Originally sent 10/13/15
This weekend is Homecoming at MSU - Go BEARS! I will be out for the rest of the week, but will be checking my email on a regular basis.
Karen Nemeth was fantastic and amazing. Thanks to all who attended. It was a learning experience for me as a host. Note to self: Make sure that we have enough lunch. And water. Also, it would be better if I didn’t have a surprise family obligation on the same day.
Jo Guzman is coming on November 6th. She will be talking about ELs in the classroom. This is not just for ESL Professionals – bring your friends who work daily with this growing population. I promise not to run out of food.
WIDA will be presenting a two day workshop on collaboration on November 17th and 18th. There is no cost for this one, thanks to Shawn Cockrum at DESE. Lori Hanna is the presenter.
The Mid-TESOL conference will be held October 23-24. It looks like it will be a good one.
Marlow Barton, a St. Louis Mellster, shared the Academic language Function Toolkit with the group. It is another great resource, so I am sharing it with you.
Jesse DeLeon, the Mellster from SE, is an expert on using cognates to improve instruction. We begged for some resources and he delivered. Look here, here, and here to incorporate cognates into your instruction. Beware of false cognates….
Here is the WIDA website for ACCESS 2.0. I have VERY LITTLE INFORMATION. Keep checking with the DESE LEA Guide to ELP Assessment for current information. https://www.wida.us/assessment/ACCESS20.aspx
El Civics for ESL students http://www.elcivics.com/
Jan McClellan at Carver Middle School in Springfield just sent me this note: Many of my 6-8 graders are having success on FrontRowed.com (allows for pictures, auditory, and visual cues) (IT’S FREE!) and ReadTheory.org (FREE!) Free and online is ALWAYS good. Thanks Jan.
The School Library Journal has a nice article on how to find books in Spanish.
If you would like to lead the SWRPDC, apply here. If you’d like to become the Director of ELL curriculum at DESE, this is your big chance. Missouri is currently revising our state standards. The only way for DESE to get educator input is through the public comments process. PLEASE participate.
WIDA is in the process of updating the Can DO Descriptors. If you are interested in reviewing the new descriptors, please visit their page.
I am in the process of thinking about the Winter ESL Institute. I’ve gotten as far as a date and place – December 11 in the Crystal Room. If anyone has something they would like to present, please let me know. If there are topics you would like addressed, please let me know. I am also scheduling a day on Lau planning December 14. It should be up soon.
The Federal Programs Conference is going to be held next Fall. Start thinking about presenting. They will be looking for teams to present about collaboration between ESL Specialists and others in their schools.
I’m off to get some more smarts, which I will come back and share. I’m going to try and focus on refugees, SIFES and newcomers – these seems to be the topics that everyone is needing information about.
Thanks for all you do for our kids! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.
This weekend is Homecoming at MSU - Go BEARS! I will be out for the rest of the week, but will be checking my email on a regular basis.
Karen Nemeth was fantastic and amazing. Thanks to all who attended. It was a learning experience for me as a host. Note to self: Make sure that we have enough lunch. And water. Also, it would be better if I didn’t have a surprise family obligation on the same day.
Jo Guzman is coming on November 6th. She will be talking about ELs in the classroom. This is not just for ESL Professionals – bring your friends who work daily with this growing population. I promise not to run out of food.
WIDA will be presenting a two day workshop on collaboration on November 17th and 18th. There is no cost for this one, thanks to Shawn Cockrum at DESE. Lori Hanna is the presenter.
The Mid-TESOL conference will be held October 23-24. It looks like it will be a good one.
Marlow Barton, a St. Louis Mellster, shared the Academic language Function Toolkit with the group. It is another great resource, so I am sharing it with you.
Jesse DeLeon, the Mellster from SE, is an expert on using cognates to improve instruction. We begged for some resources and he delivered. Look here, here, and here to incorporate cognates into your instruction. Beware of false cognates….
Here is the WIDA website for ACCESS 2.0. I have VERY LITTLE INFORMATION. Keep checking with the DESE LEA Guide to ELP Assessment for current information. https://www.wida.us/assessment/ACCESS20.aspx
El Civics for ESL students http://www.elcivics.com/
Jan McClellan at Carver Middle School in Springfield just sent me this note: Many of my 6-8 graders are having success on FrontRowed.com (allows for pictures, auditory, and visual cues) (IT’S FREE!) and ReadTheory.org (FREE!) Free and online is ALWAYS good. Thanks Jan.
The School Library Journal has a nice article on how to find books in Spanish.
If you would like to lead the SWRPDC, apply here. If you’d like to become the Director of ELL curriculum at DESE, this is your big chance. Missouri is currently revising our state standards. The only way for DESE to get educator input is through the public comments process. PLEASE participate.
WIDA is in the process of updating the Can DO Descriptors. If you are interested in reviewing the new descriptors, please visit their page.
I am in the process of thinking about the Winter ESL Institute. I’ve gotten as far as a date and place – December 11 in the Crystal Room. If anyone has something they would like to present, please let me know. If there are topics you would like addressed, please let me know. I am also scheduling a day on Lau planning December 14. It should be up soon.
The Federal Programs Conference is going to be held next Fall. Start thinking about presenting. They will be looking for teams to present about collaboration between ESL Specialists and others in their schools.
I’m off to get some more smarts, which I will come back and share. I’m going to try and focus on refugees, SIFES and newcomers – these seems to be the topics that everyone is needing information about.
Thanks for all you do for our kids! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.