2
Building Language Skills by Asking the Right Questions
In our program, Language is the Key we encourage adults to ask children questions in order to get them talking, and learning language. Questioning is a research-based, language-building strategy. Still, some questions elicit more language than others. Questions can be “conversation starters” or “conversation stallers.” Questions are more likely to be “conversation starters” when the question is about something the child is interested in and when the adult really wants to hear the child’s answer. But questions can be “conversation stallers” when they are just test questions that the adult clearly already knows the answer to (for example, “What color is this?”). You can also stall a conversation when you ask questions that don’t relate to what the child is interested in. Read more for some ideas from the Language is the Key program that will help you use questions to get young children talking and using language. Read more at http://www.walearning.com/articles/the-art-of-asking-questions/.
Principals Link Recess to Academic Achievement
When most people talk about how to improve education, they tend to focus only on what happens in the classroom. But elementary principals, who are the key instructional leaders in the learning process, report in a new Gallup poll that the most unexpected opportunity to boost learning may exist on the playground at recess. The first-of its-kind survey of almost 2,000 principals nationwide, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and Playworks, revealed enthusiastic support for recess among principals, who see it benefiting kids both in the classroom and in life. Read more at http://www.convergemag.com/policy/Principals-Link-Recess-to-Academic-Achievement.html?elq=87daa1d2327a4d28a5adda69318df9c7.
Our Future Success Demands New Systems of Education
A new book by Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University proposes a clear set of policies that can be used to create high-quality and equitable schools. In The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future, Darling-Hammond bases her recommendations on the successes of effective school systems in the U.S. and abroad, and looks at the roots of our modern education system and how skills required for our 21st-century global economy cannot be learned in traditional education systems. Darling-Hammond identifies an “opportunity gap” that has evolved as new kinds of learning have become necessary — a gap that leaves low-income students, students of color, and English language learners without the same access as others to qualified teachers, high-quality curricula, and well-resourced classrooms. “Once again, Darling-Hammond brings clarity to complexity, thoughtful analysis to politically charged issues, and sound policy recommendations to the hysteria of what to do to save America’s public schools,” says advance reviewer Gloria Ladson-Billings of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “In this volume, the macro meets the micro on terms that lets all democratically-minded citizens breathe a sigh of relief.” For more information refer to http://www.srnleads.org/resources/publications/flatworld.html.
Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does – and Does Not – Say
This article summarizes the key findings of the reviews of the research on educating English learners by the National Literacy Panel (NLP) and the Center for Research on Diversity, Education, and Excellence (CREDE). The author first provides demographic data on English learners and charts their growth in population, especially in the Midwest and upper South. He then supplies statistics on language background and information about the students’ instructional environments. Despite the diversity of English learners’ identities and experiences, they share one important common factor: a tendency towards low academic achievement. View this article at http://www.schoolsmovingup.net/cs/smu/view/rs/18044.
PIRC Early Childhood Family Fun Calendar
The Florida Parental Information and Resource Center (PIRC) has created monthly Family Fun Calendars to promote parent involvement specifically for young children. This month’s calendar is available in English at http://www.floridapartnership.usf.edu/documents/Newsletter%20and%20Calendar/EC/2010_03_EC_cal_ENG.pdf and in Spanish at http://www.floridapartnership.usf.edu/documents/Newsletter%20and%20Calendar/EC/2010_03_EC_cal_ENG.pdf. Please use and share as appropriate.
Why We Invest in Young Children
Since 1982, the Ounce of Prevention Fund has persistently pursued a single goal: that all American children – particularly those born into poverty – have quality early childhood experiences in the crucial first five years of life. In this powerful video about the importance of early childhood experiences, the Ounce of Prevention Fund asks: If we invest in programs that promote learning beginning at birth, the statistics will change, the stories will change, the future will change. View this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbSp88PBe9E and learn more about the Ounce of Prevention Fund at http://www.ounceofprevention.org/home/index.php.
Colorín Colorado
This research-based website for teachers and parents offers educators a variety of practical resources to support English Language Learners. Visit this website at http://www.ColorinColorado.org.
Getty Resources Updated
The education department at the J. Paul Getty Museum offers a range of educational programs and resources for a variety of audiences at both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa. The department is active in documenting and assessing the effectiveness of its programs and projects and has recently updated the following sections.
Resources for the Classroom—This area has been enhanced so you can easily find out which lesson plans connect to ancient art and which lessons are most popular.
Resources for Students—This new area points you to interactive Web pages, online games, activities, and videos that can enhance students’ understanding of artists, art history, materials, and techniques.
VSA Exhibitions Available for Tour
VSA has several art exhibitions that are available for tour.
All Kids Can…CREATE!
Available:
July 2010 – December 2010
Celebrating Who I Am
Available:
September 2010 – December 2011
Accelerate
Available:
April – May 2010
September – October 2010
January – August 2011
November – December 2011
Venues are responsible for the costs of one-way shipping to their location and providing insurance coverage while the artworks are in transit and on site. All exhibitions come ready to hang with introductory text, artwork labels, catalogues, and alternative formats. For more information please contact Jennifer Wexler, Visual Arts Manager, at jcwexler@vsarts.org
REL Northeast report: Challenges in Identifying Learning Disabilities Among English Language Learners
To help districts accurately identify students who are English language learners and also have learning disabilities, this REL Northeast study, Processes and Challenges in Identifying Learning Disabilities Among Students Who are English Language Learners in Three New York State Districts, cites eight challenges in identifying learning disabilities in English language learner students. These challenges range from inconsistent guidelines in referring students for services, to problems in monitoring struggling students. The report suggests elements that could lessen the chance of misidentifying learning disabilities among these students. To view the report, please visit http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=116.
