I teach a dual language full-day kindergarten class. Our pre-K through 5th grade elementary school is located in a community with many needs and many of our students speak Spanish as a first language.
This is the first time that we have offered a dual language classroom for Kindergarten. The make-up of my class is approximately 60% Spanish speaking and 40% English speaking. This is an exciting opportunity for Spanish speaking students to have support in their home language, while developing English. It has also been challenging for the English speaking students, who are developing an understanding of a different culture and language.
Young children love stories and will often ask to read them over and over again. They gain confidence with each reading and will read along with the parts they remember! Story telling puppets give students the opportunity to retell a story and practice using their new language. Students will work in pairs to follow along in the picture book as they use the puppets to retell the story.
Story retelling develops critical literacy skills, such as sequencing events, following print on the page, speaking in complete sentences, describe what is happening in a picture, and recalling story elements. These materials are especially important for young children because as non-readers, they are often unable to interact with text independently.
Your help will make it possible for my students to practice English in a way that will be just as fun as it is beneficial! With school funds restricted and sparse, this type of materials is often overlooked. These story telling resources will give early childhood students access to books that they have never experienced before. They will move beyond simply looking through pictures and create a three dimensional story themselves!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Jimenez and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.