March 2011

Don't Miss…

Upcoming Conferences: TESOL & CABE

If you are attending TESOL 2011 in New Orleans or CABE 2011 in Long Beach, CA, be sure to stop by the AFT/Colorín Colorado booth and say hello! You may also be interested in our workshops at the conferences. (Check program for any changes.)

• TESOL: March 19th at 11:00 a.m., Convention Center (Room 223)
• CABE: March 23rd at 2:00 p.m., Convention Center (102C)

Writing Book Recommendations

Do you have a favorite writing guide or workbook for ELLs? We'd love to hear what works for your students! Tell us about it by e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, or Ning!

New on Colorín Colorado

New Video Interviews

We are pleased to present these new video interviews on Colorín Colorado:

• A Special Message from Pat Mora
  Pat Mora shares some words of encouragement for teachers and librarians in this special excerpt from part 2 of her recent interview with Colorín Colorado. In addition, she discusses the importance of using bilingual books, a number of the children's books she has written in recent years, and her new book about creativity, Zing: Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students.
  
  For those of you planning a Día event, Pat continues to add "Día Nuggets" on her website for the celebration's upcoming 15^th anniversary!
• Meet the Author: Lucía González
  Storyteller and children's librarian Lucía M. González is the author of the award-winning The Storyteller's Candle, as well as the president of REFORMA. In this Meet the Author interview, she talks about the role storytelling has played in her life, as well as the importance of sharing stories across generations and cultures. The interview with Lucía is also available in Spanish.

Recommended Resources

Book Review

RTI for Diverse Learners: More Than 200 Instructional Interventions
By Catherine Collier

Catherine Collier has compiled a groundbreaking collection of 200+ interventions for use with culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The strategies are organized into four tiers and are accompanied by guidelines, cultural and linguistic considerations, and research-based references. While these interventions will be particularly helpful to practitioners working within an RTI model, the strategies will also be of value in ELL classrooms that are not implementing RTI.

Excerpt: Asking the Right Questions

In this excerpt from RTI for Diverse Learners, Catherine Collier outlines the questions about students' background and education that are critical to answer when addressing specific learning behaviors or difficulties. She also includes concerns to watch for when screening for a learning difficulty.

Reprinted with permission. Collier, C. (2010). RTI for Diverse Learners: More Than 200 Instructional Interventions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

In the classroom

Differentiated Instruction & RTI Section

Highlights from our new section on differentiated instruction and Response-to-Intervention for ELLs include:

• Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners
  Dr. Karen Ford outlines some strategies for implementing differentiated instruction effectively in the ELL classroom.
• RTI and ELLs: A System of Support to Ensure Success
  Alan Matan is the Department Chairman for ELL and Foreign Languages at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois. In this article written for Colorín Colorado, he explains the process by which his team created and implemented an RTI model designed to meet the needs of long-term ELLs.

When ELLs Struggle: Recognizing the Signs

This table developed by Colorín Colorado highlights examples of similarities between possible linguistic, cultural, and learning disability (LD) explanations for behaviors demonstrated by ELLs. Please note that the list is not comprehensive, nor should it be used as a diagnostic tool. Rather, it is a starting point for conversations regarding diverse learners who are struggling.

ELL Assessment

Take a look at our updated ELL assessment section, including a new professional booklist!

Books and Authors

Book of the Month

Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez
By Monica Brown
Illustrated by Joe Cepeda

Many years ago in California, an energetic young Girl Scout named Dolores worked to raise money for soldiers fighting in World War II. A thoughtful young boy named Cesar worked in the fields to help his family put food on the table. As young adults, these two extraordinary individuals would meet and spend the rest of their lives working tirelessly on behalf of migrant workers and children through nonviolent struggle -- side by side. Monica Brown and Joe Cepeda bring the story of Dolores and Cesar to life through this vibrant book, which will make an excellent addition to units on migrant farmworkers, civil rights, or women's history.

César Chávez Booklist

March 31^st is Cesar Chavez's birthday, and we are happy to present a new bilingual booklist in honor of the great civil rights leader. Related titles are also available in our bilingual Migrant Stories booklist.

Latinas Who Made a Difference

Celebrate Women's History Month with these bilingual books about women who refused to abandon their dreams simply because of their gender such as Gabriela Mistral, Celia Cruz, Sonia Sotomayor, and Sor Juana Inés.