Moving Beyond for Multilingual Learners: The Blog

If you watch the below clip of   Ellen Degeneres Heads Up Game , you'll see these two celebrities playing a game, but their oral language is just exploding! I know Ellen has an app that you can download on your device- but to incorporate this into your instruction, you do NOT need the app! Simply use index cards with vocabulary that you want to reinforce. You can play the first part of this video to explain how it works, or simply FISH BOWL the strategy (pick one student to try this out with, and have the rest of the class observe all around!). Please note in the above video, Ellen has a part that goes on to Accents & Impersonations. I have to say that the Accent part really rubs me the wrong way - and I know it probably does for you, too. It looks like the celebrity she was with was also incredibly uncomfortable "acting out" different accents. Just want to share this as a disclaimer. 

From January-March, I am a different person. I am more moody, I feel sluggish, and I tend to "accomplish less" and "complain more." It's a hard truth, but it's something I know about myself after suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder for more than a decade. Living in the Chicagoland area doesn't afford us much sunshine, and the gray skies day after day tend to drain me emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When my SAD aligns with the ACCESS test, it can be a really difficult time for me, but it's not something I've opened up to many people about over the years. So, here we are - I wanted to open up a bit about it because I just have this hunch that many other folks may be struggling too.  In my first post, I talked about things to do with my students to help me.  For part one,  please click here . This post will walk through things I've done for myself (away from students) that have helped me. Please tune in to YOU and find what drai...

 I almost didn't want to "go there," but I tend to overshare, so here we are. I have dealt with Seasonal Affective Disorder for over a decade. Sometimes folks will call it the "winter blues" and many folks who live in areas that don't get a ton of sunlight during winter months also struggle like me.  Serving in multilingual education, every year of my career, the ACCESS test has coincided with my SAD and has really made winters even more difficult for me. I have tried to navigate this time the best I can, so I wanted to share a few things that have helped me to cope.  For testing tips & tricks, you can follow me over on TikTok .  I have had to really tune into what I have found to be draining and what I need to boost energy & good feelings for myself. I get a lot of joy from my students, so I wanted to be intentional with what we did while we were in the midst of testing season.  With Kids:  *Modeling rest. We did something I called a "Spina Spa...

 With ACCESS testing coming right around the corner (and the Winter Blues taking hold), it's important to nurture a sense of support for EL, Bilingual, and Dual Language Teams. Here are some ways that administrators and coordinators can provide support to their teammates. Of course, everyone receives and accepts support in different ways - knowing your colleagues and their preferences is important! 1. "Do you need help in creating your testing schedule?" Asking your colleagues if they need support in creating their schedule may be helpful. Offer to sit alongside the educators you serve as they are tasked with creating the Rubics-Cube-Level-of-Difficulty ACCESS Testing Schedule. This is incredibly difficult to do, so sometimes having a thought partner is helpful, especially if your EL teacher works alone. Please be sure your teachers still have access to their DUTY-FREE LUNCH and their plan periods! Teachers must eat and have time to breathe. Keep Day One of testing "...

 As many of us head back into our learning spaces after winter break, we are thinking of ways to re-engage our students, consider some new goals, and also revisit routines, norms, and expectations. All of these things are important for us to consider. Here are two tools to help lead conversations about norms & routines.  Click here for a quick conversation capture centered on revisiting classroom norms. In this resource, there's one page for whole class (or small group) discussion, and there's one page for individual reflection. These can serve as guides for conversations about which norms may need refreshing. I love these types of conversations because these center our students' perceptions! Is it missing something? Go to File & Make a Copy so you can edit these to better fit your needs!  Click here for a conversation capture centered on revisiting classroom routines. Routines help us to maximize instructional time with students. Routines are particularly helpf...