What is RAFT

This chapter explores the practice of differentiating instruction for young English Language Learners (ELLs) in the academic content areas. While ELLs are the most rapidly growing demographic in US K-12 public schools, they are also the most diverse, and will thus benefit from dynamic instruction that meets their needs to provide challenge, success, and fit. Based upon earlier applications of differentiated instruction (such as those in Tomlinson, 1999), this chapter proffers four examples of differentiated activities for young ELLs in math, science, social studies, and language arts. It then extends traditional implementation of differentiated instruction to include students' funds of knowledge and their linguistic repertoire, thereby providing teachers of young ELLs more holistic means to extend student engagement with the content and the type of language favored in academic settings.