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Now that the school year is in full swing, in the U.S. anyway, it’s time to talk about collaboration! Being able to collaborate effectively and in appropriate ways with others, whether it be administrators, teaching colleagues, students, or families of students, will help ensure the success of English Language Learners
This is the first in a series of guest blog posts by former English Language Learners. I thought it’d be interesting to hear what they think of their time in an ESL program so I invited a few of my former students to answer some questions. Here is the first
This past July, I was in Washington D.C. and met my co-host Laurah, from Tools for Teachers by Laurah J, in person for the first time! Up until then, we’d collaborated (a 4C skill that we’ll be discussing soon) only remotely. We got together for a lovely dinner at a
(This post was updated December 24, 2023) Going back to school after summer vacation is always exciting but for ESL teachers it can also be exhausting. As the only ESL teacher in my school for students in Grades 4 – 8, and also Grade 3 in my last year as
English Language Learners are culturally as well as linguistically diverse. Understanding how cultural differences impact the conduct of your ELLs in your classroom will make you a more empathetic and effective teacher. In this blog post, I’m going to discuss 8 features that all teachers need to be aware of
Memorial Day, now celebrated on the last Monday in May, marks the unofficial start of summer in the U.S. You can read about the history and origins of Memorial Day in this blog post I wrote. Memorial Day: To Respect & Remember; image: Depositphotos Some students are already on their
Teaching English Language Learners means, obviously, teaching them the English language. But it also means much more. It includes teaching these students content area subject matter in ways they can understand the material so they can stay on grade level with their English-speaking peers. It’s also important to teach ELLs
(This post was updated February 24, 2025) I have lived in the Muslim-majority countries of Indonesia and Sierra Leone and visited and worked in other countries with significant Muslim populations as well: Turkey, India, China, and Mali. In addition, Muslims comprise about 1.34% of the population of the United States,
To celebrate Earth Day, this past Saturday I visited Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Located in southern Arizona, it is an archeological site with ruins from the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People culture. Also known as the Hohokam, although their descendants today prefer the former designation, you can see parts of
You know the saying A picture’s worth a thousand words? It may be even more true when teaching English Language Learners. For students who don’t yet have a strong grasp of English vocabulary, using pictures greatly aids comprehension. But digital photography can be used by and with ELLs at all
(This post was updated in April 20, 2026.) I’ve been an environmentalist since, well, almost since birth. After describing how I became an environmentalist, you can find a list of products for yourself and your students in my environmental gift guide. My Experience as an Environmentalist Perhaps the reason
So many great ideas and resources for using Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality were discussed during Sunday’s #ELLEdTech Twitter chat that I decided to collate them into this blog post. I’ve divided them into the following categories: Articles about Using Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality, Teaching Ideas, and Tools that
