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Making Meaning Through Translanguaging in the Literacy Classroom
Author(s) -
Pacheco Mark B.,
Miller Mary E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the reading teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.642
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1936-2714
pISSN - 0034-0561
DOI - 10.1002/trtr.1390
Subject(s) - translanguaging , literacy , heritage language , meaning (existential) , psychology , pedagogy , neuroscience of multilingualism , mathematics education , meaning making , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience , psychotherapist
In this Teaching Tip, we share three literacy activities for teachers working with emergent bilinguals. Leveraging students’ heritage languages in instruction holds rich opportunities for literacy achievement. Translanguaging pedagogies encourage emergent bilinguals to use the full range of their linguistic repertoires when making meaning in the classroom. We describe three snapshots of three different classroom activities that welcome, leverage, and develop students’ heritage languages in literacy instruction through translanguaging pedagogies. These activities include using text features with heritage language newspapers, summarizing when writing bilingual book reports, and using translating and home photos when creating eB ooks. We conclude with implications for both student and teacher learning.