On May 5, Dr. Laura Alvarez will present "Recognizing and Expanding Competence: Supporting Language Development Through Science."
This talk will focus on how inquiry-based science can be a venue for emergent bilingual students' language development. I'll present case studies of two recently arrived 5th grade newcomer students, describing how their participation and positioning in science practices changed over time. I'll also discuss implications for how we define "academic language" and how we position students in ways that recognize and expand their competence.