In this great ELA/Science lesson created by Heather Mitchell-Davis, students read informational texts to learn about the weather, formulate questions about a topic, find answers to their questions, and record data on a weather chart. Ms. Mitchell-Davis has created differentiated language objectives for the Level 1 and 4 students in her classroom, and has extensive tiered vocabulary as well as numerous strategies to shelter instruction for ELLs, including K-W-L charts, Word Wheels, Numbered Heads, Sentence Frames, "I Wonder...", graphic organizers, the 7-Step Vocabulary Process, and the R.A.F.T. strategy for writing.
In this comprehensive Social Studies lesson on Martin Luther King, Jr, Kathleen Driscoll utilizes numerous strategies to support ELLs as they progress through a creative unit broken down into 8 30-minute sessions. Ms. Driscoll exposes students to numerous texts and multimedia tools to heighten their understanding of the curriculum, and she effectively incorporates strategies such as the front-loading of vocabulary, Turn & Talk, Word Wheel, Artistic Representation, Word Wheel, Partner Reading, Sentence Stems/Frames, and Write Around - all of which help to support the Level 1 and 3 ELLs in her classroom.
In this ELA lesson, Anne Blanchette's students name, describe, and compare and contrast characteristics of winter and summer months, and then create their own books about winter days. Conscious of the fact that some of her newly arrived students have never experienced winter months, Ms. Blanchette does a great job building background, making connections to students' cultural and geographic pre-existing knowledge, and planning out useful tiered vocabulary that students will need in order to be successful in the unit. Check out how she uses the 7-Step Vocabulary Process, Think Alouds, Sentence Frames, Artistic Representation, Labeling, a Word Wheel, Paragraph Frames, and Think-Pair-Share to support her ELLs. Ms. Blanchette's lesson plan includes a thoughtful reflection about what worked best in the unit and what the biggest take-aways were for both her and her students.