Back to School Tips and Resources for English Language Learners

Going back to school soon? I have some tips and tricks that will help whether it's your first or 50th year teaching ELL's!


If you want to read more about each trick, hop over to my post here

Looking for something to start your year off right? I can help you with that, too!


 What is your plan for the first day of school? Let me walk you through mine! 

When my students walk in the door, they immediately work on these sentence starters, which work for grades 1-5 and any proficiency level!  This keeps them busy while I address any new students, lunch count, or other administrative tasks.  Click the picture to follow the link!


Once we're ready, we gather on the rug to review our classroom rules.  These posters are bright, cheerful, and not wordy- perfect for my kids.


After explaining our rules, I go over our clip chart and reward coupons.  Click here to read more about how I use my coupons. 


We usually do a read-aloud at that point, but it depends on time and proficiency level.  I might need to quickly assess a new student, too, so this is the time when we get a little bit independent.  I have a great new class project for us to work on! For fast finishers or my younger students who aren't as independent, I let them work on this back to school writing center. 


That's usually all we have time for.  The next day is a review of our rules, rewards, and procedures, and we finish anything we need to from the first day.  It's then that I explain our year-long homework.  The first week's homework is done in class so I can model with my kids, but the second week is all up to them! 


Lucky for you, the back to school sale at TPT is right around the corner, so you can pick up all the resources you need to start your year off with a bang! If you're interested in my first day of school resources, check out the bundle!


Everything in my store will be 20% off! Add BTS15 at checkout for an extra 10% off, too.