30. The First and Most Important Step in Teaching English Learners

It seems like every year there are only two speeds within a school year: rushing to get everything covered up to the ACCESS testing, and trying to catch up and make it to the end of the school year. Sometimes it feels like we have no control over what is going on. To change the pace, I want to do a series of episodes that will allow you to take a look at how you can invigorate your life and career. That might mean taking up a hobby, starting a side passion, and other times you might be ready ...

7 Mars 202315min

Valentina Gonzalez is a former teacher who has served 20 plus years in her own classroom, a district facilitator for English Learners, a professional development leader, and an educational consultant. Her work has been focused on literacy, culture, and language. She still delivers professional development for EL education and is an accomplished author. She explains how many schools send the wrong message to EL students when they put their classrooms in outdoor portables, storage closets...

28 Feb 202357min

We spend so long preparing for testing and getting testing completed, but what do we do once the testing season is over? Getting back into the swing of things after weeks and weeks of testing can be really tough. In today’s episode, I share some tips with you for how to get back on track after ACCESS testing. Do a classroom reset. You can do a classroom reset anytime, not just at the beginning of the new year or after testing. Try class routine rehearsals, classroom expectations Kahoot, ...

21 Feb 202315min

In today’s episode, we continue our coaching session from last week and discuss reading, writing, and phonics with ELs. For teaching literature, like Romeo and Juliet, it can be helpful to let students read in their native language first to let them access the content. You can also pre-teach vocabulary, or summarize chunks of the story and focus on key parts of the story, the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, for example. We also discuss using novel studies to keep kids interested and engage...

14 Feb 202332min

In today’s episode, I share a coaching session I had with a ESL Teaching Roadmap member. She teaches 9th grade ELA and ELD in a district that is just getting their ESL program off the ground. She explains that there is no curriculum for her to work from, so she feels like she is making everything up as she goes. We begin by discussing one student, in particular, who is a newcomer in one of her mixed proficiency support classes. She also asks how to assess this new student to see what he ...

7 Feb 202348min

In today’s episode, I speak with my friend, Amber Harper about teacher burnout. Amber is a full time kindergarten teacher and teacher burnout coach. After struggling with burnout for most of her teaching career, in 2016 she created Burned In Teacher. Now she uses her podcast, book, and online course and community to coach teachers through her 8 step burned in process to help them use burnout for an opportunity for growth so they can live a more fulfilled career and life. She shares about her ...

31 Jan 202357min

In today’s episode, I discuss academic connections in response to a question from one of my listeners about teaching English Content. Why is traditional English Language Arts content inferencing, finding metaphors and similes, and identifying literary elements, so difficult for English Learners? It is a higher order thinking skill that requires a deep understanding of the language and having background in it. The first thing to consider is that English Learners need to understand....

25 Jan 202322min

In today’s episode, I discuss test prep with a dear friend and business bestie of mine, Laura Kebart. Laura serves busy middle school English Language Arts teachers who actively choose family time over prepping for class. Through her website, lesson plan resources, and annual virtual conferences, she helps teachers go home earlier each day so they can teach with confidence and enjoy life outside the classroom. She wanted to be a teacher since she was a second grader and spent 17 years in the ...

17 Jan 202342min