English Language Learners - A Guide to Differentiated Instruction … · 2020. 8. 7. · Differentiating instruction for English learners . may seem daunting, but ... instruction:

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A Guide to Differentiated Instruction for English Learners:

Ellevation Strategies

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Contents

A Letter From Our CEO 3

The Challenge 4

The Solution: Ellevation Strategies 4

Expertise In Action: Ellevation Instructional Advisory Board 6

Instructional Framework: Built on Research, Supporting Quality Professional Development 7

Discover Activities 9

What Features are Available With Ellevation Strategies? 11

Ellevation Strategies for Dual Language Programs 12

Implementation 15

Professional Learning 16

Appendix 18

A Guide to Differentiated Instruction for English Learners:

Ellevation Strategies

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Here’s a Letter From Our CEO

Imagine a classroom where linguistically diverse students are raising their hands and engaging their

peers in academic conversation Ellevation has been developed to do just that This Program Guide

was created to provide you with an overview of our instructional content and explain how we help

classroom teachers skillfully and confidently differentiate instruction for English Learners

Our best-practice instructional strategies and activities, curated by leading academic minds in the

field, support teachers in their instructional planning Best of all, the strategies and activities are

accessible to teachers anytime, anywhere--even as they are working late to develop engaging lesson

plans or preparing for a PLC Ellevation takes aim at prevailing PD models that are comprised of

1-day workshops, and instead provides districts with sustained, job-embedded, results-oriented

professional development

Ellevation was initially conceived in 2006 by an EL coordinator in North Carolina The inspiration for

creating the product grew out of the frustration that many EL professionals like her experience every

day; namely, overwhelming administrative burdens and communication obstacles that divert attention

away from student instruction Today, with our focus still rooted in the experience of educators, we

develop tools that simplify administrative obligations, save time, and enable the delivery of more

effective instruction so that EL students can thrive in school and beyond

Our talented team is formed by educators to serve educators, and we bring a diverse array of

experiences and expertise to the work In fact, many of our current employees are former ESL

teachers, administrators and English learners We are fortunate to serve over 850 school districts

across the country and have offices in Texas, North Carolina, California, Illinois, and Massachusetts

We hope this information provides a helpful introduction to Ellevation and how we hope to inform your

practice and support you in helping English learners achieve their highest aspirations

A Guide to Differentiated Instruction for English Learners: Ellevation Strategies

Sincerely,

Jordan Meranus

CEO & Co-Founder

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The Challenge

The Solution: Ellevation Strategies

English Learners now represent approximately

10% of all public school students in the U S and

this percentage is expected to increase over the

coming years As the number of ELs continues

to grow, it is important to note that they spend

a majority of their time in schools with content

area teachers, who according to a study by

Walker, Shafer, and Liams, feel overwhelmingly

underprepared to teach linguistically diverse

students At the same time, research indicates

that language is best learned within the context

of grade-level content

How can we best develop teacher capacity so

students are able to build language proficiency

and learn necessary content in the classrooms

where they spend most of their time?

The challenge is unmistakable All teachers

must develop the capacity to teach language

through content so ELs can build language

proficiency and learn the necessary academic

content at the same time

Every teacher who works with English

Learners can create a classroom that fosters

authentic learning, regardless of the student’s

proficiency in English By understanding a few

key principles of second language acquisition

and integrating best practices into planning,

instruction, and assessment, all teachers can

become teachers of language

Ellevation Strategies is an

effective and easy-to-use

instructional resource that

enables differentiated instruction

for ELs in all grades and content

areas Ellevation offers more

than 80 classroom activities

that teachers can incorporate

into existing lessons, ensuring

best-practice instruction

for ELs and making language

and content accessible to

every learner


Differentiating instruction for English learners

may seem daunting, but Ellevation can help.

The activities represent powerful teaching techniques

that empower teachers to enhance their practice

making grade-level content accessible for ELs while

engaging all students in sound pedagogical practices

Each activity has essential details to support quality

instruction: key student information, clear instructions,

downloadable resources, student-specific scaffolds,

demonstration videos, and more

The activities allow students to practice learning

language in various ways, while using content area

subject matter In a classroom using Ellevation,

students will better develop language proficiencies

and progress on the path to reclassification and

grade-level mastery of content

“Ellevation Strategies reflect best practices

for ELs and are research-based. The strategies

are presented in a practical, teacher-friendly

way so that they can be used effectively during

instruction in any grade level. The instruction-

al activities include the elements necessary

to improve both language acquisition and

content learning, and they address the unique

needs, struggles, and gaps in instruction that

often affect ELs.”

—Dr Jana Echevarria

Ellevation Strategies has earned the Research-Based

Design product certification from Digital Promise This

product certification is intended to serve as a rigorous,

reliable signal to school administrators, educators, and

families, looking for evidence of research-based educa-

tional technology (edtech) products

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Built in Collaboration With Leaders in Language Education

The development of Ellevation Strategies was guided by contributions from top experts in the field of

language learning and instruction


Tim Boals, Ph.D., Executive Director of WIDA

Dr Boals holds a Ph D in curriculum from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with

an emphasis in the education of English learners His background includes language

education, educational policy for ELs, and Spanish language and literature

John Seidlitz, Founder and CEO of Seidlitz Education

John Seidlitz is an independent educational consultant and the author of numerous

books and resources on improving academic achievement for ELs Mr Seidlitz has

been a member of the SIOP® National faculty and guest lecturer for many regional

and national language development conferences

Jeff Zwiers, Ed.D.,

Senior Researcher at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and the

Director of Professional Development Understanding Language/SCALE

Dr Zwiers has consulted for national and international projects that promote literacy,

lesson design, and formative assessment practices He has written articles and books

on literacy, cognition, discourse, and academic language

Jana Echevarria, Ph.D., Professor Emerita at California State University,

Long Beach

A founding researcher of the SIOP® Model, Dr Echevarria’s research focuses on effec-

tive instruction for English learners, including those with learning disabilities Her pub-

lications include over 50 books, book chapters, and journal articles

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Instructional Framework: Built on Research, Supporting Quality Professional Development

Ellevation Strategies was built upon the most relevant research-based, best practices of English

Language Development Our three-tiered Instructional Framework is organized into Practices,

Strategies and Activities which provide clear opportunities for teachers to develop their expertise and

help build engaging, language-rich classrooms that benefit all learners

In addition to being the organizing template for the activities, the Instructional Framework is uti-

lized by numerous partner districts as a guide for improving teacher practice through job-embedded

Professional Development such as supporting PLCs, collaborative planning and training to build edu-

cator capacity

The Framework Consists of Three Tiers: Practices, Strategies and Activities

Practices

The six vital, pedagogical building blocks that form the foundation of high-quality instruction that

meets the linguistic needs of ELs

Build Background

Learning takes place when it connects to students’ previous knowledge, experience, and capabilities

By taking purposeful time to both activate and build background knowledge, teachers can provide powerful pathways to new learning

Clarify Input

New language and content can only be learned when the student is able to clearly understand the input It is the responsibility of educators to ensure that students’ access to spoken and written language is appropriate and clear by attending to the special needs of English learners

Fortify Output

When students are given multiple writing and speaking opportuni-ties that are authentic, targeted, and meaningful, their language will become stronger and clearer Oral language development supports written language proficiency Incorporating writing activities into all content areas is critical for language and content knowledge development

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Strategies

The six Practices are broken into more than a dozen strategies, each focused on a specific instruc-

tional approach to meet the unique challenges ELs face in the classroom From sentence structure and

vocabulary to academic conversations, these teaching strategies will maximize language and

content learning for all students The strategies are put into action using 80 activities that teachers

can incorporate into existing standards-based lesson plans

Activities

An activity is a strategy in action It’s a way to enhance content and language for ELs by comple-

menting the instruction that is already in place These specific activities can be integrated in daily

lesson plans Each activity includes differentiated supports designed to address specific students’

language learning needs

“While content standards are the what to teach, Ellevation Strategies is the how to teach a

classroom of linguistically diverse students.”

Foster Interactions

Creating authentic interactions in which students are meaning-fully communicating develops language proficiency To be effective, these authentic interactions cannot be sporadic, but rather should constitute a consistent work-in-progress as stu-dents continue to become stronger and clearer communicators

Develop Academic Language

Academic language, the language of school and work, includes content-area vocabulary as well as sentences and messages Student development of grade-level academic vocabulary results from explicit teaching, modeling, and practice reading a wide range of authentic texts Attending to academic language and vocabulary will increase students’ ability to comprehend text at a higher level

Assess Language and Learning

Providing consistent opportunities for students to voice instructional needs, lack of understanding, and areas of mastery will drive effective ongoing instruction It’s critical that educators modify summative assessments to ensure that content, rather than language, is assessed

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Discover ActivitiesTeachers will find research-based instructional activities in ways that reflect their preferred method

of planning Whether using our content-focused Collections or our language-centered Practices,

teachers will find instructional activities that provide them with everything they need to know to incor-

porate the activity into any upcoming lesson to improve instruction and outcomes for their ELs

In addition to teachers being able to find the right “instructional moves”, we’ve aligned student

needs to instruction, providing practical ways to differentiate instruction for specific students Our

Support Suggestions, based on student proficiency levels, help teachers group students and scaffold

instruction, providing actionable tips for specific students Through use of these activities teachers will

improve their practice, support language development while teaching grade-level academic content,

and create classrooms that ensure every student succeeds Further, activities provide teachers with

in-depth instructions, videos and downloads including graphic organizers and other templates

“Ellevation Strategies equip teachers with specific approaches they can use to effectively facilitate academic conversation and writing

in content-area classrooms. Ellevation is particularly helpful in allowing mainstream, classroom teachers to target instruction to the

needs of their English learners by efficiently connecting particular content-area topics to the language levels of their students.”

—John Seidlitz

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Content

Our instructional activities are organized into hundreds of Collections that can be found by grade,

subject, and content-specific topics with relevant state standards Collections provide classroom

teachers who are teaching ELs with a way to find activities that best connect to the topics and

standards in their specific lessons Each Collection provides meaningful context for how to effectively

integrate the activities into lesson plans

Language

Educators can also discover activities based on Ellevation Instructional Practices, which allow

teachers to find instructional activities created to meet the linguistic needs of ELs

“Ellevation Strategies has selected and clarified the most powerful teaching

strategies for integrating content learning and language development for

a wide range of students. Rather than “watering down” learning, rigor, and

engagement, these strategies challenge English learners and their

classmates to think and use language in authentic ways across disciplines.”

—Dr Jeff Zwiers

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What Features are Available With Ellevation Strategies?

More than just a bank of activities, Ellevation ties the instructional content to student data to enable

differentiated instruction Here are a few more helpful features and functions you’ll find in Ellevation:

Saving Activities

With so many high-quality activities to choose from, Ellevation allows users to save their favorites

in custom folders Planning a future unit on the water cycle and want to save activities that focus on

academic language to try later with your students? Simply create a new folder for your water cycle unit

and sequence the activities you’d like to try, days or even weeks ahead of time!

Sharing Activities

Improve collaboration and fidelity across all of the classrooms in your school All Activities can be

shared by any user of Ellevation, so principals or instructional coaches can share with teachers, or edu-

cators can share with the other members in their team or department When an activity is shared, the

receiving teacher gets an email directly into their inbox - making Ellevation’s resources visible and easy

to access for everyone

Recommending Activities

A feature of Ellevation Strategies is one that will have a persistent impact on students’ mastery

of language: the ability for an EL Specialist to recommend an activity for specific students With

Strategies, users can simply visit a student’s record in Ellevation, and recommend some carefully

selected activities for that student based on his or her most pressing language need or based on a

student data meeting Once the recommendation is made, all of the student’s classroom teachers will

instantly see the activity on the student profile, and can start immediately planning to use it in

their lessons

Content Examples

Each activity has an ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies example for its identified grade bands

In total, in the 80 activities there are more than 1,100 content examples

Every content example includes:

■■ Content Objective

■■ Language Objective

■■ 4-6 procedural steps for teachers and students which summarize the activity with content

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Ellevation Strategies for Dual Language Programs

To meet the needs of a growing number of dual language programs across the U S , we’ve developed an ex-

tended version of Ellevation Strategies specifically designed to strengthen all pillars of your dual language

program

Ellevation Strategies for Dual Language programs provides comprehensive, instructional resources for all

program types, and timely data at the student and program level

Realize High Academic Achievement for all Multilingual Students

Now you can provide dual language educators with high-quality instructional resources in both English

and Spanish With Ellevation’s Dual Language component, your team has access to over 100 profes-

sionally transadapted instructional activities, including downloads, ensuring teachers can integrate

effective, best-practice techniques into their regular routines

Promote Bilingualism, Biliteracy, and Cross-Cultural Competency

In addition to resources that promote high-academic achievement, empower your teachers with

dozens of research-based unique activities that are authentic to the Spanish language and its varia-

tions Your teachers will be able to plan meaningful lessons in both languages, build biliteracy, develop

socio-cultural competency, and bridge your program’s two target languages

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Build Dual Language Teacher Capacity

Our Framework gives all dual language educators access to instructional practices specific to biliter-

acy and cultural competency With our Instructional Framework as a shared resource, you can advance

your teachers’ expertise with detailed explanations of key strategies and opportunities for rich discus-

sion and reflection The Framework addresses topics such as intentional cross-linguistic connections,

purposeful analysis of the two languages, translanguaging tips, and embracing cultural diversity that

welcomes all students and the language they bring Your teachers will better comprehend the ele-

ments needed in each lesson to address the three core goals of dual language

Visualize Key Data and Track Program Success

In addition to robust instructional support, you’ll be able to view language assessment data side-by-

side on dashboards, track language development, and better plan instruction for your target groups

To make program improvements and ensure continued support for your program, visualize and share

essential data about language of instruction, enrollment, performance on assessments, and more

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Developed in Collaboration With Leading Language Experts

Our Dual Language instructional strategies and routines were developed in collaboration with Dr José

Medina and Dr Sonia Soltero


Dr José Medina is the founder and Chief

Educational Advocate for Dr José Medina:

Educational Solutions Prior to establishing

the boutique consulting firm, Dr Medina

served as Research Scientist and Director

of Dual Language and Bilingual Education

at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)

in Washington, DC Dr Medina provides dual

language technical assistance, professional

development, and job-embedded support

to dual language programs across the

United States and globally He has served

as an administrator/educator/advocate at

the elementary, middle, and high school

levels Dr Medina is a co-author of the third

edition and widely-used Guiding Principles

for Dual Language Education

Dr. José Medina Dr. Sonia SolteroDr Sonia W Soltero is Professor and Chair of

the Department of Leadership, Language,

and Curriculum, and former Director of the

Bilingual-Bicultural Education Graduate

Program at DePaul University in Chicago

Soltero has numerous publications on

bilingual education, English Learners, and

Latino education, including three books, the

latest two titled Dual Language Education:

Program Design and Implementation and

Schoolwide approaches to educating ELLs:

Creating linguistically and culturally respon-

sive K-12 schools. Soltero has extensive

background in design and implementation

of dual language and bilingual programs

and has worked with school districts as well

as bilingual universities across the US

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Grounded in research-based practices around implementation, Ellevation provides a comprehensive

package of services delivered by an experienced team of education and language experts From the

initial consultation with the district to support post-training, the implementation of Ellevation is based on

proven methodology to ensure a long-standing and successful partnership Furthermore, we understand

the importance of ensuring that Ellevation Strategies connects to ongoing initiatives at the district and

campus level We look for ways to create synergies across the entire district and work to bring everything

together so that teachers and administrators are able to see how we are a support structure for the work

that they have already been doing

The implementation process includes a series of strategic conversations focused on listening to the

vision and needs of the school or district, understanding the district instructional landscape and initia-

tives, and creating viable solutions that best leverage the work of the district

Our phased project management approach to implementation of Ellevation Strategies includes:

■■ Conducting a kickoff with key stakeholders, including leads from EL, Curriculum & Instruction,

Professional Development and site administrators, and establishing a District Success Team that

will ensure advocacy, investment and reinforcement of expectations for engagement throughout

the implementation

■■ Developing SMART goals and an implementation plan that includes communication, profes-

sional learning, and expectations for engagement

■■ Engagement meetings to support in assessing plans, monitoring and reflecting upon progress,

sharing best practices and making adjustments as needed

Implementation


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Professional Learning Ellevation provides blended and differentiated professional development that puts administrators,

teachers, specialists, and/or coaches at the center of their learning At Ellevation, we believe thoughtful

planning, sustained learning, consistent implementation, and evaluating success are key to an effective

implementation

What Does This Look Like?

District partners engage in Professional Learning that is blended and sustained over the course of a year

and is inclusive of training district personnel, campus administrators, teachers and specialists Professional

Learning includes understanding Ellevation, both use and implementation, aligning to district goals, devel-

oping the knowledge and skills of teachers, both content and ELL specialists, and ongoing support

Ellevation’s Professional Learning approach for Strategies training includes administrator workshops,

curriculum alignment sessions, district staff training, and training for campus teams

See below for descriptions of a few training sessions available, as well as blended opportunities that are

available

Ellevation Strategies: Planning for Campus Implementation

In this course participants will deepen skills to leverage Ellevation Strategies and understand how to

integrate language development into content Participants will be leaders in supporting successful roll

out at a site level and leave with clear plans and work time to prepare for implementations and effec-

tive instruction

Ellevation Strategies: Introduction for Educators (Distance Learning Option Available)

Tailored for an audience of campus administrators, Leveraging Leadership is an opportunity to

provide campus leaders with a deeper understanding of how Ellevation supports English Learners, both

from a programmatic and an instructional lens Campus administrators will walk away with a clear plan

to “make it happen” at their campus to ensure a successful implementation

Ellevation Strategies: Introduction for Campus Administrators

Campus Administrators will utilize Ellevation’s tools to analyze EL data and develop a plan that lever-

ages Ellevation Strategies to support campus implementation Leaders will walk away from training

with a knowledge of Ellevation’s data and instructional tools and an excitement about how Ellevation

can support them in their role

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Professional Learning Ellevation Academy

These courses encompass both asynchronous (on-demand courses) and synchronous courses

(Webinars: Instructor-Led and Recordings) to support ongoing learning Webinars are hosted at conve-

nient, regular intervals over the course of the year Users engage in a live instructor-led environment with

other districts On-Demand Learning Courses provide self-guided exploration and practice with Ellevation

through a variety of micro-learning (5-7 minutes) and macro-learning (lengthier and include concepts and

practice]

Appendix


An image is posted without any words or captions for all the students to see Students think about

and discuss the image After the discussion, students choose a word or short phrase that reflects their

interpretation about its meaning and write it on an index card with a hashtag A final discussion occurs

around shared and divergent words and ideas

Before Activity

✔ Select and post an image—without words—for the

activity Consider using photographs, magazine

clippings, cartoons, images from websites, or any

other visual resource

During Activity

✔ Direct the students’ attention to the posted image

Allow them to approach the image up close and

provide time for them to notice details

✔ In partners, groups, or as a whole class, have stu-

dents share their initial (direct) observations Then,

question students about the deeper (inferential)

meaning behind their initial observations

✔ After sufficient time is spent discussing the

image, ask students to think of one keyword or

short phrase that they think encapsulates the

image and write it on sticky notes with hashtag

(#) before it, the same way they might tag a photo

on social media

✔ As students finish their cards, have them come up

to the posted image and post their cards around

the image, creating a frame

✔ When the frame is finished and students have

had a chance to examine it, gather students

together as a whole class to reflect on similarities,

differences, surprises, context, or anything else

that they noticed about the words they assigned

to the image

Hanging Hashtags

Quick TipsThis activity may also be done with

videos or video clips, so long as an

image can be frozen on screen or

pulled from a printed source (such

as a movie poster)

Watch Out ForEmphasize the interpretative

freedom that comes with analyzing

art to create a safe place

where students feel free to share

their ideas

Evidence of SuccessStudents are able to discuss and

explain why they chose a word they

think is central to the image

Activity Details

Domain: Speaking

Grades: K-12

Grouping: Small Group, Full Classroom

Materials: Image, Think Sheet, Handout

Students organize vocabulary cards, called “bricks,” in an order that makes sense to them Next they

add their own words and phrases, or “mortar” to form sentences This constructivist activity has students

applying their knowledge and understanding of content terms to a more meaningful context

Before Activity

✔ Select 3-5 related vocabulary words or

key terms

✔ Write words or two-word terms on individual

index cards--one set per student or group

During Activity

✔ Model an example with other words that the

students know

✔ Pass out cards to students and instruct

them to order them in a way that makes the

most sense

✔ Allow students to share their work and

engage in collaborative discussion

✔ Instruct students to fill in words or phrases

to create sentences and a context Students

should pair with a peer and talk through each

sentence, comparing their application

✔ Gather students back together and talk

through the word cards and different ways

they can make sentences

Activity DetailsDomain: Reading

Grades: 2-12

Grouping: Pairs, Small Group, Full Classroom

Materials: Vocabulary words, Directions Slide

Building with Bricks and Mortar

Quick TipsIf students will be working in groups,

have them pre-planned; include

flexible grouping that allows for

peer language modeling

Encourage students to use oral

language first before they write the

connecting language

Watch Out ForCorrecting students on subject-verb

agreement and verb tenses could

raise anxiety Only model correct

grammar if it changes meaning

If students are very frustrated

they probably don’t have enough

knowledge of the vocabulary words

It’s time to back up

Evidence of SuccessStudents are adding the “mortar”

terms and phrases independently

or in groups

Students demonstrate flexibility

with their thinking and shift the

words as necessary

Documents

English Language Learners - A Guide to Differentiated Instruction … · 2020. 8. 7. · Differentiating instruction for English learners . may seem daunting, but ... instruction: