I've always wanted to teach dual language , but I'd never imagined it was going to be so difficult.
There are many things I did not think about before accepting this job.
My teaching partner has made it easier because, after 4 years, she knows what really works.
I plan to blog about the little things I have learned in my new DL classroom.
I've always used a seating chart but never struggled so much to make it. In a DL classroom, you want to pair a Spanish Speaking kid with an only English Speaking kid. Well... when you don't have enough Spanish speaking kids the task is super difficult.
This is how we did it.
1.- Write your students' names on different color sticky flags. (the color depends on what their dominant language is)
2.- Think of possible bilingual pairs. Someone who is very shy would benefit from a more talkative partner. Match them as best as you can, you can always go back and change partners)
3.- Find the right place in the classroom for these bilingual pairs. You don't want a kid who struggles to focus close to the door or a window. You don't want best buddies close together and using only one English in the Spanish classroom.
4.- Keep playing and moving names until you are satisfied and really believe those partners will benefit from each other.
What do you think? what are some practices that make your job in a DL class easier and better for you and your students?
