Nine Dimensions of Scaffolding for Multilingual Learners
Bilingual/ELL Learners | Formative Assessment | Teaching Strategies for Diverse Students
Create a rigorous learning environment with strategic and inclusive scaffolding practices
Today's classrooms are more linguistically diverse than ever, but many educators still feel underprepared to support multilingual learners in accessing grade-level academic content. Without intentional scaffolding, these students miss opportunities to thrive alongside their peers. Through nine scaffolded approaches—instructional, linguistic, multimodal, multisensory, graphic, digital, interactive/collaborative, social-emotional, and environmental—this resource offers content area teachers research-based, practical strategies to meet the linguistic, social-emotional, and academic needs of multilingual learners.
Key features of this book include
- Detailed vignettes and authentic examples from classrooms to illustrate scaffolding in action
- Research-based strategies for integrating scaffolds into lessons across content areas
- Self-assessment tools and reflection questions for personal and professional growth
- Practical templates to help educators tailor their scaffolding techniques to individual student needs
Scaffolding instruction is not just another teaching approach to learning—it is a critical non-negotiable for multilingual learners, providing a lifeline to language mastery, academic achievement, and a profound sense of belonging. Dove, Honigsfeld, and McDermott Goldman offer the guidance and inspiration educators need to cultivate equitable, engaging learning opportunities that truly help multilingual students to soar.
"Nine Dimensions of Scaffolding for Multilingual Learners offers a comprehensive and practical guide to scaffolding that empowers educators to fully support multilingual learners in rigorous, inclusive classrooms. The book offers clear frameworks, authentic classroom vignettes, and accessible tools for educators. The authors translate research into clear strategies teachers can implement immediately across content areas. It is an excellent resource for educators committed to fostering equitable access, academic success, and a sense of belonging for linguistically diverse students."
"I already know Nine Dimensions of Scaffolding for Multilingual Learners will be my top recommendation this year. Teaching becomes more complex every day, but this book puts into words everything I always wanted teachers to know. When an MLE comes to us in high school, it is just not okay to wait for their language skills to develop before they can take the classes they want and need. If we do only translation, it also doesn’t prepare them for the next steps in their life. This means we have to do so many things at once: teach language, teach complex content, and ensure we do both at all times. This book shows teachers simple ways to create access even when the material is complex and daunting. Just because they cannot communicate all of their higher-level thinking doesn’t mean it’s not an essential part of their growth and content understanding. This book helps bridge the gap so teachers can bring out the best in their MLEs."