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Career & Life Update 2022
Hey everyone! I wanted to officially welcome you back. This week I wanted to share some important life updates and a career change. Yep! I made a mid-year career change. I am so excited and terrified all at the same time. In this episode, we discuss: Challenges I have faced this school year Balancing motherhood and teaching My recent career change (I’m teaching elementary school!) Updates to the monthly membership program Check out this episode and others on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, & Adventures in ESL! Announcements If you are looking for a community of dedicated and motivated educators, who support Language Learners, join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/adventuresinesl
- Classroom Strategies, Lesson Ideas, Reading Strategies, Speaking Activities, Teaching Strategies, Writing Strategies
Science Strategies for Language Learners
Welcome back! In this week’s episode, we have guest Lauren Rickman joining us. Lauren will be providing strategies and ideas on how to support Language Learners in science. I want to introduce our guest Lauren. Lauren has been teaching for 8 years. Lauren has two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree, and recently received her administration license. Lauren also has a 21-year-old pet cat named Savannah and a bearded dragon. I want to add that Lauren is being VERY modest about her accomplishments. She is literally one of the best middle school science teachers in the state of Tennessee. Last year she was nominated and advanced very far in the process…
- Building Relationships, Classroom Strategies, Newcomers, Planning Strategies, Speaking Activities, Teaching Strategies
Social & Emotional Support for Language Learners
Welcome to My Adventures in ESL! In this week’s blog I will be speaking with John Burnett about how to support the social and emotional health of Language Learners. In today’s episode, I will be speaking with John Burnett. John has 11 years of experience in education and mental health. Currently he is a middle school counselor. He has also been an elementary school counselor, a Spanish teacher, and an assistant principal. John received his Bachelors in Spanish from the University of Memphis, Masters in School Counseling from Cambridge College, and an EdS in School Administration from Freed Hardeman. John enjoys building bridges and making connections with students, families, and…
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Lesson Topics for the Second Semester
We are going to start off today’s blog with your reflection question. How is your first semester with your students going this school year? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand. You might be confused as to what to teach for the second semester. We all have those brain blocks. So let’s jump into some ideas for your 2nd semester. As many of you might have figured out, I love thematic units and novel studies. Some of the ideas I will be sharing will revolve around those two key details. Let’s start with the month of January…
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Preparing for Language Assessments
We are going to start off today’s blog with your reflection question. What are some ways you are planning for language assessments in your classroom? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand. For many of us assessment season is right around the corner. This means that a lot of educators can feel a sense of panic when it comes to preparing their students for language assessments. This can lead to cramming before the assessment, feeling unprepared, and overwhelmed by everything that comes along with a language assessment. The thought of the upcoming language assessment season was stressing…
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Planning Using Standards
We are going to start off today’s blog with your reflection question. Are you currently planning using the standards in your classroom? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand. When someone says standards, teachers can tend to shy away or get overwhelmed by thought. The reality is that there are so many standards out there. There are standards for language and there are content level standards. Trying to figure out how to use both in your classroom with your students can make you feel frustrated and overwhelmed. As a new teacher, when I saw the standards I…
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Engaging Vocabulary Activities
We are going to start off today’s blog with your reflection question. How are you including vocabulary activities in your current lessons? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand. Vocabulary building is such an important part of supporting our Language Learners. An obstacle that many of us face is finding engaging ways to include this in our daily lesson planning. We want to take time for building vocabulary, but the activities seem repetitive and dull to our students. As I was teaching a writing activity, I noticed the students were stuck on the vocabulary “good” and “bad”.…
- Classroom Strategies, Curriculum, Planning Strategies, Reading Strategies, Teaching Strategies, Writing Strategies
Finding a Curriculum: Tips & Strategies
We are going to start off today’s blog with your reflection question. How are you planning to plan for your Language Learners this school year? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand. One of the biggest obstacles that many professionals who support Language Learners face is the lack of a curriculum. This is the biggest question that educators are asking themselves and others. The most frustrating part of this is that searching and looking for a curriculum can take so much of a teacher’s time. I know this because I have been there, and I am still…
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Bringing Student Interests into your ESL Classroom
We are going to start off today’s blog with your reflection question. Are you including your student interests in your lessons? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand. There are so many times when we are looking for lessons to teach that we are so worried about simply finding a lesson. Often we forget to ask ourselves, will the students find this lesson engaging? Not including the students interests and strengths in your lessons can lead to some of the lessons falling flat. This will result in the students being disengaged. Bored students will not connect to…
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Spending More Time Relationship Building
We are going to start off today’s blog with your weekly reflection question. How are you currently building relationships with your Language Learners? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand. Building relationships with your Language Learners requires a lot of planning. There are many educators out there who overlook this and start casually planning for relationship building. Relationship building should have just as much attention as planning for your Language Learners. Last year my school switched to hybrid learning suddenly. In the beginning of the school year, I was trying to prepare for my students. I spent…
