Immigrant Students And Literacy

This powerful book demonstrates how culturally responsive teaching can make learning come alive. Drawing on his experience as a fifth-grade teacher in a multiethnic school where children spoke over 14 different home languages, the author reveals how he created a language arts curriculum from the students’ own rich cultural resources, narratives, and identities. Illustrating the challenges and possibilities of teaching and learning in a large urban school, this book: Documents how a culturally engaged pedagogy improved student achievement and increased standardized test scores.Examines the literacy practices of children from immigrant, migrant, and refugee backgrounds, and includes powerful examples of their voices and writing.Provides an invaluable model of reflective practice, including a wide array of student-centered strategies, to generate powerful learning experiencesDemonstrates a way for teachers to tap into the various forms of literacy students practice beyond the borders of the classroom. “Campano illustrates what it takes to be a teacher with heart and soul, not simply one who succumbs to the increasing calls for higher test scores and standardized curricula. . . . There are many lessons to be learned from this gem of a book.” —From the Foreword by Sonia Nieto, University of Massachusetts at Amherst “Campano shows us what we can do—what we must all learn to do—to restore children’s full humanity to the center of U.S. literacy education.” —Patricia Enciso, The Ohio State University

The perspective espoused by this volume is that collaboration among universities, schools, and communities is a crucial element in ensuring the provision of optimal learning environment for both im/migrant children and their parents. Chapter authors share their practice and theorizing regarding the many questions that arise when schools and universities collaborate with communities and build supportive structures to nurture literacy among im/migrant students. Enlightened teaching and culturally aware approaches from teachers engender support and cooperation from parents. Enlightened leadership is a constant thread through all the endeavors that are chronicled by contributors, as are the implications for socially just outcomes of successful implementation of inclusive pedagogies. Writing about the Children Crossing Borders study which began in 2003, Tobin (2019) asserted that “the social and political upheavals surrounding migration has (sic) put increasing pressure on the ECEC [early childhood education and care] sector to build bridges between the host and newly arrived communities” (p. 2). Tobin recalled that the original grant proposal for the Children Crossing Borders described young migrant children as “the true transnationals, shuttling back and forth daily between the cultures of their home and the ECEC [programs]” (p. 1)—programs staffed by well-intentioned individuals who nevertheless may “lack awareness of im/migrant parents’ preferences for what will happen in their children’s ECEC program” (p. 2). To extrapolate from Tobin’s summary of the findings of Children Crossing Borders, for both the true transnationals (the children) and their parents, “the first and most profound engagement they have with the culture and language of their new host country” (p. 1) may well be mediated by a teacher who is unaware of the intricacies of the community.

Recent immigrants and refugees — both children and their families — often struggle to adapt to Canadian education systems. For their part, educators also face challenges when developing effective strategies to help these students make smooth transitions to their new country. In Immigrant and Refugee Students in Canada, researchers join educators and social workers to provide a thorough and wide-ranging analysis of the issues at the preschool, elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels. By understanding these issues within the unique Canadian context, educators can work more effectively with newcomers trying to find their way. This book pursues three lines of inquiry: What are the main challenges that immigrant and refugee children and families face in the Canadian education system? What are the common aspects of successful intervention? What can we learn from the narratives of researchers, educators, social workers, and other frontline workers who work with immigrant and refugee families?

The picturebook is now recognized as a sophisticated art form that has provided a space for some of the most exciting innovations in the field of children’s literature. This book brings together the work of expert scholars from the UK, the USA and Europe to present original theoretical perspectives and new research on picturebooks and their readers. The authors draw on a variety of disciplines such as art and cultural history, semiotics, philosophy, cultural geography, visual literacy, education and literary theory in order to revisit the question of what a picturebook is, and how the best authors and illustrators meet and exceed artistic, narrative and cultural expectations. The book looks at the socio-historical conditions of different times and countries in which a range of picturebooks have been created, pointing out variations but also highlighting commonalities. It also discusses what the stretching of borders may mean for new generations of readers, and what contemporary children themselves have to say about picturebooks. This book was originally published as a special issue of the New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship.

More and more students are entering college in the United States without the academic literacy skills needed to successfully complete their college education. One part of this population is what we refer to as developmental immigrant (DI) students; these students are usually placed into mainstream classes, developmental classes, or ESL classes, which treat these students as only mainstream, only developmental or only ESL learners, depending on the specialized training of the instructor. The reality for most DI students, however, is that they are all three types: they are developmental students, from (mostly) non-English speaking backgrounds, who have, for the most part, been in mainstream classes in the United States. This book provides a comprehensive framework for DI students, focusing on multiple academic literacy challenges, to help them overcome the obstacles they encounter in college. This book was written for teachers who have these at-risk DI students in their classes are not sure how to teach them. The authors of this book were involved in the creation of a successful program that addresses the needs of DI students. This guide provides a forum for them to share their lessons, both literally and figuratively, with those faculty who are, or who will be, fortunate enough to teach DI students. This book is divided into three parts, and each chapter begins with the key points highlighted in the chapter. Part I, Developmental Immigrant Students and Academic Literacy (Chapters 1–2), details the challenges faced by DI students and the faculty that teach them and describes some programming options. Part II, Partnering with Campus Support Programs (Chapters 3–4), discusses using a collaborative approach, partnering with learning and writing centers, and/or advising staff and appropriate administrators, in order to maximize DI student benefits in higher education. Part III, Teaching Literacy within an Academic Framework: Suggested Approaches (Chapters 5–9), provides specific approaches that the authors have found particularly beneficial in teaching DI students. Each chapter identifies specific goals to address problematic issues for the DI students. The suggested approaches to meet each goal are intentionally specific to provide teachers across the disciplines with concrete activities and methods that can be implemented and built on in their own classrooms

Discover how to create a sense of belonging and connection for your immigrant and refugee students. This timely book, written by four award-winning teachers, offers compelling stories and practical applications to help you reach your students in the classroom and beyond. Topics covered include advocacy, using literacy to create a welcoming environment, connecting with families, building staff capacity and best practices for virtual learning. You’ll also find easy-to-implement lesson plans, as well as reflection questions throughout to help you on your journey. Appropriate for K-12 teachers, English Learner specialists and school leaders, this inspiring and useful book will help you make the necessary changes to create more positive outcomes for your immigrant students.

In a period of increasing economic and social uncertainty, how do immigrant communities come together to advocate for educational access and their rights? This book is based on a 5-year university partnership with members from Indonesian, Vietnamese, Latino, Filipino, African American, and Irish American communities. Sharing rich examples, the authors examine how these diverse groups use language and literacy practices to advocate for greater opportunities. This unique partnership demonstrates how to draw on the knowledge and interests of a multilingual community to inform literacy teaching and learning, both in and out of school. It also provides guidelines for reimagining university/community collaborations and the practice of ethical partnering. Partnering with Immigrant Communities focuses on: Minoritized immigrant populations, including groups with undocumented status and those who came to the United States to flee religious persecution. The intellectual and activist legacies that are already present in communities as people come together to take action on matters that directly impact their lives. A local cosmopolitanism that serves as a refuge for many immigrants who may otherwise be scapegoated within the dominant culture. A coalition of multilingual, multiethnic communities whose experiences are intertwined by overlapping histories of colonization and shared present struggles.Ethical and effective community-based research, including concrete and theoretically informed examples. “Supported by theory and written with clarity, this inspiring account sets the gold standard for research that is both committed and ethical.” —Hilary Janks, emeritus professor,Wits University “A game-changing text.” —Elizabeth Dutro, University of Colorado, Boulder “A powerful illustration of intentional ethical engagement through practitioner and participatory research methodologies to support sustainable community-based inquiries toward social and political transformation.” —Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, senior program officer for Tribal College and University (TCU) Early Childhood Education Initiatives, American Indian College Fund

Life, Literacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness is the first professional title dedicated to addressing a school's reading culture with a focus on the needs of immigrant and refugee students and families--including learning their target language, English. Dr. Vu presents the research-informed six conditions of culture--Commitment, Collection, Clock, Conversation, Connection, and Celebration--that create a school environment where immigrant and refugee students can thrive. Additionally, Dr.Vu provides practical strategies that most effectively support students who are new to this country.