Freebie! Spanish/English Classroom Labels

Looking for a quick way to make your classroom environment more culturally responsive?  I created these Spanish/English labels to help reinforce common Spanish and English school-related vocabulary words. Enjoy!

Building Relationships through Beep! Beep!

Looking for a way to promote family literacy while building connections between home and school this summer? Consider participating in the Beep! Beep! Program. At the most basic level, Beep! Beep! brings books to students and their families in their very own neighborhoods. On a weekly basis, teachers and staff volunteer to pull a wagon filled with books through the community. A horn affixed to the wagon—hence the “Beep!  Beep!”—alerts families of the wagon’s presence, much like an ice cream truck playing music. Students and their families borrow books from the wagon to be returned the following week. Not only does Beep! Beep! encourage reading, it also builds community. 

Interested in starting Beep! Beep! at your school?  Follow these steps:

1. Collect books and magazines. Request donations from the PTA, the local library, churches, doctors’ offices, etc. Purchase books in the native languages of the population your school serves. Bilingual books are also great! Include a variety of genres and reading levels—remember Beep! Beep! is for the ENTIRE family.

2.   Find a wagon and bicycle horn. Chances are, someone at school already owns these items.

3.   Schedule staff members to pull the wagon each week. Make sure everyone wears shirts with the school mascot or name. The program will be more effective if the wagon visits neighborhoods at the same day and time each week.

4.   Advertise the event. Create bilingual signage to post in local shops and community spaces.

5.   Consider using incentives to encourage families to return the books and/or participate each week. Ask local restaurants to donate coupons for free meals.

6.   If necessary, request an interpreter to tag along each week. It’s hard to build relationships if language barriers are present, so do what you can to overcome those obstacles! If an interpreter is not available, make sure you have information about the program printed and translated for families.

Overall, Beep! Beep! is a great way for schools to create connections with families over the summer. By getting to know your students in their neighborhoods, your instruction will become more culturally responsive. 

Country & Culture Clips

Have ELLs in your class?  Learning more about their cultures and languages will increase your effectiveness and help you build better relationships.  Check out these brief videos on different countries from around the world.  

First Lady of Facebook Talks Bilingualism, Education, and Hoodies with Today

In this exclusive interview, Priscilla Chan--Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's wife--discusses life as the child of immigrant parents and how she and her husband are using their fortune to help students like her succeed.