Websites
Websites
Support for children with English as an additional language at transition to school
This VCAA resource provides advice and practical examples of how children and families who speak English as an additional language can be supported to make a successful transition to school. It is designed to assist and guide early childhood professionals and teachers in schools. Advice is presented across several different areas including building relationships with families, supporting home languages and case studies of supporting EAL students’ transition to mainstream school. This set of resources is particularly useful for early education teachers with limited experience in working with EAL students.
‘Building Belonging’ links closely with the Australian EC learning frameworks and offers a comprehensive toolkit of early education resources. These resources aim to promote understanding of diversity and difference. A great range of resources can be found and downloaded from this website, including EC lesson plans, posters, information and activity sheets, e-book, Youtube videos and songs with actions.
In response to the Victorian government’s Inclusion Support Program (ISP), this website provides information and resources to support inclusive practices and remove barriers for children with additional needs. Under the tile of “access educator resources”, there are suggested resources and ideas for inclusive practices. Of particular interest under their language resource, viewers can find resources to support refugee families and the Auslan Signbank Dictionary.
This website aims to promote, support and celebrate the continuing journey of the Aboriginal people of South Eastern Australia. Located in Melbourne, Victoria, the Koorie Heritage Trust offers different training and resources to create opportunities for all people to learn, connect and re-connect with the rich living cultural heritage of Aboriginal Victoria. Readers and professionals can find programs and learning resources such as artworks and recordings, to be embedded in their EC programs.
This is a great website to obtain inspiration to embed indigenous perspectives in early childhood programs. Drawing from 20 years experience, the Yarn Strong Sista website offers a range of EC services and programs including facilitating storytelling and arts workshops with children, providing Professional Development training, facilitating arts experiences and face-painting at festivals and events, and providing First Nations designed resources and educational tools.
Fka Children’s Services advocates for children’s cultural and linguistic rights and provides support to education and care services in the provision of culturally rich environments. Fka specialises in providing support and resources for bicultural and newly arrived children. On the website, EC professionals can browse the Multicultural Resource Centre library catalogue where there are children’s books in over 75 languages.
Wellbeing is important in early childhood programs. Benefit Mindset supports compassionate whole person education and builds on a growth mindset concept. Benefit Mindset provides articles and resources that can be used to support children’s wellbeing, including printable posters, video resources and a school guide on growth mindset.
Understanding Anti-bias specialises in promoting diversity and fairness in every type of interaction in early childhood programs. Their resources are underpinned by four core goals: identity, diversity, justice and activism. Under the Resources section of this website, viewers can find books, research-based articles, practical tips for EC professionals, PD events, and blogs that address diversity and fairness in early childhood education.
Another great website for indigenous resources is the 8 Aborginal Ways of Learning website. This website is developed from the NSW Department of Education initiative 8 Ways framework. This website allows teachers to learn about the framework and include Aboriginal perspectives in their teaching and planning. It also includes resources and best practice examples which can be used to inspire EC teaching and learning.
Learning English as an Additional Language in the Early Years
This resource booklet shares comprehensive information and practical ideas and insights to work with EAL children from birth to six years old, and was developed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) with funding from the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) as part of implementation of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, 2009.
In this booklet, there are three modules which provide practical examples for working with EAL children of diverse ages: 1) Learning English as an Additional Language – children under three, 2) Learning English as an Additional Language in the preschool years and 3) Achieving outcomes in English as an Additional Language in the preschool years.
This Toolkit was developed by the Victorian Government. In this document, key literacy concepts and examples are organised according to the Australian curriculum learning progression elements: speaking and listening, writing, viewing and reading. By clicking on different concepts in the Toolkit, individuals will be directed to further resources from the Victorian Department of Education and Training.
Watch or Listen
Story Books
News
Academic Literature
ACTA Principles for Early Childhood Education
