Italy Wallace
SESSION:
Building Bridges Toward Literacy for Multilingual Students
About Italy
Meet Italy Wallace, an innovative figure serving as an Instructional Technology Coach in Chicago's Northern Suburbs. With a background in Elementary Education (B.A.) and School Leadership (M.A.), Italy boasts 17 years of enriching experience. Passionate about equitable edtech, Italy strategically employs digital tools to bridge educational disparities for underserved students and exceptional learners with the goal of increasing access for ALL. A dynamic speaker at workshops and conferences, Italy inspires educators to reimagine tech-infused classrooms, fostering a culture of ownership and confidence in navigating the digital landscape without fear.
SESSION
Building Bridges Toward Literacy for Multilingual Students
By championing the right for multilingual students to become proficient readers and writers we contribute to a more inclusive future. In the session Building Bridges Toward Literacy for Multilingual Students participants will activate prior knowledge on Scarborough's Reading Rope, focusing on the importance of oral language in language acquisition. Participants will explore a Linguistic Background Builder in a language other than English uncovering the orthography, print awareness, writing, grammar and a profile of the educational system in the applicable country. Participants will consider the uses for their context walking away with access to 8 linguistic background builders they can use to build linguistic background knowledge with teachers in their spheres of influence. The learning objectives for the session are as follows: 1) Explore the importance of oral language and cross language connections for multilingual students 2) Determine ways to build the capacity of teacher’s to use metalinguistic awareness when leveraging content for language development 3) Consider ways to partner with teachers to highlight an asset based mindset when advocating for multilingual students.
