Building a Dual-Language Library!

My Students

Some of my students have little experience reading and listening to stories. It's my hope that by building a rich library in both Spanish and English, that they will develop a love for reading, as well as learn more about, and celebrate their culture.

I teach in a dual-language kindergarten classroom that's made up of about 50% native English and native Spanish speakers every year.

The English speaking families are excited for their children to learn Spanish and excel in academics, but my Spanish speaking families often lack the resources to start successfully. They are typically lower academically because they don't read at home as much as their counterparts. They all learn together in my classroom, and help each other out in both languages. They are 5-6 years old and most have not been in preschool so they are all learning school and social expectations. They like Angry Birds, Lego chima, cars, el Chavo, and princess stories. My school is the sister school of another, more established dual-language school in my district. My school has one dual-language class in each grade level, and our school library is lacking in Spanish literature. But we ALWAYS manage to stay positive and help each other out in any way we can!

My Project

I have requested engaging literature for read alouds. The books I have requested are in Spanish because we are lacking resources in Spanish for my classroom library. The majority of these books will be used as class read alouds to expose children to popular stories read in Spanish. My hope is that they will be read and my students will be engaged and excited about reading. These books may also be implemented with technology I already have to give the students multiple opportunities to hear the stories read out loud from recordings during reading station activities. The books will also be used to introduce school expectations and reading skills, such as rhyming. I also intend to let my students read these books independently in the classroom.

Your donation to this project will help bring popular literature into my students' lives.

Many of them are unfamiliar with stories that most of us in the United States have grown up with because they've had less opportunities to hear them, and if they have heard them, they didn't understand them. These books will also expose students to another language, and hopefully enrich their language acquisition and expose them to other cultures.