The holiday season is here! We are all excited to celebrate and relax with our families and friends over our long winter break. This is a great time to talk to students about traditions they do celebrate with their families--whether they fall in this month or not. Enjoy the season!
The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:
- Teaching Strategies - A successful classroom is one in which students feel known, appreciated, and comfortable taking emotional and intellectual risks. That requires intentional planning and consistent messaging by the teacher.
- Culture Corner - What are some fun holiday traditions (or just fun traditions) that your students practice in their home, or back in their home country? Engage your students in conversation about the traditions they practice, whether it is for a 5 minute chat at the beginning or end of class or through an activity that they get to share with their classmates. This allows you to strengthen the relationship and create a space where all students feel welcome and appreciated as they are.
- ELLevation Tips & Tricks - Choose the "Strategies" tab from the upper right top dropdown list, and click "Activities." You will see a wide range of activities & strategies that you can use with all your students (English and Spanish graphic organizers included!).
- Reflective Questions - How is my student feeling in my classroom? Do they look scared, comfortable, or disengaged? Are they sitting next to a buddy they can ask a question in their home language? Do they feel comfortable tapping me on the shoulder if they have to go to the bathroom? Do they know how to ask to use the bathroom?
- ELD Lead Celebration - This month we are highlighting Alisha Wheeler at Copper Mountain Middle School. If you ask anyone at the middle school, or anyone at all who has worked with her, they will all say the same thing: She is amazing, brilliant, and a wonderful advocate for her ML students. As an instructional coach and ELD Lead, she works tirelessly to support her teachers in supporting their ML students and she has a wealth of information that even the most veteran teachers learn from. She is a safe space for both staff and students as they work to learn from each other. THANK YOU, ALISHA!