The Compliments Project

The Compliments Project is a simple and powerful exercise that has really taken off in many classrooms! Basically, each student in class takes a turn being in what’s called the “hot seat.” So while the student sits, facing away from the board, his or her classmates take turns writing positive statements … Read More

Bilingual Education and Biliteracy

Sometimes the terms related to bilingual education and biliteracy can be confusing. On the Wikipedia website, bilingualism is someone who speaks fluently in two languages and biliteracy is when a person doesn’t only speak two languages but can read and write in them, too. … Read More

Title III and Parent Involvement with English Learners

Title III and parent involvement with English learners are important components in helping the nation’s ELLs to succeed. As amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), the NCELA organization, which works to support the mission of the Office of English Language Acquisition … Read More

Giving ELLs Academic Support

Giving ELLs the academic support they need to be successful is critical if the educational system in the US is going to help English language learners to become literate in English, not to mention fluent, according to a 2013 American Educator journal article. … Read More

Academic Vocabulary and English Language Learners (ELLs)

50,000 words by high school graduation, that’s a whole lot of words, says the Teaching Channel in an article about academic vocabulary and English language learners. Yet that’s the challenge ELLs face if they want to stay abreast with their native English-speaking peers … Read More

Does a Strong First Language Transfer Into a Strong Second Language?

There is ample evidence in both the field of education and science that a strong first language transfers into a strong second language. Recent meta-analyses, in fact, show that educational programs that implement the use of English language learners’ (ELLs) home language result in academic success … Read More

All Roads Lead to Academic Success for ESSA

With the enactment of the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the focus of advocacy now turns to effective implementation of the law to ensure every child has the ability to reach their full potential, says the National PTA in regards to all roads lead to academic success for ESSA. … Read More

Why is Family Literacy Important?

For many reasons, family literacy is important. One of the biggest, however, is that until members within the family unit can successfully read and write, it makes it difficult to break the poverty cycle. According to a Place of Our Own, an educational website dedicated to caregivers, family literacy is when family members improve their … Read More