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A photo of the Globe Theatre, a large Elizabethan style building. There is a white border at the top of the photo with pink text that reads "ESL Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare"

Teaching Shakespeare to ESL Students

My approach to teaching Shakespeare to ESL students will make it an engaging and accessible experience for teachers and students alike! Teaching Shakespeare to ESL students (English Language Learners/ELLs) is an important consideration, particularly if you’re working in a pull out model. If students are studying Shakespeare in their regular ELA classrooms, teaching Shakespeare to ESL students can level the cultural playing field.  Now, I don’t think Shakespeare is the be-all, end-all of excellent writing. I’m not sure why students study a Shakespeare play every year of high school. However, I think that teaching the same thing to all students with appropriate academic support is the key to making all students feel like a community. Shakespeare isn’t something we should reserve for Honors students. Teaching Shakespeare to ESL students with appropriate supports is key to

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Using Newsy in Your Classroom

Using Newsy in Your Classroom (and beyond!)

Have you heard of Newsy? It’s a platform for in-depth video coverage of a variety of topics, and it’s free for your use. They’ve taken stories from CNN, BBC, HuffPo, and many more sources, and condensed them. Videos range in length, but generally run around two minutes. The reporters speak slowly, and each video includes a transcript. This makes Newsy perfect for use in your classroom. Newsy with Adult ELLs I currently use Newsy with adult English language learners. Students enjoy Newsy because it is “real English” and doesn’t have the same “fake” feel as a scripted conversation. Students also enjoy that Newsy topics are current and interesting, in domains that matter most to them (technology, business, economics, etc.). Let’s take a closer look at Newsy’s “condensed news” style. Here’s an excerpt from Newsy’s story

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