In today’s episode, I am chatting with my dear friend Courtney Morgan about teacher collaboration. Namely, collaboration between EL and general education teachers. This topic is so important, yet there are so many questions about what collaboration looks like, especially in districts that have a smaller EL program, the steps both sides can take to help English learners, as well as the mindset shift that needs to take place.
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Courtney Morgan is an English Learner Specialist and teacher, living near Asheville, North Carolina, where she loves having the mountains at her doorstep. After 16 years as an elementary classroom teacher in districts large and small, Courtney shifted into her current role to focus her efforts on supporting multilingual students. Through her business, The All-Access Classroom, Courtney equips gen. ed. teachers to confidently make their lessons accessible to English learners.
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Teacher collaboration episode – here is what you will hear:
- Top collaboration tips for teachers – both those who are ELL teachers and those who are classroom teachers
- The answer to the question: What would be the first step for effective collaboration?
- Ideas for some of the best scaffolds general education teachers can utilize when helping their English learners – examples for both elementary and middle and high school
An important step for teachers in lesson planning with English learners in mind is to include language objectives. Courtney has a simple template that can guide the process of choosing objectives and scaffolds, and she is offering it to all of my listeners for free! You can find it at www.theallaccessclassroom.com/objectives
Follow Courtney at:
- website: www.theallaccessclassroom.com
- G/FB: @theallaccessclassroom
As always, below you will find related resources that will help support your ELs and save you planning time!
- Simply Ieva ESL website – here is a blog post with even more tips!
- Teaching Absolute Beginners: An ESL Teacher’s Handbook
- 25 Authentic Speaking Activities for Your ESL Classroom
- The ESL Teaching Roadmap – membership community for middle and high school ESL/ELL teachers. As a thank you for listening, use code ESLPODCAST for 10% off when you join.