Like any educational field, language education has its many acronyms and jargon.  One we hear a lot and as it turn out, is very important, is "comprehensible input".  When I teach linguistics to teachers, I always joke about the very nerdy language of the field.  As if we were talking...

“Simply said, when students understand the purpose of a lesson, they learn more” (Fraser, Walberg, Welch, & Hattie, 1987; Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001 in Fisher & Frey, 2010, p. 1) It has been stirring for a while.  At first I didn’t even notice him.  He kept coming around more...

Robert J. Marzano has become famous for testing instructional strategies to see if they result in quantitative achievement gains.  The following is a summary of his vocabulary learning strategy and some products that may help you to implement the process.  (Be sure to do all six steps!  His research has...

  This is my new favorite teaching tool!   Write and Wipe Pockets are so flexible and give students the opportunity to practice reading and writing in English!  Check out my YouTube video with lots of ideas for how to use them!

Watch my short video blog on flexible ways to use cubes in the classroom to enhance language practice and reinforce content and language learning.   This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 4:27 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry...

 Watch my short video blog for ideas about how and why to use whiteboards in the classroom with your English Language Learners!       This entry was posted on Friday, April 29th, 2011 at 8:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry...

When you walk into a classroom where all students understand what is happening (including English Language Learners) you are probably going to encounter strategies that fall under the umbrella of what is called sheltered instruction.  Basically, when you shelter your instruction in English, or any language for that matter, you...