What to Do When They are New: Newcomer Lesson Plan

Want to see an example lesson that you can implement with minimal prep for your newcomers? Keep reading to take a peek at a lesson from my ELL newcomers bundle. 👀

Hello teachers ~

We are back with the next installment of our newcomer unit: What to do when they are new. Today we will be taking a peak at a lesson from our bestselling ELL newcomer bundle. So often teachers’ hearts are in the right place with their newcomer students. They want to help them learn English, but they don’t know where to begin or when they will have time to make resources. The activity below is an example of a targeted lesson that teaches your newcomers language they need to know with minimal prep for you. The best of both worlds! Read on to take a peek. 😊

The main goal for our English Language Learner (ELL) students is to expose them to the language. That means that our lessons are rooted in teaching vocabulary words that will help students understand the words they are hearing, reading, and writing. Unfortunately if we only teach students vocabulary words we are doing them a disservice. Why is that you ask? Well, we have to teach students how to use the words too. When we teach students vocabulary words we also need to give them a grammar point. This helps students be able to use the new words in context right away!  

The lesson we are taking a peek at today focuses on school supply vocabulary and the verb “to have”. As I mentioned above, we always want to be sure we have a grammar point to go along with the vocabulary words we are teaching. Okay, let’s learn how to teach this lesson!

Start with the vocabulary words.

1. Show students picture cards for each school supply. (A picture of example picture cards is below).

2. Explain what each picture shows. Allow students to make connections by saying the word in their first language, if they want to.

3. Have students practice repeating each vocabulary word aloud and using body language to convey the meaning of the word.

4. Have students glue their picture cards onto a science board. Have students practice identifying what the pictures show and how to pronounce the words in English.

Now that students have been exposed to the vocabulary words, let’s teach them how to use them in context!

1. Teach students how to use the word “have” with each pronoun. Use motions to show students who you are talking about. Have students repeat each sentence with “have” to practice.

   💧I have…

   💧You have… 

   💧He/She has… 

   💧We have… 

   💧They have…

2. Introduce students to the question and sentence frame using “have”. Help students practice asking and answering the question aloud by using school supply vocabulary.

   💧What do you have?  

   💧I have a ________. (eraser, pencil, crayon, etc.)

3. Give students the sentence flip sheet.  Have them practice completing the sentence frame by using school supply vocabulary. Encourage students to write more than one example on the blanks on the bottom page of the flip sheet.

4. Have students practice reading the questions and answers on their flip sheet aloud and review the vocabulary words on their science board every day.  Students can also take these home to practice as well! As we know, review and practice is the key to language acquisition.

This lesson showed how to teach targeted vocabulary and grammar to your students. It takes very little prep but is highly engaging and effective for your students!

Looking to continue meeting your newcomers’ needs by providing them with targeted resources to grow their language? Ready to commit? Click here to buy my ELL Newcomers Bundle, which is the best value for all things newcomer! Want to try out Unit 1 for free before buying? Click here to try it out and see how amazing it is before you commit to the full bundle. Let me help you feel confident that you are teaching your ELL newcomers everything they need to know to thrive.