About the Book
Bring classroom content to life for multilingual learners
In this eagerly anticipated revision of their bestselling book, authors Diane Staehr Fenner, Sydney Snyder, and Meghan Gregoire-Smith share dynamic, research-backed strategies that every educator of multilingual learners (MLs) can add to their repertoire. Including more of what educators loved from the first edition—authentic classroom examples, a wide variety of research-based instructional strategies, and practical tools to implement across grade levels and content areas—this is the ultimate practical guide to unlocking the potential of MLs in K-12 classrooms.
With fresh graphics and eye-catching colors, this thoroughly revised edition also includes:
Considerations for newcomers and students with interrupted or no formal education (SLIFE)
An added chapter on building scaffolded instruction and peer learning opportunities into MLs’ academic reading and writing activities
Additional opportunities for reflection and application
A new unit planning template aligned with research-based instructional practices, including a completed example unit
Situated within five core beliefs that frame the must-haves for MLs’ equitable and excellent education, Unlocking Multilingual Learners′ Potential is a guide to research-based practices and a toolbox of strategies every educator can implement to make content accessible and increase language proficiency among MLs.
Table of Contents:
Praise Pages
Dedication
Website Table of Contents
Foreword by Emily Francis
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
Chapter 1: Why You Need This Book to Support MLs
Chapter 2: Using a Culturally Responsive Framework to Leverage the Strengths & Meet the Needs of MLs
Chapter 3: Scaffolding Instruction for MLs
Chapter 4: Peer Learning: Fostering MLs’ Oral Language Development and Content Understanding
Chapter 5: Teaching Academic Language to MLs at the Word/Phrase Level
Chapter 6: Teaching Academic Language to MLs at the Sentence and Discourse Level
Chapter 7: Activating and Teaching MLs Background Knowledge
Chapter 8: Engaging MLs in Reading and Writing in the Content Areas
Chapter 9: Formative Assessment for MLs
Appendix A: Unlocking MLs’ Potential Unit Planning Template
Appendix B: Unlocking MLs’ Potential Unit Planning Template Completed Example
Appendix C: Classroom Checklist to Foster a Language Learning Environment for MLs
Appendix D: Culturally Responsive School Checklist and Goal Setting
Appendix E: Scaffolding for MLs Self-Assessment
Appendix F: Checklist for Supporting MLs’ Academic Language Development in Speaking and Writing
Index
About the Author :
Diane Staehr Fenner, PhD, is the president of SupportEd (SupportEd.com), a woman-owned small business located in the Washington, DC, metro area that she founded in 2011. SupportEd is dedicated to empowering multilingual learners and their educators. Dr. Staehr Fenner leads her team to provide ML professional development, coaching, technical assistance, and curriculum and assessment support to school districts, states, organizations, and the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to forming SupportEd, Dr. Staehr Fenner was an English language development (ELD) teacher, dual language assessment teacher, and ELD assessment specialist in Fairfax County Public Schools, VA. She speaks German and Spanish and has taught in Berlin, Germany, and Veracruz, Mexico. Dr. Staehr Fenner grew up on a dairy farm in central New York and is a proud first- generation college graduate. She has written eight books on ML education (and counting), including coauthoring Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity and authoring Advocating for English Learners: A Guide for Educators. She is a frequent keynote speaker on ML education at conferences across North America. She earned her PhD in Multilingual/Multicultural Education at George Mason University
and her MAT in TESOL at the School for International Training. You can connect with her by email at Diane@SupportEd.com or on Twitter at @DStaehrFenner. Sydney Snyder, PhD, is a principal associate at SupportEd. In this role, Dr. Snyder coaches ML educators and develops and facilitates interactive professional development for teachers of MLs. She also works with the SupportEd team to offer technical assistance to school districts and educational organizations. Dr. Snyder has extensive instructional experience and has worked in the field of English language development for
over 25 years. She started her teaching career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa. This experience ignited her passion for language teaching, culturally responsive instruction, and ML advocacy. Dr. Snyder is coauthor of Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity and contributing author to Breaking Down the Monolingual Wall. She served as an English Teaching Fellow at Gadja Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She earned her PhD in Multilingual/ Multicultural Education at George Mason University and her MAT in TESOL at the School for International Training. You can connect with her by email at Sydney@SupportEd.com or on Twitter at @SydneySupportEd. Meghan Gregoire-Smith, MA, is a multilingual learner (ML) coach at SupportEd. In this role, Ms. Gregoire-Smith coaches ML educators and develops and facilitates interactive professional development for teachers of MLs. Ms. Gregoire-Smith began her career teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to young adults in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Her time in Ecuador sparked her love of language teaching. She then spent over a decade supporting MLs in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Maryland, first as an elementary English language development teacher and then as an ELD Teacher Specialist. As an ELD Teacher Specialist, Ms. Gregoire-Smith wrote the K–12 ELD curricula, planned and delivered professional development around best practices for working with MLs, and provided coaching for ELD teachers new to the profession. Ms. Gregoire-Smith’s experiences as an ELD teacher and teacher specialist led to a passion for supporting educators of MLs through high-quality professional development and coaching. She earned her Master’s in TESOL from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. You can connect with her by email at Meghan@SupportEd.com or on Twitter at @MeghanGSmith.
Review :
"Every K-12 teacher needs to be effective with multilingual learners. This practical, asset-oriented book that helps teachers put theory into action to unlock MLs’ potential!"
"Collecting, analyzing and using various data points are key to supporting positive outcomes that center on the unique needs of multilingual students. Staehr Fenner, Snyder and Gregoire-Smith provide data ready resources that can be easily embedded across content areas and into instructional practices. The strategies highlighted in this edition help teachers afford more opportunities for students, especially newcomers and SLIFE, to practice, collect, reflect and analyze their own learning experiences."
"This second edition of Unlocking Multilingual Learners’ Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible should be in the hands of new and veteran educators. As its predecessor, the authors draw from current research and practice and brilliantly present a user-friendly guide for supporting students’ success. Look no further if you are seeking a professional book to support our ever-changing multilingual learners to work, collaborate, and flourish together."
"There is no book I recommend to teachers more often. This comprehensive, practical guide is everything a teacher needs to understand and apply strategies that will truly improve outcomes for students learning English. In this new edition, Staehr Fenner, Snyder, and Gregoire-Smith are responsive to the most salient issues today in the field of ESOL, as schools across the US strive to provide high-quality education to growing numbers of SLIFE and to ensure effective, research-based literacy instructional practices for all multilingual learners. Unlocking Multilingual Learners’ Potential remains an indispensable part of any district’s professional learning plan."
"As part of the Title III English Learner Support Grant through the Ohio Department of Education, Painesville City Local Schools worked through the Unlocking text with their EL Department. Professional learning sessions were led by SupportEd and covered vocabulary development, scaffolding, academic and oral language development, building background knowledge and formative assessments. The content in Unlocking provided easy to understand examples, scenarios, and suggestions. In addition the text encouraged staff discussion and collaboration on implementation ideas. The material not only aligned to the goals of the grant, but the SupportEd team also went above and beyond to align their materials and instruction with other district initiatives for general instructional frameworks. Of all of the professional development series I have been a part of in my twenty years in education, SupportEd was by far the most well-organized, informative series. Their team was overly accommodating of the day to day struggle of districts and flexible in their planning and delivery to ensure the district was provided with the support and learning opportunities they needed as well as requested. I would highly recommend their team and their materials to any district or school looking to improve their EL instructional knowledge and skill sets."
