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I know I’m not alone in saying I hated taking standardized tests. The pressure of having to finish within a proscribed time period combined with not knowing precisely what would be on the test generated a high level of anxiety. And to top it off, it often took weeks before
(This post has been updated to show the dates of the holidays in 2025.) January 1st is New Year’s Day throughout the world that uses the Christian Gregorian calendar. But many religions and cultures celebrate the New Year on other days. Below is a chart showing New Year celebrations for
When I was a student, my school district in Pennsylvania had a wonderful science curriculum. The entire textbook consisted of descriptions of scientific concepts and how to demonstrate or prove them by doing experiments. For every experiment we had to write a hypothesis, write the steps for doing the experiment,
Not all students, however, love math like Rosalyn Yalow, a 1977 Nobel Prize winner, did. English Language Learners in particular often have difficulty in their math classes. Their lower levels of language proficiency can make it hard for them to be successful when have to solve word problems and then
Have you ever wondered what English Language Learners think about being in ESL programs? I thought it would be interesting and illuminating to find out so I invited a few of my former students to describe their experiences. Here is the third and last interview. You can read the first
Sadly, in the era of No Child Left Behind, the teaching of Social Studies became an afterthought. Since in most states it wasn’t tested like Language Arts and Math were, it got short shrift in school schedules. Indeed, in many districts, it was subsumed into other subjects and wasn’t taught
This is the second part in my series about former English Language Learners reflecting on their time in their ESL program. Each of my students entered the program under different circumstances. In the first post, my student was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents. (You can read the first
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
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