Wayside Publishing

15/09/2025

🌎 Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Wayside Publishing! 🌎

From September 15 to October 15, we honor the voices, traditions, and stories that enrich classrooms and communities.

At Wayside, we support heritage learners, students with cultural or familial ties to Spanish, bringing valuable linguistic and cultural strengths to classrooms.

Our programs empower them to:
🌱 Deepen language skills
🌱 Strengthen bilingualism and biliteracy
🌱 Build confidence in speaking, reading, and writing
🌱 See themselves reflected in diverse voices
🌱 Engage with authentic cultural resources

📢 Learn more about heritage-supporting materials and resources here: waysidepublishing.com/why-wayside/heritage-learners

With EntreCulturas® and Tejidos, teachers can help students embrace their identities and prepare for the Seal of Biliteracy.

12/09/2025

🌍 Earlier this week, we celebrated World Literacy Day—a moment to recognize how world language teachers help students think critically, communicate effectively, and explore the world beyond the classroom.

Dr. Jay Ketner, our Director of Professional Learning and a lifelong language educator, reminds us:

"Literacy is more than just reading and writing. It’s about ideas, perspectives, discernment, and critical thought. In today’s world of information and global challenges, literacy empowers learners to weigh multiple perspectives, ask deeper questions, and navigate communication across platforms, cultures, and perspectives.

Learning languages directly supports literacy—strengthening early reading and writing, building critical thinking, and opening doors to worldviews and cultures beyond the four walls of the classroom."

Our Érase una vez Spanish Comprehension-Based Reader program brings this vision to life. From day one, students are immersed in Spanish. They acquire the language naturally and retain vocabulary and grammar in context. At the same time, they build confidence in communication while strengthening literacy, critical thinking, and intercultural understanding.

📚 Learn more about how Érase una vez brings language and literacy to life: .waysidepublishing.com/series/spanish/erase-una-vez

Its research-supported approach helps students acquire Spanish naturally—just as they learned their first language.

10/09/2025

Big news for language classrooms 🚀

Nualang Chatbot now gives real-time, -enhanced feedback that keeps students speaking more, speaking better, and staying in the target language.

No extra prep. No extra grading. Just richer, more authentic conversations. All within the same structured and safe activity that teachers already know and trust.

For teachers: It is like every student has a personal conversation coach.
For students: It feels less like a drill and more like a real conversation.

The chatbot does not just move on. It builds on student input, nudges for more detail, and keeps practice flowing naturally.

✨Real feedback. Real fluency. No extra work.✨

Learn More:
waysidepublishing.com/teaching-resources/ai-enhanced-nualang-chatbot

Get Started:
Try it free for 30 days nualang.com/pricing/

05/09/2025

Cada historia te lleva a un mundo nuevo. 🌎📚

Step into Spanish with Érase una vez: Bring Spanish to Life Through the Power of Storytelling, a free live webinar that shows teachers how to transform their classrooms with stories.

Experience how students naturally master vocabulary, build confidence, and stay motivated, story by story. This isn’t just reading practice; it’s a way to make Spanish come alive.

Attend and receive a free downloadable Teaching Resource Booklet filled with ready-to-use activities, classroom strategies, and reflective prompts to use immediately.

Sumérgete en el español, página por página. 📚🌟

📅 September 10 | 7 PM ET
🎙️ Hosted by authors Kristy Placido & Carrie Toth

Reserve your spot now: 3234b780-842f-4052-bfff-6065cf28a8c9@c5d54057-fe74-45c4-ba83-f7aafc3d071a" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3234b780-842f-4052-bfff-6065cf28a8c9@c5d54057-fe74-45c4-ba83-f7aafc3d071a

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

30/08/2025

This National Beach Day, dive into the story of Miko, a young manatee living off the coast of Florida. Curious about humans, Miko gets too close to a boat and finds himself lost, alone, and in danger. Will someone come to his rescue?

Our Comprehension-based™ reader, Manatí, goes beyond teaching language. By weaving high-frequency vocabulary and real-life language structures into a compelling story, it helps learners develop proficiency while sparking meaningful conversations about topics they love. 📚💬

Celebrate National Beach Day by bringing stories that inspire both learning and curiosity into your classroom!

Discover Manatí: waysidepublishing.com/languages/spanish/manati

27/08/2025

🌟 ¡Cada historia te lleva a un mundo nuevo! 🌟
Érase una vez: Bring Spanish to Life Through the Power of Storytelling

Join Kristy Placido & Carrie Toth for a FREE webinar on teaching with Comprehension-Based Readers. Whether you’re new to readers or looking to deepen your practice, you’ll walk away with ready-to-use strategies to engage students and boost proficiency across all skills.

Wednesday, August 27 | 7PM ET Register here: 3437ea94-f56e-4dfd-996b-e3555f96681a@c5d54057-fe74-45c4-ba83-f7aafc3d071a/registration" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3437ea94-f56e-4dfd-996b-e3555f96681a@c5d54057-fe74-45c4-ba83-f7aafc3d071a/registration

Bring your Spanish classroom to life with stories that inspire and connect!

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

25/08/2025

Discover how to bring your Spanish reading program to life with Comprehension-Based Readers.

🗓 Wednesday, August 27 | 7PM ET

Join Kristy Placido and Carrie (Caroline) Toth for a practical, hands-on webinar designed to help you teach more effectively with readers. Whether you’re new to this approach or ready to deepen your practice, you’ll leave with tools, strategies, and inspiration you can use right away.

Featuring Érase una vez, a Spanish program built around Comprehension-Based Readers:
💡 Research-supported for natural language acquisition
⭐ Created by award-winning educators
🌍 Level-appropriate stories that immerse students from day one

Register now to save your spot:

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

21/08/2025

Florida, here we come!

We’re excited to join the AATSP Florida Chapter Conference, September 25–27 in Kissimmee, FL, celebrating our roots and cultures.

Stop by the Wayside booth to meet Dagoberto Polanco and Eduardo Rodriguez and explore Érase una vez, the first and only Spanish Comprehension-Based Reader Program™. Designed by award-winning educators, it immerses learners from novice to intermediate high in culturally rich stories that build proficiency and confidence.

📌 Don’t miss Dagoberto’s session Engaging and Impactful Strategies for Vocabulary Instruction. Walk away with ready-to-use strategies for vocabulary acquisition through communicative tasks and comprehensible input.

🌎 Bring Spanish to life in your classroom. Step into Spanish, one story at a time: waysidepublishing.com/series/spanish/erase-una-vez

20/08/2025

Wayside is heading to AZLA 2025!

Meet our team, Kristen Kurtzman, Rich Rosenlof, and Mariana Jimenez, on September 13 at the Professional Learning Center, Tempe Union High School District.

Don’t miss:
💡 Presentation: Brainstorming Technology Use in the Language Classroom with Mariana Jimenez — discover how AI is transforming language learning.
⭐ Giveaway: Win a 1-year Nualang subscription for you + up to 150 students ($499 value). Boost confidence with interactive practice and real-time feedback.
🌍 Networking: Swap ideas with our team and leave with ready-to-use strategies for the new school year.

We can’t wait to connect with you! See how Wayside can help you level up language learning in your classroom: https://www.waysidepublishing.com/languages

15/08/2025

¡Cada historia te lleva a un mundo nuevo!📚🌎

Say hello to Érase una vez, the Spanish program that makes reading the key to real-world proficiency. Built by award-winning educators and grounded in language acquisition research, this program immerses students in Spanish from day one through engaging, level-appropriate stories.

Why teachers and students love it:

⭐ Four-leveled programs from Novice to Intermediate High
⭐ Each reader includes audio recordings by native speakers
⭐ Culturally rich stories, from Frida Kahlo to Manatí
⭐ Teacher tools, including auto-grading, guides, printable games, and 100+ strategies
⭐ Works in print, digital, or hybrid classrooms
⭐ Perfect for heritage and dual language learners

With built-in highlighting, note-taking, and calendars in FlexText®, plus all-in-one access through Learning Site®, teaching and learning Spanish has never been easier or more engaging.

Flexible. Research-backed. Student-approved. Teacher-approved.

Discover more: waysidepublishing.com/series/spanish/erase-una-vez

11/08/2025

With back-to-school just around the corner, there’s never been a better time to level up your professional skills!

Start the new academic year strong with our FREE (for a limited time) course, Ignite the Spark — designed to help educators energize their teaching and make a real impact in the classroom.

Get ready for September and make this your best school year yet! 🎓

Explore more: https://www.expandprolearning.com/course/ignitethespark

11/08/2025

🌟 Still time to join us LIVE at 2 PM ET! 🌟
Do not miss our final Poolside Proficiency session of the season: Make a Splash When Talking about Proficiency and Using Level-Appropriate Language.

🌎 Discover ready-to-use strategies for presenting level-appropriate language and gain a clear understanding of what it means to be a novice, intermediate, or advanced learner.

📣 Register now and be part of the conversation: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/vlN5WL_EQFCqpW9Qw4wUBQ #/registration

Grab your sunglasses and floaties and join the Wayside Publishing Professional Learning Team for a live Poolside Proficiency session that will have you swimming in practical strategies and soaking up ideas to support student-centered conversations about proficiency. Whether you are just testing the....