Contributed by Joy Hamm
Whether your district has decided to send packets or Chromebooks home with students, your ELs now face the task of completing content work on their own. Here are some tips to help ELs and their families embrace the challenge. If you are the only EL teacher in your district or serve more than a hundred students, focus on the ones you know need daily or weekly support and make their home-school experience more equitable.
1. Text families– Apps such as TalkingPoints will translate messages back and forth in various languages. Ensure that your EL parents understand school requirements and have the tools needed to complete work (computers, hotspots, packets). Share information about free meals, answer questions, and discuss the family home-school schedule.
2. Time management– Encourage parents to support their children by providing structure such as a specific work area, daily schedule, and completed homework checks. Another suggestion for time management is setting a timer. If an assignment is completed within a reasonable time frame, the child gets a reward of free time or a special activity.
3. Chrome extensions/useful apps– Advise parents to download apps on their phone or add chrome extensions on Chromebooks to assist their children with translation, read-aloud, and summarizing support. Click here for some useful chrome extensions.
4. Content class access– Ask content teachers to add you to their Google Classroom or online learning sites. If students have paper packets, take pictures of each handout and upload to Google Docs. This will help with tip #5.
5. Screen sharing platform– Video platforms such as Google Meet and Microsoft Teams allow you to virtually assist a student or group of students with specific content assignments. Once you have access to the content teacher’s online materials or have saved photos of paper copies, you can share your screen and guide students through math problems, science and social studies texts, etc. Students are able to ask questions in real time and even collaborate virtually.
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