Resources for teachers who serve multilingual learners in PK-12th grade classrooms

Math is often seen as a subject removed from everyday feelings and experiences. These ten books reveal the people who loved math and made it an important part of their identities.

The 2020-2021 school year will be, by far, the most difficult one to plan for yet. There are simply too many unknowns. As a nation and as a world, we just lived through and are currently continuing…

When English language learners are given consistent opportunities to practice their home languages in class, their English proficiency flourishes—along with their sense of belonging and identity.

Teachers have to recognize that they are not the focal point of the classroom if they want students to gain and keep knowledge.

Many English learners acquire listening and speaking skills but may struggle with developing sufficient reading levels to pass language proficiency assessments or to meet grade-level standards. Alt…

Just hearing two languages helps babies develop cognitive skills before they even speak. Here's how - and how you can help them develop those skills.

by Valentina Gonzalez What Is the Affective Filter? The term “affective filter” originates from Stephen Krashen, an expert in the field of linguistics, who described it as a number of affective var…

The popular film this summer shows how the topics — and the format — Fred Rogers brought to TV are as relevant to education and child development as they ever were.

by Nancy Motley I know that we are all in a steep learning curve right now, myself included! Interestingly, I am immersed in learning how to transform the very routine I created into a format suita…

by Valentina Gonzalez Imagine you have been prescribed medication with a daily dosage to help control your blood pressure. Let’s say 50 mL in the morning and 50 at night. However, you decide the pi…

There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world -- and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky...

ELL teacher Emily Francis shares her immigrant journey from Guatemala to a North Carolina classroom to help educators gain insights about their own Newcomers.

Being bilingual is not just about learning two languages, it’s about absorbing meaning, negotiating and being flexible when it comes to language.

Some researchers say the bar to be considered proficient in English is so high that only students who perform well can be reclassified.

Teachers of newcomer students need help integrating language lessons into their content. Strategies based on Writing Is Thinking Through Inquiry could help.

Schools can better support students who are still learning English by working to involve their families in their education.

by Carmen Nguyen  During this time of uncertainty, we are faced with many challenges that detrimentally affect and change how we are teaching. Whether we are teaching in a traditional face-to-…

  Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of guest posts that will be appearing on this blog about teaching math to English Language Learners.  I’ll be posting them over the next six wee…

How Can We Meet the Needs of Newcomers in Math? by Jim Ewing Who Are Newcomers, and What Is “Positioning”? When we refer to newcomers, we are referring to students who have recently mov…

by Valentina Gonzalez When you look at a piece of art or a photograph, what happens in your mind? Images like these often tell a story. There’s a message, the main idea, and the details. How do we …

"Speaking Spanglish is a superpower," José Medina says. And it's one he says hasn't gotten the attention it deserves, inside or outside the classroom.

by Janna X. Heiligenstein, Ph.D. Janna, an Assistant Professor of Education at Fitchburg State University in MA, focuses on teacher preparation to work with culturally and linguistically diverse...

by Valentina Gonzalez As the numbers of ELs in classrooms in the United States continue to rise, in some parts of our nation it may even be unusual not to have English learners. And like all studen…

Margarita Calderón, Leticia M. Trower, and Lisa Tartaglia explore the need for content-based literacy instruction beyond elementary school Literacy is the key to success, and multilingual learners...

Valentina Gonzalez offers a number of recommendations to ensure a culturally responsive classroom and respecting each student's unique culture.

by Valentina Gonzalez In the year 2025, 25% of the students in the United States will be English learners (Suarez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008). Even now, ELs make up about 10% of our nation’s publ…

by Valentina Gonzalez Along with basic needs such as food and shelter, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs shows that humans also have the need to belong and feel accepted.  Think back on a time when you w…

by Tan Huynh This post was originally published on Tan Huynh’s fantastic blog, Empowering ELLs. We’ve reposted here with his permission. Due to the increase of schools and districts off…