responding to peers

Suggestion For Purposeful Connection

The Specific Student/School Need Being Addressed

Steps To Implement

Justification For Why This Strategy Would Be Effective

Scholarly Resource That Supports This Strategy

Becoming familiar with and integrating the cultural traditions of ELL families in the classroom

Improving communication and helping to match students with appropriate services and programs

Fact Find:

-What countries do the families come from

-What language does the family speak

-Educational backgrounds of families/school systems of the countries

This strategy is important because it improves communication with families, it enhances the ability to create a welcoming and respectful environment, it creates an educational opportunity for other students, and offers a sense of respect among students for their peers.

www.colorincolorado.org/article

/connecting-ell-families

Create a welcoming classroom environment

Help ELL students and families adjust to an unknown culture and provide smooth transitions

-Learn students names

-Offer one-on-ne assistance

-Assign peer tutors

-Invite their cultures into the classroom

-Use materials related to their cultures

-Label classroom objects in both languages

This strategy is important because it lets families know that they are valued and gives them a sense of belonging.

www.colorincolorado.org 

Making Personal Connection With Families

Builds an important trust relationship and helps increase student achievement and success

· -Schedule a special event for ELL families in which they have time to meet teachers and other staff members

· -Create a welcome DVD in multiple languages so that parents may be able to listen to it

· -Learn some common phrases in the families' languages, as well as cultural gestures.

· -Visit local neighborhoods to meet families.

· -Connect new families with a contact person who speaks their language as soon as they enroll in the school for guidance and information 

This strategy is important because it will help build strong relationships with families which will enhance student achievement and create successful learning opportunities for students.

www.colorincolorado.org

Suggestions for Purposeful Connections

The specific student/school need being addressed

Steps to implement

Justification for why this strategy would be effective

Resource

Teachers invite families to participate in decision making and goal setting for their child.

Teachers and families jointly set goals for children's education and learning both at home and at school.

Schedule regular parent teacher conferences. Such as ever 1st of the month we will meet at 3pm.

When parents and teachers work collectively the child has consistency. It’s important that kids see that their parents are supported by the teacher inside and outside of school.

AdLit. (2008). All About Adolescent Literacy. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from http://www.adlit.org/article/42781/

Teachers can create a website

This can be used to embed a calendar, family handbook, newsletters, announcements, permission slips, and volunteer lists.

Post photo stories on the website. Photos can help parents focus on how their children learn and what children enjoy doing in the classroom (be sure to secure written parental permission before posting photos of the children).

Create a family response link or form on the website to elicit comments, questions, and feedback. This is a good strategy for inviting families to monitor and comment on their child's progress. Families can complete a short online form to provide comments and questions and e-mail them directly to the teacher.

Provide at-home educational activities on the website. Teachers can provide links to additional resources and activities to extend children's learning in the home with family support.

Send individual e-mails to share positive information about a particular child's activities and accomplishments. Use e-mail for positive information and meet face-to-face to share challenges children are facing at school.

There are lots of free website companies that can be used. However, with the creation of a website it takes close monitoring and revamping to keep all information up-to-date.

A well-designed website will greatly enhance communication between you and your students. Students will feel more at ease knowing that they can contact you when school is not in session. One of the great benefits of a website is the increased communication between you and the parents of your students. This means of communication also allows parents an easy way to stay in contact with school related issues.

The Online Teacher. (n.d.). TeAchology. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/design_site/

Home Visits

Studies have shown home visits to improve parenting skills and the quality of the home environment.

They ameliorate several child behavioral problems, including sleep problems.

As well as, improve intellectual development among children.

Home visits are proven to reduce the frequency of unintentional injury and the prevalence of home hazards. Lastly, improves the quality of social supports to mothers.

Home visits can be scheduled a little more spread out, such as, every other month. The biggest benefit of home visits is to gain a better understanding of the child’s environment and the how that environment might impact the child’s learning in the classroom. By communicating collectively with the parent(s) on how the child’s behaviors are handled in the classroom and how they are handled at home together the teacher and parent(s) can decide the best course of action.

Similar to inviting parents to participate in their child’s school goals home visits are virtually the same, except for the mere fact this time the teacher goes to the parents. When parents and teachers work collectively the child has consistency. It’s important that kids see that their parents are supported by the teacher inside and outside of the home.

Council of Community Pediatrics. (2009, February 01). The Role of Preschool Home-Visiting Programs in Improving Children's Developmental and Health Outcomes. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/123/2/598