Dearington Elementary School for InnovationPresents:

Dearington Elementary

School--a fully accredited school!

•Introduction

Optimizing developmental

outcomes during critical early years

through Elementary Foreign

Language

•Activity...

This activity was designed to reinforce the following SOL’s:

Math S.O.L.’s

•K.1identifying more, fewer, or the same•K.2 Counting numbers orally

Math S.O.L.’s

•K.3 Identifying Ordinal numbers 1st - 3rd•K.5 Count forward to thirty and backward from 10.

Math S.O.L.’s

•K.6 Adding and subtracting whole numbers up to ten.•K.7 Count forward to thirty and backward from 10.

Math S.O.L.’s

•K.14 Counting and Tallying•K.15 Using Graphs

English S.O.L.’s

•K.1 Using oral language•K.2 Listening and Speaking vocabularies

English S.O.L.’s

•K.3 Using rules for oral language•K.4 Manipulating Phonemes

The purpose of this program is to help

children learn.

“One in three American children

enter kindergarten without the basic skills, let alone the habits and attitudes that are so crucial to academic success.”

Miller, 1998

1/3 of school children

enter school already “playing

catch-up”

30%

30%

35%

30%

35%35%

Why this program works...

We believe: With very few exceptions, all children can learn basic skills when given enough

time and opportunity.

Teaching children the basics in two languages reinforces the skills in both languages. In doing so, it allows the students twice as much time and opportunity to master critical concepts.

The program is designed to do the following:

•Align the foreign-language curriculum with English instruction

When foreign language instruction is correlated with the curriculum, the essentials are taught over and over again.

The more children are exposed to the ideas, the more easily they learn them.

• Coordinate with the Virginia Standards of Learning

• Strengthen reading foundations

• Increase Math awareness and skills

How does this program help at-risk children?

1. At-risk children often have not learned analytical skills and function primarily in holistic, creative ways.

2. The majority of children, especially at-risk kids, are kinesthetic learners.

3. Children who come from unstable environments need activities that build confidence, provide enjoyable experiences, and allow for a stable, non-threatening atmosphere.

It is essential that educators employ techniques that help these young children learn in ways that they understand.

Children may be using mainly one side of their brain and haven’t learned to use both sides efficiently.

Brain StructureSequential: •Systematic,

•logical

•symbolic

•Language,

•mathematics,

• abstraction

•reasoning

• Memory stored in language format.

Holistic: Visual spatial

•Holistic functions such as dancing & gymnastics

•Memory is stored in auditory, visual & spatial modalities.

Why does this program work?

• It builds confidence. Children feel secure and confident learning something even their parents or teachers may not know.

Why does this program work?

• Children learn in a foreign language differently than in their native language. Some at-risk children actually learn better in Spanish.

Why does this program work?

• The program is non-threatening. The language is taught in a way that none are afraid to participate. Children choose when they are ready to speak on their own.

Why does this program work?

•Success for All!

•Leave No Child Behind

Questions???