The Literary Crisis Among ELLs
News for the Week of Tuesday, November 27th
English Language Learners are the fastest growing group in U.S. schools. However, their literary needs aren't being met. As a whole, they score below average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in the reading section. What can we do to build literacy skills in these students?
Facts and Figures
Reading Performance
The majority of 8th grade ELL students scored at the below basic level on the reading portion of the NAEP in 2005.
Enrollment Growth
The rate of growth for ELL students K-12 from 1995-2005.
Languages
The languages most often spoken at home among adolescent ELLs.
Additional Reading & Information
The New Teacher Book: Strategies For Improving Instruction For English Language Learners
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/publication/newteacher/ntbilingual.shtml
This article gives suggestions for teachers on how to better help ELL students learn and understand within the classroom.
More Ideas for New Teachers!
This is a Youtube clip of more suggestions to teacher to help ELL students in the classroom.
Colorín Colorado: Reading Comprehension Strategies
Colorín Colorado is a bilingual website for families and teachers of English language learners. This site offers tons of resources and information for strategies, technology, assessment, and more.
This article by Colorín Colorado goes more in depth on strategies for reading comprehension for ELLs. It explains why reading comprehension is important for ELLs and tells how to teach comprehension skills.
Bridging the Achievement Gap for English Language Learners
Bridging the Achievement Gap for English Language Learners
Latino students are the largest ethnic minority group in the Southwest and the fastest-growing nationally. Yet Department of Education data shows they consistently perform poorly on state tests and have lower graduation rates than whites. Reporter Ruxandra Guidi takes a look at efforts to bridge the Latino achievement gap among a growing population: English Language Learners.
Best Practices in an ELL Classroom