Embedded Files
Identity Affirmation refers to how teachers honor and affirm who students are holistically. Mohamed states, "Identity is a performative process where we portray ourselves in certain ways in certain contexts, and we shift to different identities as the context changes. Language plays an essential role in identity negotiation" (2022). When teachers affirm students' identities, they view all of their students' experiences and knowledge as strengths and do not ask students to leave parts of themselves outside the classroom.
Identity Affirmation refers to how teachers honor and affirm who students are holistically. Mohamed states, "Identity is a performative process where we portray ourselves in certain ways in certain contexts, and we shift to different identities as the context changes. Language plays an essential role in identity negotiation" (2022). When teachers affirm students' identities, they view all of their students' experiences and knowledge as strengths and do not ask students to leave parts of themselves outside the classroom.
"I Am From" Poems
"I Am From" Poems
Creating opportunities for students to express where they come from is an important part in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students (Lost Wor(l)ds, 2025). "I Am From" poems relate directly to students' identities and how they view the languages in their repertoires.
I will use an I Am From poem to help students connect to their own linguistic identities. I imagine using this activity after our first poetry unit to expand on the elements of poetry while still giving students the opportunity to think creatively and relate to content authentically. This activity will not only help students to apply their knowledge on poetry, it will also give me the opportunity to learn more about the background of my students.
I also plan on using this as an opportunity to deepen peer relationships within the classroom community and encourage students' cultural awareness. Both peer relationships and cultural awareness are critical features of a translanguaging classroom so that students can recognize the strengths of others who are different from themselves.
Multilingual Name Tags
Multilingual Name Tags
Usually, I place general nametags on students' desks that stay there all year. When I taught in Central Falls, my kids had tables instead of desks, so they used seatback storage for notebooks and folders. I had them create their own personalized nametags for their seatbacks, which they seemed to enjoy as a beginning-of-the-year activity. This was an opportunity for them to share their personal interests, and a chance for me to get to know them as well.
I have begun to adapt this activity for MLL students. This will give them an opportunity to share about their own cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For students who are not comfortable sharing with a partner or the whole class, this will give them the opportunity to express themselves while still giving me a glimpse into who they are as a person.
Language Portraits
Language Portraits
EDC520 Language Portrait Final.pdfLanguage portraits are a great first week of school activity to get to know my students right off the bat. I plan on doing a language portrait with my students during the first week of school, and students will have the opportunity to present them to the class. This will help me to establish a classroom culture that is inclusive of multiple cultures, backgrounds, and languages that we will continue to build upon as the year progresses.
By starting the year off focusing on languages and identities of students, I am making space for multilingual learners in the classroom. This can help students "traverse the uneven waters of communication in our society. Rather than viewing languages according to rigid power hierarchies, translanguaging can help our students understand languages as practices that are used in different social contexts for different purposes" (García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017, p. 12).
Page updated
Report abuse