English Language Learners / Dual Language Learners / Multicultural Education Support – Language Lizard Blog

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At Home, Holidays, Lesson Plans, Multicultural,

MULTICULTURAL LESSON: THE CHINESE NEW YEAR

Learn about the Year of the Water Tiger and Language Lizard's lesson plan for our bilingual book, Li’s Chinese New Year. .......... CONTINUE READING
At Home, Classroom, ELLs / DLLs, Libraries, Schools,

NEW MULTILINGUAL “TALKING” CHARTS: ENGLISH, GEOGRAPHY, STEM (FOR USE WITH PENPAL RECORDER PEN)

Language Lizard is pleased to announce new multilingual “talking” charts that allow students to hear explanations of key terms in English, geography, math & science in many different languages, including English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian. These charts are invaluable resources for teachers who support a linguistically diverse student body. Using these charts with the PENpal Audio Recorder Pen, newcomers and English Language Learners (ELLs) can hear key terms explained in their native languages, allowing for a better understanding............. CONTINUE READING
At Home, Classroom, Families, Holidays, Lesson Plans, Libraries, Schools, Teacher Resources,

RAMADAN IN THE CLASSROOM & AT HOME

The Muslim holiday of Ramadan is the 9th and most sacred month in the Islamic calendar. Traditionally, it’s a time of fasting from sun up to sun down each day. Children aren’t required to fast until they’re teenagers, but may fast for part of the day to help them appreciate the significance of the holiday. Fasting is meant to help Muslims practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy. Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, growth, and religious devotion. Learning about............. CONTINUE READING
At Home, Classroom, Holidays, Lesson Plans, Schools,

CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN AROUND THE WORLD

Kids love Halloween: the costumes, the candy, the parties! The excitement and holiday spirit surrounding Halloween provide an ideal opportunity to inject some multicultural education into the mix. We know that American children don costumes, carve pumpkins and go trick or treating, but where did this holiday start and what do other countries do to celebrate? Also called Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, Halloween is observed in various countries every year on October 31, the eve of the Western............. CONTINUE READING
Classroom, ELLs / DLLs,

BILINGUAL STUDENTS: USING HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS TO PROMOTE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN MULTICULTURAL CLASSROOMS

Now that the New Year has arrived and school is back in full swing, students are sure to be filled brimming with enthusiastic stories of what they did during their winter holiday. Ice skating in the park, opening gifts at the fireplace, lighting candles in beautifully wrought candelabras are just a few  activities that children might share with an overjoyed twinkle in their eye. How could they not?! As we all know first-hand, getting students to engage in conversations works best when............. CONTINUE READING
Classroom, ELLs / DLLs,

HOW TO HELP STUDENTS SURVIVE CULTURE SHOCK

By Colleen Miller Photo credit: vasta Have you noticed that about halfway into the school year, new ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students, who once seemed excited and energized, seem to hit a wall? Students who once were bright-eyed and cheerful come to school looking listless and detached. More than just the mid-year doldrums, they may be in the crisis stage of the powerful phenomenon of culture shock. What is culture shock? In the 1950s, a diplomat named Karl Oberg first used the............. CONTINUE READING
ELLs / DLLs, Schools,

THE VALUE OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Do you remember dreading group projects when you were in school? Inevitably, our teacher would pair us up with someone we hardly knew and begrudgingly we participated in the activity. Of course, by the end of the project we knew our classmate better than ever while having had a wonderful time. For English Language Learners, cooperative learning activities have been shown to help improve academic performance as well as increase motivation, strengthen self-esteem, encourage student bonding and promote literacy skills.  Of course,............. CONTINUE READING
Classroom, Lesson Plans,

CHINESE NEW YEAR: LESSONS TO HELP CHILDREN APPRECIATE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY

Chinese New Year is almost here! Chinese families around the world are already celebrating this exciting event which lasts for fifteen days. The celebration begins on the night of a new moon and culminates with the Lantern Festival, a celebration that takes place under the light of the full moon. Families join together in the streets carrying lighted lanterns to create a beautiful light display. Before the Chinese New Year begins, homes are cleaned from top to bottom. The goal is to sweep............. CONTINUE READING
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