General Description
Program Design
Program Options
Links to related sites
General Description
A unique feature of the Healdsburg Unified School District is our Spanish Immersion
Program in grades K-6. These classes offer an
instructional program in which English speaking
students, along with Spanish speaking students,
study subject content using Spanish as the language of communication in the classroom. Students
entering should be committed to a long term experience for
maximum benefit (K-6). The
program is offered at Fitch Mountain Campus (3-5) and Healdsburg Elementary
Campus (K-2) and Healdsburg Junior High School (6th grade). Beginning last year the district received a Title VII grant to expand the
Immersion program to the Junior High School, grades
7-8. We continue to work on the program at
the Junior High.
Our district spent time researching the
information on immersion models before implementing
it. We took information from Krashen, the
Canadian Model and recently have shared the Collier
research with our parents and staff. Using Immersion Methodology, the homeroom teacher speaks
only Spanish to the students at grades K-2. In grade 3 the homeroom teacher can speak English
to the students for a small portion of the day. Spanish is taught naturally, through daily classroom activities, and through the study of
content area units which are interesting and
motivating to the students. Special teaching
techniques are employed to make the language
comprehensible to all students. Native
English speaking children are not pressured to
speak Spanish, but many of them demonstrate their
readiness to do so by voluntarily beginning to use words and phrases, sing songs, and recite rhymes. A component of the program is that all students receive English language development
instruction every day. Students in the Spanish Immersion Program study the same curriculum
and are expected to achieve at the same level as
their counterparts in all English classes.
This program has benefits for the Spanish speaking student in two main areas. For
minority language students, the gains in self-esteem resulting from their leadership role in a Spanish Immersion class
are great which in turn enhances their
academic growth. Strong language development
in Spanish also provides an excellent basis for the
acquisition of English. The students have many opportunities to interact in English with their
English-speaking peers in the classroom.
Kindergarten students are taught reading skills in Spanish and all students in the program learn to read, write, and spell in
Spanish first. Formal English reading instruction begins in third grade. The transition process to English reading is a major focus in fourth grade. The emphasis on instruction conducted in English gradually increases, so that at the
intermediate level (grades 4-6), instruction
approaches 50% Spanish - 50% English.
Links
to related sites:
Two-Way Immersion (TWI) websites: http://www.cal.org/twi
,
and e-mail twi@cal.org .
Two resources on the CAL Two-Way Immersion web site: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and a Two-Way Bibliography!
- The FAQ page, located at http://www.cal.org/twi/faq.htm,
provides information about a variety of issues in two-way immersion education,
such as program implementation, students' academic achievement, and
teachers' professional development.
- The Bibliography, located at http://www.cal.org/twi/bib.htm,
lists over 100 journal articles, books, research reports, and other resources on
Two-Way Immersion. The bibliography is broken down into 16 categories
for easy reference, but you can also access an alphabetical list of all of the references at
http://www.cal.org/twi/bib_all.htm.
In addition, the TWI Directory was recently
updated, and now contains 260 programs. You can access the Directory at http://www.cal.org/twi/directory/
TWI education resource section is http://www.cal.org/public/topics/twoway.htm
More info: www.cal.org/ericcll/faqs/rgos/2way.htm
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