What do high-achieving schools have in common? Connection.

Today’s classrooms need to move beyond traditional teaching methods; they need strategies that will re-engage students and build on meaningful connections. This book equips educators with evidence-based strategies that are layered into existing instruction, thus improving attendance, reducing behavior issues, and fueling higher academic outcomes. Essential Connection Skills offers practical solutions to help educators reignite the joy of learning through purposeful, reflective interactions.

These strategies empower students to build connections, embrace multiple perspectives, and develop the social and academic tools necessary for success. Inside you'll find: Chapter-by-chapter resources and techniques Assessment recommendations Targeted strategies for culturally and linguistically diverse students Techniques to help students develop self-reflection skills By cultivating authentic engagement, Essential Connection Skills restores a sense of community and purpose in classrooms and empowers students with the lifelong skills they’ll need to succeed. To access resources and join the conversation around Essential Connection Skills, visit annepaonessa.com.

Here's an Language Magazine article written by Anne that shares more about her process. https://languagemagazine.com/2025/10/21/improving-outcomes-through-the-power-of-connection/ 

If you choose to buy the book using this link, it helps offset the costs associated with hosting this podcast. https://amzn.to/3JonSNF

A practical and comprehensive resource, Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Academic Language Development: A Language-Based Approach to Content Instruction introduces an accessible language-based approach to teaching academic language to multilingual learners across the content areas. Luciana C. de Oliveira provides elementary school teachers with everything they need to know to successfully teach grade-level content to multilingual learners. Chapters are organized by subject, addressing the specific language demands of teaching English language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science. Each chapter features examples of implementation in grades K-5, practical strategies, and a wealth of tables, figures, and other resources.

The Language-Based Approach to Content Instruction (LACI) in this book provides teachers with a ready-to-use framework of six scaffolding elements that serves as a guide to enable multilingual learners to meet the grade-level standard of their peers without simplification. Aligned with WIDA and CCSS standards, this resource provides the tools and methods teachers need to support multilingual learners’ academic language development in the content area classroom.

For those who purchase the book with this link, you are offsetting the cost of hosting the podcast. Thank you!!!! https://amzn.to/3L3x9ee

New episode released. This is particularly timely about laws, policies, and regulations on supporting MLs.

This printable guide, written for Colorín Colorado by Dr. Debbie Zacarian, provides a detailed introduction to federal laws regarding ELLs and their relationship to state and local policies, including information about ELL identification under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Here's the link to the guide https://www.colorincolorado.org/serving-multilingual-learners-laws-policies-and-regulations

Here's a companion resource for the guide as well: https://www.colorincolorado.org/teaching-mls-colorin-colorado-ell-policy-guide

Today′s classrooms are more linguistically diverse than ever, but many educators still feel underprepared to support multilingual learners in accessing grade-level academic content. Without intentional scaffolding, these students miss opportunities to thrive alongside their peers. Through nine scaffolded approaches―instructional, linguistic, multimodal, multisensory, graphic, digital, interactive/collaborative, social-emotional, and environmental―this resource offers content area teachers research-based, practical strategies to meet the linguistic, social-emotional, and academic needs of multilingual learners.

https://languagemagazine.com/2025/08/29/nine-dimensions-of-scaffolding/

If you purchase this book from Amazon, it supports offset the price to host the podcast. https://amzn.to/3Vmds3r

Rethink how academic languaging can transform content area teaching For years, the teaching of content-based academic language to multilingual learners has focused on formulas, vocabulary lists, and sentence patterns―often sidelining students’ linguistic and cultural strengths.

Gisela Ernst-Slavit and Margo Gottlieb address these challenges by embracing academic languaging, an active, collaborative student-driven process. Academic Languaging offers strategies to integrate language and content learning while fostering student engagement, voice, and agency.

Dedicated chapters on academic languaging for Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science highlight the dimensions of disciplinary language for each subject and provide strategies for moving learning forward with multilingual learners. Additional features include: "Stop and Think" prompts to help educators connect new ideas with their instructional settings Prompts at the end of each chapter to encourage deeper thinking and application of the material Multilingual examples to mirror the varied classroom settings in the U.S. and beyond.

The ultimate resource for educators committed to empowering multilingual learners and fostering meaningful, culturally sustaining education, Academic Languaging ensures multilingual learners comprehend academic content and thrive as confident, autonomous drivers of their own learning.

To support the podcast, you can order this book using my Amazon Associate's link: https://amzn.to/3U6lIEc

Elise White Diaz is well-versed in the challenges facing diverse students from difficult backgrounds.

Prior to her work in public education, Elise’s passion for trauma-informed pedagogy began when she moved to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to serve at a school for child laborers in the garbage dump. There she taught bilingual and ESL education at the secondary level, and learned so much from her students who overcame obstacles and went on to college. 

Upon returning to the United States, Elise brought her experiences to a diverse district in North Texas. She wove together principles from culturally-relevant, trauma-informed education and language acquisition in innovative ways, bringing dramatic gains in standardized test (STAAR) scores. Soon after, she began to mentor and coach teachers in how to recreate these routines. Elise has served in various roles in Emergent Bilingual education, including co-teaching, instructional coaching, writing curriculum, and offering professional development to Texas schools.

As a consultant for Seidlitz Education, Elise enjoys supporting teachers in their important work of building language and connection across cultures and obstacles. She holds a Master’s degree from Fuller Seminary in Intercultural Studies and lives in the Dallas area with her husband and two children. She is a member of the National Association for Bilingual Education and Women-for-Orphans-Worldwide, and returns to Central America wherever she can.

Engage, Empower, Educate: Unleash the Potential of Multilingual Learners

What′s your "why" for being a teacher? Unlike other professionals, teachers often have strong reasons for why they teach and a clear sense of purpose. Acknowledging and understanding this purpose helps educators to not just do what they do but do it well.

This illustrated guide was designed for all classroom teachers to emphasize the unique challenges and opportunities that arise in multilingual learner education. Using Simon Sinek′s Golden Circle theory to understand and elevate that sense of purpose, the book is organized into three parts: the why, the how, and the what of teaching multilingual learners. You will learn

With a clear understanding of the research-based tools, techniques, and instructional strategies described and illustrated in the book, a solid sense of purpose, and a dash of grace for you and your multilingual learners, you will be well on your way to creating productive and positive learning opportunities that meet the best interests of all students, families, educators, and the community.

To support this podcast, please consider purchasing Valentina's book using this link https://amzn.to/4itjloY

This book is written for teachers with intellectual agility, compassionate hearts, and creative minds — those who want to support their students and appreciate specific strategies. This essential guide is compact, research-based, and includes the most basic supports. It's accessible with ideas that can be implemented in a teacher's established or current structure. This book will provide secondary teachers with essential tools to support Multilingual Learners (MLs) in your classes. After reading this book, teachers will have two main takeaways: one, you’ll realize that your classroom is enhanced when you are fortunate enough to have Multilingual Learners in it; two, you’ll have the tools to support MLs or English Learners or ESL learners in your classroom and see their growth without compromising the learning of primarily English speakers. https://amzn.to/4gR8Ond

Here is an example of the newcomer hub Megan talked about: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Fxo0d6labSdIBCQwL92ln0X4mcO48WXSbT2Hna6IgEQ/edit#slide=id.p

She is generously sharing her email to those who want to know more about the newcomer hub: [email protected]

One in five students are identified as speaking English as an Additional Language (EAL) and all teachers are highly likely to be teaching multilingual students in their classrooms. As our schools become more culturally and linguistically diverse, they must respond to the needs of the students in front of them, and this book provides a range of strategies and resources to ensure teaching is adaptive and responsive so that all learners thrive and fulfil their academic potential.

At the heart of the book is developing an understanding of how languages are acquired and an awareness that all students, regardless of their current English language proficiency, need to be offered a challenging and supportive environment. Chapters offer:

• High-yielding, practical approaches and strategies to ensure that students are able to access content-appropriate lessons and simultaneously develop their language

Each teacher is positioned as a language teacher, with the responsibility of planning sessions where language is not perceived as an add-on, but as an integral and pivotal part. This book will empower you as an educator and ensure that your classroom is a language-aware and stimulating environment for your students. It will be essential reading for all secondary school educators and teaching assistants who support EAL students in mainstream lessons and are responsible for producing resources and implementing classroom strategies.