The Inquisitive Teacher
"Never be afraid to ask why."
ELD | Student Work
English Language Development (formerly ESL)
Vocabulary Development
Part of language development is understanding what different words mean, not just how to say and spell them. Fourth and fifth graders worked in their "vocab binders" on a daily basis to learn the meanings, parts of speech, synonyms, and antonyms of vocabulary used in the SuperKids language arts program.
Classmate Interviews
Students practiced all four domains of language acquisition (reading, writing, speaking, listening) as they interviewed each other. Both as a class and independently, students developed questions to ask each other. During the interview, they asked questions, listened for a response, and then recorded that response on a rough draft. Final copies were typed and students read the interview on SeeSaw for their parents to see/hear.
Technology for ELs
There are so many wonderful programs and apps that can be used in an ELD classroom as supplemental materials to aid in language acquisition and development for our ELs. In our classroom, DuoLingo was a big hit! Students can use the program both on an iPad or computer and the program adapts to the student's abilities and prior knowledge. Rosetta Stone is a similar program, but is mainly for use on the iPad. Both are great for student-directed learning.
