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  2. Teaching ELLs ›
  3. ELL Strategies & Best Practices ›
  4. Classroom Strategies and Tools

Classroom Strategies and Tools

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There are a number of ways to support, or scaffold, instruction for English language learners, even if they are at beginning levels of English proficiency.  These ideas from veteran educators can help make content more accessible and provide students with an opportunity to participate in all classroom activities. 

For more great strategies, see our popular Bright Ideas section.

Featured Articles

  • Five Things Teachers Can Do to Improve Learning for ELLs in the New Year
  • Using Graphic Organizers with ELLs
  • Visual Thinking Strategies for Improved Comprehension
  • Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners

Related Video

Building upon student strengths: The "Can Do" Approach

Building upon student strengths: The "Can Do" Approach

Using sentence frames with ELLs

Using sentence frames with ELLs

Classroom Strategies for 4th-Grade Language Arts

Classroom Strategies for 4th-Grade Language Arts

Comparing two texts with Venn diagrams

Comparing two texts with Venn diagrams

Classroom Strategies: Amber Prentice

Classroom Strategies: Amber Prentice
PrevNext

Research and Reports

  • Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does — and Does Not — Say
  • Creating Schools that Support Success for English Language Learners

Major support provided by our founding partner, the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.

With generous support provided by the National Education Association.

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Related Resource

Lesson Planning for ELLs

a group of children in a classroom all raising their hands

Lesson Planning for ELLs

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8 Strategies for Building Relationships with ELLs in Any Learning Environment

Language Objectives: The Key to Effective Content Area Instruction for English Learners

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Essential Actions: 15 Research-based Practices to Increase ELL Student Achievement

ELL News

  • Why Group Work Could Be the Key to English Learner SuccessKQED| February 28, 2017
  • ELL Programs Often Focus on Basic Skills, Not Higher-Order Thinking, Study FindsEducation Week| November 10, 2015
See more headlines ›
Tweets by @ColorinColorado

Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association. © Copyright 2019 WETA Public Broadcasting.

Artwork by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator David Diaz and Pura Belpr­é Award-winning illustrator Rafael López is used with permission. Homepage illustrations ©2009 by Rafael López originally appeared in "Book Fiesta" by Pat Mora and used with permission from HarperCollins.

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  • ELL Basics
    • Supporting ELLs Through COVID-19
    • New to Teaching ELLs?
    • ELL Glossary
    • Special Populations
    • Resources by Grade
    • Resources by State
    • ELL Policy & Research
    • ELL News Headlines
    • Serving and Supporting Immigrant Students
    • Special Education and ELLs
  • School Support
    • COVID-19 & ELLs
    • ELL School Enrollment
    • ELL Program Planning
    • Assessment
    • Bilingual & Dual-Language Education: Overview
    • Special Education and ELLs
    • School Libraries
    • College Readiness for ELLs
    • Programs for Success
    • ELL Family Outreach
    • Events During the School Year
    • For Administrators
    • For Paraprofessionals
  • Teaching ELLs
    • New to Teaching ELLs?
    • Distance Learning for ELLs
    • Creating a Welcoming Classroom
    • ELL Strategies & Best Practices
    • Language & Vocabulary Instruction
    • Literacy Instruction
    • Content Instruction for ELLs
    • Common Core
    • Special Education and ELLs
    • Technology & ELLs
    • The Role of ESL Teachers
    • Special Populations
  • For Families
    • Help Your Child Learn to Read
    • Learning Together at Home
    • The Preschool Years
    • Schools and Families: An Important Partnership
    • School Success
    • Raising Bilingual Kids
    • Technology at Home
    • Resources for Parents of Teens
    • Visiting the Public Library
    • When Your Children Need Extra Help
  • Books & Authors
    • Books for Young Children
    • Books for Kids
    • Books for Young Adults
    • Books for Professionals
    • Multicultural Literature
    • Pura Belpré: Her Life and Legacy
    • Literacy Calendar
    • Meet the Authors
  • Videos
    • Classroom Videos
    • Webcasts
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Experts
    • PBS Show: Becoming Bilingual
    • Facebook Live Series
  • Audience
    • Teachers
    • Administrators
    • Paraprofessionals
    • Librarians
    • Parents & Families
  • Resource Library
    • Guides & Toolkits
    • Reading Tips for Parents (Multilingual)
    • Reading Tips for Educators
    • Topics A to Z
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Research & Reports
    • Web Resources
    • ELL Resources by State
    • Colorín Colorado Blog
    • Responding to a Crisis
  • News Headlines
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