I felt like an over-scheduled student this past weekend! As I wrote
last time, I was involved with a big family reunion. While it’s been really cool to meet relatives from my extended family whom I’d never known even existed, all the togetherness has meant I have had very little time to myself since Wednesday. But I guess it’s good to experience every now and then what it was like for my students when they said family obligations prevented them from doing their work. :-)
Today, I thought I’d offer a round up of some blogs that I think are helpful for educators who work with English Language Learners. They span a range of subjects and are listed in alphabetical order. In the interest of full disclosure, I have written guest posts or contributed to posts for three of these blogs and have been featured in a fourth; in parentheses, I’ll indicate my connection to the blogs mentioned below.
#1: The ESOL Odyssey...
Is all about working with English Language Learners. Published once or twice a month, this blog includes posts about strategies for working with ELLs and a regular feature called
Tech Tip Tuesdays.
Laurah, the blog’s writer, is an ESOL coach who provides professional development in her school district. (Guest post; also, Laurah and I co-host the monthly #ELLEdTEech Twitter chat.)
 |
| Click HERE to read The ESOL Odyssey |
#2: Everything Education...
Consists of 3 distinct types of posts:
Social Sundays, which is all about teaching social studies;
Math Mondays, which is all about, well, math; and
Found in Education, which is a weekly round up of education stories in the media. Written by
DocRunning, the Social Studies posts often include links to lots of useful resources. Many of the lesson ideas in the blog posts can be used with ELLs. (Blog post contributor)
 |
| Click HERE to read Everything Education |
#3: Go Figure!
If you assumed this blog focuses on math topics, you would be only partially right. Its tagline is “Curing one mathphobic at a time,” which makes it relevant for teachers of ELLs because concepts are explained very clearly. Written by
Scipi, topics deal with a range of mathematical concepts and she also writes about scientific issues as well. (Featured in a blog post)
 |
| Click HERE to read Go Figure! |
#4: Minds in Bloom...
Is written by
Rachel Lynette but there are many guest bloggers, too, which means a wide range of topics are included in this blog. Educators working with ELLs in all grades are sure to find something of interest. Recent posts have discussed classroom routines, technology apps, growth mindset, vocabulary instruction, and integrating standards.
 |
| Click HERE to read Minds in Bloom |
#5: Secondary Sara...
Writes about English Language Arts for middle and high school teachers. This blog includes a mix of practical teaching ideas and more theoretical issues. Last fall,
Sara wrote a series of blog posts with contributions solicited from other secondary teachers about technology, book recommendations, transitioning from middle to high school to college, and balancing work and life for teachers – topics which teachers of ELLs will find very useful. (Blog post contributor)
 |
| Click HERE to read Secondary Sara's blog |
I encourage you to check out these blogs when you have time. And if there are other blogs you find especially useful and relevant for ELL educators, please share them in the
Comments section. Happy reading!
