 Being a good educator for multilingual learners is one thing, but being an amazing educator for multilingual learners is quite another story. What are the secret ingredients that make amazing educators for multilingual learners so phenomenal?
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This brief post lists 13 instructional practices that reduce the love and motivation for reading in students and then 13 ways to inspire and motivate them.
In contrast, here are 13 ways to help students find love, joy, and excitement in reading.  This was an important lesson I learned because what happened time and time again was my principal or director would tell me that I had X number of dollars to spend on multilingual learners (English learners) by tomorrow! Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but not much. I was like a deer in the headlights, my eyes big and wide. I mean, I wanted the money for my students but at THAT moment I could think of nothing. My brain was blank.
 Multilingual learners count on us to provide high-quality, comprehensible, and culturally responsive instruction in each lesson in every classroom.
Here are 22 practical and efficient ways (in no particular order) we can support emergent bilinguals as they climb to become our future global leaders. *The terms multilingual, emergent bilingual, and English learner are used interchangeably in this article and also include the acronyms MLs, EBs, and ELs.  Sketchnoting is a powerful tool for learners of all ages and in every content area. We can teach young and older students how to use sketchnotes to increase their own linguistic & academic development. Here are some of the posts and articles I have shared related to sketchnotes.
 The Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM) which was introduced by Emily Calhoun in the 90s is a popular way to support language learners. It helps meet students where they are, grow their language, and add to their content knowledge.
 This article was first published on 6/8/2018 and updated on 8/21/2021. When I first saw the graphics below that showed the diversity represented in children's books, I was stunned and appalled. You can learn more about the article here. The statistics were alarming. They reported that the majority of main characters depicted in children's books are either White or Animals/Objects. Seeing these graphics and reading about the study led me to take an audit of my own books and resources. I started by sorting out my books. I made stacks. And honestly, I was shocked and saddened that my bookshelf truly was not as diverse as I imagined. It certainly did not parallel the demographics on my campus either. This prompted action.
Students benefit from seeing themselves and others in the books they read. Why? For one, because seeing ourselves outside of ourselves makes us feel visible. In this video, Rene Watson, an author and educator, shares how important it is for students to read about about characters that are like them and share similar experiences. Rudine Sims-Bishop calls these books mirrors. On the other hand, readers also need to read about a wide variety of people and experiences. Sims-Bishop calls these windows. Reading about other's lives helps us to find connections and build community. Dr. Brene Brown says, "We are hardwired for connection and without it there is suffering." We also gain much knowledge and learn empathy from seeing others in the books we read. So why aren't our shelves filled with books that have diverse characters? If you've ever questioned why your students aren't interested in the books on your shelves, you might stop to think about the types of books that are there. Do they represent your students? Can the kids connect with them? I also learned about a non-profit organization called We Need Diverse Books. Check it out. They share a lot of information including lists of diverse books. In my quest for making my shelf more diverse, I have found some great books. I'll keep adding to this and if you have suggestions, please comment and include a picture if you can.                                If you like what you read and would like to read more like this, you may enjoy the book Reading & Writing with English Learners: A Framework for K-5 by Valentina Gonzalez and Dr. Melinda Miller.
 For several years I taught on a campus that had an ESL program. We had students from around the globe. Families literally sought out our school before signing a lease or purchasing a home because they wanted to be sure their kids would be zoned to our campus. Our program was well known for the success we had with multilingual children.
 The Stepping Stones that Led me hereOver the past few years, teachers often ask me how I went from a classroom teacher to an educational consultant and author. They are curious and many would like to follow the path. It’s no secret. I’m happy to share it with you. If you’re curious or perhaps have a similar desire, read on.
 About this time of year dozens of articles come out about how to support English learners during the summer so their English language development doesn’t regress. Many with good intentions recommend families push English as a main or pervasive language. Historically, it was thought that students that were learning English needed to shed their heritage language to “make room” for English. Now we know that theory is not true and that a heritage language supports the development of additional languages. So what should we advise caregivers to do at home over the summer to keep their children learning and prepared for the next school year?
 On May 11, I had the honor to sit in a virtual room with THE Regie Routman about teaching readers NOT teaching reading. Yes, we carefully thought that out because we both believe the center of instruction should be around children always. I'm delighted to share this conversation with you.
 Teaching multilingual children is a gift. It’s truly a joy. In my own classroom, I learned so much from my students, especially those that spoke more than one language.
Over the years, one thing I learned from experience as well as through professional learning is that each student deserves to be seen and served individually. No one size fits all approach works. While differentiation may seem daunting, it’s actually not that scary. Dr. Stephen Fleenor describes differentiation as “not creating individualized lessons...it is creating environments in which students at all different levels, all different proficiencies...can each thrive and each grow one level up in that lesson”. Dr. Fleenor offers two wise suggestions for creating of environments that offer differentiation:  Last year, I wrote about what I was currently listening to, reading, writing, and viewing. I thought it was a good time to share again. And I’d love to learn about yours!
 EL teachers work alongside many stakeholders. They work with students of course. But they also work with general education teachers, instructional coaches, special education teachers, administrators, and more. However, one lesser known, yet powerful partnership is the one between the EL teacher and the library media specialist.
What do EL teachers and library media specialists have in common? These stories from the field bring a reality to the question.  This article was originally shared on the Seidlitz Blog on April 29, 2020.
Imagine you are a second grade student born in America, and you only speak English. You’ve attended English schools until now. But your father’s job has relocated your family to France, and now you are in a classroom filled with students and a teacher who only speak French (a language you have never spoken). The science teacher hands you a book and signals for you to read it. You open the book and find that it is filled with pictures…no words. First a group of horses. A mare feeding a foal. A colt running wild. Then a group of pigs, chickens, cows, etc. Instantly, you begin to think about the information you know about animals. What they are called, where they live, what they eat, etc. Though you aren’t able to communicate this information in French yet, you are able to follow along with the class and think in English using the schema and background knowledge you have about animals. Why Use Wordless Picture Books?  If you are new to teaching English learners or new to your role as an EL/ESL/ELD/ELL teacher, these are articles you may find useful.
Reading & Writing with ELs Bookies #ReadingWritingELs
A lot of the work I do centers around literacy and ELs. The goal of this post is to help you quickly & easily find what you're looking for as a reading teacher of ELs.
 Leading is more about what you choose to do rather than the title you have. Like most of you, I've witnessed many campus teachers who were amazing examples of trailblazers who were the epitome of excellence and who all the other teachers looked up to, went to advice for, and wanted to be like. These were the educators who inspired others and lit flames!
On the other hand I'v also seen professionals with elaborate titles who did the bare minimum and often created tension or were like a firework that was a dud...you hoped it would ignite into a beautiful burst of colors, but instead it fizzled into a messy, smelly smoke bomb. Such a disappointment.  If you teach reading you have probably heard of the “Reading Wars”. And if you haven’t, then perhaps you don’t even need to read any further. For those that have, you might feel confused. I, for example, question why we have to “be at war” with colleagues or pick a side. I don’t want to be at war or pick a side. But the tension on Twitter and Facebook is real.
In essence the debate is about how best to teach reading to students. But many educators wonder if we can believe in both balanced literacy and the science of reading?  When I left the comfort of my own classroom to become an ESL teacher, I didn’t know that I would have to become intentional about building relationships with the mainstream classroom teachers I worked with. But I learned quickly.
Healthy, productive relationships between mainstream teachers and ESL teachers don’t happen on their own magically. Like most relationships, thought, planning, and careful execution takes place for a truly happy relationship to develop. Over the years, here’s what I learned as an ESL teacher about creating relationships with mainstream teachers.  I am beyond excited about the publishing of my first book! This book is truly a labor of love and comes from my heart. And I'm honored to have co-authored it with Dr. Melinda Miller. She and I compliment one another beautifully. As I think back on my why, why did I write this book, I'm taken back to my own years in elementary school as an English learner. Even though school came very naturally to me, reading didn't. Don't get me wrong. I could decode like it was anyone's business. But I didn't have a desire or stamina for reading. One year, I had an awesome reading teacher who let us read whatever we wanted during independent reading block. AND we routinely had independent reading time. The problem was that I wasn't connecting with books. Instead, I found myself hiding behind the pages and peering over to wonder what my classmates were doing. I was a good student. Straight As. A teacher's pet for sure! I wanted to please so I mimicked everyone else. But deep inside I just wanted to figure out why everyone else was actually reading. The funny thing is that my experiences as an EL didn't magically make me understand how to teach ELs reading and writing. Sure, I could empathize and I had my own background knowledge to lean on, but as a teacher, I had to seek out a ton of professional learning, books, and PD on the topic before I felt like I was really making progress. I hope you find what you're looking for in this book. I hope you see yourself as a teacher, leader, and role model. I hope it stirs up something inside of you and creates a new passion and desire for serving ELs. 10 Reasons Why YOU Should Read Reading & Writing With English Learners; 1. You want to help English learners become stronger readers. 2. You want to help ELs love writing. 3. You want to be a better reading teacher for your students. 4. You want to strengthen your skills as a writing teacher. 5. You want to increase ELs' language and literacy. 6. You want to learn more about a balanced literacy approach. 7. You want to find out how to accommodate reading and writing instruction to support ELs. 8. You want ELs to succeed and feel they belong in grade level ELA classrooms. 9. You want to provide ELs with the best reading and writing support they can have. 10. You want to be equipped to serve ELs in reading and writing workshop.  This article was originally posted on 2-25-2017 and has been updated on 9-17-2020 to include information relevant to distance learning.
“A picture is worth a thousand words" or so we’ve heard. The question is, how do we encourage students to get those words out, especially if we are teaching and learning in remote or hybrid settings? Some of you may be familiar with the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM) which was first introduced by Emily Calhoun (1999). This instructional method has been successful in traditional classrooms for decades, but can we implement it in virtual settings too? Read on to find out what PWIM is and how you can implement it to develop language.  If we want to ensure that English learners don't continue to fall behind academically, integrating language with content is the key! This is where listening, speaking, reading, writing, (and viewing) come into play. So I ask you, how are you practicing what you preach and modeling these behaviors for staff, students, and families? I'll share mine and then I'd love to hear yours!
Listening...  I started teaching in the winter of 1997. Hired in a wonderful suburban district outside of Houston, Texas. The campus experienced a little growth and needed a teacher mid year, so I was the lucky one hired in December just as I received my college diploma and teaching certification.
My college pre-service classes taught me little about what the classroom experience would truly be like. And with wide-eyes I walked into my first classroom and found myself teaching third graders who had a myriad of needs I was ill prepared for. Some students needed special education support, others dyslexia, and some were learning English. I quickly found that the big white binder of curriculum didn’t hold the answers I needed to give these kids the support THEY needed.  Art teacher, Libby Beaty, teaches in Seoul, South Korea at Seoul Foreign Middle School. I came across her Twitter handle in April and was instantly hooked. But I didn’t know how much I would actually love her until after I asked her to answer a few questions for me. When I read her responses, my heart filled with joy and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was Teacher Appreciation Week and this is yet another example of a teacher we must celebrate!
Here's the art project that Libby shared on Twitter and that she had her students do. It went pretty much viral. When I saw it, I reached out to Libby on Instagram and asked if I could “interview” her about her work. I asked her a series of questions. Here’s how it went. |
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