- Lesson Planning ·
How to create clear, meaningful, and impactful lessons during a 30 minute session.
It was always the worst feeling: My group of eager students was gathered at my bean table, calling my name over and over, and I’m…
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The Blog
- Classroom Community ·
10 Books to Read at the End of the Year
Are you trying to figure out how to send your students off for the summer in an encouraging and motivating way? The best way is…
- Classroom Community ·
Stop Waiting for ACCESS Scores to Tell You What to Teach
Most ELL teachers wait. They wait for ACCESS scores. They wait for the language proficiency report. They wait for some official data point to tell…
- Classroom Community ·
What Second Language Acquisition Actually Means for Your Classroom
Have you ever had a student who was making progress — talking more, taking risks, engaging in class — and then suddenly stalled? They went…
- Classroom Community ·
From Silence to Fluency: The 5 Stages of Language Acquisition Every ELL Teacher Needs to Know
Have you ever had a newcomer student sit silently in your classroom for weeks — watching everything, absorbing everything, but saying absolutely nothing? Or had…
- Classroom Community ·
What Confident ELL Teachers Do Differently
Have you ever watched another ELL teacher work — in a PD session, in a video online, or just heard someone describe their classroom —…
- Classroom Community ·
Why Your ELL Students Aren’t Making the Progress Everyone Expects (And What to Do About It)
Have you ever sat in a data review meeting and heard someone ask why your ELL students aren’t making progress? In Episode 203 of the…
- Classroom Community ·
The Translation Trap: Why Letting Students Translate Everything Is Holding Them Back
A middle school math teacher raised her hand during a professional development session and said something I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. “I…
- Classroom Community ·
Why Nothing Seems to Stick for your ELL Students (and What to do Instead)
Have you ever tried a new strategy with your ELL students, watched it work for a few days, and then wondered why it completely fell…
- Classroom Community ·
Cooperative Learning Strategies for ELLs: Scaffolding for Effective Peer Interaction
You’ve learned the pros and cons of a variety of instructional program models, but which is the most effective for reaching your ELLs? While one…
- Assessment ·
How to Build a Vocabulary-Rich Classroom for English Learners
Vocabulary instruction is at the heart of helping English Language Learners (ELLs) access academic content and express themselves confidently. But too often, vocabulary gets reduced…