For Other Professionals
Preschool for English language learners
This webcast features Dr. Rebecca Palacios and offers information on the following components of a PreK ELL program: language instruction, curriculum, professional development, and family outreach.
This webcast is made possible by AFT Teachers, a division of the American Federation of Teachers, as part of a Colorín Colorado partnership between AFT and Reading Rockets.
Click below for the following:
Program Description
This webcast features Dr. Rebecca Palacios and offers information on the following components of a PreK ELL program: language instruction, curriculum, professional development, and family outreach.
Presenter
Dr. Rebecca Palacios is an educator who taught preschool for more than thirty years in Corpus Christi, Texas. Dr. Palacios is also a teacher mentor, a founding member and former vice chair of the National Board For Professional Teaching Standards, and a member of the American Federation of Teacher's ELL Educator Cadre.
Recommended Readings
Literacy and Language Instruction
- 8 Strategies for Preschool ELLs' Language and Literacy Development (Colorín Colorado)
- Developing Early Literacy: Report of The National Early Literacy Panel
- What Do We Know about Dual-Language Learners in PreK? (Early Ed Watch)
- Language and Literacy: What do Children Need to Know? (Clayton Early Learning)
- Challenging Common Myths about English Language Learners (National Association of State Boards of Education)
- Guide for Developing a Language Policy: A Denver Early Childhood Community Story (Clayton Early Learning)
Assessment
- Where We Stand on Assessing Young ELLs (National Association for the Education of Young Children)
- Where We Stand on Assessing Young ELLs (Spanish version)
- Assessment Considerations for Young English Language Learners Across Different Levels of Accountability (Pew Trusts)
Policy
- Fact sheets on Latinos and Preschool (PreK Now)
- Pre-K and Latinos: The Foundation for America's Future (PreK Now)
- Who Goes to Preschool and Why Does It Matter? (National Institute for Early Eduation Research)
- Is Public Pre-K Preparing Hispanic Children to Succeed in School? (NIEER)
- The Effects of Oklahoma's Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program on Hispanic Children (NIEER)
Family Involvement
- ELLs in Early Childhood Education: Recruiting Immigrant Families (Colorín Colorado)
- Latino Public Opinion Survey of PreK Programs (Tomás Rivera Policy Institute)
Related Links
- Meet the Experts: Dr. Rebecca Palacios
- From the Heart: A teacher of little children
- PBS Show: Toddling Toward Reading, featuring Dr. Palacios
- Reading Tip Sheets for Parents (Colorín Colorado)
- Preschool and Child Care (Reading Rockets)
- Prekinder.org: Spanish-language website devoted to early childhood education
- Head Start: Dual-language program information
- National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association
- National Institute for Early Education Research: ELL Research
- Mi Escuelita Preschool
- PBS: A Place of Our Own (Bilingual)
Discussion Questions
- What are the main components of an effective preschool program for English language learners? How might these components be incorporated differently in different types of program models (e.g., dual language, immersion, English only)?
- Discuss some of the ways that an ELL's native language might be used to support his/her learning in preschool. How important is it for ELLs to have teachers who speak their home language?
- Talk about the role of assessment in preschool. What types of assessment (both formal and informal) do you currently use in your program? Would you make any changes, based on the information presented in the webcast?
- According to the webcast, why is it important to establish good home-school partnerships? Did you learn any strategies that you might use to get your ELLs' parents more involved?
- How can we best prepare teachers to work with English language learners in preschool? What kind of ongoing support do you think they need in order to be successful?
- What kind of mentoring and professional development, if any, have you had at your program? What kinds of training do you think would be most helpful? How can your team collaborate with program leaders to review the possibility of implementing those ideas?
- What are some new ideas you learned in the webcast that might help expand services and support for ELLs at your program?
The Reading Rockets Professional Development Webcast Series is a production of WETA. The Reading Rockets project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.
This program was produced by WETA/Reading Rockets, which is solely responsible for its content. The views expressed in the program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of WETA/Reading Rockets, our funders, or our partners.
