Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Achieving Success: From the Heart
Need some help finding ways to help your English language learners? Read these inspirational stories about English language learners, teachers and paraprofessionals who have overcome obstacles standing to achieve success. If you know a teacher, student, paraprofessional, principal or after-school program who inspires you and deserves recognition, please share their story with us!
The Great Kabob: A Lesson in Mindful Teaching
Dr. Cynthia Lundgren is an assistant professor at The Center for Second Language Teaching and Learning at Hamline University's Graduate School of Education in St. Paul, MN. Dr. Lundgren teaches future ESL and Bilingual teachers. Her special interests are reflective practice and the development of cultural sensitivity. In this exclusive interview with Colorín Colorado, Dr. Lundgren shares her objectives as a mentor who is preparing teachers for the many challenges they will face in the classroom, as well as her perspective on current education practices in U.S. schools.
Drawing Inspiration from Her "Heroes and Sheroes"
Inès Millin Mevs is an ELL teacher at Boca Raton Community High School in Florida. She has just published an ELL student writing workbook entitled Think Write Book: A Sentence Combining Workbook for ELL Students, published by AuthorHouse, which offers language development exercises designed to improve ELLs' writing skills. The student edition is accompanied by a teacher edition, which features information about the research base supporting each of the teaching strategies. In this interview with Colorín Colorado, Ms. Mevs discusses the book, her motivation for writing it, and the many ways in which her students — her "heroes and sheroes" — inspire her each day.
Making Reading Fun
Sarah Harbert is a teacher of English language learners at Clinton Young Elementary School in Indianapolis, IN. She is now in her third year of teaching at the school, and in that time has developed a reading and tutoring program for her students, as well as an innovative book-lending program designed to get students to read more at home. In this interview with Colorín Colorado, Sarah describes her program, how she motivates her students to read, and why she believes her program is working.
Getting Students Where They Need
To Be
Toniann Jeffery is the coordinator of the ELL program at Wigwam Creek Middle School in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Ms. Jeffery also continues to teach as part of two English-language development programs at her school — the Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) program and the PALS elective class (Plato® Alternative Learning System) — while offering support to content teachers working with ELLs. In this interview with Colorín Colorado, she discusses how she is implementing technology in her classroom and what that technology is making possible for her students — and for her as a teacher.
The Support Students Need
Claudia Navarro is an ELL paraprofessional at Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida. A native of Colombia, Claudia has lived in the U.S. for more than 27 years. She now provides academic support in content areas to ELL students at her high school through the federal Home Language Assistance Program. In this exclusive interview with Colorín Colorado, Claudia describes what makes her work as a paraprofessional unique, how teachers and paraprofessionals can best work together, and the support she offers to her students to help them succeed.
Teaching ELLs How to Succeed
Felix A. Herrera is an ESOL teacher at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. A naturalized U.S. citizen, he is native of El Salvador. Mr. Herrera holds a master's degree in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University, and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Reserves. The pull of the classroom, however, has kept him coming back to teach. In this exclusive interview with Colorín Colorado, Mr. Herrera offers some of his insights about the problems that ELL students face, as well as the steps that ELL teachers can take to support them.
Achieving Success with ELLs: A Perspective from the U.S. Department of Education
Kathleen Leos is the former Assistant Deputy Secretary & Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition in the U.S. Department of Education (OELA). She is also the mother of five children, whom she raised in Mexico and whose first language was not English. In this exclusive interview with Colorín Colorado, Ms. Leos describes how the issue of educating English language learners started as something personal in her local PTA and then eventually became the central issue in her long and distinguished career in the ELL field. She also discusses the goals of the recent 2007 OELA summit.
Language and Culture in ELL Education
Dr. Maria E. Brisk, professor at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, is a leader in the field of ELL education. Drawing on more than thirty-three years of educational experience, she shares her insights about the role language and culture play in diverse classrooms across the country in this interview. Dr. Brisk is editor of Language, Culture, and Community in Teacher Education, a book that addresses common educational needs among all ELL students.
Teaching math and science to ELLs in high school
Find out how Ginny Thomas, a High School teacher in Texas, faces the challenges of teaching content to English Language Learners. Also: Some advice on how to get the school year off to a good start!
A teacher of little children
Affectionately called "Doctora Palacios" by her class of four year olds, this outstanding teacher continues to achieve success as she follows her passion for teaching.
Para los niños: Reading all summer long!
Lucía González is the associate director for Programming, Literacy, & Youth Services in Broward County, Florida. In charge of program services for 37 branch libraries that serve more approximately two million patrons, Gonzalez has more than 20 years' experience working in libraries.
How to help migrant children succeed
Cirenio "José" Rodríguez, Ph.D., is a professor of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, at California State University, Sacramento. His department offers graduate programs in educational leadership, helping train educators to become school principals, deans, superintendents and other administrators.
Strengthening Spanish to improve English
María Elena Orozco teaches 7th and 8th grade heritage Spanish and Spanish language arts at Benjamin Harrison Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
King of the world
Anne Worrall is principal of Carson Elementary in the San Diego Unified School District. With 15 years of experience as an educator, a master's degree and a Biliterate Certificate of Competence and Cross-Cultural Certificate (among others), Worrall helps her staff focus on language development to deal with the growing needs of her school's ELL population.
Writing — the other side of literacy
826LA is an innovative community project designed to help K-12 students develop creative and expository writing skills and to help teachers better teach writing. The nonprofit is one of six sites around the country that matches up volunteer tutors with local students. The overall mission of the project is based on the idea that one-on-one attention facilitates great learning and that writing is critical to success.
Using language roots to grow stronger readers
Delores Noble-Parker grew up in the Navajo Nation in the Southwestern United States. Her generation was in the middle of a massive cultural shift between the traditional Navajo culture that predominantly spoke the Navajo language and the modern culture that bears the effects of efforts to stamp out the language.
Getting ELLs on the college track
Christine Rowland has been an urban New York City educator for 15 years. She's come a long way from the small, all-girls school she attended in England and knows that coming from another culture has given her just a tiny taste of what immigrants face in a new country.
Launching native language literacy programs
Kristina Robertson found her professional calling while serving in the Peace Corps in Sri Lanka in the early 1990s. Her stint as an English instructor there inspired her to return to school. After school, she returned to her roots in Minnesota, where she is now an ELL program specialist for the Minneapolis school district.
Reaching out to content teachers
Susan LaFond, lover of languages, is a natural fit for teaching English Language Learners (ELLs). LaFond majored in French and has a master's degree in Spanish. She started teaching Spanish and French nearly twenty years ago, then started teaching ESL as well in 1999. Two years ago, she began teaching ESL only. She teaches at Guilderland High School in upstate New York. She is also a professional development specialist and teaches other educators strategies for teaching ELLs.
Taking a personal interest
Jesús Yáñez is a paraprofessional who works with ESL students at South St. Paul High School in Minnesota. A native of Mexico, Mr. Yáñez can relate to the wonder of students from southern climates who have never before seen snow, as well as the bewilderment of students enrolled in classes that are conducted in another language. In an area with a tiny community of Spanish-speaking families, Mr. Yáñez pays extraordinary attention to his students.
Bringing national resources to the local level
Deborah Wilkes grew up on the outskirts of Nottingham, England, in the shadow of Sherwood Forest. While she doesn't claim inspiration from the Robin Hood legend, she does spend a great deal of time helping others. Named North Carolina's "Migrant Teacher of the Year" in 2003, Ms. Wilkes teaches English as a Second Language at Lee County High School in Sanford, North Carolina.
Leading by example
She came to the United States as a teenager, not knowing a word of English. A woman of extraordinary determination and will, Mina pushed herself to learn and to excel, spurred by the thought of her mother, who made a great sacrifice to let her go. Today, a mother herself, Mina chokes up when remembering what her mother gave up so she could have better opportunities.
Using technology to create a visual learning environment
The needs, struggles, and achievements of English language learners are diverse and unique; understanding them is not always easy for educators. However, some educators were English language learners themselves and therefore have a bit of insiders' knowledge. Such is the case of Alma Milan, a certified ESL teacher at Kosciuszko Middle School. Of Filipino background, she came to the U.S. at age six, knowing three languages — none of which was English.
Sharing immigration experiences to engage learners
We know that Latino English language learners come from all types of backgrounds: geographic, social, economic, even cultural. We know some of them were born in this country, and we know some of them may have come from the southern tip of Chile or Argentina. A question we sometimes forget to ask is how they got here.
Inventing super heroes and writing about their adventures
How about achieving super-hero status? That is exactly what Cassandra Lawrence (also known as "Book Woman") and her fourth grade class did! This yearlong exercise kicked off with Book Woman walking into the classroom — complete with a long black cape lined with book covers.
Getting a head start with community-based English tutoring programs
Felipe is an intermediate level English language learner. He is a happy boy and a hard worker. He is the first in his family to begin school already knowing his letters and sounds, colors and numbers. His older sister and brother were encouraged to work with him at home to get him ready for Kindergarten. His siblings have been extremely conscientious and have put a great deal of effort into helping him remain motivated. Felipe's parents always want the best for their children and look for opportunities for them to become educated.
Helping women integrate into American society
In 1990, Susana Ghio came to the United States with her family to escape the turmoil in Argentina. She is now an ESL teacher who trains other ESL teachers in the Salem-Keizer School District in Salem, Oregon. Susana brings her experiences as an immigrant to bear in her work and in her community.
Honoring an outstanding student
Cristian Sanchez came to the United States near the end of his sixth grade year. He spoke no English. Just two years later, he was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at Elba Central School, one of the first ESL students to ever achieve that recognition.
I look forward to coming back again and again. After all, I must learn myself. We can't teach what we don't know.
~ Maria C.
Why the name "Colorín Colorado"?
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Colorín Colorado is a free web-based, bilingual service that provides information, activities, and advice for educators and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs, also known as students of English as a second language).
Colorín Colorado is produced by Reading Rockets — an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital. Original artwork by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator David Diaz is used with permission.
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Colorín Colorado receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers. Additional funding is provided by the National Institute for Literacy and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.
¡Colorín Colorado! ® is a registered trademark of WETA.
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