ESL Back-to-School All About me Identity Quilt: A Fun, Inclusive Activity for Multilingual Learners

Back to School for New ESL and Multilingual Learner Teachers Blog Series

Blog #3 ESL Back-to-School All About Me Activity: ESL Class Quilt

Why Community Matters for Multilingual Learners

A strong sense of belonging is the foundation of a thriving ESL or multilingual learner (ML) classroom. When students feel seen, heard, and valued, they are more likely to take academic risks, engage in language practice, and collaborate with peers. One powerful way to begin cultivating this kind of inclusive community is through identity-affirming, creative “All About Me” activities.

These activities are more than just icebreakers—they help students explore and share their cultures, languages, and interests, building empathy and connections within a diverse learning space. Today I am sharing one of my favorite community building activities that is perfect for back to school but also any time you welcome a new student to your class.

The “All About Me Class Quilt” is a meaningful, low-prep back-to-school activity that allows every student to contribute to a shared classroom display while expressing who they are.

esl-first-day-back-to-school-all-about-me-class-quilt

1. ESL Cultural Exploration

Each quilt square invites students to proudly share details about their cultural heritage, such as:

Their country’s flag
Favorite foods or traditions
Important family symbols or holidays

This validates their identities and helps peers appreciate the diverse backgrounds in the room.

This "All About Me" activity not only allows your ELL students to get to know each other on a personal level—their likes, hobbies, and interests—but it also helps you learn more about them as well.

2. Language Enrichment

Students write greetings (e.g., “hello”) in their home languages, exposing classmates to linguistic diversity and encouraging cross-cultural curiosity. This is also a great way to start conversations about multilingualism and to promote translanguaging in your classroom.

If I have newcomers in my class, I start with a vocabulary-building activity where they learn key words needed for this project—such as quilt, country, flag, and food. Students cut, match, and paste visuals with the corresponding words.

Students are also provided with ELL scaffolds, such as visual word banks, which are especially helpful for newcomers and struggling writers.

3. ESL Community Building

The act of creating individual squares that are then combined into one large class quilt visually and symbolically reinforces the message: We each bring something unique—and together, we belong.

Building community with ELLs at the start of the year helps them feel welcome, safe, and connected. It eases the transition into a new environment and encourages students to participate, build confidence, and take risks with language. A strong classroom community sets the tone for a supportive and inclusive year.

When students finish decorating or coloring their quilt squares, they share them with their classmates, and then we put them all together on a bulletin board.

You can also share this ELL community building activity

During meet the teacher or parent-teacher night
As a welcome space for new students to contribute to all year long, just add new squares as you welcome new students throughout the school year

4. Scaffolds for English Learners

Just like scaffolding on a building helps workers reach higher levels, educational scaffolds give students the support they need to tackle tasks they couldn't manage on their own. In the classroom, this means providing just enough guidance to help students stretch their skills and build on what they already know. The idea comes from Vygotsky’s theory that learning happens best when students are supported as they move beyond their current abilities.To ensure all students can fully participate, especially newcomers, use supportive scaffolds such as:

Pre-teach activity vocabulary using visuals and or realia (flag, map)
Visual word banks (with labeled pictures of food, flags, hobbies, etc.)
Teacher modeling by creating your own square first
Same L1 student buddies or small group collaboration

These tools make the activity accessible for various proficiency levels while reinforcing academic and social language skills.

5. Celebrate, Connect, and Communicate

The “All About Me Class Quilt” is more than an art project—it’s a springboard for meaningful discussions, cross-cultural understanding, and classroom pride. It helps multilingual learners feel recognized and gives them a chance to share their identities in a structured, supported way.

Whether you use it during the first week of school, as part of your yearlong community-building work, or to welcome new students mid-year, this quilt helps turn your classroom into a place where every voice matters.

This project also:

Gives students a voice
Helps teachers learn about their learners
Lays the foundation for a classroom culture that values diversity, identity, and self-expression reinforcing essential language and writing skills