September #ELLEdTech Chat: Tools for Teaching Reading to ELLs

Providing reading instruction that develops students' skills without reaching their frustration level is always a challenge but at the beginning of a new school year, it may be difficult to get an accurate idea of where students are in terms of their reading skills.  This is especially true for ELLs who may be new to a school, let alone new to the English language, and who are often grouped not by proficiency level but by grade level.

Use the hashtag #ELLEdTech on September 19th to join us!

With the plethora of materials available to teach reading, it can be hard to find just right resources that meet the needs of most of the students in a class.  And who has time to wade through loads of reviews or spend time on free trials?  Join co-host Laurah and me this Sunday, September 19th, as we discuss Tools for ELL Reading Instruction.  I think you’ll get some great ideas that will help you provide reading instruction to your ELLS!

Schedule and Questions
Introductions: Tell us your name, location, level and subject taught #ELLEdTech
Q1: What tools do you recommend for use with ELLs during reading instruction? #ELLEdTech
Q2: How are these tools useful to support ELLs with reading? #ELLEdTech
Q3: What are the pros or benefits to using these tools? #ELLEdTech
Q4: Are there any cons or drawbacks Ts should be aware of with these tools? #ELLEdTech
Q5: What advice do you have for teachers beginning to use technology with reading instruction? #ELLEdTech

Directions for Joining the Chat
1. Log into Twitter on Sunday; the chat runs from 7:00 - 7:45pm Eastern.

2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #ELLEdTech in the search bar.  Make sure to click “All tweets.”

3. The first five minutes will be spent introducing ourselves.

4. Starting at 7:05 @ESOL_Odyssey or @The_ESL_Nexus will post questions every 8 minutes using Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. to identify the questions and the hashtag #ELLEdTech.

5.  Answer the questions by prefacing them with A1, A2, A3, etc. and use the hashtag #ELLEdTech.

6.  Follow any teachers who respond and are also using #ELLEdTech.

7.  Like (click the heart icon) and post responses to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your answers to the questions in advance by using an online scheduler such as TweetDeck or HootSuite (and remember to use A1, A2, etc. and #ELLEdTech).  Links are encouraged, but use tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly to shorten your link so it can be included in your tweet.  Just click one of those links, paste the longer link in the app's box to shorten it for Twitter, then paste the shortened link into your tweet. If you have relevant images, we encourage you to post them, too.



Is this your first Twitter chat?  Here are our rules:

1. Please stay on topic.

2. Please do not post about paid products unless explicitly asked. 

3. If you arrive after the chat has started, please try to read the previous tweets before joining in.

4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet if you prefer -- we know the first time can be a little overwhelming!

5. Always use the hashtag #ELLEdTech when tweeting.

6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to "public." (And do remember that Twitter is completely public; that means anyone--students, parents, administrators--may see what you tweet.) 



You are welcome to let any of your teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well know about it. We look forward to chatting with you on Sunday evening!