The class is approaching a unit on life cycles. Ms. Prasad finds three images of living beings and their life cycles: a butterfly, a chicken, and a plant. She sends the three images home with each student for families to pick one and discuss. Families are asked to talk with their children about the image in the languages they are most comfortable with. They can share facts and vocabulary, and even make up stories about the picture.
When students come to class the following week, Ms. Prasad has all three pictures up on the screen, and students are asked to discuss them with their partners. They talk about the one their families picked and what they learned. Ms. Prasad walks around the room, listening and gathering information about students’ prior knowledge before she begins the unit.
Pictures offer families an easy entry point into academic conversations and help lay the groundwork for the learning ahead. When families use primary languages to discuss the pictures, multilingual learners’ second language acquisition is also supported. This culturally inclusive method of family engagement positions family members as experts and partners in learning. Family members are able to share what they can, and in the language they are most proficient in.
Here’s what a typical plan might look like:
- Begin by sharing with families how this home-school connection will work and what it looks like. Be clear about telling families what their role is and what the expectations are. Families should know they are encouraged to talk about the pictures in the language they are most comfortable and proficient in. Some might think they need to speak in English in order to help their child learn more English. Be explicit about sharing with families the value, importance, and role one’s first language plays in second language acquisition.
- Let students know the expectations too. Model what this type of engagement looks and sounds like. Many students are familiar with paper and pencil homework, but fewer are accustomed to assignments that ask for listening and speaking. It may be helpful to record a couple of video examples to share with students and families.
- Before a new unit of study, select a few pictures and send them home for discussion. They can be shared in print, digitally, or both. Remind families and students about the assignment and the expectations. This article by Dr. Fleenor offers additional tips on selecting images and visuals.
- When it’s time to begin the unit, include the pictures in the introduction. The pictures can be used in a variety of ways:
- Have students brainstorm what they know about the upcoming unit and what they want to know.
- Label the pictures or one picture (PWIM).
- Ask students to share with a partner about the picture they discussed at home.
- Finally, as the unit is wrapping up, send the pictures home again and have students share all of their new learning with their family members (again, in the language they are most comfortable speaking).
What I’ve described above is a modified version of preview-view-review, a strategy for helping multilingual learners make cross-linguistic connections as they simultaneously learn new information and acquire a new language. This modification includes engaging family members and partnering with them for the sake of students and their success.
While Ms. Prasad’s example was derived from a lesson that taught students facts (nonfiction), pictures of people or animals doing things can also be used to support fiction, literacy, story elements, and storytelling.
This technique is not limited to elementary schools or to multilingual learners. Middle and high school students can also engage in conversation with family members around images that tie to the curriculum and are relevant and compelling to their age group.
Teachers have been using visuals to help make content comprehensible for multilingual learners for decades. But when we ask students to engage with the visuals, we can take them to the next level.
Valentina Gonzalez is the co-author of Reading and Writing with English Learners.
Seidlitz Education 