ELL Collection

After attending the AASL Conference this fall, I have been working hard to put together a collection of books for my ESL/ELL students. The population of ELL students in my school are primarily Russian, Arabic, and Spanish. I have been ordering more Graphic Novels to help them out, and in turn have helped out my lower level readers. The graphic novel has grown so much this year that it barely fits in the section of shelves it is currently on. I have also moved the picture books from the teacher resource room to the Media Center shelves, and have seen those checked out. I have playaways of many popular titles, and have added titles as I have had funds. My final touches are going to be adding a collection of Orca and Stone Arch books, as well as books in the students native languages. I am having trouble finding good books in Arabic and Russian, but I will keep looking until I am satisfied. I have been working with the ESL/ELL teacher, and she is very excited to see these final touches. I have the principal on board and we are getting ready to submit a proposal to the district to see if we can get some extra funds from the ELL budget to start up this collection. I am really excited to see all my hard work paying off. What are some special projects you have undertaken this year? Do you have a native language collection in your Media Center? How did you start it, and how have you kept it up?