This article presents how over two summers the authors worked with students from Syria, Pakistan, Tanzania, Mexico, Honduras, China, and Vietnam to create their own chalkboard project. They wrote "I am" poems and "I remember" memories. They engaged in the arts, creating their personal comic book heroes and leaving inspired…

As the population of English language learners (ELLs) in schools increases, school leaders seek to build more culturally and linguistically sustaining school communities. Often, the first step in these efforts is to intentionally invite ELLs and their families to school-based events with the hope of involving parents in their children's formal…

In this article, two co-authors share their immigrant stories of persecution and flight to the U.S. Txerthoj Vang is a refugee from Laos who supported the U.S. as part of the Hmong secret army during the Vietnam era. Mayra Pasayes is an immigrant from El Salvador who fled that country's civil war during the 1980s. Though they each faced a high…

America's history books abound with stories of immigrants who contributed to the development of this country. In terms of social studies curriculum, all states require schools to teach about immigration. However, the question is how to teach this topic in a manner that will give students--elementary through high school--a better understanding of…

This article provides portraits of two women on professional journeys to become bilingual teachers. Stacie Thao was born in Thailand. Nancy Aguilar was born in California, and spent some of her childhood in Mexico. Stacie's first language is Hmong, while Nancy's is Spanish. Each learned English in school, and each helped their immigrant parents…

This article focuses on the instructional needs of newcomers to the North American classrooms who already speak one or more foreign languages and who are coping with classroom-related language issues. It taps into positive instructional strategies that are culturally-validating and welcoming for these students. Inspired by an invited Oxford Round…

Based in a constructivist paradigm, socio-cultural views of literacy place a high degree of importance on how students connect to what they read. This means that instruction must follow constructivist principles and allow ample opportunity for discussion and learner-centered activities. In addition, this framework requires careful attention be…

The past decade has seen a rapid growth of increasingly diverse immigrant populations in the United States--the most vulnerable among these are refugee children. Most immigrants enter a host country with a goal of improving their opportunities in life. They arrive after years of preparation, such as locating housing, securing jobs and support from…

Most of the students at Milpera State High School are in Australia because of wars, famine, or economic devastation in their homelands. Many have suffered the additional loss of parents and other family members. Some have low (or nonexistent) literacy in their native languages, and many have had few opportunities for formal education. Such…

Many immigrant children encounter many difficulties and challenges in the public school. As a result, countless bilingual and limited-English-proficient students are lagging behind their peers. Minority students are labeled and treated differently from their classmates. Although equally capable, they are receiving a second-class education. The…

This article describes El Salvadorian immigrant, Esperanza Marquez's experiences dealing with the inaccessibility of ESL and special education services at her children's schools, through an interview with the author. Throughout the nation, Latino immigrant parents like Esperanza do not only have to adjust to a new life in the United States, but to…

Any teacher who has worked in a public high school knows the force oral participation holds in a classroom, for a curriculum, and with the students. Few things can make or break educational access, momentum and opportunity like classroom participation. When oral participation is neither present nor cultivated within a classroom, students and…

Proposes a critical-sociological approach to analyzing immigrant literature, noting that for many students, their only contact with immigrants may be through representations in children's literature. Examines how Chinese immigrants to the United States are represented in Laurence Yep's (1992) "The Star Fisher," discussing how the issues of race,…

Heritage languages (HL) are language spoken by the children of immigrants or by those who immigrated to a country when young. The purpose of this article is to briefly review what is known about heritage language development over time and to identify some gaps in people's knowledge. In this article, the authors consider three aspects: how much HL…

Since the symbolization of an immigrant child is created and recreated in a process involving many stages and modifications of behavior, it is important for a teacher to observe and stimulate children. Reaching a satisfying balance may never be completely possible and the child may as an adult struggle all his/her life, but guidance toward such…