Hi Kaui, The Spanish Bilingual program here in Calgary is a 50/50 program - children are taught math, PE/Health, and SLA in Spanish for 50% of the day. ELA, SS, science, and other subjects are taught in English. I'm not sure what you mean by "held to the same standards"? Are you referring to expectations or curriculum goals and objectives? BTW, the children are taught in English and Spanish from Kinder on. Elisa Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
-----Original Message----- From: kaui norton <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Sun, 29 May 2011 13:04:55 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group<[email protected]> Reply-To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <[email protected]> Subject: [MOSAIC] should we hold our bilingual/immersion students to the same expectations? Elisa, I am wondering if I could get some of your thoughts on expectations with your bilingual students? I teach an immersion class. We do not learn English till the 4th grade. Our program is modeled after the Maori program. It has been over 20 years since we started. However, it is not without it's problems. One area that I am in disagreement in is the belief that because our students are learning another language we should not hold them to the same standards as those that speak English. I have never believed that and have always held them to the same expectation with great results!! What are your thoughts? Sincerely, Kau'i =-) --- On Sun, 5/29/11, Waingort Jimenez, Elisa <[email protected]> wrote: From: Waingort Jimenez, Elisa <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] reading strategies/skills ques To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, May 29, 2011, 4:12 AM Great suggestions, Sandi! Thank you! Are you on the Guided Math listserv? Also, can you tell a little bit about the Number Sense Routines book? Thanks, Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Teacher Spanish Learning Leader Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. —Helen Keller The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. -Former US Cabinet member John W. Gardner Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ Evelia---- I don't worry too much about definitions, but here is my philosophy and belief: Reading comprehension strategies (using metacognition, schema, visualizing, asking questions, determining importance, synthesis) have to be taught right from the beginning and they go hand in hand with the decoding strategies (look at the picture, think about what is happening, try a word, look at the 1st letter, etc). I teach fix up strategies throughout. Just reading the words without comprehension is not reading. I also think you have to build the love of reading right from the start. And to quote a 1st grade student: "they go hand in hand. You can't have one without another!) I teach first, but when I have tutored the word callers in the upper grades, it is HARD to teach them to think. They can read the words, but not a clue about what is really going on in the book---nor do they really love reading. I frame my curriculum pacing so that I start with metacognition (I know-it's not a strategy, but I believe kids need to be taught to think), then move into schema. I spend a few weeks on metacogntion as I work with them to build stamina as a reader. I use the daily 3 (read to self, read to others, listen to reading). I'm also teaching them to decode words. My little guys read for an hour a day (readers' workshop). I teach them to be voracious readers. If they have 1 minute-read a book! When kids have to wait inside because of the weather before school-I love seeing them read a book as they wait to come in.) I would recommend you check out these books: Comprehension: Reading With Meaning by Debbie Miller Comprehension from the Ground Up by Sharon Taberski The Next Step in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson (and check out her website) Growing Readers by Kathy Collins Fluency by Jerry Johns I also tie my writing and math workshops together with the strategies. I would recommend: Number Sense Routines by Jessical Shumway Math Work Stations by Debbie Diller Laney Sammons Guided Math Laney Sammons Math Stretches Crafting Non Fiction by Linda Hoyt Units of Study by Lucy Calkinsu And to be perfectly honest-in my case at least-any book, list serve, website, teachers website/blog, I can get my hands on because every child is different and you never know what they might do and where to find an answer of what to do!!!!! I hope this helped you some. Sandi Elgin N.B.C.T. 2010-Literacy (I like using this now!) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
