Speaking in Tongues Linky Party!

Hello, again, Damas y Caballeros! I know what you’re thinking, “Two posts in 24 hours?! She must be ill.” Lol. OK, so it may not be that exact thought, but I’m sure you are as surprised as me! =)

What brings me to this week’s second post? Well, Candis at I Teach Dual Language has an interesting Linky Party going on and I am honored to be part of it. =)

As part of this Linky Party I have been asked to share a brief description of what a day in my bilingual classroom is like. Well...

... it goes a little something like this:
My instruction is about 90% in Spanish and 10% English (with that percentage decreasing in Spanish and increasing in English as students go on to other grades). I’ll be honest, verbally I consider my classroom more like 50/50, but when it comes to the actual instructional time, it’s 90/10. =)

Here’s what my classroom looks like on a daily basis:

8:45-9:00- Universal Breakfast (breakfast is provided for FREE to all students that would like one.)

9:00-9:10: Math --> Problema del Dia and MClass Practice (Spanish)
During this time students must solve a math word problem and solve 10 operational problems in 10 minutes. The problem of the day is in spanish; I cut it, they glue it on the left page in their Morning Math Notebooks and the operational problems they write on the right page. When they are done, we collect notebooks (so they don't change their answers) and go through the problems together.

9:10-9:20: Morning Meeting (Spanglish [I know it’s not an actual language but I have to sneak English in every chance I can]) We cover calendar, weather, days in school, convert the days in school to dollars and cents. (i.e., if it's day 147, we would have $1.47 in money).

9:20-10:00: Math Lesson, Student Practice; Math Centers (Spanish)
If it's something brand new, we take notes in Math Notebooks (different than Morning Math notebooks). I teach the lesson, they solve a few problems in EDM Math Journals and complete 1 center a day.

10:00-10:40: ESL (English)
We use the program Moving into English; however, I've veered away from the program and started teaching my students word families and Dolch Words. (Basically, lots of English phonics!) Why? Well, I taught 3rd grade bilingual for 3 years; I know what's expected of them in 3rd grade, so teaching them how to read in English is my way of helping them reach that 3rd grade goal.

10:40-11:00 Lunch

11:00-12:10 Reader’s Workshop (Spanish)
Read aloud (even if book is in English, I translate it to their Native Language), Mini Lesson w/ Note taking if it's a new Focus Skill, 2 centers/guided reading groups per day.

12:10-12:45 (MTWF only) PREP (English)
35 minute preps 4 times a week!!!! =(

12:45-1:45: Writer’s Workshop (Spanish)
We use Lucy Calkins, but I wanted them to be more creative than Just a "Small Moment" so I also include a weekly option of writing with a Prompt.

1:45-2:30: Science or Social Studies (Spanish)
FOSS Science with my own Spin (which is: don't follow the guide and explore the kit with students! Lol)
We don't have a Social Studies Program, but we do follow the Hallmark Calendar of "holidays" and celebrate those... including Administrative Assistants Day! Lol.

2:30- Dismissal

I hope that this short post gives you an quick idea of what my day in a Spanglish Classroom is like ;)
I'll try to update this post with pictures of some of the activities in the near future!

Are you willing to share how you teach in your Bilingual/Dual Language classroom? Link up with Candis @ I Teach Dual Language for a chance to win a DVD of Speaking in Tongues (a documentary on Dual Language Education)!