Language & Culture Workshop Series
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ELL Endorsement Cohort | ELL District Meetings
2009-2010 Workshop Series
All workshops conducted at the Multilingual and Multicultural Center (Lyman Moore Middle School, 171 Auburn Street, Portland) unless otherwise noted.
To register: email Suzanne Hardy at hardys@portlandschools.org or call 874-8117.
Raising and Meeting Latino Aspirations
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009
Did you know that in 2007 the National Center for Education reported that the national dropout rate for Hispanic students was 21.4%! The dropout rate for whites is 5% and for blacks is 8%. What do we need to know to begin to reverse this troubling statistic? This panel presentation will give teachers an opportunity to learn about programs that are creating opportunities to reverse the pattern of low educational attainment rates for Hispanic students. You will hear from a Latino student, a parent who had children in the school system, a SMCC professor, and the DREAM Act legislation and its impact on Latino students.
ELLs in the Mainstream
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009
Embedding academic language through writing needs to be a constant focus for teachers and ELLs. This workshop examines how this can be accomplished through the content areas.
Presenter: Margot Downs
Location: King Middle School
English Language Learners in the Mainstream: The Literacy Continuum
Monday, Nov. 9, 2009
Focusing on ELLs in mainstream content classes, this workshop will explore the characteristics of academic language from speaking to writing, and the importance of articulating academic language objectives, content objectives, and social objectives needed for academic progress. Using student examples, we will discuss why speaking strategies provide structure around new concepts and create a bridge to writing.
Presenter: Margot Downs
ELL Writers at the Post-Secondary Level
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009
This hands-on workshop will identify the writing skills needed by ELLs for success in post-secondary studies. Content will include explanation of the writing instruction in USM's ESOL courses--the how and the why, the challenges and the expectations.
Presenter: Barbara Trentacosta, Coordinator ESOL Program at the University of Southern Maine
Creative Literacy in the Classroom
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009
Participants will be engaged in an active arts based approach to literacy development designed to foster
meaning making and deepen comprehension of subject matter across the curriculum. The teaching and learning activities of this workshop are transferable to all grades and content areas.
Presenter: John Holdridge
English Language 101
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010
This workshop will explore some of the aspects of the English language that English Language Learners encounter when they try to acquire English. We will look at some aspects of sound (phonology), grammar (syntax), and morphology (word formation) and language acquisition - all in 90 minutes! This will be a brief overview of what it means to learn a language that many of us native speakers of English never had to learn and don't really know why and how we say what we say.
Presenter: Bart Weyand, Director ESL at USM
Book Group: English Learners, Academic Literacy, and Thinking by Pauline Gibbons
(3 sessions total) February 25, March 11 and March 18, 2010, 3:00 – 4:30
The purpose of this book group is to discuss the instructional realities of designing high-quality instruction that simultaneously provides explicit scaffolding for English learners and to implement new instructional strategies in the classroom and share reflections on student work with colleagues. This book details five areas that enable English language learners to participate in high-quality learning across the curriculum:
- Engaging deeply with intellectual contexts
- Developing academic literacy
- Employing reading strategies and improving comprehension
- Gaining writing independence and learning content-area genres
- Using classroom talk to make sense of new concepts and as a bridge to writing
Facilitator: Margot Downs
Location: TBD
Introduction to Somali Language and Culture
Monday, March 15, 2010
This workshop will introduce participants to the Somali language and provide background information on the cultural and linguistic diversity of Somali families living in Portland. The presenter will discuss the range of educational backgrounds of our Somali students, effective strategies for teachers to use when communicating with parents about a child’s academic progress, and history of the Somali language. Participants will also learn how to use and say common Somali greetings and classroom terms that will help make connections with new students.
Presenter: Mahmoud Hassan, Parent Community Specialist
Integration of Dance and Movement in Classroom Curricula
Friday, March 19, 2010, 4-6:30 pm
This workshop, co-sponsored with Portland Ovations, will assist educators with integrating dance and creative movement into classroom curricula and presenting dance in the classroom setting. The DCDC is rooted in the African American experience and believes in the importance of arts education for all. With an immersion in the disciple of dance, powers of concentration are strengthened, observations become acute and reflexes are sharpened. DCDC's goal is to integrate arts instruction as a dynamic component of the standard educational system.
Presenter: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC)
Location: PATHS Dance Studio
English Language 101: PART II
This workshop will explore some of the aspects of the English language that English Language Learners encounter when they try to acquire English. This workshop will build off of Part I, which focused on the history of the English language and the sound (phonology) of English. Part II will focus on grammar (syntax), morphology (word formation) and language acquisition.
Presenter: Bart Weyand, Director ESL at USM
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010
Time: 3:30-5:00 p.m. (1.5 SCH)
Location: Lyman Moore Middle School Library
Presenter: Bart Weyand, Director ESL at USM
All workshops conducted at the Multilingual and Multicultural Center (Lyman Moore Middle School, 171 Auburn Street, Portland) unless otherwise noted.
To register: email Suzanne Hardy at hardys@portlandschools.org or call 874-8117.
2008-2009 Workshops
The focus on the 2008-09 Culture Bulletin series was on the numerous social, cultural, and linguistic issues that cause challenges for ELL writers. The 2008-09 Art and Culture series focused on how the arts can be a bridge between cultures. Course List
2007-2008 Workshops
Assisting ELLs in the Classroom Series
The 2007-08 focus was on aspects of teaching to English Language Learner (ELLs) population to help impact their learning in a positive manner. As in previous workshops, the focus was both on content and application, i.e., how the topics can be “translated” into classroom practice for all K-12 teachers. Course List
Teaching ELLs: Best Practices Series
The 2007-08 series addressed topics of teaching and learning to English Language Learners (ELLs) that relate to the classroom strengths and experiences of Portland and other area ELL teachers. The emphasis was on the resources and experiences of our very experienced Portland Schools staff in their work with ELLs that can be of great benefit to all staff in the district. Course List