Supporting Middle School Students With Little Formal Education

I’m a seasoned teacher with 18 years of experience under my belt. This year, I have the smallest class I’ve ever had as an English language (EL) teacher, with fewer than 10 students, but it has been my most challenging year to date.

When I got my schedule over the summer, I knew that things were going to be different. I saw my roster and I thought, “This will be great! I’m going to be able to spend more time with each student and really differentiate instruction and meet kids where they are.” Last year, I had over 25 newcomer students in my EL class, and while some aspects of that proved challenging, my class was a well-oiled machine where kids were engaged, working, learning, and talking every day. Like many schools around the country, we saw an increase in our EL student population over the past few years. This led our school to hire more EL teachers, which is helpful—but small classes come with their own challenges.

This year, with my little bitty class, all the things I’ve prided myself on as a teacher have been harder to reach. My students’ abilities are more varied in this small class than they were in my very large newcomer class. I have three students who are attending school for the first time at the age of 13. It’s been a big challenge finding ways to engage my students with such varied skills. For much of this year, I felt like I was putting in maximum effort for minimum results, and there were many days when I left school feeling defeated and thinking, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

However, with a lot of reflection and many, many, many conversations with my amazing team of teachers, I’ve finally started to find some traction on how to engage a group of small but very diverse learners. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Teaching Students with Little or Interrupted Formal Education

My SLIFE students (students with little or interrupted formal education) don’t have a lot of transferable academic skills to grab on to in our classroom, so I’ve had to get creative in how to engage them. Hands-on activities that build independence are crucial to having a functional classroom where everyone gets their fair share of attention and their needs met. Finding independent activities for middle school students with very limited literacy skills can be a big challenge, but I’ve found that routines and games are a game-changer (pun intended).

Routines: Routines are important for any classroom, and in a small class they become even more critical. When a group is small, students may not see the class as “real” or as important as others, so maintaining structure and stability signals that learning is still the priority. This year, I’ve had to switch up my routines because many of my students lack basic literacy skills, making activities like riddles or open-ended questions too challenging for some to participate in.

I still start each class with a message, but now I use pictures as conversation starters. I post an image and have students share something they see or something they find interesting. Pictures tell stories and are accessible to everyone, allowing all students to participate and share insights regardless of their language level. Students can share what they find interesting in their native language, which increases engagement for all my learners. This small shift has been a game-changer in fostering discussion and engagement in my classroom.

Games: Games that rely on visual cues instead of literacy skills have been lifesavers. Zinga is a game with visual cues that students who are still building literacy skills can play independently, and it has become a go-to in my classroom. Another great game is Item Match, where students receive cards with different classroom items they must find around the room. They get a card, locate the item, and bring it back—reinforcing word-object connections in an interactive way. Alphabet sorts and word sorts also keep students engaged, giving them structured activities that promote independence while freeing me up to work with students at different levels.

Another game I’ve added to my repertoire is a simple twist on Guess My Number. I give students a range of numbers (e.g., 1–25), and they choose a number in that range. Students with matching numbers can’t win, but they stay in the game to try to get other people out as well. The winner is either the last person standing or the first one to guess the correct number. This low-stakes, high-engagement game helps students practice number recognition, speaking, and strategic thinking in a way that’s accessible to all learners.

Make it hands-on: Another strategy that has worked wonders is collaborative, project-based learning. For students who may struggle with reading and writing, giving them something to physically build, draw, or act out provides an entry point into learning. We’ve done everything from creating class murals that depict new vocabulary words to acting out everyday conversations in role-play scenarios. When students can physically engage with content, they develop confidence in their abilities and naturally begin to take more academic risks.

To foster autonomy, I’ve also incorporated task stations with self-paced activities. Some students might be working on sorting words by initial sounds, while others use picture-word matching puzzles, and another group engages in a partner-based scavenger hunt using labeled classroom objects. This tiered structure allows all students to engage at their level without feeling left behind or overwhelmed.

Challenging yourself as a teacher

At the start of the year, I felt like I had lost my rhythm as a teacher. But as I reflect on the shifts I’ve made, I realize I’ve gained something even more valuable: a deeper understanding of what it means to truly meet students where they are. Teaching this group has stretched me in ways I never anticipated, but it has also reaffirmed why I do this work.

One thing I have learned this year is that growth will look different for students who never attended school before, and this is OK. It can be hard to let go of your idea of what progress looks like and embrace what it is in reality. By creating an environment where students feel safe and included, you are opening the door for them to learn new expectations that come with school. The more you can tap into what SLIFE students know, the more value they can bring to the classroom. Just because a child lacks literacy skills does not mean they lack thinking skills or knowledge. So instead of asking the child to bend and form to the expectations of school, we have to bend with them and make space for what they are bringing to the table.

Every class is different, every student is unique, and sometimes the most unexpected challenges lead to the most meaningful growth for both the students and the teacher. It’s not always easy to meet kids where they are, and this year has shown me that even an old dog like myself can learn new tricks.