Educators have long held the belief that family engagement plays a significant role in the academic success of English Learners (ELs). Additionally, EL students perform better academically and socially when their teachers and/or school leadership take time to form a strong, positive, and communicative relationship with their families. Here are some studies that examine the integral role of family engagement … Read More
Reaching out to Hispanic Parents for Family Literacy at Schools
Parental engagement is a crucial aspect of academic success – even more so with English Learners (ELs) where there are two languages spoken at home. As a way to address federal and state goals, various laws have been put in place that provide funds to help school districts with high poverty levels, which tend to have high numbers of EL … Read More
Fun Back-to-School Games
Children love participating in fun activities in the classroom. Fortunately, teachers can use games to teach language and literacy skills to strengthen the academic outcomes of their students. Games are especially helpful when working with English Language Learners (ELLs) because they make learning enjoyable and help them overcome fears or embarrassment of not knowing something. Students will be heading back to school before … Read More
Teacher Tips for Back-to-School Family Engagement
Family engagement is an important factor in the overall academic success of students. That is why it is so important to get parents and families involved with the school setting as early into the school year as possible. It is important for parents and students to feel welcome and trust teachers and other school administrators, because without that trust or camaraderie, there … Read More
Five Essential Components for Successful Dual Language Programs
Dual language programs are beginning to pop up throughout the United States, due in part to an influx of English Learners (ELs) from countries around the world. As a result of the urgent need of dual language programs, many of these programs are created without proper planning or knowledge on how to better accommodate ELs. Thus, issues may arise that … Read More
FREE School Training for Family Engagement
As an educator, you know the importance of family engagement. However, with the changing demographics in the United States due to the influx of English Learners (ELs) and newly arrived immigrants, you might find it difficult to communicate with EL students and their parents. Typically, to obtain these skills, you have to travel to a seminar and spend countless hours … Read More
Tips for reading aloud with Preschoolers
Reading aloud with preschoolers is an integral part of early-childhood development. It is during preschool that young children begin to understand what formal education and learning are like. That is why preschool is an ideal time period to focus on reading, as well as working on listening and comprehension skills. Read on to learn some tips for reading aloud with … Read More
ESL or Bilingual Education in the Classroom
The United States has always been a welcoming and accommodating country for new immigrants. For that reason, since the 1800s, our nation’s schools and teachers have strived to provide specialized education for English Learners (ELs). These specialized programs are ESL (English As A Second Language) and bilingual education. Since the inception of these programs questions have arisen regarding which program … Read More
Family Literacy Grants to Consider
School officials and teachers know that a lot of support for educational programs comes from grants, donations, and government funding. Without this funding, it would be difficult, or even impossible, to provide quality education to students. There are millions of dollars out there, all for the taking – you just need to know where to look. Here’s a few family … Read More
How to Foster Language at Home
How to Foster Language at Home Parents, family, and caregivers play an important role in language development of children. When we teach young children how to use language we need to reinforce what they are already doing and help them feel confident when they attempt to communicate. For most children, early language acquisition is instinctive. However, the manner in which … Read More