Drs. Christina Cassano (Salem State University) & Kathleen Paciga (Multilingual Learner Teacher)

Topic: Guided Drawing with Multilingual Preschoolers: Bridging Research and Practice to Grow Vocabulary and Conceptual Knowledge

This webinar highlights Guided Drawing with Multilingual Preschoolers, a research-informed approach that integrates drawing into early childhood classrooms to support oral language, vocabulary, and emergent literacy—particularly for multilingual learners. Grounded in sociocultural theory and developmentally appropriate practice, guided drawing invites children to represent their thinking visually while engaging in intentional, language-rich interactions with educators and peers around topics in science. Designed for early childhood researchers and practitioners, this session will explore research findings and practical implications of guided drawing, including its potential to enhance language acquisition, vocabulary and conceptual knowledge. Participants will examine sample drawings and transcripts, analyze the strategies used to consider how guided drawing can serve as a culturally and linguistically sustaining practice in diverse early childhood settings.