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Tips for Choosing Culturally Appropriate Native Books and Resources

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As an educator, perhaps you have looked for classroom materials related to Native Americans and wondered how to know which materials were accurate and appropriate. Or perhaps you have wanted to look for the best materials you could use with your students, but didn’t know where to begin. Here are som…

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Tell us about your team and backgrounds.

Jo Meserve Mach, author and publisher, spent 36 years as an Occupational Therapist. She is very passionate about sharing the stories of children with special needs. Jo embraces the joy that individuals with disabilities bring to our communities through their unique gifts.

Vera Lynne Stroup-Rentier, author, worked in the fields of Early Childhood and Special Education as a teacher and trainer for 25 years. She has a PhD in Special Education from the University of Kansas and is currently working at the Kansas State Department of Education. Vera is passionate about the inclusion of each and every child in settings where they would be if they did not have a disability. Parenting a teen and tween with special needs enrich her life.

Mary Birdsell is a freelance photographer and a former Speech and Theatre teacher. She strives to create images that reflect the strengths of each child. Mary's background in education, theatre and photography intersect as she visually creates our books. She uses colors and shapes to tell a story. For her each book is like it's own theatre production.

Karen Diaz-Anchante, translator, has over 20 years of experience teaching languages. She has a Ph.D. in Spanish from Arizona State University. As a mother of two young children, she loves contributing to enriching projects that benefit children. She is also a fervent believer of the effective power of reading from an early age.

How did the idea for Finding My Way books come about?

Finding My Way Books began with a meeting between two friends. I was leaving a job in Infant Toddler Services and Vera was remaining. We had shared an office and both worked on Early Intervention teams. I was the Occupational Therapist on one team and Vera was one of the Early Childhood Special Education teachers on another team.

When we came together, Vera was moving deeper into her PhD curriculum in Special Education. She was very excited about the promotion of self-determination skills in young children. She had presented on this information and I felt very compelled by it.

At the same time, I was moving away from working with young children but I wanted to continue to support families in some way. I had always wanted to be a writer of children's picture books.

Often on my home visits, with families with very young children with disabilities, I would hear parents share their frustration and disappointment in not being able to find books about their children. They needed to see their child in the books at the bookstore or the books at the library. They wanted their child to be included in the world of books. I had been thinking for years that someday I would try to write the books they were searching for but not finding.

As we ate lunch together, I told Vera that we should create books showing young children learning skills needed for self-determination. She loved the idea. These books would provide families with encouragement and support. They would make the world a better place!

How did you decide upon the format that you use?

We both agreed that the books needed to have photographs, rather than illustrations, so that the stories would be easy for a child with developmental delays to understand. We also wanted to tell true stories because we had experienced such wonderful stories through our work.

These stories weren't to be stories of grandeur, but stories of everyday life. We wanted our books to show how children with disabilities are like every other child. They are fun! They may do things differently and need more assistance, but they are part of our world of children to be celebrated.

Vera and I also believed that these stories needed to show inclusion. Then we wanted to get our books out into the public for all children to read. We wanted children with disabilities to be included. We wanted children with disabilities to have a 'voice' and tell their own story. This would be a way of us to say, "Yes, you are very important to our world. We want to hear you."

Mary, our photographer, had been also working with us at our Infant Toddler program. She was creating videos about families receiving Early Intervention services. Mary was the perfect person to make our books very special.

Several years later we started searching for a translator. Karen is a parent and one of her children received Infant Toddler services so she had an understanding and acceptance of children with special needs. Karen also loves children's books. Again we found the perfect person to work with!

What kinds of books, if any, were available at the time about kids with special needs? Has that changed since you started publishing?

We have done a couple market reviews of books about kids with special needs. The type of books available hasn't significantly changed since we started publishing. Generally these books focus on the child's disabilities and the child is presented as someone needing help. Books written decades ago continue to be published and are often listed at the top of recommended reading lists.

How do you find kids and families to feature?

We started featuring kids and families known to us through our work experiences. Also, MyaGrace is Vera's daughter and we are having a great time following her in our books as she grows up.

Other families seem to have just appeared. The story of Poppin' Joe came about because of an article I read in our local newspaper. He sounded so amazing that I googled him and then contacted his family about including him in a book. Mary met Reese and his dad at a Comic-Con event. Reese and his dad were dressed as Captain America and Mary thought they must have a fun story to share. We were contacted about OE's story and found it to be a wonderful story.

We keep a list of possibilities and we are always open to hearing stories of inclusion. Now we are trying to build diversity in our book collection so we are choosing stories based on different disabilities, races, and cultures.

What has been the response to the books?

The response has mostly been very positive. Parents of children with disabilities welcome them and are pleased they are out there. They want their children's teachers to have them. Professionals working with children with disabilities love them. Many librarians have been excited because they are searching for ways to include children with disabilities in their programs.

The families we have worked with, when creating a book, have been very enthusiastic. One parent said making the book was an intervention in itself. As a result, she realized her child did have a future filled with possibilities.

Not everyone seems to understand that a book can be about a child with disability and not feature the disability. This idea is confusing to them. These people who read them aren't as interested because they don't understand their message.

Is there a story you'd like to share about how the books have been used?

Jo has been doing Skype in the Classroom author visits with the books for about a year. She has lessons tied to the books about anti-bullying, acceptance, finding a job, how to make a book, and interviewing. Jo typically reads one of the Finding My Way Books and relates it to the topic the classroom teacher has requested. The students often have very limited experience with children with disabilities and know them only as children in another part of their school. But after a story is read they are excited and very positive. It seems the books open their minds to these children they aren't seeing in their lives. The books help these children be seen as children first vs. a disabled child.

One Skype visit was with a Special Education class for young adults. Jo read, 'I Want To Be Like Poppin' Joe' and talked about following one's interests and strengths to identify a job. The class then skyped Jo a month later and each student shared a poster of the job they had chosen and why. It was very cool!

The Kansas Pediatric Foundation has included all our picture books in their early literacy program, 'Turn a Page, Touch a Mind.' The Kansas City Reach Out and Read program is also including our picture books in their similar outreach program of giving away books at medical visits.

Why did you want to include guidance for families and teachers?

We want families with children with disabilities to realize that they can also include their child in community activities. We want to encourage families and teachers to promote inclusion and to help children with disabilities gain the skills they need to be self-determined or independent.

Each book is a demonstration of inclusion and this type of skill building. These both can occur through very basic activities. The books explain how this can be done in little steps that families can then build on to help lead their child toward great things. We're hoping to change the world in a little tiny way.

What was your interest in having the books in Spanish?

When Vera and I worked together in the Infant Toddler program we worked with Spanish speaking families. We wanted to have books that would include these families. Also, in the publishing world there appears to be a need for books in Spanish and we hope this will help with the distribution of our stories.

What do you hope to see in the future for Finding My Way Books?

Our dream is to have Finding My Way Books in as many schools and libraries as possible. We are globally focused and want to include stories from many cultures. We would like to expand our collection to include pre-school books so the message gets out to younger children and families. At the other end of the spectrum we'd like to support programs serving adults with developmental disabilities. We just recently learned that a program serving adults found their adults with Alzheimer's love the books, as they are so easy to read and understand. Our hearts are open to wherever Finding My Books take us.

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Finding My Way Books: Celebrating Children with Open Hearts

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Jo Meserve Mach, author and publisher, spent 36 years as an Occupational Therapist. She is very passionate about sharing the stories of children with special needs. Jo embraces the joy that individuals with disabilities bring to our communities through their unique gifts.

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"Do you have a book on superheroes?" Jose asked me on Friday afternoon, as we looked over the easy reader collection together.

It was the same question I had heard from Antonio, Diego, Carlos, and Francisco earlier in the week. Both my students and I were frustrated by the lack of beginning reader books they found attractive. Our well-stocked library had lots of books with dogs or cats as the main character. My students liked animals, but many of them could not afford to own a pet. Very clever books written from the viewpoint of pets in middle-class homes fell a little flat for them.

So did another favorite of mine - Amelia Bedelia - whose misinterpretation of the English language makes most American-born children giggle. It is understandable that an English Language Learner would not find a character who misunderstands English puns particularly funny. What is not understandable is the lack of easy-to-read books with Hispanic characters.

In her captivating Everything I Need to Know I Learned in a Children's Book, Anita Silvey talks about "the amazing power of the right book for the right child - at the right time." Such a book can change a child's life. She interviewed successful people in a variety of disciplines about the book that transformed their reading landscape. As an author, librarian, and teacher, I have a passionate desire to do my part to deliver books that turn reluctant readers into willing ones.

We live in a diverse society. Not everyone lives in a middle-class home with a fenced-in backyard. Not everyone has two living parents who were born in the United States. Children's books - and not just middle grade and young adult novels - should reflect that. If we want to turn at-risk readers into book lovers, we need easy-to-read books that depict their lives and their dreams.

Freddie Ramos

That's why, when I sat down to write a superhero for the struggling readers who kept asking me for one, I named my character Freddie Ramos. In the Zapato Power series, Freddie Ramos lives in Starwood Park Apartments and goes to Starwood Elementary.

At the time I was writing the first Zapato Power book, I worked in a Title I school as a librarian. Many of my students lived in a large apartment complex right next to the school. They moved often, and their families worried about money. That's Freddie's life, too. And quite a few of my students, for one reason or another, lived in a single-parent home. So does Freddie.

For a variety of reasons, including the fact that I was once a young widowed mom, I chose to make Freddie's father a war hero rather than a divorced dad. A couple of the customer reviews on Amazon have questioned why, in an otherwise playful book with large font designed for newly independent readers, the main character would have a deceased father. One adult reader said her five-year-old really enjoyed the book but she had difficulty explaining the death of Freddie's father. While I recognize the discomfort of an adult raising a child in a comfortable two-parent family, I can also imagine the disquiet of a child who never sees his own family situation depicted in books.

Freddie Ramos is Hispanic. He is also the child of a military widow struggling to make a good life for herself and her son. But his ethnicity or family background does not rule his thoughts or his definition of himself. Like most children, Freddie sees the circumstances of his life as normal, not a challenge he needs to tackle. Too often, non-white children living in single-parent families are depicted in children's literature as characters with a problem to solve. Elizabeth Bird, in her April 5, 2010 Fuse #8 Production blog, said that she "could count on one hand the number of MG books for kids starring a Hispanic character where the plot isn't ALL about being Hispanic." She's absolutely right, and this is an issue children's literature needs to address.

The Snowy Day

In 1962, when Viking published the beloved The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, a color barrier was broken in children's publishing. Finally, children of color had the opportunity to see themselves in a book. Families of all races loved The Snowy Day - and still do. It proved that diversity is something we can embrace in children's literature.

Some children may have a greater personal need to see themselves in a book than others, but all children need books with characters from various ethnic, economic, and family backgrounds. And they need them on all reading levels. The book that turns one child into an avid reader may make another child yawn, and vice versa. If we have enough variety available, we will have the opportunity to hook new readers with "the right book for the right child - at the right time."

Jacqueline Jules is a teacher, school librarian, and author of Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off, released by Albert Whitman in March of 2010 and Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs into Action, September 2010. The third book in the Zapato Power series, Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Zooms to the Rescue will be released by Albert Whitman on March 1, 2011.

Check out Colorín Colorado's interview with her and her tips for supporting ELLs in the school library!

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My Life Is Normal, Too: Diversity in Children's Literature

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"Do you have a book on superheroes?" Jose asked me on Friday afternoon, as we looked over the easy reader collection together. It was the same question I had heard from Antonio, Diego, Carlos, and Francisco earlier in the week. Both my students and I were frustrated by the lack of beginning reader books they found attractive.

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Culturally Relevant Books in the ELL Classroom

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In this excerpt from English Language Learners: The Essential Guide, ELL researchers David and Yvonne Freeman offer a comprehensive set of tips for choosing culturally relevant books in the ELL classroom. They also offer a number of book recommendations and a rubric that teachers and students can use to determine whether a book is culturally relevant.

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Brainstorming a journal assignment with high school ELLs

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Reading Non-Fiction Text with High School ELLs

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Writing a paragraph with high school ELLs

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Teaching Key Academic Vocabulary to High School ELLs

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During the New Year, we reflect on past joys and concerns from the previous year and take the opportunity to look ahead. During these difficult times and uncertain times, it is especially important to take time for reflection, identify our strengths and challenges, and consider where our efforts will be most effective.

In this article, I will recommend some specific and measurable actions you can implement to support the success of your English language learners (ELLs). You may wish to focus on just one of these strategies so you can work on it consistently, or try different strategies at different times through the year. Many of the strategies can be used in any learning setting, whether you are in-person, hybrid, or remote for the coming months.

I also suggest teachers employ the "support group" method and use the chosen strategy as a topic for a professional learning community. Sharing strategies, achievements, and challenges with colleagues will help you all grow professionally, and more students will benefit academically. It will also provide the team with much-needed support and you can use some of these ideas to jumpstart collaboration.

Note: We have added some ideas around advocacy and collaboration to this article due to the additional responsibilities and uncertainties educators are currently facing.

Strategies for Instruction

1. Look for ways to build relationships with your ELLs.
Specific and measurable goal: I will try one new strategy that can boost my connections with students.
When asked for their top piece of advice for working with ELLs, veteran ELL educators often talk about the importance of building relationships with their ELLs and how the time invested in those relationships pays dividends in the future. There are lots of ways to support those connections with strategies such as those in the article below, which also includes many tech tools that can be used online or in-person with students.

Recommended resources

Videos: Building relationships with ELLs

2. Increase ELL students' English language production and peer interaction.
Specific and measurable goal: I will use one or two key strategies that can support oral language in my instruction and share ideas that work with my colleagues.
There are two key items students need in order to further develop skills in a new language - time and practice. There is nothing teachers can do to rush language acquisition, but there are many ways to provide opportunities to practice their skills in the classroom. If activities are structured to support student-to-student or group interaction, ELLs will need to use their oral language skills to explain concepts and contribute to the work. This gives teachers an opportunity to gauge what the student has learned, and it demonstrates student progress in language development.

Teachers can also informally assess for correct use of language structures and academic vocabulary. If ELLs are having difficulty with phrases or vocabulary, the teacher will be able to offer guidance or further instruction to support language development.

Recommended resources

Albuquerque teacher Ali Nava walks her students through a cooperative paragraph summarizing the beginning, middle, and end the children's book Burro's Tortillas and uses the exercise as an opportunity to practice their writing skills.

3. Explicitly teach academic language vocabulary and structures.
Specific and measurable resolution: I will identify one key area where my students need more practice in academic language and look for ways to support their language development.
In, "What Teachers Need to Know about Language" by Lily Wong Fillmore and Catherine Snow, the authors state that:

Teachers play a critical role in supporting language development. Beyond teaching children to read and write in school, they need to help children learn and use aspects of language associated with the academic discourse of the various school subjects. They need to help them become more aware of how language functions in various modes of communication across the curriculum. They need to understand how language works well enough to select materials that will help expand their students' linguistic horizons and to plan instructional activities that give students opportunities to use the new forms and modes of expression to which they are being exposed. Teachers need to understand how to design the classroom language environment so as to optimize language and literacy learning and to avoid linguistic obstacles to content area learning (Wong Fillmore & Snow, p. 7).

The need to understand academic language structures and language acquisition theory is increasingly important as the number of ELLs increases in classrooms. However, very few teachers have had the formal training required to be prepared to identify and teach the English vocabulary and structures found in specific content areas. When I first started teaching ESL, my students knew way more about grammar than I did. I joked with them, "I don't know English; I just speak it."

Content teachers can begin by collaborating with ESL teachers to learn how to identify the academic language demands of content-area lessons and how to scaffold academic language and vocabulary instruction. With practice, it will become easier to review a content-area lesson and identify not just the vocabulary that every student needs to know, but other vocabulary words and grammar structures that ELL students may not be familiar with.

Recommended resources

Video: What are sentence frames?

ESOL specialist Sheila Majdi explains what a sentence frame is and how she might use this strategy with ELLs.

4. Build on ELLs' background knowledge to support comprehension.
Specific and measurable goal: I will elicit background knowledge from ELLs in one content area through a variety of activities, including questioning and graphic organizers.
Learning something new is like stacking building blocks. The more you have, the higher you can go. ELLs come with many building blocks, but it takes practice learning how to identify what they are. That is where the teacher's skill at drawing on background knowledge becomes so important.

Teachers can work creatively to elicit background knowledge from students on content topics in order to increase comprehension of the material. This may be as simple as taking the time to do a "K/W/L" (Know, Want to Know, Learned) chart, or as individualized as asking questions about the topic: "Has anyone ever visited the jungle? A jungle is like a rainforest. What do you see in a jungle?" Students can share their knowledge and see how it is connected to new academic information.

Recommended resources

Videos: ELL educators speak about background knowledge

5. Increase opportunities for writing.
Specific and measurable goal: I will choose one targeted activity that focuses on developing a certain skill such as creative vocabulary use, the correct format of an essay or the peer editing process.
The ability to write effectively and accurately to convey a message is a critical skill for a college student and in most careers. Students need to have many positive opportunities to develop writing skills in a variety of formats in order to strengthen their communication skills, and for ELLs, this is particularly important. Depending on their writing skill level in their first language and their English language abilities, writing may be frustrating. Students need to engage in a variety of writing to develop an understanding of different types of writing and to identify their strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

I want to underscore the importance of interacting with writing in a positive way by examining creativity and word usage, in addition to the mechanics of writing. Many ELLs will focus negatively on problems with mechanics and miss the strengths they display in their writing. We write the way we think and speak, and by analyzing our writing we begin to analyze our thoughts and speech as well. When students discuss their writing, they are able to see their thoughts and statements from someone else's perspective and they gain awareness of their own language development. In this age of technology where a lot of communication is done electronically, it is more important than ever that students develop the ability to state their thoughts clearly and accurately in writing - as well as to know the difference between texting a message to buddies and sending an email to the boss.

Recommended resources

Strategies: ELL Family Engagement

Multilingual families are legally entitled to information in their home language. Here are some ideas to improve and expand outreach and partnerships with ELL families.

6. Start positive, strengths-based conversations with families.
Specific and measurable goal: I will contact one family each week to share a success story about their child.
No matter what language they speak, ELL families want their children to succeed as much as any other family. Regular, open and friendly communication from the teacher can make a big difference in ELL parent engagement, especially if families are intimidated by the U.S. school system.

It can also feel daunting to call an ELL family, but often there is someone in the family who speaks enough English to interpret the message for the parent, or the parent speaks enough English to understand a simple message. It may also be possible to get help from a bilingual school staff member to assist in making a quick phone call.

ELL families will be very pleased and excited to hear positive news about their child and will feel more comfortable asking questions and visiting the school in the future. The more informed the families are, the more likely it is that the student will get support at home and families will have the information they need to help their child be successful.

Recommended resources

Video: Our parents value education and their children's teachers

ELD Specialist Diana Alqadhi explains how the fact that teachers are held in high esteem in Yemeni culture helps strengthen family partnerships at her middle school.

7. Try a new tool to support family engagement.
Specific and measurable goal: I will try a new way to reach out to a multilingual family.
There are more tools than ever before to support multilingual family outreach. These include the app TalkingPoints, as well as innovative ways to use social media and video conferences with families. The more you know about resources and staffing your district has in this area, the more effective your outreach will be!

Recommended resources

Video: Partnering with families in the service industry

This video features Juliana Urtubey, 2021 National Teacher of the Year and the 2021 Nevada Teacher of the Year, sharing her experiences in partnering with families who work in Las Vegas.

Strategies for Collaboration & Advocacy

8. Look for ways to collaborate informally with colleagues.
Specific and measurable goal: I will reach out to one colleague to see if we can increase our collaboration.
There are a lot of ways you can initiate collaboration on behalf of ELLs with very small steps.

If you are a classroom or content-area teacher, you can:

send your ELL or bilingual colleagues a question about a student or an area of instruction where you'd like some support

ask your ELL colleagues to share some favorite strategies with you.

If you are an ELL/bilingual teacher or specialist, you can:

write a letter to colleagues introducing yourself and some of the ways you collaborate with others

invite colleagues to share questions about their ELLs with you

approach a content-area colleague and ask them how their ELLs are faring.

There are a few different benefits to this kind of collaboration:

Students can benefit as more teachers' capacity for ELL instruction increases.

Staff get to know each other's areas of expertise better.

Colleagues can team up to ask for more support for formal collaboration opportunities for ELLs.

Staff can increase the number of voices speaking up for ELLs, which is more critical than ever during COVID-19.

Recommended resources

Video: Tips for collaboration from an ESOL specialist

ESOL specialist Katy Padilla shares some of the tips she's learned in her experience collaborating with classroom and content-area colleagues.

9. Identify an area where you'd like to advocate for your ELLs.
Specific and measurable goal: I will choose one topic where I would like to see change for our ELLs and identify some small steps I can take to make a difference.
When you consider how your ELLs are currently doing, you may feel overwhelmed by a constellation of factors that are impacting them. Try identifying one issue that you think could make a difference if it were to improve or change. This might be an area of instruction, family engagement, language access, services and support, or creating a more welcoming environment at the school. For some ideas on first steps you might take to work on that issue, take a look at the following resources.

Recommended resources

10. Help administrators develop their capacity to serve ELLs.
Specific and measurable goal: I will reach out to one administrator to set up a conversation about our ELLs.
Communicating with administrators about ELL instruction, support, and family engagement can make a big difference. Not only can it bring important issues to administrators' attention, it can help them understand the role and value of ELL educators and why collaboration on behalf of ELLs is so valuable.

Try reaching out to an administrator with a question, issue, topic, or resource you'd like to share related to ELLs, such as the issue you identified above. Keep in mind, however, it doesn't have to be a big question to get the conversation started. Even though everyone is working within challenging circumstances right now, shining a light on ELLs' experiences, challenges, and needs can help put some important changes in motion.

Recommended resources

Learn more about the laws and regulations relating to the education of ELLs in the following article:

Video: What administrators need to know about what ESOL specialists do

Dr. Karen Woodson shares an overview of the expertise that ESOL educators bring to their schools and districts.

11. Strengthen your network of support.
Specific and measurable goal: I will take one step to expand my network of support, such as reaching out to another colleague or joining an online community of educators.
There is a lot of wonderful work being done and shared in schools, districts, professional learning communities, and online networks. If you need some ideas, encouragement, or validation, these can be powerful connections to make. There are recommended resources and ideas in the article below to help you get started.

Recommended resources

12. Keep returning to self-care & reflection.
Specific and measurable goal: I will share one self-care goal with a friend or colleague so we can check in about it in the near future.
Even if self-care is the last thing you've been able to think about during COVID-19, it's never to late to bring it back into focus.

Keep conversations going with your colleagues about what self-care means to you and what might help support it at the school level.

Don't give up on trying to make the self-care you need for your physical and mental health a regular part of your routine.

Share your success stories with colleagues to help boost motivation.

Take some time for reflection. While the reflection article below focuses on end-of-school-year questions, they could be used at any time during the year.

Together, colleagues can support each other and each other's self-care as part of their important work on behalf of students.

Closing Thoughts

I hope that this list will be helpful as you set goals for the upcoming year. You may find, of course, that if you create your own, they will be more meaningful, and you're more likely to stick with your plan. I hope you will be able to pick at least one thing and give it a try. Baby steps are better than no steps at all. So give it a try and go easy on yourself if it doesn't go as well as planned or if you get busy and don't keep up as well as you'd like.

The most important thing is that you explore an area that you think will support your ELLs' success, and commit yourself to continued improvement in the coming year. All the best in the New Year!

Video: Bonus Tips from Kristina

Here are some bonus tips from Kristina for educators ELLs!

Video: Try one new thing at a time

Video: When a new strategy doesn't work

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Twelve Things Teachers Can Do to Support ELL Success in the New Year

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During the New Year, we reflect on past joys and concerns from the previous year and take the opportunity to look ahead. During these difficult times and uncertain times, it is especially important to take time for reflection, identify our strengths and challenges, and consider where our efforts will be most effective.

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If you have English language learners (ELLs) in your class, you may have questions about how best to teach and support them, especially if they're struggling. You already understand the importance of getting to know your students. But learning about ELLs - their strengths, challenges, and background experiences - is especially important. Knowing these things will help you respond with the right support.

Read on to learn about the most important information to gather. Then, use this printable form from SupportEd to write down the information you learn all in one place.

Personal and Family Information

1. Student's Name

The first piece of information to gather is the correct spelling and pronunciation of a student's name. You can do this at the beginning of the school year by asking all students and their families for their formal name and the name they prefer to be called in school.

Keep in mind:

In Spanish-speaking countries, children may have two given names and the surname of the father and mother. Or the family may choose to use just the mother's names or father's names. Keep this in mind when you use students' names in the classroom or see the names on forms. For instance, a child whose name is Juan Carlos would not be called "Juan."

Parents may use different spellings of English names, like Jhonny or Yessica. Use those names exactly as they're spelled and refrain from assigning a new, "American" name to a student on a form or in conversation.

With this information, you can make sure that forms and records from your school's front office include the right spelling, punctuation, and order of the students' names. Why is this so important? According to research, incorrect entries can lead to multiple entries for a student in a database. This makes it more likely for students to have incomplete records. That can impact a student's eligibility for services such as English language or special education.

Just as important, pronouncing a student's name correctly is a point of pride. It affirms the student's identity. This set of naming conventions guides for multiple languages can help you. Plus, learn more about strategies for getting students' names right.

2. Country of Birth

Knowing where your students were born can give you important information about them as learners, including:

Providing clues about what kinds of situations the student has experienced

Sparking ideas for making the student feel welcome

Making culturally responsive connections between students and classroom content

At the same time, it's equally as important not to make assumptions about a student based on country of origin. In particular, avoid assumptions about a student's religion, immigration status, socioeconomic status, or cultural affiliation. Each family's situation is unique.

Many students and families will happily provide that information. They may welcome the chance to share information about their home countries. Others may be more reluctant to discuss this if they have endured trauma or if they are concerned about immigration issues.

If you have a relationship with the family, you may feel comfortable asking this question. You can explain that you'd like to get to know them better to support their child. Make clear that they don't have to answer questions they don't feel comfortable with.

If you don't know the family well, keep in mind that asking where someone comes from can be off-putting. It might send the message that they don't belong here. In this case, you can ask your school's family liaison or English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher whether they know the student's country of origin.

Never ask students about their immigration status. All students have the right to a free, public K-12 education, regardless of their immigration status, that of their parents, or where they were born.

3. Family Background

Who your students live with, what languages their caregivers speak, and any possible instance of family separation can be sensitive and difficult information to gather. However, knowing these facts can also provide insights on a student's social-emotional health and progress toward meeting developmental milestones.

Start by speaking with a family liaison or counselor (ideally one who has established relationships with families of ELLs) if you have questions about this information. Keep an eye out for clues that indicate changes in a student's living situation, such as a change in routine or indications of food insecurity, a lack of daily care, absenteeism, excessive tiredness, or the need for medical care.

4. Home Language

When students' families fill out forms to register for school, they're typically asked to complete a home language survey. Your school or district may have its own policy for how that information is stored and who can access it. (You can learn more about these home language surveys and view a sample survey from the English Learner Tool Kit from the U.S. Department of Education.)

The home language survey may only ask about the student's primary language. In that case, you may want to ask students and families for additional information, including:

Whether the student speaks multiple languages and which languages are spoken

What language(s) the student and family use at home and with whom

At what age the student started speaking the home language

Whether they want their child to maintain and grow their home language

You can use this information to learn more about a student's linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Keep in mind that some families' number-one priority may be that their children learn English. But you can gently share some information about the benefits of being bilingual as time goes on.

Academic and Language Skills

5. Educational Experiences

It's important to know how much time your English language learners have spent in U.S. schools, what their educational experiences were in their home country (if not the United States), and if there were any interruptions in their schooling. You may be able to find out this information from your school's family interview or home language survey.

Refugees or students with interrupted schooling may have big gaps in educational skills or content knowledge. Migrant students may have moved frequently from school to school with limited record-keeping. (Students from military families encounter similar challenges.) These gaps should be taken into consideration when reviewing their data.

Yet ELLs, including those with gaps in their education, bring important experiences and background knowledge to the classroom. Identifying those "funds of knowledge" is an excellent way to build rapport, increase student engagement, and identify their strengths.

6. Reading and Writing Skills in Home Language

Your school district may conduct a family interview when an ELL first enrolls in your school. A person who speaks the family's first language will typically be part of that interview. Interviewers usually ask the family about the student's ability to read and write in the home language. Your school's ESL teacher may be present for the interview and able to share this information.

One informal way to get a better sense of your student's home language literacy is by providing a picture prompt. Ask the student to write a story based on the prompt. Invite your school's ESL teacher or a bilingual staff member to help you read the student's writing. In the process, the student will create an artifact that you can refer to if a special education referral is later needed. This will help you determine if the student can write in the home language, and if those writing skills seem to correspond with the number of years of schooling.

You may also wish to ask the student's family questions about literacy activities at home, such as:

Does the child have a favorite book?

Does the child read the book or is the book read to her or him? In what languages?

Does the child talk about what happens in the book?

These questions provide insight into the print-rich environment at home and typical vocabulary-rich experiences that can be used in the classroom.

7. English Language Proficiency (ELP) Level

English language learners must develop proficiency in the four domains of language: speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Every state has its own set of English language proficiency (ELP) standards and assessments. The standards describe what a student should be able to do in English in each of the four domains and at each level of English proficiency.

Remember that most of the time, schools only measure how much English the students know-not how literate they are in their native language. Some students will come fully literate in their native language, while others may come with limited literacy skills or interrupted formal education.

You can learn more about the standards used in your state from Colorín Colorado's ELL Resources by State guide. The names of these levels will vary depending on your state but will look something like this, moving from most basic to most advanced:

Talk with your school's ESL teacher to find out your English language learner's level of proficiency. Then, collaborate with that teacher to find out ways to support your students at their level of language proficiency.

8. English Language Proficiency Scores

English language learners typically take two types of assessments. These are aligned to a state's ELP standards:

Screener assessments: A "screener" is an assessment tool that helps to determine whether a student is eligible for English language development services. It usually includes both an oral component and a literacy component. But it may also include assessments of all four domains of language. Students can take the assessment online or on paper at any time of the school year.

Annual English language proficiency (ELP) assessments: Federal law requires all ELLs in grades 1-12 to take an annual assessment of English proficiency in the four domains of language. This assessment is used to determine what language services they'll receive and at what level. These assessments are often given during a specific window of time determined at the district level.

Work with your school's ESL teacher to access and interpret the results.

Look at the composite (total) score of the annual ELP assessment. This will tell you how the student performed across all four domains.

Analyze how the scores compare across the four domains. There may be some differences. Perhaps the student is stronger in comprehension (reading and listening) than expression (speaking and writing). This data can be powerful information for planning lessons. It can also help you understand why a student might be struggling in a content area. ESL teachers have many strategies you can use to target instruction in each of these areas.

Strengths and Interests

9. Student Interests

Getting to know students' interests is one of the most important ways to fuel your connection with students and inform your instruction. You can learn about student interests by asking students and families to complete these questionnaires (either in writing or in conversation), available in both English and Spanish.

For students with limited English and/or students who have learning and thinking differences, make time to meet with them individually. Allow them to share information about themselves by showing photos, drawing pictures, sharing in their first language, or sitting together and sharing a snack.

10. Plans or Goals

Ask your students and their families their plans or goals for the future. Without knowing those goals, you won't be able to help students achieve them. Provide encouragement and maintain a positive attitude. ELLs and immigrant students-including those who learn and think differently-can thrive when they receive support from their teachers.

Use these sentence starters as prompts, making sure to allow students and families multiple means to express themselves. For instance, some students and families may prefer to speak than to write. Other students may prefer to draw.

By the end of the year, I want to _____.

After I finish high school, I want to _____.

The Benefits of Information Collection

It may seem like a lot of work to gather this information about a student, but you just have to do it once. You can also share information you learn with colleagues and even pass it on to the student's teachers the following school year.

The benefits can pay off throughout the school year for you and, most importantly, for the student. This information can also give you a more complete picture of the students to help inform conversations if they struggle with academics or behavior. Together with your colleagues, you can develop a shared understanding of how best to support the ELLs in your classroom.

Acknowledgements

This article originally appeared on Understood as part of a partnership between Colorín Colorado and Understood. ©2019 Understood For All, Inc.

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10 Things You Need to Learn About Your English Language Learners

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If you have English language learners (ELLs) in your class, you may have questions about how best to teach and support them, especially if they're struggling. You already understand the importance of getting to know your students. But learning about ELLs - their strengths, challenges, and background experiences - is especially important.

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Chances are that your English language learners (ELLs) come from a culture with traditions and family values that differ from mainstream American culture. These young children not only have the challenge of learning a new language, but also of adjusting to an unfamiliar cultural setting and school system. Imagine what it would be like to step into a foreign classroom where you didn't understand the language, rules, routines, or expected behavior.

On a daily basis, ELLs are adjusting to new ways of saying and doing things. As their teacher, you are an important bridge to this unknown culture and school system. There are a number of things you can do to help make ELLs' transitions as smooth as possible.

Stages of cultural accommodation

In the same way that ELLs go through stages of English language learning, they may also pass through stages of cultural accommodation. These stages, however, may be less defined and more difficult to notice. Being aware of these stages may help you to better understand "unusual" actions and reactions that may just be part of adjusting to a new culture.

Euphoria: ELLs may experience an initial period of excitement about their new surroundings.

Culture shock: ELLs may then experience anger, hostility, frustration, homesickness, or resentment towards the new culture.

Acceptance: ELLs may gradually accept their different surroundings.

Assimilation/adaptation: ELLs may embrace and adapt to their surroundings and their "new" culture.

Classroom strategies: helping your ELLs adjust to new surroundings

Although there are no specific teaching techniques to make ELLs feel that they belong in a new culture, there are ways for you to make them feel welcome in your classroom:

Learn their names

Take the time to learn how to pronounce your ELLs' names correctly. Ask them to say their name. Listen carefully and repeat it until you know it. If a student's name is Pedro, make sure you do not call him /peedro/ or Peter. Also, model the correct pronunciation of ELLs' names to the class so that all students can say the correct pronunciation.

Offer one-on-one assistance when possible

Some ELLs may not answer voluntarily in class or ask for your help even if they need it. ELLs may smile and nod, but this does not necessarily mean that they understand. Go over to their desk to offer individual coaching in a friendly way. For convenience, it may be helpful to seat ELLs near your desk.

Assign a peer partner

Identify a classmate who really wants to help your ELL as a peer. This student can make sure that the ELL understands what he or she is supposed to do. It will be even more helpful if the peer partner knows the ELL's first language.

Post a visual daily schedule

Even if ELLs do not yet understand all of the words that you speak, it is possible for them to understand the structure of each day. Whether through chalkboard art or images on Velcro, you can post the daily schedule each morning. By writing down times and having pictures next to words like lunch, wash hands, math, and field trip, ELLs can have a general sense of the upcoming day.

Use an interpreter

On-site interpreters can be very helpful in smoothing out misunderstandings that arise due to communication problems and cultural differences. If an on-site interpreter (a paid or volunteer school staff position) is not available, try to find an adult - perhaps another parent who is familiar with the school or "knows the system" - who is willing to serve this purpose. In difficult situations, it would not be appropriate for another child to translate.

ELLs can make unintentional "mistakes" as they are trying hard to adjust to a new cultural setting. They are constantly transferring what they know as acceptable behaviors from their own culture to the U.S. classroom and school. Be patient as ELLs learn English and adjust.

Invite their culture into the classroom

Encourage ELLs to share their language and culture with you and your class. Show-and-tell is a good opportunity for ELLs to bring in something representative of their culture, if they wish. They could also tell a popular story or folktale using words, pictures, gestures, and movements. ELLs could also try to teach the class some words from their native language.

Use materials related to your ELLs' cultures

Children respond when they see books, topics, characters, and images that are familiar. Try to achieve a good balance of books and materials that include different cultures. Browse these bilingual books from our sister site Colorín Colorado.

Label classroom objects in both languages

Labeling classroom objects will allow ELLs to better understand their immediate surroundings. These labels will also assist you when explaining or giving directions. Start with everyday items, such as "door/puerta," "book/libro," and "chair/silla."

Include ELLs in a non-threatening manner

Some ELLs may be apprehensive about speaking out in a group. They might be afraid to make mistakes in front of their peers. Their silence could also be a sign of respect for you as an authority - and not a sign of their inability or refusal to participate. Find ways to involve ELLs in a non-threatening manner, such as through Total Physical Response activities and cooperative learning projects.

Involve ELLs in cooperative learning

Some ELLs are used to working cooperatively on assigned tasks. What may look like cheating to you is actually a culturally acquired learning style - an attempt to mimic, see, or model what has to be done. Use this cultural trait as a plus in your classroom. Assign buddies or peer tutors so that ELLs are able to participate in all class activities. Also, check out these cooperative learning strategies you can use with ELLs.

Help your ELLs follow established rules

All students need to understand and follow your classroom rules from the very beginning, and ELLs are no exception. Teach them your classroom management rules as soon as possible to avoid misunderstandings, discipline problems, and feelings of low self-esteem. Here are a few strategies that you can use in class:

Use visuals like pictures, symbols, and reward systems to communicate your expectations in a positive and direct manner.

Physically model language to ELLs in classroom routines and instructional activities. ELLs will need to see you or their peers model behavior when you want them to sit down, walk to the bulletin board, work with a partner, copy a word, etc.

Be consistent and fair with all students. Once ELLs clearly understand what is expected, hold them equally accountable for their behavior.

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Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment

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Chances are that your English language learners (ELLs) come from a culture with traditions and family values that differ from mainstream American culture. These young children not only have the challenge of learning a new language, but also of adjusting to an unfamiliar cultural setting and school system.

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It sounds so simple, but if we as teachers put more effort into who we are teaching, more of the what would take care of itself.

- Katie, Elementary Teacher (Freeman & Freeman, 6)

When asking veteran teachers of English language learners (ELLs) to share the secret of their success, I usually hear the same answer. It is not the name of a particular language instruction model, learning strategy, or new district-wide curriculum. It is, instead, this: getting to know their students. As Katie observes in the quote above, it sounds so simple - and yet it is a necessary step that is often overlooked by teachers and schools at the beginning of the school year and as ELLs arrive throughout the year, leading to misplaced students and missed opportunities.

When these experienced teachers refer to "getting to know their students," it is true that they are referring in part to a student's English language proficiency, as well as strategizing the best way to assess the student's language and literacy skills with valid, reliable measures in order to place student in the appropriate classrooms. But they are also talking about much more than a number or language level - they are talking about prior academic experiences (or lack thereof), cultural and religious traditions, hobbies, personality, family circumstances, and background about the student's home community or native country that can inform their instructional decisions in the classroom.

This related excerpt from ASCD's February 2016 edition of Educational Leadership, which focuses on ELLs, offers more ideas for building productive relationships with diverse ELL families. While the full digital edition is only available to subscribers, a hard copy of this issue can be purchased from ASCD.

Gathering this information not only opens the doors to more fully meeting the student's needs and addressing challenges that may arise, but it also provides an opportunity to create a welcoming classroom environment, engage the student and family, increase the student's confidence, and create opportunities for classmates to learn from each other.

It allows teachers to build upon the student's strengths and successes, which is particularly important as students are acclimating to a new classroom and potentially a new country and culture. And it has the potential to improve classroom management and teacher interactions with the student as certain behaviors are explained and understood (such as not looking a teacher in the eye out of deference and respect).

This article provides some guidance on what information will be helpful to gather about your students, ideas on how to gather what you need and who will be able to help, and recommendations for useful resources. You will also find the video clips below useful as they contain valuable ideas from veteran teachers.

When you are done reading the article, scroll down to the comments section where we welcome you to share your own ideas on how you get to know your students!

Whom to ask?

Students

While it may seem challenging to gather the information you need from students who are still learning English, a little bit of effort can go a long way. Students' actions, body language, drawings, and behavior in the classroom can tell you volumes, even if they aren't speaking English yet. As their English improves, they will be able to share more through speaking and writing. Here are some ideas for ways to learn more from students (with special thanks to Becky Corr and Susan Lafond for their input!):

Start with "get to know" you games and icebreakers at the beginning of the year but don't stop there - keep looking for opportunities to allow students to share information about themselves throughout the year.

Ask a lot of questions to continue building that relationship. Ask about family members, pets, academics, sports, what they do outside of their school day, how they spend their weekends, after-school jobs and prom dresses!

Look for ways to build your student's trust. Share (appropriate) stories of your own about topics such as your family, pets, or favorite activities.

Listen to your students and let them know you're listening by the questions you ask. Tune in to what they are saying.

Take notice of changes and talk to your students about what you are observing.

You can also find ways to incorporate these topics into standards-based classroom assignments and discussions and continue learning about your students through their academic work. For example, you can give students the chance to write about their experiences through journals and autobiographical assignments, even if they start out with very basic information about themselves. (See Christine Rowland's video clip below about her autobiography assignment for her high school ELLs.)
In their 2011 book, Between Worlds: Access to Second Language Acquisition (3rd Edition), David E. Freeman and Yvonne S. Freeman share additional relevant ideas that teachers use when getting to know students:

Provide students with questionnaires that ask them how they feel about reading and writing in English, as well as about their individual strengths and challenges.

Have students interview each other about past schooling experiences and report to the group.

Ask students to submit writing samples and discuss them with students (p. 29)

Families

In addition to building a relationship with your students, meeting with parents, guardians, or family members (referred to as parents in the rest of the article) can provide you with a rich pool of information. If the parents don't speak English, be sure to have an interpreter available when you meet with them in order to make your time together as productive as possible; you may wish to meet without the child present in case the parents want to share any sensitive information.

Colleagues

Another important source can be found within your building - your colleagues. ESL teachers, bilingual teachers, guidance counselors, previous classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, parent liaisons, or other bilingual staff members might have helpful information about the student or about the larger community to which the student belongs. These individuals are often an underutilized resource within their building, so don't hesitate to ask for their input!

Community

Finally, you may also be able to find valuable information about a particular family or group of families from community members, staff from community organizations, or other parents whose children attend your school. These individuals are likely to have insights on language, religion, culture, or background information on a particular country or conflict. Building relationships with the community at large can also lead to other opportunities throughout the year for your students, and while you may be unsure of how to start the conversation, most people appreciate being given the chance to help their community.

Guidelines for Meeting with Families

In addition to making sure an interpreter is available, there are some important considerations that can help your communication with families go more smoothly.

Start by talking with ESL teachers, bilingual teachers, or family liaisons. Ask them for guidance on partnering with families to learn more about their students' experiences.

Once you have a little context, you may wish to set up a conversation with the family to learn more about the student's educational background. Explain that knowing a little bit more about the students' past experiences can help the school provide the right kind of instruction.

Take some time to get to know the family a little bit rather than jumping in with a lot of questions. Keep the questions focused on your student's schooling, unless the families wish to discuss other issues.

Some families will welcome the chance to share information about their child's experiences. If families are reluctant to answer many questions, however, don't push. Look for clues and continue working on building relationships that will create trust.

Keep in mind that some families may not be comfortable talking about certain aspects of their experience, such as their immigration journey, past traumatic events, or even their cultural identity and home language, as in the case many Indigenous families from Latin America.

While each family's situation is unique and it's important not to make assumptions, families from the same country or region may also share some experiences in common that can inform your work. Noting these trends can help the school partner more effectively with students as they get to know students' better.

Never ask questions related to immigration experiences. All K-12 students have the legal right to attend public schools regardless of immigration status.

What do I need to know about my ELLs?

Learning to Pronounce Students' Names

Taking the time to learn to say students' names correctly can make a world of difference. Read more about why it matters and strategies for learning to pronounce names that are new for you in our related resource section.

Focusing on the following questions will help guide your research as you begin.

1. Where is my student from?

This question may be easy to answer, but you may also find that it isn't as easy as it first seemed! Your students may have:

Recently immigrated from their country of origin

Recently arrived from a different country than their country of origin (as in the case of a refugee camp)

Been born in the U.S.

Moved frequently between multiple countries, such as the U.S. and Mexico

Moved around the U.S., as in the case of migrant farmworkers

Finding out this single detail will also provide your first clues as to the student's prior experiences with schooling, the family's socio-economic situation, and any previous traumas (see below for more information). To learn more about the dangerous conditions that children may experience on their journy from Latin America to the U.S., see this report from Buzzfeed.

Sources of Information: You may be able to learn about the student's background from students themselves, parents, siblings, the home language survey, or student records.

Once you know more, it may be helpful to learn more about:

Country of origin

Cultural and religious traditions

Political or historic situations that may be affecting patterns of immigration

"DOs" and DON'Ts" of social behavior and communication (Cary, 34).

It is easy to get overwhelmed, but focus your research on information that seems most relevant to your student and the family situation.

Recommended Resource: One useful tool is a set of books written by Jeffra JoAnn Flaitz about international students and immigrant/refugee students. Both books include profiles of the most common countries of origin for ELLs in the U.S. with information about culture, language, education, teaching styles, and classroom behavior. A sample chapter about El Salvador is available online.

Note: Since the books were written in 2003 and 2006, they may not have recent information about ongoing global conflicts or trends that are affecting your current students, although they will provide useful background information to more recent developments.

Classroom Ideas: You may wish to have students share information about their background with classmates through use of a globe, world map or class projects. You can also look for related materials such as children's books to share with the class and ways to integrate information about other countries throughout the curriculum so that students can continue to share information about their background as their language skills progress during the year. This is also an important step in helping students develop pride in their heritage.

Keep in Mind: Be mindful of what Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls "the danger of a single story" in her 2009 TED talk; in other words, when learning about another country, remember that what you learn may not reflect your student's experiences in that country. In addition, remember that students who speak the same language or who hail from the same country may not have all that much in common, and in fact may experience some tension if they come from different ethnic backgrounds or groups with histories of conflict.

For example, it is important to recognize the diversity within the Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. Spanish speakers may hail from Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Spain, or another part of the world! Students are likely to identify more with their nationality ("Salvadoran" or "Colombian") as opposed to the broader term "Latinos."

In addition, Spanish may be the student's second (or third) language if the student grew up speaking an indigenous language, such as Quechua, a language spoken in the Andes. Remember that cultural traditions and language vary not only across countries but within countries, just as in the U.S.

Vignette #1: Teacher Amber Prentice Jimenez learned this lesson when she discovered that two of her Somali students came from different ethnic groups that had been directly linked to the violence that led them each to come here as refugees, and she was very careful about managing their work together as the students became more comfortable with each other. Learning more about each student's background and the history of the conflict that had affected each of them helped her address these challenges.

Vignette #2: ELL education professor Stephen Cary shares the story of Lenny, a teacher who received a new boy, Ka, in his classroom. Ka told the class that he was from Laos and was "Mung" (as Lenny understood it). Lenny's first search on information about the "Mung" people was fruitless, until he looked for information on Laos and discovered information about the Hmong people. Then the floodgates of information opened and he spent hours online, reading about the Thai refugee camps where many Hmong families waited to receive permission to come to the U.S., as well as learning about the Hmong language and traditional Hmong beliefs.

Lenny's efforts were quite admirable, but he became so absorbed with what he learned about the traditional Hmong beliefs about sickness (as documented in the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down) that he when he heard from an uncle that Ka was sick and would miss school, he envisioned an "evil spirit, animal sacrifice, and shaman scenario."

As it turned out, Ka had strep throat, and the uncle reported that they "went to the hospital and got antibiotics." It was a wake-up call for Lenny, who was reminded that adjusting to life in a new country takes place on a continuum and may not be an all or nothing proposition. (Cary, 22-32)

2. What brought my student and/or my student's family here?

People move to a different country for all kinds of reasons. Those might include a new job, a chance to reunite with relatives, cultural exchange, political asylum, or escape from a war zone. For students who were born in the U.S., their parents or grandparents may also have come to this country for the same reasons. When getting to know a student, it's important to ascertain the situation that brought the family to this country to the extent possible.

You may learn that the family is in a very comfortable position and is enjoying the benefits of a new position or scholarship. You may also learn that the family has recently experienced significant trauma, that a parent or sibling is still living in a different country, or that the parents are working multiple jobs here in the U.S. and are not able to provide much supervision to their children.

You may also find, however, that students are afraid to talk about what brought their family here or where they came from. If questions about the student's past provoke anxiety, don't pressure students to respond. You may find the answer from another source or from the student in time.

Sources of Information: Some students or families may be reluctant to share too much information about their personal lives at first, particularly if they are unable to discuss it in English. With time, they may feel more comfortable sharing information with the help of an interpreter when they understand that your primary aim is to support their child.

You may also be able to learn more from community members or organizations who have ties to the family's country of origin. Did a refugee placement bring the family here? Is a new food processing plant opening up in town that is hiring workers? Is the family attending a religious institution where they are receiving support? Look for answers in your community, and keep your eyes and ears open in the classroom as well may to look for clues through the student's conversation, artwork, writing, or play.

3. What should I know about my student's family?

Some questions that may be helpful to answer about the student's family include the following:

With whom does the student live?

Is there a family member at home who speaks English and can serve as a primary point of contact?

Does the student have family members who are living far away?

Does the student have responsibilities such as caring for younger siblings or relatives?

Does the student have a job?

Are there any other stressors that may be affecting the student, such as financial difficulties, immigration status, pressure from parents, difficulty fitting in, or an unstable home life?

Sources of information: If the student is in a fluid situation (such as in a family of migrant farmworkers or in a family where the parents are separating), it might be difficult to determine where the student lives and with whom. Even if the basics can be learned, however, it may not tell the complete story. Nevertheless, it is important to know who the adults are in the student's life with whom you can begin to build a relationship, such as a grandparent or an aunt or uncle.

Some ways to get to know your student's family include:

organizing home visits at the beginning of the year

holding parent meetings in the communities where ELLs live so that it makes it easier for families to attend

looking for ways that parents can help out or volunteer in the classroom.

Keep in Mind: Even young students may have big responsibilities in their family; being aware of those responsibilities and establishing a line of contact with the families may provide an opportunity to find solutions together if those responsibilities conflict with the student's schooling or extra-curricular activities (think Ana's after-school job at her father's restaurant in Stand and Deliver!).

4. What language(s) does my student speak?

Learning about your student's home language or languages can be useful because you can:

Determine if the language is closely related to English (such as Spanish) and if so, build on those similarities with cognates

Find clues to the student's syntax, pronunciation, or communication style in English (called "language transfer")

Look for materials such as books or other educational resources in that language to have available in the classroom

Discover that an otherwise quiet student with "limited" English is in fact fluent in 2, 3, or 4 other languages! Such was the case of one of Michelle Lawrence's students from Buffalo, NY featured in the beginning of our Watch and Learn Story Set-up clip. She was very shy, but we soon learned that she spoke 4 languages, and we finally convinced her to list them on camera!

Sources of Information: You might find information about the student's home language on the home language survey, although it is important to take that information with a grain of salt in case the family is reluctant to have a child placed in ESL or bilingual classes. Speaking with the student and family in person is likely to give you a better picture of their language background; however, they may need more information about the kind of language instruction and its goals available at the school first before they disclose much detail about their language background.

Keep in Mind: Students who have been living in the U.S. may have moved between different kinds of language programs and classrooms even within the same school, and there may be significant gaps in both their home language and their English skills. As you learn more about their language proficiency levels, look for signs of both social and academic language in both languages in order to inform your instruction. Remember, too, that even if students can read in English, they might not be literate in their home language if all or most of their prior schooling was in the U.S.

Classroom activities: Once you know what languages your student speak, give them opportunities to teach their classmates and teachers words or phrases from their language.

Vignette: Stephen Cary describes the approach in Dolores Espinosa's K-1 class, in which students take turns being the "language teacher" for one week at a time. Students teach informal phrases to the class, which the students naturally incorporate into their interactions with each other over time. Native English speakers also have the opportunity to teach a heritage language of an earlier generation. Phrases are posted around the room, and a parent or relative will come in to do an activity with the class in the language of the week, such as a game or song. (132-133)

Not only does Dolores' approach provide a rich, multilingual experience for all students, it validates the student's background and identity, creating an opportunity to be an "expert" - a welcome break from being the one learning (and learning in) a different language all day long!

Recommended Resources: Jeffra Flaitz's books on understanding international, refugee, and immigrant students, mentioned above, include a guide to the linguistic systems of the featured languages as well as information about nonverbal behavior.

Additional information about language transfer for particular languages can be found in these tip sheets from Cengage Learning and MacMillan.

5. What kind of schooling has my student had?

This question may be fairly straightforward if a student arrives with a transcript or summary from previous schools, or if the student can demonstrate proficiency in other academic subjects such as math (even without advanced English skills). However, the picture may also be incomplete; records may not be available or the lack of information may reflect inconsistent, interrupted or limited schooling experiences, as in the case of refugee or migrant students.

Sources of Information: The student might be able to tell you about prior schooling experiences, but the input of a parent would probably yield more information. In addition, having another adult from the child's home country, such as an interpreter, school aide, or community member present may offer more context on a likely schooling scenario.

For students who have been in the U.S. at least a year, you may also be able to glean useful information from prior student records, portfolios, or teacher notes, particularly if the student attended your school the previous year.

What to look for: Useful information to determine includes:

Years of schooling

Types of school attended

Literacy background

Academic record

Prior English instruction

Any learning disabilities or special needs

Areas of giftedness

Favorite subjects

If possible, it may also be useful to find out about the student's school experiences; did the student like independent work or group activities? Did the student struggle with any subjects in particular? What was the student's behavior like?

Learn more: To learn more about other countries' educational systems, take a look at Jeffra JoAnn Flaitz's books mentioned above, which include detailed information on educational approaches, classroom behavior, teacher and student interactions, and how schools operate in the profiled countries.

6. What are my student's interests?

Last but not least, don't forget to find out about the fun things! What are some favorite hobbies, sports, and activities? In some cases, those activities may be a hook to student engagement, speaking more English or to making new friends - although there are no guarantees!

Vignette: In chapter 4 of his book (also available online through the Heinemann website), Stephen Cary shares the story of Cathy, a second-grade teacher who tried using her students' personal interests to engage them in the classroom. In the case of Erica, who loved music, some encouragement to look through the class CD box and write music reviews brought her out of her shell and provided a foundation for what soon became rapid language development; however, in the case of Gustavo, an avid soccer player, all of Cathy's soccer-themed activities fell short. Then over winter break, Gustavo made a friend who was also a soccer player, and his English took off (Cary, 53-55).

Even if your efforts don't yield big dividends in the classroom, though, knowing what those favorite activities are and talking about them with your students will show your student that you care about him or her as a person and that you see the student as more than an English language learner.

Sources of information: Look for signs of student interests in book selections, writing assignments, conversations, and artwork. Even if your student can't communicate very much about those interests at first, the signs may still be there. Parents are also an important source of information and will likely be happy to talk about the activities that their child enjoys when given a chance, such as in the case of Clara's parent letters mentioned above.

Concluding Thoughts

There is never enough time to do as much as you would like, and at first you may feel discouraged at all the information that you won't be able to learn. Nevertheless, taking some small steps may yield big results in your classroom and you will learn information that will serve you well when teaching other students in the future as well. Just remember Katie's message - if you focus on the who, the what will start to care of itself!

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Getting to Know Your ELLs: Six Steps for Success

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It sounds so simple, but if we as teachers put more effort into who we are teaching, more of the what would take care of itself. - Katie, Elementary Teacher (Freeman & Freeman, 6) When asking veteran teachers of English language learners (ELLs) to share the secret of their success, I usually hear the same answer.

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English-Language Learners

A 2019 Teacher of the Year offers advice for developing an English language learner (ELL) program at any school.

Leigh Wells / Ikon Images

When I found out that I was going to be teaching in the English Learner Department at North High School seven years ago, I was extremely excited. Schools in southeastern Wisconsin were experiencing a rapid increase of English language learners (ELLs) and scrambling to develop English language classes and programs. I was eager for the challenge of providing ELLs with an equitable and quality educational experience.

But my high expectations quickly seemed daunting when I arrived at the school and found limited resources for our ELLs, which numbered close to 70 students. A class called Bilingual Study Skills-where students mostly worked on homework assignments-was the only class for students learning English, and the school's only bilingual studies teacher did not know Spanish. I knew that in order for our ELLs to have an equitable learning experience, we needed to drastically expand our services.

Fortunately, I was able to get support from our administration and staff to develop an entire English learner program for our students. It took a few years, but from that one Bilingual Study Skills class, our school has expanded its offerings to three levels of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. We have a group of ESL teachers that co-teach English 9, English 10, and Algebra 1 courses alongside general education teachers and provide support in other classes.

While creating or growing an English learner program can seem overwhelming, by taking some specific measures, it really is possible to do at any school. Here are some of my recommendations:

1. Watch and Listen

When launching a program for English language learners, it is critical to spend time up front evaluating your school's existing resources and student needs. Throughout my entire first year at North High School, I assessed our ELL students, so I was able to identify areas of growth.

To start, educators can ask themselves questions like these:

What languages do our ELLs speak? Is there a dominant language?

What are English language learners' proficiency levels?

Are there particular classes where ELLs are not experiencing success?

What professional development is needed for our staff to support ELLs?

Observation shouldn't stop after the first year, either; it is vital to reflect every year. After we began offering ESL classes at North High School, I looked at student achievement and identified classes in which students were not successful. By our second year, I realized that ESL teachers needed to start co-teaching with content teachers so that we both could build each other's capacity to serve our students.

2. Determine a Suitable Structure

As I launched the program at North High School, I remembered reading about various program models for ELLs in my teacher preparation program and realized that no single program model I had studied would work for our school. To that end, I used my knowledge from the first stage of assessing needs and values to structure a program uniquely suited to our school.

At our school, for example, we believe that providing students with opportunities to learn from each other is essential, so we had to find a way to support the inclusion of our ELL students into content classes rather than offer only self-contained classes. As you plan, it is also vital to collaborate with administrators and counselors to foster a team approach on how to address the identified needs and get buy-in for expenses like hiring more staff, if necessary.

3. Support Other Teachers

It's critically important to get to know your staff and the supports they will need to be effective with ELL students. Every year, I collaborate with counselors and fellow ESL teachers to create appropriate class schedules for our students. We are especially purposeful about determining a good match between ESL teachers and content teachers, which requires an open dialogue about our strengths and weaknesses as educators.

Small supports can also make a big difference. Before the school year begins, I always share a spreadsheet with our staff that lists the names (with phonetic pronunciations) of our ELL students, their language proficiency levels, and a document with "Can Do Descriptors" that shows our students' capabilities and what teachers can do to help them. Providing teachers this information before classes begin allows them to feel better prepared to welcome our ELL students.

4. Create a Welcoming Environment
©Teaching Tolerance
A couple of years ago, a teacher asked for professional development on immigration policies and the impact they have on our students. In response, I created a presentation that led to great questions and discussion. What was most important about our session was to help teachers develop an understanding that regardless of personal beliefs, our role as educators is to create a welcoming environment for all students. After my session, I offered "This School Welcomes You" posters (created by Teaching Tolerance) to teachers, who put them up all around our school. ELL students have since commented on how seeing the posters has made them feel more a part of our school community.

We also realized that our ELL students needed more than just remedial help to succeed academically, and so we launched an additional class where we check in with students one-on-one and provide any support-emotional or academic-they might need.

5. Don't Forget the Families

A vital component of the success of our program has been building strong relationships with families. Two years ago, a colleague and I started a bilingual parent group. We have monthly meetings where parents give us input on topics they would like us to cover to build their knowledge about our educational system. Having these monthly meetings has been such a powerful way to allow parents to have a voice-and to create more accountability for students.

We have a responsibility to get to know our school community well and identify barriers that exist for students, staff, and families-especially those who have many hurdles to overcome. When English learners know that you genuinely care about their success and that you will provide them with the supports they need to be successful, you will see tremendous student growth.

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English-Language Learners A 2019 Teacher of the Year offers advice for developing an English language learner (ELL) program at any school. Leigh Wells / Ikon Images When I found out that I was going to be teaching in the English Learner Department at North High School seven years ago, I was extremely excited.

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Learn about what it means to apply three key elements of the CCSS writing standards -- argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative -- when teaching English-language learners.

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Over 10 percent of students in the United States-more than 4.8 million kids-are English language learners (ELLs), and the number is on the rise. Though these students do not learn differently than their native-English-speaking peers, they do have particular educational needs.

To learn about these needs-and best practices for addressing them-I interviewed a range of educators and observers, including Larry Ferlazzo, an educator and author of The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide; longtime teachers of English as a second language (ESL) Emily Francis and Tan Huynh; and the journalist Helen Thorpe, who spent a year observing a teacher who works with ELLs.

The group emphasized that the strategies listed here, which include both big-picture mindsets and nitty-gritty teaching tactics, can be incorporated into all classrooms, benefiting both native English speakers and ELLs.

1. Cultivate Relationships and Be Culturally Responsive

No surprise here. A successful classroom, our educators agreed, is one in which students feel known, appreciated, and comfortable taking emotional and intellectual risks. That requires intentional planning and consistent messaging by the teacher.

Emily Francis, an ESL teacher in Concord, North Carolina, makes clear that she wants her students to "embrace their culture and their language as a foundation of who they are" and to consider their acquisition of a new culture and language "not as subtractive, but as additive." To help support students who may never have attended school before or may be coping with migration-based trauma, Francis emphasizes that little things make a big difference. "The first thing that I need to think about is, how is my student feeling in my classroom?" she says. "Are they sitting next to a buddy they can ask a question in their home language? Do they feel comfortable tapping me on the shoulder if they have to go to the bathroom?"

But creating a supportive environment is also about cultivating an appreciation of diversity-it's critical that both the curriculum and the classroom environment honor and reflect the lives of the students. For instance, Francis makes certain that her classroom library is reflective of her students' diverse backgrounds and identities.

ESL teacher Katie Toppel, who teaches near Portland, Oregon, champions the value of home visits to get to know students' families and takes care to incorporate the particulars of students' lives, such as pets' names and favorite sports, into lessons. Students are most engaged when they feel a personal connection to a lesson or unit, a connection that's created in part by a teacher's investment in culturally competent relationships.

2. Teach Language Skills Across the Curriculum

English language learners should not be learning the fundamentals of English in isolation; they should be applying their developing language skills to rich academic content in all subjects.

"It is key that in mainstream classrooms, teachers understand their role as language teachers," says Valentina Gonzalez, a district leader in Katy, Texas, suggesting that all teachers should be aware of the specialized idiom they work within. "If we teach math, then we teach the language of mathematics. If we teach science, then we teach the language of science." Math teachers, in other words, should take the time to teach the unfamiliar vocabulary of mathematics- add, subtract, calculator, solve -concurrently with the teaching of math skills.

3. Emphasize Productive Language

The educators I interviewed agreed that productive language skills-hard-to-master dimensions of language fluency like speaking and writing-should be front and center from day one, even if students feel hesitant about them.

Beginning ELLs often develop receptive language skills like listening and reading first. Educators who are unaware of the typical path to fluency may believe that students who can follow verbal or written directions will be able to produce oral or written language, but that's usually not the case.

To support reluctant speakers, Tan Huynh, an educator who blogs at Empowering ELLs, suggests using sentence frames. "For example, when a science teacher wants ELLs to produce a hypothesis, they might offer the sentence, 'If _____ was added, then _____ because _____.' This sentence frame provides clues that empower ELLs to sound and think like scientists," Huynh says.

Andrea Honigsfeld, a professor of education at Molloy College in Rockville, New York, suggests that all lessons touch on every letter of the acronym SWIRL, which stands for Speak, Write, Interact, Read, Listen. The approach intentionally privileges productive language skills "from the beginning," she says.

4. Speak Slowly-and Increase Your Wait Time

Easier said than done. Still, many of the teachers I spoke to said this simple change is vital. You can record yourself speaking in class to measure your cadence, and adjust.

"Adding in an extra three to five seconds after we pose a question offers all students time to think," explains Gonzalez. "However, for English learners, it also gives time to translate, process their thinking, translate back into English, and develop the courage to answer. If we call on students too quickly, many of our students will stop thinking about the answers-or trying to answer at all."

That means undoing some of our own habits, according to Larry Ferlazzo, a high school ESL teacher in Sacramento, California. "Researchers have found that typically most teachers give one to two seconds between asking a question and expecting a student response," he says. "The same researchers have shown that if you wait three to five seconds, the quality of responses is astronomically greater."

5. Differentiate-and Use Multiple Modalities

All kids learn better when they engage with material in multiple ways: Lessons that involve writing, speaking, drawing, and listening, for example, give students four opportunities to deepen their understanding of the work. For ELLs, those additional engagements also provide a little breathing room so they can work through the language barrier.

Helen Thorpe, a journalist who spent a year observing Eddie Williams's classroom in Denver in order to write a book about immigrants called The Newcomers, marveled at Williams's method of differentiation. "Eddie would enunciate very clearly in English multiple times, he would write it on the board, and he would go to the projector to give a visual. And, finally, he'd be asking the kids to verbalize aspects of the lesson themselves," she says, tracing Williams's efforts to move his students from receptive to productive language fluency.

Toppel uses a strategy called QSSSA to scaffold classroom discussions with ELLs. The letters stand for Question (the teacher poses a question, then gives ample think time); Signal (a designated motion like a thumbs-up, a finger on the nose-something that lets students indicate that they're ready to answer); Stem (the teacher provides a sentence starter for the question-for example, for "What is your favorite place to read a book?" the stem might be, "My favorite place to read a book is _____"); Share; and Assess.

6. Incorporate Students' Native Languages-and Don't Be Afraid of Technology

Bilingualism is the goal, of course, not replacement.

Ferlazzo uses a strategy called "preview, view, review," which leverages a student's native language skills as a foundation for learning the new language. He introduces a topic and encourages students to preview it in materials in their home language (often using multilingual videos and other online resources); he then teaches the topic in English, and then has students review the information in their home language.

Ferlazzo also encourages teachers to embrace technologies that students find helpful, like Google Translate. He stresses that the app can be a useful way for students to translate words quickly-but warns that it can quickly "become a dependency" if it's used as more than a handy dictionary.

Thorpe agrees that Translate can take pressure off teachers, who sometimes find that they "just stand at the front of the room and say things over and over. And if the kids didn't know what those words are, they're out of luck." Translation technology means you can say it once (or twice) and let the students use the technology to translate key words and phrases.

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6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

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We interviewed educators with decades of experience in teaching ELLs and tapped a network of experts and observers to find the strategies that work.

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Reflection and feedback are key components of any successful teaching practice, writes social studies teacher Tan Huynh for MiddleWeb. As part of a co-teaching team, Huynh regularly carves out time with his teaching partner to evaluate and think critically about a variety of topics: the effectiveness of their instruction, for example, or how well they're communicating with each other, with students, or with parents.

"Co-reflecting is an essential aspect of teacher collaboration," Huynh writes, and while it can happen quickly in the moment, or be a more formal and structured process, it's an effort that requires sensitivity and care. "I have found the toughest reflection is a reflection about my work with others because it feels personal and evaluative. Yet we must have conversations about our collaboration if we are to strengthen it."

Pausing for a few minutes of reflection during the school day, or after wrapping up a unit, Huynh acknowledges, might feel like a luxury during a busy week. But the effort can lead to stronger instruction and a more affirming, sustainable co-teaching relationship.

The benefits of co-reflection: Co-reflection involves mutually exchanged input and feedback between two colleagues-this isn't a classic teacher evaluation and it's meant to feel productive and supportive. The aim is not to criticize each other, or to prove that one teacher's instructional style is superior. Instead, it's about dedicating time together to examining various components of your co-teaching with the goal of uncovering areas that can be improved.

Determining what to reflect on can be a joint decision. Huynh notes that any number of topics can be fodder for co-reflection: lesson delivery, objectives and standards, resources and texts, even your co-planning, co-teaching, and co-assessment work can be topics to consider. "You can co-reflect on almost anything," Huynh writes. "For example, if you just tried out a teaching model, you can talk it over informally right after for a few minutes, reflecting on how that process went."

Co-reflect in the moment: Informal co-reflection tends to be casual and might be a comfortable entrypoint for co-teachers who are new to the practice. Because it requires no prep time, it's a good option for quickly sharing feedback on the fly. "I might ask 'how did that template work for our planning?' or 'what did you think about how we scaffolded that lesson?,'" Huynh writes. "Co-reflecting does not have to be complex to be effective."

To avoid making it feel overly evaluative or negative, he suggests using a simple reflection formula to loosely guide the conversation. Start by sharing something you noticed that's positive and then ask an open-ended question, so your co-teacher's perspective can be heard as well as affirmed. "Your positive noticing invites your colleague into the conversation and makes them more willing to reflect," Huynh writes. "'Ms. Baker, I noticed the students really responded to the mind mapping activity. What do you notice about it?'"

When to make co-reflection more formal: The end of a unit, however, might be better suited for more structured, formal co-reflection. This will happen less frequently and can require co-teachers to spend a bit of time reflecting prior to having the conversation. A simple three-column chart with one column that identifies the topic you'll be discussing, another for noting "things to keep," and a third for "things to consider," can help guide the exercise.

Formal co-reflection can sometimes feel uncomfortable, so ease into the process by mentioning something that you appreciate about your partnership first, then move on to sharing something you yourself did well, for example a practice that "contributed to student learning or the relationship" with your co-teacher.

Next, extend an invitation to your partner to share something that they need from you as a teammate. Try not to center yourself during this step, Huynh suggests. "I don't recommend that you frame this item as a negative such as, 'What is my weakness?' or 'What can I do to improve?,'" he writes. "Remember, it's an invitation for them to share their needs, so the focus is on your co-teacher for this step."

Lastly, you can share something that your partner might take into consideration, framed as a "Would you consider...?" question.

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How Simple Reflection Activities Can Bolster Your Co-Teaching

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Reflection and feedback are key components of any successful teaching practice, writes social studies teacher Tan Huynh for MiddleWeb . As part of a co-teaching team, Huynh regularly carves out time with his teaching partner to evaluate and think critically about a variety of topics: the effectiveness of their instruction, for example, or how well they're communicating with each other, with students, or with parents.