Taking Action
The information and resources on Teaching Literacy to K-5 English Learners are designed to support improvements in policy and practice for districts, schools and classrooms. You can explore Doing What Works to understand the recommendations from the research and decide on changes in your own practice. Or, as a technical assistance provider or improvement team member, you may be in a position to help others examine their practice and make changes.
If you are looking to use Doing What Works resources as part of an improvement initiative, the tools in this “Do What Works” section may be especially helpful because they show how to use the resources in the “Learn What” and “See How” sections to develop a vision of desired practice, conduct a needs assessment, and develop local action plans. (Some of these tools link to materials on other parts of the website; here all the tools related to Teaching Vocabulary are collected for easy reference.)
Whatever your role, there’s probably something here for you. Some suggestions targeted to specific role groups are provided under the heading “Uses by Role.”
Practice Tools
These tools help you use the materials in the “Learn What” and “See How” sections, as you tackle the hard work of school improvement. Each tool is a downloadable Word document that you can edit and adapt to serve your needs.
Learning Together About Teaching Vocabulary
Convene a school- or grade-level team to review the Learn What Works resources for Teaching Vocabulary, using these discussion questions.
Download Tool | WORD | 108 KB
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Vocabulary Strategy Worksheet: Conversational Vocabulary
Use this strategy worksheet to assess and enhance your instruction in teaching conversational vocabulary.
Download Tool | WORD | 114 KB
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Vocabulary Strategy Worksheet: Academic Content Vocabulary
Use this strategy worksheet to assess and enhance your instruction in teaching academic content vocabulary.
Download Tool | WORD | 114 KB
Planning Templates
Teaching Vocabulary is included in each of three comprehensive planning templates that include all five practices for Teaching Literacy to K-5 English Learners. An overview describes how these planning templates can be used by a technical assistance provider or other support provider working with schools on comprehensive needs assessment and planning.
Overview of Planning Templates
Download Overview | WORD | 107 KB
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Planning Template #1: Working with State Education Agencies
Download Template | WORD | 135 KB
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Planning Template #2: Working with Districts
Download Template | WORD | 131 KB
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Planning Template #3: Working with Schools
Download Template | WORD | 134 KB
Uses by Role
Educators at all levels of the system can use the information and tools on this site to ensure that English learners are being taught conversational and academic vocabulary.
Classroom Teacher:
Plan in advance how you will strengthen the conversational vocabulary of your English learners. Use this planning tool to organize your lesson plans for teaching conversational vocabulary words.
Vocabulary Strategy Worksheet: Conversational Vocabulary
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Classroom Teacher:
Incorporate some new vocabulary teaching strategies into your instructional repertoire for working with English learners. Have you used word wheels, four-square exercises, photo cards, word chats, physical response, and graphic organizers?
Teaching a Third Grade Vocabulary Unit
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Curriculum Coordinator:
To familiarize principals and teachers with teaching vocabulary to English learners, convene a short professional development session and show them the presentation on Teaching Vocabulary to English Learners (13 minutes) and the short interview with Diane August (5 minutes). As a follow-up reading assignment, provide copies of the teaching vocabulary recommendation in the Practice Guide.
Teaching Vocabulary to English Learners
Techniques for Teaching Vocabulary
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ESL/ELD Teacher:
Work with classroom teachers to systematically plan academic content vocabulary lessons that incorporate research-based practices and try out new strategies. Use this planning tool to organize the discussion.
Vocabulary Strategy Worksheet: Academic Content Vocabulary
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ESL/ELD Teacher:
Meet with subject area teachers at the beginning of the year to identify the specialty words—science words for example—that are important for you to emphasize in your work with English learners. Prepare a calendar of science, math, and social studies words to guide your instruction.
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Principal:
Organize teacher study groups to learn about vocabulary strategies. Share research with teachers during each session and encourage teachers to demonstrate classroom activities for building vocabulary that exemplify the research findings.
Developing Literacy in English Language Learners: Key Issues and Promising Practices
Moving Vocabulary Research to Classroom Practice
Techniques for Teaching Vocabulary
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Reading Coach:
Prepare a plan for enhancing vocabulary teaching during reading instruction. Start by building a core reading vocabulary list for each unit in core reading materials that teachers should explicitly teach to English learners. Be sure to go beyond the words identified by the reading series. See the list and format that one school developed to share with staff and parents.
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State Language Arts Consultant:
Address vocabulary development and academic English in state content and English language proficiency standards at all grade levels.
Planning Template #3: Working with Schools
Getting the Most From This Area of the Website
For the most powerful effect on achievement, state, district and school leaders should work in concert to implement all five of the practices in Teaching Literacy to K-5 English Learners. The five research-based practices are inter-related parts of a schoolwide core literacy program. As all teachers use data to monitor the progress of all students, they can provide differentiation and extra support for English learners as needed.
The three Planning Templates are wide-ranging tools designed to support application of these ideas at the state, district, and school levels. Each encompasses all five practices for teaching literacy to English learners. These templates can provide a guiding framework whether you are initiating an improvement effort or want to review and strengthen an existing one.
Become familiar with the Learning Cycle structure that underlies this website (Learn to understand the research-based practice; See some ways the practice has been implemented; Do take action to align your practice with research.) A media presentation explains the Learning Cycle structure. Consider using this structure to guide your group’s extended investigation of the Doing What Works content.
Caution: Doing What Works provides suggestions, not prescriptions! You are the best judge of what will work in your particular setting.
Return Links
Return to “Teach Vocabulary” Page
Return to “PROVIDE READING INTERVENTIONS” Page
Return to “RECOMMENDED PRACTICE” Page
Return to Main Teaching Literacy Page