A fun ELL Activity to get your English Language Learners speaking and reading quickly is Fan & Pick! It is great for promoting interaction among peers. Your ELLS will get the support they need to participate with other class members. One of the reasons I love this strategy so much is how simple it is to prepare but gives great benefits for your students.

So how to you use it?

Fan & Pick

Purpose:

To review key concepts and promote interaction.

Activity

Teacher makes sets of cards with review questions. Each card has one question.

• Students get in groups of four and each group gets a set of cards.
• Students number off within each group. 1, 2, 3, 4

1. Number 1 fans the deck of cards.
2. Number 2 picks a card and reads the question aloud.
3. Number 3 answers the question.
4. Number 4 confirms if the answer is correct. If not he/she will help to answer the question.

• Students will then switch roles and answer the rest of the questions.

Ideas to Use

One way to use this ELL Activity is by writing getting to know you questions on each card. Ask your students to answer the questions in a sentence. What is your name? My name is _____________________. How many brothers and sisters do you have? I have _____________ brothers and sisters.

Another way to use is to write questions about what your students are learning in content areas. What are the three forms of matter? The three forms of matter are solids, liquids, and gases.

As you can see the list goes on and on. Incorporate this strategy in all area of your curriuclum. Your English Language Learners will be speaking with confidence before you know it! There are so many great ELL strategies to use with your students. Some other favorties of mine are Find My Match, Inside Outside Circle, Secret Envelope, Snowball and Slice of Pizza.

To help you remember to use fun ELL Strategies!