Technology Strategies & Activities
CREATE OWN BOOKS
ELLs are students whose first language is not English. Since many students do not possess sufficient language skills to communicate, they rely more heavily on the visual. I believe Storybird is an excellent tool to support our ELLs (in addition to all types of learners) because of the visual supports it provides to aid students in the writing process. Plus it is fun for students to use!
Hover & click on the box at the left to learn more about this tool!
VISUAL DICTIONARY
Visual dictionaries such as the visual dictionary by Merriam Webster provide images, photographs, and diagrams to help students better understand new vocabulary words. This removes the barrier of limited reading ability many ELLs often encounter.
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FLUENCY PRACTICE
A digital tool such as SoundCloud or Quick Voice can be utilized for students to practice reading fluency. Students can record themselves reading aloud and then listen to it multiple times. This allows for student accountability and self-reflection. The teacher can provide students with a checklist of the components of fluency as a self-assessment tool while listening. These recordings can be saved and shared with parents, other teachers, or even other students. Additionally, recording tools can be utilized as an alternative to handwritten assignments for ELLs who might not yet be able to produce written language quickly.
(Note, many other multi-use apps, such as Kids A-Z and SeeSaw have recording features embedded within them.)
Check out the video at the left to see some of these digital tools in action in ESL classrooms!
ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Teachers can create “digital jump-starts, or DJs” as proposed by Judith Rance-Roney (2010). These teacher-created stories include language supports and visuals at the level of the ELL to front load content and vocabulary, which existing videos or images alone could not provide. The DJs pre-reading strategy is most effective when it combines visual, audio, and text components to allow for multimodal learning as well as repeated practices and exposures. Rance-Roney (2010) emphasizes that ELLs need multiple exposures to a word or concept in order to truly demonstrate understanding, thus DJs allow students to re-watch the story, independently, both at school and at home.
