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Create stunning original music for free in seconds using AI. Make your own masterpieces, share with friends, and discover music from artists worldwide.

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Trauma Informed for Multilingual Students (Elise White Diaz) 

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Trauma Informed for Multilingual Students (Elise White Diaz) 

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Celebrating Holiday Traditions (Mexico & Latin America) 

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Celebrating Holiday Traditions (Mexico & Latin America) 

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Here are 12 ideas to incorporate holiday traditions from Mexico and Latin America into your holiday celebrations and activities.  Click on the links for additional resources, songs, and books.  Some of the linked articles are for you (the adult) to learn more about the tradition, while some are geared towards students.  My hope is that you can integrate some of these topics into Daily 5, writing, or even a song for a brain break to celebrate the diversity of our student body.   It’s important to keep in mind that everyone celebrates differently, so don’t make assumptions that all of your multilingual students will relate to everything on this list.  Let me know if you have any questions or need any additional information.  Merry Christmas!/¡Feliz Navidad!

Day 1: Learn about holiday traditions by reading A Pinata in a Pine Tree by Pat Mora

Day 2: Sing a holiday song like Mi Burrito Sabanero

Day 3: Learn about foods eaten around the holidays such as pozole, tamales, ponche, atole or champurrado, and Rosca de Reyes.

Day 4: Poinsettias are a beautiful holiday decoration.  Learn more about them in this story The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie DePaola

Day 5: Learn about Las Posadas

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Las-Posadas/625672

https://www.journeymexico.com/blog/posadas-in-mexico-christmas-tradition

Day 6: It’s hard being far away from family and loved ones.  Read When Christmas Feels. Like Homeby Gretchen Griffith

Day 7: Sing a holiday song like Feliz Navidad

Day 8: December 12 is the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  Be mindful that this is an important religious holiday for many families.

Day 9: Holidays are about family!  Read or listen to this fun story! Too Many Tamales by Ed Martinez and Gary Soto

Day 10: Most Christmas celebrations take place on December 24.  Get ready for the party by reading  ‘Twas Nochebuena by Rosanne Greenfield Thong

Day 11: Sing a holiday song such as Jingle Bells/ Navidad, Navidad

Day 12: Learn about El Dia de Los Reyes: https://parade.com/248853/yvettemarquez/what-is-dia-de-los-reyes-three-kings-day-and-how-do-you-celebrate-it

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Click play to listen. Online verision has lots of images and text features. There is also the option to print the article.

Click here for the link: https://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/Day-of-the-Dead/471355

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Lots of great articles and you can adjust lexile levels; many articles also have the option to translate to Spanish!

Link: https://newsela.com/search/?needle=day+of+the+dead&sort_by=relevance&language=en&page=0

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Turn on Spanish subtitles under settings- subtitles/cc- auto translate- set language to Spanish

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Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras read-aloud

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Spanish verison- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Dqo7VVGyE&t=141s

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Gustavo the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z  Drago read-aloud

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Spanish Verison- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND2pNGvUwoQ&t=59s

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Bilingual Read Aloud- The Day of the Dead/ El Dia de los Muertos

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Bilingual Read Aloud- The Day of the Dead/ El Dia de los Muertos

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El Dia del los Muertos/ The Day of the Dead

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Hartford Summer Students Ballet Folklorico

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Hartford Summer Students Ballet Folklorico

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Great resource for lesson planning, designing scaffolds, and visualizing language proficiency data.  

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Complete list of ML and Migrant Students @ HPS.  

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CONFIDENTIAL- HPS ESL/Migrant Students 2024-2025

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CONFIDENTIAL- HPS ESL/Migrant Students 2024-2025

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Shoutout West Ottawa Public Schools compiling this AWESOME video! 

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Knowing More Than One Language is a SUPERPOWER!

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Knowing More Than One Language is a SUPERPOWER!

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Knowing More Than One Language is a SUPERPOWER!

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Your Name is the Key! | Huda Essa | TEDxUofM

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Your Name is the Key! | Huda Essa | TEDxUofM

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Your Name is the Key! | Huda Essa | TEDxUofM

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Want to support grade-level content learning for newcomers? I've got you! The school year may be winding down or over in many places but this is a great time to reflect on how you might use co-created text next year with your emergent bilingual students. Or use it as part of an effective summer school routine.

This show follows Episode 115, where I explained how to use co-created text to teach literacy and accelerate language acquisition. In that show, I promised to do a show about how to use it to support content area learning. You can listen to this show in your favorite podcast app or right here:
Listen to "BAP117 CoCreating Text for Grade-Level Content Learning" on Spreaker.
What is LEA?

I often share about a practice called Language Experience Approach. I try to be clear that I don't do it exactly as it was/is intended. I am not an LEA purist because I adapt this technique based on the kids in front of me and the reason we are doing it. But here is more on what LEA is:

Steps to Language Experience Approach (See photo for more detailed explanation)

Students have a shared experience. (ex: we are looking at a poster with the water cycle)

Students have a discussion about the experience. (ex: "I notice...")

Teacher writes key words and phrases on the board.

Teacher writes sentences from the key words

Teacher reads the constructed writing aloud.

Students use the text in various ways.

The LEA [Language Experience Approach] is as diverse in practice as its practitioners. Nonetheless, some characteristics remain consistent (Hall, 1970): Materials are learner-generated. -All communication skills-reading, writing, listening, and speaking-are integrated. -Difficulty of vocabulary and grammar are determined by the learner's own language use. -Learning and teaching are personalized, communicative, and creative. - Can be found at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED350887.pdf
I have written about this strategy in Ep 26 and Ep 115. Again, I don't carry out this technique exactly as it is explained by researchers and there are many folks who know more about it than I do. But I DO know that some form of co-creating text *A FTER MY STUDENTS HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN A CONVERSATION* has really helped accelerate language acquisition.

I am here today to tell you that it can also help you differentiate, it can help you be inclusive in content classrooms, and it can help all the students with grade-level learning.

Why Write?

I mention all the reasons we want writing in content areas for the average learner. You can read about that at this post I wrote for Seidlitz Education's blog:

Some of the research I mention on the show is from John Hattie's Visible Learning work. Writing can help us reflect and Hattie's work suggests that Reflection and Evaluation have a strong effect on learning (.75 effect size).

I always mention Joseph Maurer when I talk about effective content teaching. Joseph was a math teacher when I trained with him and he was also my own son's Algebra teacher. We all marveled at what a skilled math teacher he was with newcomer and low socioeconomic students. But he was also effective with gifted and grade-level learners. In his trainings, Joseph explained that writing in Math (or any content area) is important for learners because it is basic to thinking, it promotes introspection and speculation, and it individualizes instruction (Fulwiler 1979, 1983).

I mention this math lesson where the teacher is using Seidlitz's Seven Steps to a Language Rich, Interactive Classroom. It shows what I mean by writing in Math being effective for thinking:

I also quote Tom Romano from his book Clearing the Way: Working with Teenage Writers. He explains that we are not asking Math teachers to teach writing. We are asking them to USE writing to teach Math. That is key for effective math instruction.

Co-Creating Text Before, During, or After Instruction

This show offers ideas about co-creating text with students prior to teaching, during a lesson or after instruction. Here are a few examples of what co-created content writing can look like:

Don't forget to follow the incredible HS educators, Kim Thyberg (@KimberlyThyberg) for more secondary examples!

Co-created text in a high school SIOP math class with #mll #ell #newcomers #slife. I co-teach with an awesome math teacher! Students acquire language as they learn math content. ⁦@DrCarolSalva⁩ #BoostingAchievement pic.twitter.com/w832yX01rb

- Kim Thyberg (@KimberlyThyberg) February 14, 2023

We write and read about math content with content vocabulary everyday in our math class, grades 9-11 #mll #ell #slife . These examples are from our daily warm-up. #BoostingAchievement @DrCarolSalva pic.twitter.com/31qlSHGFJD

- Kim Thyberg (@KimberlyThyberg) May 1, 2023

I also mentioned the amazing Aly Averitt (@AlyAveritt) as someone to follow. She is a great Elementary teacher sharing a lot on co-creating text.

Another way of using co-created texts powerfully and purposefully. Ss were amazed when they realized that they just needed to change some words to create a new text! Tomorrow, they'll finish this one👇🏽and then, write their own text in their notebooks! Inspired by @DrCarolSalva pic.twitter.com/ZbFbYwFpxN

- A Averitt_ESL (@AlyAveritt) March 13, 2023

Here is the video of Ali I mentioned as a great activity we do at the end of each school year.

Here is how Gisele Belyea (@GiseleBelyea follow her too!) and her students improved on this idea using heritage language:

Also gave Alan November a shout out! He wrote, "Who Owns the Learning." That is a great book that shaped how I partner with students.

Thank you for tuning in or for checking out the show notes on Ep 117. I appreciate you so much!

Hope to see you over on Twitter (@DrCarolSalva) or Facebook ( www.facebook.com/SalvaBlog). I'd love to be connected!

Take good care,

Carol

PS: If you missed this workshop, check out Upcoming Events to see what else we might be offering through Seidlitz Education.

And please email me (Carol@SeidlitzEducation.com) if we can come to your district to help you develop a plan for serving Newcomers! One day of consulting is making a huge difference for our clients! Reach out if you'd like to hear!

"Preparing for Rising #Newcomer Enrollment" in @VancouverSD was a joy with Lucy Estrada-Guzman & the ML Dept! We started with a full day of planning. 💥
I am inspired by their passion to honor their #MLLs & support their teachers. ✨💫⭐️#BoostingAchievement #Seidlitz7Steps pic.twitter.com/OwyCNjud5k

- Dr. Carol Salva (@DrCarolSalva) May 26, 2023

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Want to support grade-level content learning for newcomers? I've got you! The school year may be winding down or over in many places but this is a great time to reflect on how you might use co-created text next year with your emergent bilingual students.

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Cognates are words that look and sound similiar in 2 languages.  Beware- they don't always share the same meaning!

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Vowels, consonant sounds, cognates, and more!

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Fortunately for Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs), there are many similarities between English and Spanish.

First of all, both languages use the Roman alphabet. That knowledge helps build a phonemic and phonological foundation.

Secondly, 30% to 40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. With similar sound, appearance, and meaning, these cognates help students transfer that word knowledge into their second language.

Thirdly, except for a couple of word order exceptions (adjective before noun in English and noun before adjective in Spanish), sentences in both languages have the same basic structures (as compared to English and Chinese or other non-Latin derived languages).

And fourth, learning to read and write uses the same basic processes (phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, comprehension, writing mechanics).

When teachers and students know these basic similarities between the two languages, it saves time and guess work as students transfer their knowledge of Spanish literacy into English literacy.

Phonemic and phonological differences between Spanish and English

There are also some differences between the two languages that may interfere with English pronunciation (phonemic differences) and with decoding or spelling (phonological differences).

Perhaps the greatest difference between English and Spanish is that Spanish has only five vowel sounds while English has more than 14, depending on regional dialects. This is the reason Spanish speakers have difficulty differentiating between vowel phonemes in words like seat and sit. Both phonemes are pronounced differently from the Spanish sí ( yes), which is pronounced somewhere between those two English phonemes. These differences also affect students' spelling. Here are some other examples of possible interference from Spanish:

Here are a few differences between Spanish and English:

Combinations in Spanish that are pronounced differently: que, qui, güe, güi. For example: the u is not pronounced unless it is written as ü; therefore, students may not be sure how to pronounce words like queen, quiet, or quick

Quotation marks vs. dashes: "Come here," he said. -Ven aquí-le dijo.

Spanish does not have the following sounds (listed by category):

Strategies for Spanish-speaking ELLs

Point out differences when you introduce phonemic awareness activities (distinguishing sounds) by showing students how to make those sounds.

Say to students, for example:

To make the sound for /sh/ in ship, pronounce it like the Spanish /sh/ by letting air out between your teeth. Notice how you can stretch the /sh/ sound until you run out of air. But, to make the sound /ch/ in chip, you touch the top of your mouth with your tongue and let the air out with a little explosion. Notice how you cannot stretch that sound.

Spanish speakers have difficulty distinguishing the ways to pronounce the final -s in plurals and third person.

Give students examples for each as follows:

Spanish speakers have difficulty distinguishing the ways to pronounce the -ed in past-tense verbs.

Give students examples for each as follows:

"We pronounce it /d/ when the word ends with..."

"We pronounce it /t/ when the word ends with..."

"When the word ends with t, it sounds like /tid/ as in patted."

"When the word ends with d, it sounds like /did/ as in added."

Spanish speakers may leave out word endings when saying or spelling a word.

For example: restauran instead of restaurant; end instead of ended. They may also have problems spelling words that contain the consonant blends, initial sounds, and final sounds listed in the box above.

Additionally, students might substitute:

ll for y (because ll is the nearest sound in Spanish. For example: llelow instead of yellow.)

j for h (because h is silent in Spanish, they might use j. For example: jope instead of hope.)

There are also some differences in question and sentence structures between both languages.

Question markers

Do you want to go to the movies tonight?
¿Quieres ir al cine esta noche?
(Spanish speakers will likely leave out do)

Adjective-Nouns

white horse
caballo blanco (horse white)
(Spanish speakers will often use the adjective after the noun)

With these similarities and differences in mind, pay close attention to your Spanish-speaking ELLs' written and spoken "errors." When you recognize a student saying horse white, for example, point out that in English the noun and adjective are reversed: white horse, brown cow, etc. Once ELLs understand these patterns, they will begin to apply them on their own to new situations.

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Capitalizing on Similarities and Differences between Spanish and English

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Fortunately for Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs), there are many similarities between English and Spanish. First of all, both languages use the Roman alphabet. That knowledge helps build a phonemic and phonological foundation. Secondly, 30% to 40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish.

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Complete and print after giving the WiDA Kindergarten Screener.

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Determine your students' English language proficiency levels

After you administer WIDA Screener for Kindergarten, enter the student's scores below to generate a report of the student's test performance. The score report will show performance in terms of the WIDA English language proficiency levels.

Visit the Family Engagement page for resources to help you share information about language testing and test scores. Visit your member/state page for details on the identification criteria and placement guidance applicable to your students.

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WIDA Screener for Kindergarten Score Calculator

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Determine your students' English language proficiency levels After you administer WIDA Screener for Kindergarten, enter the student's scores below to generate a report of the student's test performance. The score report will show performance in terms of the WIDA English language proficiency levels.

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Entire guide can be downloaded here: https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/WIDA-ELD-Standards-Framework-2020.pdf

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The 2012 Amplification of the WIDA English Language Development Standards, Kindergarten-Grade 12, represented the social, instructional, and academic language students might need to engage with peers, educators, and the curriculum in schools. The 2012 Amplification included examples of how language could be processed or produced within a particular context through Model Performance Indicators (MPIs). MPIs were meant to be examples and not fixed guidelines of the language with which students may have engaged during instruction and assessment.
WIDA intends to fully retire the 2012 Amplification of the WIDA English Language Development Standards, Kindergarten-Grade 12. However, we recognize that all member SEAs have different timelines for implementation of the WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition. With that in mind, the 2012 Amplification will remain in the Resource Library so that educators whose SEAs are still using it may access it as needed.
Resource Details View Download Now

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The 2012 Amplification of the WIDA English Language Development Standards, Kindergarten-Grade 12, represented the social, instructional, and academic language students might need to engage with peers, educators, and the curriculum in schools. The 2012 Amplification included examples of how language could be processed or produced within a particular context through Model Performance Indicators (MPIs).

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Must login to complete WiDA Screener & WiDA Access/Alternate Access Test Administration Courses.  These courses are required yearly in order to administer the WiDA Screener and WiDA Access assessments.    

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WiDA Secure Portal for Assessment Training

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WiDA Secure Portal for Assessment Training

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Training for August:

WiDA Screener for Kindergarten: Administration & Scoring

WiDA Screener Online: Administration

*Coordinators complete Speaking/Writing scoring for K-5 or 6-12.

Training Courses for February:

Online Access for ELLs: Administration

Kindergarten Access for ELLs: Administration and Scoring

* Coordinators complete WiDA Alternate Access: Administration & Scoring

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The WIDA Secure Portal provides member educators with assessment training, professional learning and other secure resources.

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The following booklists for children and young adults are organized by topic so that they can easily be used all year long and across the curriculum. Many books on our recommended lists are bilingual or are available in Spanish. You can find more great titles and tips in the recommended resources below.
Image: Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina, Winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal
Books for Children
Books for Young Children History and Biographies Family Stories Cultural Traditions Bilingual Books Book Series Growing Up Latino Fun with Books, Stories, and More Let's Play! Nature and Seasons Holidays My Life Growing Up / Identity Immigration Topics Genre Diverse Books Across Cultures
Books for Young Adults

Related Video

Maya Christina Gonzalez: Seeing ourselves in books

Author and illustrator Maya Christina Gonzalez talks about why it is so important for all children to see themselves in books and have access to diverse books as they grow. She also shares her story " My Colors, My World/Mis colores, mi mundo" with young readers.

This video was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic at a family outreach event organized by the American Federation of Teachers and local and state affiliates in Daly City, CA.

Recommended Resources

If you teach English language learners (ELLs) and immigrant students, you may be wondering how to choose books that reflect your students' experiences, cultures, and languages. You may also wonder how to choose books at an appropriate reading and language level for your students. This guide offers numerous practical resources and tips for finding books for your students, as well as ideas on how to expand access to diverse books for all students. Highlights include:

Pura Belpré Book Award: Books that best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth

Américas Award: Children's and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinx in the United States

Tomas Rivera Book Award: Books highlighting Mexican American characters and experiences

Book awards celebrating Hispanic Heritage

To see additional books that have won other recent major awards, see the following lists:

More booklists

Resources for educators and librarians

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Hispanic Heritage Booklists and Resources

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The following booklists for children and young adults are organized by topic so that they can easily be used all year long and across the curriculum. Many books on our recommended lists are bilingual or are available in Spanish. You can find more great titles and tips in the recommended resources below.

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Lack of English proficiency cannot be the primary reason!

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Example of how visuals can help clarify meaning.

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English language proficiency cannot be the primary cause of the suspected disability.  Check out the tools below to help guide discussion:

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Language Matrix- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uwU-7DcAO28Jn5E9ytJk7tq1brwQOtOuEbFjn3VwTVI/copy

Acculturation Survey- https://drive.google.com/file/d/121V9zKllwOqOwbbyvZP2zW2Cl0-uCtee/view?usp=sharing

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Rooted Linguistics: Serving Teachers of Multilingual Learners

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Home page for teachers of English Learners/Multilingual Learners

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This is a website designed to support teachers of English Learners/Multilingual Learners.

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This is how students are going to meet the standard.  (Listening, reading, writing, speaking) 

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Description of the migrant education program.  

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Migrant Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) Summary 

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Migrant Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) Summary 

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Co-teaching is more than just 2 adults in the room!  It is 2 specialists (content + language) working together to support one common goal- increase student achievement!  Our goal is to implement this model K-12 to eliminate pull out ESL.  

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Great sentence frames for higher order thinking!

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All MLs can learn at high levels with the correct amount of scaffolding!

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All MLs can learn at high levels with the correct amount of scaffolding!

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Notice how MLs at lower language profiencies need MORE support!

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Differientiate for diffent language proficiency levels!

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Differientiate for diffent language proficiency levels!

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What does it feel like to be a newcomer?

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What does it feel like to be a newcomer?

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The Importance of ELL Strategies - Immersion (Moises in Math Class)

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Celebrate diversity in your classroom by highlighting the importance of students' names. Set the tone at the beginning of the year (and every day!) with these heartwarming books about names to teach kids about empathy, culture, and identity.

(Note: WeAreTeachers may earn a few cents if you purchase using our links, at no extra cost to you.)

Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. Instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name from a jar by the following week.

What's in a name? For one little girl, her very long name tells the vibrant story of where she came from-and who she may one day be.

How and why did some animals get named after other animals? This book is a clever collection of animals with similar names and a coordinating 4-line poem for each illustration. Use it to talk about how names are created!

A GPS system navigates you to where you are going, but your name could lead to what you are looking for. This author uses the alphabet letters as she showcases her family, history, culture, language, geography, and more.

This is one of the sweetest books about names for students! Join Ruby, a plucky little bird, as she ventures through life, making new friends, learning new skills, and asking questions that may have some very surprising results.

6. My Name is Elizabeth! by Annika Dunklee, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe

Meet Elizabeth. She's got an excellent pet duck, a loving granddad, and a first name that's just awesome. After all, she's got a queen named after her! So she's really not amused when people insist on using nicknames like Lizzy and Beth.

7. My Name Is Yoon by Helen Recorvits, illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska

Yoon's name means "shining wisdom." When she writes it in Korean, it looks happy, like dancing figures-but her father tells her that she must learn to write it in English. In English, all the lines and circles stand alone, which is just how Yoon feels in the United States.

8. My Name is Bilal by Asma Mobin-Uddin, illustrated by Barbara Kiwak

A young boy wrestles with his Muslim identity until a compassionate teacher helps him to understand more about his heritage.

Andy may be the littlest kid on the block, but he's very important. He has a wagon full of letters that spell his name, and he takes it with him wherever he goes. He could probably spell out his own list of books about names!

10. Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Luisa Uribe

Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city.

Chrysanthemum thinks her name is absolutely perfect-until her first day of school. "You're named after a flower!" teases Victoria. "Let's smell her," says Jo. Chrysanthemum wilts. What will it take to make her blossom again?

12. Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Thunder Boy Jr. wants a normal name ... one that's all his own. Dad is known as big Thunder, but little thunder doesn't want to share a name.

On a freezing winter night, nine-year-old Konisola and her mother step off a plane in Canada. They are running for their lives when Konisola's mother becomes sick, and Konisola is forced to fend for herself in a strange country. Will they be allowed to stay as refugees, or will they both be sent back across the ocean?

This is one of the silliest books about names! Meet Barbara, the bear with balloons for sale in Brazil, New York Ned, the newt who owns a noodle emporium, and finally the zipper-selling Zambian zebra and zebu, Zelda and Zach.

15. How Nivi Got Her Names by Laura Deal, illustrated by Charlene Chua

Nivi has always known that her names were special, but she doesn't know where they came from. One sunny afternoon, Nivi decides to ask her mom to explain. This book is an easy-to-understand introduction to traditional Inuit naming, with a story that touches on Inuit custom adoption.

16. My Name is María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by K. Dyble Thompson

For María Isabel Salazar López, the hardest thing about being the new girl in school is that the teacher doesn't call her by her real name. "We already have two Marías in this class," says her teacher. "Why don't we call you Mary instead?" Can she find a way to make her teacher see that if she loses her name, she's lost the most important part of herself?

17. My Name is Sangoel by Karen Williams and Khadra Mohammed, illustrated by Catherine Stock

Sangoel is a refugee. Leaving behind his homeland of Sudan, where his father died in the war, he has little to call his own other than his name, a Dinka name handed down proudly from his father and grandfather before him.

18. Always Anjali by Sheetal Sheth, illustrated by Jessica Blank

Anjali and her friends are excited to get matching personalized license plates for their bikes. But Anjali can't find her name. To make matters worse, she gets bullied for her "different" name and is so upset she demands to change it.

Even animals need books about names! Fluffy the porcupine is unhappy with his name: "So he decided to become fluffier." He climbs a tree and pretends to be a cloud! He even poses as a pillow. When Fluffy meets a rhinoceros named Hippo, it puts his plight in perspective ... and he makes a friend.

20. The Change Your Name Store by Leanne Shirtliffe, illustrated by Tina Kügler

Wilma Lee Wu does not like her name, so she marches to the Change Your Name Store, where she tries on new names. Each time Wilma selects a new name, she is transported to the country from which the name originates. Will Wilma find a new name that she likes? Will she discover her real identity and where she truly belongs?

21. The Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland, illustrated by Ted Lewin

All day long, Ahmed maneuvers his donkey cart through streets crowded with cars and camels, down alleys filled with merchants' stalls, and past buildings a thousand years old. He keeps his secret safe inside. It is so special and wonderful, that he can reveal it only to his family when he returns home at the end of the day.

Yoko is so excited about the first day of school. She's just learned to write her name. But when Mrs. Jenkins asks Yoko to show everyone, Olive and Sylvia make fun of her Japanese writing. "Yoko can't write. She's only scribbling!"

One ordinary day, Noah's parents tell him his name isn't really Noah, his birthday isn't really in March, and his new home is going to be East Berlin-on the other side of the Iron Curtain. East Germany seems the least likely place in the world for a kid from America with a lot of secrets of his own to make a friend, but then Noah meets Cloud-Claudia, the lonely girl who lives one floor down.

Isabella's heroes include U.S. Astronaut Sally Ride, activist Rosa Parks, and sharpshooter Annie Oakley-but there's no bigger hero than Isabella's own mommy! Join Isabella on an adventure of discovery, and find out how imagining to be these extraordinary women teaches her the importance of being her extraordinary self.

The intrepid, determined, and savvy Wakawakaloch learns to embrace what makes her special while lifting up her Neanderthal community.

If these books about names ideas inspired you, join our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group and come talk with the very teachers who suggested them!

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25 Books to Teach Kids About the Importance of Names

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Celebrate diversity in your classroom by highlighting the importance of students' names. Set the tone at the beginning of the year (and every day!) with these heartwarming books about names to teach kids about empathy, culture, and identity. (Note: WeAreTeachers may earn a few cents if you purchase using our links, at no extra cost to you.)

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[English] Rene Has Two Last Names / Rene tiene dos apellidos - Read aloud, read along

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Take the time to learn how to pronounce student names.  Say, teach me your name, and then practice!

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Valentine's Day/ Dia de Amor y Amistad (2/14)

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Valentine's Day/ Dia de Amor y Amistad (2/14)

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Day of the Dead/ Dia de los Muertos (10/30-11/02)

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Day of the Dead/ Dia de los Muertos (10/30-11/02)

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El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a special holiday celebrated in Mexico and Latin America every year from October 31-November 2.  Families celebrate their ancestors by creating beautiful altars with flowers, candles, special foods, and items that were important to that person. Check out the links below for classroom resources to celebrate this special holiday! The ESL/Migrant Team is also collaborating with the PTO to make a community ofrenda by the cafeteria.

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Blog

5 steps to celebrating Hispanic Heritage in the classroom

5 steps to celebrating Hispanic Heritage in the classroom

A teacher's guide to authentically engaging students with cultural diversity

Don't worry! This is a time to celebrate, learn, enjoy and honor the diversity we see in our classrooms every day. Here are a few pointers to get you started.

This article is part of our Hispanic Heritage Month campaign to honor inspiring educators. Check out other stories like Carmen's here.

Step 1: Be in the know

The purpose was to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Step 3: Be aware of your context

Step 4: Be inclusive

It is important we learn about other cultures and people because the more we know about them, the less afraid we are about their "otherness," and the more likely we are to work collectively and coexist peacefully.

Step 5: Recruit the next generation

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5 steps to celebrating Hispanic Heritage in the classroom | TEACH.org

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For Hispanic Heritage Month, get a step-by-step plan for celebrating with students in the classroom. Carmen Maciel, a kindergarten teacher at Uplift Lee Primary, has it queued up just for you.

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Great blog with for strategies!

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What will readers learn?

This website contains articles about language instructional practices that support multilingual learners. Each article has an infographic that synthesizes the essential information from the article. The intention of sharing these resources is to provide strategies to educators who work with multilinguals.

At times, my resources can be used across the various content area, while at other times, are more relevant for just language specialists. I know that many of you are busy and do not have time to sift through the literature, books, articles, and videos and cannot attend conferences. It is my job to curate these resources for you.

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Welcome | ML Instruction | Empowering ELLs

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Sharing ELL strategies that work. Helping ELL teachers implement classroom-tested, research-backed ELL strategies that develop social and academic language

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Great resource for everything ESL!

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A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners

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FREE universal images! Great for word walls, adding to notes, slides, etc!

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Noun Project: Free Icons & Stock Photos for Everything

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Noun Project has the most diverse collection of free icons and stock photos. Download SVG and PNG. Over 5 million art-quality icons and free photos.