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Asset-Based Language and Literacy
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Asset-Based Language and Literacy
The Flip-To Guide to Multilingual Learner Excellence in the Core

Second Edition


June 2025 | 408 pages | Corwin
Ensure multilingual learners thrive in every classroom, every day.

Asset-Based Language and Literacy is the essential guide for K–12 teachers to ensure all students—including multilingual learners (MLs)—thrive with the rigorous content literacy and language demands of school. Building on the proven pedagogy and practical flip-to format of the best-selling first edition, Tonya Ward Singer offers essential updates that help educators center ML assets and deepen collaborative inquiry to ensure MLs belong and thrive in every classroom, every day.  

The user-friendly flip-to format and color-coded resources help busy teachers find exactly what they need when they need it. Popular features include:
  • Practical strategies for scaffolding language, concepts, and academic literacy in your daily lessons
  • Differentiation guides for personalizing instruction to students’ assets and learning priorities 
  • Effective teaching routines to strengthen student conversations, close reading, and rigorous writing.
  • The Six Essentials framework to help teachers, co-teachers, and teams deepen their impact with MLs and all students.

Asset-Based Language and Literacy equips educators with confidence and tools to create high-challenge, high-support learning environments to ensure all students thrive. With a focus on practical research-based strategies, this is your go-to guide for building collective efficacy for every teacher to be an ML teacher!


 
SECTION I: ESSENTIALS FOR MULTILINGUAL EXCELLENCE
 
1. INTRODUCTION
Equal Access to Academic Excellence

 
Every Teacher an ML Teacher

 
Six Essentials for Equitable Impact

 
Teaching and Leading Beyond the Labels

 
Practical Ways to Use This Book

 
 
2. ESSENTIAL MINDSETS
Mindsets Matter

 
Value Multilingual Learners’ Assets

 
Expect Excellence From Every Learner

 
Reflect in Inquiry About Your Impact

 
 
SECTION II: ENGAGE EVERY LEARNER
 
3. ENGAGE EVERY LEARNER
Defining Engagement and Active Participation

 
Structure Peer Conversations in Every Lesson

 
Practical Planning for Peer Conversations

 
Integrating Active Participation Strategies

 
3.1 Whole-Class Conversation Structures

 
3.2 Partner Conversation Structures

 
3.3 Small-Group Conversation Structures

 
3.4 Up and Moving Conversation Structures

 
3.5 Fishbowl Structure and Socratic Seminar

 
3.6 Observe and Listen to Conversations as Formative Data

 
3.7 Inquiry for Impact to Strengthen Student Conversations

 
3.8 Total Physical Response Strategies

 
3.9 Shared Reading and Annotation Strategies

 
3.10 Collaborate to Write (and Represent) Strategies

 
 
SECTION III: SUPPORT ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE EVERY DAY
 
4. SCAFFOLDING TO STUDENT ASSETS
Scaffolding through the Six Essentials

 
Supporting Content and the Language of Instruction

 
Adapting Supports to Students

 
Resources to Help You Plan and Adapt Supports

 
 
5. BUILD BACKGROUND AND SUPPORT ACCESS
5.1 Connect to Students’ Prior Knowledge and Experiences

 
5.2 Build Background in Essential Concepts and Vocabulary

 
5.3 Value Students' Linguistic Assets in Action

 
5.4 Supporting Access and Active Participation of Emerging MLs

 
5.5 Teach Vocabulary with Direct Instruction or the Frayer Model

 
5.6 Use Cognates to Teach Vocabulary and Support Comprehension

 
5.7 Model Through Teacher Action

 
5.8 Model Expectations with an Exemplar

 
5.9 Collaborate to Contrast Exemplars

 
5.10 Collaborate to Evaluate an Exemplar With a Rubric

 
5.11 Choose Texts that Value and Mirror Students' Assets

 
 
6. SCAFFOLD LANGUAGE DURING A TASK
Anticipating the Linguistic Scaffolds Before a Lesson

 
Engage-Observe-Support to Adapt Linguistic Scaffolds

 
Differentiate Linguistic Scaffolds Along a Continuum

 
Tips to Be Strategic

 
6.1 Linguistic Frames

 
6.2 Word Banks

 
6.3 Word Bank Table

 
6.4 Sentence Chart

 
6.5 Graphic Organizers

 
 
7. TEACH LANGUAGE BEYOND A TASK
Prioritizing Language Objectives to Teach

 
7.1 Teach Language From Life Experience

 
7.2 Teach Language From a Text

 
7.3 Syntax (or Paragraph) Surgery

 
7.4 Teach Word Relationships

 
 
SECTION IV: APPLY THE ESSENTIALS TO ACADEMIC LITERACY GOALS
 
8. DEEPEN ACCESS TO ACADEMIC LITERACIES
Why These Priorities?

 
Introducing the Four-Step Routine

 
Inquiry for Impact Tools for Teachers, Co-Teachers and Teams

 
 
9. ANTICIPATE
What and Why?

 
9.1 Make Predictions

 
9.2 Ask Questions Before Reading

 
 
10. READ TO UNDERSTAND
What and Why?

 
10.1 Identify Main Ideas

 
10.2 Self-Monitor and Use Context Clues

 
10.3 Use Affixes and Roots to Figure Out Unknown Words

 
 
11. READ TO ANALYZE AND INFER 234
What and Why?

 
11.1 Make Claims About Texts

 
11.2 Justify Claims With Text Evidence and Reasoning

 
9.2 Ask Questions Before Reading

 
 
10. READ TO UNDERSTAND
What and Why?

 
10.1 Identify Main Ideas

 
10.2 Self-Monitor and Use Context Clues

 
10.3 Use Affixes and Roots to Figure Out Unknown Words

 
 
11. READ TO ANALYZE AND INFER 234
What and Why?

 
11.1 Make Claims About Texts

 
11.2 Justify Claims With Text Evidence and Reasoning

 
9.2 Ask Questions Before Reading

 
 
10. READ TO UNDERSTAND
What and Why?

 
10.1 Identify Main Ideas

 
10.2 Self-Monitor and Use Context Clues

 
10.3 Use Affixes and Roots to Figure Out Unknown Words

 
 
11. READ TO ANALYZE AND INFER 234
What and Why?

 
11.1 Make Claims About Texts

 
11.2 Justify Claims With Text Evidence and Reasoning

 
11.3 Make Inferences About Characters

 
11.4 Make and Justify Claims About Theme and Author’s Message

 
11.5 Compare and Contrast

 

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