Reading Strategies for the English Langague Learner

The great news about teaching English Language Learner Students (ELL) reading strategies is that, what is great for your struggling reader, is also great for your ELL student. Just like your struggling reader, your ELL student will benefit from learning to connect prior knowledge, make inferences and find meanings to keywords when reading. ELL students need support with academic languages and identifying vocabulary throughout the text.  Many teachers find the Close Reading Approach  beneficial when teaching students reading comprehension. The English Language Learner benefits by teacher modeling.  When ELL students hear the teacher think aloud, they are able to see reading strategies being used.  It is also a great form of visible thinking for students. Visuals and graphic representations help our ELL's organize their thoughts and make better understanding of what is being read. Graphic organizers help students to support their evidence and claims when reading.  They are also a great tool to use for retelling.  Knowing that all students benefit from the same intervention strategies is very helpful when planning differentiated instruction for all students in the general education classroom.