Inspiring English Language Learners
You heard it say...and I'll say it again - Teachers, work smarter NOT harder!!!
After my newcomers finished creating sentences based on their sketches of the story "Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah", (SEE LESSON HERE), I wanted my students to do something with their hard work. THIS lesson here gave me a GREAT idea for our next lessons! This lesson extension lead us to discuss "Big Ideas" found in the story, analyze visible and invisible traits, and compare and contrast ourselves to Emmanuel. Big Ideas
The "Big Ideas" were not a difficult process to explain since I presented them through a Jamboard, so my students quickly translated the ideas and were able to understand them. We sure practiced reading them in English and found sentences we had created to match each "Big Idea".
The list of "Big Ideas is in the lessons shared above on page #4. The handout is to compare and contrast, but I only had them complete the "Emmanuel" part. The matching details supporting each idea had to come from the sentences students had already created; so, there wasn't any extra work to do besides analyzing the sentences and placing them on the corresponding "Big Idea". 
Big Ideas (some examples):
Don't Give Up - "Even though his mother couldn't carry him to school, he walked himself so he can be in school." Believe in Your Own Abilities - "He went to work even though he knew it was going to be difficult to get a job with his disability." Accept Help When Needed - "Emmanuel's friends helped him play soccer even though he was missing a leg." Be Brave - "He traveled to Accra by himself to find a job." Be respectful - "He respected his mother's wishes to take care of his siblings once she was gone." Dream Big - "He dreamed of biking all around Accra even though no one with a disability had accomplished such a goal. He did it!" Visible and Invisible Traits - Human Size Organizer
I explained to students how the "Big Ideas" and supporting details are simply details about Emmanuel's life we learned through the book. I began making a connection with a lesson we've had the previous days when we discussed visible and invisible traits.
Visible traits - What we can say about a person based on what we see. Invisible traits: What we can say about a person once we get to know them and learn their story.
Our personal visible and invisible traits activity
Based on the format we used on our personal visible and invisible traits activity, students were to analyze Emmanuel's life and identify (the visible and invisible characteristics and traits).
However, instead of writing these on a boring worksheet...students created a HUMAN-SIZE graphic organizer. To create a human-size graphic organizer, students received a large piece of white bulletin board paper and a pencil. They were to trace a classmate to create an outline shape of a person (Emmanuel). Students were instructed to divide the human size shape and draw and color in Emmanuel's visible characteristics and traits. Visible characteristics & Traits:
Students had a blast creating these presentations and sharing with their peers.
Comparing & Contrast with Character
To close on our reading and learning about Emmanuel, we took close look at our personal lives and Emmanuel's.
The "Big Ideas: Compare and Contrast" worksheet mentioned above was very helpful and easy to understand the assignment on comparing ourselves to Emmanuel. We talked about how our journeys as newcomers afford us the words and space to compare ourselves with a character such as Emmanuel. His persistence and motivation to be more, do more, and become more are exactly the characteristics we share. 
All students had to do was align a part of their own experience and journey to each of the "Big Ideas" given. Some students decided to share very personal experiences; others shared some academic ones. Ultimately, this activity served as an opportunity to dig deeper into our own lives and see how much we're like Emmanuel - A character we learn to admire after learning about this life.
If you have advanced English learners, there's an extension activity I had my students complete. They had to write an essay. The first part of the essay has Emmanuel's life using the sentences we made from our sketches THEN adding our similarities and differences with Emmanuel. It wold look something like this, but of course, some can be challenged to do more... 
This was a LOOOOONG post! Thank you for reading!!
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