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    • Annual Voices Journal Submission Guidelines
  • Annual Voices Journal 2025
    • Journal 2025 Picture Word Indicative Model (PWIM)
    • Journal 2025 Creating ESL Bilingual Units
    • Journal 2025 Creating Lessons for All through Picture Books
    • Journal 2025 Faculty Resources for ML Student Success
    • Journal 2025 Fostering Inclusive Environments
  • 2025 Spring Weekly Voices
    • Teaching Newcomers? Effective Writing Strategies for ELL Newcomers
    • Proposed Changes of HS Requirements for Districts and Students
    • Congratulations to April’s NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month: Daryl Perkins
    • Preserving Family Culture and Language: A Parent Workshop in Irvington’s Early Childhood Department
    • Trauma Informed Considerations and Strategies for Multilingual Learners
    • Addressing Student Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression
    • Free Resources to Explore and Use ChatGPT and AI
  • 2025 Winter Weekly Voices
    • Professional Development Opportunities in 2025
    • NJTESOL/NJBE Scholarships and Awards for your students and you!
    • Congratulations to January’s NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month: Brittany Fuentes
    • English Learners With Disabilities: The Rules Schools Have to Follow
    • 2024 Higher Ed Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • 2024 Higher Ed Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • Resources for Educators Pertaining to Immigrant Students, Families, and Preparation for Response
    • How to Identify and Serve English Learners with Disabilities
    • 2024 Raquel Sinai Newcomer Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • How to Connect With English-Language Newcomers: Teachers Share Their Favorite Lessons
    • Congratulations to March’s NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month: Juliana Neno
    • 2024 Pedro J. Rodriguez High School Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference Invited Speakers
  • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Executive Board
    • Membership Information
    • The Hotlist
    • W25 January 21

Contact Us by Email

webmaster@njtesol-njbe.org
njtesol-njbe-voicesnjtesol-njbe-voices
  • Home
    • Annual Voices Journal Submission Guidelines
  • Annual Voices Journal 2025
    • Journal 2025 Picture Word Indicative Model (PWIM)
    • Journal 2025 Creating ESL Bilingual Units
    • Journal 2025 Creating Lessons for All through Picture Books
    • Journal 2025 Faculty Resources for ML Student Success
    • Journal 2025 Fostering Inclusive Environments
  • 2025 Spring Weekly Voices
    • Teaching Newcomers? Effective Writing Strategies for ELL Newcomers
    • Proposed Changes of HS Requirements for Districts and Students
    • Congratulations to April’s NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month: Daryl Perkins
    • Preserving Family Culture and Language: A Parent Workshop in Irvington’s Early Childhood Department
    • Trauma Informed Considerations and Strategies for Multilingual Learners
    • Addressing Student Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression
    • Free Resources to Explore and Use ChatGPT and AI
  • 2025 Winter Weekly Voices
    • Professional Development Opportunities in 2025
    • NJTESOL/NJBE Scholarships and Awards for your students and you!
    • Congratulations to January’s NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month: Brittany Fuentes
    • English Learners With Disabilities: The Rules Schools Have to Follow
    • 2024 Higher Ed Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • 2024 Higher Ed Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • Resources for Educators Pertaining to Immigrant Students, Families, and Preparation for Response
    • How to Identify and Serve English Learners with Disabilities
    • 2024 Raquel Sinai Newcomer Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • How to Connect With English-Language Newcomers: Teachers Share Their Favorite Lessons
    • Congratulations to March’s NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month: Juliana Neno
    • 2024 Pedro J. Rodriguez High School Scholarship Winner’s Essay
    • NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference Invited Speakers
  • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Executive Board
    • Membership Information
    • The Hotlist
    • W25 January 21

3 Ways to Ensure English Learners Benefit from the Science of Reading

By Leslie Villegas

Out of the concern about how the implementation of the Science of Reading affects English learners, advocates joined together to create a Joint statement. They held a webinar that “focused on the alignment of SoR policies with the needs of students identified as ELs.” The first of two panels focused on research and advocacy, and the second on implementation.

Villegas outlines three conclusions from the webinar:

1. Policies and practices enacted in the name of SoR must include much more than just phonics.

In addition to the five “Pillars of Reading” – phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, two more were identified as essential for ELs: oral language development, and background knowledge. Reading cannot be separated from students’ experiences and cultures, and the goal of biliteracy in bilingual programs must also encourage translanguaging.

2. English learners’ oral language abilities in their home language and English should be the starting point for literacy instruction.

Because of this, teachers can help students transfer the skills they have in their home language to English by drawing parallels between both languages. Differentiation is essential since ELs have varying levels of English proficiency.

3. Consistent collaboration between English learner specialists and early literacy departments is key to ensuring English learners are not left out of SoR reforms.

This collaboration ensures that English language development is included in teaching literacy. “Science of Reading doesn’t mean we take a universal approach to teaching reading. Schools need to make sure the right curriculum is chosen for bilingual children and that all teachers are trained to understand bilingualism and biliteracy.” –Gladys Aponte, Panelist

You can read the full article and find the links to a language and literacy framework, a policy brief, and more here.

Announcements

NJTESOL/NJBE Professional Development: Teaching Foundational Reading Skills to Multilingual Learners. Tuesday, October 29, at 5:00. This PLC series will explore instructional practices for teaching foundational reading skills to MLs in English, research and current topics in education pertinent to this topic, and an overview of the Science of Reading and what it means for MLs in New Jersey. We have already “sold out”, but the event will be recorded. We now have a waiting list & YouTube notification form for the PLC. Here is the link to the signup form.

The next Morris/Sussex Chapter meeting will be on Tuesday, November 12th at 4:15 online. Our fabulous WIDA rep, Maggie Churchill, will be presenting. Register here.

Nominate the member of the month!
NJTESOL/NJBE has so many amazing teachers throughout our state that it would be fitting to highlight some of them. Nominees could be colleagues who are available to answer questions about ELLs or the Bilingual Education code; educators who support students and their families beyond the classroom with projects, college applications, and extracurricular activities; someone who joins committees in support of ELLS or to implement positive change for the community. The nominee must be a member of NJTESOL/NJBE. Nomination Link

T-Shirt Design Contest – All NJTESOL/NJBE members and their students are invited to participate in this first-ever competition. The winning design will be featured on the 2025 Spring Conference t-shirts sold to raise funds for the NJTESOL/NJBE Scholarship Fund. Submissions are due by Nov. 15, 2024. See more information here.

Spring Conference Call For Proposals
Presenters play a key role in our Spring Conference. We invite proposals that will strengthen systems of support for students, their families, educators, support staff, and the communities in which we work and live. Proposals may focus on any educational level, from Pre-Kindergarten to university, as well as on adult school and workplace literacy settings. Proposals can be submitted for an in-person presentation, a pre-recorded presentation for the Video Library, or a combination of both. You can submit your proposal here. The deadline is Nov. 17, 2024.

Supporting Multilingual Learners in Developing Reading Fluency across the School Day

By Kate Kinsella

Kinsella has observed that a single reading of a text is insufficient for the development of reading fluency and comprehension. She explains how the common practice of “popcorn” reading, in which a teacher calls on random students to read an unfamiliar text aloud, causes students to tune out and increases their anxiety. She also explains how “round robin reading” is equally ineffective because even though students work in small groups, the text is new to them.

Kinsella proposes a three step process, with an optional fourth step, for helping students read and comprehend complex texts.

First Read—Tracked Reading: While the teacher reads the text at a comfortable pace, the students follow along with a finger, pencil or card.

Second Read—Echo Reading: The teacher pauses after reading a phrase and the students read it back imitating the pronunciation and word stress. This process may be repeated with the same text a second time using longer phrases.

Third Read—Oral Cloze Reading: The teacher reads the text again but leaves out a few words which the students have to fill in together out loud. She recommends omitting familiar words such as articles and prepositions, which are easy to pronounce.

Fourth Read—Partner Cloze Reading: The students repeat the process above taking turns in pairs.

Kinsella states that,

English learners benefit from teacher-mediated reading support during many lesson phases. They deserve conscientious instructional attention to building reading fluency and comprehension well beyond text reading. Within dedicated English language development, intensive reading intervention, and core content classes, teachers can make excellent use of the routines.

Here are the details and charts.

2024 Spring Conference Platinum Sponsor

October’s NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month
Kellie Cuccaro
and
Every Teacher Is a Language Teacher

ARTICLES:

Meet Our New Executive Board Members

Science of Reading Podcast 3:
Diagnosing Dyslexia in Multilingual Learners
– with Francisco Usero-González
and
Science of Reading Podcast 4:
Practical Strategies for Multilingual Learning
– with Diane August, Ph.D.

Communication is KEY!
and
Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Has Consequences. What Schools Can Do to Help

Congratulations to October’s
NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month Kellie Cuccaro

and
Every Teacher Is a Language Teacher: Strategies for Supporting Multilingual Learners of English in the Mainstream Classroom– Naashia Mohamed

3 Ways to Ensure English Learners Benefit from the Science of Reading
-Leslie Villegas
and
Supporting Multilingual Learners in Developing Reading Fluency across the School Day– Kate Kinsella

Announcing the 2025 Spring Conference Keynote Speakers!

Congratulations to November’s
NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month Mrs. Singh

and
4 Ways to Support Long-Term English Learners – Sarah Said

Word Analyzer Vocabulary Tool
and
Online Dictionaries

Notebook LM
-Jessica Duran
and
5 Ways to Use AI-Generated Images in Your Classroom -Brent Warner

Inspirational Quotations
and
A Chorus of Reasons Why We Teach

Invitation to Write an Article for the Yearly Voices Journal
and
Padres con Poder/Parent Power Parent Expo

5 Ways to Bring Cultural Diversity into Your Classroom -Carol Higho
and
Defying Labels at Tables -Joyce Farr

Season’s Greetings from the NJTESOL/NJBE Executive Board

NJTESOL/NJBE Voices Editorial Board

Executive Director
Kathleen Fernandez

President
LeighAnn Matthews, Bridgewater-Raritan Public Schools

Past-President
Michelle Land, Randolph Township Schools

Layout
Dale Egan, Bergen Community College

Technology
Marilyn Pongracz, Bergen Community College

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