Unlocking English Learners Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible

Writing for teachers of English as a second language, but more for those who are teaching other content in English to students who are just learning English, Fenner and Snyder describe strategies for making the content accessible to English learners. They cover why to use the book to support English learners, using a culturally responsive framework to meeting the needs of English learners, scaffolding instruction, academic conversations: a tool for fostering English learners' oral language development, teaching academic language to English learners, vocabulary instruction, teaching English learners background knowledge, supporting English learners' reading for multiple purposes by using scaffolded text-development questions, and formative assessment for English learners. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
“Schools are not intentionally equitable places for English learners to achieve, but they could be if the right system of support were put in place. Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder recommend just such a system. Not only does it have significant potential for providing fuller access to the core curriculum, it also provides a path for teachers to travel as they navigate the individual needs of students and support their learning journeys.”—Douglas Fisher, Coauthor of Visible Learning for LiteracyA once-in-a-generation text for assisting a new generation of studentsContent teachers and ESOL teachers, take special note: if you’re looking for a single resource to help your English learners meet the same challenging content standards as their English-proficient peers, your search is complete. Just dip into this toolbox of strategies, examples, templates, and activities from EL authorities Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder. The best part? Unlocking English Learners’ Potential supports teachers across all levels of experience.The question is not if English learners can succeed in today’s more rigorous classrooms, but how. Unlocking English Learners’ Potential is all about the how: - How to scaffold ELs’ instruction across content and grade levels  - How to promote ELs’ oral language development and academic language - How to help ELs analyze text through close reading and text-dependent questions  - How to build ELs’ background knowledge - How to design and use formative assessment with ELsAlong the way, you’ll build the collaboration, advocacy, and leadership skills that we all need if we’re to fully support our English learners. After all, any one of us with at least one student acquiring English is now a teacher of ELs.