Western Suburban Literacy Initiative (WSLI) Conference

Q & A with the Freemans: Session 1

David Freeman et al. — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:00:00 PDT

This breakout session will be an opportunity for a continued conversation about ELL students with David and Yvonne following their keynote presentation. Topics will range from second language acquisition, trade books and specific instructional practices helpful for ELL students, to issues related to biliteracy, and bilingual and dual language education. As previously noted, Yvonne Freeman is a professor of bilingual education and David Freeman is a professor of language arts/ESL at The University of Texas at Brownsville

Victory Adult and Family Literacy

Sue Sokolinski — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:00:00 PDT

The growing influx of families who seek refuge in U.S. communities from violence and persecution in their own countries has a profound effect on local education and social service agencies. I present Victory Adult and Family Literacy Program (VAFLP) as a family literacy model that teaches adults and children the literacy skills they need to access the rights and privileges available to them here in the U.S. VAFLP is a nonprofit volunteer-based family literacy program situated in a large diverse Midwestern city. The families who attend VAF LP originate from a wide variety of countries including, Afghanistan, Burma, Iraq, Russia, Turkey, Viet Nam, and the Sudan.

Notable Latino-themed literature for children and adolescents

Ruth Quiroa et al. — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:00:00 PDT

This presentation will examine the trends and issues of recognized Latino-themed children's literature for grades K-3, and how such books may be implemented in the literacy curriculum. Participants will learn about resources for keeping current with newly published Latino-themed books and other multicultural texts through web resources and an exciting NLU database. An introduction to the Americas collection of literature for children and adolescents housed at the NLU Lisle Campus Library will allow participants the opportunity to examine many of the focal texts in Spanish, English, and bilingual editions.

Fox Valley Reading Council Board Meeting

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:10:00 PDT

Meet 2008-09 board members and committee leaders. Take part in learning about our council and our role in IRC. We will share the year’s goals. Grant and award opportunities will be discussed. Learn about volunteer programs and other literacy events.

¡Maestra! Did You Know a Mole is the Earthworm¹s Greatest Enemy?: Strategies for Teaching Content Area Vocabulary with ELL Students

Sunday Cummins — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:10:00 PDT

The presenter will share exciting activities for increasing English Language Learners¹ (Level 2 proficiency) understanding and use of content areavocabulary in the elementary grades. She will also present student artifacts from her own teaching experiences. The participants will have an opportunity to discuss examples of student work and make instructional manipulatives they can use in their own classrooms.

Q & A with the Freemans: Session 2

David Freeman et al. — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:10:00 PDT

This will be a second opportunity for a continued conversation about ELL students with David and Yvonne following their keynote presentation. This session will follow the same format as that described for Session 1.

Literacy and bilingualism: Tips on how we can help our level 1 and "-1" English proficiency students become equal learners

Luz Padilla — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:20:00 PDT

Literacy and bilingualism: Tips on how we can help our level 1 and "-1" English proficiency students become equal learners, while understanding how their own culture facilitates and hinders their learning development. Concrete hands-on examples of ways to effectively teach to this level of proficiency for optimal results will be shared.

Parent Panel

Karen Ringas — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:20:00 PDT

Meet immigrant parents that have moved to the United States. They will share their experiences with children in the public school system. School issues and language learning will be discussed. Classroom teachers will learn what they can do to help both children and parents take an active role in literacy and education.

Looking for a Network of Support? Sustaining Moment as We Support the ELL Students in Our Classrooms

Sunday Cummins et al. — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:20:00 PDT

Join a conversation about developing a network of support for participants in the institute who would like to maintain a conversation about how they are meeting the needs of their ELL students. Amy Stuckey will share anecdotes from her experiences with Teacher Learning Communities and Sunday Cummins will share her professional inquiry with ELL students. Together the group will explore the use of a BLOG as a means for ongoing communication as one way to learn together over the course of the school year.

Keynote Speakers. Engage: Essential Practices for English Language Learners

David Freeman et al. — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:00:00 PDT

Join us for a day of discussion related to meeting the needs of the linguistically diverse children in our classrooms. On Saturday morning, David and Yvonne Freeman will share describe 5 practices essential for teaching ELLs effectively. Teachers should (1) know their students, (2) teach language and content, (3) organize curriculum around thematic units based on big questions, (4) draw on students’ primary languages and cultures, (5) emphasize meaningful reading and writing, and (6) develop academic language. For each practice, the presenters give specific examples using PowerPoint slides with pictures of classrooms of effective teachers. A copy of the Freemans’ new professional book English Language Learners: The Essential Guide (Theory and Practice) (Scholastic, 2008) is included in the registration fee.

Keynote address: "El Poder de la Palabra / The Power of the Word: Connecting the Dots in Writing Toward Empowerment Through Poetry"

Francisco X. Alarcon — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:15:00 PDT

Francisco X. Alarcón, award-winning Californian poet, educator will share with the audience his discovery of the power of the word and the magic of poetry and art, and his journey to self-empowerment as an writer that includes exploring his Mesoamerican roots and the past and present realities of Latin American and the United States.

How to Combine Language Arts and ESL Strategies into the K-5 Classroom

Gustavo Gonzalez et al. — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:45:00 PDT

This session is on how to use practical ESL tools during your literature block. How to modify language arts lessons for ESLs at different language acquisition levels. You will walk away with some practical strategies to better assist your ells.

The power of the teacher: Integrating Latino-themed literature in the K-12 classroom

Ruth Quiroa et al. — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:45:00 PDT

High quality books with culturally specific themes offer wonderful opportunities to access the background knowledge and personal connections of students with similar cultural heritage. However, the simple addition of the “right” multicultural books in the classroom is not enough to ensure that students engage in deep level responses involving culture. The teacher’s role in such conversations is critical and the focus of this session. Presenters will share examples from their work with students of Mexican origin and Mexican American-themed books published in the U.S. Participants will also have opportunities to take part in Book Clubs using Latino-themed children’s literature, respond to these texts in multiple formats, and examine notable Latino-themed texts.

Knowing Our Communities and Families--Gathering and Teaching from “Funds of Knowledge”

Sunday Cummins et al. — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:45:00 PDT

Are you looking for ways to engage students in rich, personally and socially meaningful experiences? The presenters will share case studies from their own work focused on moving beyond a narrow, skills-based definition of literacy to a broader definition that embraces and builds-on the authentic literacy practices of their students and members of the local community. Artifacts presented will include student work and children’s literature. Participants will have the opportunity to evaluate these case studies using the principles of a socio-cultural approach to teaching as a basis for discussion.

How to Develop a ‘Culturally Aware’ Classroom Environment

Karla Gajarka — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:00:00 PDT

The student body in today’s school is becoming more diverse than ever before and the cultural and linguistic differences these students are bringing into the classrooms need to be carefully acknowledged and addressed! In this workshop participants will learn how they can make their classroom environment more ‘Culturally and Linguistically aware.’ Participants will benefit from this session by: (i) learning how to provide Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students with a respectful and safe environment, and (ii) developing greater fluency on how to help ELL students feel more welcome.

Creating Partnerships Between Classroom and ESL Teachers

Gustavo Gonzalez et al. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:00:00 PDT

As a former ELL student himself, Gustavo knows the frustrations ELL students face every day as they try to apply the learned ELL skills into their English classrooms. Now as an ELL Support Teacher Gustavo is trying to make this transfer of skills easier on the students by working alongside classroom teachers. Join Gustavo and Amy as they share practical suggestions for getting started with co-teaching & lessons for bridging the gap between core instruction and ELL support.

Learning from the NLU "Americas" library collection: New book titles for Spanish-language ELL students

Barbara Evans et al. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:45:00 PDT

Come and hear about the Americas Collection of children's books located at the NLU campus in Lisle, and learn about venues for purchasing such books for your own classroom and school library. This collection consists of books originally written in Spanish by Latin American authors from many different countries, as well as bilingual books (Spanish and English), texts published in English with Latino themes, and some Spanish translations from recommended book lists. These books are appropriate for grades PreK-12, and represent a broad range of genres and formats. The presenters attended the Feria internacional del libro (FIL) in Guadalajara, Mexico last December 2008 through the American Library Association Free Pass Program and were able to purchase books there which more than doubled the size of the collection to about 600 texts. You will learn more about FIL at this presentation, listen to book talks from a range of age groups and genres, and review a large sampling of the books, including award-winning texts.

Digital Resources and the ELL Student

Jackie Plourde — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:45:00 PDT

What digital resources are available and how can they be accessed? How does reading the physical book differ from reading a book online? How can students and their families benefit from digital resources? What websites do you use with your students? These and other questions will be discussed and shared as a variety of websites are explored.

Cultural Conflicts in Educational Expectations: Latino Educational Leaders Examine Existing School Norms to Develop Stronger School Communities

Susan McMahon — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:45:00 PDT

This session will provide information gathered by several local Latino educators who have examined times when the cultural norms of the educational context and that of the families they serve have resulted in conflicting expectations and resulting in a breakdown of communication. Serving in multiple capacities—bilingual lead teachers, building principals, and divisional leaders—these educators have examined how bridging these cultural difference can support learning and enable inner city children to thrive when students perceive a safe environment at school. This session reports their findings and provides opportunities for discussion among participants.

Teaching Academic Content to English Language Learners (ELL): Strategies on How to Help ELLs succeed academically

Karla Garjaka — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:45:00 PDT

This workshop will show how mainstream teachers can make academic content more comprehensible to English Language Learners (ELL) without diluting the curriculum. More specifically, it will expose participants to strategies on how to keep ELL students at grade level while developing their English language proficiency. Participants will benefit from this session by: (i) developing greater fluency on how educators can help ELL succeed academically; and (ii) becoming better prepared to face the challenges of working in a diverse school.