As a person, I only speak one language, English. I have always read above my grade level and consume books like a food. I am sure the same is true for many of our students. For some, however, English is a second or even third language. These students are our Emergent Bilinguals. Formerly, they were referred to as English Language Learners (ELLs), but that label both limits their ability and identity to their English ability and erases their skills/experiences from their native language.(García, 2018) 

My current school has a large number of students who are emergent bilinguals, who speak languages ranging from Ukrainian to Creole. Each of these students are expected to become proficient in English as part of their educational goals. In order for these students to be considered proficient, they must be able to comprehend and communicate in English effectively, as well as do the cognitive demanding work in academic content areas at their appropriate grade level.(García, 2008)

With more emergent bilingual students than ever, teachers need to be able to provide them with work and readings that are appropriate for their ability level that allow them to grow and continue learning without hampering themselves or putting an undue burden on the educator. Magic School is an app that can help with just that. Using AI, the program can take a text and either raise or lower its Lexile level in a matter of minutes. For our Emerging Bilinguals, who are at wide variety of reading levels, raising or lowering a texts level is key to either giving the students texts at a level the can comprehend, or challenge them with texts that may push beyond what their current level is. As an educator, the ability to give a student a text at a level they can understand while keeping up academic rigor and encouraging growth is exactly what we need, especially given the convenience and reliability that the app has shown thus far. To help demonstrate, my screencast video goes in depth with how the app works and how one might use it. 

References: 

García, O., Kleifgen, J. A., & Cummins, J. (2018). Educating emergent bilinguals: Policies, programs, and practices for English learners. Teachers College Press. November 4, 2023, https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dRxhAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=emergent+bilinguals&ots=w9f18o2TBd&sig=la4snpPvQWOq87hH1gYa49wwEFQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

García, O., Kleifgen, J. A., & Falchi, L. (2008). From English language learners to emergent bilinguals. Campaign for Educational Equity, Teachers College, Columbia University. November 4, 2023, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED524002

MagicSchool AI. (2023). AI for teachers - lesson planning and more!. MagicSchool.ai - AI for teachers - lesson planning and more! https://www.magicschool.ai/