Book Description

This practical resource will help K-6 practitioners grow their literacy practices while also meeting the needs of emergent bilingual learners. Building on the success of The Reading Turn-Around, this book adapts the five-part framework for reading instruction to the specific needs of emergent bilinguals. Designed for teachers who have not specialized in bilingual instruction, the authors provide an accessible introduction to differentiating instruction that focuses on utilizing students' strengths, identities, and cultural backgrounds to foster effective literacy instruction. Chapters include classroom vignettes, teacher exercises, illustrations of powerful reading plans for the student and teacher, resources for culturally and linguistically diverse children's literature, and tools to engage with students' families and communities. Book Features: Grounded in current theories and research in the teaching and learning of literacy as it relates to emerging bilingual learners. Accessible to K-6 educators, ESL and bilingual teachers, principals, literacy coaches, and curriculum developers. Borrows from the framework of Comber and Kamler's (2005) "turn-around pedagogies", which draws on student's strengths and assets to support teachers in improving their classroom practices. Emphasizes student-centered practices that are rooted in a child's identity as a reader and language learner. Based on Freebody and Luke's Four Resources Model (1990, 1999) but also includes a "fifth" dimension that foregrounds issues of identity.