Hi, I'm new here. Right now I'm looking for a Spanish language arts curriculum or guide for 2nd grade. It is as a first language, English is our second language. I can't believe it's so hard to find something good! Is anyone in the same situation? Thanks!

I hope this post is appropriate here but I don't know where else to ask since homeschooling is our life. My kids and I (along with several other moms and homeschoolers) are volunteering, once a week, at an Indian school to help teach first graders how to read English. It's an English speaking school so I'm not sure I would really classify it as ESL, although many of their students' parents do not speak English. We have been using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with groups of 1-4 students per volunteer. It's a phonics based program and fully scripted so the student volunteers can easily administer. But there is a disconnect between what the school is teaching and our phonics approach. It seems that many of the kids have just memorized words. So after speaking to the school, they received approval from the Indian education board to change their curriculum. Now we have a meeting with the head of English and the K-1 teachers on Dec 13 to discuss what curriculum to use and how we can work together. Somehow I was elected to lead this! My kids went to public school until after they were reading. Aside from me reading to and with them, I don't know how to teach reading. I don't know what curriculum works for a classroom setting (and for unlicensed teachers who English is a second language). This school is at risk for being closed if they cannot raise the reading level of these students. I'm not aware of another option for these kids if the school is closed. They are too cute and lovely to ignore. I have been researching all over the Internet. I know some of you are certified classroom teachers. I'm hoping you can help: what recommendations would you make for curriculum to teach children to read in a classroom setting? Something not too difficult. Do you recommend a phonics approach or something else? Thank you, thank you!

I signed up with my county to be a substitute teacher and substitute paraprofessional. Yesterday, I was assigned to sub for an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at my kids high school. During homeroom I was briefed on my students by another ESL teacher. My class was made up of 17 high-school-age students; 15 Spanish speakers, one ?Mixtec? speaker, and one Farsi speaking young lady. The ESL teacher told me that the majority of them cannot read or write in their own language. The poor Mixtec and Farsi-speaking girls had no one to communicate with. He said they speak little to no English. The teacher had left lesson plans for me. My first task was instructing them to write in their journals. I don't speak Spanish so I had to demonstrate everything. I wrote, "This weekend I ______________.". Half of them wrote one or two very simple but complete sentences. Half did not participate. I moved on to my task of introducing the students to science vocabulary (canyon, shore etc.). I demonstrated cutting up strips of vocabulary words and gluing them into their journal (word bank). I then demonstrated gluing in the preprinted definitions. This was a big fail. Huge fail. I was relieved to hear the Bell ring as there was an increasing amount if chatting, jumping around and physical stuff going on. I was losing control over the class. After the class emptied out, the other ESL teacher asked me if I would come back today and fill in again. He was impressed that I was not afraid of the students and that I engaged them. I told him that my science vocabulary task was a failure and he said no worries. I don't think these ESL students are being served in our school. They are so behind. There doesn't seem to be a systematic approach to teaching them English. How are English-language skills acquired in a classroom where the teacher is the only one speaking it? You can't use flashcards with students that can't read the written form of their native language. These kids will age out of public schools at the age of 22. Can they catch up? There doesn't seem to be community support to assist in learning the language. It's discouraging and disturbing. Where will these kids be in 3 to 5 years? I can't stop thinking about these kids!

Hi All. You guys were a big help during our last adoptions as I panicked over curriculum and shared cores/grade levels, etc. We are at it again. This time she is 6 and has dwarfism and other special needs, and she will obviously come home speaking Mandarin. Because of her dwarfism she has been denied going to school. (Her story is on my blog, below.) My questions are basically from an age/esl/grade level perspective as we play catch up here. Our other kids are 5, 3, 2, and 1. We use Sonlight and Abeka. 5 year old will go with me to China and is learning functional Mandrin (at a much better rate than I am!) Any of you out there have any suggestions on the following topics? -ESL -two in kindergarten, different paces -we are worksheet/book people - this will not work for new DD. audio or visual currics you love? -combining an OLDER child (new DD) with a younger in preschool to catch up without causing weird dynamics? -focus on language first, other areas second? and any other advice. Much appreciated! Missy www.roepnack.blogspot.com

Hi all! I have been a member of this board for a while and even posted once or twice, but I have never introduced myself lol. I understand most of the acronyms used here but please forgive me if I am not exactly fluent. I guess once I post more and more, I will grow more accustomed to using the acronyms in my own posts. I am a proud mama and here's a little about our family: My daughter is 8 and loves technology, music, dolls, and stories. She is a severe dyslexic and has been held back a year in school prior to being diagnosed. She had an outside OG tutor who taught her to read and write. Her school uses Wilson fundations but the staff knows NOTHING about dyslexia. This is her second school and I am looking to homeschool her because her little spirit has been crushed by the whole schooling experience. She gets speech in school for articulation. My son is 6 and loves art, photography, baseball, and cracking jokes. He appears to have dyslexia and ADHD but is only in kindergarten, so I can't say for sure. He was having an even tougher time in school and was going to have to repeat kindergarten because of his behavior and reading trouble, but I objected. We are working on getting him diagnosed but I am also looking for another school for him. Or I may homeschool him as well if I can find the right fit for him. He also has some articulation issues and will start speech therapy outside the school this summer. I teach adult ESL and have a lot of Orton-Gillingham training. We live in a billingual - English & Spanish - household but the kids only read & write in English.

I'm asking this for a friend here, who is finding English classes too expensive and difficult to orchestrate with 3-4 children taking them... She's looking for something online for primary age children...though in a few years they'll be secondary level.... She wants them to be able to converse with very elderly grandparents and other relatives who cannot do Skype....so she can't depend on her extended family....She's not a native speaker herself and her dh is too busy.... Thanks! Joan

Ok, So this fall we'll have a special needs Kindergartner (most pronounced is that he has visuo-, somatodyspraxia which makes him sensory seeking), 2 ESL middle schoolers (with basically no functional English), a 2nd, and 4th grader. If you have any tips for scheduling, schooling, and all around managing a situation remotely similar to this, please share! We're generally a classically educating family and our youngest 3 will participate in a CC community. Thanks in advance!