Assessing an ELL with little English

Assessing an ELL with little English can be daunting but it can be done.  This screen shot from 
KINDERGARTEN ELL  would definitely help an Primary/Kindergarten teacher with ELLs who have very little English. I thought this should even be printed and put up on the wall for quick reference for the KG educator as assessing should be ongoing and daily in order to help the ELL improve.  Click on the above KINDERGARTEN ELL link to see the document in full (page 44 and 45).

Teaching Games with Different Learning Styles

Below is a fantastic resources which outlines lots of different games and activities in different learning styles.
Games with Different Learning Styles

There were so many great games that I thought this would be good reference.
Looking at the website there are lots of other resources too that would be handy.  Rather than bookmarking on my computer, I thought it would be best to include them in this online portfolio.
Other teachers would also find this resource useful when supporting the ELL, especially in the mainstream classrom. 

Teaching Strategies that Address Trauma and Resilience

This video is well worth watching from time-to-time to remind ourselves about how to deal with trauma and encourage resilience in the ELL learner.

 I thought it was worth including in my portfolio because it reminds us of 'Growth Mindset' and dealing with the entire person, not just the student.
Also, I believe this video can help remind us of the issues that other children (not just ELL's) may be facing in their everyday lives that affect their abilty to learn.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Vocabulary Spinner

One of my colleagues included this idea in one of her discussion posts.  She suggested adding different vocabulary activities to the spinner such as:

•  Act it out
• Say a synonym
• Part of speech 
• Draw it
• Say an antonym
• Rhyme time
• Use it in a sentence
• Define it

I use this particulary online spinner: Online Spinner
 For the ELL, this activity would be a good idea but perhaps not in front of the entire mainstream class. I think this would be fun with a small group of mixed English and ELL speakers. 

Talk 4 Writing

Here is a video explaining Talk 4 Writing.

 It is a concept widely accepted and used in the UK.  It has been highly successful in developing both Speaking and Writing Skills in children aged 4-12.  The general idea is that a student is taught actions for certain words (actions that either the class comes up with or the teacher regularly uses).  Then, the children start to use these in their writing.  Conjunctions are some of my favourite types of words to use 'Talk 4 Writing' with because they are harder words to describe.  Therefore, for an ELL, this idea would be particularly useful to extend their ideas and writing.

Here is one more video with an example.

Vocabulary Ideas for the ELL

Here is a link to some super easy and effective strategies for building vocabulary in a classroom with ELL's:
15 Vocabulary Strategies in 15 minutes

It is a good guide and reference to hand to hep within the classroom.

Scaffolding Options for Teachers of ELL's

Scaffolding Options

Here is a PDF of a list of scaffolding options to help an ELL (Click on Scaffolding Options above).

I particularly liked this document because it summarized each activity.
It is a great resource to have to hand!
The detailed list starts on page 29!