Author Description

"Ensuring English Learner achievement is a growing priority among educators across the nation for several reasons: (1) ELs are fastest growing student population in the nation (2) Achievement gaps between ELs and their non-EL peers show little signs of narrowing. ELs also have some of the highest dropout rates of historically underserved subpopulations. (2) ESSA increases local accountability for EL achievement; (3) ELs spend the majority of the school day under the care of mainstream classroom teachers, most of whom have little or no formal preparation in meeting the needs of this complex population. Few would argue that helping every mainstream classroom teachers excel with ELs is the number one way to elevate EL achievement. While there are many books about EL instruction, not one is a practical, user-friendly reference designed specifically to meet the priorities of mainstream teachers. Most of the current EL books are heavy with theory and research, or offer strategies in a vacuum irrelevant to how teachers approach planning and teaching every day. This book, intended for all teachers whether they teach one EL or many will be different. Teachers will appreciate the practical, easy-to use approaches as well as the flexibility of the content to personalize and apply into any instructional context. With a visually engaging format, it provides teachers with easy-to-use strategies, and a flip-to guide of lessons to help teachers apply those strategies to help ELs (and all kids) excel with the academic language of specific literacy goals. Even teachers who might not think of EL achievement as a top priority will love this book. Why? It makes rigorous literacy expectations visible, and hands teachers easy-to-use tools to elevate how students engage in conversations, analyze texts and communicate high-level thinking in speaking and writing. Readers who expect an EL book to only be about supporting struggling learners, will be surprised to discover how this book helps t