To kick off the 2018–2019 school year, I have compiled many really good resources that I came across this summer. I’d like to share links to the best of what I’ve read over the past few months.

1. Several Ways to Get the New School Year Off to a Good Start–Part One
This article is from Larry Ferlazzo’s Education Week column, Classroom Q & A. The responses are from classroom teachers and writers in the field of education. This column has an excellent response by Rick Wormeli, the author of One Day and Beyond. Also, there are links in Larry’s article to Part Two  and Part Three.

2. Getting it Right: Reference Guide for Registering Students with Non-English Names
We all want our school districts to get our ELs’ names right, but that can be difficult for the school staff that is charged with registering students. This handy guide has examples of naming conventions in 11 languages.

3. English Learners and ESSA: A Resource Kit
This is an extensive report on how new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) regulations affect ELs in school. This mandate started September 2017 and is a must for teachers of ELs to have in their classrooms so that they are familiar with the ESSA regulations for ELs. TESOL has a lot of information on their website.

4. 4 Practical Steps to Help Immigrant Families in your School Community
According to this article on Colorín Colorado, 7% of K–12 students in the United States have at least one undocumented parent.  It is imperative for schools to know what their legal obligations are toward these students.

5. How Much Can Schools Protect Undocumented Students?
This is an article from Education Week on what schools can do to protect undocumented students. Schools may have less power to do this than we think. One way that might work is for schools to limit immigration officials’ access to school grounds.

6. Why Immigrant Families May Have Unique Needs Before, During, and After Natural Disasters
This is excellent information from Colorín Colorado about what unique needs immigrant families may have during a natural disaster and what schools can do to help communicate with these families. These needs include communication, preparation for an imminent disaster, and how to evacuate.

7. Refugee
This book by Alan Gratz is a brilliant novel that presents three stories of survival. The book centers on children and their families when they are driven from their home by war and violence. This book is a must read for teachers.

8. 18 Ways to Support Your English Learners
This article has advice from ESL teacher Valentina Gonzalez on strategies for teachers so that they can level the playing field for ELs in content-area learning. I recommend adding Valentina’s blog to your list of articles and books to read so that you can keep up with the field of ESL education.

9. ESL/ELD Resource Group of Ontario
This website allows you to download guided reading books for ELs and includes a lesson plan. The books are practical, everyday topics that help older students navigate the ins and outs of their life. Although some of the books are distinctly for Canadian audiences, there is plenty to download for U.S. teachers.

10. Creating a Welcoming Environment for English Learners in Your School and Classroom
and Five Elements of a Positive Classroom Environment for Students Living With Adversity
This past summer, I coauthored two articles for ASCD Inservice. The first (“Creating a Welcoming Environment”), I coauthored with Debbie Zacarian, and the other (“Five Elements”), I coauthored with Debbie Zacarian and Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz.

*A version of this article first appeared on the TESOL Blog, 19 September 2018.

Judie Haynes taught elementary ESL for 28 years and is the author and coauthor of eight books for teachers of ELs , the most recent being “Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence and Chronic Stress“ with Debbie Zacarian and Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz. She was a columnist for the TESOL publication "Essential Teacher" and is also cofounder and comoderator of the Twitter Chat for teachers of English learners #ELLCHAT.