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.
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The number of English language learners (ELLs) in American schools has more than doubled over the past 20 years. The articles in this section will give you lots of useful ideas for creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive for your ELLs and their families, and also encourages and facilitates learning.
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Parent Tips: How to Monitor TV Viewing and Video Game Playing
Children in the United States on average spend far more time watching TV or playing video games than they do completing homework or other school-related activities. This article offers parents suggestions for helping children to use TV and video games wisely.
Help Your Child Learn to Use the Internet Properly and Effectively
The Internet/World Wide WEB-a network of computers that connects people and information all around the world-has become an important part of how we learn and of how we interact with others. For children to succeed today, they must be able to use the Internet. Here are some suggestions for helping children learn to do so properly and effectively.
Parent Participation: How to Get Involved in Your Child's School Activities
This article offers parents some year-round suggestions for getting involved in their children's schools.
How to Prepare for the Beginning of the School Year
These ideas will help your child get ready for a new school year. As the first day of school approaches, there are many things you can do to set your child on the path to school success.
Parent Guide: Who's Who at Your Child's School
There are many people at your child's school who are there to help your child learn, grow socially and emotionally, and navigate the school environment. Here's a selected list of who's who at your school: the teaching and administrative staff as well as organizations at the district level. You might want to keep this list handy all year long.
Writing Ideas from the Classroom
This article offers some ideas from ELL educators around the country about getting ELL students (children, adolescents, and adults) to write more enthusiastically and creatively.
Summer Reading Resources for Parents
School's over, but that doesn't mean that kids need to stop learning or reading! Summer is a great time for kids to read what they enjoy and to learn in new kinds of environments. Learn more from Colorín Colorado's summer reading resources!
Magazines can be a wonderful way to motivate children to read. Colorín Colorado has received a number of requests for recommendations of Spanish-language children's magazines from teachers and parents. We are pleased to report that we have found an excellent publication that we can enthusiastically recommend, and that parents and children alike are sure to enjoy: IGUANA Magazine.
The summer is a wonderful time for children to read what they most enjoy, to learn new things, and to have fun. Colorín Colorado has compiled a list of summer reading tips for parents to get you started!
Getting Your Children Excited About the Library
Helping your children to enjoy reading is one of the most important things you can do as a parent and well worth the investment of your time and energy. It's important to remember that you can give your children this kind of experience even if you don't have a lot of books in your home. Your local public library has an abundance of books, plus many other valuable resources. This article offers some ideas for ways to get kids excited about the library.
Library Services for Children with Special Needs
Libraries offer a wide range of services for individuals with special needs. This article details some of the services that may be available for children and adults with learning or intellectual disabilities, who are blind or deaf, and gifted and talented children. If you aren't sure what your library offers, ask the librarian for assistance.
More Than Books at the Library
In addition to a wealth of books, your library most likely will have tapes and CDs of books, musical CDs, movies, computers that you can use, and many more resources. You also might find storytelling programs, books in languages other than English, or programs to help adults learn English or improve their reading.
Library Services For School-Aged Children
Libraries take on another important dimension for children beginning school. There are special programs in areas such as summer readings, author visits, and creative writing. In addition, the library is a place to find information and help with schoolwork. Visit your local public library to see what services and programs are available for your children.
Library Services for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
As a parent, you are your child's first and most important teacher. Without a doubt, reading with children spells success for early literacy. Taking your children to the library often will help them develop an enjoyment and respect of books from an early age. As soon as you can, it is a good idea to include children — even toddlers — in weekly trips to the library. This articles describes some library resources available for young children.
What to Expect When You Visit the Library
Libraries offer books for people of ages, and much, much more — they are places of learning and discovery for everyone. The best way to find out is to visit your community library and see what's available.
Library Services for Teenagers
Many libraries offer services for teenagers, providing information and activities of interest to teens in the community. Just being certain that teenagers know what kinds of programs are available may be the best help you can give — that, along with setting the example of visiting the library and reading yourself.
It's never too early to read to your baby. As soon as your baby is born, he or she starts learning. Just by talking to, playing with, and caring for your baby every day, you help your baby develop language skills necessary to become a reader. By reading with your baby, you foster a love of books and reading right from the start. The tips below offer some fun ways you can help your child become a happy and confident reader. Try a new tip each week. See what works best for your child.
Being a toddler is all about action. Encourage continued language development and interest in books and reading by keeping things lively and engaging. Everyday experiences are full of opportunities to engage in conversation and develop language skills. The tips below offer some fun ways you can help your child become a happy and confident reader. Try a new tip each week. See what works best for your child.
How to Support Refugee Students in the ELL Classroom
Many ELL teachers may work with refugee students in the classroom, particularly in a region of the country where large refugee communities are settling. This Bright Ideas article explores the unique challenges that both refugee students and their teachers face, as well as a number of suggestions of ways to address those challenges and a list of useful resources.
Anyone at any age can learn a second language after a first language is already established, but it takes a lot of practice. Second language acquisition often happens when a child who speaks a language other than English goes to school for the first time. This American Speech-Language-Hearing Association brief looks at the best way to teach a second language and how speech professionals can help.
I bumped into your website a couple of months ago and I just wanted to let you know that I love it! You have a vast amount of information on English Language Learners that has been very helpful to me. Thanks for the website!
~ Elizabeth V.
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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.
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