All You Need for Increasing

ELL Learning Opportunities Today *

Heike Ruedenauer-Plummer
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

ruedenau@unlv.nevada.edu

The Challenge

Your Take-Away
from this poster!

Underlying Question
What can you implement in your
classroom when you return to your
school tomorrow for addressing..

Extensive
Vocabulary
Instruction

Interpreting
Language
Proficiency
Scores

Increasing
Academic
Conversations

1) How does vocabulary instruction work best for ELLs?

Before I start: Initial
Considerations
Individualize: Supplement
curricular suggestions with
actually needed words 10
Consider multimedia
instructional tools: video clips,
visuals, graphic organizers 1, 7
Teach word-learning strategies:
help students independently
finding meanings of words 1
Consider preview view
review strategy
Consider multiple modalities:
writing, speaking, listening

Goal
Improving ELL outcomes by increasing access
to curricular content and creating opportunities
for practice and language application 2, 4, 7, 9, 11,

1,5,16,23

What to Teach: Text and Target

Vocabulary

How to Teach: Components

Age appropriateness
Connection to prior
experiences & learning 1,4,5,9,10,12
Connected to curricular content

Small group v. whole group 18,21

Vocabulary cards 10
Definition 1,3,10,12,
Visual1,3,10,12,
Written word1,3,10,12,
Consider L1 L2 Translations as
additional support 1, 2,3
Use in childrens own context:
Partner Talk 1,3,10,12,16,21,24
Practice example sentences

2,4,9,22, 23

Small set of tier II words 1,10,12,20

High relevance 1,12
High frequency 1,12
Crossing content areas1 ,12
Multiple meanings 1,12
Cognates / False Cognates 0,1,12
Consider word banks, sentence
starters, fill-in-the-blanks

1,3,10,12,

Consider kinetic connectors

(clapping syllabus, word
rhythms, ASL Support)
Brief, precise, and consistent 1

1,6,10,12,16,23

12, 16,19, 21, 22, 23, 24

When to Teach: Frequency

Pre-Teach, before reading text
1,10,12,16

Every day in short sequences

1,10,12

Consider end-of-the-week
summary/ assessment 1,4,9,18
(learning games, revision races,
etc. 6)
Make it fun and worthwhile1
Repetition and reviews
throughout the day 1,4

My Next Steps ?!

2) How can I increase academic talk time and higher order thinking?
(a) Establish and Practice a
Classroom-Conversation Culture1,24

(c) Choose discussion activities

grounded in cooperative learning
strategies such as0,1,6,7,23,24

what it is not, roleplay examples

Discuss and practice conversation
etiquette, establish some classroom
rules of good conversation manners
Teach strategies such as
elaborating, clarifying, supporting
ideas with examples, paraphrasing,
synthesizing
Consider age of your students:
what can they do? Which language do
you use for explaining concepts?
Think deep, not broad when
encouraging academic conversations

Take a minute and discuss it with your

neighbor
Inner-Outer Circle Review Round
Pick a point and tell me about it!
Small-Group graphic organizers &
discussion
Two-Minute-Opinion-Share
Pro and Con Discussions
Gallery Walks
More examples: Kagan-Strategies:
RallyRobin, Timed Pair Share,
RoundRobin, RallyCoach, Stand UpHand Up-Pair Up

(b) Activate
Higher Order Thinking
Discuss what conversation is and with Questions like1,3,4,9,16,18

Methods Improving Outcomes

Well established:
Methods improving ELL outcomes focus on
increasing comprehension, interaction, and
higher order thinking 7, 13
Explicit vocabulary instruction has been
shown to improve comprehension 1, 4, 6, 9, 10,
11,22

Academic conversations increase interaction

and activate higher order thinking 1, 9, 10, 12, 24

Can you
give an
example for
this?
I agree /
disagree
because!

What does
____
mean?

What comes
to you mind
first when
you read /
hear this?
What was the
main point of
what ____
just read /
said?

Can you
say this in
your own
words?

Can you
say this in
your own
words?
What do
you think
could
happen
next?

Tell me more
about

How does
this relate to /
fit in with
what we read
/ talked about
before /
yesterday?

Did you hear

/ read
something
like this
before?

Why do you
think ____
did what
he/she did?

What are
other points
of view?

3) WIDA scores: What do they mean and how can I use them?23
More Information and Resources

* All references numeric, please refer to reference and resource list

Why is this
important to
know / to
learn?

WIDA Levels of Language Performance

Immediately create evidence

based vocabulary instructions
Instantly use classroom methods
increasing academic
conversations
Understand language proficiency
scores and how they relate to
your lesson planning

Maybe a TESOL
endorsement?
How about
a Professional
Learning Community
on my campus?

Professional
development
at my school?

Could a
Peer-Observation
System help me
becoming fluent in
ELL instructions?
http://resources.phrasemix.com/img/full/wondering-aaron.jpg

Next Research Questions

How effective is this suggested combination
of strategies and methods?
Does it make a measurable difference in
ELL students outcomes?
What can schools do for supporting
teachers who do not hold an endorsement
for instructing ELL students?

References and Resources

Scan QR Code and find this
poster, references, and links to
resources here!
www.postersession.com