Episode 17 – A Peek Into My Middle School EL Classroom

Planning for middle school EL students  is different from planning for just about any other class. You may have 20 students or just a few, and you will likely have a wide variety of different proficiency levels all at the same time. In my situation this school year, I am teaching seventh and eighth grade students who span levels 1 through 4 on the WIDA language proficiency assessment. In this episode I will be sharing with you how I account for all of their unique needs and what my middle school setup and planning looks like on a daily basis. (Don’t worry high school teachers, I will share my high school setup soon!)

My job is to teach my middle school EL students English through the grade level content they are learning in their core classes. So, I spend time each day helping them understand their assignments and homework from their core classes, which could include filling in background knowledge and context. It also includes pre-teaching and re-teaching key vocabulary.  My class is also where they often learn common structures that may not be familiar in their first language. For example, how to write a sentence, a paragraph, an essay, or a thesis statement. I share with you my planning process, my favorite resources, and how I manage multiple proficiency levels in one classroom.

Here is what you will hear about middle school EL lessons: