MathUP Classroom by Marian Small is now Trillium List

The Trillium List contains the titles of those textbooks (and digital textbooks) approved by the Minister of Education for use in Ontario schools. The textbooks named on The Trillium List have been subjected to a rigorous evaluation in accordance with the criteria specified in Section 4 of Guidelines for Approval of Textbooks (and digital textbooks) . MathUP Classroom Grade 1–9 has officially made The Trillium List and is seen under the Government of Ontario as an approved mathematics resource for schools in Ontario.

Rubicon Publishing is honoured to be on The Trillium List with its game-changing math resource, MathUP Classroom . “Our Rubicon MathUP team is delighted and extremely proud of this achievement and recognition.” Susan Howell, Math Publisher.

MathUP Classroom is a professional learning resource for teachers, with student activities that cover the entire destreamed curriculum. Learn more about MathUP Classroom or to start your free trial .

To view the full list of approved textbooks please see The Trillium List.

Encouraging Peer Interaction for Deeper Learning Language learners thrive when they have the chance to talk about content, make personal connections, and work together. Collaborative learning encourages both the development of social skills and the deepening of content knowledge.

How it works:

Structured Peer Discussions: Teachers can provide opportunities for students to engage in structured discussions about social studies topics, allowing them to connect historical events to their own lives. These conversations build not only an understanding of the content but also academic language. Group Activities: Group activities allow multilingual learners to collaborate with peers, practice using the language in a supportive environment, and gain exposure to different perspectives. Whether it’s working on a project together or solving a problem as a team, students are able to practice language skills and strengthen their grasp of social studies concepts. Language Transference: Through peer discussions, students also practice language transference, where they connect new terms or concepts in the target language to similar words or ideas in their home language. This process enhances comprehension and language retention.

By creating opportunities for multilingual learners to engage with their peers, teachers can create a classroom environment that fosters both academic growth and language development.

The Power of Graphic Organizers: Supporting Multilingual Learners Visually Graphic organizers are essential tools for multilingual learners as they help students visually organize their thoughts, make connections between concepts, and process complex information. These tools are especially valuable when learners are processing both new social studies content and a second language.

Best Practices:

Select the Right Type of Organizer: Use graphic organizers that match the learning task. For example, a Venn diagram is great for comparing historical events, while a timeline is effective for sequencing events. These organizers provide visual clarity, helping students focus on relationships between ideas. Incorporate First-Language Support: Encourage students to first label key ideas or terms in their home language before transitioning to the target language. This strategy reinforces comprehension and helps students draw on their existing linguistic knowledge. Collaborative Organizing: Have students work together to complete graphic organizers. This not only allows for peer support but also provides an opportunity for verbal interaction, further reinforcing language acquisition and content understanding. Use It as a Learning Tool, Not Just a Task: Encourage students to revisit and refine their graphic organizers as they learn more. This iterative process helps deepen their understanding and creates a visual record of their growing knowledge. Graphic organizers are an indispensable tool for making social studies content accessible, especially for multilingual learners who benefit from visual representations of complex ideas.

Empowering Multilingual Learners to Succeed in Social Studies Supporting multilingual learners in the social studies classroom requires intentional, research-based strategies that address both language development and content mastery.

By integrating multimodal learning, providing first-language support, offering targeted scaffolding, fostering peer interaction, and using graphic organizers, teachers can ensure that multilingual learners have the tools and resources they need to succeed.

With these strategies in place, students can engage with social studies in Spanish and other languages, building both their language and academic skills in tandem. Through thoughtful, strategic support, we can help multilingual learners thrive in the social studies classroom and beyond.

Before You Go … BLOG: Inquiry-Based Learning Is Essential to the Social Studies Classroom BLOG: Strategies for Differentiated Instruction in the Spanish Classroom UPCOMING WEBINAR: Using Authentic Resources to Build Communication and Culture

MathUP Classroom by Marian Small is now Trillium List

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