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Building our Toolkit Supporting Multilingual Learners

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Stanfield School District

November 2025

Signal Word: School Wide + English Learning

About Us...

Missi Thurman Dr. Andrea Fulsher

Ali Hurd Tessa Reeves

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Icebreaker

What number are you?

Chat with a partner!

• Explore the needs of Multilingual Learners and how to support them
• Learn or brush up on high impact teaching strategies
• Prepare to practice implementing new strategies
• Provide an opportunity for modeling, questions and answers

OBJECTIVES FOR THE DAY

Trajectory of Work with EdEx

• School Wide Language Learning + High Impact Instructional strategies (Today)
• High Impact Instructructional Strategies Training (Dec. and Feb. PD days)
• Individual Coaching (On-going)

Inquiry Chart

What Do We Know?

What Do We Want to Know?

Partner Talk

Partner A: Tell your partner about your morning routine to get ready for work.

Partner B: Tell your partner your morning routine but without using ANY words containing the letter “R”.

Debrief

• How did each of you feel when you were experiencing this activity?
• What connections can you make between this and what your language learners’ experience?

Types of Language Learners

• Highly literate newcomers
• Students with limited or interrupted formal education
• Recently arrived English Learners
• Long-Term English Learners

• Do you know what some of the students are in your classes?
• What questions do you have about these different classifications?

Zoom Out: Turn and Talk

• We should do this first with most whole group question posed!
• Allows students to process with a friend.
• Even if the English Learner doesn’t have an answer, allows peer to model.
• Lowers affective filter and might just get them to share out.

Zoom Out: Graphic Organizer

• Provides a way to organize complex information
• Allows students to categorize in a note-taking format
• Visual support for content
• Encourages active participation

Zoom Out: Sketch

• Helps imprint on the brain
• Allows students to draw ideas and understanding rather than use words
• Provides a visual
• Accessible at any level of language learning
• Student doesn’t need to be an artist, it’s just a quick sketch

Stages of Language Acquisition

Please sort the slips of paper in the envelope.

Headers: Stages, ELPA Level, Characteristics, Sample Language

Stages of Language Acquisition

Zoom Out: Sort

• Reduces language load
• Promotes active engagement
• Allows students to work with peers
• Encourages discussion and dialogue

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English Language Proficiency Standards

Show us with your fingers which best describes how familiar you are with them!

5 - highest 3 - neutral 1 - lowest

ELPS

ELPS

Take some time to look at these in your packet. Use the following sentence frames/starters to discuss them with a partner:

1. I notice that . . .
2. These are similar to ________ standards because _________.
3. These are different from _______ standards in that they ______.

Why?

• Awareness of what your ELLs are working on in ELD.
• Begin to think about how you can be strategic about some connections to these during your content lesson.
• These are good for all learners, both the standards and the strategies!

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Zoom Out: Fist to Five

• Allows student to participate non-linguistically
• Low stress way of showing knowledge
• Encourages self assessment
• Builds confidence
• Shows teacher where student is with their learning

Zoom Out: Sentence Frames

• Reduces anxiety
• Builds academic language
• Provides choice in communication
• Models expectations of answers
• Encourages peer interaction
• Supports language production and use of full sentences

Time for a Break

Strategies to Be Discussed Today

Observation Charts and Color Coding

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Activating our schema quick write:

What do you already know about these strategies?

Opportunity to gauge pre-requisite skills

Assessment opportunity

Observation Charts

In partners, use the colored pencils to add to the charts

• Look at the pictures
• Discuss with a partner about what they have in common
• Add your observations and thoughts to the poster

Sentence Starters/Frames

• On this poster I see . . .
• This reminds me of . . .
• I think these pictures represent ________ because _______.
• My guess is that these are ________ since ______________.
• I feel like this might be _______________.

Introduction to Shades of Meaning

• Identify the connection between the pictures
• Nuances between the pictures
• Identify similarities/differences
• Multiple words for similar concepts

L.5c Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty.

Observation Charts

In Person…

Key Points:

• Multiple pictures on one page, leave room for kids to add to it
• Students decide on question, comment, or prediction to write
• Students sketch and write
• What they write isn’t as important as what they say during the strategy

Variations:

• All students may sketch and write their question, comment, or prediction
• Revisit after instruction for students to expand on their observations

Observation Charts

Online…

Key Points:

• Use online media to create a shared “poster” (Google docs, slides, Jamboard)
• Multiple pictures on one page, leave room for kids to add to it
• Students decide on question, comment, or prediction to write
• Students add comments using the online tools

Variations:

• All students may sketch and write their question, comment, or prediction
• Revisit after instruction for students to expand on their observations

Other Suggestions for Use

• Introducing new concepts
• Pre-assessment
• Categorizing information
• Seeing what students have learned (formative assessment)
• Group work

Zoom Out: Observation Charts

• Lowers affective filter
• Allows students to engage in the way they are most comfortable with
• Encourages dialogue
• Provides a print record of information throughout the unit

Share Out!

How would you use this strategy?

Color Coding

Examples

Spot the Color Coding

Spot the Color Coding

Color Coded vs. Colorful

Color Coding with Technology

• Color code text
• Use background color to group slides
• Be aware of colorFUL vs. color coded
• Select images carefully

Other Suggestions for Use

• Foundational skills
• Fluency
• Chunking information
• Anchor charts
• Categorizing
• Sequencing information
• Graphs

Time to Practice

While You Work, Consider...

• Information that belongs together
• Concepts that you want to visually link
• Color coding should be a graphic organizer
• Students will use color coding as a scaffold for connections

Zoom Out: Color Coding

• Provides visual organization
• Helps students categorize and chunk information
• Supports memory and recall
• Support comprehension and vocabulary recognition

Share Out!

How would you use this strategy?

Revisiting the Inquiry Chart

What Do We Know?

What Do We Want to Know?

Zoom Out: Inquiry Chart

• Increases engagement
• Builds background knowledge of students
• Adds student voices
• Honors students’ culture and background
• Find outs what students already know (formative assessment)

Zooming Out Strategies

Low Prep

No Prep

• Graphic Organizers
• Sort
• Sentence Frames
• Observation Charts
• Color Coding

• Inquiry Chart
• Turn and talks
• Fist to Five
• Signal Word

Next Steps...

• Consider how some of these practices and strategies fit into your daily instruction.
• Get curious about your English Learners and how you can support them even more than you already are!
• Reach out to us if you have questions or need more support!

Ready to Dive in?

• You have access to coaching!
• Modeling
• Co-teaching
• Observation + Feedback
• Confidential conversations
• Let Blaine or Lacey know if you would like this support!

Inspiration

“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”

-Maya Angelou

Objectives and Feedback

• Explore the needs of Multilingual Learners and how to support them
• Learn or brush up on high impact teaching strategies
• Prepare to practice implementing new strategies
• Provide an opportunity for modeling, questions and answers