Making Grammar Lessons Fun and "Hands-On" with Interactive Whiteboards

Ballard & Tighe, Publishers today announced the release of their newest instructional product, Hands-On Grammar (www.Hands-OnGrammar.com), designed for use with one of today’s most engaging learning tools for students—the interactive whiteboard (IWB).

Covering 15 areas of grammar with 220 activities, Hands-On Grammar provides comprehensive grammar content that is aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Areas of grammar include parts of speech, nouns, adjectives, conjunctions, and past and present tense.

“Hands-On Grammar puts grammar lessons in students’ hands, giving them opportunities to interact with content by dragging, writing, and manipulating objects and text on the interactive whiteboard, while developing oral language and vocabulary skills. All this movement creates another pathway to memory that helps students internalize the grammar concepts they’re learning while making grammar fun,” says Mark Espinola, CEO of Ballard & Tighe.

“As most teachers know, the IWB is not merely a presentation tool, but a learning platform that creates a hands-on learning environment for students, engaging and encouraging their participation during lessons. We’re excited to introduce Hands-On Grammar as high quality content for the interactive whiteboard.”

IWBs transform classrooms into multimedia environments, and more educators are embracing this technology for its ability to engage students and impact learning. According to the 2011 National Survey of Interactive Whiteboard Usage, conducted by Education Market Research, 69.8% of teachers surveyed believe that the IWB “is definitely here to stay, and its penetration will grow significantly over the next few years.”

Designed for English language learners, Hands-On Grammar also supplements ELA instruction for English-only students. Educators can visit www.Hands-OnGrammar.com to download a free sample lesson, or to see an overview, demonstration videos, and screen shots.

News Release on Oral Language Practice

See the official press release and download the free whitepaper:

Oracy is the Bridge to Literacy

Oracy is the Bridge to Literacy

Educators might be asking themselves if oral language development is “in” or “out” in their English language development (ELD) classroom. A white paper released by Ballard & Tighe, Publishers finds that research supports the need for oral language emphasis in ELD/ESL instruction. The current surge in popularity of oral language instruction emphasizes academic oral language, sometimes referred to as “oracy.” This language is more structured than informal oral language, and therefore it forms a perfect bridge between oracy and literacy.

In the research-based report, “Strategic Oral Language Instruction in ELD: Teaching Oracy to Develop Literacy,” the authors recommend that oral language instruction for English language learners (ELL) have the following characteristics:

*Be systematic and structured
*Contain vocabulary development that is relevant, rigorous, and rich
*Include explicit practice of key grammatical forms that are embedded in the functions of language
*Support language rehearsal in an engaging and meaningful context presented by the teacher modeling and guiding language structures
*Provide multiple opportunities to rehearse language involving interactive and task-based activities

The paper draws from a cadre of renowned ELL researchers and synthesizes key findings on oral language development from a recently published book by the California Department of Education titled, Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches. The paper also serves as the research base for Ballard & Tighe’s new teacher toolkit, Frames for Fluency.

To download a free copy and see a video briefly summarizing the white paper’s findings, visit http://www.framesforfluency.com and click on the “WHY” button.

Second Language Instruction through the Decades

From Second Language Teaching and Learning: "No one ever warned me that the older I got, the more I would have to live down. Yes, things just change over time and you are truly humbled ..."

A New Oral Language Development Tool

See the all new Frames for Fluency, an oral language development tool from Ballard & Tighe, Publishers. See it now at www.framesforfluency.com

ELLs Bridge the Gap with Frames for Fluency

Brea, CA (PRWEB) January 27, 2011

Educators may be surprised to hear that research shows the average English language learner (ELL) speaks less than 90 seconds of English a day in the classroom. To help solve this problem, Ballard & Tighe, Publishers developed Frames for Fluency, a new, easy-to-use classroom tool that provides K-5 English learners opportunities for oral language rehearsal.

Most educators would agree that oral language proficiency forms the foundation of written language. In the groundbreaking report, "Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches," a national panel of respected researchers advocates structured and explicit English language development with a focus on oral language as a key instructional practice.

Frames for Fluency is a toolbox of more than 550 ready-made sentence frames organized by proficiency level. In just 15 minutes a day, Frames for Fluency gives ELLs the opportunity to experience and practice oral language in a meaningful and structured way. Current ELL research points to the need for direct instruction on language forms (grammar) and functions (usage). Frames for Fluency enables ELLs to achieve high levels of academic oral fluency (oracy) and grammatical accuracy, serving as a bridge to literacy.

“With dropout rates more than triple their native English-speaking peers, providing ELLs a bridge to success is of vital importance for our nation’s schools. For more than 30 years, Ballard & Tighe’s sole mission has been helping English learners realize their full potential ... one student at a time,” said Mark Espinola, CEO of Ballard & Tighe.

Based on research and best practices, Frames for Fluency:

• Reduces teacher preparation time in searching for and developing the appropriate language patterns for practice by providing 550 ready-made sentence frames.
• Systematically and sequentially provides practice for key grammatical forms and functions of language.
• Provides the scaffolding students need to reach higher levels of fluency than they might reach without support.
• Uses oral language in ELD/ESL classes efficiently.
• Incorporates a consistent practice routine using a gradual release of responsibility (I DO IT, WE DO IT, YOU DO IT) that allows teachers to quickly prepare for and students to effectively participate in lessons.

For a quick overview on Frames for Fluency, visit: http://www.framesforfluency.com/movie. To learn more about Frames for Fluency and to see it being used in the classroom, visit: http://www.framesforfluency.com.

About Ballard & Tighe
Ballard & Tighe, Publishers (http://www.ballard-tighe.com) has focused on developing products for English language learners since 1976. Ballard & Tighe produces assessment products and English language development materials that are used in more than 3,500 school districts throughout the U.S. and internationally.

ELLs Bridge the Gap with Frames for Fluency

ELLs Bridge the Gap with Frames for Fluency