As an ESL teacher, I often hear from classroom teachers that they don't always know where to start when it comes to working with beginning English language learners (ELLs), or newcomers, in small group instruction. In this post I'll share a typical "guided reading" lesson that I would give to my beginning ELLs, as well as a glance of at what a typical week would look like. Let me start by saying, the very first thing I do before I start instructing my newcomers is, I assess what they already know. First, I see if they have literacy skills in their native language...can they read and write? Then, I see if they know alphabet letter names and sounds. Next, I assess their reading level. Since they don't have English literacy skills yet, their reading level typically starts at level "A" (emergent). I can say that most students do have some literacy skills in their home language, and often times, many know some letter names and sounds. So now I've got my starting point! When I first begin working with my newcomers, the main components of reading that I typically focus on are building vocabulary, phonological awareness/phonics and sight words. So a typical week would encompass all three of these skills. Down the road I add comprehension skills, but they are not ready for that yet. Step 1 - Choose an appropriate book. I carefully select books that have relevant vocabulary. For the most part, my main focus is to build their vocabulary. The literacy skills in their native language will transfer to their new language, however, they have an extremely limited vocabulary, so... vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary! I chose this book because I wanted to teach my students the word "big." It's also about animals, and I know that most kids are interested in reading about animals! I used gestures to SHOW them what "big" means. It's important to be mindful of your students' age when picking out books. You don't want to give 4th-6th graders books about bunnies or teddy bears. Try picking age appropriate books; which I know can be a challenge if the selection is limited, but you don't want your students feeling embarrassed. Step 2 - Preview the book. Point to and say each animal's name and have the students repeat the names back to you, keeping in mind to speak clearly and to enunciate the sounds in each word. It's important for them to hear how to pronounce the names. A side thought...Think about "A" level books... they are not created with English language learners in mind. "A" level books have repeated sentences, which are GREAT, but they also have very specific vocabulary that students are expected to decode using picture cues. In the book my students read last week, the repeated sentence was, "We go to the _____." The pictures show the family in different locations like the pool, park, library, soccer game, etc. In one picture the family is standing in front of a large fish tank. If I asked English only students where the family is, some might say a fish store or they might even guess aquarium, depending on their background knowledge. Then they'd cross check their thinking with the word and see that it begins with the letter "a" and hopefully they'd say, "It's an aquarium!" But our newcomers don't know what a big fish tank place is called in English, so it's important for us to support our students by saying the names of each vocabulary word. Step 3 - Choral reading! Newcomers feel more comfortable in a choral reading setting. They need help pronouncing the words. They need to hear YOU pronounce the words. Choral reading helps to keep anxiety levels low. (In a few weeks, the choral reading decreases and I will start focusing on decoding.) Step 4 - After reading, review the animal names. Point to an animal and see if they can remember the name. Perhaps make a matching activity with animal pictures and names. Support as needed. Encourage a LOT! Step 5 - I always provide a guided writing activity based off of the book we just read. I use sentence frames to support their thinking and writing. Sometimes I create my own, like the picture below, and other times I'll use a graphic organizer as a follow up activity. On this day I wanted them to understand the meaning of "big," so their writing supported this goal. As they finish their writing activity, I'll ask each student to read some of their writing to me. Then they'll draw a quick picture, which I always ask them to label. I know that my newcomers don't understand every word in the book, and that's OK! They are being exposed to new words and ideas in a repeating format. I want them to get used to the structure of our lessons so that they know what's expected. So, here is what a typical week of small group work entails for my newcomers. Knowing what the focus is each day helps me to zone in on their learning goals. The variety keeps it fun and interesting, yet it's consistent so they know what's expected. As you can see, on Tuesdays I include direct vocabulary instruction, either using the vocabulary from the book, like the animals, monthly themed vocabulary, or content area vocabulary. October Themed Vocabulary (along with sight words and phonics review) One vocabulary activity I have my students do is called the K.I.M. Strategy. In their notebook they write the key word (K), important information (I), sketch a memory clue (M) and write a sentence (S). For my newcomers, I leave out the (I) portion. They are not ready for adding "information." Right now the goal is for them to learn the names of things and simple sentence structure. My higher ELLS definitely include all components of the K.I.M. Strategy in their notebooks. This is what the K.I.M. Strategy looks like. And this is how it looks modified for my newcomers... On Thursdays, I focus on building sight words. When teaching sight words, it's important to teach them in context. Your beginning ELs need context in order to make meaning of the words. I pull a sight word from our books and I include an extension activity with that word. (A link to this resource is provided at the bottom of this post.) I do teach sight words throughout the week, but on Thursdays we always have an extension activity for one of them. As an "exit ticket" I have them orally use the sight word. Today, I asked each student, "What can you do?" And they responded with "I can _____." Then they get a high five, a sticker (big kids like stickers too!), or some encouraging praise. I also include Word Study activities in my small group work. I like using the sorts from Words Their Way. Each Monday they receive a new spelling pattern. Remember, I assessed my students to see what they already knew. Most already knew initial sounds, so I started them with word families. If they did not know initial sounds, I would've started there. I do have one student in this group who does not know many initials sounds, so I spend a little extra focus with him on initial sounds. This resource is from "Words Their Way." My newcomers use this activity to learn spelling patterns AND vocabulary. They are introduced to their new word list on Mondays, then they have independent activities to do with their word list throughout the week in their gen ed classrooms. (It's so important to set newcomers up with meaningful activities that they can work on independently during Reader's Workshop.) Below is their Word Study Activities list. It gets glued into their Reading Notebook. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays they work on their independent activities. Friday is Word Study Quiz day! FREEBIE - Click Here And that's what small group instruction looks like with my newcomers. To recap, assess what students can do to evaluate your starting point. Focus on building vocabulary, sight words in context, word spelling patterns and choral reading to start. My guided reading lessons usually looks like... preview the book, front load main vocabulary, choral read, and end with a guided writing activity with sentence frames. Here's a TIP: Many times I make my own guided writing activity based on what I want the students to learn from the book. I'll write the activity in my notebook, make copies, cut them to size, then have students glue it into their notebook. Keep this notebook! You may get a newcomer next year, and when you do, many of your guided writing activities will already be made. You'll just need to find the book that goes with the activity. My notebook where I write out the guided writing activities. I know that many school districts lack ESL resources and often times the classroom teacher is the only one providing instruction. Knowing where to start with beginning English learners is probably the biggest challenge. I hope that this post gives you some ideas about where to start and what to focus on with your new students. To read more about the K.I.M. Strategy, click here. Affiliate links below for Sight Words and Word Study.
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There are certain times during the school day, particularly during Language Arts, when students are working independently to build their reading and writing skills. I often get asked, "What can my newcomers work on during independent class time?" Let me start by saying, newcomers, or beginning English learners, should always be included in classroom lessons and instruction, and the lessons and activities should always have language scaffolds in place so that even our beginners are learning and participating alongside everyone else. They should never be put on a computer just to be "doing something." With that said, let's talk about some meaningful activities our newcomers could work on independently. Here are my top suggestions for independent activities to build language with newcomers during independent class time. 1- Reading Books Devoting part of the day to holding books, looking at books and reading books is important. Carve out time each day, or several times per week, where students are engaged independently with books. Providing books in a newcomer's native language is ideal, because we want them to still be reading; and if they read in their first language (L1), then let's put some books in their hands so they can read! If you want your student to practice reading English using leveled books, this time could be well spent rereading familiar books, such as books you've read together during guided reading. Be cautious however, giving your sixth grader a bin full of kindergarten leveled books will likely cause embarrassment and could damage the self confidence you're working so hard to build. You might allow students to take these books home to practice, or have a bin at the guided reading table where they are reading a familiar book as a warm-up. 2- Online Books One thing I really like about assigning online books during independent class time is options. Students have lots of choice when it comes to online books and websites, so finding a topic of interest can be easier. Also, I love that students can listen to the books first on many sites. This is great for building fluency, vocabulary and pronunciation. Holding a book in your hands is important, but online books are equally important, so assigning this activity to students several times a week is a great way to spend independent class time. Some of my favorite FREE sites are: Unite for Literacy - this site has books in Spanish, as well as narrations in many other languages. EPIC Books - this is a must have for me and my students! This site is amazing. Storyline Online - stories read aloud by SAG & AFTRA members. This one is my least used between the three, but I love the animated stories, and the read alouds are great for listening and building vocabulary. Some of my favorite PAID sites are: Raz-Kids - leveled books- students can listen before reading, as well as record themselves reading. Books also come in other languages! Tumble Books - lots of great book choices on this site. MyOn - my students enjoy the graphic novels a lot:) With virtual learning this year, I jumped on the "Bitmoji Classroom" bandwagon and created clickable links in my virtual classroom. Having the links all in one place has provided easy access to my students. (Everything in the bookcase is hyperlinked!) I house my "Bitmoji Classroom" in my Google Classroom, pinned to the top of my Classwork page. There are tons of YOU TUBE videos on how to create a Bitmoji Classroom:) 3- Vocabulary Building Activities Independent class time is a GREAT time to build or reinforce vocabulary! Introduce vocabulary first during small group instruction, then have students do follow up independent activities with those new terms. It's important to practice together first before expecting independent success. Here a student is copying and illustrating the vocabulary from his reading lesson. Flash cards are not recommended. IMO, this is a meaningless task. Instead, have students match, sort, illustrate or label. Students could also partner up with a class buddy giving opportunities to practice saying the words and hearing their native English speaking counterparts using the words. I use the KIM strategy to explicitly teach new vocabulary, then as an independent activity students illustrate the words. If they are ready, they can use the new word in a short simple sentence, although most brand new newcomers are not quite ready to write sentences in English. 👉 Here's a post on how I use the KIM strategy with students. Provide vocabulary sorts during independent time. This could be basic tier one vocabulary or tier 2/3 content vocabulary. Use this independent time to build math, science and social studies vocabulary. Another option, label the room and have students do a scavenger hunt looking for specific items in the room. Provide an activity where students must label content related pictures, such as stages in a life cycle or types of weather, just be sure to also provide references so that students know where to find the necessary information, such as an anchor chart or notebook pages. My students use the vocabulary workbook below during some of their independent class time. The workbooks were designed specifically for newcomers to use during independent class time. I monitor their progress, albeit not very strictly, and I incorporate it loosely into my small group instruction. My students love working in their workbooks and are always excited to receive the next unit. (There are 6 workbooks in all, each one contains 6 topics.) I think the reason my students love working in their vocabulary workbooks so much is that it gives them meaningful work that they are able to successfully complete on their own. This is huge factor in building self-confidence! I would highly recommend vocabulary building activities for newcomers during independent class time, because that is precisely what they need, to build vocabulary. Be mindful that the activities are scaffolded so that students CAN DO the work independently AND successfully. These workbooks contain a reference poster for each topic, which is then used to complete the activities. The vocabulary workbooks are printed front to back and stapled in the top left corner. Students work through the workbook, typically completing one topic per week. Once they're done (about 6 weeks), I review it, make corrections if needed, then assign them the next unit. My students are always excited about receiving their next workbook. 4- Word Study Before COVID, when we were teaching in-person, I'd incorporate weekly word study lists for my newcomers and intermediate English learners. I used the Words Their Way spelling patterns book, and on Mondays my students received a new list of words. We focused on the spelling pattern AND building vocabulary. Once the words were introduced, the pattern was identified and the meanings of the words explored, students used their list each day of the week to do various activities in their general education classrooms, typically during reader's workshop. On Fridays, I'd quiz them on their words. During this virtual environment of distance learning, I've adapted word study into a digital format. I also decided to focus on teaching vowels after doing some research on phonics instruction with English learners. Each week, or every other week, I introduce a new vowel or vowel pattern. The sort is a Monday lesson, then the rest of week my students have digital activities to complete using their word study words. (I assign the activities in Google Classroom.) I love that I can "join their slides" and monitor them virtually during class, as well as, throughout the week to see if they need help. My students and I are really enjoying this new format. I've included lots of vocabulary building activities to go along with the phonics, as well as language supports, such as Google translate, to listen to and practice pronunciation. I'll keep this digital format of Word Study even when we return to in-person learning. Here's an example of the "Short Vowel A" resource activities. (My intermediate ELs started with the "Short A versus Long A.") These are just a few suggestions, or ideas, of meaningful activities. Other options could include partner games, language building apps, programs such as Imagine Language and Literacy, math games, writing in the student's L1, illustrating and labeling events in a short film, illustrating or inserting images into a piece of writing they're working on or watch carefully selected content related videos to build background knowledge or reinforce content taught. There are lots of options for independent (or partner) activities. Most importantly, when students are working independently with purpose, your newcomers should be expected to do the same. Activities that are useful, engaging and explicitly taught beforehand, so that students will be successful in completing them on their own, will support growth in language AND self confidence. Some of the resources from this post can be found below. All the ones shown below are money saving bundles, but each resource inside the bundle can also be purchased separately. I'd love to learn about the activities you incorporate with your newcomers during independent class time!! Take care, and happy teachng!!
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