Though often thought of as a “go to” MLL/ELL strategy, sentence starters can sometimes become thinking stoppers for certain learners. Students try to fill in the empty spaces but lack the opportunity to structure their thinking ahead of being assigned the writing prompt. Don’t let this happen in your classroom! Join MLL/ELL practitioner extraordinaire Tan Huynh to learn how he develops greater independence in MLLs/ELLs by embedding scaffolds to help students structure academic thinking.
In this highly interactive session, secondary educators will learn a three-step process to analyze content prompts and design language structures that help students express complex ideas with grade-level, discipline-specific language. Walk away from this hands on learning experience with a practical approach to explicitly teach the sentence structures students need to succeed in any content area.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Explain the limitations of sentence starters for multilingual learners
- Explore the strategy of using embedded scaffolds to structure academic thinking
- Practice embedded scaffolds for a future assignment
Facilitator: Tan Huynh
