehension. I find them to be highly effective because they are
I love using short films to teach reading comprehension skills, and my students love watching them!
What are language functions? LFs are the "reasons" we use language; it's our purpose, or goal, when we express ourselves. Perhaps we want to express our needs or wants, explain a process, describe an experience, or persuade someone to do something. Whatever the purpose, we use language to perform these functions. Examples of Language Functions: -express wants/needs -sequence -compare/contrast -opinion -persuade -inform -describe -analyze -cause/effect -summarize -ask questions Students use language functions in every grade level and across all content areas, so what better way to set English learners up for success than by explicitly teaching the academic language needed to successfully use language functions. Here is how this looks in my ESOL classroom. Planning I like to plan certain LF units during specific times of year. For example, Compare/Contrast is fun in the fall due to apples and pumpkins. Cause/Effect is great in the winter because I like to use the topic of seasonal changes on plants and animals. Opinion/Persuade is great in the spring because I use the topic of plastic pollution, which ties into Earth Day. I sprinkle other LF units throughout the year, but those three I pretty much keep at the same time each year. You could teach any LF at any time of the year; it's very flexible. Each unit, in my classroom, lasts about 3-4 weeks, but again, it's flexible. Which language functions will my students need in order to be successful with the grade level content? When I sit down to plan a unit, I brainstorm science and social studies topics that my students will be learning about during year, then I pick the LF and topic I want to focus on. When we connect LF units with the content our students are, or will be, learning in their general education classrooms, it gives students the language tools and confidence they need to participate and succeed. Language Functions Planning Process This is the tool I use to plan out my language function units. It helps me map out the BIG picture first, then hone in on the details. The main components of my planning are: 1- identify the language function 2- identify content areas topics 3- create learning targets 4- locate activities to support the four language domains 5- determine the scaffolds needed Learning Targets I like to backwards plan by first identifying what I want my students to be able to do by the end of each LF unit. This becomes the learning target(s) for the unit. I have targets for both expressive (speaking and writing) and interpretive (listening and reading) language. A focus on the verb is important because it's what we want students to do, for example: identify, use, label, illustrate, explain, etc. The learning targets are then posted and referenced throughout each unit. Activities Once I've identified the learning targets, I start collecting activities and resources at various proficiency levels to practice viewing, listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. I also think about how I'll build background knowledge for the topic. I love to incorporate videos, so YouTube, BrainPOP Jr. and EPIC Books are places I typically go to first for engaging video resources. Building background knowledge using a short video is highly effective, IMO. It's an engaging way to get students talking about what they already know or think about a topic. This planning phase is all about finding materials that will help facilitate the language function. Since I work with a wide variety of proficiency and grade levels, I need a variety of resources. Here are some of my favorites for the 4 language domains. Listening I primarily use videos for this domain. I tell my students what to listen for and will stop the video in designated places to give them time to process and respond. Again, my top 3 places to find videos in order of preference are YouTube, BrainPOP Jr (paid subscription) and EPIC Books. EPIC has some really great videos, and it's a free resource! ReadWorks.org is another great site. The reading passages there have an audio component, so it's not a video, but it's an article read aloud. You could create your own questions for the article, but comprehension question are already provided for each passage. Nice! Reading For reading materials I look through my school's bookroom first. Then I check out Reading A-Z (a subscription my school pays for), Readworks.org, EPIC books (both are free), another online subscription resource from Benchmark Education, and lastly my own collection of books. Reading Materials for Cause and Effect The picture above shows some of the reading materials I gathered for my cause and effect unit. I searched for resources that demonstrated how changes in climate or weather impact plants and animals. Reading Materials for Opinion/Persuade As you can see, I'm a "spreader outer." By spreading out all of my resources during this planning phase, I can quickly see what I have and what I still need. Speaking I want my students talking everyday, so we do a variety of speaking activities in my ELD groups. This is probably the number one reason why I love the pull-out model of instruction, but that's a blog post for another day. Some activities I use are talking mats, games, class discussions, partner talks and simply sharing our thinking. Oral language is the foundation of language and literacy so I'm intentional about providing structured (and unstructured) opportunities for students to use oral language each time we meet. Talking Mat Activity for Cause and Effect Students chose the cards they wanted to talk about, then used the sentence frame as needed. One of my favorite speaking activities is having students record a Flipgrid video. They always moan about it at first, but then they get into it and enjoy watching and responding to their classmates' videos. It's also a great way to measure progress. You have recorded examples of your students speaking throughout the year! I like to jot down notes while I listen (and re-listen) to their recordings. This helps me target certain areas that my students need additional practice with, then I create or find mini-lessons for those skills. Writing Writing is integrated with listening and reading activities. Students generally have something to respond to each time we meet. (They usually write inside their ELD notebooks.) Similar to speaking, I'll have students writing at each meeting, even if it's a short task. I frequently use graphic organizers for writing responses. I like to reduce the size of the graphic organizer to about 75% and trim the edges, then I'll have students glue it into their notebooks. Opinion Writing At the end of each LF unit, there is a written or oral language component, sometimes both. It's an assessment to demonstrate their ability of applying the language function. Usually it's a prompt written in their ELD notebooks, but it could also be a digital activity. This past spring, at the end of our Opinion/Persuade unit, students had the choice to either create and present a PowerPoint presentation, record a Flipgrid video, or create and present a poster. Google Jamboard is another platform I frequently use for their end of unit writing task. Scaffolds Let's talk scaffolding for a moment. This is where we consider the specific language needs of our students and the appropriate supports for them. Scaffolds will vary from group to group. Some groups/students will need sentence frames, while others may only need sentence stems. Some groups will need more modeling than others. Some will need more visuals. Some will need extra opportunities to practice. Some might need L1 support. All will need explicit vocabulary instruction. We want to challenge our students without frustrating them, so picking appropriate scaffolding is key. Language Function Unit in Action For each unit, I display a "language board." It's a jumping off point and a reference tool that provides what the language function is, gives an example, along with key words. Next, I build some background knowledge so that students can connect to the reason we use the LF. It could be as simple as asking, "What do you already know about..." Then we dive into the plans and activities for listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. They spend the next 10-15 days practicing and using the language for the language function. Language Function Board for Opinion & Persuade Introductory Lesson for Opinion/Persuade Model OREO Opinion Writing Opinion Lesson - real life example to connect students' experiences with learning target Reading Activity- Will students' opinions about plastic bags change? Intermediate ELD group- students gave their opinion about plastic bags prior to reading. In Closing The best part about incorporating language function units into my ESL classroom is that ALL of my ELD groups are learning the same language function. This makes planning so much more manageable. Instead of planning 10 different lessons for ten different groups, all of my groups are learning the language of persuade at their language level. I love it! And more importantly, my students love it too! These units are fun, engaging, flexible and highly effective at building academic language. Do you teach language functions? If so, do you have a favorite? If not, do you want to? Here are links to some of my Language Function resources. Happy LF Teaching,
What are language functions? LFs are the "reasons" we use language; it's our purpose, or goal, when we express ourselves. Perhaps we want to express our needs or wants, explain a process, describe an experience, or persuade someone to do something. Whatever the purpose, we use language to perform these functions. Examples of Language Functions: -express wants/needs -sequence -compare/contrast -opinion -persuade -inform -describe -analyze -cause/effect -summarize -ask questions Students use language functions in every grade level and across all content areas, so what better way to set English learners up for success than by explicitly teaching the academic language needed to successfully use language functions. Here is how this looks in my ESOL classroom. Planning I like to plan certain LF units during specific times of year. For example, Compare/Contrast is fun in the fall due to apples and pumpkins. Cause/Effect is great in the winter because I like to use the topic of seasonal changes on plants and animals. Opinion/Persuade is great in the spring because I use the topic of plastic pollution, which ties into Earth Day. I sprinkle other LF units throughout the year, but those three I pretty much keep at the same time each year. You could teach any LF at any time of the year; it's very flexible. Each unit, in my classroom, lasts about 3-4 weeks, but again, it's flexible. Which language functions will my students need in order to be successful with the grade level content? When I sit down to plan a unit, I brainstorm science and social studies topics that my students will be learning about during year, then I pick the LF and topic I want to focus on. When we connect LF units with the content our students are, or will be, learning in their general education classrooms, it gives students the language tools and confidence they need to participate and succeed. Language Functions Planning Process This is the tool I use to plan out my language function units. It helps me map out the BIG picture first, then hone in on the details. The main components of my planning are: 1- identify the language function 2- identify content areas topics 3- create learning targets 4- locate activities to support the four language domains 5- determine the scaffolds needed Learning Targets I like to backwards plan by first identifying what I want my students to be able to do by the end of each LF unit. This becomes the learning target(s) for the unit. I have targets for both expressive (speaking and writing) and interpretive (listening and reading) language. A focus on the verb is important because it's what we want students to do, for example: identify, use, label, illustrate, explain, etc. The learning targets are then posted and referenced throughout each unit. Activities Once I've identified the learning targets, I start collecting activities and resources at various proficiency levels to practice viewing, listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. I also think about how I'll build background knowledge for the topic. I love to incorporate videos, so YouTube, BrainPOP Jr. and EPIC Books are places I typically go to first for engaging video resources. Building background knowledge using a short video is highly effective, IMO. It's an engaging way to get students talking about what they already know or think about a topic. This planning phase is all about finding materials that will help facilitate the language function. Since I work with a wide variety of proficiency and grade levels, I need a variety of resources. Here are some of my favorites for the 4 language domains. Listening I primarily use videos for this domain. I tell my students what to listen for and will stop the video in designated places to give them time to process and respond. Again, my top 3 places to find videos in order of preference are YouTube, BrainPOP Jr (paid subscription) and EPIC Books. EPIC has some really great videos, and it's a free resource! ReadWorks.org is another great site. The reading passages there have an audio component, so it's not a video, but it's an article read aloud. You could create your own questions for the article, but comprehension question are already provided for each passage. Nice! Reading For reading materials I look through my school's bookroom first. Then I check out Reading A-Z (a subscription my school pays for), Readworks.org, EPIC books (both are free), another online subscription resource from Benchmark Education, and lastly my own collection of books. Reading Materials for Cause and Effect The picture above shows some of the reading materials I gathered for my cause and effect unit. I searched for resources that demonstrated how changes in climate or weather impact plants and animals. Reading Materials for Opinion/Persuade As you can see, I'm a "spreader outer." By spreading out all of my resources during this planning phase, I can quickly see what I have and what I still need. Speaking I want my students talking everyday, so we do a variety of speaking activities in my ELD groups. This is probably the number one reason why I love the pull-out model of instruction, but that's a blog post for another day. Some activities I use are talking mats, games, class discussions, partner talks and simply sharing our thinking. Oral language is the foundation of language and literacy so I'm intentional about providing structured (and unstructured) opportunities for students to use oral language each time we meet. Talking Mat Activity for Cause and Effect Students chose the cards they wanted to talk about, then used the sentence frame as needed. One of my favorite speaking activities is having students record a Flipgrid video. They always moan about it at first, but then they get into it and enjoy watching and responding to their classmates' videos. It's also a great way to measure progress. You have recorded examples of your students speaking throughout the year! I like to jot down notes while I listen (and re-listen) to their recordings. This helps me target certain areas that my students need additional practice with, then I create or find mini-lessons for those skills. Writing Writing is integrated with listening and reading activities. Students generally have something to respond to each time we meet. (They usually write inside their ELD notebooks.) Similar to speaking, I'll have students writing at each meeting, even if it's a short task. I frequently use graphic organizers for writing responses. I like to reduce the size of the graphic organizer to about 75% and trim the edges, then I'll have students glue it into their notebooks. Opinion Writing At the end of each LF unit, there is a written or oral language component, sometimes both. It's an assessment to demonstrate their ability of applying the language function. Usually it's a prompt written in their ELD notebooks, but it could also be a digital activity. This past spring, at the end of our Opinion/Persuade unit, students had the choice to either create and present a PowerPoint presentation, record a Flipgrid video, or create and present a poster. Google Jamboard is another platform I frequently use for their end of unit writing task. Scaffolds Let's talk scaffolding for a moment. This is where we consider the specific language needs of our students and the appropriate supports for them. Scaffolds will vary from group to group. Some groups/students will need sentence frames, while others may only need sentence stems. Some groups will need more modeling than others. Some will need more visuals. Some will need extra opportunities to practice. Some might need L1 support. All will need explicit vocabulary instruction. We want to challenge our students without frustrating them, so picking appropriate scaffolding is key. Language Function Unit in Action For each unit, I display a "language board." It's a jumping off point and a reference tool that provides what the language function is, gives an example, along with key words. Next, I build some background knowledge so that students can connect to the reason we use the LF. It could be as simple as asking, "What do you already know about..." Then we dive into the plans and activities for listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. They spend the next 10-15 days practicing and using the language for the language function. Language Function Board for Opinion & Persuade Introductory Lesson for Opinion/Persuade Model OREO Opinion Writing Opinion Lesson - real life example to connect students' experiences with learning target Reading Activity- Will students' opinions about plastic bags change? Intermediate ELD group- students gave their opinion about plastic bags prior to reading. In Closing The best part about incorporating language function units into my ESL classroom is that ALL of my ELD groups are learning the same language function. This makes planning so much more manageable. Instead of planning 10 different lessons for ten different groups, all of my groups are learning the language of persuade at their language level. I love it! And more importantly, my students love it too! These units are fun, engaging, flexible and highly effective at building academic language. Do you teach language functions? If so, do you have a favorite? If not, do you want to? Here are links to some of my Language Function resources. Happy LF Teaching,
Game 3 At BrightPath Kids they used sidewalk chalk in creative ways. They didnt just color images, they created games the kids could play out of the chalk! Some Sidewalk Chalk Games You Can Play
What are language functions? LFs are the "reasons" we use language; it's our purpose, or goal, when we express ourselves. Perhaps we want to express our needs or wants, explain a process, describe an experience, or persuade someone to do something. Whatever the purpose, we use language to perform these functions. Examples of Language Functions: -express wants/needs -sequence -compare/contrast -opinion -persuade -inform -describe -analyze -cause/effect -summarize -ask questions Students use language functions in every grade level and across all content areas, so what better way to set English learners up for success than by explicitly teaching the academic language needed to successfully use language functions. Here is how this looks in my ESOL classroom. Planning I like to plan certain LF units during specific times of year. For example, Compare/Contrast is fun in the fall due to apples and pumpkins. Cause/Effect is great in the winter because I like to use the topic of seasonal changes on plants and animals. Opinion/Persuade is great in the spring because I use the topic of plastic pollution, which ties into Earth Day. I sprinkle other LF units throughout the year, but those three I pretty much keep at the same time each year. You could teach any LF at any time of the year; it's very flexible. Each unit, in my classroom, lasts about 3-4 weeks, but again, it's flexible. Which language functions will my students need in order to be successful with the grade level content? When I sit down to plan a unit, I brainstorm science and social studies topics that my students will be learning about during year, then I pick the LF and topic I want to focus on. When we connect LF units with the content our students are, or will be, learning in their general education classrooms, it gives students the language tools and confidence they need to participate and succeed. Language Functions Planning Process This is the tool I use to plan out my language function units. It helps me map out the BIG picture first, then hone in on the details. The main components of my planning are: 1- identify the language function 2- identify content areas topics 3- create learning targets 4- locate activities to support the four language domains 5- determine the scaffolds needed Learning Targets I like to backwards plan by first identifying what I want my students to be able to do by the end of each LF unit. This becomes the learning target(s) for the unit. I have targets for both expressive (speaking and writing) and interpretive (listening and reading) language. A focus on the verb is important because it's what we want students to do, for example: identify, use, label, illustrate, explain, etc. The learning targets are then posted and referenced throughout each unit. Activities Once I've identified the learning targets, I start collecting activities and resources at various proficiency levels to practice viewing, listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. I also think about how I'll build background knowledge for the topic. I love to incorporate videos, so YouTube, BrainPOP Jr. and EPIC Books are places I typically go to first for engaging video resources. Building background knowledge using a short video is highly effective, IMO. It's an engaging way to get students talking about what they already know or think about a topic. This planning phase is all about finding materials that will help facilitate the language function. Since I work with a wide variety of proficiency and grade levels, I need a variety of resources. Here are some of my favorites for the 4 language domains. Listening I primarily use videos for this domain. I tell my students what to listen for and will stop the video in designated places to give them time to process and respond. Again, my top 3 places to find videos in order of preference are YouTube, BrainPOP Jr (paid subscription) and EPIC Books. EPIC has some really great videos, and it's a free resource! ReadWorks.org is another great site. The reading passages there have an audio component, so it's not a video, but it's an article read aloud. You could create your own questions for the article, but comprehension question are already provided for each passage. Nice! Reading For reading materials I look through my school's bookroom first. Then I check out Reading A-Z (a subscription my school pays for), Readworks.org, EPIC books (both are free), another online subscription resource from Benchmark Education, and lastly my own collection of books. Reading Materials for Cause and Effect The picture above shows some of the reading materials I gathered for my cause and effect unit. I searched for resources that demonstrated how changes in climate or weather impact plants and animals. Reading Materials for Opinion/Persuade As you can see, I'm a "spreader outer." By spreading out all of my resources during this planning phase, I can quickly see what I have and what I still need. Speaking I want my students talking everyday, so we do a variety of speaking activities in my ELD groups. This is probably the number one reason why I love the pull-out model of instruction, but that's a blog post for another day. Some activities I use are talking mats, games, class discussions, partner talks and simply sharing our thinking. Oral language is the foundation of language and literacy so I'm intentional about providing structured (and unstructured) opportunities for students to use oral language each time we meet. Talking Mat Activity for Cause and Effect Students chose the cards they wanted to talk about, then used the sentence frame as needed. One of my favorite speaking activities is having students record a Flipgrid video. They always moan about it at first, but then they get into it and enjoy watching and responding to their classmates' videos. It's also a great way to measure progress. You have recorded examples of your students speaking throughout the year! I like to jot down notes while I listen (and re-listen) to their recordings. This helps me target certain areas that my students need additional practice with, then I create or find mini-lessons for those skills. Writing Writing is integrated with listening and reading activities. Students generally have something to respond to each time we meet. (They usually write inside their ELD notebooks.) Similar to speaking, I'll have students writing at each meeting, even if it's a short task. I frequently use graphic organizers for writing responses. I like to reduce the size of the graphic organizer to about 75% and trim the edges, then I'll have students glue it into their notebooks. Opinion Writing At the end of each LF unit, there is a written or oral language component, sometimes both. It's an assessment to demonstrate their ability of applying the language function. Usually it's a prompt written in their ELD notebooks, but it could also be a digital activity. This past spring, at the end of our Opinion/Persuade unit, students had the choice to either create and present a PowerPoint presentation, record a Flipgrid video, or create and present a poster. Google Jamboard is another platform I frequently use for their end of unit writing task. Scaffolds Let's talk scaffolding for a moment. This is where we consider the specific language needs of our students and the appropriate supports for them. Scaffolds will vary from group to group. Some groups/students will need sentence frames, while others may only need sentence stems. Some groups will need more modeling than others. Some will need more visuals. Some will need extra opportunities to practice. Some might need L1 support. All will need explicit vocabulary instruction. We want to challenge our students without frustrating them, so picking appropriate scaffolding is key. Language Function Unit in Action For each unit, I display a "language board." It's a jumping off point and a reference tool that provides what the language function is, gives an example, along with key words. Next, I build some background knowledge so that students can connect to the reason we use the LF. It could be as simple as asking, "What do you already know about..." Then we dive into the plans and activities for listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. They spend the next 10-15 days practicing and using the language for the language function. Language Function Board for Opinion & Persuade Introductory Lesson for Opinion/Persuade Model OREO Opinion Writing Opinion Lesson - real life example to connect students' experiences with learning target Reading Activity- Will students' opinions about plastic bags change? Intermediate ELD group- students gave their opinion about plastic bags prior to reading. In Closing The best part about incorporating language function units into my ESL classroom is that ALL of my ELD groups are learning the same language function. This makes planning so much more manageable. Instead of planning 10 different lessons for ten different groups, all of my groups are learning the language of persuade at their language level. I love it! And more importantly, my students love it too! These units are fun, engaging, flexible and highly effective at building academic language. Do you teach language functions? If so, do you have a favorite? If not, do you want to? Here are links to some of my Language Function resources. Happy LF Teaching,
What are language functions? LFs are the "reasons" we use language; it's our purpose, or goal, when we express ourselves. Perhaps we want to express our needs or wants, explain a process, describe an experience, or persuade someone to do something. Whatever the purpose, we use language to perform these functions. Examples of Language Functions: -express wants/needs -sequence -compare/contrast -opinion -persuade -inform -describe -analyze -cause/effect -summarize -ask questions Students use language functions in every grade level and across all content areas, so what better way to set English learners up for success than by explicitly teaching the academic language needed to successfully use language functions. Here is how this looks in my ESOL classroom. Planning I like to plan certain LF units during specific times of year. For example, Compare/Contrast is fun in the fall due to apples and pumpkins. Cause/Effect is great in the winter because I like to use the topic of seasonal changes on plants and animals. Opinion/Persuade is great in the spring because I use the topic of plastic pollution, which ties into Earth Day. I sprinkle other LF units throughout the year, but those three I pretty much keep at the same time each year. You could teach any LF at any time of the year; it's very flexible. Each unit, in my classroom, lasts about 3-4 weeks, but again, it's flexible. Which language functions will my students need in order to be successful with the grade level content? When I sit down to plan a unit, I brainstorm science and social studies topics that my students will be learning about during year, then I pick the LF and topic I want to focus on. When we connect LF units with the content our students are, or will be, learning in their general education classrooms, it gives students the language tools and confidence they need to participate and succeed. Language Functions Planning Process This is the tool I use to plan out my language function units. It helps me map out the BIG picture first, then hone in on the details. The main components of my planning are: 1- identify the language function 2- identify content areas topics 3- create learning targets 4- locate activities to support the four language domains 5- determine the scaffolds needed Learning Targets I like to backwards plan by first identifying what I want my students to be able to do by the end of each LF unit. This becomes the learning target(s) for the unit. I have targets for both expressive (speaking and writing) and interpretive (listening and reading) language. A focus on the verb is important because it's what we want students to do, for example: identify, use, label, illustrate, explain, etc. The learning targets are then posted and referenced throughout each unit. Activities Once I've identified the learning targets, I start collecting activities and resources at various proficiency levels to practice viewing, listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. I also think about how I'll build background knowledge for the topic. I love to incorporate videos, so YouTube, BrainPOP Jr. and EPIC Books are places I typically go to first for engaging video resources. Building background knowledge using a short video is highly effective, IMO. It's an engaging way to get students talking about what they already know or think about a topic. This planning phase is all about finding materials that will help facilitate the language function. Since I work with a wide variety of proficiency and grade levels, I need a variety of resources. Here are some of my favorites for the 4 language domains. Listening I primarily use videos for this domain. I tell my students what to listen for and will stop the video in designated places to give them time to process and respond. Again, my top 3 places to find videos in order of preference are YouTube, BrainPOP Jr (paid subscription) and EPIC Books. EPIC has some really great videos, and it's a free resource! ReadWorks.org is another great site. The reading passages there have an audio component, so it's not a video, but it's an article read aloud. You could create your own questions for the article, but comprehension question are already provided for each passage. Nice! Reading For reading materials I look through my school's bookroom first. Then I check out Reading A-Z (a subscription my school pays for), Readworks.org, EPIC books (both are free), another online subscription resource from Benchmark Education, and lastly my own collection of books. Reading Materials for Cause and Effect The picture above shows some of the reading materials I gathered for my cause and effect unit. I searched for resources that demonstrated how changes in climate or weather impact plants and animals. Reading Materials for Opinion/Persuade As you can see, I'm a "spreader outer." By spreading out all of my resources during this planning phase, I can quickly see what I have and what I still need. Speaking I want my students talking everyday, so we do a variety of speaking activities in my ELD groups. This is probably the number one reason why I love the pull-out model of instruction, but that's a blog post for another day. Some activities I use are talking mats, games, class discussions, partner talks and simply sharing our thinking. Oral language is the foundation of language and literacy so I'm intentional about providing structured (and unstructured) opportunities for students to use oral language each time we meet. Talking Mat Activity for Cause and Effect Students chose the cards they wanted to talk about, then used the sentence frame as needed. One of my favorite speaking activities is having students record a Flipgrid video. They always moan about it at first, but then they get into it and enjoy watching and responding to their classmates' videos. It's also a great way to measure progress. You have recorded examples of your students speaking throughout the year! I like to jot down notes while I listen (and re-listen) to their recordings. This helps me target certain areas that my students need additional practice with, then I create or find mini-lessons for those skills. Writing Writing is integrated with listening and reading activities. Students generally have something to respond to each time we meet. (They usually write inside their ELD notebooks.) Similar to speaking, I'll have students writing at each meeting, even if it's a short task. I frequently use graphic organizers for writing responses. I like to reduce the size of the graphic organizer to about 75% and trim the edges, then I'll have students glue it into their notebooks. Opinion Writing At the end of each LF unit, there is a written or oral language component, sometimes both. It's an assessment to demonstrate their ability of applying the language function. Usually it's a prompt written in their ELD notebooks, but it could also be a digital activity. This past spring, at the end of our Opinion/Persuade unit, students had the choice to either create and present a PowerPoint presentation, record a Flipgrid video, or create and present a poster. Google Jamboard is another platform I frequently use for their end of unit writing task. Scaffolds Let's talk scaffolding for a moment. This is where we consider the specific language needs of our students and the appropriate supports for them. Scaffolds will vary from group to group. Some groups/students will need sentence frames, while others may only need sentence stems. Some groups will need more modeling than others. Some will need more visuals. Some will need extra opportunities to practice. Some might need L1 support. All will need explicit vocabulary instruction. We want to challenge our students without frustrating them, so picking appropriate scaffolding is key. Language Function Unit in Action For each unit, I display a "language board." It's a jumping off point and a reference tool that provides what the language function is, gives an example, along with key words. Next, I build some background knowledge so that students can connect to the reason we use the LF. It could be as simple as asking, "What do you already know about..." Then we dive into the plans and activities for listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. They spend the next 10-15 days practicing and using the language for the language function. Language Function Board for Opinion & Persuade Introductory Lesson for Opinion/Persuade Model OREO Opinion Writing Opinion Lesson - real life example to connect students' experiences with learning target Reading Activity- Will students' opinions about plastic bags change? Intermediate ELD group- students gave their opinion about plastic bags prior to reading. In Closing The best part about incorporating language function units into my ESL classroom is that ALL of my ELD groups are learning the same language function. This makes planning so much more manageable. Instead of planning 10 different lessons for ten different groups, all of my groups are learning the language of persuade at their language level. I love it! And more importantly, my students love it too! These units are fun, engaging, flexible and highly effective at building academic language. Do you teach language functions? If so, do you have a favorite? If not, do you want to? Here are links to some of my Language Function resources. Happy LF Teaching,