The Power of Narrative Storytelling with Emergent Multilinguals
Personal narratives can be a valuable teaching and learning tool. For refugee and immigrant language learners, the process of narrative storytelling can be especially significant, as it fulfills multiple aims. Storytelling can motivate Emergent Multilinguals to engage in the new language, develop essential writing skills, process critical life events, and foster inter-peer relationships.
Narrative expression is an essential component of our humanness. We are drawn to share pieces of ourselves through storytelling, and we discover our interconnectedness in doing so. For many of our students, storytelling is also part of a rich cultural tradition- one that is intrinsically embedded in nearly every facet of social functioning.
In the classroom, setting, we can employ personal narratives as a means to draw students into language learning. Meanwhile, we can draw out details that allow us to know and understand our students better. The strategy is helpful in that it can be implemented across the language acquisition spectrum and can be scaffolded in a variety of ways.
“Storytelling can be a very valid means to experiment with the new language in a variety of contexts. It is an accessible option at various stages of the language acquisition process, and it is a skill that can develop in accordance with a learner’s expanding linguistic capabilities.” -The Newcomer Student
Additionally, storytelling is a powerful strategy for working through transition shock. Transition shock is a broad umbrella that encompasses transition, trauma, culture shock, and stress-related anxiety. From Elements of Behavioral Health, “Talking about [experiences] helps organize memories and feelings into a more manageable and understandable psychological ‘package’. Telling the story, or developing a trauma narrative, is a significant step in the trauma recovery process no matter what array of symptoms is present.”
“There is an additional dimension to storytelling that can be profoundly cathartic and healing. The particular exercise of capturing human feelings and experiences, through fictional characters or biographical ones, allows students opportunities to release, revisit, question, and make sense of poignant life events. The retelling of personal experiences creates a fertile ground for self-discovery and social understanding.” -The Newcomer Student
Where Do We Start?
Family trees are an excellent start point. In research and focusing on the aspect of lineage, students are invited to work within a safe space, sharing what they feel is comfortable and “right” to them (this may be particularly relevant for refugee students who transition with family members who are not necessarily birth parents). This activity may also draw from parents’ existing funds of knowledge and encourage caretaker participation in students’ academic pursuits.
Incorporating heritage language is one way to increase intrinsic motivation. Constructing a family tree can also generate vocabulary connections for English words like father, grandmother, or uncle. Sharing a family tree in s safe learning space can benefit a learning community and lead to increased student ownership and self-esteem. Constructing a family tree can also generate vocabulary connections for English words like father, grandmother, or uncle.
The included samples were created by third grade students.
Heritage Books
Heritage reports, or heritage books, expand on the process of sharing students’ original stories. These are multi-step projects that “are designed to guide students in expressing their personal stories with others via sheltered instruction” (The Newcomer Student). Heritage books also enhance meaningful vocabulary expansion and promote empathic, tolerant school-based relationships.
A detailed description of heritage book planning and building is available in The Newcomer Student: An Educator's Guide to Aid Transition, available HERE.
Areas that are worthwhile to explore include:
· About Me
· U.S. Flag/flag study
· Alternative country flag(s)
· Traditional dress
· Traditional food
· Traditional customs
· Traditional housing
· Celebrities and pop culture
· Alphabet/number systems
· Family tree
· Family photos
· Emigration story
· Future hopes and wishes
The following samples are from third grade students.
“Heritage book authors are usually very eager to document, show, and share their projects with an audience. Meanwhile, they are practicing cooperative language structures and cultural normative values (handshaking and simple greetings for each guest) throughout the sharing process!” (The Newcomer Student)
Personal narratives are certainly worth including as a viable part of classroom learning and relationship building. Share your own experience enacting personalized storytelling with students to @ELYaafouriCLDE, #ELstorytelling #heritagebook
Using Sentence Starters with ELLs
The initial stages of language acquisition can be overwhelming for Newcomer learners. We can support these students (and all ELLs!) by incorporating “sheltering” techniques into our teaching practice. Sheltering strategies help to make content more accessible to language learners. Sentence starters are one type of sheltered instruction.
Sentence starters are helpful for language learners in that they can be used to scaffold both oral and written expression. Also, when learners are provided with sentence starters, they are relieved of some of the pressure to structure an entire reply. This allows students to focus on the body, or "meat", of their response.
“Sentence starters provide opportunities for ELLs to successfully participate in classroom activities in structured, purposeful ways.”
–Louise El Yaafouri, The Newcomer Student, 2016
When introducing sentence starters to learners who are within the early stages of language acquisition, it is best to limit the number of prompts to choose from. In fact, one or two options are plenty. As students grow in their language development, the number of options can be increased. With time and consistent opportunities to practice, learners will eventually develop efficacy in using a broad range of starters.
To make the most out of using sentence starters, the specific prompts should be visible to students as they are speaking and/or writing. Appropriate usage should be modeled- by the instructor, by video, or by other students, or in some combination of all of these. Eventually, students will become more independent in their production sentence starters.
As learners move closer to mastery with a particular set of sentence starters, these supports can be gradually lessened and eventually removed. Meanwhile, more complex strategies can be introduced- with new supports, if needed. Through this process of continuous scaffolding, we can guide our students closer to language proficiency and deeper content understanding.
Included is a collection of key sentence starters for academic participation. The prompts are organized into two categories: listening capacity and speaking capacity. They are suitable across grade and age levels.
Do you currently use sentence starters in your classroom? Share your experiences and contribute new prompts on Twitter @NewcomerESL #sentencestarters.
8 Listening-Speaking Strategies to Engage ELLs
Listening and speaking are often the first domains explored by a language learner. Students who are new to English require frequent, purposeful opportunities to develop these skills. With so many demands on our classroom time, it can be challenging to make room for dedicated speaking/listening skills practice. Fortunately, we can engage learners by embedding meaningful conversational activities in our lessons throughout the school day.
Here are eight low-prep cross-curricular activities that will get students talking (and listening, too!).
DESCRIPTIVE PAIRS
This activity encourages academic vocabulary development by engaging students in active speaking and listening around relevant classroom content. A pair of students sits back to back, with one student facing the front of the room. A category is announced (for example: mammals, text characters, types of triangles) Facilitator presents an image of one item in this category. The student facing the visual must relay to his or her partner what the image shows. In giving clues, this student must be as descriptive as possible, but cannot say the actual word or words that name the image. The student facing away from the image must engage his or her active listening skills in order to guess what the image is. When the away-facing student correctly names the image, partners hold a high-five or touching elbows and wait for other teams to solve the puzzle. Partners exchange seats and reverse speaking/listening roles.
FAN N’ PICK
Fan N' Pick is a Kagan cooperative strategy that can be used to activate background knowledge, facilitate discussion on a topic or review a concept. To prepare for activity, create a series of questions related to a text or concept. Write or type questions on strips of paper that are of similar size and shape. Place questions in an envelope. Each working group of four students will receive one envelope. Create as many envelopes as projected student groups. For lesson, arrange students into groups of four and distribute envelopes. Students in each group are numbered 1-4. Student 1 will remove the strips, making sure that all of the questions are faced down. Student 1 "fans" the strips and presents them to Student 2. Student 2 reads the strip that he or she chose and provides thinking time. Student 3 is responsible for answering the questions. Student 4 clarifies, praises, or adds on to Student 3's response. Then, the sentence strips are passed to Student 2, who becomes the new Student 1. The process repeats until all students have had a turn or all questions are answered.
INFORMATION DETECTIVE
Students work in pairs for this cooperative activity. Within pairs, each student has a card containing an image or text. The two images or passages are the same, except that each is missing some information. It is important that different information is missing on each card. Place a folder or other divider between the two students. Partners take turns asking each other questions in order to solve for the missing information on each card. New information should be recorded on the card or in a notebook. The students should not view one another's cards during the activity. Sentence starters may be useful.
LISTEN-RETELL
Listen-retell is a straightforward strategy that assesses student comprehension while working to develop learners' listening and speaking skills. For this exercise, students work in pairs. Facilitator gives each pair a prompt that is relevant to a topic being studied. One student from each pair responds to the prompt. The other student listens carefully to his or her partner's response. Then, the listening partner rephrases what was said. The first partner confirms the accuracy of the listing partner's retell. For older or more advanced students, the listening partner will rephrase the speaking partner's statement and then add on to the conversation with a new statement. After both partners have contributed, a new prompt is issues and students' speaking/listening roles are reversed.
MIX-AND-MATCH
The Mix-and-Match strategy encourages students to interact with one another in a guided format and allows for movement within the classroom. This exercise works well across all content areas. To prepare, first create a series of questions related to a topic or unit of study. Record these questions on a set of index cards. On a separate set of cards, record appropriate responses to those questions. Each question card should have a corresponding answer card. In working with older learners and/or learners with higher levels of language proficiency, it is best to incorporate student-generated questions and responses. To carry out the exercise, half of the participants are issued cards containing questions. Give the other students cards with appropriate responses to questions. Learners must move about the room sharing and comparing their cards until they find their match. Once all students have found their match, pairs may share out their corresponding questions and responses with the other students in the class.
PARTNER COACHING
Partner coaching is a cooperative strategy that allows students to practice using several or all language domains while working to solve a problem together. This activity works especially well in math or science subjects. To begin, arrange students in pairs and assign two challenges or problems to each pair of students. Each student in the pair will be responsible for solving one challenge. While the first student works on his or her problem, the second student acts as a coach, offering advice, feedback and encouragement. The coach is not permitted to write the answers or solve the problem for the first student. Students reverse roles and solve the other problem. When both challenges have been solved, one pair of students partners with another pair to form a group of four. All four students work together to confirm the validity of answers and make corrections as necessary. Note that it is helpful to model the acts of offering and accepting constructive feedback in advance. Some students may find it difficult to accept peer coaching. Make it clear that the expectation is to try to be open to feedback as possible. Offer sentence stems and other supports to guide students through the cooperative practice, as needed.
PARTNER DICTATION
Partner dictation is a fast-paced, simple activity that engages students in all four language-learning domains. To prepare, select a brief passage on a focus topic. Print half the number of copies as students in the class. (Or, choose unique dictation passages and print separately). For the activity, begin by pairing students. Each pair of students stands on one side of the room. Dictation passages are posted in another part of the room (or outside of the room in a hallway or corridor). One student will act as the "runner" and the other as the "recorder". (Students will have a chance to change roles). The "runner" will quickly make trips to and from the printed dictation passage to read it and return to partner to relay the message. The recorder writes what he or she hears. Students work together to edit scripts as they are being written. The runner makes as many trips to the dictation sample as needed for the recorder to capture the whole passage. Roles reverse, with a new dictation passage. Length and complexity of passages should reflect grade and language abilities present in the classroom and should be modified for pair groups as necessary.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
This is a classic drama warm-up game that works great for ESL verb study. To play, select a small group of students (teams of 5-7 students works well, though any number is fine) to enter the "stage". The remaining students in the class will serve as the audience, though all students should have the chance to perform. Have one student from the acting group take center stage while his or her teammates wait "in the wings". The first student begins the game by performing an action, such as driving a car. Another teammate enters and asks the first student, "What are you doing?" The first student can respond with any answer excluding his or her actual answer. For example, "I'm brushing my teeth." The second student would then have to begin the action of brushing his or her teeth. The first and second students continue performing their actions. The third student enters and asks the second student, "What are you doing?" He or she responds with a new action, such as "I'm ice skating." The third student mimes ice skating. The process repeats until all students in the group have gone. Audience applauds and a new group takes the stage. More advanced students may be encouraged to use more complex verb clauses, such as “I’m baking a cake for my mom’s birthday.” Students really love this activity!
Ready to dig deeper? These activities (and many others) are part of the comprehensive EduSkills platform. Learn more at eduskills.us.
EduSkills is an educational services and school data analysis company serving schools and districts Pre-K through 12th grade. EduSkills collaborates with schools and districts in order to help teachers and administrators become high-performing outcome based educators with a clear focus on high level student achievement.
Teacher Home Visits with ASCD
Teacher home visits are a vital component of overall student success. How Home Visits Transformed My Teaching (ASCD Educational Leadership, September 2017) captures some of my own experiences inside the homes of my students.
Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/2j3QBu5
(As a side note, it was such a treat to work with the Educational Leadership team. From start to finish, this was a seamless, professional and joyful process. Moreover, the other articles in this issue- and in other issues- are insightful, engaging and worth the read!)
Now, I’d love to hear from YOU.
What are your experiences around teacher home visits? Which of these occasions transformed you or your students? Which site visits became memorable experiences or lead to lasting relationships with a student’s family?
I hope you’ll take the chance to share in the comment field below. As practitioners, we grow the most when we take the time to listen to and learn from one another. I am grateful for you, educator!
Newcomer Education: Facilitating Integration
Excerpted from The Newcomer Student: An Educator’s Guide to Aid Transition, Louise Kreuzer-El Yaafouri @ Rowman & Littlefield International Press, 2016.
As we strive to guide our refugee and immigrant newcomers toward socio-academic access, we must focus on a unified goal: healthy, holistic & long-range integration.
Integration is a loaded concept with varied intent, depending on its context. Let’s clarify this term with specificity to Newcomer programming.
To do this, we’ll need to take a few steps back. To get to integration, we’ll need to start with culture shock. Culture shock is a process of adjusting from one set of heritage norms to another.
The process of culture shock is marked by four domains: honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment and mastery. We can see how culture shock resembles grief in the sense that an individual will navigate a predictable set of uncomfortable stages before reaching a level of comfort and acceptance.
Briefly, the honeymoon period is a romaticized one, full of awe and discovery. Stress factors may be delayed by fascination and shock. The negotiation phase, which may begin approximately three months after resettlement, signals reality setting in and is marked by frustration, fear, homesickness, detachment and physical discomfort. The adjustment period, typically encountered six to twelve months post-resettlement, is one of acceptance and sense-making. Anxiety is reduced as maneauverability and self-efficacy are increased. Finally, the mastery (or bicultural stage) is generally achieved between one to five years post-resettlement and indicates an ability to navigate freely and successfully in the new culture.
In order to examine potential implications of culture shock in the classroom setting, we’ll focus on the adjustment domain, the third stage on the way to cultural mastery. The Adjustment Domain can be further disseminated into three categories: Isolation, Adoption and Integration.
We can view these three areas within the adjustment domain on a spectrum. On the far left of the spectrum, we’ll place Isolation; on the far right, Adoption. These tendencies have opposite values.
Isolation
· Marked by disengagement or conflict with the host culture.
· Likely to return to heritage country, but may not fit in well.
· Feelings of separation from heritage and host identities.
Adoption
· Marked by utter identification with new culture at the expense of the old one.
· Expected loss of language, culture and loyalty to heritage culture.
· Social isolation between family and community members can occur.
Of course, neither end of the spectrum is particularly healthy, though isolation creates the most devastation. What we hope for our Newcomers to achieve is a balance. This “sweet spot” in the middle range of the spectrum we identify as "integration".
Integration
· Able to recognize positive attributes of heritage and host cultures.
· Full, healthy assimilation into new culture without loss of the old one.
· More likely to experience social acceptance, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, cooperative relationships and general productivity.
It may be helpful to imagine the verb of integrating in this way: picture an individual standing in the middle of a teeter-totter, with a goal of keeping both ends of the teeter-totter elevated from the ground. To do this, the individual needs to have one hand and one foot on each side of center. Constant re-adjustment is necessary.
Education plays a critical role in aiding successful integration. Ager and Strang (2008) write that, “For refugee children, schools are the most important place of contact with members of local host communities, playing an important role in establishing relationships supportive of integration”. Aart De Gues, in Cities of Migration, adds that, “When integration fails, the inevitable result is inertia and exclusion. Nothing is more important than education for gaining a foothold in society and determining one’s own path.”
As schools and teachers, where can we start in facilitating this process? Here are a few ideas:
Tips & Tools to Promote Healthy Integration
1. Ensure that inclusion is school-wide priority.
2. Begin inclusive services promptly.
3. Maintain consistency of services, scheduling and supports.
4. Meet students where they are and consider individual backgrounds when prescribing services.
5. Proactively address mental and physical health issues.
6. Explore and celebrate confianza.
7. Establish safety and trust through routine and predictability.
8. Explicitly teach new laws, rules, customs and traditions.
9. Model speech and behavior.
10. Encourage collaboration.
11. Champion native language speech/literacy.
12. Honor cultures without trivialization.
13. Value Newcomers and their parents as critical stakeholders and partners in success.
14. Encourage ELL investment in the classroom, the school and the community.
15. Actively engage with Newcomer parents and work to build mutual trust and respect.
16. Employ adult Newcomers as volunteers, paraprofessionals, teachers and other school staff.
17. Foster relationships with community links and stakeholders.
18. Allow opportunities to create and share cultural artifacts.
19. Incorporate cultural realia, such as foreign coins, postcards, and stamps as manipulatives or authentic textiles/patterns for geometry and spatial reasoning.
20. Allow for multiple levels of expression that include traditional songs, games and call-and-response.
21. Provide opportunities for “wander-and-explore” learning (practical, hands-on application).
22. Celebrate both students and parents as sharers of wisdom.
Growing Through Our Biases: An Educator Exercise
The recent events surrounding race and racism have been difficult and painful.
And we have to talk about it.
As we piece through our individual places in the fray, we have the double task of coaching our students through these uncomfortable social paradigms. In the case of schools, we can only support our students' in the shedding of unhealthy biases after we have examined and tended to our own.
As someone who is hired to coach educators through the processes of naming and mitigating implicit and explicit biases, recent events have forced a re-evaluation of my own thoughts, rooted values and prejudices. More than this, they've been a catalyst to explore my potential contributions within this context, as well as the potential contributions of my peer practitioners and our students, who watch us with anticipatory eyes. How can our voices be proactively and retroactively employed? How can we come to terms with a reasonable framework for self-accountability in light of the brazen dissolution of interpersonal respect and cooperativeness?
I have prejudices. You have prejudices. Our students and their parents carry biases into the school each day. Some of those are friendly, harmless judgments. Many are not.
We have a responsibility to mitigate our own biases to whatever extent we are able. This duty carries remarkable weight, based on the nature of our work with children and the inevitable part we play as role models in urban, multicultural settings. It is also our task to encourage a shift in the negative biases that exist in our parents and students, Newcomer and non-Newcomer alike.
Where is our start point?
The following is an excerpt from The Newcomer Teacher: A Workbook Companion to the Newcomer Student (Sept 2017). The Cultural Biases Workshop is a means to explore our own thought and action patterns. After all, only after we are brave enough to confront our own implicit and explicit biases can we hope to make positive changes to the broader social dynamic.
From the text:
"When we meet new people or begin to establish new relationships, our brains respond with a flurry of conscious and unconscious activity. We are analyzing the other individual and making a series of analyses based on the stimulation that our brain is receiving. We are producing and activating biases.
Prejudices, stereotypes and discriminatory evaluations are unconscious thinking patterns. Often, these thought-processing channels were constructed in our early childhood, influenced by our role models, societal constructs and media. Reinforced or repeated prejudices eventually become automatic. They become ingrained information-processing mechanisms."
But there's good news.
"Evidence strongly indicates that unconscious biases can be overcome, and even reversed, with sincere intent." In fact, "A person who is motivated to be unprejudiced—because of legal sanctions, social pressures, or strong personal egalitarian values—can suppress biased responses." -Culture Plus, 2018
In a fascinating turn of events, the human mind is capable of overriding itself.
Again from The Newcomer Teacher:
"We are capable of re-imagining our vision of the world around us. In order for true culture and bias training to be effective, we have to make way for it to be effective. That process begins with us taking the time to be raw and honest with ourselves about our own apparent and underlying prejudices.
There’s no promise that the process will be attractive, or even particularly enjoyable. However, be assured that by taking the first steps in being truthful with ourselves, we can open doors for growth and improvement, both in our lives and in the the lives of the students we serve."
Ina Catrinescu writes, “Confirmation bias is our most treasured enemy. Our opinions, our acumen- all of it, are the result of years of selectively choosing to pay attention to that information only which confirms what our limited minds already accept as truth.”
If we can selectively choose to pay attention to those things that support one thought pattern, then we can selectively choose to entertain new though patterns as well. Let’s make an effort to choose wisely.
Access the full Cultural Biases Workshop HERE.
Back-to-School With ELL Parents
A Closer Look at ELL Parent Engagement
An age-old question: How do we, as teachers and schools, go about increasing parent participation in students’ learning? To further define this question, how do we engage our newcomer parents and EL families in their child’s academic endeavors?
Involving parents in school activities can be tricky business. It can also be immensely rewarding- for the teacher, the school, and (most importantly!) the student.
A million terrific ideas exist on the subject. Don’t believe me? Take a visit to the Teachers Pay Teachers website with the key word parent.
As with any instructional technique, it is critically important to discover the strategy that works best for our specific student demographics- and then refine it to meet the needs of our students in a given year and within a particular scenario. What I found in researching parent-engagement ideas was that few were actually applicable within my unique classroom context- which was vibrant with cultural and linguistic diversity. The one-size-fits all plans did not fit at all.
And so began the process of creating suitable alternatives. Here is one of my favorites. It's one that I’ve implemented many times over with much success.
This idea came about one year as I was preparing for “Back-to-School” night. Combined, the students in my third grade newcomer class spoke nearly a dozen separate primary languages. I desperately wanted parents to feel welcomed and to be able to participate in the evening.
The problem was that I had no idea how I would overcome tremendous language obstacles to achieve this.
So, asked the students for their help. Together, this is what we came up with.
Student-Parent Notes
The students wrote simple notes to their parents and families. We arranged the notes so that they were waiting in the classroom for parents when they arrived for the school event. As a class team, we decided that students would record their sentiments in English (and later translate them for their parents) or in their native language (if this skill set was accessible to them).
When family members arrived at school, students took immediate ownership of their letters and were eager to share them. They were equally eager to ask their parents to reciprocate the gesture.
Our classroom writing station became a hub of activity. We laid out an assortment of colored pens and stationary. Parents and caretakers, shy at first, took pens in their hands to begin composing notes of love and encouragement for their students. As with the kids, caretakers were invited to utilize the language they felt most comfortable with.
As parents read aloud to their students in their native languages, the entire tone of the room shifted. Parents of different cultures exchanged knowing glances with one another. Those who shared the same language made room for laughter and conversation. These caretakers all had the same thoughts, hopes and expectations for their children. They were the very same considerations that I had for their children:
I am proud of you. You are a good child. Work hard. Try your best. Be kind. I am here for you.
I couldn't comprehend all of the notes, as I was now the one inhibited by language ability. That didn't matter. The messages were not meant for me. My take away was this: we were all on the same playing field, and also on the same team.
The notes hung in our classroom for the duration of the year. Not only did they provide tangible artifacts of students’ heritage cultures, they offered grounding and a call toward fortitude. Our student-parent notes became the most authentic, relevant anchor charts that Room 13 had to offer.
Here are a few for the road!
Books That Celebrate Diversity 2017
Readers- especially young readers- should have access to texts that provide mirrors and windows. Mirrors in literature enable our readers to see reflections of themselves within the pages of books. Windows allow for glimpses into worlds, cultures and perspectives that are outside of a reader's personal experience.
These remarkable books of 2017 allow for both- and they are calling for a place on your classroom bookshelf.
EARLY READERS
This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World
Matt Lamothe (Chronicle Books)
This visually engaging picture book follows one day in the lives of seven children from countries around the world. From Uganda to Russia, from Peru to Iran, we find that while differences do exist, we are all connected by our human qualities and the world we share.
My Beautiful Birds
Suzanne Del Rizzo (Pajama Press)
My Beautiful Birds is an eloquently written story of a boy who is forced to flee his home in war-torn Syria. He finds purpose in caring for the birds that surround him. Del Rizzo, through words and fascinating mixed-media illustrations, tells a story of human resiliency with clarity, compassion and a firm sense of hope.
A Different Pond
Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui (Capstone Young Readers)
Author Bao Phi relays the touching story of a father and son in honest, captivating simplicity. Each day, the father and son fish a Minneapolis pond for the family’s evening meal. During these precious moments together, the father reveals more of his own memories of fishing in Vietnam and of his migration to the United States. The illustrations are equally as moving, making A Different Pondan impactful and digestible sharing of the human experience.
A Family is a Family is a Family
Sara O’Leary, illustrated by Qin Leng (Groundwood Books)
This vibrant picture book tells the story of a young girl who lives with her loving foster family, but is hesitant to share this information with her classmates. When a class project reveals the diversity of other students’ home lives, she becomes empowered to share- and to find pride in- her own unique version of family.
All the Way to Havana
Margarita Engle, illustrated by Mike Curato
Full of energetic sounds and illustrations, All the Way to Havana highlights the adventures of a young boy and his parents while driving to Havana, Cuba. “Cara Cara”, the old family car, chugs and rumbles and zooms through streets filled with musicians, vendors, bustling activity and colorful buildings. All the Way to Havana is a delightful celebration of culture, sight and sound.
Danza!: Amalia Hernandez and El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico
Duncan Tonatiuh
Danza! celebrates the life of famous dancer and choreographer Amalia Hernandez. It tells of her dreams as a young child and her eventual founding of El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. With this troupe, she performed all over the world, sharing her unique blend of ballet, modern and traditional Mexican dance. Danza! is engaging, informative, inspiring and a visual treat for young readers.
The Journey
Francesca Sanna (Flying Eagle Books)
Italian author and illustrator Francesca Sanna examines the kinds of journeys a refugee might take and the difficult decisions a family might endure when confronted with the unimaginable. The Journey does not detail the refugee experiences of a specific region, giving the main characters a sense of universal relevance. The book is expressive, beautifully depicted and incredibly timely.
The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid
Jeanette Winter
Zara Hadid, famed Iraqi architect takes the stage in this uplifting non-fiction picture book. Readers learn of Hadid’s struggles to achieve her dream of becoming a great architect, despite the obstacles she encountered because of her gender and religion. The World is Not a Rectangle encourages young readers to dream big and work hard to reach their aims.
Malaika’s Costume
Nadia Hohn, illustrated by Irena Luxbacher (Groundwood Books)
The culture of the Caribbean comes alive in this delightful picture book. Maliaka, living with her grandmother in Canada, work together to create the perfect carnival costume. Malaika’s Costume celebrates the values of family, cultural pride and imagination.
MIDDLE READERS
Refugee
Alan Gratz (Scholastic)
Refugee details three separate accounts of the refugee experience, from
Nazi Germany to 90’s Cuba to modern day Syria. Gratz weaves these stories together in suspenseful ways, making clear that each refugee experience is significant and deserving of human attention. While each character's search for refuge is unique, hope is the overarching sentiment throughout.
Amina’s Voice
Hena Kan
In this coming-of-age story, Amina and her best friend Soojin must navigate middle school and what it means to be American. Faced with the idea of “fitting in”, Amina contemplates changing her name and hiding her most obvious cultural markers. When her local mosque is vandalized, Amina is forced to reconcile with her own identity. Amina’s Voice is a brave story of finding balance between cultures new and old.
Illegal
Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano (Hodder Books)
Illegal is an engrossing graphic novel that tells the harrowing story of Ebo, who is forced to leave his North African homeland. At only twelve years old, Ebo must make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, experiencing a vast range of emotions and experiences along the way.
The Epic Fail of Artura Zamora
Pablo Cartaya
Growing up in Miami, thirteen-year-old Artura Zamora is about to embark on a summer of challenges, complicated by the presence of Carmen, who moves into the neighborhood and consumes Arturo’s thoughts. Artura becomes a hero in the community when he uses poetry and the art of Jose Marti as a form of protest against neighborhood gentrification.
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
Vashti Harrison (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Little Leaders features forty inspiring role models in history, including Sojourner Truth, Bessie Coleman, Alice Ball and Maya Angelou. The text is beautifully illustrated and captures the imagination of readers of all ages. From science to poetry to advocacy, Harrison relates these true stories of determination with poise and clarity.
Somos Como Las Nubes/We Are Like the Clouds
Jorge Argueta (Groundwood Books)
We Are Like the Clouds is an honest collection of bilingual poems that relate the experience of child migration from Central America to the United States. The poems tell stories from a variety of perspectives and capture sentiments of fear, sorrow, adventure, desperation, hope, and resilience.
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Karina Yan Glaser (Houton Mifflin)
Celebrated as a New York Times Notable Children’s Book of 2017, this book swallows readers up in the story of a large bi-racial family known as the Vanderbeekers, and the beloved brownstone they’ve always called home. When Beiderman, the not-so-nice landlord, refuses to renew their lease, the Vanderbeekers must use all of their combined creativity to keep their home.
YOUNG ADULT
The Stars Beneath Our Feet
David Barclay Moore (Knopf)
Lolly Rachpaul is a twelve-year-old boy living in Harlem. He and his mother are still grieving the loss of Lolly’s older brother, who was lost to gang violence. A gift of Legos changes the course of Lolly’s life, marking a path toward friendship, purpose, overcoming and eventual healing. This remarkable coming of age story is heartfelt and speaks to the combined power of self-determination and human connectivity.
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas (Walker)
Thomas’ debut novel about Starr Carter is a Black Lives Matter inspired testament to our times. Starr’s friend Khalil is shot and killed by a police officer as she watches. The consequences are many, rippling into the community and rattling Starr’s existence. This is a potent look at modern race issues, tempered by the goodness of community and the strength of human resolve.
See You in the Cosmos
Jack Cheng
See You in the Cosmos is an endearing story of 11-year old Alex, who records his travels throughout the American southwest on his iPod, with the hopes of one day launching the device into space. Sharing in Alex’s adventures are his troubled mother and sidekick of a dog, Carl Sagan. Alex’s experiences lead him to recognize that the destination is the journey and that family is where- and what- you make of it.
American Street
Ibi Zoboi (Balzer & Bray)
Teenager Fabiola Toussaint expects to find joy and ease after making it from Port-au-Prince to Detroit. She is faced with a different version of reality when her mother is detained by U.S. immigration. Fabiola now wrestles with high school in a new country, the overbearing presence of her cousins, a feeling that must certainly be love- and at the forefront, a desperate drive to free her mother.
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Erica L. Sanchez
Julia has always been compared to her “perfect” sister Olga. In fact, Julia's family struggles to understand her motive to leave the family and move away to college. When her sister is killed in a tragic car accident, Julia faces even more pressure to live up to the daughter Olga was. Julia is already juggling new life and new love- and now must face the loss of Olga and the truth about who her sister really might have been. In all of this, Julia begins to reconcile with the past, make peace with her Mexican heritage and discover her own self worth.
Piecing Me Together
Renee Watson
Jade is a determined and bright young women fighting an upward incline of social mobility. She has set out to leave her neighborhood to find success. She is awarded a scholarship to a predominately white school and is taken under the wings of powerful black female advisors. Yet, Jade struggles to identify completely with her old world or her new one. She eventually learns to value all that her less-privileged upbringing taught her. These lessons are part of her identity and become part of her own success story. Watson elegantly tackles race, privilege, and identity in this coming-of-age treat.
When Dimple Met Rishi
Sandhya Menon
Menon has crafted a lighthearted YA romance that places her protagonist at the crossroads of cultural tradition and modern aspirations. Dimple Shah has recently graduated high school and is off to a summer academy for web developers. There, she meets Rishi, the same boy her parents selected as her “suggested arrangement”. While Dimple shuns the idea of an arranged marriage, Rishi welcomes it. Despite their differences, the two are drawn together, and eventually discover a connection that surprises them both. New York Times bestseller and winner of multiple book awards
The Girl from Aleppo: Nujeen’s Escape from War to Freedom
Nujeen Mustafa and Christina Lamb
Lamb, co-author of I Am Malala has joined with Nujeen Mustafa to relate another incredible true story. Sixteen-year-old Nujeen was forced to flee Syria amid the destruction and terror of civil war. Her journey is complicated by the fact that she is has cerebral palsy is bound to a wheelchair, making her escape more challenging and dangerous. Nujeen’s quest for safety becomes a sixteen-month odyssey across the Mediterranean and through a number of countries before at last finding haven in Germany. A Girl From Aleppo offers a window into the tragic events in Syria and through one young woman’s story of hardship, perseverance, and overcoming.
Crafting a Language Rich Classroom
Traits of a Language Rich Classroom
Language rich environments promote direct interaction with contextual print and vocabulary in facilitative, non-threatening ways. These types of learning environments are especially critical for ELLs, who are likely to have had limited exposure to literacy in the new language. Classrooms can and should be designed to promote literacy accessibility across all language and reading levels. Print rich environments accomplish this by providing students many different opportunities to engage in many different components of language and literacy.
The key in creating an effective print-rich environment is to first evaluate the specific ages, interests and learning needs of a student population. An 8th grade Newcomer classroom should not reflect the learning or interest needs of an kindergarten Newcomer classroom, a 3rd grade ESL classroom or a sophomore Geography class. Print-rich planning should encourage rigorous, grade-level content learning by making language more accessible to developing readers and language learners.
The good news: creating a language rich learning environment is not rocket science. In fact, you are likely incorporating many literacy-promoting techniques in your school or classroom right now. Our aim, then, is to grow and refine our repertoire. The following ideas can be employed across multiple grade and content levels. Start with two or three; add on as the school year progresses.
Exposing children to more than one form of communication sparks interest and interest turns into learning. This connection quickly becomes the making of meaning for reading. –Leyva & McClure, et al.
· Rebus Labeling: Familiar items (door, bookshelf, glue) should be clearly labeled and in student view. Labeling works best when combined with an image. To avoid over-stimulation, refrain from labeling every item in the room. For example, one “ window” tag is sufficient, even if there are four windows in the room.
· Content Language Objectives: CLOs should be visible at child-height, clearly printed and worded in student-friendly ways. Objectives should be read aloud and together with students at the beginning of each lesson and revisited throughout. Eventually, academic frames used in Content Language Objectives will become predictable; and individual or small groups of students may have the responsibility of reading CLOs aloud to the class.
· Student-created books: Learners develop special relationships with stories and books they create. The act of physically and mentally composing text makes it relatable and “readable” in subsequent visits to the material, even if a child is not yet actually (or fully) literate in the text language. Student-created books also encourage sequencing and oral production and fluency, when shared aloud.
· Teacher-created books: Teacher-created books serve many of the same functions and advantages of student-created texts. Instructor-created books, however, are more deliberate in their use of content-based vocabulary, target sight words and proper grammar and punctuation.
· Name Labels: Students love seeing their name- it’s also a great way to encourage print concepts! Options: label student photos, desks, lockers, cubbies, notebooks, attendance markers
· Displayed Co-Created Work: These samples should remain in student view for the day or days for which they are relevant. Ideas include: morning message, whole group text summaries, co-created objectives, daily weather or “news” reports.
· Print-based charts: Essential charts are very helpful. Again, the caution is in not overdoing it. Too many posters create clutter and issues with over-stimulation. Pick and choose carefully, and re-adjust as students’ specific learning and unit needs change. Examples: days of the week, months of the year, weather, colors, sight words, planets, homonyms, life cycle, Pledge of Allegiance. Alphabet, calendars, schedules, directions, number line, teacher helpers, anchor charts and rubrics are posted in clear student view and referred to often.
· Frequent Read-Alouds: Listening to teacher read-alouds and audio read-alouds of text encourage auditory processing and help students learn to identify and use appropriate intonation and emphasis. Tip: Read like an adult. Learners should hear (and learn to mimic) natural tonal fluctuation.
· Language Based Technology and Media: Computer-based programs that support language learning and literacy can be incorporated as station work. Watch for: computer use as a crutch, diversion or means of “occupying” a learner during mainstream instruction.
· Displayed Student Work: This is a very powerful tool for promoting student confidence and encouraging learners to read and reflect on peer accomplishments. Posted teacher celebrations on the work (or peer celebrations) also encourage reading!
· Writing Centers: Writing centers are a chance for students to explore print and practice skills in differentiated ways. Provide different sized writing tools to develop fine motor skills and interesting paper sources that invite participation. Suggestions: shopping lists, thank-you cards, Pen Pal writing, journaling, invitations, notes to teachers and school personnel, postcards, reading response logs. Early writers will benefit from sentence stems and graphic organizer choices.
· Teacher-print: Teacher-printed dictation, summaries of student expression, daily vocabulary or other relevant items are meaningful to students as models for appropriate spelling, spacing, punctuation and print.
· Murals: Whole class murals invite students to contribute understanding and insight on a theme in ways that are accessible to each at his or her own language development level. A mural on the story, Swimmy, by Leo Leonni, for example, might include a story line or multiple story lines; labeled pictures of fish, characters with thinking or speaking bubbles; pictures or descriptions of the environment; single or multi-sentence structures about the story; opinions on characters or plot; or non-fiction statements about fish. A word of note: language development is key. That is, while illustration is an important element of mural work, it should not be the only element. Encourage students to exchange topic-focused thoughts with their peers as they work and to include some variation of print expression with every illustration.
· Classroom Libraries: Inviting, comfortable classroom libraries are an essential component of the Newcomer classroom (or any classroom!). Exemplary classroom libraries are age, ability and interest appropriate, and they are representative of a global community. Newcomer classrooms are especially diverse and include an incredible range of reading and interest levels; libraries should reflect this diversity. Books should be organized and clearly labeled. Students will benefit from reading books at their level and also exploring other texts in interest areas that are outside of reader ability. Early readers, especially, will learn to explore print concepts, picture cues, captions, directionality and broad content idea-shaping. Depending on the age and grade level, Newcomer classroom libraries areas should include:
o Picture, dual language (where applicable), English dictionaries
o Tactile and Predictable Picture Books
o Special-interest books
o Multi-cultural books
o Dual-language books, where accessible
o Grade-level content texts with supports
o Maps and atlases
o Magazines
o Play-based and life-based print: magnetic letters, menus, phone books, recipes, bus schedules, business cards
· Word Walls: As many thoughts and ideas exist on word walls as word walls themselves. Alphabetically, by unit, by tiers, by reading group, by color code? Growing throughout the year or rotating through? So many choices! Bottom line? They work! Ask around, try different variations… see what works best for you, then modify and refine.
· Theme displays: Theme displays are helpful in anchoring ideas related to an ongoing unit. These are excellent areas to post unit vocabulary, charts, pictures, student work and teacher dictation related to a topic.
· Involve parents: This may be the most important trait of all. Most Newcomer parents do wish to help their students learn English and succeed in school. The most commonly heard Newcomer parent frustration? The feeling of helplessness that arises in wanting to aid their child in at-home learning, while working through language learning themselves. In the vast majority of cases, Newcomer parents are eager to take part in their child’s successes and are open to guidance from the teacher and school. So- make this process fun! Allow for activities that can be completed as a family. Host parents at the school to discuss cultural expectations around parent involvement in learning and creating quiet “homework” spaces at home. Invite parents to share their strengths with students. Parents can gain confidence by working with their children on math, teaching them the history of their heritage country, creating regional maps, or explaining in-depth science concepts in the native language. Learning is a collaborative process- and parents are an essential link!