Explicit Direct Instruction for English Learners

Every teacher of English learners struggles with the very same issue. How do you build language skills at the same time that you're teaching new content? That balancing act is about to get a whole lot easier. In this step-by-step guide, John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra combine the best of educational theory, brain research, and data analysis to bring you explicit direct instruction (EDI): a proven method for creating and delivering lessons that help every student learn more and learn faster.

Teachers across all grades and subjects will learn how to

• Craft lessons that ELs can learn the first time they're taught
• Check for understanding throughout each lesson
• Embed vocabulary development across the curriculum
• Address listening, speaking, reading, and writing in all lessons: thus meeting the goal of the Common Core.

Featuring sample lessons, classroom examples, and boxed features, this accessible handbook provides the tools you need to become an EDI expert: and see real results from your English learners every day.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Part I. Getting Ready

1. English Learners Learning Every Day: Who Are They? What Do They Need?
2. English Learners Need Explicit Direct Instruction: The Well-Crafted, Powerfully Taught Lesson
3. Checking for Understanding: How to Verify That English Learners Are Learning

Part II. Strategies for English Learners

4. Vocabulary Development: How to Teach English Learners New Words in Every Lesson
5. Language Objectives: How to Have English Learners Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing English in Every Lesson
6. Content Access Strategies: How to Make English Easier to Understand for English Learners

Part III. Integrating Strategies for English Learners Into EDI Lessons

7. How to Present a Learning Objective to English Learners
8. How to Activate Prior Knowledge for English Learners
9. How to Teach Concepts to English Learners: Concept Development
10. How to Teach Skills to English Learners and Provide Guided Practice
11. How to Teach Lesson Importance to English Learners
12. How to Close a Lesson and Provide Independent Practice and Periodic Review for English Learners
13. Well-Crafted, Powerfully-Taught Lessons: Implementing Explicit Direct Instruction for English Learners

Appendices

Annotated References

Bibliography

Index

"I recommend this book to anyone working with English learners. It provides step-by-step lesson design and delivery to ensure that all ELs have access to the lesson content."
- Dr. Freda Rossi, Manager EL & Billingual Programs for Secondary, Curriculum & Instruction

"This book does a great job at presenting specific strategies for English learners. It is very thorough and each chapter is presented as if it were "EDI'd" for readers to comprehend the material and implement it right away."
- Keila Rodriguez, District and School Support Coordinator

"As a veteran ELL teacher, I appreciated this book showing ways to teach the basics of English learning within the teaching of content standards. The emphasis on choral reading for concept connections and student engagement and using higher-order questioning fit perfectly into our new rigorous framework for teaching."
- Autumn Jennings, ELL Teacher

"What a great addition to every teacher's toolkit! The authors show us how to include language acquisition in every lesson: It's just 'good teaching' for ELs!"
- Amy Nichols Webb, ESL Teacher