Excellent ELL Resource for Educators and Families

By Alison Sharp, School Psychologist

 

 According to the 2013-2014 Winston-Salem/FCS demographic information, approximately 22 percentile of our school population is Hispanic, a number which is slowly but steadily growing.  As an educator, you have likely either worked with students who are English Language Learners (ELLs) or will be working with an ELL in the near future.  As educators, we are always looking for ways to reach our students and help them attain their potential, despite whatever barriers they might face.

 Colorin’ Colorado http://www.colorincolorado.org/ is a fully bilingual, easily usable website for families and educators of English Language Learners (ELL).   This website is appealing to a variety of audiences, such as educators, administrators, librarians and families.  According to the website “ Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.”  This website contains a wealth of information, ranging from ELL topics from A-Z, ELLs and policy, and ELL research and reports.   It also includes a glossary of some commonly used school terms that may be mystifying to people who are not school personnel.   There are a variety of easily downloadable materials available, such as “Toolkit for Teachers” which is described below:

 “Colorín Colorado, Reading Rockets, and the American Federation of Teachers have developed the Colorín Colorado-AFT Toolkit for Teachers: Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of English Language Learners. This toolkit includes background information on reaching out to Hispanic parents, four sample workshops, videos in Spanish and English, and bilingual handouts.”  Hard copies are available for a small fee, and downloadable materials to accompany the “Toolkit for Teachers” are available on the website for free. Other multimedia materials are available as well on a number of topics.

 The section for families contains information on many relevant topics.  These are valuable for families who want to help and to be involved with their child’s education, but may not know where to begin.  Available resources range from frequently asked questions, fun reading tips and activities (such as Spanish rhyming games), how to build strong home-school partnerships and what parents can do at home to help.  Although materials on this website are predominantly available in English or Spanish, reading tip sheets on ways to foster literacy in the home are available in 11 different languages, for parents of children ranging from babies to 3rd graders. 

 In conclusion, this resource is definitely worth checking out!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

September is National Suicide Prevention Month

Image
This month, we want to take time to remember those who have lost their lives to suicide, those who have struggled with suicidal ideation, and acknowledge all of those who have been impacted.  Why is this work important? According to the CDC, in 2021, there were 48,183 deaths by suicide in the United States, which is equivalent to 1 death every 11 minutes. 1.7 million adults attempted suicide. In 2021, the suicide rate among males was approximately four times higher than the rate among females. Males make up 50% of the population but nearly 80% of suicides. In North Carolina, suicide is the second leading cause of death in ages 10-18. There was a 94% increase in youth suicide from 2011-2020.  Suicide can be prevented by recognizing signs, learning how to help, and taking steps to help those in need. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Student Services Department has a district protocol to respond to and manage suicide risk.   Firearms are the most common method used, at more than 50%,
Read more

Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 11-17, 2024

Image
  Although Random Acts of Kindness week will be celebrated next week, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has provided a calendar for the 2023-2024 school year; that's 365 ideas of ways to spread kindness. They also provide a variety of resources for spreading kindness at school, at home, and at work, including a 2024 calendar for adults to spread kindness at work throughout the year.  Additionally, the Social Emotional Learning and Restorative Practices department has compiled a Random Acts of Kindness resource folder that includes lesson plans, kindness activities, announcements, book lists, and more.  Join the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation in their effort to make kindness the norm, not just next week, but all year long! 
Read more

Teen Week - Planning for Your Future

Last week, we posted a blog on fun activities for students during this time of quarantine.  As we looked over the list, we noticed that it was mostly focused on elementary and middle school students. Our high school students are also struggling to find ways to fill their time and remain socially connected to their peers.  For seniors, this time has been particularly difficult because they are missing out on many of the events they have looked forward to since kindergarten! To support our teenage students, our blog will be devoting an entire week to them!  Each day, we will have a list of activities to keep them engaged, active, and entertained. Today we are sharing ways they can begin preparing for college and planning for their future. Let us know if you think of more!  Show us your activities by tweeting to us @schoolpsychws. Use #wspsychs and #wsfcslearnon.  We would love to add your ideas to this list! College Prep Is your teen planning to take the SAT next year? Now is a great
Read more