Elementary Education Special Interest Group
Elementary Education Special Interest Group
The last three years in education have changed our perception of what works for emergent bilinguals. Class interruption because of the pandemic has forced teachers and administrators to think about more creative ways to ensure the academic success of all students, especially for emergent bilinguals and their bilingual teachers. In addition, the Science of Teaching Reading has also provided additional requirements for bilingual programs. In these series of presentations, we propose a different way to envision success for bilingual students anchored in evidence and personal experiences. In the first two presentations, we discuss getting parents and after-school programs involved in supporting their emergent bilinguals, showing that success involves everybody in the community, not only teachers. Presentation 3 provides ideas on how incorporate the Science of Reading model to teach emergent bilinguals, specifically focusing on developing their language and vocabulary. Presentation 4 illustrates how a bilingual teacher’s creativity and collaboration with her children and her students enriched biliteracy instruction despite the stress of living in a changing world.