If you’re looking for ways to boost your students’ acquisition of English, don’t forget the power of movement!

Movement in the English Language Learner classroom is essential for student success. It helps children to develop language skills, foster a connection with English, and provides learners with memorable experiences.

As a little boy, children’s author John Ribbing was a voracious reader. While his classmates ate lunch and enjoyed recess, John could often be found wrapped up in a favorite new book. These days, getting kids excited about stories, books, and reading has been one of John’s passions. It only stands to reason that the entire country celebrating literacy together throughout the month of March is something he finds to be extra special!

Let’s back up and get into how this father of four, former Marine, coach, entrepreneur, and marketing specialist went from lover of readingas a child to lover of writing… and added ‘author’ to his repertoire!

The holiday season may be far behind us, but testing season has arrived. A necessary evil? Maaaaaybe! But rather than debate the issue, let’s admit that love it or hate it, testing time is here and isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

It’s all good, though…your students are prepared! You’ve differentiated instruction, implemented technology, created content area word walls, allowed for inquiry and project-based instruction, used graphic organizers, anchor charts, stood on your head (ha-ha) and tons more.  You’ve exposed your girls & boys to a variety of testing formats and terminology, like ‘fill-in-the-blank’, ‘true or false’, ‘word bank’, and so on. You’ve taught them to think carefully about what they’re being asked to do; for example, am I writing a paragraph or clicking on the correct answer?

As a very little girl, I loved books and being read to. I vividly remember checking books out from the local library & from our neighborhood bookmobile, as well as my own vast collection of Little Golden Books. As a preteen I cherished being allowed to stay up an extra half an hour before bed to read my Beverly Cleary books. My friends and I look back and laugh at how cool we thought we were when we graduated to Judy Bloom! It’s no wonder that as an adult I chose to pursue a career in education and language. I cherish my love of books and of reading, yet I understand that for some students, reading can feel like a cringeworthy chore.

Looking for a few ways to instill a love of reading in your students?

A name is more than just a word or label that we identify ourselves with. Our names represent our heritage, our family, and our individual identities. For many of us, our given names are carefully chosen by our parents or grandparents and hold special meaning. As we grow older and enter school, our names become part of our everyday lives. They are how our teachers and classmates address us, how we sign our school papers, and even how we are listed in the yearbook! For some of us, our names are like miniature time capsules that carry with them the hopes, dreams, and history of those who came before us.

As children, most of us are not given much choice in what we are named. We’re simply given the name that our families have selected for us. For many of us, this is not a big deal. However, for others, it can be a source of anxiety or even shame. Maybe we don’t like how our name sounds or maybe we think it’s too difficult for others to say or pronounce.  Maybe we wish that we had been given a more “normal” name like Mary or Joe rather than something unique like Serenity or Kai. Whatever the reason, it’s important to remember that there is power in a name.