Lina, a Mexican American second grader, bilingual in Spanish and English, used a strategy for adding two two-digit numbers that the authors share as an example of the importance of listening to the mathematical ideas of children, especially when these ideas do not align with how mathematics is traditionally represented in the classroom. The…

The extant research literature on emergent bilingual spelling focuses on developmental patterns and the interference of first language with second language. The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with an alternate view of emergent bilingual spelling in an effort to influence spelling instruction in the classroom. Writing samples…

Teachers often tend to discuss their English language learners (ELLs) in terms of "level." Writes the author, "But if I were to say to a teacher, 'You have four level 2s in your class,' how does that help us have a common understanding of the students' needs?" One approach that has great potential to increase students' language…

Although literacy plays a large role in elementary science classrooms, one thing that offers a challenge for educators is meeting the linguistic needs of English language learners (ELLs) while also meeting their content needs. An additional challenge is ensuring that academic literacy extends beyond the classroom. This article presents ways of…

Learning science for bilingual students involves much more than mastering concepts and science process skills. Although classroom investigations and hands-on activities promote comprehension, bilingual learners still experience specific language difficulties related to unfamiliar discourse structures and grammatical forms that must be used while…

In this paper I focus on Read Alouds as a place for exploring the nexus of methodological beliefs and structures, and teachers' stances within a second grade Spanish-English dual-language education setting in New York City. Grounded in sociocultural and semiotic theory, I examined the segment in which the teacher reads from the written text in…

This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

These handouts, which are meant to accompany the facilitator's guide, are designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. The facilitator's guide uses a five-step process for collaborative…

This book demonstrates a five-part framework for teachers, reading specialists, and literacy coaches who want to help their least engaged students become powerful readers. Merging theory and practice, the guide offers successful strategies to reach your "struggling" learners. The authors show how you can "turn-around" your instructional practice,…

This practical, teacher-friendly book provides indispensable guidance for implementing research-based reading instruction that is responsive to students' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Structured around the "big five" core topics of an effective reading program--phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension--the…

These three Spanish language spelling units have been developed for Spanish language arts classes for grades 1-3. The first grade units, which accompany the Economy Co. Spanish basal reading series for grades 1-3, have been divided into four sub-units. The children move individually or in small groups through the spelling levels, which in turn…

This curriculum unit is for use in an elementary school foreign language immersion program in Montgomery County, Maryland. The unit is geared toward the second grade science classroom. It includes instructional and performance objectives, vocabulary lists, optional language structure sections, illustrations, activities, evaluation suggestions, and…

This unit is designed to help teachers of students in grades one through three in the Northwest Territories (Canada) meet social studies program goals and to develop student language learning. The unit focuses on Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, and features nine lesson plans: location, physical features, transportation,…