Differentiation and English Language Learners

D-ELLBuilding RESOURCES

(Differentiation and English Language Learners)

Each UPSD building principal has been provided with grade-level appropriate resources designed to assist classroom teachers with differentiating instruction for ALL students, and especially English Language Learners.

Additional copies may be obtained by contacting the UPSD Teaching and Learning office ( x3338). Additional resources will be added in the future, and other web-based resources will be available on the Teaching and Learning website by fall, 2008.

BOOKS

Hill, Jane, and Kathleen M. Flynn. Classroom Instruction That Works With English Language Learners. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2006.

Authors Hill and Flynn have examined decades of research, interviewed mainstream teachers with ELLs in their classrooms, and reviewed the classroom recommendations from Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock’s Classroom Instruction That Works through an ELL lens.

Strategies discussed in the book include homework and practice, summarization and notetaking, and use of nonlinguistic representations, among many others. For each strategy, the authors provide a summary of the research, detailed examples of how to modify the strategy for use with ELLs in mainstream classrooms, and teacher accounts of implementation. The differentiation strategies illustrated in this book can help teachers plan and organize differentiated instruction to recognize and address learning differences at all levels.

Calderon, Margarita. Teaching Reading to English Language Learners, Grades 6-12. California: Corwin Press, 2007.

A “powerful array” of field-tested literacy tools for closing the achievement gap and helping all students increase their speaking, reading, and writing skills. This book includes lesson template, rubrics, sample lesson plans in mathematics, science, language arts, and social studies, descriptions of successful programs, and examples of professional development designs.

Dodge, Judith. Differentiation in Action. New York: Scholastic: 2005.

A resource including research-supported strategies to help teachers plan and implement differentiated instruction. Addresses how to apply brain research findings, design appropriate assessments, scaffold learning, increase challenge, foster intrinsic motivation, and respond to diverse learning styles.

Haynes, Judie.. Getting Started With English Language Learners: How Educators Can Meet the Challenge. Virgina: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007.

Best book to start with for a practical, hands-on introduction for educators who are new to the field of English as a Second Language. Helps the mainstream classroom teacher understand and address the needs of their English language learners, and answers questions such as:

It’s been six months, and I STILL can’t get my English language learners to participate in class!”

“How can I help my newcomers feel more comfortable around other students?”

“Am I doing enough to help my English language learners succeed?”

Herrell, Adrienne and Michael Jordan. Fifty Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners. New Jersey: Pearson: 2008

A rich resource filled with practical strategies for enhancing student instruction through planning, supporting student involvement, building vocabulary and fluency, and strengthening comprehension. Each strategy is presented in a clear, step-by-step, procedural format, with scenarios that show how to use them in the classroom.

The CD which accompanies this book, located in the side pocket of the UPSD D-ELL resource box, illustrates 13 of these strategies in action.

Rojas,Virginia Pauline. Strategies for Success With English Language Learners. Virgina: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007.

This ASCD Action Tool is a thorough collection of strategies designed to help educators more effectively increase the academic achievement of English language learners and other students in mixed-ability classrooms. It includes hundreds of easy-to-understand examples of strategies such as graphic organizers, cooperative learning activities, co-teaching strategies, scaffolding strategies, and other instructional practices designed to increase students’ academic achievement.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann, and Caroline Cunningham Eidson. Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum, Grades K-5. Virgina: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2003.

Designed to teach anyone interested in designing and implementing differentiated curriculum how to do so or how to do so more effectively. Includes annotated lesson plan units K-5 language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics, many samples of differentiated product assignments, rubrics, and homework handouts, and numerous real-life models of how it looks in the classroom.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann, and Caroline Cunningham Eidson. Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum, Grades 5-9. Virgina: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2003.

Designed to teach anyone interested in designing and implementing differentiated curriculum how to do so or how to do so more effectively. Includes annotated lesson plan units 5-9 language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics, many samples of differentiated product assignments, rubrics, and homework handouts, and numerous real-life models of how it looks in the classroom.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann, and Cindy A. Strickland. Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum, Grades 9-12. Virgina: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. 2nd edition. Virgina: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001.

This book provides guidance for teachers who are interested in creating learning environments that address the diversity typical of mixed-ability classrooms. This books helps teachers determine what differentiate instruction IS, why it is appropriate for ALL learners, how to begin to plan for it, and how to become comfortable enough with student differences to make school comfortable for each learner who comes their way.

Questions? Contact UPSD Department of Teaching and Learning 253-566-5600 ext. 3347