This academic year has felt less like a steady climb and more like a series of high-stakes crossroads. Since our school provisions changed and we implemented differentiated English lessons for our EAL learners, my daily “to-do” list has been replaced by a “to-decide” list.

Decision fatigue is real for any educator. But when you are navigating new territory — like EAL provision for an entire elementary school — the weight of those choices feels different. You aren’t just choosing a resource; you are choosing the bridge your students will use to access the world.

The Great Literacy Dilemma

Early in the year, I hit the toughest fork in the road yet. I was looking at a group of Year 3 learners who were full of potential but lacked the literacy skills in the English language. We know that for multilingual learners, the ability to navigate complex texts determines whether they can participate fully and achieve their potential. So, I was faced with a choice:

1. Do we follow the mainstream Year 3 English curriculum, even if the students can’t decode the words on the page?
2. Or do we pause and provide the intensive Phonics provision they so desperately need?

To add to the complexity, we were preparing for new arrivals — students who are not only New to English but are often pre-literate in any language.

Finding the “Third Way”

I realized that it didn’t have to be an “either/or” situation. I chose a path of aligned differentiation. The goal was simple but ambitious: keep the students connected to their peers socially and academically, while giving them the phonetic tools to eventually work independently.

This meant we had to look at adapting complex topics like Mass in Maths and Rocks and Fossils in Science into accessible, decodable experiences. It is about ensuring they can read to learn even while they are still learning to read.

Making it Work in the Classroom

Currently, we are bridging the gap by using topic-aligned decodables. Here is how that looks in practice:

• In Science (Rocks): While the class discusses sedimentary layers, my EAL group is working on CVC words like rock, dig, and pot. They aren’t just “doing phonics”; they are accessing Science content through a phonetic lens. We combine this with the pre-teaching of Tier 3 scientific vocabulary with the help of visuals and practical experiments.
• In Maths (Mass): We’ve turned “Mass” into a hands-on language lab. Using balance scales, students weigh a pen, a cup, or a bag. They are practicing their short vowel sounds while physically experiencing the concept of “heavy” and “light.” We do a fair amount of choral response work too, especially for sound bites they will hear and be expected to respond to in their mainstream lessons, e.g. ‘More stuff means more mass.”

(If the content challenge is high, remember we must provide more language scaffolds.)

Reflections

Is it more work? Yes.

Does it require constant pivoting? Absolutely. (I rarely get through a lesson without having to change course!)

But choosing to provide decodable texts that mirror the mainstream topic ensures that when we come together as a whole class, my EAL learners aren’t just observers, they are participants. This year of decisions has taught me that differentiation isn’t about making the work “easy”; it’s about making the “hard” work reachable.

Resources

For more strategies on inclusion and differentiation, check out Peter Clements and my book, Supporting EAL Learners: Strategies for Inclusion.