Seidlitz Education

Making sure multilingual learners can access content is a daily challenge. Teachers can keep rigor intact while making the thinking visible and the language manageable.

Edutopia shares four practical ways to do this across grade levels and content areas. The strategies start with one basic idea: Students need to see what success looks like before they can reach it.

Read it here: https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-practical-ways-make-instruction-accessible-multilingual-learners/

4 Practical Ways to Make Instruction Accessible for Multilingual Learners Teachers can make small changes to amplify language opportunities that create pathways toward success for English learners.

Friday night panic is real. You are prepping for the new year and realizing you have more newcomers than expected. Now you are wondering where to start.

The Seidlitz free webinar library is built for exactly this moment. It is self-paced, free, and full of strategies for welcoming multilingual learners from day one. Just practical support when you actually need it.

If you are doing weekend learning, start here:
https://www.seidlitzeducation.com/resources/webinars

Webinars | Seidlitz Education Allison Hand, Larry Ferlazzo, Carol Salva, and Anna Matis demonstrate how to use the ELPS Flip Book, 2nd Edition, to promote students' academic language in all content-area classrooms. They explore how to plan intentional, language-rich lessons using the ELPS. The session highlights strategies that....

Try This, Not That!

Instead of asking, "Does everyone understand?" try asking, "What is one question you have about this?"

The first question invites silence. The second invites thinking.

When multilingual learners hear "Does everyone understand?" they often freeze. They do not want to be the one who admits confusion. But when you ask for a question, you give them permission to be curious. You signal that wondering is part of learning, not a sign of failure.

This small swap changes the tone of your classroom from performance to growth.

Supporting students who are struggling emotionally can feel overwhelming. Teachers often wonder how to add trauma-informed practices to an already full plate.

Small, intentional shifts to your existing routines can make a meaningful impact on multilingual learners.

In her upcoming virtual workshop, Elise White Diaz will model practical ways to make your instruction more trauma-responsive and linguistically rich. You will leave with ready-to-use strategies that support both social-emotional well-being and academic growth.

Join Elise for "Rooted and Responsive: Trauma-Informed Tweaks for What You Already Do" on August 27.

Register and learn more here: https://www.seidlitzeducation.com/upcoming_events/rooted-and-responsive--trauma-informed-tweaks-for-what-you-already-do--120

www.seidlitzeducation.com Many students are struggling emotionally and socially after the pandemic, and culturally and linguistically diverse students often face the greatest risk. In this interactive Zoom workshop, Elise will model how to leverage what we are already doing to make our practice even more trauma-responsive an...

One of the biggest worries teachers have at the start of the year is how to welcome multilingual learners who are still building confidence in English. The good news? You do not need to speak their home language to honor it.

Megan Vosk's Edutopia article offers five practical translanguaging strategies that help teachers create space for students' home languages from day one. It is about building community before content, and it works in any classroom.

Read it here: https://www.edutopia.org/article/making-space-students-home-languages-classroom/

Making Space for Students’ Home Languages in the Classroom Teachers don’t need to speak students’ home languages to use them as a resource for learning and creating a sense of belonging.

August always brings that urge to reinvent everything. New systems, new apps, new color-coded bins.

But what if the best thing you do for your classroom this year is start small?

Nancy Motley's book, Small Moves, Big Gains, is built for exactly this moment. It is filled with 23 low-prep habits that help students talk more, think more, and achieve more without adding three hours to your prep time.

One of our favorite back-to-school wins is showing students, from the very first day, that their voice matters in the classroom. Small Moves gives you language and structures to make that happen before the first bell even rings.

If you need a practical place to start your year, this is it.

https://sites.google.com/seidlitzeducation.com/small-moves/home

Want to go deeper? There is a training built around the book.
https://www.seidlitzeducation.com/professional_development/trainings/small-moves-big-gains-46

Sentence Frame Swap: Community-Building

The first day is already nerve-wracking for everyone. Sentence frames are one small way to help students feel capable from day one.

Start with what they already know by heart (themselves, their families, their summers), and wrap it in language that is just one step above their default. The topic is still theirs, but the frame just gives it structure.

Basic: "My favorite thing about summer was ___."
Swap: "One thing I learned about myself this summer was ___."

Basic: "I am from ___."
Swap: "A tradition my family keeps is ___."

Basic: "I like ___."
Swap: "Something I care about is ___."

When students practice with their own identity and culture first, the frame feels like support, not a restriction. Which swap feels right for your first week?

On the way to find Toma a buddy!

Toma is not the solo type. Every great book needs a partner, and ¡Toma la Palabra! is no exception.

What does the perfect companion look like para la instrucción bilingüe? We are getting closer to the answer.

Estamos muy emocionados to share what we have been building. Stay tuned!

Today is National Support Public Education Day!

We want to take a moment to celebrate the public schools that show up not only for multilingual learners but for all learners every single day. The work is hard, but the wins are genuine.

So we want to hear from you: What is one thing your school does well to serve your students?

Drop it in the comments. We are ready to celebrate with you! 👇