Helping English Language Learners Understand Content-Area Texts

Published by the Indiana Department of Education, this guide provides clear, detailed instructions for making content-area text accessible to ELLs. The guide begins with a description of how teachers can survey textbooks in advance to identify potential areas of difficulty for ELLs. Also included are sections on building background knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary and concepts, pre-reading strategies to increase comprehension, introducing the text, reading the text, demonstrating comprehension through speaking, and demonstrating comprehension through writing.