Thorough preparation is a critical first step in developing lessons that are both accessible and meaningful for EL students. It should involve creation of clear content and language objectives, time for assessing students’ prior knowledge, and incorporation of meaningful opportunities for students to practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Explicitly identifying the embedded demands of your lessons (in terms of both language, as well as background knowledge) will also help with thinking through appropriate scaffolding and differentiation strategies to ensure equitable access to content, while also promoting language development.

To guide your development of language objectives, check out this resource from Dr. Kate Kinsella and Tonya Ward Singer.

Also, take a look at this planning tool for outlining both content and language objectives of your lessons.

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