Category Archives: How I Fit In: Teaching for Biliteracy as a Monolingual English Teacher

Words for Advocacy

I often lie awake at night thinking to myself, “If more people knew about the benefits of Dual Language Education (DLE) for ALL students, expanding programs would be a no-brainer and finding the funds wouldn’t be an excuse, it would be a must-do!” In my work as a DLE advocate in the city where I live (and working toward the state level) as well as in my role as a consultant with individuals and districts across the U.S., I often Read More...

Teaching for the 2020-2021 School Year: Adaptations Part 4: PATIENCE

Welcome to the last entry of my blog series: Adaptations – Teaching in the 2020-2021 School Year. This week: PATIENCE.   I have never been tried for my patience more than this school year. Patience with technology. Patience with families. Patience with students. Patience with colleagues. And most of all, patience with myself. Let me elaborate....  PATIENCE WITH TECHNOLOGY  Talk about a learning curve. Steepest EVER! Technology is to thank for why we can continue to safely learn from home during this pandemic. Read More...

Adaptations – Teaching in the 2020-2021 School Year, Part 3: TECH AND TEACHING FLEXIBILITY

Welcome to part three of my blog series on teaching for biliteracy during a pandemic! As you've likely begun settling into some changes, perhaps you have some thoughts on Technology and ways you've incorporated additional Teaching Flexibility.  Technology. Wow. I think about what would have happened if we experienced this pandemic when I was in elementary school in the 1980s. It would have given a whole new meaning to parents as teachers! We are so lucky to have the ability to continue Read More...

Adaptations – Teaching in the 2020-2021 School Year, Part 2: ORGANIZATION

Welcome back! How are your adaptations coming along? Little by little, thing will improve, I promise! Let’s talk...ORGANIZATION.  This week’s blog is about organization in this 2020-2021 school year. Not so much the classroom set-up (although I do have a few more tips), which was my focus on the last blog, but ORGANIZATION in reference to planning, papers, and people.  PLANNING  I like to think of myself as an organized person. Unit planning is MY FAVORITE, and perhaps you know about my unit Read More...

Adaptations – Teaching in the 2020-2021 School Year, Part 1: CLASSROOM SET UP

As all of us are aware, ADAPT has forcibly become the modus operandi of the 2020-2021 school year. We are all teaching and interacting and planning in ways we never could have imagined just one year ago. And yet we’re DOING IT. Way to go, everyone! As Dual Language Educators, we have unique added challenges to our adaptations. In many cases we are teaching language over the computer, whether for a portion of the day or all of it. Our Read More...

Carta Abierta a Familias del Programa Lenguaje Dual

Queridas Familias, Nunca nos podríamos haber imaginado el mundo en el que estamos viviendo actualmente. Las repercusiones de esta pandemia a nivel mundial han alterado el aprendizaje de nuestros hijos a proporciones que nunca podríamos habernos imaginado. Todo esto es nuevo para los padres, los maestros, los administradores, y, sobre todo, nuestros estudiantes. Las oportunidades de aprendizaje para nuestros hijos han venido cambiando drásticamente desde hace más de un año. Nuestra visión de la escuela incluía a nuestros hijos interaccionando en Read More...

An Open Letter to Dual Language Families

An Open Letter to Dual Language Families   Dear Dual Language Families, We could never have imagined the world we are currently experiencing. The repercussions of this worldwide pandemic have altered our children’s learning to configurations we never could have predicted. It is new for all of us: parents, teachers, administrators, and, most of all, students. Your child’s learning opportunities have likely drastically changed from even a year ago. Your vision of school included your child interacting in two languages, partnering with children Read More...

A couple of FAQs…About the English Side!

Now more than every we are ridden with unanswerable questions. What happens next? How are my students? Can we do anything about this ever-widening gap? And most importantly, are all the people I love and care about going to stay well? I hope you are well. There is so much uncertainty around us during this pandemic; I wanted to focus this month’s blog on some things that ARE answerable. So… What are the answers to some of the Frequently Asked Read More...

The Resource Dilemma

Resources, resources, resources! It always feels like we need more: more books, more guidance, more authentic texts, more manipulatives. Once in a blue moon, a district has the funds to adopt new resources. Teachers cheer, “Woohoo!” Classrooms get filled with boxes upon boxes of this new resource, and we spend many hours figuring out how to store all of these new materials. And then the daunting task follows… How am I going to USE this? My teaching partner, Bebi, and I Read More...

My Summer Dual Language To-Do List

It’s here! SUMMER! A time for teachers to relax by the beach, beverage in hand, care-free, and happy. Or, if you’re like most teachers, a time to finally read that professional journal you received in January, comb the local bookstores for a used copy of those theme-related books you need, clean out EVERY drawer in your desk at school, and maybe every once in a while enjoy a show on Netflix without grading papers at the same time. For me, summer is more of the Read More...