Blogs

Original Item	Views	Comments	Latest Activity
On-Demand Writing with English Language Learners Added by Yumi Matsui on Jun 1, 2012 at 12:18pm Inevitably, the end of the year brings an insurmountable amount of stress. Even in Cartagena, students are NWEA testing, studying for finals, and pre... read more	282 Views	2 comments	Added by Kimberly Young on Jun 23, 2012 at 9:40am So did they "show" what they know? I am interested to know how they did on the writing assessment. Hope you are enjoying summer and the relaxe... read more
The Arts and Technology: A Perfect Blend Added by Robert Rivera-Amezola on May 21, 2012 at 3:43pm Steve Jobs said “It is in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with humanities, that yi... read more	266 Views	2 comments	Added by Robert Rivera-Amezola on May 28, 2012 at 2:28pm Hi Christina, I didn't think of Digital Is. I will post there, too. Robert ... read more
Building on Strength or Building our Toolbox? Added by Katie McKay on Apr 27, 2012 at 4:27pm Over the course of this school year, at the Heart of Texas Writing Project, we put on four days of professional development open to TCs and other tea... read more	168 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
It Takes a Village Added by Janna McClain on Apr 18, 2012 at 1:15pm Last Friday was picture day, and for a moment I was taken back to my insecure middle school days, when my mother and I fought over the faded black ... read more	302 Views	1 comment	Added by Tanya Baker on Apr 18, 2012 at 1:22pm What an inspiring vision of what a school community can be. I, for one, will be wishing you and your colleagues the best of luck through all of your ... read more
Looking to connect with other folks working with Adult ELLs Added by Andrea Zellner on Apr 10, 2012 at 8:23am Hello friends, ... read more	192 Views	2 comments	Added by Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez on Apr 19, 2012 at 8:58am Hi Andrea, I wonder if you have tried posting this request on Know ELLs, an online community of teachers of ELs that was formed by Great valley TCs... read more
Read Aloud as Talk Aloud as Write Aloud Added by Ruth Devlin on Mar 31, 2012 at 10:23pm I had a substitute teacher in my 2nd grade classroom a bit ago, and in her end of the day written note was the comment, “They sure talk a lot during ... read more	261 Views	1 comment	Added by Joye Alberts on Apr 10, 2012 at 4:38am Unpacking this read-aloud-talk-aloud stategy and illustrating it with "Let's Get a Pup!" offers a look into the lively learning community in your cla... read more
A New Challenge Added by Yumi Matsui on Mar 9, 2012 at 7:34am As I enter my eigth month living and teaching in Cartagena, Colombia, I’m reminded of the difficulties of teaching English as a foreign language. My ... read more	193 Views	2 comments	Added by Debra Schneider on Sep 29, 2012 at 7:39pm I have been reading about Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. Do you have experience using this? It focuses so much on speech and ... read more
Linguistic Accommodations for ELLs Added by Dolores Perez on Mar 2, 2012 at 1:04am I will preface today’s piece by reminding readers about something I mentioned in a previous post. I am a worrier. ... read more	260 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
Beware: Technology is sexy Added by Robert Rivera-Amezola on Feb 24, 2012 at 12:34pm A 1st grade teacher at my school noticed that the 4th grade teachers were diligently signing out the laptop cart from the computer lab at my school... read more	280 Views	2 comments	Added by Robert Rivera-Amezola on Jul 17, 2012 at 4:17am Hi Dora, ... read more
iPads: See Touch Learn Added by Antonio Tijerina on Feb 10, 2012 at 9:08pm In the recent years iPads have grown in the classroom and into the hands of students. In the past month Apple has focused on education with the re... read more	149 Views	1 comment	Added by Paul Oh on Feb 15, 2012 at 10:47am Antonio, ... read more
Digital Learning Day Added by Katie McKay on Feb 3, 2012 at 9:11am In honor of Digital Learning Day, my students used a variety of multimedia tools to publish pieces that they wrote over the course of the first semes... read more	304 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
Is "Good Teaching" Enough? Added by Janna McClain on Jan 27, 2012 at 8:09pm Is “good teaching” enough for English learners, or do they need something more? ... read more	142 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
Do Our Students Have Access? Added by Katie McKay on Jan 24, 2012 at 5:07pm At Austin Discovery School, we're prepping for Digital Learning Day by publishing boo... read more	107 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
ELLs and the Common Core-Feedback Requested! Added by Shannon Styers on Jan 22, 2012 at 3:14pm Hi! ... read more	145 Views	1 comment	Added by Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez on Jan 24, 2012 at 4:03pm Hi Shannon, ... read more
The Risk and Reward of Authentic Research Added by Michelle Crotteau on Jan 14, 2012 at 1:07pm Over the summer, I was contracted by the Virginia Department of Education to create lessons for the new 6-8 grade research strand in the English St... read more	311 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
Real Reasons Added by Ruth Devlin on Jan 8, 2012 at 5:51pm As I worked on the last trimester’s report cards I revisited the writing of my 2nd grade ELL students. As I reread their “Why I Write” pieces I... read more	184 Views	1 comment	Added by Joye Alberts on Jan 9, 2012 at 9:29am Thanks, Ruth, for this reflection and the movie (and music!). You are right that the students are clear on the audience to whom they are writing. Wha... read more
Family Literacy Night in South Texas/ Noche de Lectura Familiar en el sur de Tejas Added by Dolores Perez on Dec 31, 2011 at 4:59pm Christmas in South Texas: People here go shopping for Christmas trees in shorts and T-shirts.... read more	511 Views	3 comments	Added by Katie McKay on Jan 11, 2012 at 6:00pm I love it! What great photos, too. Thank you for sharing this story. I can just picture how exciting it must have been for the youth and ... read more
Using Media to Break Stereotypes Added by Yumi Matsui on Dec 16, 2011 at 6:09am The issue of stereotypes came up often when I was teaching English Language Learners in the states. My students were surrounded by what other... read more	383 Views	1 comment	Added by Elyse Eidman-Aadahl on Dec 19, 2011 at 8:45am Hi Yumi, We will definitely rally the community to respond to your students. In addition, this work could make for a great resource for the Digital ... read more
It’s Time to Retire the LEP Label Altogether Added by Dolores Perez on Dec 9, 2011 at 11:36pm What if you could close your eyes and picture a student's face as I utter the following labels used to identify a special population of ... read more	249 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
Artifacts and the power of stories Added by Robert Rivera-Amezola on Dec 2, 2011 at 6:34am I’ve had the honor of co-facilitating “Writing in Community: Supporting English Language Learners Across the Disciplines,” a 10-day workshop for ES... read more	236 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
ELs In Your Service Area Added by Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez on Nov 22, 2011 at 12:11pm Our Annual Meeting EL session was well-attended by a heterogeneous group of TCs. This made for a lively discussion about the needs of sites that want... read more	173 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
Equality Added by Janna McClain on Nov 10, 2011 at 9:50pm Equality. ... read more	161 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
WANTED: Relevant ESL Lessons Added by Cecilia Pattee on Nov 6, 2011 at 11:48pm I regret not learning the joy of education or the thrill of discovering something new through education in school at an early age. When I think abo... read more	291 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.
Appalachian English Speakers and the Not-So-Subtle Messages of Common Core Standards Added by Michelle Crotteau on Oct 28, 2011 at 12:46pm Howdy from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I am honored to be a contributor to ELL Connect to share my experiences teaching speakers of A... read more	425 Views	2 comments	Added by Janna McClain on Nov 2, 2011 at 6:52pm Thanks for this posting. I agree that the battle for "difference, not deficit" is far from over, whether the difference is language or dialect. In Te... read more
So why DO I do it that way? Added by Ruth Devlin on Oct 14, 2011 at 11:48pm Greetings from the Mojave desert. I'm a second grade ELL teacher here in Las Vegas, and I'm excited to write on this new branch of NWP...this n... read more	215 Views	0 comments	No comments have been added yet.