Esta obra representa una valiosa ayuda para los educadores que enseñan la lectura y la escritura de los idiomas inglés y español a estudiantes que cursan desde kindergarten hasta sexto año básico. Se otorga especial importancia a las experiencias concretas de lectura y escritura para contribuir efectivamente al aprendizaje de los estudiantes bilingües. Incluye tópicos de gran interés y utilidad tales como teoría de la alfabetización, destacando las principales dificultades que enfrentan los alumnos que se inician en el aprendizaje de la lectora y escritura en ambos idiomas. El texto también presenta numerosos ejemplos de textos escritos por niños, preguntas de evaluación aplicables a la lectura y la escritura, descripción de los procesos de aprendizaje, ejercicios para la etapa de transición al inglés, sugerencias de literatura infantil en idioma español y de actividades de motivación en el aula.

Teaching Reading and Writing in Spanish in the Bilingual Classroom provides essential support for those working to develop Spanish-English biliteracy in grades K-6.

This dual-language text provides theory and methodology for teaching reading in Spanish to Spanish/English bilingual or Spanish-dominant students. The goal is to help educators teach these students the skills necessary to become proficient readers and, thus, successful in the school system. At the very core of the book are the hispano-parlantes--the Spanish-speaking children--who bring to the schools, along with their native language and cultures, a wealth of resources that must be tapped and to whom all educators have a responsibility to respond. True to the concepts of developing bilingual educators to serve bilingual students, the text presents chapters in English and Spanish. Each chapter is written in only one language at the preference of the author. Thus, to be successful with this book, the reader must be bilingual. Themes emphasized in the text include current reading methodologies, the concept of reading as developmental literacy skills, reading in the content areas, new views of the development of proficiency in the second language, issues related to students with special learning needs, assessment, and the uses of technology in the delivery of instruction. Never losing sight of its goal--to teach reading in Spanish to bilingual or Spanish-dominant students--the book includes a series of focusing questions and follow-up activities; these are not simply translations of existing activities, strategies, and techniques intended for monolingual English students, but specifically designed to be appropriate for Spanish-speaking students. Directed to university preservice and in-service instructors of reading and bilingual education as well as administrators and district- and school-level staff developers who work with Hispanic populations, the book is sensitive at all times to nuances of the languages and cultures of the intended audiences.

"Teaching Dual Language Learners is a practical guide to help early childhood educators understand the needs of and provide instruction for young dual language learners in their classroom"--

Based on an extended ethnographic study of a dual language (Spanish-English) Kindergarten, this book takes a critical look at children's linguistic (and non-linguistic) interactions and the ways that teaching design can help or hinder language development. With a focus on official “Spanish time”, it explores the particular challenges of supporting the minority language use as well as the teacher's strategies for doing so. In bilingual classrooms, teachers' goals include bilingualism as well as academic achievement for all. The children may share these interests, but have their own agendas as well. This book explores the linguistic and social interactions that may help, or hinder, these multiple and sometimes conflicting agendas. How can teachers design educational practice that takes into consideration broader forces of language hegemony as well as children's immediate interests?

Introduces core principles of effective reading practice. Presented as a definitive checklist, these principles form the basis of much of the book and help teachers plan their reading curriculum and assess their teaching of reading easily and confidently. First, the authors introduce the checklist, then they present the theory of reading behind it. As the chapters progress, each item on the checklist is explained and illustrated in detail with examples of eight exemplary teachers who work effectively with mainstream, ESL, and bilingual students. Daily schedules, sample strategy lessons, and lists of literature at different grade levels--both elementary and secondary--help readers put the principles into practice. In the final chapter, the authors address some of the hard questions teachers, administrators, and parents raise about reading, including questions about phonics and phonemic awareness.