In her new book, nationally known professional development consultant and literacy expert Socorro Herrera and her colleagues provide a theoretical foundation for culturally responsive teaching that will accelerate literacy development for all students, and particularly for English language learners. Aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), this volume incorporates current research and best practices for developing a classroom community that takes into account students' languages, cultures, and individual biographies. This resource provides proven-effective strategies, tools, and ideas that can be adapted and modified for any grade level and content area. This book features; a demonstration DVD showing the books strategies in action in real classrooms; classroom strategies that align with CCSS and Response to Intervention; guidance to help teachers use grouping configurations to build classroom community and maximize students assets; and a quick-glance overview and an in-depth exploration of each strategy that illustrates each step of implementation. 208 page book and 1-hour DVD

Previous edition published: New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 2013, under title Accelerating literacy for diverse learners: strategies for the common core classrooms, K-8.

Research indicates that the culturally responsive teaching strategies outlined in this book accelerate literacy, language development, and academic growth for students in grades K–8, particularly for English language learners. Completely revised and updated, this bestselling resource speaks to the social-emotional needs of learners and helps teachers support each child’s development of a positive self-concept. The authors present best practices, aligned with reading and content standards, and tools for developing academic talk and instructional conversations in the classroom. Special emphasis is placed on using student culture and language as a means for promoting meaningful relationships among communities of learners. The text includes tips for using the strategies for parental involvement, gathering knowledge of the student's background, and promoting social-emotional learning. A companion website provides new video of the strategies being used in classrooms. "Accelerating Literacy for Diverse Learners provides teachers a powerful framework to guide their decisionmaking processes in support of their students’ sociocultural, linguistic, cognitive, and academic biographies. The book presents a varied set of strategies that actively engage students in communicating, displaying, sharing, analyzing, reflecting on, and using their own understandings to develop new understandings and gain access to a high-quality curriculum." —Ester J. de Jong, EdD, professor, University of Florida, and 2017-18 President of TESOL

Accelerating and Extending the Literacy of Diverse Students keeps alive the conviction that the growing diverse student body can become successful learners. By creating a culturally relevant classroom that is validating and affirming as it acknowledges the strengths of diverse students, culturally relevant teaching can empower students, motivating them to excel in the classroom and beyond. Each chapter provides sound strategies that can be used to transform teaching of diverse students, using technology, visual literacy, picture books, bibliotherapy, and explorations of where words come from leading to a deeper appreciation and use of words as students read and write. Realizing that teaching can be wearing and stressful, one chapter provides suggestions on how teachers can recharge and nurture their inner lives to be the happy teachers that can change the world.

Effective ways to help ELLs excel As you tailor your teaching to engage the increasing number of English language learners, the key to success is focusing on literacy. Adapted from the highly successful Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K–6, this book provides a wealth of grade-specific literacy strategies that not only increase student achievement but also increase it rapidly. The authors provide proven practical tools for differentiating instruction to meet language and individual learning styles. Teachers will find an instructional and assessment framework designed to promote these critical competencies: Functional literacy in phonics, spelling, and reading Content-area literacy for vocabulary, concept attainment, and comprehension Technological literacy for information searching, evaluation, and synthesis Innovative literacy for creativity, growth, and lifelong learning Included are more than 100 planning models, matrixes, rubrics, and checklists. Teachers with students who have had interrupted formal education or come from newly arrived immigrant populations will find a wealth of proven methods for giving ELLs every opportunity to succeed.

Culturally responsive pedagogy, literacy, and English learner education expert Socorro Herrera has updated this bestseller to clarify, focus, and redefine concepts for the continued professional development of educators serving culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations. Teaching strategies and tools have been updated to reflect important new brain research and to keep pace with our nation’s ever-changing demographics and constant shift in expectations for K–12 students. Herrera has also revised the structure and format of the book to help educators find information quickly while working in highly complex and demanding environments. New for the Second Edition: Teaching strategies and tools based on the most current knowledge in the field. Authentic classroom artifacts that have been collected from teachers across the country. Glossary of key terms providing an auxiliary resource for current readers and for future applications of content in professional practice. Reorganized features with new icons providing a more user-friendly text for practitioner and classroom use. Updated excerpts from grade-level classroom teachers clarifying practice with CLD students and families. Additional planning and instructional aids available for free at www.tcpress.com. Grounded in the latest theory and with more user-friendly features, the Second Edition of Biography-Driven Culturally Responsive Teaching will help educators to reflect on their assumptions and perspectives, integrate best practices, and accelerate CLD students’ academic learning. “Socorro Herrera does a masterful job of mediating multicultural education theory and practice, specifically for culturally and linguistically diverse students, in Biography-Driven Culturally Responsive Teaching.” —From the Foreword by Geneva Gay, University of Washington, Seattle

The need for teachers who have both the knowledge and the skills to teach students in special education, especially students who are emergent bilinguals, is more critical today than ever before. Assumptions about the assurances outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have led to practices that have limited the scope of opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with disabilities. This book examines the intent of special education policy, challenges existing systems, and explores the promise of using biography-driven instruction to transform students’ learning and enhance their personal growth and community life. With a focus on inclusive practices for working with CLD students with disabilities and their families, the book examines decision-making processes for placement, access, instruction, assessment, and evaluation. The authors show how inclusionary practices create contexts and conditions for teachers to foster their students’ academic abilities through authentic cariño and an ecology of care. Book Features: Elucidates the challenges faced by educators and support personnel as they navigate and prioritize the needs of CLD students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Discloses the outdated, politically driven, inequitable, and inconsequential educational opportunities often afforded to CLD students receiving special services. Provides a framework for creating learning opportunities grounded in the six principles of IDEA and the personal and academic biography of learners and their families. Supports teachers and other staff to maximize four interrelated facets of the CLD student biography: sociocultural, linguistic, cognitive, and academic. Explores the multiple meanings of inclusion and academic engagement at the intersection of IDEA and biography-driven instruction.