Differentiating Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners: A Guide for K-12 Teachers
ISBN: 978-1-934-000-02-1
Publication Date: May 2010
This comprehensive guide shows general education and ESL teachers how to differentiate instruction and assessment for the English language learners in their classes. The book provides concrete strategies that teachers can use in any content-area classroom to engage every ELL, from beginning to advanced levels of English language proficiency. The authors highlight how teachers can address critical differences between ELLs with a strong foundation in the first language and students with limited former schooling. The book is aligned with national and state English language proficiency standards and assessments, and it gives teachers tools to ensure that every ELL develops the academic language they need to succeed at school.
Included with the book is a quick-reference poster that organizes student descriptors, appropriate assessments, and instructional strategies according to English language proficiency level.
Key Features
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TABLE OF CONTENTS [ click to expand ]
2. General Principles of ELL Assessment and Instruction
3. Differentiation Strategies for Level 1 Students
4. Differentiation Strategies for Level 2 Students
5. Differentiation Strategies for Level 3 Students
6. Differentiation Strategies for Level 4 Students
7. Differentiation Strategies for Level 5 Students
8. Bringing It All Together in Elementary, Middle, and High School Classrooms
WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING [ click to expand ]
Tim Boals, Ph.D.
Executive Director, WIDA Consortium, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
From the Foreword...
Over the past few years several books and articles have come out on the topic of differentiating instruction for students with various needs. Many of these works have been helpful and teachers are more aware than ever before of the need to develop differentiated learning environments for students who are not well served by the mainstream school experience. And yet the topic of differentiating instruction as it pertains to academic language development for English language learners (ELLs) is still scarcely addressed and poorly understood at a time when the number of ELLs has surpassed 5 million across the United States.
Hence my excitement when I read Shelley Fairbairn and Stephaney Jones-Vo's guide written for all teachers who work with ELLs. I have been hoping someone would take the time to write a resource for teachers that clearly articulates the many needs ELLs have, but more importantly, goes the extra step and provides examples that teachers can follow as they differentiate language expectations in diverse classrooms. Differentiating Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners is an important resource for teachers precisely because it provides charts and activities that are easy to understand and return to long after an initial reading. At WIDA we often talk about illustrating the linguistic pathways ELLs need to be successful in all their academic subjects. This guide makes a significant contribution to recognizing and differentiating for ELLs' growth along a path from the beginning through the more advanced levels of proficiency. The most striking features are prose that is thorough yet "readable", the true-to-life scenarios of students and teachers, the focus on classroom assessment strategies, and the connections to TESOL and WIDA's English language proficiency standards that illustrate the demands of core content area classrooms.
The notion that we must explicitly teach academic language within all school classrooms is gaining ground today. Gone are the assumptions of language learning "by osmosis" or that a specialized language arts curriculum alone can provide what ELLs need. Even under the best of classroom circumstances where teachers use a variety of student-centered methodologies, there is still a role for developing meta-awareness of academic languages. To engage students in this kind of intellectual work, teachers have to develop awareness of language and the ways that language is uniquely employed within their class and across different academic subjects. Such attention to academic language helps ELLs access the core school curriculum, but it also supports any learner who struggles with the discourses of school. This guide is packed with ideas for purposeful and differentiated language instruction and assessment that can be applied throughout most content classrooms. It provides a guide for any teacher who is eager to assure that students are learning deeply. I predict this text will be as popular with teachers already facing the daily challenges of educating ELLs as it will be in unversity teacher preservice programs. As teachers read it and make use of the strategies, they will begin to share the excitement I felt at finally seeing a guide that addresses language differentiation for ELLs.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS [ click to expand ]
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Shelley Fairbairn Shelley Fairbairn, Ph.D., is a professor at the Drake University School of Education and a national teacher professional development consultant. Fairbairn specializes in instruction and assessment of K-12 English language learners, cultural and linguistic diversity issues, and teacher education. |
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Stephaney Jones-Vo Stephaney Jones-Vo, M.A., is an ESL/Diversity consultant and professional developer at Heartland Area Education Agency in Iowa. Jones-Vo has extensive experience as a K-12 ESL teacher, Title III grant director, refugee resettlement volunteer, and private consultant in meeting the needs of newcomers. She also collaborates with businesses to design and deliver industry-specific ESL classes that promote workplace success. |