Describes how an elementary school literacy specialist worked with and saw the dilemmas, frustrations, and heartaches of a new student from Puerto Rico. Notes that the literacy specialist learned valuable lessons and gained an appreciation for the need to honor and celebrate, engage and instruct all students from all over the globe. (SR)

Discusses one Sudanese student's frustration with learning English his second year in the United States. Describes writing assignments used in the seventh grade class. Notes that Simon, the Sudanese student, found poetry to be an easier way to express himself using the English language. (SG)

Discusses how a teacher of sixth- and seventh-grade primarily Mexican immigrants: (1) models being a second-language learner by working at Spanish; (2) provides an enjoyable school experience; (3) learns about students' culture and gives it respect; (4) seeks a detailed picture of where each English learner is academically; and (5) cultivates a…

Describes the author's experiences straddling a Chinese home culture and an American school culture throughout most of her life. Ponders how to, as a future teacher, support the experiences of individual students, be aware of cultural assumptions, and reward students for what they already know. (SR)

Describes how the author used writers' notebooks with her students (grades 6-8), all Chinese immigrants, to find and express their memories and dreams, to find meaning in their experiences of change and loss; develop voice and a sense of audience; develop fluency in English; and find a growing sense of control over their new language and their new…