Activities for English Learners: Supporting ELs in the Classroom
- Jan 18
- 3 min read
Jairo Rueda, Monett Elementary School, Monett, MO
Introduction
The Monett School District boasts a richly diverse student body, with English Learners (ELs) representing the fastest-growing demographic nationwide, having increased by 60% over the last decade (Breiseth, 2015). Our district welcomes students from various countries, with Spanish being the predominant language among our diverse learners. The primary aim of this project is to provide engaging activities for newcomers and EL students during free time, supporting teachers in fostering English language development. These bilingual activities cater to Spanish-speaking students, enabling them to work independently, with peers, or under teacher guidance. Housed in tote bags, these activities encompass the four modalities of language learning: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Each classroom teacher at Monett Elementary School will receive a kit, to be collected at the end of the school year.
Step-by-Step Plan
Target audience: ELs, newcomers, and classroom teachers
Curate bilingual activities in English and Spanish covering listening, reading, speaking, and writing
Procure bilingual and Spanish books
Organize activities into tote bags
Distribute tote bags to all classroom teachers at the school year's outset
Instruct teachers and students on activity utilization
Encourage teachers to incorporate additional activities for ELs and newcomers
ELD department to supplement activities throughout the year
Retrieve tote bags at year's end
Budget
Scholastic
Spanish Nonfiction K-3
Best Bilingual Books Grades 2-4
Let’s Be Friends Bilingual Grades K-2
Classic Bilingual Tales Grades K-2
Amazon
My First 150 Sight Words Workbook: (Ages 6-8) Bilingual
My First 500 English/Spanish Words/Mis primeras 500 palabras
ABC Learning Flash Cards for Toddlers 2-4 Bilingual Spanish English
24-Pack Reusable Tote Bags
Sustainability
Each Monett Elementary classroom will receive a tote bag at the start of the year, providing ongoing resources for ELs and newcomers. At year-end, tote bags will be collected, replenished, and redistributed for subsequent years. Teachers are encouraged to add activities, fostering continual growth in English proficiency. This project's framework allows for replication, either with the same activities or new ones supporting the four language learning modalities.
Reflections
Implementing this project in our school has been immensely rewarding. Many teachers struggle to support ELs and newcomers effectively, especially as their numbers grow. Our district sees significant growth in these demographics, particularly at the elementary level, with students mainly arriving from Mexico and Guatemala, predominantly Spanish speakers, with some speaking regional dialects.
The activities utilized for this project have been wonderful. It is awesome to see the excitement of the ELs and newcomer students when using the learning flash cards device. With these popular devices, teachers have been able to encourage students to work on their visual and auditory learning skills every day.
When organizing the tote bags, there was more space than I expected, so I plan to add more activities next year. I also encouraged classroom teachers to add any resources that would benefit ELs and newcomers. Since I ordered multiple titles, I will swap out these books once a month. I may also add books from the school library.
At first, I thought about sending the activities home with students, but then I realized that ELs and newcomers need help at school, too. Having my project at school would make it easier for all ELs, newcomers, and teachers to use the activities. Still, I want to see if we can also do some of these activities at home. I think families would like having activities that help their kids learn in both their home language and English.
Resources
Breiseth, L. (2015). What you need to know about ELLs: Fast facts. ¡Colorín Colorado! https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/what-you-need-know-about-ells-fast-facts
