Jessica Fitzpatrick is a high school librarian in Houston and is in her eighth year of education. She holds a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from the University of Houston and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas. She is the 2020 TLA Branding Award Winner for Community […]
English Language Learners
Over 11 percent of students in the United States—more than 4.8 million kids—are English language learners (ELLs), and the number is on the rise. Though these students do not learn differently than their native-English-speaking peers, they do have particular educational needs.
Posted inEnglish Language Learners
English in America: Is English Really our “Official” Language in Schools?
English, the “Official” American Language Although the United States does not have an official language, everyone knows that English is the language of the land. Despite our history of multilingual immigrants who later became Americans, English has always been the “American language.” Our school system has reinforced this idea and has caused many challenges for […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners
The Purpose of the Passage in Teaching Writing
Alison Levine teaches Creative Writing at a public elementary school in Coconut Creek, Florida. She has been a gifted resource teacher, an elementary school classroom teacher and a middle school language arts teacher. She is passionate about reading current research on education and implementing new strategies in her classroom. Alison loves taking long walks and […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Writing Across the Content Areas: Family Message Journals
Christian Dria grew up in Minnesota and knew in the 1st grade that she wanted to be a teacher. She earned her degree at the University of Wisconsin and has been a primary teacher for 28 years. She lives in Central Minnesota with her husband and daughter. I chuckled after asking, “What did you […]
Posted inChild Development
Student Agency- The Essence of a Modern Classroom
Sanam Edwards is a teacher in DPS International, Gurgaon (India). She enjoys building the student’s voice and choice within the classroom environment while infusing her quirky sense of humor into daily activities. She is an advocate for technology in the classroom and is constantly on the lookout for new ways to engage the students emotionally, […]
Posted inESOL
Utilizing Writer’s Workshop with Newcomer ELLs
By Samantha Azatova, M.Ed. Samantha Azatova is an elementary EAL teacher at International School Nido de Aguilas, a US-curriculum international school in Santiago, Chile. She holds an M.Ed. in ESOL Education from University of Maryland- College Park and a B.A. in Linguistics. She loves supporting newcomer ELLs so that they can become fully integrated into […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Weigh in on Cardona? Better to Weigh in on Connecticut
When President-Elect Biden announced his choice for a new secretary for education, a comment was left on the Educator’s Room blog: “Anyone from Connecticut want to weigh in?” Well, I am an educator in Connecticut, but I think weighing in on the nominee Miguel Cardona is premature. Cardona, the Connecticut Commissioner of Education, was appointed […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Painless Poetry: A Road Less Traveled
Painless Poetry “Gross! I hate this stuff!” “This is too hard, I don’t wanna do it!” “It never makes sense to me, it’s all so weird.” Then the calm voice of reason speaks- “Ladies, we have to teach it, it’s part of the curriculum.” What is this dreaded standard? Poetry. That single word would often […]