NJ Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/
NJ Bilingual Educators

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President’s Message

The Spring 2011 Conference Was a Huge Success!

By Judie Haynes

The NJTESOL/NJBE 2011 Spring Conference was a huge success due to the outstanding work of Cassy Lawrence, the Conference Chair, and David Greer, our Liaison. Both Cassy and Dave were tireless in their efforts to make the transition to a new venue and to provide a quality conference for our members. Thank you also to the Executive Board members who gave of their time and energy. We couldn’t run a conference without them. Also, thanks to the New Brunswick Hyatt for the great job that they did.

Each year NJTESOL/NJBE holds a dinner at the Spring Conference. One of the purposes of that dinner is to give awards and scholarships to English language learners. I would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners. Our 4th grade writing contest winner, Daniel Rodriques from Linden Public Schools, won a $100 certificate to Barnes & Noble. Pablo Huertas from Trenton Public Schools was our 8th Grade Writing Challenge winner. The prize for this award was a laptop computer. Brenda Ortiz from Jersey City Public Schools was our $1500 High School Scholarship winner. Our $1500 Higher Education Scholarship winner was Urszula Bazydlo-Chaberek who attends Raritan Valley Community College. The winner of the Héctor R. Villafañe Memorial Scholarship for $1000 was Catherin Selgado from the Newark Public Schools. This special award was presented by Joanne Villafañe in memory of her husband Héctor.

This year Elizabeth Claire offered a $500 grant to an ESL teacher who teaches ELLs under difficult conditions. This award went to Caren E. Kalman, an ESL teacher at the Kennedy School in North Bergen. The money will be used to purchase materials or services from any source to improve their teaching situation. Congratulations, Caren!

Each year, NJTESOL/NJBE awards a President’s Award and a Leadership Award to outstanding leaders in our field. This year we awarded the President’s award to Dr. Joanne Villafañe. Dr. Villafañe was the Director of the Perth Amboy Public Schools Bilingual/ESL Program which was recognized twice by the NJ Department of Education as a Model Second Language Program. Our Leadership Award went to Stan Karp. Karp is currently Director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Center, one of the nation’s leading advocacy groups supporting the right of public school children to an equal and excellent education. Stan has done much to help English language learners in New Jersey. Congratulations to the winners of these prestigious awards.

I would also like to thank those Board members whose terms ended this May. Karin Von Riman, Roselle Public Schools, has worked tirelessly for the NJTESOL/NJBE Board for the last 6 years. Marianne Santelli guided our Board through our first Higher Education Mini-Conference. Elizabeth Rielle-Connors was our Special Education SIG Representative, and Christina Namendorf was our Secondary ESL SIG Representative. Thank you for your time and efforts.

This month we welcomed three new members to the Board. Nina Lavado, Princeton Regional Schools and Bucks County Community College, is our new secretary. Gladys V. Scott, William Paterson University, is our new Higher Education SIG Representative, and Claudia Plata, Perth Amboy Public Schools, was appointed as our new Special Education SIG Representative.

In addition to newly-elected members, several Board members were re-elected to their positions or ran for another position. Welcome back to Sandee McHugh-McBride, Karen Nemeth, Caia Schlessinger, Monica Schnee, Tina Kern, Noreen Drucker. Welcome to all of you to the NJTESOL/NJBE Executive Board.

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Vice President’s Message

By Cassy Lawrence

Conference bags, program booklets, folders and name badges… registration and membership … presenters and exhibitors… lunch menus and parking… the workshop schedule… PD certificates… LCD projectors and Internet – these are just some of the many details that consumed me for several months before the Spring Conference. The role of Conference Chair, paired with my full-time job as 4th grade classroom teacher, made for a very busy and demanding year. Just days before the conference, our amazing Executive Board worked together to stuff bags, count certificates, and make some last strategic decisions. And the night before the conference, when anticipation was at a height, I was able to take it all in. Indeed, we were ready to go!

There’s continued talk around the state of budget cuts, lay-offs, program and staff reductions, as well as feelings of disillusion as our profession continues to be on the receiving end of harsh criticism from the public. Our Spring Conference proved, however, that nothing stops dedicated educators from accessing the professional development they want and need. There were about 680 attendees on the first day of the conference and over 500 on Day Two. In addition to these numbers were the outstanding presenters and exhibitors, as well as a supportive team of volunteers, bringing our total conference numbers to just over 1280. The hotel hummed with excitement and camaraderie, as colleagues from across the state gathered at workshops, networked over lunch, and examined materials with exhibitors. As well, the dinner event was very well-attended – including recognition of award recipients, a superb variety of international foods, a beautiful dance performance, and the informative keynote of Dr. Nancy Cloud.

Sincere thanks to those of you who took the time to respond to the post-conference online survey. After reviewing your comments, we were pleased to know you were quite satisfied with the conference in general.  The variety of workshops met the needs of our diverse membership. The Higher Ed Mini conference was a welcome addition to our program and went very well. Attendees were pleased with the quality of the buffet lunch, as well as with the smaller setting which the Hyatt offered – “all in one place”, “closer”, “everything accessible”, and “conference feel” were just some of your positive comments in regard to the new venue.  

Overwhelmingly, the survey results were positive, though there were some complaints about parking and the workshop schedule. Although we made sure to remind our conference-goers to “leave early, share the ride, beat the traffic”, many of you found yourselves scrambling to find a parking space. Parking is indeed an issue as in any busy city. And while we did apprise our registrants of the city parking facilities, many were frustrated at not being able to park closer to the hotel. We acknowledge all of your comments in this regard, and assure you that we’ll be working on this detail for next year’s conference. We’re exploring a few options to alleviate the parking, and will let you know what we come up with well before next year’s event.

Some comments on the survey indicated dissatisfaction with the staggered nature of the workshop schedule. We must stagger the workshops so that we can offer you a wide variety of topics and manage the flow of participants. We also stagger the workshops in an effort to create special interest group “strands”. If all workshops were to begin and end at the same time, not only would we have parking issues on our hands, we’d have serious traffic jams!

Now is the time for YOU to consider being a presenter at the next conference! Perhaps you, or that amazing colleague of yours, have the perfect topic to share next year. If you haven’t already, join us on our Facebook page (NJTESOL-NJBE) or on Twitter (@NJTESOL-NJBE) and stay up-to-date on the latest ELL news, advocacy issues, and conference information.

It’s the start of summer, and I’ve sent my 4th graders on to meet the challenges of fifth grade. All conference tasks are complete as well. I can reflect on the year and say, “ it was a success!”

Now, on to Spring Conference 2012! See you there!

Cassy Lawrence is a bilingual elementary teacher in the Perth Amboy School District.

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A Treat All the Way Through:
A Presenter’s Reflections

By Monica Schnee

This year’s Spring Conference brought with it a new venue and a new buzz. The airy, clean-looking and welcoming space set up the stage for a vibrant conference. From the light-filled atrium, to the dark yet not cavernous conference rooms, this year’s experience was a great one! The breakfast that awaited us when we arrived gave us a hint of what lunch would be like. The food was excellent and a fabulous change from prior years. This time, I felt that I was looking forward to lining up to eat lunch. For those of us who enjoyed it, the summer compote with crème fraiche was memorable and sitting down for lunch made me feel like an adult who spent a day learning, next to intelligent and knowledgeable colleagues.

The Awards Dinner was a true celebration of the diversity in our classrooms. The array of different foods from Japan, India, Italy, and Spain was framed in the amazing performances of the two dancers representing Spain and the Middle East. Just like their dances showed the fusion of cultures, so did the ingredients of the different dishes. The Scholarship Awards reminded us of how worthy our jobs are and of the impact that our decisions and guidance have on the students we serve.

The workshops that I presented on Tuesday and Wednesday were received with great interest, a wish to learn, and to exchange ideas and concerns. Tuesday’s, Extending Language Learning with Web 2.0 Tools, was an opportunity to share with practitioners how to integrate digital tools into our instruction in order to support the four language domains. The audience ranged from true neophytes to experienced technology users. This allowed for a true “differentiated” exchange. The participants brainstormed and shared various instructional uses that could be applied to all grade levels, including higher education. The web 2.0 tool, Wordle, was probably the favorite.

Wednesday’s workshop was not as fun or creative but a very necessary discussion. Why We Should Use the WIDA MODEL* for Kindergarten? raised many questions and answered numerous concerns. The participants discussed how their districts handle the screening and placement of ELLs. From home language surveys to placement tools, there is quite a large range that begs for consistency. Some districts incorporate the questions on use of a second language at home in their registration forms. They also require parents to meet three criteria in order to begin the screening. Other districts have a separate language survey that they require all parents to fill out. If another language is spoken at home most of the time, this information determines a need for screening. The same inconsistency applies to use of screening tools for placement, which run the gamut from MAC*, to IPT*, to W-APT* to the MODEL*.  The workshop proved very productive as participants left with the knowledge and rationale to ask their districts to change their screening tool to the MODEL and for those who have already done so, they felt that their decision was validated. We all agreed that this is a conversation that should continue amongst practitioners and supervisors as well as on our listserve in order to offer our population the most effective and consistent tools to guide their placement and subsequent instruction.

The SIG meeting for Pre-K and K led by Karen Nemeth and Sandee McHughe-McBride was a forum of discussion and exchange that was filled with information shared by the two outstanding, and now, past Early Childhood Representatives. As the incoming representative, I hope to be able to provide the level of knowledge and dedication that both Karen and Sandee have given during their tenure.

As an attendee, I’d like to mention that the Colorín Colorado presentation was a wonderful resource where we saw the single handed work of Lydia Breiseth. She is truly dedicated to providing all of us in the world of ESL with great tools and exciting materials to use in our schools and with our parents.

Nancy Cloud was an inspiration. Her presentations demonstrated not only what we could achieve as educators but the enormous world of possibilities that exists for our learners. I learned about best practices that I wanted to go back and implement immediately and, most of all, I came out with the knowledge that there is always so much more to learn to give our students what they need.

I’d like to thank the NJTESOL/NJBE Executive Board for organizing an event that enabled all of us to learn, share, validate, and update what we need in our field. I am looking forward to next year’s.

The Spring Conference was a success!

(Please note that both handouts are available on the website).

* MAC: Maculaitis Assessment of Competencies II Test of English Language    Proficiency® Grades: PreK-12
* IPT: IDEA (Individualized Developmental English Activities) Proficiency Test
* W-APT: WIDA-ACCESS (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners) Placement Test™
* MODEL: Measure of Developing English Language ™— Editor

Monica Schnee teaches in River Edge.

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A HUGE Thank You

We thank those who generously gave towards this year’s awards and scholarships winners. We hope that you were able to attend the dinner event during the conference so that you could see your donation dollars at work. If not, visit our photo gallery in this edition of Voices to see the appreciative faces.

Beginning with these 2011 awards and scholarships, the number and amount of the scholarships given to our winners was dependent on your contributions. However, a new group of recipients will be awarded next May and we must ask again for you to reach into your pockets so that we can begin to fulfill the dreams of some deserving ELLs in 2012.

 NJTESOL/NJBE, Inc. is a charitable organization and, as such, your contribution is tax deductible. We ask you to be generous—to give with your heart—to donate to finance a scholarship fund that will benefit our children.  All contributions are tax deductible.

If you have any questions, please contact Maria Jaume at treasurer@njtesol-njbe.org.

TO DONATE:

1. Go to https://njtesol-njbe.org (our home page) and click on Scholarship Donation Online and make your generous donation through PayPal.   OR
2. Send your check made out to: NJTESOL-NJBE Scholarship Fund

MAIL TO:
NJTESOL-NJBE Scholarship Fund
230 Ashland Ave.
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

All contributions are tax deductible.

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Preparing for the Conference:

Behind the Scenes — A Photo Essay

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The Conference Experience with Workshop and Vendor’s Alley Photos

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Poster Sessions for Global Learning

By Gail Verdi

On Tuesday, May 24th and Wednesday, May 25th, we hosted the annual Poster Gallery in the Atrium Foyer.  The poster sessions that were showcased represented a variety of points of view. Tuesday’s highlights included Higher Education faculty Heidi Lieb, Lois Spitzer, Olga Weston, and Lauren Musto who discussed topics such as Improving Pronunciation, Meeting the Needs of NNs [non-native speakers], and the Pros and Cons of Using Bilingual Dictionaries.  

On behalf of NJTESOL/NJBE, thank you to all the participants of the 2011 Poster Session Gallery projects.  Your work made the conference reflect the work that effective teachers of English learners are doing across our state. 

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Student Awards and Scholarships

Each year NJTESOL/NJBE holds a dinner at the Spring Conference.  Awards and scholarships are presented to deserving English language learners. This year’s winners are:

Congratulations to all!

A Thank-You Letter from the Teacher of Our Eighth Grade Writing Winner

Dear Ms. Pongracz,
             I attended the Award Dinner Event last night, where my student, Pablo Huertas, won First Prize in the Writing Contest for the eighth grade category. He was very short of words because he is shy. I wanted to tell you about his  extreme progress and why I believe he was so deserving of the laptop award. He is a special education student who was a non-reader last year. I have been working with him for two years and this year is when his brain seemed to have turned on the magic switch to not only learn, but retain everything he is learning. He’s at a 4th grade reading level today.
             About his writing skills, he could hardly spell and his penmanship was very difficult to read. His writing, as you saw in his essay, improved incredibly. I am so proud of Pablo and
he was so happy with his award. I know that he will benefit from this experience.
            Thank you so much for making a lifetime experience for a student that came into class everyday with the desire to improve his education.
Hilda Diaz
Dunn Middle School
ESL Teacher

How does being bilingual help me be part of a global community?

The High School Scholarship Award
By Monica Schnee and Gail Verdi

We had the wonderful yet difficult job of reading the entries for the High School Scholarship Award. Wonderful, because it inspired us to learn how many students  value this time in their lives and have such worthy goals. Difficult, because they were all winners in their own right.

We were both touched by the hard work and the hopes and aspirations of the applicants. They all showed a commitment to learning English as “their” second language as well as to the new culture in order to become members of our global community.

In our minds, all of these students have what it takes to face challenges and succeed. All of them have the dedication, focus and determination that will make them the best at whatever it is that they decide to be. Therefore, we would like to share the names of the other three runners-up:

Aneta Sokolowska – Toms River High School North
Aneta is bilingual in Polish and English. Her goal is to become a doctor. Congratulations, Aneta!

Juliana Montoya – Ferris High School
Juliana is bilingual in Spanish and English. She is interested in becoming a nurse. Congratulations, Juliana!

Marcela Alzate – Dover High School
Marcela is bilingual in Spanish and English. She would like to become a plastic surgeon. Congratulations, Marcela!

The first prize winner was Brenda Ortiz. We met Brenda at the Awards Dinner and she proved to be in person as smart, witty and outgoing as she came across in her essay.

We would like to publish our words of congratulations so Brenda may keep them and share them with great pride.

Brenda’s essay starts by saying, “Being bilingual is an honor and a blessing because it helps me be a part of the global community in multiple ways. It gives me an advantage over those who can speak only one language”.  

You understand that being bilingual is a blessing, one that will give you many advantages as you become a member of our community.  You shared with us in your statement that your mother came to this country when you were five years old and she left you under your grandmother’s care. You say that your grandmother taught you remarkable values: it is these values and your determination to succeed that will open the doors of opportunity for you.  Less than two years ago you came to this country and you have already achieved so much as you have embraced all the good things that have come your way.  We would like to be a part of your future by presenting you with this scholarship. We applaud you and are honored to help you begin the next journey to as you said, a better future.

To all of you, best of luck as you enter a whole new phase.

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President’s and Leadership Awards

NJTESOL/NJBE Presents Awards to Joanne Villafañe and Stan Karp

By Judie Haynes

Each year at the NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference, we confer the President’s and Leadership Awards to outstanding people in the field of ESL/bilingual education.

President’s Award for 2011

This year the President’s Award for 2011 was presented to Dr. Joanne Bisagna Villafañe who has been actively involved in bilingual education and ESL for all of her professional life.  Her interest in language acquisition is deeply rooted in her personal experiences, her academic training as a linguist, and her career as a teacher, supervisor, and administrator.  She has worked with English language learners of diverse backgrounds in New York City, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.  She received her M.A. in TESL from Hunter College, CUNY, and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and Bilingual Education from Georgetown University.   She has taught ESL every level from elementary through high school and adults and taught at the graduate level in ESL Masters Program at St. John’s University.  From 2001 to 2010, Dr. Villafañe was the Director of the Perth Amboy Public Schools Bilingual/ESL Program which was recognized twice by the NJ Department of Education as a Model Second Language Program. 

Currently retired, Dr. Villafañe maintains her professional relationships and continues to advocate for ELLs through her membership on the State Advisory Committee for Bilingual Education as well as the NJASK Spanish Translation Review Panel.   She has been an active member of NJTESOL/NJBE for about 20 years and has supported the work of the organization through her own conference presentations and by encouraging many bilingual and ESL teachers to present their effective classroom practices. Dr. Villafañe speaks Spanish, French, and Italian, and has studied Greek and Mandarin Chinese. 

The Leadership Award for 2011

The Leadership Award for 2011 was presented to Stan Karp, Director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Center. The Education Law Center is one of the nation’s leading advocacy groups supporting the right of public school children to an equal and excellent education. The Secondary Reform Project monitors and supports middle and high school reform efforts with a focus on New Jersey’s poorest urban districts. Karp has vigorously supported the needs of
English language learners.

Previously, Karp was a public school teacher in Paterson, New Jersey for 30 years where he taught English and journalism to high school students and was the founding lead teacher of the Communications Academy, a small school-within-a-school reform project.

Karp is also an editor of the school reform journal Rethinking Schools and has written frequently on school reform and educational policy. His articles have appeared in Education Week, Educational Leadership and other publications. He is a co-editor of Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice, Rethinking School Reform: Views from the Classroom, and Funding for Justice: Money, Equity and the Future of Public Education,

Karp was also a founding member and past co-chair of the National Coalition of Education Activists, a multiracial network of parents, teachers, and education advocates working for reform and equity in public education.

Congratulations!

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NJTESOL/NJBE Participates in 
TESOL Advocacy Day 2011

By Gail Verdi

On June 6-7, 2011, I participated in TESOL Advocacy Day 2011 in Washington, DC as a delegate for NJTESOL/NJBE.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to join over forty other TESOL members representing over 25 U.S. based affiliates for a transformational experience. I want to thank NJTESOL/NJBE for trusting me with this responsibility because I was able to learn in real time how citizens take action through our democratic processes. This year was the sixth consecutive year for TESOL Advocacy Day, and the organization utilized a new format that featured a full a day of issue briefings and activities around education legislation and advocacy, followed by a full day of visits to Congressional offices on Capitol Hill. The goals of Advocacy Day were not only to lobby on key issues for TESOL, but also to provide an interactive learning experience for affiliate representatives on elements of advocacy. By the end of the event, TESOL members had visited the offices of more than 100 Representatives and Senators.

Responding to recent action in Congress and from the White House, TESOL Advocacy Day 2011 was focused on the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently revised as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). TESOL Advocacy Day events commenced on June 6th with a welcome from TESOL Past President Brock Brady, and a welcome from TESOL Executive Director Rosa Aronson. The event was led by John Segota, Director of Advocacy, Standards, and Professional Relations, and Ellen Fern of Washington Partners, LLC, TESOL’s legislative consultants. The first day featured a briefing from Congressional staff to present the “view from the Capitol Hill” on ESEA re-authorization and the key issues under debate, as well as a similar briefing with representatives from the National Education Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. In addition, Dr. Rosalinda Barrera, Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the US Department of Education, provided an update from OELA and discussed the Obama Administration’s proposal for reauthorizing ESEA.

Following these briefings, a series of activities were held to review aspects of the legislative process as well as how to prepare for meetings with members of Congress. Participants had the opportunity to role play as members of Congress in a mock hearing to discuss a piece of legislation, as well to have a mock debate on the floor of Congress to try and pass legislation. Participants were also provided key information to prepare for their meetings and were given the opportunity to plan for their meetings. The purpose of these briefings and activities was to help the participants practice and prepare for their meeting on Capitol Hill that afternoon.

On June 7th, to maximize the impact of TESOL Advocacy Day, I met with key members of Congress serving on the education and appropriations committees in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. This year, I began my day with a meeting at Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey’s office with Anne Shoemaker of PennTESOL East.  After this initial session, I continued on my own and met with staff from the offices of New Jersey Representatives Robert Andrews, Rush Holt, Donald Payne, and Steve Rothman where I discussed TESOL’s recommendations for ESEA re-authorization and the impact of the current law upon English language learners in New Jersey.  I was impressed by the amount of knowledge staff members had of issues regarding both English language learners and ESEA.  We had thoughtful and productive conversations about the differences between social and academic language skills as well as understanding that language proficiency does not necessarily correlate with acquisition of content knowledge.  We also discussed the need to have experts in the field of second language acquisition involved in the development of testing protocols such as those based on the new Common Core Curriculum Standards in Math and Language Arts (See PARCC Partnership for Assessment for College and Careers & SMARTER Balance Assessment Consortium).

To fully prepare for Advocacy Day, I was required to set up my own individual meetings with senators and representatives. To assist with this, TESOL provided directions and guidance, as well as the list of specific representatives and senators to contact.  This was a time consuming process because I had to make several follow up calls or emails.  However, I was quite surprised at how receptive the staff members were to communicating with me via phone and email.  By the time I arrived at several offices, I already developed relationships with the members of the staff I was meeting.  I began each of my meetings by letting the staff member know that my goal was to develop a relationship with the office as a member of NJTESOL/NJBE.

I was also sent talking points and background information on ESEA re-authorization so that I could begin to familiarize themselves with the issues in advance. To help make Congressional meetings more effective, I was also encouraged to find examples to illustrate our talking points. I made it a point to emphasize the need to train mainstream teachers in approaches such as Sheltered Instruction and Response to Intervention so that English learners at all levels have an opportunity to participate in classroom activities based on standards and outcomes.  NO STUDENT SHOULD EVER SIT IN A CLASSROOM IGNORED OR GIVEN AGE INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL.

At the end of the day, I shared my experiences and what I learned over dinner. It was interesting to hear what other people experienced on their visit. Overall, all of the participants agreed this event was a very positive experience for them and for TESOL.

Additional information about TESOL Advocacy Day will be available on the TESOL web site at http://www.tesol.org. If you are interested in learning more about your Congressional representatives, and the legislative issues TESOL is tracking, go the TESOL U.S. Advocacy Action Center at http://capwiz.com/tesol.

Gail Verdi is NJTESOL/NJBE Teacher Education SIG Representative.

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Technology: Favorite Websites

EDTE.CH: “Inspire Connect Engage Create“

By Marilyn Pongracz

EDTE.CH, “Inspire Connect Engage Create,” by Tom Barrett is a blog for sharing ideas about using technology in the classroom.  When Judie Haynes first introduced me to the site, there were about fifteen ways listed to use a blog in the classroom.  When I checked back about five months later, the number had more than doubled, and I found an equal number of ideas for using other Web 2.0 technology in the classroom.

The best feature on this blog is the “Interesting Ways” page which lists different types of technology and lessons using it. Teachers can add ways that they have used specific technology in their classrooms, so the choices keep expanding.  I looked at blogs and found teachers using them to inspire students to write by creating top 10 lists, such as imaginative reasons for not doing homework, or by linking to an author’s website.  Others teachers used their blogs in conjunction with other web applications such as Vocaroo,  for recordings or quizzes with Quizbox. There were also many uses for Wordle.  A Wordle wall could help ELLs learn vocabulary or a Wordle walk could be used to introduce a story.  There are also ideas for Prezi, Wallwisher, Twitter, and Google tools.  “Interesting Ways” includes suggestions for other tools as well such as iPads, iPods, mobile phones, pocket cameras, and web conferencing.

While exploring Tom Barrett’s blog, I discovered that “Contact” is a page for comments and questions from other educators about technology in the classroom.  Posts are organized by topics.  A search of “VoiceThread” led to various ways that teachers use this tool in combination with other technology.  The blog posts also include some technical advice.

Among the links in the presentations he’s given, under the “Writing + Courses” tab, I found an article about using Twitter in the classroom.  He surveyed his followers about the chance of snow where they lived and used the results in a lesson about math and geography. Another article offers lesson ideas for using flip video cameras in the classroom at different grade levels. Unfortunately, not all of the links on this page work.

“Maths Maps” includes diversified and engaging tasks that could readily be differentiated for ELLs.  One was “13 Addition Activities in Adelaide.”

“Curriculum Catalyst” lists a few topics to which teachers can add lesson ideas using reading, writing, math, and science.  One example is “Endangered Species.”

Tom Barrett’s blog is well-organized and worth exploring for ideas about using technology in the classroom.  To keep up with additions to this site, you may choose to follow him on Twitter or get e-mail notices of new posts. 

Marilyn Pongracz is the Technology Coordinator for NJTESOL/NJBE and the English Language Resource Center (ESL Tutoring) Supervisor at Bergen Community College. She may be reached at tech1@njtesol-njbe.org .

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NJTESOL/NJBE 2011 Southern Mini-Conference

Using Technology to Build ELL Literacy

Saturday, October 22, 2011 
8:30 AM-1:00 PM
The Richard Stockton College of NJ • Pomona, NJ.

Members: $40 — Non-Members: $75

Speakers: Lois Spitzer, Sandee McHugh-McBride, Judie Haynes, Karen Nemeth, Monica Schnee, Cassy Lawrence, Suzan Cole and Rita Mulholland

The focus of the conference will be on incorporating the 21st Century Web 2.0 technology to support the literacy development of our English Learners.   Practical, hands-on research-based strategies will be presented.   Participants are invited to bring their laptops or iPads.  Coffee and tea will be served.  Food can be purchased from a snack bar at the conference site.

REGISTER ONLINE

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