Newcomers to the Classroom
If you teach in an urban district, there is a pretty good chance you have immigrant children in your classroom. There has been an influx of immigrant children such as the U.S. has not seen before for several years now and it's increasing steadily. Teaching these children is not always easy. All the strategies you have been taught to teach children to read seem to go out the window when you have a newcomer who doesn't know how to respond when you are asking just, "What is your name?"
If the child has learning difficulties such as a delay or disability, it can be tricky to identify. Many psychologists that I know will rightly say the child is new to the country or has never attended school so to refer them to an intervention team with the idea they will soon be tested for disability usually will not happen right away. Documentation is key.
I received an immigrant boy in fourth grade, who has been with me now for six weeks and does not have the ability at this time to identify letter A from letter B despite my efforts to use voice, pictures, and manipulatives. He has six letters in his name and cannot remember what they are. This is a very real challenge for me and one I am documenting weekly. If something similar has happened to you, I feel your pain. Amazingly, I got another new third grade ELL girl two weeks later, who could speak to this boy in his home language. This little girl came with no English just like the boy, but now has been able to identify letters A-H and write her name successfully. She can also ask to use the restroom. Even if this boy has never been to school before, I now feel like there might be a learning delay. The good news is that the girl helps the boy as much as she can and the boy is very receptive. I'm documenting and keeping my fingers crossed.
The struggle to teach immigrant children is real. They come to us with all sorts of personal issues, cultural struggles and learning levels.Collaboration with these student's homeroom teachers is a must. Sometimes the classroom teachers are very confused about how to approach the newcomers. I have encouraged some teachers I work with to keep some independent "centers" handy such as letter matching, handwriting, and word sorts. Additionally, there is always online reading sites to help. My ESL department purchased a five year contract with a math program that uses no language, but rather animations along with numbers. It's cutting edge intuitive and moves children up to increasingly complicated math levels.
I use quite a few materials that are leveled for kindergarten/first grade for my lower functioning ELLs. I am very cognizant about providing materials that help struggling newcomers. My goal is to help teachers find those materials. If I don't have them, I try to create them. I like a variety of materials so I decided last year to create a product to help newcomers that I do actually use. I'm not saying it's a "fix-all" because it certainly isn't, but it is a help for many of my newcomers.
Here it is:
