Many Voices, One School: Using QR codes to give ELs a voice

Janet Gonzalez, Pittman Elementary, Springfield, MO

Introduction

Many of our students come to us from various countries, backgrounds, and cultural experiences. While some families bring educational experiences from their home countries before relocating to the United States, others, particularly our newcomers, may not have a strong literacy background or history of formal education. This project was designed to offer our students the chance to access books from our school library. They can take these books home to their families, where, by scanning a QR code, they can enjoy listening to someone reading the book in their home language. Every book includes translations in both English and the languages spoken in our students' homes. Through this project, we seek to not only celebrate our students' diverse cultures but also to support the rich linguistic diversity present within our school.  Upon observation, schools in our district have many multilingual materials while others seem to lack such resources. My vision for this project was to add books to our school library for our multilingual students and families. This project allows for families to actively participate in their child's reading journey and create an opportunity for families to bond and share a love for literature together in the comfort of their own homes.

Step-by-Step Plan

The first step of this project was to create a list of the different languages spoken within our school community. Following this list, it was time to reach out to the high school ELD specialists through a survey to identify volunteers willing to record the selected bilingual books. Once the volunteers list was created, the next step was creating a list of 2-3 titles from Language Lizard in each of the five languages spoken by students at our school. Other titles were added to the list for our students but were not used in the recording session. These titles could be used in the future to have families record during events and add a QR code on the front cover as well. With the necessary materials in hand, the next step revolved around coordinating with the ELD specialist at the high schools and finding times that would work best for recording sessions. Each recording took about 1-2 minutes and was very fast. It took one day at both schools and each volunteer received a sticker created for this project. The sixth step involved creating a QR code for each book. This took some time as there were some problems generating QR codes that would not expire. Eventually, I came across an easy-to-use QR code generator that allowed me to edit them if needed.  The website used for the generation of the QR codes was https://me-qr.com/. With this generator, you can check how many times each code was scanned.After the QR codes were created, each one was printed out on sticker paper. All that needed to be done was to cut out each QR code and stick it to the front of the corresponding book.I introduced my English Learners (ELs) to the new books and explained how they could scan the QR codes on a phone or iPad at home. They enjoyed this part and could not wait to see the new books in the library and check them out. Sticky notes were also placed inside the books to prompt students and their families to share thoughts on what they liked about the book and what titles they would like to see next. At the end of this project, each of the families received a copy of one of the titles that went home with the student. This project aimed to enhance literacy and celebrate the linguistic diversity within our school community. 

Timeline

list languages spoken at the schoolidentify high school volunteers to record books select titles in home languages set up recording sessions with high school students create and print QR codes for booksintroduce books and demonstrate how to scan QR codesfamilies read books and provide feedback.

Budget

Large World Map Tapestry Wall Hanging	Amazon
100 Countries String Flag 2 Pack, 82 ft International Flags	Amazon
Die-Cut Sticker Singles x50	VistaPrint
Custom Post-It Notes in Spanish	VistaPrint
Custom Post-It Notes in English	VistaPrint
Custom Post-It Notes in Swahili	VistaPrint
Custom Post-It Notes in Russian	VistaPrint
Custom Post-It Notes in Ukrainian	VistaPrint
Custom Post-It Notes in Tagalog	VistaPrint
Hello, Thank You, Welcome In Different Languages-Multilingual Posters 3 Pack-Hello In Different Languages - Multilingual Poster-Thank You in Different Languages - Multilingual Poster-Welcome in Different Languages - Multilingual Poster	Language Lizard
We Can All Be Friends (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Book) - Spanish-English (x15)	Language Lizard
We Can All Be Friends (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Book) - Russian-English (x3)	Language Lizard
We Can All Be Friends (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Book) - Ukrainian-English (x3)	Language Lizard
We Can All Be Friends (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Book) - Tagalog-English (x3)	Language Lizard
We Can All Be Friends (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Book) - Swahili-English (x3)	Language Lizard
3 Living In Harmony Books Set (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Books) - Ukrainian-English-We Can All Be Friends-Be Kind-Who Are We?	Language Lizard
3 Living In Harmony Books Set (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Books) - Tagalog-English-We Can All Be Friends-Be Kind-Who Are We?	Language Lizard
3 Living In Harmony Books Set (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Books) - Swahili-English-We Can All Be Friends-Be Kind-Who Are We?	Language Lizard
3 Living In Harmony Books Set (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Books) - Russian-English-We Can All Be Friends-Be Kind-Who Are We?	Language Lizard
3 Living In Harmony Books Set (Bilingual Diverse Children’s Books) - Spanish-English-We Can All Be Friends-Be Kind-Who Are We?	Language Lizard
5 Book set (Children's Bilingual) - Ukrainian-English -Errol’s Garden-The Giant Turnip-Mungo Makes New Friends-Goldilocks and the Three Bears-The Three Little Sun Bears	Language Lizard
5 Book set (Children’s Bilingual) - Spanish-English-The Biscuit Moon-Goldilocks and the Three Bears-I Took the Moon for a Walk-Happy After All-The Three Little Sun Bears	Language Lizard
5 Book set (Children’s Bilingual) - Russian-English-Grandma’s Saturday Soup-Food, Food, Fabulous Food-Little Red Hen and the Grains of Wheat-Listen, Listen-The Three Little Sun Bears	Language Lizard
5 Book set (Children’s Bilingual) - Swahili-English-Welcome to the World Baby-Tropical Rainforests-Fox Fables-Be Kind-The Three Little Sun Bears	Language Lizard
5 Book set (Children’s Bilingual) - Tagalog-English-The Biscuit Moon-Errol’s Garden-Farmer Duck-Lima’s Red Hot Chilli-Little Red Hen and the Grains of Wheat	Language Lizard

What did it look like?

Sustainability

As the number of newcomers continues to grow in our school district, I want to add more bilingual books to our library. Considering the influx of diverse languages entering our school, I plan to have families of our students volunteer to record themselves reading a book in their home language. As families enter our school with new languages, I plan to invite them to record also. These recordings can be accessed in the library for years to come and each year we will add new ones. Additional titles will be acquired and showcased at a back-to-school event to encourage families to participate in recording themselves and add to our multilingual collection of recordings. Families appreciate cultural representation, and this promises to be a great way to get our families involved in their child's literacy development.

Reflections

One take-away from this project is witnessing the smiles on my students' faces as they get to hear someone reading in their home language and getting to take books home to share with their families. Having the opportunity to go to the library and check out books that are available in both their home languages and English enables our students to feel a sense of cultural validation. As the materials came in, our librarian catalogued the new books. We designed a shelf with a globe to promote the new multilingual and multicultural books.I added sticky notes inside the books so, if a student takes the book home to read, both the student and their family member can write about what they enjoyed. This feedback not only enriches their reading experience but can provide me with insights for future resources. Once a sticky note is used, I can add a new one again for other families in the future. I recommend using a handheld voice recorder to record readers as it is easier to carry and can download the recordings onto your computer. This made recording the students faster and easier. The only difficulty was finding a QR code generator that allowed MP3 files to become static QR codes that never expire. You can also use Flip Grid as it already has a QR code generator included. I found this out at the end of my project and wished I could have re-done the recording but that can be for another time. You can easily implement this type of project within your classroom. Begin by identifying the languages spoken in the classroom. Then, order bilingual books to enrich the classroom library. I know our families would love to be more involved in their child’s literacy development and recording themselves reading the stories would provide a meaningful connection between home and school. Listening to recordings of family members adds a personal touch to the bilingual books in your classroom.