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diverse group of elementary students learning about geography with world map on the floor
Article

Connect Students’ Background Knowledge to Content in the ELL Classroom

As you teach content areas to ELLs of diverse backgrounds, you may find that they struggle to grasp the content, and that they approach the content from very different perspectives. Drawing on your students’ background knowledge and experiences, can be an effective way to bridge those gaps and to make the content more accessible. This article offers a number of suggestions to classroom teachers as they find ways to tap into the background knowledge that students bring with them.

Southeast Asian family on a bike ride

Connecting with ELL Families

Multilingual families can be powerful partners on behalf of their children. Yet what these partnerships look like will be unique to each school setting and community — and may require some thinking outside of the box. This section includes some key tips and recommended resources from our sister site, Colorín Colorado.

Parent with elementary child talking to teacher at school

Connecting with Your Child’s School

Strong home-to-school connections are one of the best ways to support your child’s academic, social, and emotional growth. Get some tips on how to build and maintain meaningful communication and involvement with your child’s school.

illustration of young girl struggling with reading and writing
Article

Considerations when Selecting a Reading Program

Selecting a reading program can be an intimidating task. This article provides background information on scientifically based research conducted on various reading programs, the findings of the National Reading Panel, and some resources for learning more about reading programs.

Diverse group of elementary students working collaboratively on a project in class

Content Area Literacy

In one school day, an elementary school teacher will instruct children in reading, math, science, social studies, and more. Children should be reading and writing across all these disciplines, using specific techniques and knowledge to help them navigate different types of texts.

Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages

3 elementary students writing on flip chart in social studies unit
Article

Content Area Literacy: Individualizing Student Instruction in Second-Grade Science

This study describes a second-grade science curriculum designed to individualize student instruction so that students, regardless of initial science and literacy skills, gain science knowledge and reading skills. The instruction incorporates flexible, homogeneous, literacy skills-based grouping, use of leveled science text, and explicit use of discussion and comprehension strategies.
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