English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies That Work

Written by an award-winning practitioner, English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies that Work offers educators a five-step methodology for teaching this burgeoning population. Rather than viewing these students through the typical lens of "deficits" they might have, the process helps educators recognize and use the assets ELLs bring to the classroom.The five principles around which the process revolves are: building relationships, accessing prior knowledge through student stories, developing student leadership, learning by doing, and reflection. The book shows how these ideas can be used in all subject areas to help ELLs master both content and language using "high-order" thinking skills. In addition to providing detailed lessons, the book shares a framework teachers can use to create their own lessons, and it shows how to take advantage of technology and games as teaching tools. References to extensive research studies are included to provide evidence of effectiveness, and each lesson is linked to state standards in English Language development.

Larry Ferlazzo teaches English language learners at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, CA. He cowrote Building Parent Engagement in Schools, writes a popular blog for ELL teachers, http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org, and has won numerous awards, including the Leadership For A Changing World award from the Ford Foundation in 2002. He was the grand-prize winner of the International Reading Association Award for Technology and Reading in 2007.