Scaffolding English Language Learners (ELLs) for Writing Success
Instruction in Academic Vocabulary
The selection of vocabulary for teaching is predicated on its significance for comprehending the text and its frequent appearance within texts at the designated grade level. The strategies employed to instruct academic vocabulary in these lessons remain consistent, including the utilization of engaging informational texts as a foundation for intensive vocabulary teaching, the identification of a limited set of academic vocabulary words for in-depth instruction, the comprehensive teaching of vocabulary through various modalities (writing, listening, and speaking), and the impartation of word-learning strategies to students to enable them to decipher word meanings independently. Engaging texts are a platform for rigorous vocabulary instruction, encompassing pre-teaching conceptually complex vocabulary, exposing students to target words in diverse contexts, and fostering profound comprehension of word meanings. The vocabulary of lesser complexity is conveyed by embedding comprehensible definitions into the text and its surrounding discourse. The instruction maintains its intensity as students acquire vocabulary through glossaries and text-dependent questions centered on word and phrase meanings. Multiple modalities, encompassing language, gestures, and visuals, are employed by educators to elucidate word meanings. Furthermore, students are equipped with word-learning strategies that leverage context, cognate knowledge, dictionaries, and morphology to aid in deducing the meanings of unfamiliar words and phrases (August and Fenner, 2014).
Integration of Oral and Written Language Instruction in Content Area Teaching
The techniques employed to integrate oral and written language into content area instruction in the lessons align with recent research findings. These techniques encompass the strategic use of instructional tools, like visuals, short videos, and graphic organizers, to anchor instruction and facilitate students\' content comprehension. Furthermore, content-specific academic vocabulary and the overarching academic language that bolsters it are systematically introduced during content-area lessons. Students are encouraged to partake in daily discussions related to the subject matter in pairs and small groups, with opportunities for writing exercises to deepen their understanding of the content. The lessons, for instance, strategically employ instructional tools such as short videos, visuals, and graphic organizers to enhance the comprehensibility of text and discourse. Supplementary questions guide students toward answers to overarching text-dependent questions, and glossaries are employed to define words and phrases critical for comprehending the text. These lessons systematically teach and provide opportunities for students to utilize content-specific and general academic vocabulary before, during, and following close reading activities. Nearly all instructional activities allow students to expand their learning by composing constructed responses to questions while reading narratives, informational or explanatory texts, and arguments related to the anchor text (August and Fenner, 2014).
Providing Regular, Structured Opportunities for Multifaceted Reading
The Common Core State Standards advocate for multifaceted reading purposes. The research underscores the importance of allowing ELLs to read for various purposes. Firstly, if the text contains cultural, historical, or thematic information that ELLs may not have acquired, they are directed to supplementary texts to acquire such knowledge. Additionally, instructors present the core text orally, demonstrating fluent reading as students listen attentively and read along in their respective materials. This oral reading provides teachers with opportunities to elucidate vocabulary within context. Thirdly, ELLs read to respond to questions regarding critical ideas and details. Fourthly, students revisit the text to identify unfamiliar vocabulary and sections they did not initially comprehend. Lastly, ELLs review the text to analyze craft and structure, integrating knowledge and ideas. The scaffolding techniques delineated in the earlier section of this approach are consistently implemented throughout (August and Fenner, 2014).
Providing Regular, Structured Opportunities for Writing
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