Moving Beyond for Multilingual Learners: The Blog

Create mini anchor charts and display them on small hanging rings. I first saw this idea from  TikTok user @teachwithheath_ . I love how these look and also how easy it is have multiple tools ready for students! I'm thinking this would be great for each content area, for example, so that all of the math tools for that unit are available to students in one spot.  Check out my first round of design . Please go to File and Make a Copy so that you can tweak these to fit your needs! I included specific sentence stems/frames for collaboration. These are laid out so that each page has two of the same, so that you could print two tools at a time. The size is set to match the Party City frames (these were only $2.50 each, but I'm sure local dollar stores have something similar). I also had a workshop participant share this set from Amazon !  I used a 2-inch binder ring, but I wish I would have purchased smaller rings.  I love how they turned out! By making these language too...

 By providing scaffolds to students through use of intentional tools (such as stems, frames, or Word-Phrase-Sentence Banks ), we are helping students gain more access to their content learning! Check out these 7 ways to provide such tools to students.  1. Publicly Display the tool. Use a Smart Board, projector, or create anchor charts or posters with the tools. Keep these in a prominent space so that they are accessible to all students. If all students across a grade level are working on common vocabulary, for example, you may wish to use a grade level hallway for this! Get creative and use colorful table cloths from your local dollar store to create these. 2. Put the scaffolds on a ring. This is especially helpful for "I Need" cards or stems/frames to promote student interaction utilizing content-specific vocabulary.  3. Put the scaffolds on small cards and place them onto student desks or tables with contact paper. If you laminate them beforehand, you can simply remove ...

RESOURCE UPDATE! 8/4/2023:  Click here, secondary teachers:  I have added a new resource that is aimed towards high school audiences that shares the same ideas.    HELPING CLASSMATES HELP NEWCOMERS: Before They Start School I'm often asked about how to have conversations with students who are getting a newcomer student in the classroom, especially if this doesn't happen a lot in your community. Oftentimes, kids are eager to support each other and want to help, but they don't always know how. If you know your elementary class is going to have a newcomer student, here is a quick Google Slides Deck to share with your class.   This can serve as a starting point to help you guide discussions with students. You might also share this blog post & resource with a classroom teacher who is receiving a new student before the student starts. Please note that you can go to File, Make a Copy, and Edit this presentation to meet your needs. You may wish to include language f...

I had a lot of questions on this from my post  Empower Students By Publishing their Words (in 20 Seconds or Less)! , so I figured I'd make a separate post here. When I was a third grade teacher, we created a classroom space that they were completely in charge of. We called it our Inspiration Wall. Anytime we were reading a book or an article, or listened to great music, or heard a quote from a video- the students were able to call out "WOW! Those words moved me. Let's put it on our Inspiration Wall!" It was so cool to have them become aware of words that carry power for them and make them feel a certain way.  The students were in charge of the space. They chose where it went in our classroom and even what colors we used. We included pictures, quotes, song lyrics, photos from home, and much more. We even included funny memes that we found online. We hung up pictures of ourselves doing science experiments, too. When we received college mail (more details on the College ...

 As we begin to prep for the school year, we are gathering resources and materials to support students during those first few days. Consider keeping a small collection of items as you are gathering/prepping these things for students who may arrive "new" in the middle of the school year!  Many of us have resources that we print in bright colors that say things like "Welcome to 7th Grade!" or packets of information about the school year. We include things like our classroom schedules, teacher information, or important phone numbers for the school.  Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-and-gray-scissors-2831794/ We also prep for those first family events, "back to school" nights, or Curriculum Nights. As you gather those materials and resources, create a few extras to distribute to new families later on in the school year.  Now you have an instant kit to welcome students & families later on! 

 Help your students recognize how powerful and wonderful their words are! When I was a third grade teacher, we created a classroom space that they were completely in charge of. We called it our Inspiration Wall. Anytime we were reading a book or an article, or listened to great music, or heard a quote from a video- the students were able to call out "WOW! Those words moved me. Let's put it on our Inspiration Wall!" It was so cool to have them become aware of words that carry power for them and make them feel a certain way.  I realized after a few weeks that their words were missing from our Inspiration Wall. While it's great to be moved by others (authors, celebrities, athletes, civil rights leaders, etc.), I wanted them to see that their words were just as powerful and just as valuable as the words of their heroes!  I started to listen more intentionally for their great "quotables" throughout the day. I would say "WOW! What you said was so cool! Let...

 I always was dedicated to learning all of my students' names on Day 1. I did everything I could to help me with this! I studied pictures in our school's information system before the first day. When the first day began, I would try to be sure that all of us knew each others' names before lunch - or at least, I made sure the efforts were all there. Most often, I would have kids go around and share their name or preferred nickname, how to pronounce it, and share something they liked that start with the same letter. For example, "My name is Carly. CAR, LEE. I like candy." Then, each of us would continue in the circle, trying to name each student and their preferred food before us. However, by doing this- I missed the mark.  The purpose was to build community and help us learn each others' names, BUT I should have paused and asked myself some questions - like, what was the rush? And also, is there a more authentic, meaningful way to do this? Kids in all grades a...