Same Lesson but Different
Teaching in a Spanish Dual Language class in Middle School should be the same as teaching in English but just taught in Spanish. I think that a lot of schools and teachers start out with this concept and it is true to a certain degree, except that it isn’t quite that simple.
The first reason it isn’t that simple is that the materials used to teach in English are often not available in Spanish. Many curriculum companies either don’t have a version of their curriculum in Spanish or the one they have is missing the key components that would make it a viable curriculum that can be taught fully in Spanish. Teaching in Spanish has been a controversial topic in many states around the country, therefore providing materials in Spanish, especially for upper grades, has not been beneficial to many curriculum and textbook companies. I have been a part of curriculum adoption committees for Language Arts, Social Studies, World Language, Dual Language and SEL curriculum and finding something that meets all of the criteria of the school district and teachers and that is available in Spanish, is nearly impossible.
The second reason that just translation of the curriculum into Spanish doesn’t always work is that many students in Dual Language programs, even those that speak Spanish at home, need extra support and scaffolds of language to read and write successfully in the target language (in my case Spanish). There needs to be support with vocabulary, grammar and fluency without taking away from the content of reading and writing that is being taught.
Here is a lesson plan template that I created that is good for either a Dual Language classroom, or a Language Arts class that is taught in English with English Language learners in it.
Here is a link to a fillable pdf copy of this image.
I like this outline because I can think about all of the aspects of teaching language without zooming in too much on conventions and grammar and losing the bigger picture of the learning targets and essential questions I am asking students to think about.
I would love to hear how other teachers set out to plan lessons and units in their Middle School Dual Language classrooms and how they balance the need for a viable curriculum with the different needs of the students.
Grantmo 