Ohio Receives $35 Million Literacy Grant from U.S. Department of Education

Happy kids reading a book together

To build on ongoing work to improve the language and literacy development of our state’s children, Ohio was awarded a $35 million Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. “Reading is the foundational skill that supports all learning,” said Paolo DeMaria, superintendent of public instruction. “Ohio is committed to improving outcomes […]

America the Bilingual

Article by Steve Leveen at LeadWithLanguages.org. Let me welcome you to America the Bilingual, a podcast for monolingual Americans, like me, who are learning their second language—or want to begin. Today, it’s normal for Americans, even highly educated ones, to grow up speaking only English. I’m an example, despite taking Spanish and German in school. It […]

Students with Learning Disabilities Can Learn New Languages Too

Laura Grey is proficient in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian and German. She is also learning Russian, Mandarin Chinese and Dutch. She is doing this although she has a learning disability. A learning disability is a condition that makes learning difficult. Grey has dyslexia, a learning disability that makes reading, writing and spelling difficult. […]

How to Create Culturally Responsive Classrooms

Smiling elementary school kids sitting at desks in classroom

Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) is a current buzzword in education. And you know what? As an ambassador for English Language Learners, I’m going to capitalize on this momentum. First, let’s make sure we have a common understanding of the term. There’s nothing more frustrating than someone saying, “let’s be more culturally responsive” or “teach with […]

Early Bilingualism Helps With Learning Languages Later in Life

Cute little Afro-American girl in casual clothes and headphones using a tablet and listening to music while sitting on a sofa in the room.

Bilingual people may be better equipped to learn new languages than those who only speak one language, according to a study published in the academic journal Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. The research points to a distinct language-learning benefit for people who grow up bilingual or learn another language at an early age. A team of researchers […]

Tips for Implementing the Little Sponges Program in Your Classroom

asian teacher preparing her lesson

Congratulations! Your class is now a part of the Little Sponges family! We want everyone learning with Little Sponges to receive the full educational experience as they move and advance throughout our program. We know that implementing a new program into your daily curriculum can be challenging, so with the help of Alayna (preschool teacher […]