Effective Classroom Writing Strategies for English Language Learners

What You Will Learn

In this course, you will learn the importance of supporting writing in ELLs. You will learn appropriate writing strategies to implement in your classroom to support ELL students through all stages of the writing process, as well as how to monitor and assess ELL student growth in writing.

You Will Learn:

• Background information about ELLs and their typical struggles in writing and the five levels of proficiency in ELLs.
• The “Before Writing” stage, including vocabulary strategies, writing prompts, and the use of graphic organizers in the planning process.
• Strategies for the “During Writing” stage including buddy writing, interactive writing, the use of mentor texts as well as sentence stems and frames.
• The “After Writing” stage including revision, self-reflection, peer-revising/editing, as well as creative and effective ways to utilize publishing to help motivate ELL students and foster a love of writing.
• How to assess and monitor the progress of ELLs in writing including tools such as Can-Do checklists, student reflections, writing conferences, and student portfolios.
• How to choose the most appropriate strategies for your students based on student needs and your instructional goals.

Course Guiding Question:

What strategies can I use to provide support throughout all stages of the writing process for my ELL students?

Professional Development Credits

At the conclusion of the course, you will receive a certificate for 15 Professional Development Hours (Clock Hours, CPEs).

Model Teaching Professional Development Courses are pre-approved in many states and we provide easy approval forms to submit to your license granting authority if required.

If you are a teacher seeking license renewal and wish to verify acceptance of our Professional Development Courses, please view our PD STATE REQUIREMENTS PAGE to learn more about your state’s requirements.

Also, consider taking our UNIVERSITY-PARTNERED, ACADEMIC CREDIT COURSES to earn regionally accredited units or credits, accepted by most states for teacher re-licensing and salary advancement.

Approval Information About This Course for Teaching License Renewal & Continuing Education

Model Teaching has helped thousands of teachers across the country meet their relicensing requirements.

This course is Pre-Approved in the following states for License Renewal and Continuing education:

• Texas – CPE’s, TEA-Approved
• New York CTLE’s – NYSED-Approved
• Pennsylvania DOE – ACT 48-Approved
• Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) – Approved
• Nevada DOE
• Tennessee
• Other States As Well

If you do not see your state listed here, this course may be pre-approved in your state as well. Chat with us or leave a ticket for our recommendations.

For More Information About Your Specific State Requirements, Please View Your State Requirements

Please confirm your specific district or state requirements for license renewal prior to registering and feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have about our courses.

Topics Covered and General Course Outline

Section 1 – ELL Proficiency Levels

• The importance of supporting writing in ELLs
• Appropriate writing strategies to implement in your classroom to support ELL students through all stages of the writing process
• How to monitor and assess ELL student growth in writing

Section 2 – Support Strategies Before Writing

• About the Before Writing Stage
• Considerations for generating appropriate writing prompts for ELL students
• Vocabulary strategies to support the vocabulary development of your ELLs
• How to use graphic organizers to support your ELL students with the planning process

Section 3 – Strategies for During Writing

• About the During Writing Stage
• Strategies such as buddy writing and interactive writing that are great ways to improve the writing fluency and confidence of ELLs
• That exposing students to quality mentor texts and providing them with sentence stems or frames are excellent ways to scaffold the process of writing

Section 4 – Strategies for After Writing

• About the After Writing Stage
• That ELL students need specific instruction in how to revise and edit their work
• That self-reflection and peer-revising/editing are two strategies teachers can implement to scaffold their ELL students’ post-writing process
• That publishing a writing piece can take on many forms, but should always be a source of pride and celebrated for all students

Section 5- Monitoring the Progress of ELLs

• How to monitor and assess the progress of your ELLs
• That Can Do Checklists, student reflections, writing conferences, and student portfolios are excellent ways to track student progress
• That progress can be monitored over time with a detailed progress monitoring documentation tool

Section 6- Choosing Appropriate Strategies

• How to choose the most appropriate strategies for your students, based on student needs and your instructional goals
• Why it is so important to constantly evaluate your strategy choices

Helpful Resources & Templates Included With the Course

The course comes with 26 templates, tools, and graphic organizers ready to be used in your classroom!

These Include:

• Proficiency Levels of English Language Learners
• Teacher Reflection on ELL Support with Sample
• Generating a Writing Prompt for ELL Students with Sample
• Vocabulary Building Templates
• Pre-Writing Graphic Organizer Templates
• Interactive Writing Reference Guide
• Important Tips for Pairing Students for Buddy Writing
• Mentor Text Reference Guide
• Sentence Stem and Frame Reference Guide
• Student Writer Reflection
• Peer Revising Checklists
• Peer Editing Checklists
• Publishing Reference Guide
• Can-Do Checklists
• Student Reflection Templates
• Writing Conference Reference Guide
• Student Portfolio Reference Guide
• ELL Progress Monitoring Tracker
• Choosing a Support Strategy Matrix
• ELL Writing Strategies Lesson Plan Template with Sample
• Effectiveness Rubric
• Implementation Observation Checklist with Sample

Register for the course Effective Classroom Writing Strategies for English Language Learners now.