Supporting Newcomer Students: Advocacy and Instruction for English Learners

Newcomers need to draw on all their resources―intellectual, linguistic, cultural―as they make sense of new content and a new language.

In this much-needed book, the authors marshal research and several decades of their own experience to provide instructional practices and activities that will help teachers develop newcomers as readers and writers of English and engage them in content learning across the curriculum. Equally important, they show how teachers can advocate for these vulnerable students, many of whom have experienced multiple challenges in their home countries or in the United States, including poverty, violence, and political persecution.

With chapters on assessment and second-language acquisition as well as reading, writing, speaking, and content learning, their book is a timely and comprehensive guide for any K–8 educator whose classroom or school includes newcomer students.