Term

Spring 2019

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAESL

Facilitator(s)

Julia Reimer

Content Expert

Sarah Carlsson

Abstract

The guiding question of this project is, How can a professional development resource help classroom teachers create a language-rich environment that can support the development of academic language for all learners? In order to answer this question, I created a website to support language understanding, teaching, and learning in an urban elementary school serving a diverse community of learners. This website is a practical tool for classroom teachers who need to develop a better understanding of what academic language is and acquire strategies to support and develop the language students need to engage effectively in classroom discussions and tasks. Classroom teachers need to become more aware of the role language plays in the academic achievement of their students and should strive to create more opportunities for students to engage in high-quality language experiences and tasks. This project is grounded in a need for a more equitable access to education, being able to recognize barriers to equity, and the importance of dispelling biases and appreciating the assets of all student groups. Our language-rich classrooms need to value the cultural and linguistic experiences of our students while expanding on their linguistic repertoire. Classroom teachers can rely on the expertise of their colleagues who teach English Language Learners (ELs) in order to be more prepared to meet the language demands of the curriculum and particular needs of their diverse learners.

Project Type

Website Creation

Keywords

ESL/ ELLs

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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