Spanish Language in the Elementary School

1. Spanish Language in the Elementary School morenoi@lake.k12.fl.us Iris Moreno Spanish Teacher

2. Why teach languages in the elementary school? Improve academic performance • Higher academic standardized testing. • Improves children understanding of native language. • Children show greater cognitive development than many of their peers.

3. Ease of learning • Children are more receptive and more able to learn a language before the age of ten. • They are willing to imitate to new sounds in a foreign language, to sing and play with it. • Starting foreign language learning in the early grades enables children to achieve speaking , reading and writing fluency.

4. A jump to the future • Learning a second language fosters tolerance a appreciation of different cultures. • Businesses in the U.S. are now involved in increased competition with foreign companies. • The ability to speak the language of these representatives gives those workers both a personal an economic advantage.

5. How can I stimulate the Spanish Language Learning? • Visit public libraries with your child and look for books, videos, magazines in Spanish. Make this visit to libraries entertaining and fun. • Watch educative programs in Spanish with your child. Establish limits. One or two hours a day. • Read books and magazines related to TV. Programs. Example: Plaza Sesamo in Spanish. • Make time to go on a field trip related to Spanish culture or event. • Have handy books in Spanish at home.

6. Links CHILD-SAFE WEB SEARCHING http://www.safekids.com/child_safety.htm Safe searching resources provide specifics about available defense methods, i.e. tools, kids' browsers, and specialized and filtered search engines. Internet rules for safe surfing are spelled out here, promising to make your "trips" productive and fun. Take a safety quiz to gauge your online safety knowledge MOST COMMON SPANISH WORDS IN SPANISH http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishglossary.html listed alphabetically/175 high frequency words. SPANISH DICTIONARIES http://www.rae.es/ http://dicespanol.com http://diccionarios.com/ READING INSTRUCTION IN SPANISH http://www.coloringcolorado.org Pre-reading and reading instruction

7. Links - continued READING INSTRUCTION IN SPANISH http://www.coloricolorado.org Pre-reading and reading instruction MI PEQUENO DIA http://especiales.endi.com/mipequenodia/ Spanish children magazine from Puerto Rico available free online for heritage speakers in FLES classes. COMPUTER TERMS IN SPANISH http://www.telefonica.es/fat/lex.html http://myotherlanguage.com/SW/vocabulary/categories/technology-computing.htm PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS http://anacleta.homestead.com/parentsonly.html http://www.anacleta.com/ celebrations.html Personal website from a Spanish Teacher sites to learn more about Spanish and its many cultures, as well as other world languages and cultures. All sites are appropriate and appealing to children ten years old and younger. BBC PRIMARY SCHOOL SPANISH http://www.bbc.co.uk/school/primaryspanish/ Interactive websites for children to age eleven with appealing characters. Worksheets, games and exercises.

8. Links - continued LANGUAGE LIZARD http://www.languagelizard.com/ Language Lizard, LLC offers award-winning bilingual children's products in over 40 languages.  Products include books, audio CDs, picture dictionaries, colorful and unique multilingual posters, world maps, and teacher resources.  Parents and teachers can also sign up for free e-newsletter with information on raising bilingual and multicultural children. Why the lizard logo? "Lizards are found all over the world; they comprise more than 3,000 species; they have the ability to learn, and they demonstrate their awareness with excitement ... Sound like any children you know?" proclaims founder Anneke Vanmarcke Forzani.

9. Links - continued CELEBRATING CULTURAL DIVERSITY THROUGH CHILDREN'S LITERATURE http://www.csusm.edu/Quiocho/mcbib.html http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/socialstd/MBD/Culture_index.html PRO LINGUA PRESS http://www.prolinguapress.com/about.htm

10. Links - continued CHILDREN'S BOOK PRESS http://www.childrensbookpress.org/ This publisher is an outstanding source of bilingual, superbly illustrated multicultural literature. JOSÉ-LUIS OROZCO http://www.joseluisorozco.com Here is an outstanding source of traditional and new songs in Spanish appealing to children. All of the songs are muy pegajosas (very catchy) and so are easy to learn because Señor Orozco has a clear singing voice. There are songbooks with lyrics and music available to accompany each CD or tape.

11. Links - continued PUTUMAYO KIDS http://www.putumayo.com/playground.html Explore and celebrate the cultures of the world through music. An excellent company which provides culturally authentic collections of child-appealing music. MULTICULTURAL KIDS http://www.multiculturalkids.com/shop/home.php This site offers quality multicultural materials that are fun and informative to preschool and elementary school-age children in home and classroom. Increase a child's knowledge of her/himself and others, thereby enhancing self-esteem while fostering tolerance and an appreciation of differences. Products offered include books, video, arts and crafts, puzzles, music, dolls, and other ethnic gifts.

12. Links - continued CAMBIOS: MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN'S BOOKS http://www.cambios.org/Bibliographies.asp View a selection of bibliographies of African - American, Asian - American, Hispanic/Latino Children's, and Jewish Children's Holocaust Literature. There are recommended books for teachers and parents also as well as books relating to confronting issues of adversity and discrimination.  BILINGUAL BOOKS FOR KIDS http://www.bilingualbooks.com/ Written with Spanish and English appearing side-by-side which is the best way to present bilingual texts, these books introduce bilingual skills, increase language and learning abilities and positively heighten awareness of many cultures.

13. EstudiaEspanol!(Study Spanish! )