GENERATING ENRICHED LITERACY EXPERIENCES FOR
OLDER ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Meeting the needs of the culturally and linguistically
diverse student populations in today’s classrooms, especially
in the upper grades, poses a special challenge for veteran and
novice teachers alike. English language learners (or ELLs, as
they are commonly known) have an increasingly difficult time
understanding the printed word and achieving on today’s
high-stakes standardized tests. As a result, these struggling
readers, who are new to the English language, face considerable
obstacles not only in literacy classrooms but also in content-area
classrooms; these students’ difficulties prevent their academic
advancement in areas such as science, social studies, math,
and the arts.
To meet the diverse needs of these students, the role of the
literacy teacher (as well as that of content teacher) must expand
beyond traditional definitions of how information is presented
to ELLs. A print-rich learning environment in all classrooms,
complete with flexible groupings and a varied exposure to literature
in the content areas, can meet the interests, abilities,
and learning needs of ELLs.
Here are just a few ideas to consider when teaching both literacy
and content curricula to the ELL student.
Students need to connect with literature on three basic levels:
text to text, text to self, and self to the world. All students
bring something to the classroom. Becoming familiar with the backgrounds
and/or prior knowledge of ELL students allows a teacher to begin
engaging students in literacy experiences that connect with their
diverse backgrounds, thereby building on this knowledge.
Nonfiction is arguably one of the most important elements needed
for success in content-area classrooms and on standardized
tests. Nonfiction is difficult to comprehend because of the vast
amount of technical vocabulary used and because of the lack of
familiarity with content many ELLs have. Content-area teachers
face great challenges when trying to teach the core curriculum
to students with limited English literacy skills. Selecting high-interest/low-vocabulary
nonfiction books can provide students with valuable, content-embedded
information at a comfortable, comprehendible reading level, thereby
allowing learning to advance while reading skills are developed.
The Landmark Books Series by Random House provide this
type of content-area literacy development. In addition, they can
easily be used by literacy teachers to teach specific, nonfiction
literacy skills, such as summarizing, sequencing, text structure,
and core-vocabulary recognition.
Listening to stories provides the ELL student
with many opportunities to develop new language skills. Reading
aloud is a valuable tool that allows students to hear a good model
for oral language; to develop capacity vocabulary (which usually
develops at a faster rate than sight vocabulary); to become part
of a group listening experience; and to initiate the practice
of accountable talk. Books to be read aloud should be chosen for
specific skills purposes or for content learning. Pictures and
drawings within the book assist in the ELL student’s understanding
of the oral language and content instruction. Especially enjoyable
read alouds are books such as Hatchet (a favorite among
students) by Gary Paulsen. Hatchet is a great book to
read aloud when teaching visualizing, predicting, inferencing,
The ELL students are drawn to books that depict tales and legends
with cross-cultural themes. This genre is sorely neglected in
classrooms with older ELL students. Many ELLs have heard similar
stories in their own countries. (After all, tales and legends
spread because people travel.) Many students will connect
with this genre, which will eventually open up a world of comparison/contrast
literacy skills and an appreciation of a shared cultural
Don’t forget about involving the parents of ELLs. Family
literacy will help sustain the progress made by these students.
Schools that provide family literacy nights, lending libraries
for parents, and classes in English as a second language
for parents provide a solid bridge between school and home and
generally have greater success in helping the struggling ELLs.
Such activities are relatively easy to organize during the
school year. Book- publishing companies are more than eager to
supply schools with appropriate books for young adult students
and parents who are just learning English.
The ELLs in today’s classrooms may pose great challenges
to teachers, but in return these students offer an enriched classroom
experience for the other students. Our ELLs are thus like windows
to many parts of the world. We owe it to them to provide an equally
enriched classroom experience, one filled with a truly varied,
print-rich environment in both literacy and content-area classrooms.
Dr. R. Cipriani-Sklar is Principal of the
Fairview School in Corona, NY, and was named Principal of the
Year in 2001. She was selected for Who’s Who among Professionals
and Executives in 2006. Dr. Cipriani-Sklar has taught English
in secondary schools, and her educational research interests include
gender issues and the education of girls.