Dearington Elementary School for Innovation Presents:

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%

35%

30% 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

Learning comes as a by- product of doing something enjoyable and without threat.

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.

Once understanding is achieved, information can shift to a more sequential style of learning.

Brain Structure Sequential: S ystematic, 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.

Brain Structure Sequential: systematic, logical and Symbolic information: language, mathematics, abstraction and reasoning. Memory stored in a language format. Holistic: processing multi- sensory input simultaneously to provide "holistic" picture of one's environment. Visual spatial skills.

Brain Structure The right side of the brain controls muscles on the left side of the body and the left side of the brain controls muscles on the right side of the body. Also, in general, sensory information from the left side of the body crosses over to the right side of the brain and information from the right side of the body crosses over to the left side of the brain.

Brain Structure In 95% of right-handers, the left side of the brain is dominant for language. Even in 60-70% of left- handers, the left side of brain is used for language. Back in the 1860s and 1870s, two neurologists (Paul Broca and Karl Wernicke) observed that people who had damage to a particular area on the left side of the brain had speech and language problems. People with damage to these areas on the right side usually did not have any language problems. The two language areas of the brain that are important for language now bear their names: Broca's area and Wernicke's area.Paul BrocaKarl Wernicke

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???