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Translanguaging: Strategies for Home Languages in the Classroom

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Translanguaging: Strategies for Home Languages in the Classroom

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Translanguaging: Strategies for Home Languages in the Classroom

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2024: Newcomer Educator Network (NEN), Michigan Newcomer Summit, Michigan Association for Bilingual Education (MABE) 

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2024: Newcomer Educator Network (NEN), Michigan Newcomer Summit, Michigan Association for Bilingual Education (MABE) 

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MDE Newcomer Summit 2024 and MABE 2024 presentation by Kalyn Wulatin (Wayne RESA) and Sarah Little (Kalamazoo RESA).

Newcomer Educator Network presentation by Kalyn Wulatin (Wayne RESA).

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Translanguaging (2024) presentation by Kalyn Wulatin and Sarah Little

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Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB Guide for Educators

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Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB Guide for Educators

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Two-minute video that explains the benefits of translanguaging for learners in terms of their content, language, and social development.

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Jana Echevarria, Translanguaging with the SIOP Model              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSYKXIOL6-k 

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Here are other examples of varying the language of input and output. Note the dotted line in the second and fourth example. This implies that you would not necessarily need to move to English output; native language output can be the end goal as well.

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In translanguaging theory, multilingual individuals have one linguistic system that they draw from to communicate.

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Articles
Research by CUNY NYSIEB team:
2021
Sanchez, M.T. & Espinet, I. (2021) Transforming our Classrooms to Embrace the Students' Multilingualism: Translanguaging Stance and Transformative Pedagogy. In Migration, Multilingualism and Education: Critical Perspectives on Inclusion. Latisha, A & Birte A. Eds.

2020
Espinet, I; Zaino, K & Demeroukas, M. (2020) Translanguaging Narratives: Leveraging Students' Linguistic and Multimodal Practices in an ENL classroom. In In search of a language Pedagogical Paradigm, Daszkiewicz, M. & Dąbrowska, A. Eds. Krakóv: Impuls

2019
Espinosa, C. & Lehner-Quam, A. (2019) Sustaining Bilingualism: Multimodal Arts Experiences for Young Readers and Writers, Language Arts (March 2019).

Journal of Multilingual Research Volume 9 (2019) The Power of Voice: Contributions of Ofelia García to Language Education

Menken, K., & Sánchez, M.T. (2019). Translanguaging in English-only schools: From pedagogy to stance in the disruption of monolingual policies and practices. TESOL Quarterly, 53(3), 741-767. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.513

Menken, K., & Sánchez, M. T. (2019). Distributed leadership in schools with "Emergent Bilingual Leadership Teams" for collaborative decision making. In E. R. Crawford & L. M. Dorner (Eds.), Educational Leadership of Immigrants: Case Studies in Times of Change (chapter 16). New York, NY: Routledge.

2018
Ascenzi-Moreno, L. (2018) Translanguaging and Responsive Assessment Adaptations: Emergent Bilingual Readers through the Lens of Possibility. Language Arts Journal, 95(6).

Espinosa, C. M. (2018). PD in Developing Biliteracy Skills in ELT. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 1-6.

Espinet, I., Collins, B., & Ebe, A. (2018). Leveraging Students' Translanguaging Practices to Strengthen the School Community. Schools of Promise for Multilingual Students: Transforming Literacies, Learning, and Lives, 118.

Menken, K., Rosario, V. P., & Guzmán Valerio, L. A. G. (2018). Increasing Multilingualism in Schoolscapes: New scenery and language education policies. Linguistic Landscape, 4(2), 101-127.

García, O., Menken, K., Velasco, P. & Vogel, S. (2018). Dual language bilingual education in NYC: A potential unfulfilled. In Arias, M.B. & Fee, M. Profiles of Dual Language Education in the 21st Century (pp. 38-55). Washington D.C. and Bristol: Center for Applied Linguistics and Multilingual Matters.

García, O., & Sánchez, M.T. (2018). Transformando la educación de bilingües emergentes en el estado de Nueva York. Language, Education, and Multilingualism, 1, 138-156.

Seltzer, K., & de los Ríos, C. (2018). Translating Theory to Practice: Exploring teachers' raciolinguistic literacies in secondary english classrooms. English Education, 51(1), 49.

Vogel, S., Ascenzi-Moreno, L., & García, O. (2018). An Expanded View of Translanguaging: Leveraging the dynamic Interactions Between a young multilingual writer and machine translation software. In Plurilingualism in Teaching and Learning (pp. 105-122). Routledge.

2017
Ascenzi-Moreno, L. (2017). From deficit to diversity: How teachers of recently-arrived emergent bilinguals negotiate ideological and pedagogical change. Schools: Studies in Education, 14(2), 276-302.

Ascenzi-Moreno, L., & Espinosa, C. M. (2017).Opening Up Spaces for Their Whole Selves: A Case Study Group's Exploration of Translanguaging Practices in Writing. journal.nystesol.org

de los Rios, C. V., & Seltzer, K. (2017). Translanguaging, Coloniality, and English Classrooms: An exploration of two bicoastal urban classrooms. Research in the Teaching of English Volume 52, Number 1, August 2017.

García, O., Johnson, S. I., Seltzer, K., & Valdés, G. (2017). The translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.

García, O., Seltzer, K. & Witt, D. (2017). Disrupting linguistic inequalities in US urban classrooms: The role of translanguaging. In The Multilingual Edge of Education, S. Slembrouck, K. Van Gorp, S. Sierens, K. Maryns, and P. Van Avermaet (Eds). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Sánchez, M. T., García, O., & Solorza, C. (2017). Reframing language allocation policy in dual language bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal, 41(1), 37-51.

Vogel, S., & García, O. (2017). Translanguaging. In Noblit, G. (Ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2016
Ascenzi-Moreno, L. (2016). An exploration of elementary teachers' views of informal reading inventories in dual language bilingual programs. Literacy Research and Instruction, 55(4), 285-308.

Ascenzi-Moreno, Hesson, S., & Menken, K. (2016). School leadership along the trajectory from monolingual to multilingual. Language and Education, 30(3). DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2015.1093499

Espinosa, C. M. (2016). Reclaiming bilingualism: Translanguaging in a Science class. In Translanguaging with Multilingual Students (pp. 174-192). Routledge.

García, O., & Ascenzi-Moreno, L. (2016). Assessment in school from a translanguaging angle. Gegenwärtige Sprachkontakte im Kontext der Migration. Heidelberg, Germany: Universitätsverlag Winter.

García, O. & Seltzer, K. (2016). The Translanguaging current in language education. In B. Kindenberg (ed.) Flerspråkighet som resurs [Multilingualism as a resource]. (pp. 19-30). Liber.

García, O. & Kleyn, T. (Ed.). (2016). Translanguaging with multilingual students: Learning from classroom moments. Routledge.

2015
Cioè-Peña, M. (Fall 2015). Translanguaging within the monolingual special education classroom. Theory, Research, and Action in Urban Education, 4(1).

Cioè-Peña, M. and Snell, T. (Fall 2015). Translanguaging for social justice. Theory, Research, and Action in Urban Education, 4(1).

García, O., & Menken, K. (2015). Cultivating an ecology of multilingualism in schools. Challenges for language education and policy: Making space for people, 95-108.

García, O., & Sánchez, M.T. (2015). Transforming schools with emergent bilinguals: The CUNY-NYSIEB Project. In I. Dirim et al. (Eds.) Impulse für die migrationsgesellschaft. Bildung, politik, und religion (pp. 80-94). Waxmann; Münster, Germany.

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Research by CUNY NYSIEB team: 2021 Sanchez, M.T. & Espinet, I. (2021) Transforming our Classrooms to Embrace the Students' Multilingualism: Translanguaging Stance and Transformative Pedagogy. In Migration, Multilingualism and Education: Critical Perspectives on Inclusion. Latisha, A & Birte A. Eds. 2020 Espinet, I; Zaino, K & Demeroukas, M.

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"Here's our book, at last! España and Herrera's engaging narrative, and the voices of teachers and students, remind us that we are en comunidad when we express our care, love, and understanding for emergent bilingual learners of Spanish, English, and all world languages. En Comunidad confirms that students possess intellect, creativity, and imagination across their language assets and repertoires. We educators were waiting for España and Herrera as our colleagues, guides, and seers, and they're here at last. Thank you for guiding us further in our journeys toward literacy, libertad, and equity through your humane work, vision, and practices."-R. Joseph Rodríguez, author of Enacting Adolescent Literacies across Communities: Latino/a Scribes and Their Rites

"It shouldn't be a mystery or a chore to educate secondary Latinx bilingual learners. To this end, teachers need to learn how to center their students' voices and experiences in their classrooms, and in so doing, to make education meaningful to them. Kudos to Carla España and Luz Yadira Herrera for this conceptually rich, beautifully written, and highly accessible text that indeed charts a new way forward."-Angela Valenzuela, College of Education, University of Texas at Austin

"Somehow this book manages to be at once deeply personal and profoundly practical all at the same time. Carla and Luz weave their own stories as Latinx educators and students with concrete, transformative suggestions for making all students feel welcome, honored, and supported in our schools. Each year there is one book that comes out that makes me wish I could go back to my first year teaching and do it all over again - to do it better. This is the book for me this year. How I wish I had had Carla and Luz in my ear, and how glad I am they are here for you now." -Kate Roberts, author of A Novel Approach

"This book centers around how to empower minoritized Latinx students as learners by helping them value their own language, their own history, their own community and themselves in a system that has marginalized them for centuries. En Communidad is not just for Latinx students or teachers who teach Latinx students, but for all American students and teachers who desire to bring real democracy to this country and make this world justice for all people. This is indeed a wonderful book."- Danling Fu, Professor of Language and Literature in the College of Education, University of Florida

"In this incredible book, Carla and Luz remind us that, like in all good teaching, the most effective classrooms place students at the center of teaching and learning. In a mix of critical pedagogy and inspirational practice, they demonstrate ways to build curriculum around students' lives, to avoid the trap of monolithic thinking, and to trust-truly trust-students to fill in knowledge gaps (including our own) through shared discussion and inquiry. Carla and Luz guide us to consider: when classrooms are shared spaces, when children teach as much as they learn, we, as a community, can thrive."-Chris Lehman, coauthor of Falling in Love with Close Reading

"Dr. Espana and Dr. Herrera hit a home-run. Together they beautifully bridge the gaps between theory, policy, practice, and personal experience. Their work evokes untold Latinx histories, and offers culturally sustaining pedagogical approaches to classroom practice. It's clear this work is not only about sustaining Latinx raciolinguistic ways being, rather it's also about sustaining researchers and classroom practitioners as well. This work reminds us that we are here and we belong."- Steven Arenas, English Teacher and Recipient of the NCTE 2016 Early Career Educator of Color Leadership Award

"In this book, grounded in research and lifted by story, Carla and Luz provide compelling rationales and practical ideas for valuing students' and colleagues' linguistic repertoires and identities. As a monolingual teacher, this book exponentially expanded my growing understanding of best practices for teaching all children and for building inclusive and appreciative learning communities in which everyone is seen, heard, and valued."-Kathy Collins, coauthor of I Am Reading

"This book is a radical departure from every other professional development book I've read about teaching about emergent bilinguals. Carla and Luz's embrace of each student they work with and their staunch belief that every child brings an abundance of value to our classrooms, not in spite of, but because of their linguistic heritage, feels revolutionary in this day and age. Then they went one step further and made those ideals tangible by providing engaging, practical lessons about language, identity and literacy. Every educator who reads this book will be changed by it. And perhaps most importantly, so will our students."-Colleen Cruz, author of The Unstoppable Writing Teacher

"As a scholar who seeks to challenge racial and linguistic hierarchies in the education of Latinx children, the most common question that I receive from teachers and administrators is how they can work to dismantle these hierarchies in their day-to-day practice. Now the answer has become more simple: En Comunidad. In this book, España and Herrera treat seriously the idea that the cultural and linguistic practices of Latinx children are legitimate and should be made central to their educational experiences. It is a must read for all educators who work with Latinx students."-Nelson Flores, Ph.D., Penn Graduate School of Education

"En Comunidad pushes beyond the common notions of learning language, using language, or having language. Authors España and Herrera send the invitation to live language. When we are safe to live our languages inside classroom spaces, we can live a more represented, connected and liberated life. And I can't imagine a greater gift to give students. Thank you, Carla and Luz, for writing a book that not only offers an insightful course on language, but helps us take the power off the page and into the classroom with a series of researched, dynamic lessons."-Maggie Beatty Roberts, coauthor of DIY Literacy

"Have you ever wondered what bilingual education would look like if it were intentionally designed to sustain the rich practices and identities of Latinx children, families, and communities? If so, you will definitely want to read En Comunidad. In this engaging book, you will be introduced to a critical bilingual literacies approach to curriculum and teaching. Intentionally centering bilingual Latinx voices, values, practices, and experiences, this approach invites us to consider robust pathways for engaging in teaching that honors bilingual Latinx students' full identities. En Comunidad offers us powerful lessons for transforming the education of bilingual Latinx students in the pursuit of justice."-Mariana Souto-Manning, Teachers College, Columbia University

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En Comunidad brings bilingual Latinx students' perspectives to the center of our classrooms, and offers classroom-ready lessons that amplify the varied

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The following examples were created by middle and high school teachers in Anaheim Union High School District, and illustrate the breadth and diversity of their enactments of radically inclusive teaching in their subject areas. Some of the teachers below have been working towards linguistically

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Link to purchase text.

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Dr. Alison G. Dover - Braving Up: Professional Learning Resources

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This page contains readings and resources to accompany Radically Inclusive Teaching with Newcomer and Emergent Plurilingual Students: Braving Up . Additional professional learning resources are included at the end of each chapter. To contact the authors, or to request speaking or consultation

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Profile of a Translanguaging Environment

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Profile of a Translanguaging Environment

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Profile of a Translanguaging Environment

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Profile of a Translanguaging Environment Begin a preliminary profile of a translanguaging classroom by bringing to mind your context. Who are your multilingual students? What are their linguistic identities and practices? Who are you? What are your linguistic identities and practices? What do you...

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Multilingual Analysis of Classroom Environmental Print (Sample)

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Multilingual Analysis of Classroom Environmental Print (Sample)

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Adapted from Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers (2021).

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Multilingual Analysis of Classroom Environmental Print (Template)

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Multilingual Analysis of Classroom Environmental Print (Template)

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From Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers (2021).

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Teaching Bilinguals (Even if You're Not One)

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Teaching Bilinguals (Even if You're Not One)

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Episode 4: Knowing Your Students

Ms. Charene Chapman-Santiago, an 8th grade English Language Arts teacher at Ebbets Field Middle School in Brooklyn, tells us how she gets to know her students - despite not always sharing their language backgrounds.

For more information, see: Chapter 3: Documenting Students' Dynamic Bilingualism from: García, O., Johnson, S. I., & Seltzer, K. (2016). The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.

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Teaching Bilinguals (Even If You're Not One) | CUNY-NYSIEB

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Ms. Charene Chapman-Santiago, an 8th grade English Language Arts teacher at Ebbets Field Middle School in Brooklyn, tells us how she gets to know her students - despite not always sharing their language backgrounds. For more information, see: Chapter 3: Documenting Students' Dynamic Bilingualism from: García, O., Johnson, S.

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As quoted in Barbian, Cornell Gonzales, & Mejía. (2017) Rethinking Bilingual Education: Welcoming home languages in our classrooms, (123).

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As quoted from the NASDME Conference, 2019.

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Garcia, Ibarra Johnson & Seltzer. (2017). The Translanguaging Classroom. Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning. 

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Garcia, Ibarra Johnson & Seltzer. (2017). The Translanguaging Classroom. Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning. 

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NCTE Brief: Understanding Translanguaging in U.S. Literacy Classrooms

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NCTE Brief: Understanding Translanguaging in U.S. Literacy Classrooms

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Co-learning in the HS ELA Class through Translanguaging: Newcomers and Monolingual Teachers

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Co-learning in the HS ELA Class through Translanguaging: Newcomers and Monolingual Teachers

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As part of the initiative on emergent bilinguals, The City University of New York (CUNY) has developed wealth of resources which school leaders, teachers, and communities can use to support multilingual learners--including translanguaging guides and resources.

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Since 2011, CUNY-NYSIEB has developed a wealth of resources which school leaders, teachers, and communities can use to support emergent bilingual learners. The concrete tools and strategies we present here unite theory with practice, and respond to needs identified by our partner schools across New York State.

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Sample: What Translanguaging Might Look Like

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Sample: What Translanguaging Might Look Like

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What Translanguaging Might Look Like - another sample

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What Translanguaging Might Look Like - another sample

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This example is from En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students (2020).

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Getting to Know My Students template from Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers. Chart to allow you to record information about your students, their identities, and their language practices.

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Language portrait template from Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers.

To complete the template, you choose colors that represent your languages and/or language varieties, and you color your gingerbread figure in a way that reflects how you live your languages and language practices.

For instance, you may use the color you chose for "Spanish" on the feet because you run with the cousin you speak Spanish with. Or, it may be more symbolic--you may use the Spanish "color" on the feet because Spanish has allowed you to travel internationally.

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Creating a Multilingual Reading and Writing Landscape

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Creating a Multilingual Reading and Writing Landscape

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Adapted from Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers (2021).

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Ways to Interrogate Your Classroom Library

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Ways to Interrogate Your Classroom Library

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Adapted from Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers (2021).

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Translanguaging is a practice that exemplifies all aspects of CASEL's Transformative SEL framework.

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SEL is founded on the premise that every child can receive an education that fully supports their learning and development so they can achieve their goals

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The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning shows teachers, administrators, professional development providers, and researchers how to use translanguaging to level the playing field for bilingual students in English-medium and bilingual classrooms. The term translanguaging can be understood in two different ways. From a sociolinguistic perspective, translanguaging can be understood as the dynamic language practices of bilinguals. From a pedagogical perspective, translanguaging can be understood as an instructional and assessment framework that teachers can use strategically and purposefully to:

1. Support bilingual students as they engage with and comprehend complex content and texts

2. Provide opportunities for bilingual students to develop linguistic practices for academic contexts

3. Make space for students' bilingualism and ways of understanding

4. Support bilingual students' socioemotional development and bilingual identities

García, Ibarra Johnson, and Seltzer illustrate their translanguaging pedagogy in action with examples from three very different contexts: a 5th-grade dual-language bilingual class taught by a bilingual teacher in New Mexico, an 11th-grade English-medium social studies class serving a predominantly Latino classroom taught by an English monolingual teacher in New York, and a 7th-grade ESL teacher working with students from a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds in California. Teachers learn to use translanguaging for instruction and assessment to meet and exceed content and language development standards in their classrooms.

Special Features

Learning objectives for every chapter

Vignettes to illustrate pedagogical strategies

Sample translanguaging unit designs for instruction and assessment in bilingual and English-medium contexts

Tools for teacher planning, implementation, and evaluation

End-of-chapter activities to help teachers apply what they learn to their own classrooms

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The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning

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The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning [Garcia, Ofelia, Johnson, Susana Ibarra, Seltzer, Kate, Valdes, Guadalupe] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning

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Espinosa and Ascenzi-Moreno demonstrate how our emergent bilingual students who speak two or more languages in their daily lives- thrive when they are able to use "translanguaging" to tap the power of their entire linguistic and sociocultural repertoires. Additionally, the authors present rich and thoughtful literacy practices that propel emergent bilinguals into reading and writing success.

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A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, WNDB aims to create a world where every reader can find themselves in the pages of a book. To reach this goal, we've created programs to mentor diverse writers and illustrators, support diverse publishing professionals, and provide books to classrooms nationwide.

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More than 100 carefully selected lists of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators. When you find a book at this site, please purchase it here. Our titles are linked to Bookshop. A portion of your book purchase helps sustain our work. New Releases Activism and Organizing Africa Afro-Latinx American Indians Arabs […]

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American Indians in Children's Literature

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American Indians in Children's Literature

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American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)

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Designed to help readers develop a critical eye about representations of American Indians in children's and young adult books

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#DisruptTexts's mission is to aid and develop teachers committed to anti-racist/anti-bias teaching pedagogy and practices. There are four core principles to #DisruptTexts:

As teachers, we have been socialized in certain values, attitudes, and beliefs that inform the way we read, interpret, and teach texts, and the way we interact with our students. Ask: How are my own biases affecting the way I'm teaching this text and engaging with my students?

Center Black, Indigenous, and voices of color in literature.

Literature study in U.S. classrooms has largely focused on the experiences of White (and male) dominated society, as perpetuated through a traditional, Euro-centric canon. Ask: What voices-authors or characters-are marginalized or missing in our study? How are these perspectives authentic to the lived experiences of communities of color?

Apply a critical literacy lens to our teaching practices.

While text-dependent analysis and close reading are important skills for students to develop, teachers should also support students in asking questions about the way that such texts are constructed. Ask: How does this text support or challenge issues of representation, fairness, or justice? How does this text perpetuate or subvert dominant power dynamics and ideologies? And how can we ask students to wrestle with these tensions?

Work in community with other antiracist educators, especially Black, Indigenous, and other educators of color.

To disrupt and transform curriculum and instruction requires working with other educators who can challenge and work with us as antiracist educators. Ask: How can we collaborate to identify, revise, or create instructional resources (like this guide) that can center and do justice to the experiences of historically marginalized communities?

Each principle stands for actions that are culturally sustaining and antiracist. Through each principle, teachers aim to offer a curriculum that is restorative, inclusive, and therefore works toward healing identities and communities.

In the November 2020, the #DisruptTexts team, in collaboration with Penguin Random House, is proud to share eight teaching and learning guides for the following texts:

At the Mountain's Base by Traci Sorrell

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

What Lane by Torrey Maldonado

Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

CLICK HERE to view all eight guides.

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Four Core Principles to #DisruptTexts #DisruptTexts's mission is to aid and develop teachers committed to anti-racist/anti-bias teaching pedagogy and practices. There are four core principles to #DisruptTexts: Continuously interrogate our own biases and how they inform our thinking. As teachers, we have been socialized in certain values, attitudes, and beliefs that inform the way we...

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Students can create identity wheels from this template to showcase who they are. Encourage students to choose the language to best represent that aspect of themselves.

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Orbis Pictus Award for Nonfiction for Children

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Orbis Pictus Award for Nonfiction for Children

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Orbis Pictus Award (Nonfiction for Children)

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In an exquisitely executed and lyrical dual text, Larson parallels the birth of a star with the growing curiosity and discoveries of scientist Cecilia Payne. Painterly depictions of star development complement the more loosely drawn scenes of Payne's life. Rich back matter provides even more information.

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NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children

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NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children

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NCTE Poetry Committee

Members of the NCTE Children's Poetry Awards Committee determine the award recipient every other year and select notable poetry books each year.

Learn more about the NCTE Children's Poetry Award Committee and apply to be a member.

Award Details

NCTE established the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 1977 to honor a living American poet for their aggregate work for children ages 3-13. NCTE also recognizes and fosters excellence in children's poetry by encouraging its publication and by exploring ways to acquaint teachers and children with poetry through such means as publications, programs, and displays.

Each year, the committee also produces a Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels list.

Literary Merit (art and craft of aggregate work - as poet or anthologist). Creating books of poetry that demonstrate imagination, authenticity of voice, evidence of a strong persona, and universality/timelessness are essential. In short, we are looking for a poet who creates poetry books that contain clean, spare lines; use language and form in fresh ways; surprise the reader by using syntax artistically; excite the reader's imagination with keen perceptions and sharp images; touch the reader's emotions: a maker of word events.

Poet's or Anthologist's Contributions. Aggregate work, evident potential for growth and evolution in terms of craft, and excellence are considered.

Evolution of the Poet's or Anthologist's Work. Technical and artistic development as evidenced in the poetry, evidence of risk, change, and artistic stamina, and evidence of different styles and modes of expression are considered.

Appeal to Children. Although the appeal to children of a poet's or anthologist's work is an important consideration, the art and craft must be the primary criteria for evaluation. Evidence of students' excitement for the poetry and evidence of childlike quality should be present, yet the work's potential for stirring fresh insights and feelings should be apparent.

The award is presented in every other year by the chair of the NCTE Children's Poetry Award Committee at the Children's Book Awards Luncheon during the NCTE Annual Convention. The award recipient receives a plaque, is a featured speaker at the luncheon, and is invited to present at a poetry session during the NCTE Annual Convention. The Notable Books and Verse Novels list is also announced annually at the Convention.

The award was given annually until 1982 and every three years until 2009. In 2008, the criteria were updated and the time frame was changed to every other year.

Books must have been published and/or distributed in the English language during the calendar year. Bilingual books are also accepted. Nominations of individual books may come from publishers, the membership of NCTE, and from the educational community at large. Any poetry title for children ages 3-13 is accepted. This includes all forms of poetry, including individual poetry, anthologies, narratives, biographical poems, and verse novels.

Individual Poems demonstrate*

Content that is interesting to and understandable by intended readers.

Language that is innovative, with careful word choices and uses of poetic devices to enhance meaning.

Form or structure that helps readers understand more about the poetic subject or mood.

Collections and Anthologies demonstrate*

Purposeful selection of quality poetry.

Arrangement that is logical.

Inclusiveness of a range of poetry.
In addition, if an old collection or anthology has been recently published or reissued, it must have a new perspective, fresh approach, and/or be newly illustrated to be considered as a new collection.

Picture books/stories in rhyme

The poetry in picture books must incorporate poetic language that exemplifies figurative language, demonstrating depth rather than simply being rhymed couplets.

A narrative told in poetic form.

Excellence in writing and emotional impact: does the poetry "create images, express feelings, and stir emotions"?*

Format that enriches the story in some way.

*Some criteria excerpted from Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Nominations must be submitted to the Award Committee by October 15. We request early submission when possible to give the committee enough time to review all submissions. One copy of each book nominated should be sent to the committee members for examination. Digital copies are welcome and can be emailed directly to the committee members. Advance copies or galley proofs are acceptable and encouraged, especially for books published after October 15. Hard copies are still requested in addition to the digital versions so that the committee can fully evaluate each work. Extensions of the deadline may be accepted so please email us with questions.

Contact bookawards@ncte.org with the title(s) and author(s) of the books you are nominating. We will give you the award committee contact information to send the books to the members directly. No other forms are required. NCTE members should use the submission form on the Children's Book Award homepage.

Children's Poetry Award seals (for books by the Excellence in Children's Poetry Award winners or for the Notable Poetry and Verse Novel listed titles) are available to accompany winning books and their future printings. The seals serve to endorse the excellence of the books and distinguish them from among the thousands of books published each year. Digital seals are complimentary, physical sticker seals can be requested or purchased by contacting NCTE.

To place an order, please contact Sarah Miller, bookawards@ncte.org.

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Excellence in Poetry for Children (Living American Poet) - NCTE

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Members of the NCTE Children's Poetry Awards Committee determine the award recipient every other year and select notable poetry books each year. Learn more about the NCTE Children's Poetry Award Committee and apply to be a member. NCTE established the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 1977 to honor a living American poet for their aggregate work for children ages 3-13.

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All children deserve the opportunity to see themselves reflected in books, as well as learn about those who are different from them. We believe books open our minds, our hearts, and our worlds. Jane Addams Children's Book Award commended titles are books in which young people feel seen, celebrated, valued, and empowered to question, discuss, and act. - With gratitude for the work of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop

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Jane Addams Peace Association | Children's Book Award

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All children deserve the opportunity to see themselves reflected in books, as well as learn about those who are different from them. We believe books open our minds, our hearts, and our worlds. Jane Addams Children's Book Award commended titles are books in which young people feel seen, celebrated, valued, and empowered to question, discuss, and act.

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Pura Belpre Award (American Library Association)

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Pura Belpre Award (American Library Association)

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Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

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This award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate.
Visit the new ALSC Awards Shelf to browse all current and past ALSC award recipients! Download a complete PDF list of Belpre Award and Honor Books, 1996 to present Purchase award seals for your collection through the ALA store!

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This award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

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Coretta Scott King Award (American Library Association)

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Coretta Scott King Award (American Library Association)

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Designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience.

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Schneider Family Book Award (American Library Association)

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Schneider Family Book Award (American Library Association)

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Awards, publishing, and conferences: ALA membership advocates to ensure access to information for all

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From the organization's press release:

The 24th International Latino Book Awards Ceremony showcased the flourishing talent of the fastest-growing group in the U.S., with four ceremonies held on August 19th and 20th at Los Angeles City College. These Awards are by far the largest Latino cultural distinction in the country, honoring 249 winners in 105 categories this year. The grand total of authors and publishers honored over the last two decades now stands at 3,719, proof that books by and about Latinos are in high demand in both English and Spanish. Gold, Silver, and Bronze-place winners in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children's books, translation, and many more were announced over the two-day event.

Here are the winners-gold, silver, and bronze medals-in the children's books categories. Click on the book covers for more information:

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The Alma Flor Ada Best Latino Focused Children's Picture Book Award - English
GOLD MEDAL Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, Gloria Amescua, Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh SILVER MEDAL Tía Fortuna's New Home, Ruth Behar, Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth BRONZE MEDAL Bisa's Carnaval, Joana Pastro, Illustrated by Carolina Coroa
The Alma Flor Ada Best Latino Focused Children's Picture Book Award - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL ¡Corre, pequeño Chaski! Una aventura en el camino Inka, Mariana Llanos, Illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson SILVER MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales
Best Children's Fiction Picture Book - Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Let's Be Friends / Seamos Amigos, René Colato Laínez; Illustrated by Nomar Perez SILVER MEDAL Isabel and Her Colores Go to School, Alexandra Alessandri, Illustrated by Courtney Dawson
Best Children's Fiction Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL Abuelita and Me, Leonarda Carranza, illustrated by Rafael Mayani SILVER MEDAL Tía Fortuna's New Home, Ruth Behar, Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth BRONZE MEDAL May Your Life Be Deliciosa, Michael Genhart, Illustrated by Loris Lora
Mejor libro ilustrado de ficción para niños
GOLD MEDAL Pitu le Baila al Mar, Gama Valle; Illustrated by Yamel Figueroa SILVER MEDAL La Jirafa que no Cabía en su Cuento, Haydée Zayas Ramos BRONZE MEDAL El monstruo más feo del mundo, Luis Amavisca, Illustrated by Erica Salcedo
Best Children's Nonfiction Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL One Whole Me, Dia Mixon, Illustrated by Natalia Jiménez Osorio

SILVER MEDAL In the Spirit of a Dream: 13 Stories of American Immigrants of Color, Aida Salazar, Illustrated by Alina Chau BRONZE MEDAL Alphabet & Affirmations with The Black Unicorn, Sandra Elaine Scott
Best Children's Nonfiction Picture Book - Spanish or Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales
Best Educational Children's Picture Book - Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales SILVER MEDAL Popol Vuh Stories for Children, Denis O'Leary BRONZE MEDAL Lala and the Pond by the Rock / Lala y el Charco de la Piedra, Susana Illera Martínez
Best Educational Children's Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, Gloria Amescua, Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh SILVER MEDAL We Move Together, Kelly Fritsch, Anne McGuire, Illustrated by Eduardo Trejos
Best Educational Children's Picture Book - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL Morderse las uñas, Paula Merlán, Illustrated by Brenda Figueroa
Most Inspirational Children's Picture Book - Bilingual
GOLD MEDAL Pura's Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Libraries Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, Annete Bay Pimentel, Illustrated by Magaly Morales SILVER MEDAL The Last Butter!y / La última mariposa, Regina Moya & Carmen Tafolla
Most Inspirational Children's Picture Book - English
GOLD MEDAL Courageous Camila: A story about finding your inner warrior, Naibe Reynoso & Giselle Carrillo; Illustrated by María Tuti SILVER MEDAL The Voices of the Trees, Elisa Guerra y Fernando Reimers; Illustrated by Ana RoGu

BRONZE MEDAL Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, Gloria Amescua, Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Most Inspirational Children's Picture Book - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL Tienes un color especial, Lorena Sierco Espino; Mr. Momo, Lantia Publishing Group

SILVER MEDAL Memoria de un abedul, Daniel Cañas, Illustrated by Blanca Millán BRONZE MEDAL Peque y yo, Alicia Acosta, Illustrated by Mercé Galí
Best Learn to Read Book
GOLD MEDAL The Awesome Reading Adventures of Super Sammy and Marvelous Megan, Vanessa Caraveo
Best Youth Latino Focused Chapter Book
GOLD MEDAL Falling Short, Ernesto Cisneros SILVER MEDAL Sofía Acosta Makes a Scene, Emma Otheguy
Best Youth Chapter Fiction Book
GOLD MEDAL Falling Short, Ernesto Cisneros SILVER MEDAL Catalina Incognito, Jennifer Torres BRONZE MEDAL Julia y el mar, Olvido Guzman Pons

Most Inspirational Youth Chapter Book
GOLD MEDAL Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, Alda P. Dobbs SILVER MEDAL Efren Divided, Ernesto Cisneros SILVER MEDAL Raulito: The First Latino Governor of Arizona, Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford
Best Young Adult Latino Focused Book
GOLD MEDAL On the Hook, Francisco X. Stork SILVER MEDAL Lifetime Passes, Terry Blas, Illustrated by Claudia Aguirre
Best Young Adult Fiction Book
GOLD MEDAL The Immortal Boy / El Inmortal, Francisco Montaña Ibáñez SILVER MEDAL Encarnación Castro's Journey in the Anza Expedition
1775-1776, Linda Castro Martinez SILVER MEDAL Three, Brenda Nicole Peña BRONZE MEDAL Fat Angie: Homecoming, e.E. Charlton Trujillo
Best Young Adult Fantasy & Adventure - English
GOLD MEDAL The Grimrose Girls, Laura Pohl SILVER MEDAL The Ghost Tracks, Celso Hurtado
Best Young Adult Fantasy & Adventure - Spanish
GOLD MEDAL El Último Dragón: Las espadas del legado, José del Real Antiquera SILVER MEDAL Catarina Freytas y el anillo perdido, Raymond Vollmond BRONZE MEDAL El Mundo del Olvido, Cristian Otárola Jiménez
Best Young Adult Romance Book
GOLD MEDAL Monstrua, NLa Contreras SILVER MEDAL La descendiente, Marie D.
Best Educational Young Adult Book
GOLD MEDAL No te creas todo lo que leas, Didi Whitefalcon, Illustrated by Verónica Rodríguez
SILVER MEDAL Voices of Diversity, Vanessa Caraveo
Most Inspirational Young Adult Book
GOLD MEDAL Harvesting Dreams, Erica Alfaro; Barker & Jules SILVER MEDAL Your Heart, My Sky, Margarita Engle; Simon & Schuster

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Exploring the world of Latinx YA, MG, & children's literature

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About the Brown Bookshelf - The Brown Bookshelf

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The Brown Bookshelf is designed to push awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers. Our flagship initiative is 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best in Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult novels written and illustrated by Black creators. You can read more abou…

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NCTE Presentation: Build Your Stack by Dr. Carla España and Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera 

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NCTE Presentation: Build Your Stack by Dr. Carla España and Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera 

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Book recommendations with translanguaging from Dr. Carla España and Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera, authors of En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students.

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Connecting our Language Practices to Our Identities, Lesson 1

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Connecting our Language Practices to Our Identities, Lesson 1

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Lesson outline and samples adapted from En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students, 2020, 28-35.

This lesson is an introduction to bilingual language practices and identity: family, culture, and place/land as connected to identity. Not only does it show translanguaging practices in action during rigorous instruction, it also demonstrates how the teacher can develop their translanguaging stance with the support of their students.

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Rethinking Bilingual Education: Welcoming home languages in our classrooms

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Rethinking Bilingual Education: Welcoming home languages in our classrooms

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" Rethinking Bilingual Education is an approachable collection of ideas that serve to inspire educators with new insights for centering the development of critical consciousness in a variety of settings."

"In the tradition of Rethinking Schools, the publication Rethinking Bilingual Education does not shy away from exploring issues of privilege and power, race, language, and culture-even with the youngest of students-and sees public education as a transformative vehicle in society, and educators as political agents."
Rosalyn Harvey & Desire Pallais, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism

"Breathtaking and bold in these times of racist sound bites and sanctions! Rethinking Bilingual Education promotes equality among language users from many ethnicities and contexts. It offers strategies and stories for bilingual education as part of the larger struggle for human liberation and social transformationand examples of teaching, learning, and community organizing at their very best."
, professional development consultant in anti-racist education and educational equity, co-editor of Beyond Heroes and Holidays

"A remarkable book, not only for the depth and breadth of issues related to bilingual education it addresses, but for the clarity sustaining its central premises: language is a human right, an essential aspect of culture, a source of family and community strength, and plays a fundamental role in obtaining social justice."
, award-winning children's author, professor emerita, University of San Francisco

"The narratives of teachers, students, and parents that form the core of this inspiring volume demonstrate that sustained bilingual instruction rooted in anti-racism is a prerequisite for 'effectiveness' in the education of emergent bilingual students."
, professor emeritus, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

"As a teacher and professor of multicultural and multilingual education, I am ecstatic for Rethinking Bilingual Education. Finally, a resource that has grassroots educators and advocates for bilingual education in mind, with clear and applicable next steps from lesson plans to policy."
, former Mexican American Studies teacher, assistant professor of Language and Culture in Education, University of Arizona South
Rethinking Bilingual Education Introduction
What does it mean to rethink bilingual education? When we started to work on this book, we envisioned a collection of articles that would empower bilingual teachers to reflect upon their practice, position social justice pedagogy at the center, and tackle the tough issues of racial and linguistic equity.

Yet, as we gathered articles and did interviews, we were reminded just how much is at stake when it comes to language. Rethinking Schools editor Moé Yonamine shared her story of being hit and knocked to the ground by her teacher in Okinawa for the offense of speaking their shared native language. Educator and activist Debbie Wei described how her parents chose not to speak their Chinese language at home because of the climate of fear and discrimination when they immigrated to the United States from China during the McCarthy era. Debbie explained that, years later,

I was the only person with my mom when she passed on. She passed at home and everyone but me was in another part of the house at that moment. I was just sitting, watching her, because we knew she was passing soon. Her final words were in her village dialect. I was the only person there to hear them, and I didn't understand what she said. No kid should have to go through that. I never want another child to not understand their mother's final words. Language should be seen as a gift, an asset, not a deficit.

As Debbie reminds us, education in one's native language is a human right. That is the central premise of this book. Many of the authors in this book show us how, over and over, people's fundamental rights to their languages have been suppressedfrom boarding schools for Indigenous peoples in the United States, Australia, and Canada; to Deaf students forbidden to express themselves in sign languages; to elementary school students being physically beaten by teachers for speaking in their native tongues even today.

The classroom stories in this book provide a strong counter-narrative to the suppression of non-dominant languages and the repression of bilingual education. In them, teachers share the powerful work that they are already doing to welcome their students' languages into their classrooms and keep equity at the center of their teaching. As we compiled these articles, we identified some common principles that we believe should form the foundation of any bilingual program.

Social Justice Principles for Bilingual Education

Home Language Is a Human Right. Students have the right to learn in their native languages; this belief should be at the core of any model for bilingual education. When we view language as a right, it becomes clear that bilingual programs should not simply use students' languages as a bridge to English. Biliteracy should be valued along with bilingualism; students should have the right to develop academic literacy in all subject matters throughout their school careers.

Even if there is no official bilingual program, schools must ensure that home languages are welcomed and supported. This isn't just an individual right. As we learn from Indigenous educators and activists, it is often a matter of cultural survival. Moé Yonamine reminds us:

If our mirukuyuu (youth) lose their language, they will lose their culture and their identity. Schools must be places where our youth are empowered to learn and nourish heritage languages, to use them and spread them to the next generation.

Culture and Language Are Inseparable. Teaching a language means teaching the cultures that are integrated and embedded in it. Language encodes a way of conceiving of and being in the world. In her article about helping found a Mi'kmaq immersion program in Nova Scotia, educator Starr Paul describes how "The language itself changed the way we taught:"

" Mukk pepsite'tekew," or respect your Elders, became part of the day-to-day classroom environment. Respect and other Mi'kmaq values were embedded in everything we did. When I was growing up and studying in English-only classrooms, if I tripped or fell off my chair, everybody would laugh at me. But in my Mi'kmaw classroom, kids showed concern. They asked, " Mu kesito'kewn? " (You're not hurt?) You didn't hear anyone laughing.

Just as Paul does in her classroom, good bilingual programs weave culture into every aspect of teaching. They honor students' family stories and their heritages, and integrate them into the curriculum. They teach a language through the cultural traditions associated with that language. And they are multiculturalthey seek out connections to other languages and other cultures.

Equity Between Students and Between Languages. Students need opportunities to think critically about the racism and bias they see in the world around them. Bilingual teachers should work hard to foster equity in their classrooms and schools by teaching anti-racist curricula, modeling respect for differences, and assuring that all students have the opportunity to see their language skills as an asset-and themselves as valuable members of the classroom and broader community.

Strong bilingual programs also promote equity between languages by working to honor the non-dominant language. It is important to analyze all the subtle ways like language choice at assemblies or during P.A. announcements that students might be getting the message that English is more important. As Deborah Palmer reminds us in "Why Are We Speaking So Much English?" we can also teach our students how to recognize language imbalances and become their own language advocates, challenging the hegemony of English in their classrooms, schools, and society.

Social Justice Curriculum. In the introduction to Rethinking Our Classrooms, Rethinking Schools editors wrote that social justice curriculum and practice must be grounded in the lives of our students; critical; multicultural, anti-bias, pro-justice; participatory, experiential; hopeful, joyful, kind, visionary; activist; academically rigorous; and culturally sensitive. The educators who contributed to Rethinking Bilingual Educatio n show us many examples of social justice curriculum being taught in bilingual classrooms from Deaf students learning about the genocidal roots of Native American boarding schools to 1st graders inquiring into the lives of farmworkers, from high school students investigating the legacy of Afro-Mexicans to young elementary school students having challenging discussions about race and skin color.

The critical sensibility present in the development of social justice curriculum also applies to how we teach language. Bilingual programs encourage students to take risks, play, and experiment with language. Students should improve their first and second languages through active learning, meaningful content instruction, and critical pedagogy not worksheets or grammar drills.

Deep Family and Community Involvement. Effective bilingual teachers create curriculum that brings families into the classroom. Teachers include family knowledge and stories into the academic instruction, as Peggy Morrison does when her 1st graders in Watsonville interview their parents about the life cycle of the strawberry, incorporating knowledge from their majority immigrant, farmworker community into the science curriculum. Families are also physically welcomed into the learning space. They participate in writing workshops, are featured as guest speakers, teach traditions and values, and work together to advocate for the schools they want for their children.

School leaders also have the responsibility to incorporate families as partners and allies to assure equity and overturn traditional exclusionary practices. This includes making sure that opportunities for parent involvement and leadership are accessible to all families, and that parent leaders represent the diversity of families at the school. It also includes bringing in community artists and other community members that reflect the varied school cultures and languages.

Critical Reflection. When founding and developing the social justice-based, two-way bilingual program at La Escuela Fratney in Milwaukee, Bob Peterson explains that he and his colleagues knew they didn't have all the answers. "But," he adds, "we try to ask the right questions."

This is a valuable reminder to seek out important questions and to ask them again and again. Bilingual programs must be responsive to the changing needs of students, families, and communities, while maintaining a focus on equity and language as a human right. Ongoing critical reflection is key to meeting the needs of all students. Schools must provide space for adults and children to ask questions, both within and beyond the curriculum, and be open to change.
Toward Models that Promote Sustained Bilingualism and Biliteracy
With so much variation across classrooms and schools, it is essential for educators, families, students, and community members to educate themselves about different types of bilingual programs and to carefully consider how best to fulfill the needs of their community. In this book, we have tried to highlight the stories of educators who teach in programs that promote long-term bilingualism and biliteracy, as these programs most support students' rights to maintain and develop their home languages.

Not all bilingual programs have sustained bilingualism as a goal. In transitional bilingual classrooms, students' home language is used as a bridge to English in the younger elementary grades, with the goal of transitioning students to all-English instruction by 2nd or 3rd grade. Such programs have been strongly criticized by proponents of bilingual education for not fostering sustained bilingualism and biliteracy.

Maintenance (sometimes called "developmental") bilingual programs aim to develop students' home languages with the goal of bilingualism and biliteracy. Some districts operate maintenance programs through only elementary school, while other districts have such programs through middle and high school. Often maintenance programs start with a high percentage of instruction in the home language and then, by upper elementary, have a balance of English and home language instruction.

Dual-language models generally aim to serve 50 percent native English speakers and 50 percent native speakers of the program's other target language, such as Spanish or Mandarin, although many dual-language programs also serve students with other home languages. In these programs, instruction is in both the target language and English, although the ratios vary with the program. For example, one popular model starts in kindergarten with 90 percent of the instruction in the target language and 10 percent in English, moving toward a 50/50 ratio by upper elementary. Another model maintains a 50/50 balance from kindergarten on.

Immersion programs, in which most or all instruction is in the target language, can involve native speakers of that language, heritage language learners, and/or other students who have a goal of learning the program's language. Other schools teach a heritage language as an academic subject; this is a language class geared toward students with a family connection to the language. Sometimes these students have familiarity with or are already fluent speakers of that language.

Maintenance programs, dual-language programs, immersion programs, and heritage language classes all aim to develop biliteracy and bilingualism, although they go about it in different ways. We believe a community's needs should determine the bilingual program model in a given setting but we strongly favor programs that help students maintain their languages and have sustained biliteracy as a goal. We also believe that bilingual education should not be a means to track students who speak another language at home, separating them from their peers. And, regardless of the model chosen, the community's and staff's commitment to implementing language inclusion and equity is what ultimately determines a good program.
Welcoming Students' Languages When There Is No Bilingual Program
Of course, bilingual programs are not possible for all students and in all contexts. There might be too few speakers of a specific language, too few teachers of a particular language, or a large number of home languages at a particular school. When our schools cannot provide bilingual programs, we believe that we need to maintain students' right to their native languages as an ideal.

Even if we don't speak our students' home languages, we can find books, music, recordings, and other resources that highlight students' languages and cultures. We can ask our children to teach us words and phrases, incorporating these into classroom routines. And, as Linda Christensen does in "Uncovering the Legacy of Language and Power," we can help students understand the "invisible legacy that privileges some languagesand peopleand excludes or decimates others," through teaching the histories of language suppression, loss, advocacy, and revival around the world.

It is essential that we explicitly celebrate students' language knowledge. Too often in our classrooms, conversationsand labelsfocus on the learning of English rather than the recognition or development of students' home languages. If we focus our conversations exclusively on English acquisition, we lose sight of the importance of simultaneous home language development and miss out on rich opportunities to bring students' home languages into the daily curriculum.
Overview of Chapters
Our hope is that this book illuminates the nuances and complexities of educating students in their native languages and poses some important questions: How do we bring social justice curriculum into our bilingual classrooms? How can we develop equity-centered bilingual programs at the school level? How can we honor our students' native languages, even when we don't teach in a bilingual setting? What can we learn from Indigenous language immersion about the integral relationship between language and culture? How do we involve diverse groups of parents in our classrooms and schools? How do we elevate the status of non-dominant languages when there is so much pressure to prioritize English?

We've organized the book so that it gradually expands outward from individuals' stories to classroom teaching to policy issues. In the first chapter, a small collection of poignant personal narratives by educators sets the frame for the book: What is at stake when language is lost? Why is bilingual education so important? In Chapter 2, educators share social justice curriculum they've taught in bilingual contexts ranging from Spanish/English and ASL/English settings to a Mi'kmaq immersion program in Nova Scotia. Chapter 3 tackles the question of how to make space for students' home languages, as well as support their critical understandings of language issues, in schools where there is no bilingual program.

Chapter 4 is centered around equityfrom promoting non-dominant languages, to teaching anti-racist curriculum to young children, to advocating for the resources our programs deserve. Chapter 5 focuses on family and communityeducators share how they involve diverse groups of parents and create family-centered curriculum. Finally, articles in Chapter 6 address policy and history, looking at issues such as the Common Core State Standards and standardized testing, as well as struggles faced by some individual schools and programs.

We hope this book contributes to an important, ongoing conversation. As we continue to rethink bilingual education, we are thankful for all of the great educators, activists, and thinkers who have been engaged in this work for many years. We hope this book will ignite and deepen our commitment to honoring all students' languages.

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Rethinking Bilingual Education - Rethinking Schools

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" Rethinking Bilingual Education is an approachable collection of ideas that serve to inspire educators with new insights for centering the development of critical consciousness in a variety of settings."

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Translanguaging presentation by Kalyn Wulatin (Wayne RESA) at 2025 Summer Blitz.

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Translanguaging - Summer Blitz - Wulatin (15 AUG 2025)

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Why Translanguaging? A powerful 5-minute video from an early childhood classroom.