Col, J. (2018). Little Explorers. Retrieved from https://www.enchantedlearning.com/Dictionary.html
This user-friendly educational website caters to ELLs by developing language through picture dictionaries. The dictionaries come in many languages with English translation. There are five levels of picture dictionaries that vary in difficulty. Each page of a picture dictionary is devoted to one letter of the alphabet taking into account the differences in alphabet for a particular language, i.e. Spanish having “LL” words and no “W” words.
Cunningham, P., (2009). Phonics They Use – Words for Reading and Writing. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
This book acts as a support for teachers who have students emerging in their writing and reading skills of the English language. The author supports the use of a balanced reading program and emphasizes specific strategies to enrich the learning environment for ELLs. For example, the author recommends having a “print-rich” classroom with a multitude of grade-level words listed on the wall (word walls), an assortment of picture and chapter books on display, samples of student drawings and/or writings posted on the classroom bulletin boards. The print-rich strategy assists with immersing ELLs into the English language and helps to speed up their English speaking and writing skills. The author also recommends introducing English words with “picture cues”, so to access meaning faster. The author also suggests starting English instruction for ELLs with the same letters in the alphabet already known in their native languages (51).
Fenner, D.S., & Snyder, S. (2017). Unlocking English learners’ potential: Strategies for making content accessible. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
This book provides a comprehensive guide for all teachers with ELLs in their classrooms. The book speaks to the trend in education that all teachers consider themselves TESOL teachers even if they only have one ELL in their class. The book also goes over modern educational practices in that ELLs should be taught along with their peers in an inclusive setting. The authors offer strong guiding principles and overarching strategies to be used with ELLs including how to ignite background knowledge, how to properly scaffold information, how to model, how to incorporate academic language, and how to balance participation in an inclusive setting.
Hall, N., & Price, R., (2015). Explode the Code 1-8, Essential lessons for phonics mastery. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service.
Explode the Code is a series of workbooks that focuses on phonics. The workbooks are a great resource for resource room teachers or as a supplement to an existing English language arts curriculum. The workbooks provide ELLs step-by-step rules to access the English language. Each workbook has approximately 12 lessons with a plethora of activities and pictures within each lesson. There are eight workbooks in the Explode the Code series.
Hollas, B., (2005). Differentiating Instruction in a Whole-Group Setting. Peterborough, NH: Crystal Springs Books
Differentiating Instruction in a Whole-Group Setting provides several tried and true teaching strategies that can be used with students of mixed abilities including ELLs. Common strategies offered in this book are using the five-finger rule gauge to determine if a book is appropriate for a student’s reading ability and flexible grouping for more interaction and peer support within a classroom. The author stresses that wait time is essential for all learners, especially for ELLs who have to process information in their native language, then translate the information into English. The strategies in the book are clearly labeled for quick access and the book is generous with bold-printed reproducible materials and activities to provide teachers with the resources to better serve their students.
Lazel. (2018). Reading A-Z Delivers a Leveled Reading Library for Every Classroom.
Retrieved from: https://www.learninga-z.com/site/products/readinga-z/overview
This literary website is beneficial to ELLs in that books can be leveled according to each student’s independent reading level. ELLs are able to develop their literacy skills at their own pace and increase their levels as they become stronger readers. Reading A-Z supplies over 2000 books at 29 different reading levels. The reading levels coincide with Lexile and DRA testing done in many elementary and middle schools so that teachers can truly pick the correct books for their English Language Learners. Post-reading activities for ELLs include worksheets, discussion cards and quizzes.
Short, D., & Echevarria, J. (2005). Teacher Skills to Support English Language Learners. Educational Leadership, Volume 62, pp. 8-13. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.620.4481&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Short and Echevarria utilize the research-based SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) model, which is considered a best practice for teaching ELLs. The SIOP model uses TESOL strategies that have been developed over the past two decades; however SIOP incorporates language objectives to be taught in connection with core content subjects like math and science. The SIOP model uses its own framework for instruction. Embedded in this framework are 30 strategies all teachers can use to enrich English instruction for ELLs.
Tomlinson, C. A., (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. Alexandra, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
This book is useful for teachers who not only have ELLs but have students with varying abilities. This book teaches how to differentiate instruction based on these differing abilities. The book also teaches how to set the stage for differentiated instruction, i.e. a continuous process of grouping mixed-ability students, called flexible grouping, so that students support each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This can also be called peer support. What makes this book an asset is the 17 key strategies offered to maximize differentiated instruction to best serve all students. For example, making sure there is an “anchor activity” for those students who complete in-class assignments early (35). Another strategy is to praise students who are demonstrating “on-task” behavior or having an “expert of the day” so students can ask this student for classroom information instead of the teacher. Teachers who have ELLs are advised to give information in the student’s first language or have a translator so ELLs can access the curriculum in their native language. This book also recommended having a timeline for ELLs where the information can be translated from their native language to English (91).
Turhan, S. & Hagin, S. (2003). Milet Picture Dictionary in English/Japanese. London: Milet Publishing.
Milet produces a picture dictionary series that comes in many languages with an average vocabulary set of about 250 words. The pictures are colorful and “vibrant” covering basic subject matter like animals, clothing, fruit and school supplies. Each picture has a description in an ELLs native language with the corresponding word in English. The Milet Dictionary series acts as a supplement to an established ELL program and serves as a foundation for those ELL learners in the emergent stage.
