Second GradeIn second grade as in the K-1 program, Spanish-dominant students learn to read in Spanish first while English-dominant students learn to read in English first. Daily L1 language arts is complemented by another block of the day for L2 development. For this part of the day all the Spanish-dominant students are grouped together for English Language Development while the English-dominant students are grouped together for Spanish Language Development. Many students in second grade add on reading in their second language and quickly catch up to grade level reading in that L2. All other subjects (Math, Science, Social Studies, etc.) are taught to a mixed group of students one week in English then one week in Spanish. The children have two teachers and two classrooms, one for English and one for Spanish. Even though the teachers are bilingual they will always maintain the language of instruction for their classrooms. The second grade teachers expect families to volunteer a minimum of five hours per month in the classroom or by working at home to prep materials for the teachers. At “Trabajamos Juntos” meetings parents have the opportunity to dialogue with teachers on all topics of importance. |
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