Learning Two Languages at Glenbrook

Did you know that School District U-46 has an award winning Dual Language Program?  Glenbrook is a site for the Dual Language program and we love it!  It amazes me everyday to watch and hear our youngest students becoming bilingual, bi-literate and bi-cultural in Spanish and English.

  

Mrs. Miro uses a puppet to engage her kindergartners and to support their language development. It's much easier to focus and listen when students are excited to learn!  Behind her is a "smart board" which she often uses to display objects, pictures, videos and other fun things which help students to be able to "see" the language and link new vocabulary with the ideas that they may already know.

In first grade, Mrs. Rodriguez models lessons and uses sentence frames to help students when they are learning to write.  This supports the students in both their first and their second languages.

It's also important that teachers put labels around the room and across the building to support both the English and Spanish language. Labels help build vocabulary as well as to show children that both languages are equally valued.

Here in Mrs. Vargas' 2nd grade class you see students working in a cooperative group to sort animals into classifications.  Notice that again they have pictures to support the vocabulary. Together the students work together as they  create ideas about their work.  This cooperative work helps students to better understand concepts as well as supports their oral language development.

Mr. Chavez, the Dual Language 3rd Grade Teacher, uses hands on materials, charts, hand motions and cooperative grouping to experiment and give children real life experiences. These practices help the students better understand math and science concepts.

Mrs. Reza celebrates The Day of the Dead, or  Dia de los Muertos with her 4th graders. 


           They enjoyed creating these traditional sugar skull masks.   

     Mrs. Reza's 4th graders love science, just like the 3rd graders. The more hands on, real life experiences they get, the better they will be able to link English and Spanish vocabulary to 

understand both languages.

                       

                                                    

 The 5th and 6th graders in Mrs. Diaz-Blanco's class do a lot of research, writing and speaking in both English and Spanish.  These children have become quite fluent with both languages and are learning to communicate effectively using a variety of ways.