Bilingual Superpower! Learning through Sketchnoting

Research comes alive when the findings are displayed graphically. This wonderful design was created by bilingual educator Alison Shofield of the Centre for Educators of BMLS. Validating and supporting bilingual learners in such an accessible and entertaining way will appeal to many students. Sketchnoting may be an effective tool for TWIN-CS students. The video below … Continue reading Bilingual Superpower! Learning through Sketchnoting

A Ted Talk with Maria Giannini

Maria Giannini, senior producer of e2k Sports and bilingual parent, speaks about her personal experience with bilingualism and bilingual education in an inspirational Ted Talk. As a child of an El Salvadoran woman and an American man, Maria states that she and her siblings “grew up in what I consider to be a very normal immigrant … Continue reading A Ted Talk with Maria Giannini

Getting Involved in Bilingual Education Policy: A Guest Post by Dr. Meg Burns

How Can Dual Language Teachers Get Involved in Bilingual Education Policy? With all the demands placed on Dual Language (DL) teachers, it can be hard to imagine adding one more thing to your plate. But, as we’ve seen in California and Massachusetts in recent years, the landscape of language policy is always shifting. Teachers play … Continue reading Getting Involved in Bilingual Education Policy: A Guest Post by Dr. Meg Burns

Music Is The First Language

As our TWIN-CS members know, teaching in a multilingual setting can have its difficulties. To mitigate the stresses for both educator and student, teacher Kristin Gladish, a finalist for Indianapolis Public Schools’ 2019 Teacher of the Year, uses music to find common ground with her students. In a Chalkbeat feature called “How I Teach,” writer … Continue reading Music Is The First Language

The Power of STories and Celebrations: “Bringing Asha Home”

A short while ago, Colorín Colorado published a helpful resource page for parents with internationally adopted children who may also be English Language Learners (ELLs). This resource page features “a number of tools for parents and educators of internationally adopted children who may be English language learners,” including articles on language development, speech and language … Continue reading The Power of STories and Celebrations: “Bringing Asha Home”

Resources for Dual Language Educators

A wonderful resource for dual language (DL) educators, Corey Mitchell’s Learning the Language blog on EdWeek addresses a plethora of curricula concerns and summaries of detailed research regarding English Language Learners (ELLs). Most recently, an article titled “The Five Most Common Native Languages of English-Learners,” offers keen insight into ELL demographics, information which may help … Continue reading Resources for Dual Language Educators

Our Students’ Names Matter

KQED, a news source for Northern California sponsored by NPR and PBS, recently published an article about the long-term effects of mispronouncing your students’ names and strategies to remember their names correctly. The article cites evidence from a 2011 study conducted by Professor Rita Kohli and Professor Daniel Solórzano which determines “mispronouncing a student’s name … Continue reading Our Students’ Names Matter

great resources for TWIN-CS Teachers from Sadlier

Those who attended the 2018 Summer Academy may remember Sadlier, an education-centered publishing company which made an appearance during our week-long event.  Sadlier offers many resources for both educators and students, and has recently published “Top 5 Tips on How to be a Great Coach/Mentor for Teachers Tip Sheet,” for K-12 educators . If you … Continue reading great resources for TWIN-CS Teachers from Sadlier

Bilingual resources for Next Generation Science Standards

Many of the TWIN-CS Community Members are starting to introduce more science and mathematics concepts in Spanish and Mandarin this year. The extension of the TWI model into upper grades is an exciting opportunity to utilize more curriculum resources and to use new standards for science. Many schools have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards and … Continue reading Bilingual resources for Next Generation Science Standards

More evidence of Dual Language’s Benefits: Raising ACHIEVEMENT

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, located in North Carolina and home to the second largest school district population in the state, has started to address its growing diverse population. Jessa O’Connor from WFAE.org writes about how this district is using dual language education to close achievement gaps for English Language Learners, minority students, and low-income students. Principal … Continue reading More evidence of Dual Language’s Benefits: Raising ACHIEVEMENT