Teacher Resources

Classroom teachers with multilingual learners in their classrooms can use the following resources to help support student success.

• Professional Development - Professional development opportunities through the Office of Public Instruction. Contact Mat Johnston at 406-924-2008 to access WIDA self-paced eWorkshops.
• Colorín Colorado - Resources and best practices for supporting English learners, including classroom strategies and content-area support.
• WIDA Can Do Descriptors - Tools to help teachers understand student language proficiency levels and identify supports needed for success in grade-level coursework.
• BrainPOP - District-provided resource offering language practice through BrainPOP ELL and content support through BrainPOP and BrainPOP Español.
• Talking Points - Communication platform for multilingual families. Messages sent in English are translated into the family’s home language, and replies are translated back into English.
• Shared Drive Link - District-managed resource drive curated by the English Learner Specialist. Access requires a district Google account- please contact IT at helpdesk@bsd44.org.
• Google Classroom Code: ds6fr2u - Join the Multilingual Learners District Committee Google Classroom for organized teacher resources. Please join using your school Gmail account. If you have any issues accessing this resource, please contact IT at helpdesk@bsd44.org.

Classroom teachers of Spanish heritage students can use the following resources to better understand and support their students.

• Smithsonian Learning Lab - 24 learning lab collections with ready-to-use activities.
• Toolkit for Educators - Guidance on engaging Spanish-speaking families and building strong school-family connections.
• Bilingual Scholastic - Bilingual flip-format materials that present content in Spanish and English to support language development and content learning.
• Holidays in Spanish Resources - Resources for teaching about holidays and building culturally inclusive classrooms.