building bridges vocabulary teacher document

Here is a screen shot from the kindergarten English/Spanish CCSS.

You can find the English and Spanish CCSS side-by-side through this link, which can be very helpful when you and your partner plan for these activities. Pages 155-165 of Teaching for Biliteracy – called “How Spanish Works” – is a great reference for the metalinguistic focus, and remember that if you are a Common Core State Standards (CCSS) state, the language standards for your grade level are also a great place to find ideas for the metalinguistic focus. It is a difference between English and Spanish that needs to be taught- our students were leaving out the articles in their Spanish journals and this was the perfect chance for her to teach that part of Spanish linguistics. What would work with these words or phrases? What have you been noticing in their writing or speaking that may need direct instruction or reinforcement? For example, as we talked about vocabulary for a recent Bridge, Bebi noticed the opportunity to teach articles (el, la) in Spanish because the words lent to that focus (CCSS Standard: L.K.1g). Then, looking at the Spanish and English words side by side, we discuss our metalinguistic focus. I help her with any unfamiliar English words. I already knew cabeza and boca, and abdomen and antenas are cognates, so that was helpful! I write down the planned Spanish terms for the upcoming Bridge with the English equivalent of any words I may need help with. Yes, my official cheat sheet is a post-it. What does this word/phrase mean? And how do I pronounce it? Bebi helps me practice my Spanish and I make my very official cheat sheet. Will the vocabulary we talked about when planning still work for the Bridge metalinguistic focus and/or extension activity, or does that need to change? What was the TPR that you ended up using (because sometimes it changes when the kids come up with something better! )?ĭid any of the key phrases change or become more emphasized? Our conversation goes something like this:

One of the changes we have been zeroing in on this year is making sure our Bridge weeks have a clear metalinguistic focus and extension using the transferred vocabulary in literacy-focused standards.Īs we get closer to the Bridge week, we make a point to get together and review the key vocabulary and phrases for each unit. We already have our units planned out using the Biliteracy Unit Framework samples can be found on Each year, however, we make small changes to our units. It doesn’t have to be that precise, but it works well for our groups to have official “Bridge Weeks” in both classes.Īt the beginning of each unit, we review our key vocabulary and phrases that will be introduced, taught, and practiced in the beginning of the unit (oracy building), and reinforced throughout the unit. If you look closely, our Bridge Units align to occur the same week, at the end of our content units. Here is a snapshot of our Year at a Glance. (While we do like our units to end at the same time, it’s important to understand that this isn’t critical for successful Bridges!! What is important is that each Bridge occur after content has been taught in the language of instruction!) The Bridges must occur once all of our content has been taught and the summative assessment has taken place, so the timing is really key. For example, because Bebi teaches Social Studies in Spanish to kindergarten and I teach Science in English to these same kindergarten students, we make sure that her Communities unit will end at the same time as my Push and Pull science unit.

While we do this, we match up the end of our units so that we are doing a Bridge Week at the same time. We map out our units according to how long each will take and make them fit into our school calendar. We want you to know that we had to start somewhere, and that change over time has led us to where we are today: far from perfect but definitely more effective.Įach summer we take a look at our Year at a Glance. It has taken us five years to get to this point – and it continues to morph, improve, and tweak according to our growing competence and the needs of our students. I am lucky to have such a fabulous colleague! Here we are! I like to include pictures of Bebi and me when appropriate, because I like to get to know you! Here we are on Halloween this year.

Building bridges vocabulary teacher document