Webinars
Language Tree Online Webinar Series
Unlocking Writing: How to Develop Confident Multilingual Writers
Date: October 28, 2026 | Time: 1:00 pm Pacific/ 4:00 pm Eastern
Writing is widely considered the most difficult of the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) for English learners, and this shows up consistently in both research and classroom practice.
This webinar explores the breakthrough that happens when writing instruction starts with what students already bring to the table — their home languages, experiences, and ideas. Join us for a practical walkthrough of the accommodations and scaffolds that you can use to help middle and high school English learners of all levels make progress in writing.
Dr. Peixoto will share experiences from her own classroom research. These include instructional recommendations and examples of writing progression from her newcomer, intermediate-level, and upper-intermediate/advanced students. You'll come away with a practical sequence you can apply in your own instruction, plus a clear view of how to release support as your students build confidence and proficiency in writing.
Panelists
David Noyes, NBCT
National Board-Certified ELD Educator
Head of Curriculum at Language Tree Online
Former ELD Coach
Dr. Sinélia Peixoto
EL Teacher, Indian River School District
Author, Chapter 3 in Nine Dimensions of Scaffolding for Multilingual Learners (2025). Corwin Press.
Co-Author, When Would You Feel Like a Writer? Exploring Writing with Newcomer Students (2024). English Journal.
What You’ll Learn:(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)
- How to match accommodations to different proficiency levels, from using word banks, sentence frames, visuals, and cognates for newcomers and beginner ELs, to scaffolding adapted to more advanced English learners
- How to build writing independence through positive feedback, teacher-student revision conversations, peer conferences, and more
- Simple path to improved writing fluency grounded in equity, ownership, agency, and gradual release of responsibility; learn translanguaging strategies and leverage graphic organizers to help structure output