Aotearoa New Zealand is a super diverse nation in terms of the ethnicities of its people and languages spoken. With an increased rate of immigration from various parts of the world, the presence of multiple languages in many domains of social life is a reality. Consequently, classrooms are now places where learners have different linguistic and…

Research shows that humor can play an important role in students' language learning and literacy development. However, studies on how teachers intentionally enact humor as a pedagogical tool are still limited. This classroom discourse study examines the interactional construction and pedagogical functions of humor in one U.S. multilingual high…

This dissertation research explores the pedagogical approaches of exemplary content area teachers (ECATs) working with Latina students in a public high school context. Research has shown that educators are the leading agents in preparing immigrant youth, and that teacher support and prejudice directly affect students' academic outcomes. This…

The author explores how one teacher at a newcomer school (a school for recently arrived immigrants) used dialogue journaling and write-alouds as instructional and community-building tools in her work with multilingual ninth-grade students with limited or interrupted formal education in their home countries. The analysis shows how the focal teacher…

Purpose: In this clinical focus, the authors argue for robust vocabulary instruction with emergent bilingual learners both in inclusive classroom settings and in clinical settings for emergent bilinguals with language and literacy disorders. Robust vocabulary instruction focuses on high-utility academic words that carry abstract meanings and…

The goal of the Family Science Night (FSN) described in this article was to involve culturally and linguistically diverse families in school life so that students would be more vocal, successful, and interactive in science class. The project would also demonstrate to the students that their teacher valued their input in the classroom. The setting…

This article presents an authentic writing opportunity to help ninth-grade students use the writing process in a science classroom to write and illustrate picture books for fourth-grade students to demonstrate and share their understanding of a biology unit on cells. By creating a picture book, students experience the writing process, understand…

Newcomer students who arrive in the secondary grades face daunting challenges in order to achieve desired academic outcomes such as high school graduation and college access. Besides simultaneously developing conceptual understandings analytical and linguistic practices, newcomers also need to adapt to a new country, a new schooling system, and a…

This qualitative study explored the ways that two ninth and tenth grade teachers and their newcomer immigrant students engaged in HRE using elements of critical pedagogy at an urban pubic high school. Research data included eight months of classroom observations and interviews with two teachers and nineteen of their students across four of their…