The Tools for Newcomer MLs We Should Have Built Years Ago
- Kyle Larson
- 58 minutes ago
- 3 min read
If you’ve ever taught newcomer MLs, you’ve seen the same heartbreaking loop in thier content area classes:
They sit.
They listen.
They watch.
And, oh so often, do they try. That is, until they realize they are getting nowhere.
Newcomers don’t have the language to enter the lesson.
And when students can’t enter learning, they can’t grow in it. They fall behind — not because they can’t learn, but because school is happening around them, not with them.
The truth is this: Level 1 students are capable of much more than one-word answers and pointing. They just need the right language at the right moment — and they need it in a way they can actually use.
That’s the purpose of this new resource.
A One-Page Tool That Gives Newcomer MLs Access to the Classroom
This month, we created a simple two-page spread designed for absolute beginners — the students who walk in with little or no English, but with full intelligence, full potential, and full desire to participate. We aren't talking about the silver bullet of instruction. We're talking about giving students a foothold.
The page we are giving you to use at your leisure, gives students the exact phrases, icons, and important words they need to navigate school:
Asking for help
Understanding directions
Everyday needs
Checking understanding
Classroom conversations
Time & schedule language
Important classroom and content words
These are not random vocabulary lists, but rather functional language tools that empower students to:
Ask questions
Join conversations
Follow directions
Communicate needs
Access content
And advocate for themselves
This is what makes school visible for our newcomer MLs. Click below to download.
The second page Shows Growth — Even Inside Level 1
On the second page, students demonstrate progress through a series of simple, visual, low-text tasks.
They:
choose a phrase from each category
use it in a real situation
check a box when they complete tasks
log individual “moments”
and move up a five-step progress ladder aligned to Level 1
There is no heavy writing.
No long reflections.
No directions needed.
It’s intuitive, visual, and built for real classrooms.
And this is the shift we need:
👉 Newcomers don’t just watch learning happen — they join it.
👉 They don’t sit silently — they communicate early and often.
👉 They don’t disappear into content classes — they participate.
This is how we close the gap before it widens.
⭐ Introducing ACE: The Next Level (Launching January)
This two-page spread is part of a larger, student-facing system called ACE: The Next Level, a notebook we’re releasing with the new year.
ACE: The Next Level will include:
Simple language and skills to move from Level 1 all the way to reclassification
QR codes linking to online books, scaffolded texts, vocabulary games, learning supports, and brain-break activities
Student-facing challenges that build productive study habits
Spaces for demonstrating language progress in content classes
Clear, easy steps aligned to proficiency level descriptors
It’s modern.
It’s practical.
And it’s built for the multilingual classroom we actually have—not the one we wish we had.
Want the “Ace Level 1” Student Check Sheet?
We’re giving away the student-facing Level 1 check sheet page 2 to blog subscribers only.
This is the version students will use to demonstrate their progress through Level 1.
If you’d like it, simply sign up for the blog, and it will be sent directly to you.
This resource is for you, your newcomers, and the multilingual learners who deserve access to learning from day one.