GETTING STARTED IN YOUR IMMERSION CLASSROOM:

IDEAS FROM TEACHERS AT EAGLE BAY ELEMENTARY

By: Aubree Gardner & Natziely Avila

Overview Organizational Tips Switching Classes Dealing with Parents Classroom Management Teaming Scheduling Creating Opportunities for Small Groups Checklist for Getting Started

Organizational Tips Color Code Classes

Color code notes home to parents (i.e., permission slips, volunteer notes, etc.)

Color code folders for each class Color code supplies for each class Color code name tags on desks Have separate bins for classes to turn in

papers

Organizational Tips Have a folder for each student to store

unfinished assignments.

Organizational Tips Try to have a similar set-up in both

classrooms. For example, post schedules or homework assignments in the same area so the students know where to look, no matter which classroom they are in.

Desks If you are having students share desks,

make sure there is one specific side for each class. Place nametags on opposite sides of the desks to help students remember which side is theirs.

Desks Limit the amount of items you have students

store in their desks. Keep books and papers they don’t need every day in color coded bins or drawers.

Every Friday, have one class take 5-10 minutes to clean out their desks and straighten papers. Alternate which class does this each week.

Instead of sharing desks, you could also have one class use the desks to store items, and the other class use cubbies or other designated spaces in the classroom.

Switching Classes Try to keep the number of times you switch classes

to a minimum—it will save you a lot of time! Practice transitions at the beginning of the year

until your class can do them in a matter of minutes. Throughout the year, remind them of expectations for cleaning-up for the next class and getting in line.

Always line up in the same place in each classroom and rotate in the same way. For example, many of our classrooms have adjoining doors, so classes always go out one door and in another.

Switching Classes For the younger grades, we find it easier if they don’t

have to take any materials with them (that way nothing gets dropped, thrown, lost, etc.!) Keep pencils, scissor, crayons and other supplies in places where both classes can use them.

In upper grade classrooms, students store all their supplies in pencil boxes. They carry this box with them to each classroom.

Switching Classes Sometimes when it’s time to switch

classes, your partner might not be ready. Have something to do while the students are waiting in line (sing a song, play a review game, etc.) so they don’t get too rowdy before you send them to the next teacher.

Parents Always encourage parents to contact their

child’s homeroom teacher. We have found that a majority of parents contact

the English partner when they have questions or concerns. In order to keep the English partner from having to spend all his/her time dealing with parents, we send home a letter at the beginning of the year. It explains to parents that the target language teacher is happy to communicate with parents through emails or a scheduled meeting, but cannot speak English to them in front of the class.

Parents When parents do email one teacher, be sure to

forward the email to your partner and sign both names when responding.

Send home a weekly newsletter so parents know what is going on in both classes.

Ask parents not to send their students with any personal supplies to school. When students are sharing desks and switching back and forth between classrooms, pencils, erasers, journals, and other items students bring tend to get lost.

Parents Have a sign-up sheet at the beginning of

the year for parent volunteers. Be sure volunteers for the Spanish class speak Spanish.

Limit the number of parent volunteers to 1 or 2 a day.

Classroom Management Keep as many procedures as possible

the same in both classes. For example, if one teacher has the students raise their pencil when they’re ready for the next question on a test, do the same in the other class.

Have similar consequences for misbehavior and rewards for positive behavior in both classes.

Classroom Management Talk with your partner and make sure

you have the same expectations for your students. It will be hard for one teacher to get students to raise their hands before answering each question if the other teacher doesn’t expect the same.

Be sure your partner is aware of discipline problems in your room, especially if a parent is contacted.

Teaming Talk with your partner every day! Each Friday, we meet as a grade-level

team to discuss the following items: Curriculum being taught Student Concerns Upcoming Projects/Activities Questions for Administration

Teaming Always be sure you know what is being

taught in your partner’s classroom. After we meet with our team, we also

meet together to plan/discuss what will be taught the next week, how to help students, etc. If the class is struggling with a concept in

Spanish, it is reviewed in English the next week.

Teaming Plan activities around the content you

are teaching. Interconnections Science/Social Studies Themes Reading Comprehension Strategies Writing Skills

Teaming Plan parties, field trips, and other

activities together, for example: Have activities in both languages for class

parties. For Valentine’s Day, students in our classes rotated through 4 groups—2 in English and 2 in Spanish

After field trips, the Spanish teacher can create activities to support what the students just learned.

Teaming Report Cards

Each teacher records grades for the subject she taught.

Meet together to write comments for students and review grades.• Practiced writing complete sentences on spelling tests, in stories, and in paragraphs. Keep practicing using capital letters and correct punctuation.

• Correctly identified compound words, plural words, possessives, and contractions.

• Read at an average rate of _____ words per minute. Expected rate at this point in the year is 55-60 words per minute. Keep working on re-reading stories to help build reading fluency throughout the summer.

• Correctly read 63 out of the 63 sight words for this term. Students need to read a sight word about 30 times before it is memorized, so keep reviewing over the summer!

• Is doing a great job with story problems, telling time, reading graphs, and measuring objects!

• Can correctly identify a cone, sphere, and cube.• Is speaking much more Spanish in class! Continue practicing new vocabulary

at home and reading books in Spanish.

Parent Teacher Conferences Do conferences together as a team. Conference Schedule:

5-10 minutes—student presents in Spanish 5 minutes—English teacher reviews

student’s progress 5 minutes—write student goals and answer

questions If the Spanish teacher needs to talk to

parents, send the student out of the room.

Scheduling Be flexible! Cut out the fluff! When planning your

classroom schedule, stick to the most important concepts you need to cover.

Spent about 10 minutes a day reviewing concepts that were taught in the target language so student can also learn the concept in English. One way to do this is through daily workbooks like Drops in the Bucket or Daily Math Warm-Ups.

Scheduling To plan your daily schedule, add up the

total number of teaching minutes you have each day and decide how you will split time between classes. We have found two ways of doing this:

Scheduling

Time Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4

8:50-11:00 Red Class Blue Class Red Class Blue Class

11:00-11:50

Specialist (Art, P.E., etc.)

Specialist(Art, P.E., etc.)

Specialist(Art, P.E., etc.)

Specialist(Art, P.E., etc.)

11:55-12:45 Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch

12:45-2:00 Blue Class Red Class Blue Class Red Class

2:00-2:25 Recess Recess Recess Recess

2:25-3:15 Blue Class Red Class Blue Class Red Class

3:15-3:25

Switch Classes*

Switch Classes*

Switch Classes*

Switch Classes*

Sample Schedule with One Class in the Morning and One in the Afternoon*We switch classes at the end of the day to get backpacks and clean-up

Scheduling

Time Schedule

8:50-10:00 Red Class

10:00-10:25 Recess

10:25-11:40 Blue Class

11:55-12:15 Lunch12:20-1:05 Specialists (Art, P.E. etc.)

12:45-2:00 Blue Class

2:00 Switch Classes

2:00-3:25 Red Class

Sample Schedule with Mornings and Afternoons Split

Scheduling Schedule all special visits from

counselors, guest speakers, etc. to present in the English classroom.

Try to find presenter who speak Spanish too!

Small Group Instruction A few times a week, have the target

language teacher take both classes so the English teacher can tutor struggling students or review concepts in English. Here are some activities: To save time, in the younger grades we have

both classes do calendar activities together in the target language every day.

Have an activity in the target language on Friday with both classes (review games, stories, art activities, presentations by parents, etc.).

Small Group Instruction In the upper grades, teachers start the

morning with 15 minutes of D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read). On Monday and Wednesday, both classes read in the English room so the target language teacher can work with students. On Tuesdays and Thursday, classes read in the target language room so the English teacher can do the same.

Checklist for Beginning of the Year 1. Prepare your Schedule2. Choose colors for your classes3. Talk about Procedures (quiet signals,

bathroom, discipline, rules)4. Plan your first day of school—teach same

procedures in both classes5. Plan Back to School Night6. Parent Volunteers7. Letter to Parents8. Classroom Set-Up

Questions?

augardner@dsdmail.net

mavila@dsdmail.net