I am a writer, teacher, and mother. I have taught for over 20 years with my first 13 years at a newcomer school. I had less than one year to get my fifth grader students reading, writing, and ready for middle school when some of them barely knew their letter sounds.
During this time I got National Board Certified in English as a New Language. Then I transferred to a nearby school to teach kindergarten. I started writing my little Chinese readers to help my kindergarteners learn Chinese. Now I teach a Cantonese bilingual 4th grade class.
Resources for Teachers
As a newcomer teacher I had to develop a lot of my own material so that it would be relevant for my students. You can check out resources for ELD teachers at Working Wonders.
As a bilingual teacher, I realized that there was a lack of good Chinese materials. The Chinese materials used in schools are from China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. But students in America aren’t exposed to as much Chinese in their environment. They needed easier and more interesting material. Besides little Chinese readers, I also created writing lessons and Chinese games.
Beginning of School Activities
This upstander figure is perfect for the first days of school. Teaching about bullying, bystanders, and how to be an upstander to help stop bullies. Get your free upstander here.