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See all the wonderful things Bev Hollenbeck has made

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See all the wonderful things Bev Hollenbeck has made

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In one of the schools I taught in, the ELL teacher and classroom teachers worked together using a strategy that sounds very similar to the Story Bits strategy you discussed, Heather. At school, the ELL students would practice and learn about a story and engage in activities about the story over the week, i.e. partner reading, retelling, visual storytelling, vocabulary focus, etc. On Fridays, they would take the book home and share it with their families. Over the weekend, students would complete response(s)/activity(ies) in their journals, they could choose from various activities they learned over the week. This activity was successful in creating connections between home and school, which I think is so important to support the student’s success.

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Since we are in a technological world (and many junior high students prefer technology over paper and pencil) one idea I thought of would be for students to keep an online journal in their dominant language, post it on a shared folder that could be set up through Google Drive and then use Google Translate to interpret the journal response.  I know people are leary of Google Translate, but I have had tremendous success with it and the times it didn't translate quite as accurately as hoped for, I simply sat with the student and had them help me with the translation.  This is also a great way to build relationships and get to know the student on a more personal level.  They feel more comfortable too when they are able to work in a one-on-one situation as they are quite shy and this is a great step towards building confidence.

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I have used nursery rhymes, jingles, clapping rhymes, jump rope rhymes from the native langauge to create dual language rhymes in kindergarten.
The use of book exchange networks or book clubs that children and parents are familiar with from their own culture has sometimes worked well.
A version of a dialogue journal that I have used instead is a scrapbooking journal where students and parents where able to share life events in creative ways. I often encouraged students and families to make write in them in both languages.
Another way might be using popular culture such as Pokemon cards to develop literacy and maybe create dual language cards.
I have used recipes as another way to build bridges between the families and the school. We have done whole school international celebration days, where families bring in dishes from their countries and share the recipes. They wear the traditional dress of their cultures or countries and maybe even put on a dance or a show using their music.
I have often had students create a presentation about their country, sharing customs and answering questions.
With our FNMI students we had elders come into the school and put on drum circles and pow wow's. Students would bring in their regalia and perform traditional dances such as fancy or jingle. Whenever I taught about the First Nations in Social studies, I would have my FNMI students contribute and share in any way that they could. Students would often bring in sacred objects that they had at home and share any legends that they knew.

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For my wikki post, I researched Dialogue Journals and think this would be an excellent method to bridge home and school life. Dialogue journals are an ongoing communication, usually between a teacher and students. They are not graded or corrected, but a place for students to see modeled writing by a fluent English speaker. As I read your question, I pondered the value in using dialogue journals a little more creatively -- a three way dialogue journal between parents, students and teacher. Of course, this would be an interesting logistic but I think this strategy may support language development for both parents and students. A journal of this type would support parents desire for 'homework' while still supporting authentic writing and learning experiences. Students would be able to express to parents in either their native language or in English, or perhaps in both what they are learning at school. Teachers would be able to probe students for deeper insights on learning and parents would be able to engage in a dialogue with both their child and the teacher to ask questions, offer support and to also practice their newly acquired language skills. If parents were unable to engage in English, it would provide students with opportunities to read and write in their native language while translating for the teacher. An interesting prospect that I would love to experiment with!

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Bev Hollenbeck:                                       Home Journals / Game nights.

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Bev Hollenbeck:                                       Home Journals / Game nights.

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I really enjoyed the concept of identity texts in the Cummins, Hu, Markus & Montero (2015) article and think that these would work well as “home journal” books for parents who feel that homework is necessary for their child.   A home journal would offer more than literary engagement for all students, it would also benefit multilingual and creative expression, promote a sense of community in the classroom, and draw in parents as classroom resources.  I can see how identity texts could be a particularly valuable resource for institutionalized children (a social worker or key worker could be invited to support them with their background stories).   I also like the idea of family “game nights” at school- Scrabble games, scavenger hunts, or board games that the children have developed in class (eg. a multilingual “bingo” board) are wonderful ways to connect.

Reference:
Cummins, J., Hu. S., Markus, P., & Montero, M.K. (2015).  Identity texts and academic achievement:  Connecting the dots in multilingual school contexts.  TESOL Quarterly, 49(3), 555-581. doi: 10.1002/tesq.241.

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I know the Story Bits strategy has been successfully used by diverse K-4 CBE schools. Students read and talk about a book at school and then bring home a 'story bit' to retell and talk about the story with their families in their home language(s).
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin293.shtml

I think the Story Bits idea could be built out to bring student's multilingual and multicultural identities into the classroom. For example, students could bring a familiar tale from home to share with their classmates. They could tell the tale in their home language and English, then their peers could transfer that tale their home langauge(s), pair with a Story Bit, and take that tale home to retell to their parents. It would create a community through storytelling  connected by Story Bits. I think it would also show that while there are aspects that are unique in our identities, there are also many similarities between us all.