Academic Language / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Tan Huynh · Published 12/01/2024 · Last modified 03/08/2025
While many multilingual students gain social language in two years, abstract, highly structured academic language requires much more time. Tan Huynh advocates teaching MLs at the sentence level because it facilitates understanding of content and fosters academic writing skills.
Teacher Dina Strasser agrees that our schools need to be spaces where students have the freedom and support to come to their own reasoned political conclusions about the world. “But it is a mistake to assume public education as a whole is, or should be, politically neutral. It is not.”
Mandy Manning’s book is essential reading for teachers who are new to the world of language diversity and would be a great PD resource for general education teachers and staff. Teacher Jeanette Pine finds the book clear, concise, easy to navigate, and filled with important reminders.
Stephanie Farley has come to realize that she’s a hybrid kind of person – she enjoys the blurring of traditional lines between categories. Here she shares how she uses elements of fiction to help students conceptualize and improve their nonfiction writing. And vice versa.
Aaron Hansen provides a vision and guidance for a student centered approach to learning, backed by practical strategies and real-world examples. While the journey to implement these changes may be challenging, the potential rewards are immense, writes educator Melinda Stewart.
Exploring human experiences through personal stories promotes discussions that focus on facts and individual realities rather than generalizations and stereotypes and helps students develop empathy, compassion and understanding, writes Kasey Short. Reading suggestions included!
Beginning with reflective exercises to help readers identify their leadership tendencies, Brad and Jeremy Johnson offer a nuanced exploration of the tension between assertiveness and compassion in school leadership and then provide actionable strategies to achieve balance.
Michelle Russell recently revisited random grouping for her math students and found the environment was much better. Students were talking more together, and there was more work being done during discovery activities and concept practice. Included: a free grouping card site.
Rather than despairing over grammar mistakes in their corrected papers, Jason DeHart suggests students can succeed in ELA by noting the varieties of sentences, talking about their impact on the narrative, and describing the feelings and actions these stylistic choices evoke.
Facing the ‘December Dilemma’ of how to include winter holidays in the instructional day? This MiddleWeb resource offers a multi-faceted look at religious and non-religious aspects of the season, legal issues, and some ideas for seasonal lesson planning.
