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This article is about adapting instruction for more advanced learners in the Head Start classroom.

Having teachers experience "a day in the life of an ELL" can be powerful professional development-and at one school it's reportedly helped close the achievement gap. ELL 'Shadowing' Brings Instructional Gaps to Light, Liana Heitin (2011) Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/08/24/ell_shadowing.html Retrieved on 10/19/15 Great article with a fresh new idea!!!! This article tells the tale of "A teacher or administrator follows an English-language learner to several classes." I have "shadowed" in a classroom before, usually to observe the teacher. But the purpose of this shadowing is to look specifically at the student's use of academic language. Statistics show "English-language learners spend less than 2 percent of the school day improving their academic oral language." That number is completely unacceptable. I think we as teachers could all benefit from "shadowing" students. It does not have to just be ELL students we shadow. Reviewing data and becoming educated about the students who struggle would help with the shadowing process. Maybe we could start with shadowing the students who aren't improving in order to better understand why they are behind.

I first read about this in an excerpt from a book by Greg Toppo. http://hechingerreport.org/video-games-that-work-better-than-school/ This app teaches concepts related to solving algebraic equations in a fun, game environment. Learners are drawn into the game and don't realize they are learning algebra until level 12 when animal cards used in the game begin to be replaced by algebraic symbols. This app does cost $5 but I could see it used in learning stations and for enrichment activities. Appropriate for ages 5 and up.

I thought this site was interesting for educators. 112 Learners are taking this course and 101 more learners... Review 21st century literacies. Explore free image sites. Create playlists with great video content. Be inspired to create content and contribute to the world. Class recording and slides available to all enrollees Language of Instruction: English Course Description In the 21st century, we are all consumers of digital content.

The article from Response To Intervention (RTI) focuses on ELLs and how we can support them with learning a new language. Some key points highlighted in the article that align to our teams EQ and would support ELL learners include: monitoring student progress 3 or more times a year, review a 3 tier system RTI outlines, and encourage general educators to participate in ESL/ESOL professional developments focused on meeting the needs of the ELLs in their classroom.

This article is very informative about what is expected of ELL students, and how little accommodations are given to the students when taking tests. The students are required to take benchmarks and state tests without being able to speak english at a specific level.

Week 9 (Bonnie Brady, Malkie Horovitz, Katie Tress) This article is about how English Language Learners learn a second language and describes the importance of five different aspects of reading instruction and how they relate to ELL students. The article explains each of the five aspects of reading instruction, why it is important, challenges that ELL students may face when trying to read in a second language, and discusses strategies to help them succeed.

Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum.

"Closing the ELL/ESL Achievement Gap with Blended Learning," by Debbie Malone. Type of post: Strategies (in a sort of blog). This is an interesting article about helping ESOL/ELL students. Some important "take-aways," according to the author (regarding the blended learning approach she advocates): "However, one of the most valuable tools provided by online and blended learning programs is their continual checks for understanding, which provide educators with real-time actionable data. This helps teachers gauge whether their ELL/ESL students are keeping up with the rest of the class or whether they need more assistance. Educators can then spend more time working with individual students in areas where they are struggling and prevent problems from snowballing. "But technology can't solve all of the problems associated with the growing achievement gap between ELL/ESL students and native English speakers. Many educators have reported a lack of funding or personal development geared toward addressing the needs of ELL/ESL learners. Technology can, however, be leveraged to personalize the learning experience for these students. "Because the human element of the student-teacher relationship is still a vital classroom component, especially for ELL/ESL students, a blended learning classroom offers an ideal way to cultivate that relationship. Building on that, it may also be the answer to creating a more effective learning environment that lowers the language barrier for educators and increases academic achievement for ELL/ESL students." Great points! As the fictional movie character Borat used to say, "I like." However, I would like to see additional (and empirical) evidence. I do agree with the author on many points, though I would enjoy seeing a research study on this. Malone, D. (2014, November 12). Closing the ELL/ESL Achievement Gap with Blended Learning. Retrieved from https://blog.edgenuity.com/closing-the-ellesl-achievement-gap-through

This resource offers a variety of strategies to differentiate the content of the Physical Education curriculum with a focus on making the learning accessible for English Language Learners. Although this resource is targeted to middle school physical education courses, the strategies can easily be adopted to meet the needs of high school ELL students. By implementing these strategies in my physical education classes, students will be engaged in learning and able to apply new skills to further understand the content of the course.

This resource discusses the strategy of Total Physical Response (TPR) used in physical education classes. This strategy will help me reach my SMART target learning goal as students develop vocabulary through integration of words and movement through my implementation of the TPR strategy.

(Week 8: Mary, Jessica, and Sarah) This journal article is accessible through the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. This journal article explains the willingness of teachers to differentiate assignments for their mixed-ability students. To show teacher's efficacy to differentiate assignments, a study is conducted between two school districts. The first school district is located in an urban area containing 4,000 students. The second school district is located in a suburban area with many students receiving free and reduced lunches. A Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale is used with the participants to see how often accommodations are made for students. This is a great journal article for all teachers to read! It is important to differentiate assignments for all students. A differentiated classroom is a place where children have resources to learn new information in different ways. As it is stated in the text, "Teachers who differentiate their instruction respond to learner needs in the way content is presented (the content dimension of differentiation), the way content is learned (the process dimension), and the ways students respond to the content (the product dimension). All these adaptations are designed to meet the individual characteristics of learners and to maximize their time in school" (Dixon, F. A., Yssel, N., McConnell, J. M., & Hardin, T., 2014). Through the study conducted in the article, teachers are able to see how important it is to attend professional developments to learn more about differentiation. References Dixon, F. A., Yssel, N., McConnell, J. M., & Hardin, T. (2014). Differentiated Instruction, Professional Development, and Teacher Efficacy. Journal For The Education Of The Gifted, 37(2), 111-127.

@Jessicacarr @sarahdonahey

This video was useful for exploring the dimension of both 'student engagement' and 'depth of knowledge'. The teacher explores ideas and experiments with ways to involve the student into asking themselves what things are relevant to their own learning. This is relevant to my SMART goal of 100% pass rates among my SLO group on their standardized tests because I can have them explore and better understand the language, vocabulary, and contextual reading goals I am setting for them in my class. I think these strategies could be universally effective in nearly all learning environments.

This program allows the user to trim You Tube videos and insert a question for students as they watch, to check for understanding.  An innovative way to monitor input processing and output production in second language learners, and also with all learners, depending on the content of video selected. EDpuzzle would work well with a flipped classroom, too, as the video "lesson" could be completed at home.

Thank you so much for this resource! I am definitely going to use this in all of my classes moving forward!

Wow! If you have not taken a look at this yet, please do so now! This website is an asset to any instructor!

This article looks at the importance of technology use in the classrooms in the 21st century and how this technology can be used to help close learning gaps. It specifically looks at students who are "at-risk". This article addresses great points but also cautions that in order for technology to be effective, it needs to be accompanied by professional development.

This article highlights a report completed by the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Staford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education in 2014. The article notes that students can make significant increases in learning and engagement through the use of technology. However, students from poor socio economic backgrounds may not have the same instruction or access to technology as those from more affluent neighborhoods. The auther then presents a list of solutions.

I like that this article encourages a blended learning approach with technology. I think that tech is a powerful tool that needs to be paired with hands on activities for the early learners.

(Week 7: Dave and Kristina) This journal article is accessible through the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. This journal article discusses the challenges that nearly all teachers face in classes where there they encounter students of mixed abilities. The article provides solutions such as 'provided specific activities for varying students', and notes that teachers with a 'positive attitude toward mixed abilities' correlate to more positive outcomes within their classrooms (Al-Subaiei, 2017). Teachers in our team can use this information because the problem of having students of mixed abilities is a ubiquitous one. It enlightens the reader that many teachers have not received adequate training regarding differentiation to provide effective lessons to classes that contain learners of mixed abilities. While Al-Subaiei (2017) doesn't offer solutions specific to any particular subject area, it certainly does shine a light and help teachers reflect on an issue that we all face to varying degrees. References Al-Subaiei, M. S. (2017). Challenges in Mixed Ability Classes and Strategies Utilized by ELI Teachers to Cope with Them. English Language Teaching, 10(6), 182-189. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1143456&site=eds-live&scope=site

This article compares Western teaching and learning with Asian (specifically Japan) learning/ Instruction. The author, Buchanan, touches on the methods used to differentiate such as for Gifted and Talented learners. Buchanan then gives suggestyions on improving teaching as a whole.

This article discusses strategies of detracking students, working with families (i.e. community schools), and better ways of working with students of diverse backgrounds and how these strategies worked to close the achievement gaps.

The first source I found appears to be useful for educators who may not be certified in ESOL, but have ELL students. It breaks down the different types of ELL learners and this could be important when planning and implementing activities. It also helps the teacher get to know the student better and show empathy and compassion. This article is related to "older" ELL students and our data is from a high school class, so therefore some of the solutions for success offered could help these students if implemented. I also like that it emphasizes teaching language through content. This is important because students might understand the general idea, but cannot make certain connections due to language barriers. Therefore, breaking through those barriers might be all the student need to make the connection desired. I also like that it provides questions with answers! This could be very helpful for our group!