88. Empowering Newcomers: Essential Lessons for the First 3 Weeks

Welcome to another episode of the Equipping ELLs

Podcast. We are in the middle of a series of getting you set up

for the school year and really helping you to make it as

successful as possible. I hope you've been enjoying the episodes

and please let us know what other topics you'd like to see. We are

here. to help support you in any way that we can Today I want to

share with you what to do the first three weeks with newcomers

because I know it can feel really overwhelming. It can feel really

frightening, especially just those first few days of getting

things started and. I want to help alleviate that fear. I want to

help take away that stress. And I want you to go into the school

year, having a plan and knowing confidently what you should be

doing with your newcomers the first couple of weeks. So that's

what we're going to dive into today. I'm going to go through the

first three weeks. I'm going to talk about what to do the first

day, if you push in or if you. Have them in your own classroom.

I'm going to give some tips about that. And then I'm also going to

share three things that you shouldn't be doing the first three

weeks. All right. Let's dive in.

So the first day that you have your newcomers some things that you

really want to be aware of and put on your radar is to one meet

your students at the front door or at the bus. I know that you

probably have some that will come through the front door, some

that will come on the bus. So you might have to divide your time

or get another teacher. that can be on the lookout for these

newcomer students because that's a very scary time to be walking

into a building Not sure where you're supposed to go? Not sure how

to communicate. Where your classroom is, or who your teacher is.

And so we want to be on high alert during that first day. To be

able to catch those kids and help them get to their classroom

safely. So I know in different schools it's different. And so I

know that you might be not even seeing your students for the first

couple of weeks. So I want to be sensitive to that. And. I want

to.

So I know that as an esl teacher, you might not even be seeing

your students on the first day. So I'm going to be sensitive to

that and kind of give you a few different ideas whether. You get

the opportunity to pull your students or not. But let's talk about

the first day with newcomers. The first thing you want to do is

you want to have materials already prepped and ready for those

students. I recommend you have a newcomer welcome folder that

you've already prepared, and that's ready and set up for your

students. This is a great way to have resources that. If you're

pushing in to at least check in, let them know who you are. Give

them some tools that are going to help them with the homeroom

teacher. And the homeroom teacher knows they have those tools that

they can use as well. So you're empowering both the student and

the teacher in the homeroom classroom. So get set up a newcomer

welcome folder. What would you put in a newcomer welcome folder?

You might ask, well, you're in luck because we have a free one for

you. Because I want every student to have some things available

for them on the first day. I truly believe it's a make it or break

it not that it's going to ruin their career. In education if we

don't connect with them. But I do think it's a powerful message to

send to them that when they come the first day and they see that

there's materials ready for them that are appropriate for them.

They are going to feel encouraged and welcomed and loved. So we're

going to share with you a free newcomer welcome kit. But what's in

it are very simple activities that they can color, that they can

express themselves through drawing. There's also some survival

cards in there. And this is a great way to just provide students

with that visual picture. This is maybe something that you want to

have translated. Also just some ideas for the homeroom teacher so

that they're not completely dependent on. You to provide the

support that that student needs, because we know that our

newcomers unless you're at a school that has a newcomer center,

most of the time, the newcomers are in the homeroom class the

majority of the day. So there's some materials in there that will

help your newcomer teachers. And then there's a week of activities

that you can do. And we're going to talk about that in just a

minute. But that first day, your real focus should be on smiling,

encouraging your students, letting them go through this folder,

having materials that may be pencils and crayons and having

something, maybe. They color a picture of themselves. You just

give them a portrait and they are going to color themselves. Or

maybe you have a flag that they can color to share about their

country. Really keeping it where they don't have to feel the need

to talk. They don't feel put on the spot. They are just feeling

comfortable and gaining that confidence in being in your classroom

or being in the homeroom classroom. when you do icebreaker

activities think about what this looks like for your newcomers do

not do things where they have to talk where they have to things

like to truths and a lie that is super overwhelming for newcomer

Or going around the circle and having to remember everyone's name.

Those are things that are going to embarrass those children and

those students. And we don't want to do that to them. So. I would

really look at the activities that you are going to do with them

and they're going to do in the homeroom classroom and really

encourage teachers to not be putting them on the spot. So start

off with a really simple activity of coloring. Share about

yourself. Share pictures of yourself share about your dog or your

cat. Or a sport that you like or your kids. That helps them to see

that you are a real person, that you are connecting with them. And

for that student who has a dog at home too, or maybe has left a

dog. In a country that they just came from, they might feel really

connected to that and want to share about the dog. And maybe

they'll do Google Translate to try to tell you about their dog

that they miss. Just those really simple ways where you're showing

them who you are helps build connections and bridges. I also

encourage you on the first day or in the first couple of days

using books read aloud are such a great activity during the first

week and throughout the whole school year. But there are so many

wonderful. Simple books that you can use that are geared towards

newcomers to feel welcomed. We post about this. We'll post a list

of different options and different books you can find, but there's

books like all are welcome here. Or I'm new here. It's all about

English Language learners. And so taking time to read the book, go

slow, use gestures. And really just help them to see the pictures

and help the story the pictures to tell the story. So on that

first day, I would do a read aloud of one of those books. And

really the main point on the first day in the first couple of days

is going to help them feel as comfortable as possible. So I like

to do activities where I'm really involving them. In getting set

up and getting comfortable in the school and the classroom. So

this might look like walking around the school, doing a tour of

the school where you're showing them the picture card that they

have and their survival cards. And you're saying the word and

you're saying it slowly and maybe you have them. You bring your

ipad with. And they translate it on their ipad and just doing a

tour of the school. Meeting. The principal meeting. Their

teachers. Going slow with that and really helping them build that

Foundation. I also love if you have devices available, let them

create their own project. Of have them take a picture of the

pencils and the markers and maybe make a digital dictionary for

themselves and they can write the translation with that picture

that they took. So gives them a lot of that. You don't have to

have everything set up before they start. You want to involve them

in a lot of that. But having a welcome folder, having that ready

to go is going to be crucial for this first couple of days and

then find activities that they can do that are involving them

where they're not having to talk, doing things like creating an

interactive bulletin board. Where maybe you have a map up and you

have them draw their flag and color it. Or maybe you have a

puzzle. Every student gets a puzzle piece, and then it all fits

together. Or maybe they're going to translate the word welcome in

their home language. And put that up on a bulletin board. There's

so many ways that your students can feel welcomed and accepted

without having to be put on the spot and talking. So those are all

ideas I would do the first week. Now moving into your second week

of school. This is when I want to encourage you to set up

routines. Now you might think this is out of order. I have to test

the students. I need to see where they're at. I really believe

that when we test our students too early, before we've built the

relationship, before we've created the routines, we are really not

seeing the skills and abilities that our students have. Who

performs well when they're testing and they don't even know the

teacher really that's sitting in front of them and wanting to do

this. Nobody so. I really believe that testing happens best when

they are feeling comfortable with you. When you've set things up,

where they know what to expect, that's when you can really observe

and check in on where they're at. So I want to encourage you for

week two. To still push off the testing and really set up the

routines inside the welcome folder. If you download it again, it's

free. It's there for you to use. We have a whole week of

activities, and these are the types of routines that I'm starting

with, that I'm talking about. And so building right away from the

start of the year. That second week of school, after you've gotten

to know them, you're still going to prioritize getting to know

your students. But now you're going to want to start building

those routines and setting up the structure of how the year is

going to go. So on Monday, when they come into class, you're going

to share the six vocabulary words they're going to be learning

that week. And if it's newcomers, you're going to. Be focusing on

classroom vocabulary, things that they need to begin to learn in

order to survive school. So things like teacher students,

notebook, pencil, those types of things, those six vocabulary

cards. You're going to show them. You're going to have them repeat

them. You can come up with some gestures with them. You might have

them translate for you. What that word is in their native

language. You're going to have fun with those six vocabulary

words. And you're going to go over the six vocabulary words every

day. Now that first day, you're going to read those six vocabulary

words in context. Now they're hearing. They're building listening

comprehension. That's routine one. Now the second day they come in

and you're going to review those words and you're going to see if

they can point to those words. So it's all about just interacting

and using these words in their surrounding. And now you're going

to introduce a grammar skill. So this grammar skill for the first

week would be how to greet somebody, how to. Say Hello how to say

goodbye now with newcomers they might not be they might not feel

comfortable repeating yet. That's totally okay. They might not

want to say anything, but they can hear it. They can listen. And

for those who are ready, let them role play it. Let them see in a

group you're probably going to have some that are ready to do

that, or maybe have a little bit more English background. And so

never push a student in these beginning days. Let them just soak

it in, take it in and when they're ready, they'll let you know.

That day two routine is really focusing on a grammar skill,

especially one that's going to help them to begin to acclimate

quickly to their environment. Day three. Encourage speaking

through games. Don't make again, don't force anybody, but just

create a simple game a simple way that they can work on. The

Greetings or using the vocabulary. Day Four work on a simple

reading, reread the story from Monday and have them. Point to the

words as they read. This is where you can work on directionality.

This is where you can work on looking at the picture, identifying

the word, the vocabulary word that they learned about earlier in

the week. Again, it's all repetitive. We want to build those

skills. We want to have multiple opportunities to hear the words

that they're working on. And then day five, they're going to do a

quick writing for a newcomer. This might look like tracing. This

might look like copying. And that's okay. That's appropriate. But

you're building a routine. Where now the students, if you do this

for even a couple of weeks, they're going to come in, ready to

work. They're going to come in knowing exactly what they need to

do and what's expected of them. So that's why I encourage you. By

week two, start setting up this routine and stick to it. And

you're going to see how powerful it is when they know what to

expect. Now once you get this routine set up and running smoothly.

And if you only see your newcomers maybe three times a week, then

just adjust a little bit. Maybe you see them for a longer amount

of time so you can fit more of those things in 1 hour than if you

see them for maybe half an hour a day. So you know what's best.

And now for the third week, once you have the routine, you're

going to keep that routine going. And now is your opportunity to

begin assessing and by assessing. I don't mean. Doing all the

grade level assessments and. Just really. Overwhelming them with

assessment. After assessment. After assessment. We don't want to

do that. Use an assessment that's going to give you the

information you are looking for. Use a quick check in to see.

Where they're at at the beginning of the year. That might look

like doing Letters and sounds assessment. That might look like

doing a listening assessment. A Speaking assessment. For the

reading part. Like I said of letters and sounds. Or if do you

think they're further along than that? Maybe doing a cvc activity.

And then just kind of keep. If they can read CBC words. Okay, then

go on to the next skill. But you don't want to give them these

long assessments that leave them discouraged, and that really

aren't showing you what you're looking for. So. Define as you go

into your assessments, what is it that will help you have a good

benchmark of where they're at at the beginning of the year. And.

Will help you plan your lessons for the next couple of weeks.

That's really what's the most important thing. Now, I know this

might cause some arguments with teachers. They need to do the

second grade assessment. We need it over there. Okay. Give them a

little bit. But. Don't bombard them with multiple pages of

assessments. When you know that that's not the appropriate level

for them. Simplify it. Try to figure out what's the most important

thing that you can see if they know it or not, if they do great on

it. Great. Give them more of the assessment. If it's really

confusing for them and you can tell that they are not at that

level yet then don't waste your time. So by Week three, you're

going to continue with that same routine of the vocabulary, the

story, the grammar, the speaking, the reading, the writing, doing.

The same vocabulary and skills throughout the week so that it's

building on each other. And then you're going to find those

moments where you can do short, quick assessments. I recommend to

assess one on one at this point of the year. I know if you have a

large caseload that might be difficult. Now the other thing. Is I

know sometimes right away, you're not able to meet with kids yet.

So if you are a teacher that you're not with your students the

first couple of weeks because you're testing and you're scheduling

and your grouping. I would still. Try to encourage your teachers

and see if you're able to pull your students even for just a

little bit, even if you don't know exactly what language level

they're at yet. Or. Exactly what groups you're going to have yet

sometimes that takes so long to get the schedule and to get the

groups together that we waste a lot of the crucial time of the

year when it's about building relationships and connecting with

these students. So if you're someone that you usually don't get to

see your students for three or four weeks. See if you can find a

time with each grade level that you're working with. Where you can

pull different groups of students, if you know. Okay. I think

these students probably. I know for sure these are newcomers. So

I'm going to pull all of the newcomers in second grade, even if

it's just once a week that you can begin to build that connection

and begin to show them materials you're going to be using and

begin to set up routines, all those things. It's going to be

helpful. If a month has already gone into school and. They've

gotten set up in the classroom. But they haven't really built any

relationship in connection with you. It then takes more time a

month in to kind of set up your own routine, especially if it's

different than what's happening in the classroom. So I want to

encourage you to try to advocate for that time with your students

so you can have that time to get to know them. Observe them, write

down what. You're seeing think through different groups and what

would work best for your schedule, for what you're trying to

accomplish with your students and the time that you have and have

those conversations with the homeroom teacher. Now I want to talk

about three things not to do. The first three weeks, and I hit on

most of these things, but just to reiterate them, one is to not

assess them with grade level assessments. Wait on those.

Especially when we're speaking about newcomers. That's not

appropriate for them. It's a waste of time. It's overwhelming for

them. They've already probably had a screener when they came into

the school. So. It's just don't do that to them. Number two, don't

put them on the spot. When we're working with newcomers, we need

to be sensitive to the silent period and sensitive to the risk and

fear and anxiety that comes to speaking a new language, especially

when you're in a mixed group of peers. And all the other students

are proficient. That's very overwhelming. And that's very scary.

So please encourage your homeroom teachers that you're working

with as well. To not do activities that are going to put your

students, your newcomers on the spot unless they choose to speak

up themselves. That they need to be really mindful of that. And

then number three, don't push reading. There's a sentiment that

I'm gathering that I'm seeing that I'm hearing. That I'm reading.

I'm a fan of science or reading, but I feel like it's taken on

this kind of crazy mindset that we must do phonics right away. And

this is the most important thing. And now. All it matters is that

we phonics. And if that's the situation you're in in your school,

I want you to really. Take a breath and advocate for what your

newcomers need. They do not need phonics. In the first three weeks

of school. I would even say and this might be controversial, but I

would say that they don't even phonics the first three months of

school. I say this because. I'm looking and observing and

researching of what is it that our students need when they're

reading? So when we have newcomers who are coming in trying to

read right away. But. They don't have the vocabulary. It's really

wasteful of their time. They need vocabulary. If they can sound

out at but they don't know what a cat is then really. They're

sounding out things without any comprehension. And they just don't

have that. So we need to spend the first couple of weeks, months.

Really building up the foundation of English language. We need to

build up their vocabulary. Word Bank. And then they'll start be

able to understand the sounds and blending and doing those things.

But if we don't give them the time and space to build up the

vocabulary. It's really not a helpful process. It's a big struggle

for them to be reading, so keep that in mind. To not fall into

that trap that we need to assess them on where they're at, at

reading. And we need to be pushing these letter sounds right away.

That can be done naturally, as you are doing your routine that I

shared, you can be pointing out, oh, bus. Starts with bu. You can

be highlighting the letters and the sounds, but. That shouldn't

overtake. Learning phonics and learning reading as a newcomer

should not overtake building foundational skills in English. There

are a lot of different things that you can do during the first

couple of weeks with newcomers, but the most important things are

to keep it simple. Smile and help them feel welcomed if you do

those three things. Your year is going to be successful. I promise

you. Now, if you are feeling overwhelmed with supporting

newcomers, we have got you covered. Come join us inside equipping

ells, where we literally give you everything you need for K

through twelve newcomers, along with guidance on how to get it set

up. We will provide you with the assessments. And we've recently

added some quarterly. goals so you know exactly what to target

each quarter by grade level and language level and have the

resource right there to just print and teach we are really trying

to take out all of the additional planning and work that you have

to do and doing it all for you I mean, just take a minute to

imagine how different your year would be if you have one place to

find all the materials you need to successfully and easily teach.

For newcomers, we have icebreakers. We have everything. Just come

join us inside equipping. Lls. And make sure to join us today

before the price increases on August 15, we're going to be. Adding

a bunch of new resources for this upcoming year. So we want you to

get in before that happens. If you have any questions or if we can

help support you in any other way, please let us know. Thanks for

joining us and I will be back again next week with a new episode.

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