Equipping ELLs

Differentiate instruction. Every teacher has heard these familiar words given a million times.  We strive to accomplish this goal both for the success of our diverse learners and also for the evaluation that follows a dreaded classroom observation. In this episode, you'll learn numerous strategies you can use to make differentiation easy! And you'll leave with a fantastic freebie that you'll want to download, print, and put to use in your classroom immediately!Related Resources:Downloadable Differentiation Task CardsJoin the Equipping ELLs membershipShop TpT resources for ELLs--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

Modifying is part of the day-to-day for any teacher of ELLs.Sometimes it comes as second-nature. Other times, we wrack our brains: “How do I make this particular content unit accessible to my ELLs?” or “How do I meet the needs of the majority, while still giving adequate attention to the newcomer?” The fact is, you probably don’t have the time to plan OR teach a separate lesson to each of your students.In this guest episode, I interview two ELL teachers, working within the same school district in Virginia. Betsy Conyers is a K-5 ELL teacher, and Hannah Simmons teaches ELL in grades 6-12. Listen in as they share how they modify on the fly.Related Resources:Join the Equipping ELLs membershipShop TpT resources for ELLs--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

Are you currently co-teaching, preparing for co-teaching, or maybe just hoping some day your school will adopt this effective model for reaching ELLs? In this episode, Beth interviews guest, Leslie Tomanovich. Leslie is an ENL (English as a New Language) teacher in New York. After years of teaching with the pull-out method, the state of New York changed their ENL laws and required instruction for ENL students to be co-taught. Leslie shares about her experience transitioning to co-teaching. She also contrasts different program methods, and she shares great practical advice for any teacher of ELLs! Related Resources: Printable Co-Teacher Survey Join the Equipping ELLs membership Shop TpT resources for ELLs --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

You've learned the pros and cons of a variety of program models, but which is the most effective for reaching your ELLs? While one school may have students in a full immersion program, other schools are using the pull-out approach. It is important to know the different methods available when teaching ELLs, and you may have more power than you realize when it comes to choosing an instructional model for your English language learners.In this episode, I will break down 5 common instructional program models. After highlighting the pros and cons of each, I'll give my insights as to which model I believe to be most effective for helping our ELLs succeed. And, as always, you'll leave today's episode with practical tips for your teacher toolbox!Related Resources:Join the Equipping ELLs membershipShop TpT resources for ELLs--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

Are you a paraprofessional, wondering how best to support your ELLs? Or are you a classroom teacher that knows you are underutilizing the paraprofessionals in your building? We are right in the middle of a series called Small Steps to Success for ELLs! Throughout this series, we are encouraging every person in our schools, from the front office to the cafeteria, to take vital steps to help support our English language learners. We know when each person does this, you will see positive change!Today we are talking about the role of paraprofessionals. We believe paraprofessionals are a vital piece of the school and a huge key to helping our ELLs find success. In this episode, I am sharing how I got my start in education as a paraprofessional and how my experience was invaluable to my continued career in educating ELLs. I'll share with you 5 ways paraprofessionals can support ELLs, hoping to give you concrete steps you can take this week with your students!Related Resources:Join the Equipping ELLs membershipGrab the Newcomers Bundle (scripted lessons, great for small groups!)--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

If you’re a homeroom teacher, the thought of figuring out how to support ELL students in your classroom may be completely overwhelming. I know this because I’ve been there. When I was a homeroom teacher, I didn’t support my English language learners very well. As we are working on taking small steps to make a big impact on our ELL students, I want to share four shifts that homeroom teachers can make to ensure our ELLs are being set up to thrive in our classrooms.Most homeroom teachers want to help their ELL students be successful but don’t know where to start. I want to equip homeroom teachers with easy shifts they can make to help the English language learners in the classroom. I am sharing why it is crucial to see the ELL students in your classroom as your own students, how to use the ESL teacher as a coach, why starting with clear benchmarks and milestones is so important, and how learning new scaffolds is beneficial for all your students.Related Resources:Download these free strategy sticky notesJoin the Equipping ELLs MembershipCheck out the ELL Strategy AcademyDownload the ESL Teacher Toolkit Shop TpT resources that help with supporting your ELLsFor all links and resources, check out the show notes: https://www.inspiringyounglearners.com/support-ells-in-homeroom-classroom--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

There are so many important positions in every school but sometimes it can be challenging to understand just what each person does and does not do. As ESL teachers, we may have come across some misconceptions that other staff members have about us and our role. We all want to work together as best as possible so that we can help our ELL students be successful. In order to do that, we may need to help other staff members understand what it is that we do and how we help our students.It is so important that ESL teachers and homeroom teachers are on the same page when it comes to helping our ELL students. There may be assumptions made from both sides simply because there isn’t a clear understanding of each teacher’s position. If we can address these assumptions, we can work better together to provide a high quality learning experience for our students which is everyone’s goal!In this episode, I am sharing five reminders to help in building a relationship between ESL and homeroom teachers, where these misconceptions may come from, and how to move past them to best serve ELL students.Related Resources:Join the Equipping ELLs MembershipCheck out the ELL Strategy AcademyDownload the ESL Teacher Toolkit Shop TpT resources that help with supporting your ELLsFor all links and resources, check out the show notes: https://www.inspiringyounglearners.com/wish-homeroom-teachers-knew--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

We know how important it is for us to make our new ELLs feel welcome and comfortable but how can we help their families feel supported? There can be so much confusion for families as they are adjusting to living in a new country, learning a new school system, and understanding different offerings and options that are available. Our guest, Janna Adams, is sharing ways that we can help our ELL families overcome some of these hindrances.In today’s episode, we are chatting with Janna about some things she has implemented that have made a huge impact on getting ELL families more involved in school and the community. She is sharing her teaching experience and how she became an ESL teacher, why it is so important to engage ELL families in the school setting, ways ESL teachers can help connect these families to the school and community, and the difference she has seen with engagement after implementing these things.Related Resources:Join the Equipping ELLs MembershipCheck out the ELL Strategy AcademyDownload the ESL Teacher Toolkit Shop TpT resources that help with supporting your ELLsFor all links and resources, check out the show notes: https://www.inspiringyounglearners.com/schools-create-welcoming-environment--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

Understanding where our students come from and who they are is so important to ensuring we are providing them with an environment where they feel welcome and respected. This may mean dismantling some assumptions we have about different countries and really trying to understand the countries they are coming from and the specific areas they are coming from. Margarita Pearce is joining us today to share her unique perspective and provide some insight and tips for ESL teachers.In this episode, Margarita is sharing what it was like growing up in Panama and her experience working with the U.S. Embassy in Panama and the Fullbright Program. We are diving into ways teachers can ensure that newcomers feel comfortable in their new school, why you should consider the challenges their families face and find ways to support them in understanding the school system, and tips for how teachers can create an environment that fosters success.Margarita Pearce was born and raised at the crossroads of the world, the Republic of Panama.  My education includes a Master in Business Administration and a Bachelors Degree in Biology both from universities in the U.S.A.  I also have TESOL certificate and I am completing my TEFL certification.  My teaching experience includes in-person and online ESL tutoring.  My background also includes counseling, student recruitment, and program management for universities in the U.S.A.Related Resources:Grab a copy of “Home Is in Between” by Mitali PerkinsJoin the Equipping ELLs MembershipCheck out the ELL Strategy AcademyDownload the ESL Teacher Toolkit Shop TpT resources that help with supporting your ELLsFor all links and resources, check out the show notes: https://www.inspiringyounglearners.com/cultural-crash-course--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message

As ESL teachers, we are especially aware of how important it is for our ELL students to feel welcome, respected, and safe. Because of this, creating a culturally competent school environment is so important. Our guest today, Jocelynn Hubbard, is sharing how all teachers, admin, and staff play a huge role in creating this culturally competent environment for our students.Creating a culturally responsive environment takes effort from all staff members to not only learn new things, but to unlearn some biases they may unknowingly have. Knowing how to transform our school environment into one that is respectful and welcoming to all cultures can seem intimidating. Luckily Jocelynn is here to help us begin this process!In this episode, Jocelynn is sharing her experience in education and how she is helping schools now, what culturally responsive teaching is and why it is so important, how to develop cultural competency as a school, and actionable ways we can begin to transform our schools to be more culturally competent.Jocelynn Hubbard helps teachers spark joy during the learning experience by creating an inclusive and welcoming classroom environment for ALL their students. She is the founder and managing director of Custom Teaching Solutions, LLC and host of The Culture-Centered Classroom podcast. She has 16+ years of experience in education as an educator, speaker, professional development creator and facilitator. Driven by a passion to see the diverse people of our world feel welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated, she provides training on becoming and remaining culturally competent. As a wife and mother of five, her goals include squeezing in time for exercise, finding moments of joy each day, and parenting each of her children as unique individuals.Related Resources:Grab your FREE “5 Ways to Create an Inclusive Classroom” guideKickstart Your Culturally Responsive Teaching CourseThe Culture Centered Teacher Training Workshops for SchoolsJoin the Equipping ELLs MembershipCheck out the ELL Strategy AcademyDownload the ESL Teacher Toolkit Shop TpT resources that help with supporting your ELLsFor all links and resources, check out the show notes: https://www.inspiringyounglearners.com/culturally-competent-school--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/equippingells/message