After the Election: Ideas for Teachers of ELLs

As they have been throughout the entire presidential campaign, teachers are on the front lines when it comes to answering students’ questions about the election and its results, giving them an opportunity to discuss what they see in the news, helping them think about how big decisions may affect their lives, and managing interactions among students representing different points of view and backgrounds.

We have collected some helpful lesson plans as well as discussion guides for talking about the results of the 2016 election. For more ideas, see the message below from Colorín Colorado contributor Kristina Robertson. To see related resources, visit our Election 2016 section.

Current Events for Students

ELL Resources

• Newsela: Bilingual news articles at different reading levels and Common Core-aligned quizzes
• Listenwise: Current Events & Election Podcasts

Discussing the Election Results

• PBS NewsHour: How Schools Are Dealing with Post-Election Fallout
• Education Week: The Election Is Over, But for Teachers, Hard Conversations Are Just Beginning
• The New York Times: Teaching Ideas for After the Votes Are Tallied
• PBS Learning Media: Election Central
• PBS NewsHour Extra: Election Videos and Lessons for Grades 7-12
• Scholastic: Election 2016
• Share My Lesson: Post-Election Collection
• Larry Ferlazzo: The Best Posts & Articles On How To Teach "Controversial" Topics

Addressing Student Concerns

• Teaching Tolerance: The Day After
• Larry Ferlazzo: Immigrant Students Write Letters to the Next President
• Schools Offer Counseling As Many Latino Students Face Bullying, Uncertainty After Election
• NEA: Talking to Students After the Election
• The Kojo Nnamdi Show: How Local Teachers Are Helping Students Process the Election (Public Radio Show)
• L.A. Public School District Starts Support Hotline for Students Anxious About Immigration (Los Angeles Times)

Recommended Resources

Educational Services for Immigrant Children: What Schools Need to Know

The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released fact sheets, FAQs, and enrollment guidance related to the educational services for immigrant children and families in January 2015. These fact sheets (also available in Spanish) and the Civil Rights information below provide a summary of what schools need to know.

Denver Public Schools: Bilingual Immigration FAQ from 11/14/16

These FAQs were issued by Denver Public Schools on Nov. 14, 2016. While some questions relate directly to Denver policies, much of the information is relevant to public schools nationwide and can be used as reference for similar documents. The document is available English, Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese.

Immigration/DACA Information and Updates

• Post-Election Talking Points and Resources on DACA and Immigration (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)
• Post-Election: Recommendations for School Administrators, Educators, Counselors, and Undocumented Students (My (Un)Documented Life)
• After the Election, DACA Teachers Wonder About Their Future in the Classroom (Education Week)
• Young, undocumented and worried. What's next for those who received DACA. (Public Radio International)

Serving ELLs & Immigrant Students Tookits

• U.S. Department of Education: English Learner Tool Kit
• All In! How Educators Can Advocate for English Language Learners
• Unaccompanied Children in Schools: What You Need to Know

Making Students Feel Welcome

• SupportEd: Top 10 Ways to Support ELLs in 2017 by Dr. Diane Staehr Fenner
• Supporting Special Populations such as Refugees and Unaccompanied Children
• 8 Tips to Protect ELLs from Bullying in Your Classroom and School
• Creating a Welcoming Classroom for ELLs
• When We Stop Counting: How One District in Rural Nebraska Welcomed New ELL Families
• Education Week: A Primer on Helping Immigrant Students Feel Welcome in School
• Welcoming America Network: Resources and Ideas
• Anti-Defamation League: Myths and Facts about Immigrants and Immigration
• Anti-Defamation League: Myths and Facts about Muslim People and Islam

A few words of wisdom

And finally, some closing thoughts from Christopher Breiseth, a lifelong educator, professor of history, former college president — and the father of Colorín Colorado manager Lydia Breiseth.

"It is important that all of us work hard to treat each other with respect, as members of the same national family. Through it all, we must demonstrate how to treat each other and hold to what we most believe in.  There will be ample opportunities to demonstrate how to behave well, how to address our common challenges, and how to make our civic lives more vibrant."