Improving the Academic Writing of Long-Term English Learners

What challenges do you face

when asked to improve the academic writing of your ELLs ?

What % of an ELs day is spent discussing lesson content, using complete sentences, or using relevant academic language?

__2 %

__5%

__8%

Learning Outcomes: You will learn five strategies that improve Academic Writing

1) Use of sentence and paragraph frames (mortar words) 2) Use of color-coding to visually separate information 3) Link extended academic oral language practice with specific writing purposes 4) Set a clear reading purpose and academic writing outcome for students before the read a text. 5) Establish Writing Instructional Routines: Example: TIMED WRITING

What is academic language?

What language do students need to USE to understand language arts, science, social science, or math content?

bricks: content specific mortar: words/phrases that connect

and hold the content specific words together

Bricks science: volcano, mitosis, gravity, force, photosynthesis

Mortar

hypothesis, variable, if....then

history: democracy revolution, right, oligarchy

language arts: plot metaphor, character

therefore, as a result consists of, represents, analyze, compare, describe

ELL: in, among, although (verb)-leave, let, (pronoun)-they, she

What might be mortar words you would use to compare and contrast two different people?

COMPARE and CONTRAST

both similar have in common compared to are different but 1. Both___and __are similar (different) because______ 2. On the other hand,_____ 3. ____and ____ have the same (similar)_________.

__

60

Sources
http://www.paperomatic.com/assignments/ http://wac.colostate.edu/aw/ http://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces1/irvin--whatis-academic-writing.pdf