 The beginning of the year is both an exciting and scary time for students and educators. We all have the feelings. It's normal to wonder what the year will be like, will our peers like us, will we find belonging...
Many educators start the year with ice breaker activities to build relationships and engage students in connecting. You can read about six different fun ice breakers here in this blog from twinkl. Which will you try? Which do you already do? Is there one more you can add?  By Valentina Gonzalez, 2024
Much like a first impression, the first few days of school lay the groundwork for the rest of the year. They help to create a foundation and atmosphere. Traditionally these days have been used to set up the “rules” and for compliance. But instead, I offer you a few more community and relational techniques to start the year with students. You can adjust these to meet your students’ age level, but mostly they can be accommodated to fit K-12. These were chosen because they keep a focus on multilingual learners’ needs by building community, encouraging interaction, lowering the affective filter, and they can be used later in the year for more academic lessons.  Teachers of Multilingual Learners have unique roles, special jobs! They not the same as most of the other teachers in the building. Here are a few articles to help get the year started on the right foot.
4 Things You Can Take OFF of Your List Before School Starts 3 Common 1st Day of School Mistakes Things To Do with MLs During the 1st WEEK of School 5 Ways to Start Off Your Class Period with MLs An EL Teacher’s Perspective on Self (& Professional) Improvement When we pour into ourselves, those around us benefit. This is why becoming the BEST version of yourself is an investment for not only YOU but all of those around you. Our students, families and colleagues deserve the best from us and so do we.
These ideas led me to think about how I will deliberately improve myself for the sake of the English learners, families, and colleagues I work with and here is my plan. I’m nudging you to think about your intentions also. What will you do in 2023?  The first thing we do with students can set the tone for our time together. Starting the period off on the right foot is critical to a successful lesson. Read on to discover five ways to start your class period in engaging and welcoming ways whether you are a general education teacher or an ESL teacher that pulls students out.
 Each year that we are in education, we grow wiser. We realize what worked and what didn’t. We learn just as our students do. We learn from reflecting on our experiences and from others. Recently I asked Larry Ferlazzo, Carol Salva, Rita Platt, and Andrea Honigsfeld if they would kindly reflect on their own careers as educators and share with us some advice or something they wish they did differently. Here’s what they said…
 The first few days of school lay the groundwork. They help to create a foundation and atmosphere for the rest of the year. Here are a few of my favorite ways to start the year off with students. You can adjust these to meet your students’ age level, but mostly they can be accommodated to fit K-12.
I picked these activities because they keep ELs at the heart by building community, encouraging interaction, lowering the affective filter, and they can be used later in the year for more academic lessons.  & What to do insteadIn some parts of the world, school has already started. The first day has passed. Eager teachers welcomed students into their classrooms. Nervous students began their year in a new environment. Whether you have already started your new school year or you are about to launch it soon, you might find these 3 mistakes familiar. Over the years, here's what I've learned about how to make the best of the first day with my English Learners (and frankly all students) so that the rest of the year can by successful.
Mistake #1 Focusing on rules  You know that list...that list of all the things you want to get done before the first day of school. We could really make it easier on ourselves as teachers AND better for our students if we eliminated 4 tasks!
1. Decorating the walls with posters, charts, etc. |
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