Invite an informative guest speaker to class (or ask a student to speak to classmates about an area of expertise). Before the visit, have students plan the questions they will ask; during the visit, encourage students to ask follow-up questions. Read More Guest Speaker

Students read opens in a new window “Filling America’s Need for Skilled Workers” Newsela article at an appropriate Lexile level and underline unknown words or new vocabulary, transitional words, and specific vocabulary words related to jobs and economics. Students then use opens in a new window Quizlet to create online vocabulary cards. Finally, students create individual resumés for Virginia job/job markets that they are interested in. Read More America’s Skilled Workers: Vocabulary

Teacher models a simple “how to” speech. Then, students prepare and deliver their own speeches. Read More “How To” Speeches

Students choose a question (from a list such as opens in a new window this one ) to discuss in order to become more comfortable talking in a discussion format. Instructional focus should be on learners speaking one at a time and listening to respond or add to the topic. Read More Conversational Fishbowl

Teacher models identifying key words in a nonfiction reading and sorting them into categories; students read another short passage and apply their categorization skills. Read More Categorizing Activity