Many teachers are seeking ways to better help their English language learner students, who often have additional challenges to overcome. These students are learning English alongside all the content standards, and some have had their education disrupted by life transitions. The challenges that face them are many, but there are strategies to help them develop language and academic skills.
San Francisco International High School, a public district school, caters its instruction to students newly arrived in the United States. Teachers there have developed strategies to focus on literacy development, but within the context of interesting and meaningful work. Christopher Maldonado teaches ninth and tenth grade literacy, often focusing on fluency and phonemic awareness, but within the context of collaborative reading and discussion. This Teaching Channel video provides a good overview of some of the strategies Maldonado uses to get his students, who speak three different languages, talking to each other in English as they improve their reading comprehension.