Sesame Street Stories: Sonia Manzano Reflects on Career

Sonia Manzano’s smile and voice are instantly recognizable for millions of people in the United States who grew up watching Sesame Street. Her character “Maria” became a ‘friend’ for many children, as did all of the humans and monsters on the iconic and culturally significant show, Sesame Street. Manzano was on Sesame Street for 44 … Continue reading Sesame Street Stories: Sonia Manzano Reflects on Career

Investing in Future Dual Language Teachers: Ideas from the Field

As the number of children who identify as culturally and linguistically diverse increases, and the benefit of bilingual instruction becomes more evident, the need for more bilingual teachers will grow as well. However, the need is outpacing the number of teachers with such qualifications and the competition for hiring bilingual teachers is fierce for TWIN-CS … Continue reading Investing in Future Dual Language Teachers: Ideas from the Field

Beautiful Rendition of a Classic Song: “Blackbird” Sung in Mi’kmaq

A song, poem, or prayer can be transformed when it is translated into another language. By translating the classic Beatles song, “Blackbird” into Mi’kmaq , Canadian teen and fluent Mi’kmaq speaker Emma Stevens learned many new things. Emma acquired new vocabulary, learned more about song writing, and explored the intricacies of translation as she worked … Continue reading Beautiful Rendition of a Classic Song: “Blackbird” Sung in Mi’kmaq

Friday Facts!: Resources for Dual Language Teachers from Colorín Colorado

Summer is about to start and with it we start a new blog series called “Friday Facts.” We will be providing our readers with information and resources that should prove helpful as they use the summer months to prepare for next school year. We begin this series with the comprehensive and detailed resource listing from Colorín … Continue reading Friday Facts!: Resources for Dual Language Teachers from Colorín Colorado

Bilingualism in Arizona: Changing Perspectives

A local news article by KJZZ, penned by Lauren Gilger, discusses a changing perspective toward bilingual education in Arizona. As the article states, Arizonian voters passed an “English-only” law in 2000 which pushed English Language Learners (ELLs) into structured English immersion programs. As recently as 2017, the graduation rate for ELLs “was only about 18 … Continue reading Bilingualism in Arizona: Changing Perspectives

Giving Students the Time They Need: Report from the Migration Policy Institute

Corey Mitchell, contributing writer for Education Week, discusses a recent Migration Policy Institution (MPI) publication that suggests ESSA may be penalizing English Language Learners (ELLs). According to the article, the four-year graduation expectation which has becomes “such a prominent part of school accountability plans,” might lead “administrators in traditional high schools to turn away older … Continue reading Giving Students the Time They Need: Report from the Migration Policy Institute

Preschool Tools in Mandarin, Spanish, and English from the Education Development Center

The Education Development Center (EDC) has released Tools to Support Preschool Learning, a toolkit for early childhood educators who are “looking for ways to develop a supportive learning environment for children who are emergent bilingual (or dual language) learners.” This toolkit now has two new additions, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, titled … Continue reading Preschool Tools in Mandarin, Spanish, and English from the Education Development Center

Learning from the 2019 Teacher of the Year: Mr. Rodney Robinson

In an article by Education Week, written by contributing writer Sarah Schwartz, Rodney Robinson was announced as 2019 National Teacher of the Year. According to the article, Robinson teaches social studies to students in juvenile detention at the Virgie Binford Education Center in Richmond, Va. With his new accolade, Robinson states that he will focus … Continue reading Learning from the 2019 Teacher of the Year: Mr. Rodney Robinson

Science Resources for Bilingual Classrooms

Colorín Colorado has supplied a resource of articles, websites, book recommendations, and teaching strategies that offer unique methods of teaching about the environment in conjunction with learning language. This science toolkit for bilingual learners bridges the gap between dual language learning and the sciences, truly emulating the ideal connection between language and content area. With … Continue reading Science Resources for Bilingual Classrooms

Learning from Larry: A Highest Aspirations Podcast interview with Larry Ferlazzo

In a recent episode of the Highest Aspirations, a podcast hosted by ELLevation Education, Steve Sofronas interviews well-known educator Larry Ferlazzo. In this 46-minute podcast, Ferlazzo and Sofronas consider effective and pragmatic ways to differentiate reading comprehension strategies for English learners; discuss how motivation, relationship building, and student agency impacts student growth; examine family engagement … Continue reading Learning from Larry: A Highest Aspirations Podcast interview with Larry Ferlazzo