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Supporting Young English Learners at Home

Supporting Young English Learners at Home

Family and Caregiver Activities

"I just want to enjoy being with my granddaughter at home. How can I make learning fun for her?" —Grandfather of a young English learner in California

Learning together can be fun! These family and caregiver activities (FCAs) are designed to provide simple, fun activities families and caregivers can use with young English learner children at home to leverage cultural and linguistic assets and knowledge to strengthen language development in either the home language or English. The resources are based on the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide "Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School." They are available in multiple languages.

Educator Resources

These resources support educators in helping families and caregivers make the most of the activities:

  • TOOL: Educators' Guide
    Read the Educators' Guide to learn more about the activities as well as tips to help families and caregivers make the most out of the them.
  • VIDEO: Introductory Webinar
    Watch a webinar that introduces the research behind the activities and provides suggestions to maximize learning and fun while families, caregivers, and children engage with the FCAs.
  • VIDEO COLLECTION: Activities in Action
    See educators and families in action! View three videos that connect classroom instruction with use of the family and caregiver activities at home.

Activities

Questions about Stories

Strengthen language by asking and answering questions about a story.

Download


Questions about Informational Text

Ask and answer questions about an informational text.

Download

Questions about Experiences

Use everyday experiences inside and or outside of the home to ask and answer questions.

Download

Wordplay

Play with vocabulary to build language.

Download

Guess My Object

Play a guessing game to build descriptive vocabulary.

Download

Word Detective

Build and practice using vocabulary by playing word detective.

Download

Making a Meal Together

Develop language while making a meal.

Download

Interviewing a Special Person

Interview a special person to build oral and written language.

Download

Writing Notebooks

Write daily to build oral and written language.

Download

Video Collection

Video 1: Building Oral and Written Language Skills

This video shows how to extend elementary classroom learning to the home with two Family and Caregiver Activity sheets: Asking and Answering Questions About an Informational Text and Writing Notebooks. The simple and fun activities, using content from classroom lessons, encourage young English learners to strengthen oral and written language skills while interacting with family members or caregivers.


Video 2: Supporting Young English Learners to Develop Academic Vocabulary Across Content Areas

This video demonstrates how educators, families, and caregivers partnered to prepare transitional kindergarten children for classroom lessons on sequential language across content areas and then extend this learning using two fun and engaging activity sheets: Asking and Answering Questions About a Story and Making a Meal Together.


Video 3: Applying Academic Vocabulary and Language to Multiple Contexts

This video focuses on how the Family and Caregiver Activity sheets Word Detective and Interviewing a Special Person can extend classroom lessons on academic vocabulary and language to help elementary-age English learner students use new words across multiple contexts by listening, speaking, writing, and drawing with their family members and caregivers.

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