# data[].attributes.body
The “Interactive Read Aloud” SEAL strategy is demonstrated with realia in a preschool classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
The research base shows that attending to the
social, emotional, and cognitive skills of dual
language learners in early childhood enhances
their schooling experiences. Children from linguistic minority households also require language instruction, which is sensitive to their unique backgrounds. Instruction in oral language proficiency, vocabulary, and pre-literacy skills
provides a strong foundation for later success. In
particular, it is crucial that educators understand
how best to effectively support the home language
so that early literacy can be fostered in the home as well as school. #MLL #ELL #forteachers #instructionalstrategies

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvtkMfSQ6Kw
The nation’s English-learners are the fastest growing segment of the K-12 student population, and now make up 10 percent of public school enrollment. Who are these students, where are they from, and what languages do they speak? This video explains.
#forteachers #ELL #MLL #languagediversity

# data[].attributes.body
https://striveforfive.com/
The STRIVE for 5! Early Childhood Educator Bootcamp is a hands-on program designed to give you instant tools and ideas to promote children’s early brain and language development and improve the quality of your early learning environment. We designed the program so that it is easy to use – everything is in one place, and you’ll have direct access to a great support system to ensure your success. Sign up below to get access to the program and start learning today!

SIGN UP TO BEGIN

This website has many resources - https://striveforfive.com/resources #forteachers #PD #youngchildren #printablesforadults

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
STRIVE for 5! is a hands-on program designed to give you instant tools and ideas to promote children’s early brain and language development and improve the quality of your early learning environment.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/books/how-to-raise-a-reader From the moment you’re expecting your first child, you are bombarded with messages about the importance of reading. For good reason: The benefits of reading at every stage of a child’s development are well documented. Happily, raising a reader is fun, rewarding and relatively easy.
#forteachers #forfamiles

# data[].attributes.body
Teaching children to read opens up a world of possibilities for them. It builds their capacity for creative and critical thinking, expands their knowledge base, and develops their ability to respond with empathy and compassion to others.”
#forteacher #article #equity

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/58053/42-ways-to-boost-learning-by-applying-our-bodies-surroundings-and-relationships
Our education system is dominated by a neurocentric model of thinking: we assume that students’ mental activity is contained inside their heads. But we open up a world of new possibilities when we encourage students to think outside the brain: that is, to use external resources to enhance their mental processes.

Such outside-the-head resources include the sensations and movements of students’ bodies; the physical spaces in which students learn and play; and the social interactions students engage in with others.  #forteachers #article #movement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Supply "visual artifacts": Students are more likely to gesture (and in so doing acquire a deeper understanding) when there are relevant objects nearby to gesture at.

Put students on the spot: Improvising a description or an explanation is hard mental work, so students automatically offload some of it onto their hands. The increased rate of gesture prompted by the act of improvisation can help them develop a deeper understanding of the material they're talking about.

For every word, a gesture: Pair each new vocabulary word to be learned with a gesture in order to reinforce memory. When students add a hand motion to the actions of reading or speaking aloud a word, they're sinking another "hook" into the material that will allow them to reel it in later.

Thinking with Natural Spaces

Over eons of evolution, our perceptual faculties were "tuned" to the kind of sensory information present in nature. While spending time in built interiors and urban settings drains students' attentional resources, spending time outside refills the tank, restoring their ability to focus.

Think in terms of "environmental self-regulation": Instead of asking students to get a grip on their thoughts and feelings from the inside, use exposure to the outside world -especially nature-to help them restore their equilibrium and refresh their attention.

Have students practice "soft gazing": When in nature, encourage students to relinquish the sharp-edged focus that is required by schoolwork. This involves allowing their gaze to become relaxed and diffuse, drawn here and there by whatever attracts it.

Direct students to seek out "micro-restorative opportunities": Research shows that looking at a scene of natural greenery -even through a window-for as little as 40 seconds offers mental benefits, including improved concentration.

Bring nature inside: Natural light, potted plants, and even images and motifs borrowed from nature help students enter a state of relaxed alertness. During a break in learning, try showing students a nature video.

Thinking with the Space of Ideas

We all tend to do too much "in our heads." Students can think more effectively and more efficiently when they find ways to offload their mental contents onto physical space-whether it be the space of a whiteboard, a physical model, or a bunch of Post-It Notes. They can then interact with their ideas as if they were physical objects or a 3-D landscape, applying the spatial and navigational capacities that come so naturally to human beings.

Have students create a "concept map": The brain treats abstract ideas like a landscape through which it must navigate. A concept map makes this mental terrain visible, allowing us to recognize patterns and make new connections.

Direct students to write it down: Our culture values "doing things in your head," but research shows that writing down our thoughts carries benefits for memory, problem-solving, and creativity. Ask students to keep a field notebook, for example, in which they regularly record and review their observations.

Instruct students to sketch it out: Drawing the concept they're thinking about has benefits for students above and beyond writing about it in words. It doesn't matter if students say they "can't draw"-simply attempting to capture a concept in visual terms will deepen their understanding and reinforce your memory.

Make it physical: The human brain evolved to manipulate physical objects, not to contemplate abstract ideas. Whenever possible, have students create a concrete model or representation of the concept they're thinking about, and then encourage them to use their whole bodies to interact with it -moving around it so that they see it from different perspectives, manipulating its elements and trying out new combinations.

Thinking with Interoception

"Interoception" is the capacity to sense our internal signals. Students who learn how to tune into these inner cues can use them to make better decisions, to muster more mental resilience, and to exhibit greater emotional intelligence.

Lead students through a body scan: The body scan is meditative exercise in which non-judgmental attention is directed to each part of the body in turn. Practicing this exercise regularly will improve students' ability to perceive interoceptive sensations.

Suggest that students label their internal sensations: Affect labeling is an activity in which each interoceptive sensation is noted and named as it is experienced. Research shows that engaging in affective labeling immediately reduces anxiety and distress.

Encourage students to engage in "cognitive reappraisal": Cognitive reappraisal is an exercise in which the basic building blocks of interoceptive sensations are re-appraised as representing a positive emotion-for example, excitement instead of nervousness. Engaging in cognitive appraisal reduces negative affect and improves performance.

Ask students to fill in a body map: A body map is an outline of the human body on which users note what they're feeling and where in the body the feeling makes itself known. Completing a body map can help students become more aware of their internal signals and where in the body they are arising.

Thinking with Movement

Humans didn't evolve to think while sitting still. Moving the body in specific ways while engaging in mental work can help students to think more effectively, more efficiently, and more creatively.

Allow students to play with fidget objects: Playing with fidget objects can help students sharpen their focus, improve their mood, and boost their creativity. Different kinds of objects may generate usefully different mental states.

Have students sweat before they sit: Trying asking students to take a periodic " movement break. " Engaging in brisk physical activity just before sitting down to think will boost students' mental acuity.

Direct students to act out the abstract: In order to commit knowledge more firmly to memory, ask students to act it out with whole-body movements. Research on the "enactment effect" shows that we remember what we do much better than what we read or hear.

Teach to students' bodies: When learning about abstract concepts (say, "vector" or "torque" in physics), provide students with a physical experience of the concept that can be drawn upon when thinking about it later. The brain apprehends the abstract much more readily when it is "grounded" in bodily experience.

Instruct students to move as if they are it: In order to understand an entity from the inside, or to make discoveries about that entity, students benefit from embodying it -moving as if they themselves are the thing they are learning and thinking about.

Thinking with Built Spaces

We spend more than 90 percent of our time indoors, yet many of the spaces we occupy are not well-designed for extending the mind. We can take intentional steps to rearrange learning spaces so that they support intelligent thought.

Use space to implement "sensory reduction": Allow students to work on challenging tasks in a quiet room free of distractions. Imposing such sensory reduction generates a state of "stimuli hunger", in which weakly-activated internal knowledge (barely-remembered facts, elusive imaginative notions) becomes more readily accessible. (Students can achieve a similar effect by briefly closing their eyes.)

Give students a space of their own: Thinking and learning in a space over which students feel ownership and control gives them a feeling of empowerment, which in turn enhances their performance.

Offer students some privacy: Feeling "on display" all the time consumes mental bandwidth that could otherwise be applied to thinking. When students are able to shield themselves from the gaze of others, their cognitive load is reduced and they feel more free to experiment.

Fill learning spaces with "evocative objects": Visual reminders of students' academic identity -who they are, and what they're doing in that space-can put them in an optimal frame of mind for thinking. Objects representing their deepest values and ideals may be especially effective when hidden from others and visible only to the students themselves.

Appoint learning spaces with cues of belonging: Inspect your learning space for cues that signal exclusion; these should be removed and replaced with cues that signal belonging. Students think and work best in a space in which they feel that they are welcomed and included.

Thinking with Experts

Our system of education is based on experts teaching novices-but we experts often fail to convey all that we know, because our knowledge is so well-practiced as to become "automatized." Research is revealing more effective ways of transferring expertise from one mind to another.

Let students know that imitation is acceptable: Our culture values innovation and originality, but often the most efficient and effective approach to solving a problem is to copy what someone else has already done.

Encourage close observation: Children in other cultures commonly learn by observing and imitating their elders. Research has found that American children are not so adept at this practice-but that these capacities can be deliberately cultivated.

Exhibit model work: We expect students to produce excellent work without first showing them what excellence looks like. Displaying model examples need not threaten students' self-esteem or quash their creativity; it can inspire them to do their own best work.

Break it down: Experts tend to organize their knowledge into "chunks"-agglomerated masses of information that can seem impenetrable to novices. We can help learners begin to acquire mastery by breaking down our knowledge into smaller steps, and then smaller steps still-even "micro-steps."

Employ the "caricature advantage": For experts like us, the most important aspects of a given scenario "pop out" at first glance. For novices, that same scenario is an undifferentiated mass of information. We can help by deliberately exaggerating and distorting -caricaturing-the aspects of a scenario that we want novices to notice.

Thinking with Peers

Our notion of how to engage in challenging academic work usually involves sitting alone and thinking hard-but in fact, students think best when they think socially. Social activities they engage in with peers, like storytelling, debating, and teaching, activate cognitive processes that remain dormant when students think by themselves.

Take advantage of the "protégé effect": The act of teaching someone else leads the teacher to learn-even more than the student. As highly social creatures, we're more motivated by the goal of conveying information to others than by the goal of simply studying for its own sake. Even struggling learners can benefit, by teaching younger students or by teaching their family members.

Ask students to create an instructional video: Teaching-for-learning can produce benefits for the teacher even when there are no "students" present. Recording a video generates feelings of "social presence"-the feeling that others are watching-leading many of the same factors involved in face-to-face teaching to kick in.

Promote students' sense of "productive agency": Create opportunities for student-teachers to enjoy the fruits of their labors: it's motivating for people to see their pupils exhibiting and applying the knowledge they have been taught.

Set up a "cascading mentorship": A senior group can teach a more junior group, who can in turn instruct a still-less-experienced group, thereby multiplying the benefits of teaching-to-learn.

Find the underlying dispute: Much of what we learn in educational settings is boring and forgettable because it's been drained of all conflict, presented as settled wisdom. But almost every topic can be reinvigorated by casting it in terms of a " constructive controversy."

Thinking with Groups

The days of the lone genius are over; in our era, the sheer abundance of information and the increasing specialization of knowledge mean that we and our students have to trade our habits of individual thinking for new practices that activate the powerful "group mind."

Have students move in sync: Engaging in coordinated physical movement leads people to like others more, identify with them more closely, and cooperate with them more effectively. This can even take the form of a shared stroll: Research shows that when people walk together, they automatically and unconsciously match up their bodily movements.

Engage in group rituals: Ritual activities in which people do the same thing at the same time-even if it's simply sharing a meal together-promote a sense of belonging and mutual trust.

Create "shared artifacts": Group work is facilitated by the production of such artifacts, which should be large, complex, persistent, and revisable. Bonus: when such artifacts are available, people tend to gesture at them-enhancing their own understanding and that of their team members.

Implement the "jigsaw classroom": This instructional technique, invented in the midst of the desegregation battles of the early 1970s, has been shown to increase cooperation and teamwork even as it boosts learning.

Generate a sense of "shared fate": A sense of group motivation arises when the fates of each individual are bound up with one another-when they rise or fall together. Adjust the incentives and rewards offered to group members such that the outcome, good or bad, is experienced the same way by all.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
42 Ways to Boost Learning by Applying Our Bodies, Surroundings and Relationships - MindShift

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Supply "visual artifacts": Students are more likely to gesture (and in so doing acquire a deeper understanding) when there are relevant objects nearby to gesture at. Put students on the spot: Improvising a description or an explanation is hard mental work, so students automatically offload some of it onto their hands.

# data[].attributes.body
https://activeforlife.com/movement-and-learning/
Research suggests that when children develop gross motor skills such as walking, running, and jumping, they are also developing their cognitive abilities. Researchers believe it’s because the main region of the brain responsible for motor skills—the cerebellum—is also connected to our visual processing, spatial perception, and cognitive abilities.

This means that when children use their brains to perform physical movements, they’re also exercising and developing many of the same neural pathways that serve cognitive performance and vice versa. Physical movement also causes more oxygen, water, and glucose to travel to their brains, so that too assists their cognitive activity. #article #forteachers #movement #joy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Have you heard of movement being used as a teaching tool? In some schools and early childhood centres, movement-based instruction aims to help children learn better while promoting physical, social, and emotional development. At a time when sedentary behaviors are rising among children and youth, any effort to engage them in any physical movement is a good thing.

How movement benefits learning

Research suggests that when children develop gross motor skills such as walking, running, and jumping, they are also developing their cognitive abilities. Researchers believe it's because the main region of the brain responsible for motor skills-the cerebellum-is also connected to our visual processing, spatial perception, and cognitive abilities.

This means that when children use their brains to perform physical movements, they're also exercising and developing many of the same neural pathways that serve cognitive performance and vice versa. Physical movement also causes more oxygen, water, and glucose to travel to their brains, so that too assists their cognitive activity.
Related read: Roundup of physical literacy programs in Canadian schools
This describes the basic theory behind movement in learning. But what does it look like in practice? And what about claims that pairing subjects such as math and language with movement actually enhances learning?

You can find teachers in a variety of schools and settings using movement in their teaching, but two education models in particular are probably best known for utilizing movement: Waldorf and Montessori.

Active learning in Waldorf schools

Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, was conceived by Rudolf Steiner of Austria (1861-1925). The Waldorf approach aims to develop students' academic, artistic, and practical skills in an integrated manner, and this includes incorporating physical movement into some elements of instruction.

In the early childhood setting in particular, teachers in Waldorf schools have been known to direct children in physical movements while learning content. For example, teachers might lead the students in rhythmic movement and clapping while counting or practicing the alphabet. All forms of physical activity are also thought to better prepare the students for any sedentary academic work that might follow.

Movement in Montessori classrooms

Similar to Waldorf, the Montessori method developed by Maria Montessori (1870-1952) aims to support children to develop in a holistic manner-physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. Part of the approach includes integrating physical movement into daily play and learning activities.

Montessori recognizes that children's early development is intimately connected with physical movement, with the understanding that movement stimulates their brains in a different manner than when they are passively watching and listening. Maria Montessori is said to have written: "One of the most important practical aspects of our method has been to make the training of the muscles enter into the very life of the children so that it is intimately connected with their daily activities."

Again we can assume that the cerebellum is involved in this process-busily developing those neural networks that are common to motor skills, spatial perception, and cognition processes in the brain.

Fun fact: Maria Montessori was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for her innovations in educational theory.
Related read: Building your child's brain through physical literacy
Classroom examples

Waldorf and Montessori schools are perhaps the most recognized proponents of movement in learning, but the same theory applies when teachers of any description in any school bring intentional movement into their instruction. You can integrate movement with learning through outdoor play or gardening, constructive play such as building with blocks, exploratory play such as hide-and-seek and scavenger hunts, and functional play such as ball tossing while learning vocabulary and story-building, or dancing and singing to practice math addition and subtraction.

While many of the practices associated with learning and movement are not new, the brain science supporting them is still relatively young. With continuing research into child brain development, we may begin to see even more connections established between physical activity and learning in coming years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Movement and learning: How does that work?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Have you heard of movement being used as a teaching tool? In some schools and early childhood centres, movement-based instruction aims to help children learn better while promoting physical, social, and emotional development. At a time when sedentary behaviors are rising among children and youth, any effort to engage them in any physical movement is a good thing.

# data[].attributes.headline
HOW CAN WE SUPPORT MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN

# data[].attributes.subject
HOW CAN WE SUPPORT MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf_VWSodnE
To foster just and equitable education, we must nurture, support, celebrate, and challenge our emergent bilingual and multilingual learners. What is the relationship between cognitive science and what we know about language development? How do we accelerate language acquisition while teaching into rich content? And how can we leverage technology to accelerate content and language learning at a distance? #forteacher #workshop #ELL #emergentbilinguals #MLL #language diversity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Educating for Justice: Research-Based Instruction for Our Emergent Bilinguals, In School and Online

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.the74million.org/article/educators-view-5-strategies-for-incorporating-joy-in-the-classroom/
Heinze: Discovery, identity, connection, movement and play can all spark joy and aid students' social-emotional, mental and academic well-being. #article #forteachers #instructionalstrategies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

Experiencing joy leads to a multitude of health and wellness benefits, including reduced chance of heart attack, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and a boosted immune system. Joy also positively impacts learning by enhancing children's cognitive abilities and increasing their aptitude for making social connections.

Joy is a distinct, specific emotion that causes the release of two types of neurotransmitters in the brain: dopamine and serotonin. These chemical messengers cause us to smile, laugh or even jump for joy. But the feeling is not limited to physical response. When children experience joy, information flows freely and they retain more of what they learned. Teaching and learning that induce joy and result in joyful classrooms are integral to helping students thrive and should be a goal. Research reveals that certain conditions lend to students feeling joy in the classroom. In one study documenting the emotions of first and second graders, students responded most positively to student-centered learning that allowed them to "shine as experts" by making their own choices.

With so many children and adolescents having suffered adverse effects to their social-emotional, mental and academic well-being due to the COVID-19 pandemic, infusing joy in learning feels more critical and valuable than ever. What produces joy may be personal, but there are many research-backed strategies that, when incorporated into classroom activities, can lead children to experience joy and begin to cultivate it within themselves.

Discovery: Learning activities that help children engage in independent discovery make them feel joyful, whether it's reading a new word, unearthing a solution to a complex problem or experiencing an "aha" moment when something clicks. Further, when students figure something out for themselves, they are more likely to remember and understand what they learned and feel more pride and confidence in themselves.

Identity: Individuals with a more mature sense of identity tend to have a healthy self-esteem. Participating in activities that allow students to explore and affirm their identities, and feel their identities are being recognized and appreciated by others, yields joy and an increased sense of belonging.

Connection: Feeling connected to others and oneself generates joy. The health and academic benefits of childhood and adolescent relationships and friendships are well documented. Designing activities in which children collaborate to complete a task and solve problems with their peers on their own terms helps them form, enjoy and sustain connections with one another.

Movement: Movement and physical activity have a positive effect on mood and happiness, along with a variety of academic performance indicators, including cognitive functioning, behavior in school and even grades. Programs such as Move to Improve integrate physical activity into various aspects of the curriculum to keep children moving throughout the school day and experiencing the effects of joy.

Play: Play has the potential to bring all of the above together. Dr. Stuart Brown of the National Institute of Play describes it as "a state of mind that one has when absorbed in an activity that provides enjoyment and a suspension of sense of time." Play is built into humans' neurobiology, benefits overall well-being and improves learning. It is essential to make sure kids have time and space to play every day.

Embedding activities in the school day that elicit joy, such as those that incorporate discovery, identity, connection, movement and play, is invaluable. But great value also lies in asking children and adolescents directly what makes them feel joyful. This helps students recognize joy in themselves so they can cultivate and integrate it more fully into their lives. As educators, we need to answer the call to find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Educator's View: 5 Strategies for Incorporating Joy in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Experiencing joy leads to a multitude of health and wellness benefits, including reduced chance of heart attack, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and a boosted immune system.

# data[].attributes.body
Yoon, H. S. (2019). Playful Literacies, Creativity, and Multilingual Practices. Reading Teacher.pdf

It is important to make space whenever possible for
students to practice and apply their home languages
across contexts. Students’ home languages, then,
need to be cultivated and valued in the classroom

space as well. Although English gives students access and power in the United States, we cannot ignore the place that first languages have in the social

and cultural lives of young students.
#forteachers #chapter #play #languagediversity #ELL #MLL #emergentbiliguals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Yoon, H. S. (2019). Playful Literacies, Creativity, and Multilingual Practices. Reading Teacher.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
Yoon, H. S. (2019). Playful Literacies, Creativity, and Multilingual Practices. Reading Teacher.pdf

It is important to make space whenever possible for
students to practice and apply their home languages
across contexts. Students’ home languages, then,
need to be cultivated and valued in the classroom

space as well. Although English gives students access and power in the United States, we cannot ignore the place that first languages have in the social

and cultural lives of young students.
#forteachers #chapter #play #languagediversity #ELL #MLL #emergentbiliguals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Yoon, H. S. (2019). Playful Literacies, Creativity, and Multilingual Practices. Reading Teacher.pdf

# data[].attributes.headline
I MAKE MISTAKE, YOU MAKE MISTAKES, WE MAKE MISTAKES AND ITS OKAY BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE LEARN!

# data[].attributes.subject
I MAKE MISTAKE, YOU MAKE MISTAKES, WE MAKE MISTAKES AND ITS OKAY BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE LEARN!

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.edutopia.org/article/mistake-imperative-why-we-must-get-over-our-fear-student-error
All too often, students see mistakes as a source of embarrassment, stress, or even humiliation. [Children watch how we respond to our own mistakes and theirs. Our tone send a loud message about if mistakes are okay or bad.] The human brain is agnostic, however, and makes good use of the data—mistakes are crucial pieces of information that force a cognitive reckoning, pushing the brain to reconcile contradictory information and build more accurate, durable solution
#forteachers #article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Mistake Imperative—Why We Must Get Over Our Fear of Student Error

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fear of making mistakes is often paralyzing, but cognitive science suggests that errors are part of the fundamental machinery of learning.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.songsforteaching.com/biologysongs/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, identification and taxonomy.

These Biology Song Lyrics are available from a variety of albums.

Biology Songs: Cellular Metabolism
If You Know What I Mean - The Trigs

Biology Songs: Genetics
Genetics - Lyrical Life Science
Gregor Mendel - Science Maniacs
Your Body (The Deal) - The Trigs

For more songs about Animals, Dinosaurs & Paleontology
See our pages onAnimal Songs, Fish and Marine Life and Dinosaur Songs

See our pages on:
My Body, Health, and Illness and Food and Nutrition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Biology Songs: Biology, Botany, Ecology, Nature, Physiology, and Zoology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, identification and taxonomy.

# data[].attributes.body
https://learn.cli.org/best-practices/intentional-read-aloud/overview/

“The fire of Literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book and the person reading. It isn’t achieved by the book alone, nor by the child alone, nor by the adult who is reading aloud. It is the relationship winding between all three bringing them together in easy harmony.” - Mem Fox, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. #talktalktalk #talkaboutbooks #comprehension #forteachers #article #planning #teachingstrategies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Intentional Read Aloud > Overview | LEARN - Children’s Literacy Initiative

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.hmhco.com/blog/interactive-read-alouds
Imagine a lesson where students and teachers have a conversation around literature. Interactive read-alouds offer an opportunity for whole-group teaching involving all students. The teacher plans for conversations and makes decisions about when they will occur during the lesson. #talktalktalk #talkaboutbooks #comprehension #forteachers #article #planning #teachingstrategies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This post is part of the Into the Classroom blog series, in which educators share their successful teaching strategies and practices.

Relationships must be at the heart of what we do as teachers. Taking the time to connect and learn about our students makes all the difference in the world.

I began my teaching career many years ago as a second grade teacher and have taught most grades K-7. I love what I do. I especially love my time reading aloud to my students, no matter the age. It brings us together and allows for all students to participate.

It wasn't always that way. I must say I made my share of mistakes along the way; too many questions, low-level questions, covering too much in one book, to name a few. Reflection and being open to ongoing learning has helped me grow. Through the years, I have honed my practice and now realize the value of purposeful planning and reflecting.

What is an Interactive Read-Aloud?

Imagine a lesson where students and teachers have a conversation around literature. Interactive read-alouds offer an opportunity for whole-group teaching involving all students. The teacher plans for conversations and makes decisions about when they will occur during the lesson.

Through this careful approach, teachers can intentionally think about and plan for:

Book selection

Text features

Questions to ask

Modeling of strategic reading behaviors and fluency

Places to stop for interaction

Including all students can be done using strategies such as a turn-and-talk or a think-pair-share, which enable students to construct knowledge with their peers. Interactive read-alouds are engaging because students are active rather than passive, and students are participating by listening and speaking with the teacher and their classmates.

Why Interactive Read-Alouds?

Interactive read-alouds allow us to construct knowledge with all students. During our time together, we consciously build relationships and create a community of collaboration. We can read books that students may not have the ability to read on their own, so the experience is both powerful and motivating.

All students can participate because we plan, read, problem solve, question, and model what readers do, which frees students up to focus on the meaning of the text. We are scaffolding the learning process, making it accessible to all.

Book Selection Is Everything

Selecting books with our students in mind shifts the focus from teacher-driven to student-driven. Considering students' strengths and interests lets students know that we care about them. If our goal is to create a love for reading, curiosity, engagement, and learning, then we have to choose books we know students will be excited about.

A book may have pertinent content related to real problems students face in and out of school. We might even allow students to select future books that we can read. Getting to know our students and their needs will help us determine our why and purpose. Our why is so important.

Some questions we can consider are:

What are my students' interests and what might they need next?

Does this book build on the previous books?

Does it build on background knowledge?

What's our purpose for that particular book as it relates to what we want our students to gain?

Is there an opportunity to teach students about how to communicate effectively?

The Deeper Meaning of the Text

Authors often have an overall message they want their readers to understand. These overall messages are subtle, and taking the time to understand the deeper meaning can help us facilitate learning. Our aim is for students to not only learn about the content but also the important underlying message. Some valuable underlying messages relate to empathy, respect, kindness, problem solving, interpersonal skills, and teamwork.

Questioning Strategies

Planning for questions to ask students ahead of time is beneficial for several reasons. We are better able to plan based on our students' needs and not just the text. In addition, it frees us up to enjoy the text with the students, instead of thinking as we are reading. We target what level of questions to ask, so the lesson goes smoothly. The questions we plan for are one part, but there are other aspects we need to consider:

Where are some good places to stop reading, which will allow students to think and talk about the meaning?

Are our questions rigorous enough?

How relevant are our questions?

What do our students need to think critically about the books we select?

Planning such as this takes time, but allows us to see what types of questions we are asking.

Plan for Student Involvement

Involving all students is a must. Students have to know that they are in a safe place and that their voice is heard. We do so by building a trusting and respectful environment. Building meaningful conversations allows students to participate and interact with one another around what they are learning.

Here are a few ways we can teach and include all students in our interactive read-alouds:

Teach accountable talk: We can teach students how to communicate effectively in a thoughtful manner.

Think, pair, and share OR Write, pair, share: Students are given a minute or two to process the question posed, respond, and pair up with a partner to share. These interactive read-aloud strategies allow students to engage in the text and listen to others.

Use technology: Students reflect on questions in an app such as Mentimeter, which allows for real-time voting and reflection. Students can respond and also read and reflect on others' thoughts.

Reflect at the beginning, middle, or end and share with a partner (verbally or on paper).

Complete sketchnotes: This type of notetaking challenges students to think about important ideas and represent them with visuals and words.

Sometimes we try to do too much during an interactive read-aloud. When this happens, we can lose sight of our purpose, and it could create confusion for our students. On the other hand, being purposeful with our planning makes a greater impact on learning. We can think about how to create a balance between all components of our interactive read-aloud. Students are better able to process, reflect, and collaborate when we are clear with our purpose. It will also broaden their understanding of the reading and thinking process.

Teaching in Action

There are three parts of the read-aloud; before reading, during reading, and after reading. We can think about how and when we want students to participate in the discussion. Being purposeful during each component is key.

Before Reading:

Engage readers by sharing the purpose of the lesson and why it's important for readers.

Ask questions that relate to the topic of the book.

Preview the book without giving too much away.

What do you know and want to know?

During Reading:

Model strategic reading behaviors and comprehension strategies.

Share what we notice about the text through the use of the strategy, think-alouds, where we verbalize our thoughts out loud so students can hear what we are thinking and why.

Ask interactive read-aloud questions that were created during the planning phase.

Incorporate strategies that allow students to think and talk about the text

After Reading:

Have a conversation about the overall meaning of the text: What surprised you? What did you learn? What questions might you still have?

Extend the learning: How can this lesson connect to other parts of our literacy curriculum, including writing?

Teacher Reflection

Reflecting on our lessons is key to making improvements. Here are some questions we can use to guide us in this process:

How did the students answer questions?

Were all students engaged?

Were the activities chosen appropriate for students to reflect?

What other data is available for us to reflect upon?

How did the students interact with one another?

At what point did we stop for think-alouds? Was that the best place?

What's next for students during our interactive read-alouds, and how might we weave what we do as readers into reading lessons or other parts of our literacy curriculum?

Are there other opportunities to have students independently or collaboratively practice strategic reading behaviors, questioning, and comprehension strategies?

Taking the time to write down our reflections will challenge us to think about what went well, what didn't, and what's next. We can analyze the data we collect from our conversations and activities to inform our practice as well.

Interactive read-alouds play an important role in our teaching and bring everyone together. If we want students to participate, we must build relationships and create a safe and caring environment. We must find ways to engage all students, think about their needs as learners, and teach from there.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.
***

Learn more about HMH's new K-12 Into Reading and Into Literature programs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is an interactive read-aloud? Learn interactive read-aloud strategies to build strong student-teacher relationships in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.headline
PRACTICE NEW VOCABULARY WORDS OVER AND OVER AGAIN

# data[].attributes.subject
PRACTICE NEW VOCABULARY WORDS OVER AND OVER AGAIN

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains why “Children need many encounters in meaningful contexts to learn our most challenging or sophisticated words. ”#forteachers #article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More than Teachable Moments Enhancing Oral Vocabulary Instruction in Your Classroom

# data[].attributes.headline
BEGINNING COMPREHESION - ROLL AND RETELL

# data[].attributes.subject
BEGINNING COMPREHESION - ROLL AND RETELL

# data[].attributes.body
This is a game that can be played after children have listened to or read a book. #comprehension #retell #comprehensionactivities #forteachers #olderstudents

# data[].attributes.headline
BEGINNING COMPREHENSION - RETELLING ICONS

# data[].attributes.subject
BEGINNING COMPREHENSION - RETELLING ICONS

# data[].attributes.body
When I read a story
It has more than one part!
The title and the author
Are just the places I start!
The setting, characters ,and problem
Are parts of the story too!
Beginning, middle, end, and solution
Help me retell the story to you!

Nancy Louter VandenBerge  - Developed this reading rope method to help young children to master a basic retell. Here are icons for the reading rope https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FLZxnsoBqTTFQCUi0mInaitf2p6Y2OHb/view?usp=drive_link
#comprehension #retell #comprehensionactivities #forteachers #k

# data[].attributes.headline
HIGH IMPACT READ ALOUDS:READ AND TALK ABOUT A GREAT BOOK MORE THAN ONCE

# data[].attributes.subject
HIGH IMPACT READ ALOUDS:READ AND TALK ABOUT A GREAT BOOK MORE THAN ONCE

# data[].attributes.body
Read a high-quality book more than one time to development comprehension skills beyond a simple ability to retell a story. #comprehension #forteachers

# data[].attributes.body
Reading comprehension, simply stated, is the act of understanding and interpreting what we read. Reading Rockets webpage explaining language comprehension - https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101-course/modules/comprehension/in-depth. Here is a longer, more complex video about the reading rope - https://www.pattan.net/Videos/A-20th-Year-Celebration-of-Scarboroughs-Readin-2
#readaloud #comprehension #forteacher

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Reading Rope and Language Comprehension Explained

# data[].attributes.body
This website describes comprehension and outlines what to do before, during, and after reading a book to a child -https://www.dpi.nc.gov/students-families/parents-corner/literacy-home-digital-childrens-reading-initiative/pre-kindergarten/comprehension-pre-k #talktalktalk #talkaboutbooks #readaloud #forteachers #instructionalstratagies #comprehension

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reading comprehension refers to the ability to understand what one reads. It is the ultimate goal of reading instruction.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAmgDw1U6M8&t=22s
This video discuss the importance of having extended conversations with students. #prek #talktalktalk #orallanguage #forteachers #forfamilies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
One Shift That Will Advance Your Child's Oral Language Skills

# data[].attributes.body
There is a virtual consensus that background knowledge is essential for reading comprehension. Put simply, the more you know about a topic, the easier it is to read a text, understand it, and retain the information. Background knowledge plays an enormous role in reading comprehension. This webpage explains why content knowledge is important and shares ways to build background knowledge - https://www.readingrockets.org/article/building-background-knowledge  #contentknowledge #vocabulary #forteachers #instructional strategies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
To comprehend a story or text, young readers need a threshold of knowledge about the topic, and tougher state standards place increasing demands on children’s prior knowledge. This article offers practical classroom strategies to build background knowledge such as using contrasts and comparisons and encouraging topic-focused wide reading.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Here is a list of ways to add movement to literacy lessons #readandmove #instructionalstrategies

# data[].attributes.headline
WAYS TO ADD MOVEMENT TO READ-ALOUD, COMPREHENSION, AND VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

# data[].attributes.subject
WAYS TO ADD MOVEMENT TO READ-ALOUD, COMPREHENSION, AND VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

# data[].attributes.body
WAYS TO ADD MOVEMENT TO READ-ALOUD, COMPREHENSION, AND VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES Here

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WAYS TO ADD MOVEMENT TO READ-ALOUD, COMPREHENSION, AND VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

# data[].attributes.headline
ARE PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, PHONEMIC AWARENESS, AND PHONICS ALL THE SAME?

# data[].attributes.subject
ARE PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, PHONEMIC AWARENESS, AND PHONICS ALL THE SAME?

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EybhFXug80I&t=253s
This video describes the difference between phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and phonics. #foundationalskills #phonologicalawareness #phonemicawareness #phonics #videosforteachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, and Phonics

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPderfCMNEo&t=8s This video explains the difference between phonics and phonemic awareness. This link has more videos about phonemic awareness and phonemic awareness activities - https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101-guide-parents/first-grade/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness-activities-your-first-grader#foundationalskills #phonemicawareness #videosofadults

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why is Phonemic Awareness the Key to Learning to Read?

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBuA589kfMg
Here is video about how to model letter sounds/phoneme.
#phonologicalawareness #videosforteachers

# data[].attributes.body
https://thesixshifts.com/2021/11/what-is-the-science-of-reading-anyway/ You may have heard about the science of reading in the news. Here is some background knowledge #foundationalskills #phonics #videosforteachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's in the news.

It's in the title of our book.

It's in the name of countless Facebook groups.

It's the topic of conversation at school board meetings and in state legislatures across the country.

So, what is "the science of reading" anyway?

First, check out our video discussion about it:

Before we really answer this question, we want to acknowledge that "the science of reading" can be a tricky label.

Any time you're having dicey, challenging (or possibly triggering) conversations, labels can be potentially problematic. Even so, labels can also be helpful, and this label serves a purpose. It facilitates conversation about what researchers and scientists have figured out about how the human brain learns to read.

But to understand the term the science of reading, it helps if we first think about science.

What is it anyway?

Well, in this case, it has to do with research from experiments designed to figure out if certain actions cause children to be more or less successful in learning to read.

And there are lots of different domains of science. The term "the science of reading" draws on many of them, including research from cognitive psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and more.

You see, it's not just educators who want to know about how children learn to read and write, which is really great for you as a teacher. It means that you have a lot of people working hard to really help you know what will make learning to read easier for the children you teach.

If you'd like a formal definition of the science of reading, there is one on the WhatIsTheScienceofReading.org website. Speaking conversationally, the science of reading is basically a body of scientific knowledge-learned from experiments that meet certain research design criteria-about how the brain learns to read and write. And, at this point, it's a really, really big body of knowledge that's grown out of many years of study in lots of different domains.

In a nutshell, the science of reading is research that considers the reader (and writer) from the inside out -that is, from inside the brain. And the benefit of this body of research is that it can help us decide on science-aligned instructional practices that are grounded in how the brain actually learns to read. These practices can help you make learning to read easier for the children in your classroom.

In contrast, many common practices, prominent ones that many of us have studied, taught, and embedded in our daily routines, rely on inferences about what we have assumed is going on inside the brain, as we watch children from the outside in. Unfortunately, we now know that some of these assumptions don't hold up when we consider the scientific research across all these different domains.

But, we don't view that as bad news. We actually have come to embrace it as really good news! Because, isn't it good to learn that there are some shifts we can make that are really well-grounded in what we now know about the brain?

And isn't it good news to learn that, by making these shifts, you will make learning to read easier for the children you teach?

This is an exciting time to be a reading teacher, and we are honored to help you make the journey to reading easier for children.

You can read more about inside-out instructional routines in our book, Shifting the Balance.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is the science of reading anyway? - The Six Shifts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's in the news. It's in the title of our book. It's in the name of countless Facebook groups. It's the topic of conversation at school board meetings and in state legislatures across the country. So, what is "the science of reading" anyway?

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QaWHTBbMuA&list=PLoU659hwTdDauNOcOo9AXyXVY8Gs8JcLx&index=8 The author talks about his experience being an Mexican American. This link has interviews with many great writers. https://www.colorincolorado.org/videos/meet-authors #theBESTbooks #culturallysustaining #videosforchildren

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofLLrPmxszU&list=PLoU659hwTdDZIvNRb5GwaY7JR5lUwMD8s&index=3 A video of the Alphabet Song in English and Spanish sung by an author. More videos of his songs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHeqM4UTLLM&list=PLoU659hwTdDZIvNRb5GwaY7JR5lUwMD8s&index=4 #phonologicalawareness #SING! #songs #videosforchildren

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
José-Luis Orozco: "ABCs" in English and Spanish / Abecadario bilingue

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZlFHLwXeqg&list=PLoU659hwTdDaYm0Po2aIBQBL5joRkvX-3&index=5
The author of The Big Red Lollipop.
This link has interviews with many great writers. https://www.colorincolorado.org/videos/meet-authors #theBESTbooks #culturallysustaining #videosforchildren

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtN1w34zwTo&list=PLoU659hwTdDYHH9N0-r1p1NegNf4ZqkU0&t=3s The author of Apple Pie on the Fourth of July.
This link has interviews with many great writers. https://www.colorincolorado.org/videos/meet-authors #theBESTbooks #culturallysustaining #videosforchildren

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.colorincolorado.org/videos/meet-authors/alma-flor-ada The author of many bilingual books.
This link has interviews with many great writers. https://www.colorincolorado.org/videos/meet-authors #theBESTbooks #culturallysustaining #videosforchildren

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Alma Flor Ada is the award-winning author of more than 200 books for children. She is also a poet, storyteller, educator, mother, and grandmother. With a Ph.D. in literature and a lifelong love for stories, Ada has mastered the art of retelling traditional folktales and nursery rhymes from across Latin America. A native of Cuba who has also lived in Spain, Peru, and the United States, Alma Flor Ada writes poetry, picture books, and novels that offer rich, multicultural perspectives for all children.

Transcript

Biography

Alma Flor Ada grew up with her extended family in a big house on the outskirts of Camagüey, Cuba. As a young girl, she loved to read, play outside on the farm, and listen to her mother sing old ballads at bedtime. Alma Flor's grandmother used to recite poetry and tell her traditional folktales. After studying English and attending bilingual schools, Alma Flor Ada earned a scholarship to a college in the United States at the age of 17.

For many years, Ada followed her academic interests around the globe. In Spain she earned a degree in Hispanic Studies. In Peru she received a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature. After conducting post-doctoral research at Harvard University, Ada became a professor at the University of San Francisco, where she directed the Center for Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults. Over the years, Ada has been an influential leader in the field of bilingual education in the United States.

Alma Flor Ada's career as an author first began when she started developing text books for her high school students in Peru. Her first children's book, which she originally wrote for her daughter, became required reading for tens of thousands of Peruvian school children. Since moving to the United States, Ada has developed educational materials, retold folktales, and written original picture books and middle grade novels. Among her many awards are the Christopher Award for The Golden Coin and the Pura Belpré Award for Under the Royal Palms.

Alma Flor Ada lives Mill Valley, California and is a Professor Emeritus at the University of San Francisco.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Alma Flor Ada is the award-winning author of more than 200 books for children. She is also a poet, storyteller, educator, mother, and grandmother. With a Ph.D. in literature and a lifelong love for stories, Ada has mastered the art of retelling traditional folktales and nursery rhymes from across Latin America.

# data[].attributes.body
Marley Dias talks about her book and #1000 Black Girl Books #theBESTbooks #culturallysustaining #readaloud

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Marley Dias talks about her book and #1000 Black Girl Books

# data[].attributes.headline
PROGRESSION OF EARLY READING FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

# data[].attributes.subject
PROGRESSION OF EARLY READING FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

# data[].attributes.body
This chart shows how foundational skills are frequently taught in schools. #foundationalskills #phonologicalawareness #phonics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Progression of Early-Reading Foundational Skills

# data[].attributes.body
Here is a list of questions that you can ask during read aloud. Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2010). Identifying instructional moves during guided learning. The Reading Teacher, 64(2). #readaloud #talkaboutbooks #comprehension

# data[].attributes.body
This article describes key components of culturally responsive and sustaining teaching. #forteachers #forleaders

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For decades, researchers have found that teachers in public schools have undervalued the potential for academic success among students of color, setting low expectations for them and thinking of cultural differences as barriers rather than assets to learning.

In response, scholars developed teaching methods and practices-broadly known as asset-based pedagogies-that incorporate students' cultural identities and lived experiences into the classroom as tools for effective instruction. The terms for these approaches to teaching vary, from culturally responsive teaching and culturally sustaining pedagogy to the more foundational culturally relevant pedagogy. Though each term has its own components defined by different researchers over time, all these approaches to teaching center the knowledge of traditionally marginalized communities in classroom instruction. As a result, all students, and in particular students of color, are empowered to become lifelong learners and critical thinkers.

This explainer unpacks what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher, how all these research terms are related, and where other academic concepts such as critical race theory tie in-or not.

What is the definition of culturally responsive teaching?

Culturally responsive teaching means using students' customs, characteristics, experience, and perspectives as tools for better classroom instruction.

The term was coined by researcher Geneva Gay in 2000, who wrote that "when academic knowledge and skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference for students, they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly."

It's the kind of teaching that helps students of color see themselves and their communities as belonging in schools and other academic spaces, leading to more engagement and success.

What is culture, and why is it relevant to student learning?

Culture refers to the customs, languages, values, beliefs, and achievements of a group of people. Students' culture and lived experiences that influence how they understand and make sense of the world or themselves are an integral part of who they are as learners. As Emily Style, the former founding co-director of the National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), once wrote, "Half the curriculum walks in the door with the students."

While more than half of public school students are students of color, most schools are organized around the mainstream culture of white Americans. The culture that many students experience at home and in their communities is not always represented at school-or is represented in a stereotypical way.

Also, 80 percent of teachers are white. Research has found that teachers are just as likely to have racial biases as non-teachers, and those biases tend to influence the expectations they have for their students and their ways of managing their classrooms. For example, past research has found that white teachers have lower expectations for Black students than they do for white students, and those can turn into "self-fulfilling prophecies" when students internalize them or when teachers change their approach to students as a result of their mindsets.

One study found that white teachers were more likely to praise a poorly written essay if they thought it was written by a student of color than if they thought the essay was by a white student. Teachers' racial biases can also result in decreased access to advanced coursework and higher rates of suspensions.

When did culturally responsive teaching start?

Culturally responsive teaching stems from the framework of culturally relevant pedagogy, which was introduced by scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings in the 1990s. Ladson-Billings was tired of the commonly held narrative that Black children were deficient and deviant, and that there was something wrong with them. Instead, she wanted to find out what was right with Black children, their families, and their communities. To do so, she researched the practices of effective teachers of Black students.

For about two years, Ladson-Billings observed teachers who were identified by both principals and Black parents as being excellent. The teachers had different ways of teaching, but they all had high expectations for their students and fostered academic success. They also all valued and integrated themselves in the community from which their students came.

Ladson-Billings distilled the commonalities in those teachers' beliefs and practices into the framework of culturally relevant pedagogy, which she defined as a model that "not only addresses student achievement but also helps students to accept and affirm their cultural identity while developing critical perspectives that challenge inequities that schools (and other institutions) perpetuate."

There are three components of culturally relevant pedagogy:

student learning-prioritizing students' intellectual growth, including their ability to problem-solve;

cultural competence-creating an environment where students affirm and appreciate their culture of origin while also developing fluency in at least one other culture; and

critical consciousness-teaching students how to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequities against marginalized groups.

So, what are the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching?

Gay's research shows five essential components of culturally responsive teaching:

A strong knowledge base about cultural diversity. Teachers should understand different racial and ethnic groups' cultural values, traditions, and contributions to society, and incorporate that knowledge into their instruction.

Culturally relevant curricula. Teachers should include multiple perspectives in their instruction and make sure the images displayed in classrooms-such as on bulletin boards-represent a wide range of diversity. Teachers should also contextualize issues within race, class, ethnicity, and gender.

High expectations for all students. Teachers should help students achieve academic success while still validating their cultural identities.

An appreciation for different communication styles. Teachers should understand different communication styles and modify classroom interactions accordingly. For example, many communities of color have an active, participatory style of communication. A teacher who doesn't understand this cultural context might think a student is being rude and tell the student to be quiet. The student may then shut down.

The use of multicultural instructional examples. Teachers should connect students' prior knowledge and cultural experiences with new knowledge.

Doesn't that require teachers to reinforce stereotypes about students of color and even discriminate against white children?

In short, no. While the academic framework of culturally responsive teaching and other asset-based pedagogies emerged from how to best support students of color, it evolved into a teaching approach that serves all students, regardless of their racial background.

Sharroky Hollie, the director of the nonprofit Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, works with teachers to practice what he calls cultural and linguistic responsiveness. In his work, he talks about the rings of culture, meaning the various aspects of students' identities that can impact how they interact with the world around them.

To Hollie, it's not just about thinking of ways to validate and incorporate a student's racial background into the classroom. It's not about thinking of students in a one-dimensional, stereotypical way. Culturally responsive teachers must also consider the student's gender, age, socio-economic status, whether they live in the suburbs or a rural area, and more.

"It's not as simplistic as we're trying to value our students of color," he said. "We're actually trying to value the rings of culture that they bring to our schools, regardless of their racial background."

For instance, in predominately white school districts, there are white students who, due to where they live or their family's socio-economic status, are underserved by their school district and could benefit from a culturally responsive approach to education, Hollie said.

What is culturally sustaining pedagogy, and how is it different than culturally relevant teaching?

Schools are still places where white norms are considered the default standard in the curricula, behavioral expectations, linguistic practices, and more. Culturally sustaining pedagogy says that students of color should not be expected to adhere to white middle-class norms, but their own cultural ways of being should be explored, honored, and nurtured by educators.

The framework builds on the work of Ladson-Billing and others but offers a "loving critique" that cultural relevance in the curriculum is not enough for students in today's world, given demographic shifts toward a more diverse society. Paris and Alim also argue that asset-based pedagogies, like culturally relevant teaching, traditionally haven't paid enough attention to young people's more fluid relationships with their identities.

Ladson-Billings has embraced the evolution of her foundational pedagogy, writing in 2014 that "culturally sustaining pedagogy uses culturally relevant pedagogy as the place where the beat drops." She also told Education Week that she is now paying close attention to how teenagers shape culture, an aspect that wasn't present in her original work.

It's important to remember that these asset-based pedagogies-culturally responsive, culturally relevant, and culturally sustainable, among others-are not in conflict with each other. While their frameworks vary, they all have the same goal of dismantling a deficit approach to educating students of color and focusing instead on their strengths, assets, and communities in the classroom.

What does the research say about the effectiveness of these teaching frameworks?

A 2016 synthesis of decades of research on culturally responsive teaching and related frameworks found that engaging in culturally affirming practices across subject matters, including mathematics and science, led to positive increases in students' understanding and engagement with academic skills and concepts.  For instance, students in high school math class could learn about statistics by assessing the probabilities of racial profiling cases in various neighborhoods or using other datasets applicable to their communities that bring up questions about justice and injustice.

Culturally responsive teaching and similar approaches to teaching also increased students' motivation, interest in content, and the perception of themselves as capable students, among other benefits, the study found. Brittany Aronson, an associate professor in educational leadership at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a co-author of the study, said, whenever teachers drew direct connections between classroom lessons and students' experiences outside of school, students could see greater value in the academic content as it applies to the real world. Such work helps students see themselves as knowledge producers and researchers.

Overall, teaching that makes school relevant to students helps them succeed both in terms of quantitative measures such as high test scores, and more qualitative measures such as becoming life-long learners able to ask critical questions about the world around them, both in and out of school, Aronson said.

What are some examples of culturally responsive teaching?

Teachers who practice culturally responsive teaching have a classroom full of books featuring characters and images that represent a variety of ages, genders, ethnicities, and other types of diversity. They share the achievements and expertise of people from different ethnic groups in every subject area. They include multiple perspectives when discussing historical and contemporary events, including those from oppressed groups who are often left out of the narrative. And they encourage students to draw on their prior knowledge and cultural experiences to make connections to the academic content.

Culturally responsive teaching also must have an element of critical consciousness, where students are empowered to critique and analyze societal inequities. For example, Teddi Beam-Conroy, an associate teaching professor at the University of Washington, was teaching the Declaration of Independence to a class of 5th graders. When they got to the line that said, "All men are created equal," Beam-Conroy asked her students, "Who were the men who were considered equal at that point?" To illustrate the point, she asked everyone to stand up-and then told them to sit down if they didn't identify as male, if they didn't identify as white, or if their parents rented instead of owned a home.

That exercise opened the door to a conversation about how Americans weren't all equal in the late 18th century. Beam-Conroy's students discussed when women and African Americans got the right to vote-and what implications that has had on the composition of U.S. Congress or the Supreme Court. The critical consciousness piece is "examining how historically, power has been distributed and guarded among particular folks who make the laws," Beam-Conroy said. "Fifth graders can understand that."

Culturally responsive teaching can also involve a deeper reimagining of classroom codes of conduct. For instance, in some students' culture, talking while someone else talks shows how invested and engaged they are in the conversation, said Hollie with the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning. Culturally responsive teachers find ways to incorporate that verbal overlap into their lesson rather than seeing it as rude or worthy of discipline.

What isn't culturally responsive teaching?

Researchers note that some educators say they're practicing culturally responsive teaching, but it's an overly simplified version. For example, for some teachers, a multicultural school potluck meal or adding diverse books to their classroom library sufficiently counts as affirming students' culture in education. But culturally responsive teaching is deeper, more critical work.

"There's a tendency to truncate culturally responsive teaching to be about a whole myriad of things-it's about relationships, it's about anti-racist education, it's about diverse books," said Zaretta Hammond, the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. "It's like that old parable of the king who asks nine blind men to describe an elephant. Each one grabs a different part of the elephant. 'Oh, it's flat and wide'-he's got the ear. 'No, it's like a rope'-he's got the tail. No one has the whole picture."

Too often, she said, white progressive educators view culturally responsive teaching as an add-on to their regular instruction instead of a fundamental shift in their pedagogy. For example, a teacher might think students of color just need to see themselves in order to feel motivated and do the work, so she'll incorporate diverse books into her classroom or syllabus-but not change anything to the content or her way of instruction.

Another common misconception is that culturally responsive teaching is a way of addressing student trauma, which is a deficit-based ideology that assumes the universal experience of people of color is one of trauma, Hammond said.

How widespread is culturally responsive teaching?

Most teacher-preparation programs have also incorporated culturally responsive teaching into their courses. And some school districts, including New York City and Baltimore City, have adopted a culturally responsive and/or sustaining approach to education.

Still, experts say it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how many teachers have adopted these asset-based pedagogies because some may use only certain tenets. For instance, helping students develop a critical consciousness is often ignored.

What does all of this have to do with critical race theory?

Critical race theory, broadly speaking, is an academic concept with the core idea that race is a social construct, and racism is not only the product of individual bias or prejudice but is also embedded in policies and systems, such as a legal system-or as some scholars such as Ladson-Billings propose, an educational system.

Aspiring K-12 teachers in graduate level courses may study aspects of critical race theory to better understand how school systems are designed in ways that don't serve the needs of students of color. But critical race theory is not taught as a guide for classroom instruction, nor is it typically used as a culturally relevant or culturally responsive lesson plan for kids and teens, said Aronson with Miami University.

Asset-based pedagogies, like culturally relevant or culturally responsive teaching, are not the same thing as critical race theory. They have different theoretical bases and different goals. However, there might be some commonalities-for example, the questions students are encouraged to ask about social systems, including education, may ring close to the consciousness critical race theory is meant to evoke.

In an interview with Education Week, Ladson-Billings stressed that culturally relevant teaching, as she defined it, has nothing to do with critical race theory. But opponents to critical race theory have glossed over those nuances, she said, adding that deliberative public debate is hard when people don't know what they're talking about.

"The attack on anything that allows more participation and moves us toward equity is going full force," she said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here's what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher and where critical race theory ties in-or not.

# data[].attributes.headline
Fill shelves with book that affirm children's culture and language.

# data[].attributes.subject
Fill shelves with book that affirm children's culture and language.

# data[].attributes.body
It is important that books open doors for children so they can learn about our wide world. Also, children need to see authentic representations of their communities. Reflect and revise your book choices often based on your specific experiences of your current students, their families, and their communities. #theBESTbooks #culturallysustaining #learning abouttheworld #readaloud

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors

# data[].attributes.headline
The Mathew Effect - Work hard to encourage and keep all readers engaged.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Mathew Effect - Work hard to encourage and keep all readers engaged.

# data[].attributes.body
Read aloud to children early and often. Prioritize nurturing, uplifting literacy experiences, especially when supporting children who need extra encouragement, persistence, and time to master reading skills. Keep them reading! Connect to each child's individual interests to keep them motivated. #research #startearly #motivationmatters #readtothemoften

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Reading should start as young as possible

Photo by Iana Dmytrenko on Unsplash

Studies have shown that it is essential for your child to read and develop reading skills as soon as possible. Neglecting this can start a learning decline with lifelong ramifications, while good readers reap innumerable benefits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Matthew Effect And Why Reading Is Crucial For Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Studies have shown that it is essential for your child to read and develop reading skills as soon as possible. Neglecting this can start a learning decline with lifelong ramifications, while good readers reap innumerable benefits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Campaign advocating for read aloud. Provides 1 page infographics that can be shared. #readaloud #printablesforadults #forfamilies #forteachers #comprehension

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read Aloud 15 MINUTES is a non-profit organization that is bringing together partners nationwide to make 15 minutes of daily reading aloud the new parenting standard. When every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, more children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergar…

# data[].attributes.headline
DISCUSS PERSONAL CONNECTIONS WHEN READING A BOOK

# data[].attributes.subject
DISCUSS PERSONAL CONNECTIONS WHEN READING A BOOK

# data[].attributes.body
Four ways to validate and affirm young students’ cultures in meaningful ways, which can boost their engagement and motivation. Model your thinking and talk about your personal connections. Ask them how their family is similar and different from the one in the story. #readaloud #talkaboutbooks #culturallysustaining

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Culturally Responsive Teaching in Early Childhood Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Four ways to validate and affirm young students’ cultures in meaningful ways, which can boost their engagement and motivation.