A Night of Love and Laughter

The Glenbrook girls enjoyed a "date night" with Dad Friday night when they attended our Daddy/Daughter Dance.  We had nearly 200 people attend and it was a huge success.  Girls and their dads dressed in their best and danced the night away! A special thanks to Mrs. Plug for arranging the event, to Mr. Plug for serving as our DJ and to Dylan and Drew Plug for selling flowers, setting up, and cleaning up. Also thanks to the other moms who came out to help or sent in treats. We appreciate you all!

Dual Language Students and Teacher's Rock!

Glenbrook Elementary is proud to offer the Dual Language Program to all students. Each classroom in our 2-way Dual Language program contains students whose home language is English and students whose home language is Spanish. The program which runs from Kindergarten through 6^th grade, is preparing our students to be bilingual, bi-literate and bicultural.

 In kindergarten our teachers know that learning through play is vital to the students’ success.  As children are engaging in purposeful play, they are working hard to problem solve, develop important social skills, and to build their spoken vocabulary.  Since the students are learning in two languages, the cooperative conversations that happen during play helps to build their understanding of the new language.  To further develop these skills, teachers organize the classroom creating spaces for creative learning.  Students play dominos, helps with scanning, writing, and one to one correspondence. Students also work independently either reading to self or scanning for words that begin with a particular initial letter. The initial letter they have to find is determined by a worksheet they have. Students in the below photos are using play in math and art. Math using a sensory tray... and Art, if you noticed he labeled the picture he painted. If students want to draw/paint the teacher tells them that must label or write a brief description of their drawing. 

                                                                

                      

In first grade student learn a lot about cultures and traditions.  Through stories and experiences they can build their knowledge in many new concepts.  Recently in our classrooms teachers read What can you do with a Rebozo? ¿Que puedes hacer con un rebozo?   A rebozo is a traditional garment in the Mexican culture that has many uses.  The teachers brought in authentic materials to build background knowledge and explore multicultural artifacts.  Students worked with a rebozo to explore the different things they could do with it. Through this activity students were able to expand their understanding of our multicultural world.

            

 Having real life experiences is an excellent way to build vocabulary and understanding of important concepts.  Our 2^nd and 3^rd grade classrooms took a recent trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art. They enjoyed the Dia de los Muertos exhibit and learned about traditions in Puelba, Chiapas and around Mexico.  They also saw a special presentation  made for the victims of the Machester concert in May.  

To really learn a language well, the students in all grades need visual supports available. Teachers work with students to create anchor charts which will assist them as they learn the new language, find commonalities between the languages and explore differences in the ways each language works. 

Word walls help students to learn new vocabulary. Adding a visual picture and context helps them to understand and use the new words. Spanish word walls are typically organized by word patterns, syllables or content area.  Having the students do the writing and adding visuals support the learners.   The word walls build in complexity throughout the grades and students use them interactively throughout the year. Teachers and students also create anchor charts for cognates; words that are similar in English and Spanish. 

Teachers work with students in small group to individualize the learning.  While children are working with their peers it’s helpful for them to have discussions about what they are learning. This practice builds confidence as students learn the new language while securing content skills. 

We are now accepting applications for enrollment into the dual language program. All incoming kindergarten and first grade students are eligible. The program includes Spanish and English dominant students, so if you are interested, please follow the below link to secure a spot.  If you would like further information, please contact me, Cheryl DeRoo, at 630-231-5555 or at cherylderoo@u-46.org. 

Dual Language Interest forms 

Teachers love to learn!

On Monday and Tuesday, while the students were nestled all snug in their homes, teachers spent 2 days learning. They loved it!  Most of our time was spent on learning about inquiry and how to use it throughout the subject areas.  See below for some of the interesting and fun things we learned about.

The Inquiry Process

Just like students, teachers learn by doing.  We spent a morning with U-46 teachers from across the district learning how to better plan for inquiry.  Then, we planned an inquiry and participated in an egg drop experiment. Teams created a holding vessel with a variety of given products. We then dropped an egg from 2 stories up into the vessel. Did they crack?  Most of our did, so back to the drawing board we will have to go. Mrs. Chandler and Mrs. Diaz-Blanco had a successful first drop!  Way to go!

Welcome Harvey "Smokey" Daniels

Teacher and inquiry expert Harvey "Smokey" Daniels shared some interesting information from his new book, The Curious Classroom. He also showed videos of inquiry in action which really helped teachers "see" high level inquiry.  His knowledge and expertise was extremely valuable.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

What better way to think critically or problem solve than playing a board game.  The games are all ones that we have at Glenbrook to be used in classrooms and at the game club.  Each game requires cooperation too.  These are all games that can be purchased from a game store and Amazon and they are loads of fun.  

Designing for Inquiry

Teachers spent an entire afternoon working with teams to recreate some lessons.  The teachers took the information that they learned and updated their current lessons to include more questioning, inquiry and cultural relevance.  It was a great and productive afternoon.