Supporting English learners in a K-5 classroom requires a few key strategies that make grade-level content accessible. From sentence frames and academic language to proficiency-based differentiation across reading, writing, math, and science, these resources help you reach multilingual learners while strengthening instruction for every student.
Supporting English learners is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching in a K-5 classroom. With a few key strategies, you can make grade-level content accessible to multilingual learners while strengthening teaching for every student in the room.
Begin with the complete guide to supporting English learners in your classroom. It covers the classroom environment, the stages of language acquisition, sentence frames, differentiation by proficiency level, and building relationships with students and families.
New to supporting English learners?
Academic language is the vocabulary and sentence structure students need to participate in grade-level discussions and writing. These tools help English learners (and every student) express their thinking.
The most useful sentence frames are specific to what students are actually doing. Math frames look different from reading frames, which look different from writing frames. Here’s how to build them by content area.
English learners can’t access grade-level content without the words to understand it, but trying to teach every term on a long list backfires. These resources help you focus on the vocabulary that matters most and teach it in ways that stick.
English learners build language fastest when they have low-risk chances to talk, listen, and work alongside peers. Structured cooperative learning gives every student a role and a reason to use academic language, which takes the pressure off your newest learners while keeping them engaged.
Here’s everything we’ve published on supporting English learners, from quick classroom strategies to full subject-specific resources. Browse the complete collection below.
You have a new student in your classroom, and she speaks very little English. She watches everything carefully, follows what other students do, and rarely raises her hand. You want…
If you’re teaching informational writing in grades 3–5, one of the biggest challenges students face is knowing how to start their sentences. Informational writing sentence starters, sometimes called informational paragraph…
“Turn and Talk” is a powerful, quick-response discussion technique that gives students a chance to process their thoughts out loud, practice active listening, and connect with their peers. If you’re…
Sentence stems and sentence frames are powerful tools for helping elementary school students, particularly English learners, learn academic language. Providing a scaffold of language to build on, sentence frames, sentence…
Are you wondering how you can provide valuable support for students’ reading comprehension, particularly for those who are still learning to read in English? These Reading Comprehension Bookmarks are designed…
Many teachers have English learners in their classrooms. I have a particular group of second-grade English learners who are struggling with reading fluency. They can read the words but are…
This Location and Map Skills Social Studies Unit teaches students about North American landforms, urban, rural, and suburban communities, grid maps, and family history. It is a perfect unit for…
Have you ever observed a teacher teaching a group of students and noticed how much the teacher talked vs the students? As a teacher, I have often had to stop…
Reading Comprehension can be difficult for students, even those with great reading skills. When we ask students to explain their thinking or write about what they read, it’s almost like…
Do your students struggle to express their thinking in math? Mine do! Developing students’ language skills by focusing on mathematical vocabulary and using sentence frames in math helps students learn the language…
Some students, including English learners or impoverished children, come to school not having the academic language at their fingertips to express their thinking. They have great things going on in…
Do you have a problem finding time to focus on Science in the early elementary grades? I find it challenging to find the time for science and as a result,…
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