Systems scribing can create an original model that the group needs right in the moment. As visual practitioners, we can make visible the parts and the whole; the patterns and perspectives.
Over 17 free resources for heritage speakers class designed to make your life easier. Accessing free resources for heritage classes shouldn’t be confusing. So, don’t worry, I’m here to help!
Many teachers have "tried and true" resources that they pull from year after year. I've been an elementary ESL teacher since 2005 working with grades 1-6. During this time I have used a ton of resources with my students; and my favorites have stuck with me. Even though my "classroom" can change year to year, from pushing-in, co-teaching, to predominantly working with small pull-out groups, these tried and true resources are ones that I wouldn't want to do without. Here's a look at a few of my top favorites... Graphic Organizers 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 not text heavy. Students read with a purpose, then complete an activity that supports that specific reading skill/strategy. No matter my students' level of reading or language proficiency, a simple graphic organizer is what I need to reinforce that skill or strategy! I keep these graphic organizers on my desktop, and when I'm planning my lessons I can quickly pull up the organizers I need, then print and go! Tip: When I print, I reduce the setting to 80% and then trim the sides. Students glue the graphic organizer into their reading notebooks which makes for a great collection of student work and visual reference of student progress and effort. Leveled Books for Reading Instruction I have been very lucky to work in schools that have had awesome book rooms full of guided reading sets. I hope that you have the same access to books in your school. Finding books on my students' levels is one thing, but finding relevant books, especially for my upper elementary beginning ELs, is another. It's a challenge, for sure, but with a good book room I know that I can almost always find what I need. Click here for a free modified guided reading lesson plan template! Don't have a stocked book room? I also order several grade levels of the Scholastic News Magazines. (I think 10 magazines per grade level is the minimum order; that's what I get.) I mostly use grades 1, 2 & 3 with my ELs. With your order, you also have access to the online magazines, which is awesome! You can project to an interactive whiteboard, or have students read on an iPad or computer. These various grade levels make it easy to differentiate text levels. Since I use the magazines for reading instruction, students do not take them home. I keep the magazines organized by grade level and time of year, then I reuse the ones I love, year after year. Reading instruction is a big part of my day, so having access to leveled reading materials is a must! Visual Reading Word Wall Cards I love this resource because of the visuals. and the versatility. When introducing a reading concept, such as "making predictions" or "plot," to beginning or intermediate English learners, a meaningful visual is definitely worth a thousand words! These reading word wall cards provide my students with the visual supports they need as they are learning new concepts in English. I use these cards at my reading table, as a word wall, in anchor charts, as sorting headers, and in my learning objectives that I post on the board. Guided Reading Table Anchor Chart Lesson Objectives Words Their Way for Word Study For ELLs, learning spelling patterns in English is important. I especially like this resource because I can differentiate it according to the needs of my students. First, I assess what my students already know, as far as consonants, short and long vowels, word families, digraphs, etc., then start from there. We systematically work through the sorts building their knowledge of sounds and spelling patterns. A bonus with this resource is that it's another exposure to new vocabulary! Each Monday my students receive their list of words, and each day of the week they have various independent activities to do with their words. Then on Fridays, we finish up with a quick spelling quiz. Click for a free download of Weekly Word Study Activities To start, I set up their notebooks with their weekly Word Study Activities. We do this together the first week or two, so that I know that they understand what's expected. This is a word sort that my newcomers might be working on. And this is a sort that my intermediate ELLs might be working on. After I copy the page, I'll cut the page so that they have about 15 new words per week. My advanced ELLs might have 18 to 20 words. Once my students understand their weekly activities, these Word Study Activities become independent activities during the week while in Reader's Workshop. Students are responsible for completing the weekly work and learning their words. I set them up on Monday with their new words, then quiz them on Friday. It's up to them to do the work Tuesday through Thursday. Vocabulary Mini Office This is a MUST have for my newcomers! When they arrive, this is the first resource I give them. It's basic vocabulary that students use everyday. The Vocabulary Mini Office is kept at their desk to use during independent work time. Whether during Writer's Workshop, Reading or Vocabulary practice, it provides them with access to everyday vocabulary. My newcomers love this resource and they use it often. For my older newcomers I put the pages inside their reading folder. When they practice their writing, they can easily find the vocabulary they need. Daily Language Review I often use this resource as a warm-up activity. With my beginner and intermediate students, this is a group activity we do together. I want them to get used to the format of the questions so I do a lot of guided practice and modeling with this resource. My advanced kiddos do this as a quick independent warm up and then we go over it together. It takes about 5 minutes. Depending on the language level of my groups, I pull pages from either the first, second or third grade book. It also provides a great jumping off point. I can see in which areas of grammar my students need direct instruction, such as contractions, sentence structure, mechanics, etc. It's just a quick warm-up. My students like it and I get good information about them from it. As a teacher of English Language Learners, these are some of my must have resources. When I plan my lessons, these are many of the first resources I grab. They make my instruction consistent, effective and meaningful. Yes, there are other resources that I would not want to do without, and perhaps that would make for a follow up post, but if I were to pick my top resources, these would be them! I'd love to know what some of your favorite resources are! (Affiliate Links Below)
A blog about sewing unique clothing from thrifted sheets, geeky crafts, and cats.
A visual that helps you to imagine what a lesson would look like if you eliminated all barriers to student learning. This tool is your map for growth.
A poster to display in the classroom to encourage children to use capital letters correctly when writing.
The great Mia MacMeekin has created a Spanish version of her popular Bloom’s Taxonomy infographic (you can find the English version at The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxo…
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,
On this page, you'll find "Learning" resources selected from all the Internet resources I have scooped to my Learning, Teaching & Leading Today blog. Pass it on.
I A person only has to spend 5 minutes in the company of a middle schooler to find out they LOVE to argue. And if someone is going to encourage them to argue and even teach them how to be good at it, they will form a line at the door to get in. […]
How do you typically measure learning? Check out the infographic for ideas on how to mix and match assessment techniques for your next training program.
Useful poster connecting Bloom’s Taxonomy and Critical Thinking Skills http://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/4576825411/
A fun and engaging Geometry Project on Measuring Angles where students design a Putt-Putt Course. Examples, rubrics, worksheets, and more included!
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A blog about sewing unique clothing from thrifted sheets, geeky crafts, and cats.
Download this poster inspired by two resources: Universal Design for Learning in Action, Whitney Rapp’s practical UDL guide; and Teaching Everyone, a handbook from Rapp & Arndt that covers just about every aspect of inclusive education.
Use QR codes, AR apps and posters, and iBeacons to get students moving and engaged while bolstering their executive functioning and comprehension skills.
I have been thinking about the lesson/unit planning process lately. This diagram has helped me in my thinking about creating worthwhile content in a logical and effective way.
If your non-English speaking students aren't ready to do the regular class work, what should you have them do instead? This handy tool can help.
Have you ever heard a comment similar to this in the work room or teachers' lounge? "My principal wants me to differentiate. Why doesn't he/she differentiate, too?" This conversation is usually referring to a change the administration is making based on something that is happening with a small percentage of the staff. If you are not part of the small percentage, you might feel resentful towards the small percentage, and irritated that your administrator didn't address the issue where it needed addressed - with the small group. Reflection is a part of growing as a professional. I often mull over conversations like this and try to apply them to my job as a teacher so that I can continue to improve. Is there some part of my job that affects a small group of students that I apply to the entire group? If so, is this really fair or in their best interest? Or reverse that, is there something that I do that the fits best for the majority of my students but isn't the best fit for the small percentage of my students? How can I differentiate more so that my students needs are better met? After one of these conversations about lack of differentiation on the management's part, which seems to be a frequent concern, I went back to my class and noticed that I had a cooperative group activity planned for later that day. So, I decided to try something new. I told my students that I was going to give them choices today when it came to our cooperative group lesson. I had my students get out a scratch piece of paper and write: Do you prefer to work alone or with a group? Answer yes or not If you like to work in groups, do you prefer groups of 2 or 3? If you prefer to work in groups, list the names of 3 classmates that you would like to have in your group. I cannot guarantee these will be your partner but I will try to match up groups as best as a I can. Just like you have fellow colleagues who prefer to plan lessons and do his/her own thing, it worked the same way with my students. I had a small number who wanted to work alone. It wasn't that other students rejected these students. This is a simple matter of preference. Other students preferred working with a partner rather than a small group. When I matched my groups to my students' preferences, I had fewer discipline problems and more engaged students. Do not always put your high ability students with your struggling students. It is not fair to the high ability students to be put in the role of tutor. They need to be paired with other students of similar ability so they can work like little spark plugs with each other. You will get complaints for their parents if you do it too often. There are benefits for all of your students when you incorporate cooperative learning into your lessons. The best way I found to save time, respect our differences, and have cooperative groups is to have a mixture of groups that you use for different lessons. You can make cooperative groups by subject or generic groups ahead of time so students can quickly get with their group or partner when it time for a cooperative activities. Sometimes your students that prefer to work alone will be allowed to work alone. Other times, these students will be in a group. So, one group may be formed by students' preference from the buddy list (see below), another group may be formed by who you think would work best together, another group might be formed by academic level (low-middle ability) and (middle-high ability). Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Reading Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Do you have a cooperative learning idea to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
Onboarding is the process people go through to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours required to become effective employees.
April, 23rd. again, the most important day of the year for bookworms the world over Do you know why? Many things have been said ...
Wondering how to engage students in meaningful learning? This ultimate list of active learning strategies is a great reference to use while lesson planning.
Grade 3 Ontario Social Studies unit: Early Canada 1780-1850 for new 2023 social studies. The unit includes photos of artifacts, mapping connections, research organizers and more to cover the Ontario Curriculum. IMPORTANT UPDATE!* *Now updated for 2023 curriculum changes!!** Slides version updated as well! Student pages are included in google slides! Previously: March 7, 2021 a large portion of the unit was changed. Please reprint and discontinue use of the previous version. This item is frequently updated, so please check back frequently for further updates! Now Includes Google Slides!* DID SOMEONE SAY *DIGITAL*! Newly updated!! Select student pages are now included for use with Google Slides! 150 Interactive Slides to help with virtual learning! Check out the preview VIDEO for digital samples and details. (Please note: some pages, teachers notes and others are only available in the PDF). Student ready (locked text) and Editable (unlocked where allowed/possible) options provided. DIGITAL UPDATE redownload to get the goodies! Force Copy Links are on page 3 of the PDF*. Included you will find: Unit Overview: A unit overview explains key learning goals, assessment tips, differentiation, lesson sequence, materials needed and teacher notes. Perfect to help you plan out your unit in a snap! Intro Activities: Question prompts, partner talk cards and conversation ‘cootie-catcher’. I’ve also included information for a ‘time-line’ to help students create an understanding of this time period. Read Alouds & Videos: A variety of read alouds and videos are suggested with follow up activities and discussions to help your students understand how successfully the Indigenous People of Early Canada were living before the settlers arrived. Some information about Indigenous way of life, beliefs and history are included. Also, a read aloud about a Black Loyalist Community has been added. (Please note: many of these books are available through the author's official YouTube which are linked, but some do require finding a copy of the book. Copies of the books are not included with this file. That would be against copyright and unethical). **I have added read-aloud and video suggestions for Treaties and Wampum Belts to accommodate the new 2023 curriculum changes! The other points were already included in the previous unit materials!** Early Settler Animated Shorts: Using films created by the National Film Board (free to watch), I have created a follow-up activity for each video which focuses on comparing life in early settler times to life today as well as some key elements of daily life. Period Pieces Paintings: A variety of art pieces from 1780-1850 are provided for students to view and analyse. Two discussion prompts and a reflection sheet are included. Mapping: 3 student friendly maps are included as well as a 'making connections' response page as well as a general 'mapping reflections' sheet. Extension activities for discussing 'push and pull' factors for settlers is included. Questioning & Research: With the inquiry focus of the new curriculum, students are expected to ask questions and research in a variety of ways to find answers and make connections. I have provided some anchor charts, a Q-chart, samples of our “Question” brainstorm sheets and ‘Big Questions”. Students will work in small groups (4 or 5 students) to research some of the questions on their chart and the ‘big question’ associated with their topic. NEW: More structured graphic organizers are provided to assist students who need additional support. Research Product- Kiosks & Brochure: To share their research findings and connections, students will create a ‘kiosk’ in their groups using the foldable templates and create a brochure to go with their kiosk. Artifact Exploration: Pictures of artifacts and definitions to match are provided as well as a "what this may be" sheet and a "comparison to now" activity to consolidate their learning after the activity. Artifact Final Project: Students ‘create’ an artifact and exhibit for our ‘classroom museum’ and write a written piece about their artifact. Planning sheets and a sample success criteria checklist is provided. **DIGITAL GOOGLE SLIDES NOW INCLUDED!*** I try to update my items as quickly as possible when I can, but I cannot commit to unlimited lifetime updates of units. I will do my best, but I am a full-time teacher and mom to a young child. Please note that the purchase is for the CURRENT curriculum (as of August 2023). If future updates are made, they will be added as a 'bonus', but I cannot commit to lifetime updates. Thank you for understanding :) If you feel something is missing or you have an idea for an addition I'd love to hear from you, please note not all requests/suggestions can be accommodated. My email is [email protected] *This unit was updated with consultation from 3 Indigenous Education Experts to help ensure the material, language and photos included are culturally sensitive and in alignment with the truth and reconciliation commission Canada expectations. I strive to ensure that the unit is sensitive and accurate. Of course, please check your board's specific instructions as they may differ. Also, please consider your classroom community of learners and the specific backgrounds of your students as well as your level of comfort with the topics when discussing sensitive areas such as the racism found in Early Canada. There are many activities to pick and choose from, so there should be plenty of options to suit your classroom. Please pre-read all texts and view all videos before showing them to your students to ensure they work for your situation. Board expectations can vary as do expectations from community to community and family to family. Please exercise extreme caution in discussing the traumatic events of the past. If you are not sure about an activity, please check with your board's Indigenous Education Liaison or Admin. As always, tailor these to your class and seek input from local Indigenous groups, Elders, and other important voices as you teach about these important topics. * If you are looking for more grade 3 social studies for the 2020 Ontario curriculum, check out my Living and Working in Ontario Unit Or for guided math activities, check out my Ontario guided math bundles for all strands! For sample report card comments for this unit, click here Thanks for stopping by: ~Tina's Teaching Treasures Inc.
The Padagogy Wheel brings together in one chart several different domains of thinking with education apps for learning.
Constructivism provides students with rich experiences and encourages them to reach their own conclusions.
Are you confused with terms relating to eLearning? Expand your vocabulary by learning these 8 commonly used eLearning terms.
With the help of a few committed advocates, one institution offers a road map for others to embrace an approach to making learning accessible for all.
EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY I have become even more intrigued with Instructional Design and Technology as I read more about the increased demand for online learning. The convenience of getting a quali...
