Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Comprehension: Helping ELLs Grasp the Full Picture
This free webcast is available online anytime.
It is made possible by AFT Teachers, a division of the American Federation of Teachers, as part of a Colorín Colorado partnership between AFT and Reading Rockets.
This webcast will discuss effective reading comprehension strategies for teaching English language learner students.
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Program description
This 45-minute webcast offers practical information on how to teach English language learners effective comprehension skills.
Moderator
Delia Pompa is the moderator of this webcast. She is the Vice President of the Center for Community Educational Excellence, at the National Council of La Raza.
Presenters
Dr. Cynthia Lundgren is a Professor in Second Language Teaching and Learning at Hamline University. She works extensively with K-12 teachers on strategies they can use to make content more accessible to English language learners.
Kristina Robertson is an ELL Program Specialist for Minneapolis Public Schools, and a licensed K-12 ESL teacher. She advises teachers and administrators on best practices.
Recommended readings
Articles about comprehension instruction for ELLs
- The SIOP Model of Sheltered Instruction (Center for Applied Linguistics)
- Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in English Language Learners: Final Performance Report, by Barry McLaughlin, Diane August, and Catherine Snow
- Thematic Literature and Curriculum for English Language Learners in Early Childhood Education, by Betty Ansin Smallwood (ERIC)
- Supporting the Development of English Literacy in English Language Learners: Issues and Promising Practices, by Diane August (ERIC)
- Improving Adequate Yearly Progress for English Language Learners (168K PDF)*, by Charlene Cobb (North Central Educational Laboratory)
- Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners, by Bracken Reed and Jennifer Railsback (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory)
Discussion questions
- How is vocabulary related to comprehension?
- Describe some activities you've used with ELL students to tap into their prior knowledge of a topic.
- Compare and contrast the teaching of comprehension strategies to ELL studentsand students for whom English is their first language.
- Consider a classroom reading book you recently used. What vocabulary or concepts were presented in the book that could cause confusion for ELL learners? What could you do to scaffold the read aloud experience that would benefit ELL learners?
- Create a semantic map that could be used in your class. How could you use this map to plan further learning experiences?
Download resources*
- List of common cognates (156KB PDF)
- Signal words (61KB PDF)
- Table of academic language functions (24KB PDF)
- Sample assessment form for reading skills (102KB PDF)
- Sample assessment form for reading strategies (102KB PDF)
* To view this file, you'll need a copy of Acrobat Reader. Most computers already have it installed. If yours does not, you can download it now.
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