During the last session, I shared two possible assignments that I would like to do with my students. The first one was based on the idea of having students create a “Languages of New York” resource in which they write a short guide for educators about the home languages that their students bring to their classrooms.  Based on the feedback from colleagues and students, I revised that assignment, adding a few resources to help guide students and a section on how it will be assessed. One new resource that I will provide to students for example is NY state: http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/ell_home_languages_2017.pdf

The second assignment was for students to write reviews of children’s books that include how the books could be used in a classroom setting.  For this assignment, it was particularly useful to hear from one of the students in the education program who had to go through the process of finding books to create lesson plans. She helped me to figure out what to include in the assignment so it could be used as a resource for students in the program.  In addition, I learned about how to possibly use the CUNY Academics Common to create a site in which the work could be organized and shared with a broader audience.  While I still have to figure out the organization of the sites so they could best serve an audience of educators and future educators, I am excited by the possibilities of having assignments in my courses that have authentic audiences and provide a resource for educators.