Instruction:

Website –
http://www.colorincolorado.orgLinks to an external site.  

Purposes for Students –

· to increase awareness of the multitude of technological resources available to teachers and parents to support children’s reading development

· to consider the benefits of using online resources to reach parents  

· to emphasize the significance of partnering with parents for children’s academic success

· to begin to develop an understanding of how to support the unique needs of bilingual or English language learner (ELL) families

Procedures –

1. Locate the ColorinColorado website.  

2. Explore the numerous resources within this link, as well as the partner site, which is written completely in Spanish.   

3. Answer the following questions (Two page minimum) :

· What are some ways teachers can help parents of English Language Learners to support their children in their reading development?

Use these resources:

Color in Colorado. (2015, November 30).
Encouraging and Sustaining ELL Parent Engagement. Colorín Colorado; Colorín Colorado.
https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/encouraging-and-sustaining-ell-parent-engagement

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.).
The Condition of Education – Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary Education – Elementary and Secondary Enrollment – English Language Learners in Public Schools – Indicator May (2020). Nces.ed.gov.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp#:~:text=1-

Vesely, C. K., Brown, E. L., & Mehta, S. (2017). Developing cultural humility through experiential learning: How home visits transform early childhood preservice educators’ attitudes for engaging families.
Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education,
38(3), 242–258. https://doi.org/
10.1080/10901027.2017.1345805

·
Rubric For Weekly Homework

EXAMPLE:

Helping the Families of English Language Learners

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2017 over ten percent of all students below the age of eighteen were classified as English Language Learners (ELL’s) (nces.org, 2021). This translates to over five million students, underscoring how common it is for a teacher to have an ELL in their classroom. One of the most significant variables in whether or not that child is able to meet with success in reading is the support they receive at home. This paper will discuss the ways teachers can help families support their ELL as they progress through their school career.

Helping Family’s Support their ELL

A first strategy for helping family’s support their ELL’s is to ensure that communication between the teacher and the family is frequent and as simple as possible. The frequency of communication ensures that the teacher is consistently updating the family about their child’s needs, improvements, and areas that they could do better in. Having this information allows the family to focus their support on the areas that will do the most good. In terms of simplicity the logic is simple; families tend to be extremely busy, so communication that is direct and simple from the teacher to the family is often the most effective form of communication. A second strategy is to implement goal setting, where the teacher will set manageable, incremental goals in the long and short term for the ELL and their family. Having these benchmarks is a great way to ensure that the family knows what is expected of their ELL and can work towards it.

Building a Strong Parent-Teacher Relationship

In order for the family to trust the teacher’s goal-setting and advice, it is crucial for a strong relationship to be built between the two. There are many ways that this can occur. A first way that is routinely cited as being extremely effective (if time consuming) is at home visits from the teacher. These visits can humanize the teacher to the family, and allow the teacher to see what circumstances the ELL is living with for the purposes of tailoring their teaching approach (Veseley et al, 2017). As the family sees the teacher as a real person and not some remote authority figure they will be more likely to trust that teacher and work together as partners. While many teachers do not have the time for routine at home visits, this remains one of the most effective ways to build a relationship.

A second approach for building trust between the teacher and the family for the purposes of helping the ELL is for the teacher to provide common sense environmental and logistical guidance to show the family how to create a learning environment that is optimal for their ELL. Color in Colorado presents a few guidelines such as establishing a quiet place for the student to study, minimizing noise, and encouraging parents to check in regularly with their child to see if they have any questions or need specific additional help (colorincolorado.org, 2021). When the parents see how much the teacher cares about their child’s learning environment they are more likely to recognize that the teacher genuinely cares, something that is sure to build greater trust between the family and the teacher.

In conclusion, teachers in the United States will encounter more and more ELL’s if the current demographic trends remain. There is a wide range of strategies that the teacher can utilize in order to help support the parents as they attempt to navigate reading assignments. Similarly, teachers should consider one of the many approaches for helping to build trust between themselves and the families for the benefit of the ELL. A teacher that follows this advice is much more likely to ensure the success of all their students, including their ELL’s.

References

Color in Colorado. (2015, November 30).
Encouraging and Sustaining ELL Parent Engagement. Colorín Colorado; Colorín Colorado.
https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/encouraging-and-sustaining-ell-parent-engagement

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.).
The Condition of Education – Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary Education – Elementary and Secondary Enrollment – English Language Learners in Public Schools – Indicator May (2020). Nces.ed.gov.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp#:~:text=1-

Vesely, C. K., Brown, E. L., & Mehta, S. (2017). Developing cultural humility through experiential learning: How home visits transform early childhood preservice educators’ attitudes for engaging families.
Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education,
38(3), 242–258. https://doi.org/
10.1080/10901027.2017.1345805