BAP078 VirtuEL 2020 is THIS SATURDAY!

Don’t miss your chance to attend the kind of conference we ALL need right now.  NO REGISTRATION.  NO FEES!

Listen to “BAP078 VirtuEL 2020” on Spreaker.

Larry Ferlazzo is our keynote for the 4th annual #VirtuEL conference.  His topic and description speak directly to what we are all facing.

VirtuEL Keynote by Larry Ferlazzo.  10:00am ET, July 25, 2020

We will either find a way or make one”: Overcoming COVID-19 challenges facing ELLs & Their Teachers

Audience: K-12

Teaching and learning scenarios are still not clear for the fall and beyond, but the challenges that will face us are the same:

  • How can we best support English Language Learners who are in our classes?
  • How can we best support English Language Learners when they are in other classes?
  • How we can best support English Language Learners and their families when they are at home?
  • How can we best support and maximize the assets brought by English Language Learners so their presence can improve school wide teaching and learning?

Though the challenges are the same, their degree of difficulty will rise as the definitions of what “classes” and “school” change, and, though “home” as always been important, its connection evolves into an even closer one. Given these massive changes, how do teachers of English Language Learners respond?

Larry’s keynote kicks off a day of great sessions and opportunities to interact.
VirtuEL is the brainchild of my colleague, Tan Huynh.  I’m incredibly grateful to Tan and every presenter.  Here is more about how it works:

Here is the schedule of events for this year:
This year we are offering an opportunity to interact in small groups.  There is NO registration for the conference sessions.  But these small group discussions do require zoom registration for security purposes.  Valentina Gonzales, Steve Sofronas and Larry Ferlazzo will be helping us facilitate those sessions.   Grab your seat for those right here.

Big thanks to everyone who makes VirtuEL possible!  I hope you’ll attend and interact with us on Twitter I’m at @MsSalvaC.  Please use the #VirtuEL hashtag so others can share in your learning!

Take good care!

Carol

PS:  Check out my Upcoming Events! I’d love to see you in one of my upcoming workshops for teachers of newcomers.

BAP077 Teacher’s Toolbox Authors

This show offers a behind-the-scenes look with the authors of three new resources that are so important for the field right now.

You can listen to this inspiring conversation whereever you get your podcasts or right here:

Listen to “BAP077 Authors of Teachers Toolbox Books” on Spreaker.

If you’re like me, you may  own a copy  of  The  ELL Teacher’s Toolbox by Larry Ferlazzo  and Katie Hull Sypnieski  that was published about 2 years ago.
It is an invaluable resource that is highly recommended across our field.  On the show, Larry describes the format of the book as being a collection of tried and true strategies. Each has a description, why they like it, technology connections and what could go wrong. I can vouch for this and how much I appreciate their advice for readers in the circumstance where things may go wrong.  The practical book comes with many handouts and downloads,  several of which are free for anyone to use.  Larry was on this show a few years ago talking about that resource.
And NOW! Larry and co-author Katie Hull Sypnieski have gathered content experts to write the following content resources written in the same format.
They explain that these content resources include  instructional strategies and modifications for working with English Learners and some have separate chapters for working with ELLs.
The books are edited by Larry & Katie and the authors shared how the two guided their work to produce these resources in the same popular format as their original.

HUNDREDS OF FREE DOWNLOADABLE HANDOUTS and links that go along with each text are available to you right now..

Scroll down to get a gist of how inspiring this conversation became!  Regardless of what you teach, this episode is sure to offer you great insight on how we can find some solid footing for serving all of our students in this ever changing, uncertain time.

Contact information and websites for each of the books:

The Math Teacher’s Toolbox is written by Bobson Wong & Larisa Bukalov

The Social Studies Teacher’s Toolbox is written by Elisabeth Johnson & Evelyn Ramos-LaMarr

and The Science Teacher’s Toolbox is written by Tara C. Dale & Mandi S. White

@TaraCDale = Twitter and Tara LaBranche Dale = Facebook
@mandiwhite84 = Twitter for Mandi White

From the podcast conversation:

In this show we discuss things like the need we all have to have a focus on what makes kids WANT to show up and put in the work now.  These practical resources are sorely needed right now and so it is a great help to the field that hundreds of the handouts are available for free.  I also found incredible value in just listening to these educators, who are still in the classroom, discuss things like social emotional learning in a math classroom, culturally responsive teaching and building relationships with our students.

Big Takeaways for ME:

  • You’ll love hearing Bobson Wong talk about his perspective on math anxiety and the critical need to help all students be comfortable about learning math.
    Tara Dale shares how the science field is moving toward skills based approach to learning and their focus on growing intentional scholars.
  • Evelyn Ramos and Elisabeth Johnson share about capitalizing on the relevancy of our current situation for students.

Distance Learning

Of note is that feedback from readers of all three books confirms that many if not all of the strategies are applicable to distance learning and in the physical classroom.    These activities, strategies and handouts are not exclusive to the physical classroom and they are not “parachute in” tech connections.    If you have the ELL Teacher’s Toolbox you know that the format includes intentional technology connections to meet the high expectations these authors have for every learner.

I have to say that I particularly appreciate how they explained the way they use their own resources on a daily basis.  And how they explained their feelings of being overwhelmed when our pandemic hit…but the resources helped them find that solid ground and think through the types of things that still work.   I think we can all relate to being overwhelmed at times right now.  How comforting to hear this from folks at the top of their field.  And to hear how they are getting through!

Please follow them at the links above.

Book Studies

And look what’s right around the corner!  This month, #ELLChat_BkClub book study is launching book studies with the Science and the Math books this summer with the Social Studies book not too far behind.

Thanks again to the authors and THANK YOU for listening and/or reading!

Please take care,

Carol

PS:  If you are able to join me on July 20th, I’d love to have you in our Rapid Literacy Online Workshop. Click the image for more details and reach out with any questions.