Equipping ELLs

We all know that classroom management is crucial for a smooth school year. But where do you even start with classroom management, especially when you aren’t a homeroom teacher? Today, we are diving into how to get started with easy-to-implement strategies to help you have great classroom management this year! Classroom management begins with building relationships and trust with your students. In...

As we head into the start of another school year, we want to make sure that we are creating a welcoming place for our ELLs and newcomers right away. There always seems to be pressure to get started with assessments and lessons but it is so important to slow down the first few weeks of school. Sindy Bonilla is joining us today to talk about how she starts the school year so her students and familie...

The first day of school is filled with so much excitement but can be full of stress and anxiety for our students. We all try to start the year off right by building relationships and community and often do this by using get-to-know-you activities or icebreakers. Unfortunately, these can cause unnecessary stress and create fear in students, especially ELLs. Today, we are looking at what we can do o...

Do you feel like you are spending so much time planning lessons or that you’re on a hamster wheel of lesson planning? If that sounds like you, this episode is one you don’t want to miss! I am diving into three common problems I see when it comes to ESL teachers and lesson planning. In today’s episode, I am talking about one of the biggest stressors for ESL teachers - lesson planning. I am breaking...

Have you been curious what ESL teachers’ roles look like in other districts?  We are joined by special guest Jina Wood who is sharing what her role as the K-8 ESL teacher looks like in her district in Iowa. Jina gives us a look at her challenges and shares her tips on how she ensures her students’ needs are being met. In this episode, Jina talks about how she groups and supports her ELL stude...

How can you successfully support your K-4 ELLs in a very large district? Our special guest is sharing some insight! In this episode, Jen Ferreyra is giving us a glimpse into what her role as an ESL teacher looks like at her school. Today, Jen and I are talking about how she works with other teachers to provide the best support possible for her students. We are covering the challenges and benefits...

Are you wondering what teaching ELLs looks like in other schools or districts? Today, I am chatting with Karen Hartke to get some insight into what being an ESL teacher looks like for her and her district. Karen serves as both the only ESL teacher and the EL coordinator in her K-12 district which brings on unique challenges. In this episode, she is sharing with us what her role looks like, some ti...

Summer is flying by and we are finishing up our summer series, Successfully Setting Up for the School Year this Summer, by looking at how to prepare for our intermediate students. We want to be prepared so our classroom environment is one of trust, safety, support, and high standards. Today, we are looking at how to set up routines that help our intermediate students feel comfortable and confident...

We are seeing more and more newcomers join our classrooms in the U.S. every year. It can be both exciting and challenging when these students first join our classrooms but today, I am walking you through tips on helping both you and them be successful those first few weeks of school! We are continuing our Successfully Setting Up for the School Year this Summer series with an episode dedicated to h...

How great would it be if you could “plug and play” your lessons and resources next school year? Well, you can and I’m here to show you how creating templates can save you precious time! Planning lessons, creating activities, tracking data, meetings, duties - the list of tasks for teachers goes on and on! Good news! I’m sharing a way to save time and energy in your prep and planning. Today, I am ta...

Are you looking for something easy to do to help you prepare for next school year? I am giving you something you will want on hand at all times to help you support your ELL students. We are continuing our summer series, Successfully Setting Up for the School Year This Summer, with a tool that requires little prep but will be a big help! We have already been working on setting up our scope & se...

We all want to rest and enjoy our well deserved and much needed summer break! But if we can spend a little time preparing for next school year, it will have a big impact on how the school year will go. We are continuing our Successfully Setting Up for the School Year This Summer series and this is an episode you don’t want to miss! Today, we are going to look at our scope and sequence and break it...

What should I be doing with my ELL students? What are the targeted goals I should be keeping at the front of my mind, and how do I make sure that I’m hitting those goals? If you find yourself asking these questions, you are definitely going to want to tune into today’s episode and join in as we begin this summer series called Successfully Setting Up for the School Year. Each week this summer, we w...

As a teacher, you’ve worked hard and earned your much-needed summer break. I hope rest, relaxation, and recharging are at the top of your to-do list this summer. As wonderful as summer is, we know it will come to an end. Before you know it, it’ll be August. You’ll hit the ground running with very little time to reflect. It’s important to take a little time now at the very end of the school year to...

What are your favorite things to do during the summer? I try not to do a lot during the summer, but I do love finding good books to read by the pool. While not all the books I read are related to teaching, I enjoy reading a couple of PD books each summer that spark ideas, give me inspiration, and renew my love for teaching. In today’s episode, I’m sharing my top 6 books that I believe will help yo...

The two words all teachers dread…summer slide. You’ve worked so hard with your students all year. The last thing you want is for them to go for the next 2 months without applying the skills or practicing English. You know if they don’t use it, they’ll lose it. It can be tricky with our students who live in homes and communities that mainly speak a different language. Today, I’ll give you 3 easy wa...

There is a big difference in how the ELL brain learns to read and write compared to native speakers. Reading and writing are the two most difficult domains for our ELL students. It makes it even more challenging for those students when we are using materials that were designed for native English speakers, not ELLs. In today’s episode, I’ll share some of the mistakes we make while teaching reading...

“There’s a slight bias towards the Asian population being more identified [as gifted]. It goes back to being open from the very start and saying, ‘Hey, all of my students could be these high achieving gifted students, but I need to look at all of them with that attitude and set the bar high so they can show me what they can do.’” -Shelley Feliú-Love Today’s guest is one of the most incredible educ...

“I learned by making my own mistakes and trial and error, and that just has kind of been the theme for my career. If it doesn’t work, try it again in a different way.” -Maria Montroni-Currais I love having the opportunity to talk to and interview amazing educators on my podcast and to share those insights and perspectives with you. Today I’m joined by an administrator with an ELL background, Maria...

When it comes to language objectives, writing them in student-friendly language and making them visible for our ELL students is so important for them and has a huge impact. With help from today’s guest, you’ll learn exactly how these objectives impact your students and see that writing language objectives doesn’t have to be complicated. In today’s episode, Courtney Morgan shares about languag...

Do you have a clear idea of what ELL students at each of the 5 language levels are able to do? It can be overwhelming when you aren’t confident you know how to best support your students. In today's episode, I'm going to give you a simple and clear breakdown of each of the language levels to help you get started. If you’d like more support teaching your ELL students, you can sign up for my FREE re...

Imagine living in a war-torn country where there are not enough school buildings because they’ve been destroyed by war, not enough teachers because wages are so low, and many families are living in camps because they’ve been displaced and are living far away from everything that is familiar to them. Just think of the impact this has on children, families, and communities after years and years of t...

How is it possible to build a positive home-school connection with parents of ELLs when they don’t speak the same language as us? We know the power these connections have on our students and how important it is to their success, but how do we practically make it happen? In today’s episode, I'll be sharing tips and tricks to help build those connections so the families of your English language lear...

How do you connect with homeroom teachers who aren't really interested in working with ELLs and expect you to do all of the work? How can you successfully build a strong relationship with your co-teachers so you can better support your ELL students? If you’ve asked these questions yourself, this episode is for you. With a background as both an ESL teacher and a homeroom teacher, I’ll be sharing my...

Using read alouds is one of the most effective ways you can reach all levels of your English Language Learners, no matter what age your students are. Read alouds provide opportunities for students to connect with relatable characters and feel welcome and safe in the classroom. With visuals already provided for you, read alouds cut down on your prep work while encouraging your students to make tons...