RtI for ELLs

Today my colleague (thanks Sarah!) introduced me to these short videos available through the RtI Action Network.

I love these videos because Janette Klinger addresses many of the issues our school is currently dealing with. Our school is 95%+ ELL, so implementing RtI, teaching all students in the general ed classrooms, and qualifying and identifying ELL students for Special Ed look should be tweaked accordingly to support our population.

Klinger voices many of the concerns I had going into RtI implementation at our school. Like she mentions, many teachers have a hard time distinguishing between students in the process of language acquisition and students with learning disabilities. It takes training to be able to tease out the underlying issues that is affecting student performance.

Check out out these videos:

Janette Klingner: Realizing the Potential of RTI: Considerations When Implementing RTI with English Language Learners


Janette Klingner: Response to Intervention With English Language Learners


If you're a teacher, how do you differentiate your lessons to support your ELL students?

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Tell Me a Story Cards

Today I bought these Fairytale Mixups Creative Story Cards for my almost-3-year-old niece. Who would have guessed that she would love these? She did. She instantly (and without any directions or help) began using the picture cards to make up her own stories. She then preceded carry them around everywhere and play with them for the next hour or so. How wonderful is that?

As I literacy specialist, I know that activities like this are helpful for preschoolers to build important literacy skills before they enter school. Yeah for literacy! These cards encourage vocabulary development, foster creativity, help a child to understand character and story elements (beginning, middle, end, climax, etc...), and give a child the biggest gift of all- enthusiasm about stories.

If you're looking for a good birthday present go-to, or a fun, yet educational, rainy day activity for a wee one- these cards would be a fantastic choice. I am also thinking of picking up a set of these for my students that are learning English; they would be perfect to encourage speaking in complete sentences, using new vocabulary, and so much more. These cards would also be great for Speech Therapists or Special Education Teachers.