After a very long winter in the Washington, DC region, we’re hoping that March will “come in like a lion and go out like a lamb!” Thanks for taking an interest in the DSF Consulting newsletter. DSF Consulting provides expertise to support English learners’ academic success. We worked on several projects during the month of February that we’d like to share with you.
Professional Development
We conducted professional development with ESL teachers in Montgomery County, Maryland to help examine and reframe ESL teachers’ roles and develop their leadership voices so they can more effectively collaborate with content teachers to implement instruction that provides access to the Common Core for ELLs. We will be returning to the county in March to work with ESL and content teachers.
Common Core Curriculum Scaffolding and Review
We continued to review, scaffold, and create lesson prototypes for New York State’s CCSS-based curriculum in English language arts and math for English learners. In addition, we reviewed draft ESL curricular units developed for the state of New Jersey and created a practical rubric to conduct the review.
Presentations and Webinars
- Diane Staehr Fenner presented the webinar “Advocating for ELs: Sharing the Responsibility and the Joy” for TESOL International Association on February 26, 2014. The archived event can be viewed here.
- Diane Staehr Fenner presented Advocating for English Learners: Sharing the Responsibility and the Joy” at the Virginia ESL Supervisors and Administrators conference in Richmond, VA.
- Sydney Snyder presented “In Pursuit of the Dream: DREAMERS Coming of Age in Virginia” at the Virginia ESL Supervisors and Administrators conference in Richmond, VA.. Based on the findings of her dissertation research, In Pursuit of the DREAM: A Qualitative Study of DREAMERs Coming-of-Age in Virginia (2013), Sydney described the educational experiences of the participants in her study and the role that schools, teachers, and other professional staff played in their ambitions for post-secondary education. She shared concrete strategies for supporting undocumented youth living in Virginia and a variety of student resources such as scholarship opportunities for unauthorized students.
Blog Posts on Colorín Colorado
We showcased some practical materials we have created for teachers, including a lesson that features text-dependent questions for ELs and a rubric to evaluate the degree to which CCSS-based curriculum meets ELs’ needs.
- Common Core Curriculum Rubric: Meeting the Needs of ELLs
- Recent CCSS for ELLs Resource Roundup
- Creating Text-Dependent Questions for ELLs: Examples for Second Grade (Part 2)
Upcoming Presentations and Webinars
- Diane Staehr Fenner will present the webinar “ELL Educators and Classroom Teachers: Collaborating for Success” with Ellevation Education on March 4, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. EST.
- Sydney Snyder will present the webinar “ELL Programs: Legal Concerns and Implementation Strategies for Schools” for Progressive Business Executive Education on March 6, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. EST.
- Diane Staehr Fenner and Ayanna Cooper will present several times at the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo in Portland, OR March 26-29, 2014.