By: Mary Campbell &
Mariella Duarte
Helping to Reach our
LEP Students
What is Exc-ELL? It is an evidence-based instruction model for
intergrating academic language, literacy, and content domain knowledge
Basically, its focus is on learning by reading and writing using academic language.
It is NOT something extra you need to do in your classroom. It is a set of tools that make
teaching content easier
EXC-ELL
THE THREE COMPONENTS:
Vocabulary, Reading, &
Writing
VOCABULARY
How to Select Words to Teach:
Select words outside of the bold ones in the text. Focus on
polysemous words (words that have multiple meaning and can be used
outside of the text. Example: State)
VOCABULARY
Small TalkSweet TalkTalk Shop
Talk in RiddlesTalk your Ears off
Talking to a Brick WallSpit it OutPep Talk
Talk your Way Out of It
MORE EXAMPLES
One gray winter day the elderly queen summoned all her grandchildren to the castle. “I have been fortunate to have lived a long life,” she said. “But in time your generation will rule the
country. You must work persistently to help the people and take care of the
land.”“We will always work hard,” the
children replied.“You must also be faithful to your
brothers and sisters, no matter what,” the queen said.
EXAMPLE IN CONTEXT
1.) Select Vocabulary to pre-teach before presenting the content, teacher read aloud, or student reading of any
text2.) Teach vocabulary using 7 steps
with ample student interaction3.) Students read, discuss, and write
using the new vocabulary
HOW TO TEACH VOCABULARY
1.) Teacher says the word2.) Teacher asks the students to repeat the
word 3 times3.) Teacher states the word in context from
the text4.) Teacher provides the dictionary
definition(s). 5.) Teacher explains the meaning with
student-friendly definitions6.) Engage students in activities to develop
word/concept knowledge7.) Highlight grammar, spelling, polysemy,
etc.
7 STEPS TO PRE-TEACHING VOCABULARY
1.) Teacher says the word2.) Teacher asks the students
to repeat the word 3 times3.) Teacher states the word in
context from the text4.) Teacher provides the dictionary definition(s). 5.) Teacher explains the
meaning with student-friendly definitions
6.) Engage students in activities to develop
word/concept knowledge7.) Highlight grammar,
spelling, polysemy, etc.
1.) Continent2.) Ask students to say the word
Continent three times 3.) Antarctica is a very cold
continent4.) Any one of the seven large continuous land masses that
constitute most of the dry land on the surface of the earth
5.) Point to Antarctica on the globe and indicate that it is a
continent6.) Ask students to show you the continent they are currently in,
and which continent their relatives have come from.
7.) Is continent a cognate with your language?
7-STEPS IN CONTEXT
READING
Before ReadingHook the ReaderBuild BackgroundConnect with Prior
KnowledgePre-Teach Vocabulary
ImplicitlyPreview Text with
StudentsSet Purpose for
Reading
READING
Why should you do Read Alouds in Secondary?
1.) It Builds Fluency2.) Models Self-Correction3.) Models Fix It Strategies4.) Extends Comprehension
5.) Teaches more Words*Make sure to select shorter readings
that are more in-depth!
READ ALOUD & THINK ALOUD?
From one day to the next, weather can have a big effect on your life.
When it rains, you have to stay indoors or carry an umbrella. When
it’s cold, you have to bundle up. Over the course of hundreds,
thousands, and millions of years, weather trends affect life on Earth in more dramatic ways. Ice ages or long droughts, for example, can wipe out certain types of plants and animals.
SAMPLE READ ALOUD:
Echo Reading1-2-1
#1’s are the native speakers#2 is the newcomer or struggling student
Student 1 reads a sentence. Student 2 repeats. Other Student 1 reads a new
sentence. Student 2 repeats. Continue.
PARTNER READING
Option 2: Partner A reads. Partner B helps.
Partner A retells what happened in the first paragraph. Partner B adds details (The
person who reads the page always retells.) The teacher leads a short discussion of the
page to check comprehension. As part of the discussion, partners share a word that was difficult for them and the strategy they
used to read it.
PARTNER READING
Partners discuss what they learnedMap out main ideas or critical elementsFind word meanings they don’t know
Work on their word banksGive each other spelling pre-test
Practice formulating questions from the reading
Work on pronunciation of new wordsWrite about the reading
Play word games
SPONGE ACTIVITIES
1.) Put students into heterogeneous groups2.) SW clear their desks, except for one piece of paper and pencil for the whole
group3.) Each student writes an answer and
passes the paper to the right4.) Everyone must write an answer
5.) Continue this process until time is called
ROUND TABLE
Give students one minute to look over a text with vocabulary or key concept
Groups should have about 1 minute to take turns writing a word or word cluster from the text
Stop the students after 1 minute Have groups count how many words and word clusters that
they have (for word clusters, count every word. Example: Over the course of hundreds of years = 7 words)
Give students another minute to look over the text. Have students put their heads together to come up with a
strategy to improve their team total Repeat the same activity and have groups try to beat their
first score (this is great to build fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and to practice rereading carefully)
ROUND TABLE
Have students create questions or tasks based on the Bloom’s Taxonomy
SW make up the questions and assignments based on what they learned throughout the unit or just in a week. It is a great activity for ELL’s (English Language Learners) because it allows
them to critically think about the text and encourages them to read, reread, and reread
again to make up their own questions and assignments. ( Let me know if you would like a spreadsheet of all of the Bloom’s Levels like the
example table above)
QUESTIONING
Example: Unit: Insects
Level 1: Knowledge/ Remembering = What is an example of an insect?Level 2: Comprehension/Understanding = Describe the parts of an
insect. Draw and label an example of an insect.Level 3: Application = Explain the difference between an insect and a
worm.Level 4: Analyzing = Categorize different types of insects based on the
readingLevel 5: Evaluate = Judge the life of an insect. Would you want to be an
insect? Why or why not?Level 6: Create = Make a 3D model to show the features of an insect and how it lives in its natural habitat or Make a play with dialogue
where you impersonate and think about the challenges you would face as an insect
EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS
WRITING
Students should be writing for a specific purpose every day! Some great ways for students to assess student’s
comprehension quickly are: Data Journal: SW summarize what they learned today and highlight
vocabulary or key concepts Ticket out the Door/ Exit Pass: Ask students a simple question based on
the lesson. This can be a concept, vocabulary, strategy, all of the above, etc. Students can write these on an index card, stickey note, or a blank sheet of paper. You can quickly glance to see if they got it. Keep track
of these exit passes to track students’ growth throughout the year. Creative Writing: Have students write a story of their choice using the
vocabulary words or to explain a concept (Let the students be as creative as they want. Example: if you are learning about water, have
students write an adventure story about a water droplet using vocabulary or write a mystery story about people who lived in ancient
Egypt.
WRITING
Modeling the Writing Process is one of the best ways to improve
writing skills.
Collaborative and Cooperative Strategies have proven to work the best for students learning English
MODELING WRITING
Give students regular practice with good writing skills. A great tool for this is to show a sentence or several a
day and allow students to make corrections. Example: miguel was gonna go to skool n help with the
Student fundRaiser but he overslept. This is only useful with repetition. Students should
share as a class to help all students writing skills. This exercise is also great because it makes students read,
reread, and correct. It is essential to start training students to practice reading what they wrote and
correct it. This is also great because it builds students critical thinking skills, necessary for EOGs/EOCs.
PRACTICING WRITING
Put students into groups of 3 or 4 Clear their desks except for pencil and paper.
Each student should have a pencil and paper Provide a sentence starter/ prompt or two and
let them choose:Example: Humans are the cause of global
warming due to… OR Nature is the cause of global warming due to…
Students will take turns adding a sentence and then passing the paper to the right
Students should continue adding on a sentence to the paper until time is called
WRITE AROUND
DOOR PRIZES
What are the three components of Exc-ELL?
Answer: Vocabulary, Reading, & Writing
QUESTION #1
What is a Read Aloud/ Think Aloud and why is good for Secondary students?
Answer: It is modeling how to think as you are reading. It is great because it
builds fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and teaches good
reading skills
QUESTION #2
Name one way to integrate writing into your lesson as a
quick assessment
Answer: Data Journal, Exit pass, Free Write, etc.
QUESTION #3
VISITING OUR WIKI SITE:
Our site is: http://whitewateresl.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/
home
Please feel free to stop in or observe my class to see any of
these strategies!
CMS WIKI SITE
THANK YOU!