For Teachers

Big ideas and practical resources for arts and language learning in the classroom.
 
 

Why Arts for MLs?

The arts motivate MLs to find their voices – and make them heard. Art activities lower students’ inhibitions, actively engaging them in their own learning through real life problems and projects.

 
https://www.youtube.com/embed/CX9Df4sr4Rs
Why Arts for MLs?
When multilingual learners engage in an artistic process, they learn to think and work independently, take imaginative risks, discover and develop their ideas, and collaborate. Students learn to communicate through body, facial, and vocal expression, and can express complex ideas and understanding through their artmaking.
Jen Mohr - a white woman with blonde shoulder length hair, stands in front of a presentation on language
https://www.youtube.com/embed/HZG_rmVJ73M

Language and Arts Learning

“If you are to be proficient in a language, it involves more than a whole bunch of memorized words.” Jennifer Stengel-Mohr explains communicative competence and arts learning.
Language Learning
a group of students in white shirts and black pants all dance with their arms stretched up and balancing on their right leg

Artistic Experience

The artistic process allows students to develop their work and voice with confidence and independence.
Art Making

Reflection on Learning

Help make learning in the arts visible and offer a formative assessment model to help students describe and assess their work. Ultimately, the process empowers students to have ownership o
Collaborative Portfolios

Professional Learning

Through workshops, peer learning communities, action research and in class residencies teachers learn DELLTA strategies.
Professional Learning
 
 

Teach with DELLTA Resources

Authentic art-making opportunities provide a safe space for language learners to develop their voice and make meaningful choices. The structure of these opportunities needs to be supported for MLs and include appropriate scaffolds.

Tools
 
Smaller sketched images for the 8-traits. Link the learning, address a language objective, use repetition and reinforcement, be mindful of teacher input, make connections, activity before content, ample practice and appropriate expectations.
Traits of a ML Supportive Lesson
While good teaching practice impacts all learners, specific supports enhance instruction for MLs co-developed with ENL Consultant Jennifer Stengel-Mohr.
Traits for an ML-supportive lesson
Three elementary school students dance together on the stage. Two students clasp hands and rotate around a student in the center who is in a low pose.

Theater Activity: Creating Setting with Tableau

In this activity, students make shapes with their bodies. After creating a setting through a tableau or frozen pose, students collaboratively generate dialogue.
Try it: Theater Activity
Four middle school students create a dance tableau. Two boys hold another boy up, his feet rest on their thighs. He reaches his arms straight up . Another boy with his back to the audience, lunges towards them and touches the elevated boy's legs. They all look at this dancer.

Dance Residency

Example dance residency
Dance as Language Program
Peer
Feedback
in the Arts
Two elementary school students are sitting at a desk working together. One student writes on a piece of paper.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/QXd0uFGrVzU?si=-_5fHlhwkSMzemP-

Supporting Peer Feedback with Criteria

Teaching Artist Shawn Williams and ENL teacher Katrina Perea use a Peer Feedback process to engage their students in deep conversation in an online film residency.
Performance Criteria

Theater Performance Criteria and Feedback Tool

This tool helps middle school students to give and receive peer feedback based on clear criteria, assess and revise their artmaking.
Formative Assessment Toolkit
Crafting
Language
Objectives
 
a student with dark brown skin and a plaid shirt speaks to their peers

Crafting Language Objectives in an Arts Lesson

Language objectives are essential in every lesson. Use this process to identify the language demands organically present in a task and generate language objectives for students.
Language Supports Toolkit
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FqYhxEcVx4o

Using a Feedback Chart for Revisions in Theater

Artist Chris Heller partners with teachers to create feedback charts. This supports students in using descriptive language and retaining and applying feedback in revisions.
Feedback Toolkit
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