Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies: English Language Learners Discover Their World Through Inquiry

Brad Buhrow and Anne Garcia are primary teachers in a diverse school in Boulder, Colorado. In Ladybugs, Tornadoes and Swirling Galaxies, you will see how they blend comprehension instruction and ELL best practices to explore inquiry as a literacy pathway for English language learners.

Brad was born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, a small town in the southeastern part of the state. He received his B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, his teaching license from Metropolitan State University at Denver and his M.A. from the University of Colorado at Denver. He will be continuing with classes in language transition and transfer from University of Colorado this fall.

Reading self-selected professional development books, educational journals, attending conferences, and participating in book study groups outside of school with his teaching team have taught him so much. He's been fortunate to work a lot with and learn from Anne Goudvis. Together they have co taught, collected data (student artifacts, scribing talk, pictures, video) to inform critical questions and reflected on next teaching steps. He taught for three years in inner city Denver, and ten years for Boulder Valley School District, all of them at Columbine Elementary.

Rock climbing is something he spends a great deal of time doing, about four or five days a week. "I've climbed in many European countries and much of the United States. Gymnastic difficulty is more of my climbing focus, but I've also climbed big walls like Half Dome, in Yosemite, The Diamond on Long's Peak, and routes in the Black Canyon. "People at work think I only read professional books, but I actually do other things!"

Currently he is doing independent consulting when the opportunity arises, as well as presenting at state and national conferences. He believes that "to be a teacher it takes thinking, imagination, creativity, curiosity and a lot of energy. That's why I became a teacher - I love that challenge. I've learned from critical theory that being conscious of my practices is the first step toward change. For example, that might mean being reflective of discourse routines or how democracy is or is not promoted in our classroom. Of course a solid theoretical base is very important. Theory and practice work together and inform one another."

For Brad, ideal professional development would include choice for teachers. "I like the idea of book/journal study groups that are sanctioned on school time. This means times and spaces set aside for only this. I also imagine school libraries with large collections of journals and professional development books that are displayed beautifully and accessible. First of all, that would be great modeling for our kids. Also, visitors could see from the texts our principles, beliefs, and rationale. I also imagine our entire staff leaving the building and going to conferences together."

Writing his book was a very energizing experience. "I learned it was okay to get bits and pieces of thinking down and expand upon them later. Writing with my colleague taught me what collaboration means. I wrote from faraway places like Costa Rica as well as in many coffee shops in Boulder. Having people and some noise around helped me keep going. Images and artifacts from our classroom also helped me write how theory is put into practice."

Anne Upczak Garcia is a writer and bilingual teacher in Colorado. She spends part of her time hiking and skiing in the Rockies with her Colorado family and part of her time visiting and traveling through the Andes of Merida with her Venezuelan family. She is passionate about connecting with the outdoors, which is her link to her own spirituality.

Living abroad for many years, and traveling by land and sea over the South American continent, has guided her experiences as a writer and has driven her into teaching where she can interact with children who have vision and explosive creativity. Her teaching allows her to expand her own creative process as well as share it with others.

As a writer she has written for a variety of magazines including a sustainable business publication, a travel periodical and a Spanish-language magazine that focuses on politics and culture. She recently published a professional development book fort teachers titled Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies: English Language Learners Discover their World through Inquiry.

She holds a bachelor's degree in political science and an master's degree in multicultural, bilingual and ESL education. In addition to her teaching and writing, Anne is currently presenting at state and national conferences as well as working with other teachers doing trainings and consulting work.