From Ideas to Words

Book excerpt: A comprehensive guide to working with any English language learner (ELL) student writer. Provides insight and practical tips for getting ELL students writing, even if they are at the very beginning stages of English language acquisition. Each chapter is stocked with specific tools and strategies that help make writing instruction meet the needs of multilingual writers; illustrated classroom vignettes and samples of children's writing; and student observations and planning notes based on the information in that chapter. Includes advice on creating a classroom environment that supports ELL writers, building a community that promotes risk taking and values different experiences, creating whole group minilessons that meet the needs of emerging and fluent ELLs, scaffolding independent practice for a wide variety of ELLs, scaffolding writing conferences with tools based on ELL students' writing and language needs, facilitating and encouraging students to share and reflect.