The more teachers know about their students’ cultural backgrounds, the better equipped they are to interact in meaningful and productive ways with these students and their families. Teachers must remember that their job is not to make students become similar to them, but to respectfully facilitate their students’ negotiation of cultural differences so they can be successful in different cultural contexts. For example, María complains that she feels pressure from her parents to maintain her heritage culture. Yet, at the same time, she feels the tension of peer pressure calling on her to be an “American” teenager. Culturally responsive teachers can help students like María negotiate this difficult time by respecting her home culture while informing her about the new culture (Herrera, 2016).

To understand the educational benefit of home language literacy development, imagine an ELL whose home language is Arabic. This student arrives in his 3rd-grade classroom already reading at a 3rd-grade level in Arabic. He will need to learn that books in English are read from left to right and that what he considers to be the front of a book is the back of a book written in English. Through literacy instruction, he learns that both English and Arabic print depend on word order and progression for meaning and that letters and words in both languages represent sounds (although the student may not have heard or articulated some of the sounds in English).

One way teachers can address the content, language, and literacy needs of students from diverse backgrounds is to identify and build on student, household and community “funds of knowledge” (González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005). The concept of funds of knowledge is based on a simple premise: People are competent and knowledgeable and they develop their competence through their life experiences.

Teachers who differentiate for the diverse learners in their classes position all students, including ELLs, to succeed. When these students see themselves as integral parts of the classroom and school community, they can and do realize their academic potential.

Differentiating Assignment Template This book shows teachers how to differentiate content-area assignments/assessments and instruction for ELLs at any level of language development, grade level, and content area. Teachers need to begin by understanding which parts of an assignment can be differentiated. Any assignment can be divided into three parts: Standards-based content or topic from the curriculum Language-based expectations Scaffolding and support

Pull-out ELD classes should not be used indefinitely because they tend to isolate ELLs from their non-ELL peers, who provide modeling and authentic opportunities to interact and use language. Integrating ELLs into general education classes benefits the student learning English and enriches the classroom environment for everyone.

Marco: composite ELP level 1. He was born in Brazil and speaks Brazilian Portuguese. Marco attended school in Brazil up to 4th grade, and he can read and write in Portuguese. Marco’s family moved to the United States earlier this year for work. According to the state ELP placement test, Marco is at ELP level 1 in all four domains.

Ms. Harris is a first-year teacher who was surprised to learn that she will have four English language learners (ELLs) in her classroom. Her teacher education program did not require her to take a course on working with ELLs, so she is feeling somewhat nervous. A friend who has also just begun teaching reminds her that they were both taught about the concept of differentiation. The friend assures Ms. Harris that she will be fine if she simply applies those concepts.