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=**ようこそ！** Hoşgeldiniz! Maligayang Pagdating! Bienvenido!=

Welcome to the ESL dot Y-O-U wikispace. I teach ESL for the Douglas School District in Box Elder, South Dakota. This wiki is for educators to collaborate and find information about how to help K-12 ESL students achieve academic success. South Dakota recently joined the [|WIDA Consortium]. Our English Language Proficiency placement test (W-APT) and yearly state required ELP progress test (ACCESS) are created by WIDA. I've created a checklist in student-friendly language based on WIDA's CAN-DO indicators. I'm working on creating links that align with each checklist objective.

To practice reading and writing academic language I use the Language Experience Approach (LEA). Students tell me about something they are learning in Science, Math, Social Studies, English, or sometimes a social situation. I write their stories in grammatically correct sentences. They copy the sentences. Then students read the stories aloud and record an mp3 file. Students listen to themselves and re-record if they want. We upload it here. Then students can share with other students and their teachers. It's an informal presentation of what they are learning. I also have them do a written dictation of the same story by listening to their own recording. They compare the dictation to the original and self-check for errors. This has been a successful way to elicit academic vocabulary, practice reading and writing, and help students gain confidence in their language skills.

-Lindsay

I'm building a library of Strong and Weak work examples. Please help! Add your examples.

See the Needs and Suggestions page where teachers can ask for and give advice or ideas.

=My favorites: =


 * [|Starfall]** Four levels of interactive phonics and reading activities for early readers.

[|International Children's Digital Library] Great variety of children's literature available in over 40 languages including Turkish and Tagalog.


 * [|Randy Pausch's Last Lecture]** I show this to high school students. Click on the up arrow button at the bottom and then the red CC icon for subtitles.

media type="youtube" key="ji5_MqicxSo" height="405" width="500"

Web 2.0 for ESL teachers from Slideshare: media type="custom" key="5743929"