Gravity Goldberg and Renée Houser have both been teachers of students learning English. Some of these students had conversational English down and were learning to use academic language, some were apprehensive and needed more confidence to speak English even though they understood most of what was said, and some came to school with only a handful of words in English and would sit silently in class. No matter what stage of language acquisition students happened to be in, Gravity and Renée believed that they deserved to be fully included in the classroom culture, experiences, and learning. They view having a second or third language as a huge asset and one that could only help a child.
This did not mean, however, that they always found it easy to confer with students who were not yet fluent English speakers. Here they are explaining how reading conferences play an important role in supporting students learning English from their new resource, Teacher's Toolkit for Independent Reading.
To learn more about the Teacher's Toolkit for Independent Reading, download a sample.
Don't forget to join the Teacher's Toolkit for Independent Reading Facebook group! You'll find support in the implementation of your toolkit and guidance on any conferring challenges you're facing. Not only will our smart and savvy members lend their expert advice, but Gravity and Renee are frequent visitors to the group as well!
