Language Lizard: Bilingual Books Giveaway

In the past few years, I have noticed a growing number of bilingual books at my local library and on the school library shelves.  I love books written in a bilingual format for several reasons:

• Because they are written in two languages, they are accessible to a larger audience.  My monolingual English-speaking daughters (I'm working on their Spanish!) can still enjoy the books I bring home to plan for sharing with Spanish-speaking students.
• I know I'm nerdy but I find it fun to read one language and then read the other to compare how the book's translation compares with the way I would translate it in my head.  I always learn new words and phrases this way!
• Sometimes, when I am reading in one language, I come across something that doesn't make sense to me.  I can always refer to the other language for clarification when needed.
• The marketability of these books is a concrete reminder of the marketability of a bilingual person.  I love sharing this fact with my English learners to encourage them to grow in both of their languages.

So, would you like the opportunity to win TWO BILINGUAL BOOKS?  I have asked the wonderful people at Language Lizard about sharing some of their books with you and they agreed!  They offer bilingual books in over 40 languages (including Spanish, of course).  They also provide numerous resources for supporting teachers of bilingual learners through their website, quarterly email newsletter, blog, and Facebook page.  

To enter to win, simply enter your info in the Rafflecopter below.  One lucky winner will choose the language of their choice (from the 40 languages available on their site) and Language Lizard will provide two age-appropriate bilingual books to the winner.  GOOD LUCK!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Milo Educational Books & Resources Giveaway

Thus far in August, we have learned how to support our readers' strategic reading behaviors with the Fountas & Pinnell Prompting Guide in Spanish and we have met Attanasio & Associates, a wonderful provider of leveled readers in Spanish & English.

This week, dear readers, you will meet yet another provider of amazing resources for your classroom.  Do the two words "BIG BOOKS" make you swoon?  Okay, well then how about these THREE words: "SPANISH BIG BOOKS"?  Yeah, I thought so!  Well, these books provided by Milo Educational Books & Resources are truly beautiful creations.

In my previous school district, the bilingual coordinator and the science coordinator placed a joint order to provide each bilingual campus with a couple of sets of all of Milo's Big Books related to the science topics that were a part of our PK-5th grade curriculum.  The teachers fought over them LOVED them!

The text in these books is simple but rich and effective.  The photographs and illustrations are carefully chosen to scaffold understanding of high level content.  As I shared these books with teachers in grades PK-5th, every grade level wanted to claim the books for their rooms.  Even though some pages just carry short repetitive sentences, they can still provide a great foundation for introducing content and building background.  These books are perfect for teaching nonfiction conventions and would make great companions to my free Bilingual Nonfiction Conventions Notebook.

So, wouldn't you love to start the year with 2 new big books, 8 assorted small readers, two reading pointers and a bilingual poster (everything in the picture below)?

Visit Milo Educational Books & Resources' website: http://www.miloeducationalbooks.com/ and leave a comment on this post telling which nonfiction titles would be most useful to you in your classroom.   Follow the rest of the directions from the Rafflecopter below for additional entries!  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: 78 Spanish/English books for Early Readers

Last week's giveaway featured a resource designed for supporting readers as they acquire strategic behaviors for literacy.  Now...what else does a teacher need?  Why, BOOKS, of course!  

The wonderful company, Attanasio & Associates, is offering one lucky I Teach Dual Language winner their set of Early Spanish/English Single Copy Set which includes 39 books in Spanish and 39 books in English (a $495.35 value).

Want to win?  Visit Attanasio & Associates' website: http://www.attanasio-edu.com/ and leave a comment on this post telling us about one of their products that you would love to have in your classroom.  Follow the rest of the directions from the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Fountas & Pinnell Spanish Literacy Resources

Do you have a A-list of celebrity educators?  You know, the people whose names have earned your respect throughout your classroom tenure because you know that they know what they're talking about.  Their words are tried and true.  

Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas are definitely on my A-list!  Ever since I read Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for All Students in college (1998!) and Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6 a couple of years later, my teaching philosophy and literacy practices have been unmistakably shaped by these two women.

Two years ago, I was E-LA-TED when my district's literacy specialist gave a training on Fountas & Pinnell's new Prompting Guide and then she said those magical words, "We also have copies in Spanish for the bilingual teachers!"  Seriously?  So, so happy to get my hands on such a useful resource that literally takes me step by step through the reading behaviors my students need to successfully interact with Spanish text.  

You can view a few sample pages of the prompting guide at this link as well as read one dual language teacher's review of this product on her blog.

Tell me you are not excited about this!!!  But wait, there's more!  Pinnell and Fountas also provide the Continuo de adquisición de la lectoescritura Grados PreK-2: Guía para la enseñanza.  This is the Spanish adaptation of The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Grades PK-2: A Guide to Teaching.  The first half of the book includes an explanation of the many instructional components that interact in the classroom to build literacy.  The second half of the book walks through each of the F&P guided reading levels A-N and describes the behaviors and understanding to notice, teach, and support.  An especially useful part of this section is the gray "Planning for Word Work after Guided Reading" box that includes many specific examples for explicitly addressing Spanish word analysis.  You can see a sample of this resource at this link.

Now, because I love my ITDL readers SO much, I have contacted some of my favorite providers of bilingual resources to ask them to consider donating a resource to one of you.  My wonderful friends at Heinemann have offered to give one lucky ITDL both of the resources described above.  Want to win?  Just follow the Rafflecopter directions below (giveaway is limited to US residents only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway Just in case you aren't the lucky winner of these resources, you can download eBooks of the English and Spanish prompting guides for the iPad here for just $9.99 each.

Stra-tiques Giveaway/Activating Prior Knowledge

Last week, I wrote a post about the importance of activating prior knowledge.  While it is necessary to assess students' prior knowledge at the beginning of each and every lesson and unit, it is especially crucial at the beginning of the school year as you begin to mine the gems of knowledge that lie in the minds of your students.  

This week, I will be sharing a few of my favorite ways to do this and I'm hoping you will share your ideas with us.  In turn, you will have the chance to receive a copy of this resource with even more ideas.

To enter, please follow the directions below.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, here's my Activating Prior Knowledge tip for today!

I love using this Vocabulary Knowledge Rating sheet with grades second and up.  Even if students can't read, the ScreenBeans explain themselves.  You can provide a list of vocabulary words and phrases and have students copy the words into the column that best fits their knowledge of the term.


As students are writing and reflecting, walk around the room and take note of which words commonly end up on the left side of the sheet and which end up on the right.  This can really help you know how to focus your time!


Throughout the lesson or unit, ask students to revisit their rating sheets and have them draw arrows from the word to the column that currently represents their level of understanding.  Yes, these sheets do get ugly and that's okay.  Meta-cognition can be messy!

If you want to try this with younger students, you can use the same pictures and post them in the four corners of your room.  Display a word or phrase and read it aloud.  Ask students to move to the corner that best fits their knowledge of that term.

What if students lie misrepresent their understanding?  Don't stress about it!  The goal is to get students to begin thinking about their own thinking.  It is a gradual process but a worthwhile one!

We have a winner!: Spanish Poetry Books Giveaway

We have a winner!  Lucky #7!

According to my very fancy numbering of the comments before using random.org, the seventh comment belongs to Mrs. Castro of Second Grade...Spanglish Style.  Congratulations, Mrs. Castro!  We hope you enjoy these five books with your second graders next year!

Thanks to everyone else that contributed input on the use of authentic Spanish literature in the classroom!  Many thanks to the Warren Instructional Network for sponsoring this giveaway.  If your administrator contacts you this summer because he found some funds for more bilingual resources (it has been known to happen!), tell him to give Kyle a call.  You will love the variety and relevance of the many resources that he represents!

Booksource Spanish Poetry Book Giveaway!

Yippee!  What's better than being on summer break?  Being on summer break AND winning free stuff for your classroom!  The Warren Instructional Network is a representative for some of the best instructional resource providers out there like Heinemann, Booksource, Fountas & Pinnell, Benchmark Education, and Mondo Education Publishing.  Several of these companies provide excellent Spanish language and bilingual resources.

Booksource has collections of Spanish poetry books for the primary grades and the upper elementary grades.  Kyle Warren is offering one lucky I Teach Dual Language reader a five book sampling from both collections!









Here's how to enter for a chance to win:
In their efforts to serve bilingual teachers even better, the Warren Instructional Network would like to know, how important to you is the use of authentic (versus translated) Spanish language materials in your daily literacy instruction?  


Leave a comment below with your answer and you will receive one entry in the drawing.  Want a bonus entry?  "Like" I Teach Dual Language on Facebook and leave a comment here that you did.

Anonymous entries cannot win because that makes announcing the winner very difficult!  The giveaway will close at 8 pm CST on Friday, June 8th and a randomly drawn winner will be announced by 9 pm.   

Speaking in Tongues Film Giveaway Winner

Thanks so much to the teachers that have linked up with our Speaking in Tongues Linky Party this week!  The Linky will remain open through next Friday and we would still love for anyone to join us and help spread the word about what dual language looks like in real life classrooms!

The deadline to enter the giveaway was 5 pm this afternoon and using the Random Number Generator...Da Duh Duh DUHHHHH!  I think I need some serious work on my onomatopoeia! :)

The winner of the Speaking in Tongues Film DVD is Karla from The Spanglish Classroom!  Thanks again to everyone that has linked up with us and a huge THANK YOU to the people at Speaking in Tongues Film for sponsoring this giveaway!  Please visit their website and follow them on Facebook so you can stay up to date on the great work they are doing on behalf of dual language education!

Speaking in Tongues Linky Party

Tell me you haven't ever had this conversation:  You are casually chatting with someone about what you do and explain that you are a teacher, a dual-language teacher.  The other person acts interested but a bit confused.  They ask, "So is that like ESL?"

"Well," you answer, "It is ESL but it is much more.  How much time do you have?"  As you launch into explaining the complex and intricate details about how you actually do Dual Language, you are likely to receive one of two reactions:  1) "That sounds so cool!  I wish that I (or my children) could have had that type of education!"  or 2)  "But doesn't that just confuse them?  How can they possibly learn subjects like science or math in another language?  Isn't this generation's English bad enough as it is?  Shouldn't we just focus on improving one language?"

At these moments, don't you wish you could invite this acquaintance to sit down and watch this documentary with you?  The clip below is one of 11 free short videos supplementing the hour-long documentary Speaking in Tongues.  You can see more of these short videos at this link.


From The Language Educator, November 2010:  
This hour-long documentary follows four American students whose parents placed them in schools where, from the first day of kindergarten, their teachers speak only Chinese or Spanish. It was shown at the 2009 ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo in San Diego, CA, and can be used in advocacy efforts to help promote language education.  The award-winning film was selected as the winner of the San Francisco  International Film Festival Audience Award. [It] has been featured on various PBS stations.


Throughout the next two weeks, I Teach Dual Language is hosting a "Speaking in Tongues Linky Party" giving you the opportunity to share what dual-language instruction looks like in your classroom.  One participant's name will be randomly drawn to win a DVD of this documentary!  Thanks so much to the people at Speaking in Tongues Film for providing this giveaway!

In order to participate, please post a description of your dual-language/bilingual classroom on your blog and sign up below.  If you do not have a blog, you can still join the party!  Just email me your description (cgrover@elsaberenterprises.com) and I will post the description here and add you to the Linky.

Based on last month's poll, there is a lot of variety in how we dual!  I can't wait to find out more!

Estrellita Giveaway: We have a winner!

Congratulations to Miss Teacher (Adriana) on winning Estrellita's Parent Packet with English instructions for dual-language immersion classrooms!  Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks to Estrellita for sponsoring this giveaway.  If your campus is already using Estrellita's resources, I highly recommend Maria Teniente as a trainer for understanding how to best utilize these materials.

Giveaway: Estrellita Reading Resource

If you have been a bilingual teacher for any amount of time, you have surely heard of Estrellita.  Created by a bilingual teacher for bilingual teachers, Estrellita has been around for over twenty years.  I was first introduced to this accelerated beginning Spanish reading program in 1999 when I was student-teaching in a first grade bilingual classroom in West Chicago.  

While Estrellita has long been a mainstay in the bilingual Spanish classroom, it is now becoming a valued resource in the Dual-Language classroom for teaching Spanish literacy to non-Spanish speakers.  For an excellent explanation of the similarities and differences in English and Spanish literacy, check out this article by Estrellita's author Karen Meyer titled Supporting Early Spanish Literacy in Dual Language Classrooms.  

Because I love this program so much (I will share my reasons later this week), I contacted them to ask about sharing one of their resources with you.  I am receiving no compensation other than the pure joy of giving rather than receiving!  :)  

The wonderful people at Estrellita are offering you their English Parent Packet (value of $44) that is a supplement for the K-1 Beginning Reading Program.  If you already have the K-1 Program, you should have the Parent Packet in Spanish.  This English supplement contains English instructions for the English dominant parents of students in Dual Language programs.  

So would you like to win this resource?  Here is how you can increase your chances with up to four entries (one comment per entry):

• Become a follower of I Teach Dual Language (see the right margin of this blog) and leave a comment here that you did or that you had already joined.

• "Like" I Teach Dual Language on Facebook and leave a comment here that you did.

• "Like" Estrellita on Facebook and leave a comment here that you did.

• Do you use Estrellita in your classroom?  Leave a comment on Estrellita's Facebook page telling them how it has helped your students.  Leave comment here that you did.

Anonymous entries cannot win because, well, that makes announcing the winner a bit difficult!  The giveaway will close at 5pm CST on Friday, April 27th and the winner will be announced by 9pm.  Good luck!  ¡Buena suerte!

GIVEAWAY: Words of our World (WOW) Vocabulary Program

The summer before my senior year of college, I spent two months studying Spanish in Spain.  Afterwards, my brother met me for two wonderful weeks of travel in Italy.  As we visited museums and cathedrals, I was amazed by how I could read practically anything in Italian with fairly good comprehension because of its similarity to Spanish.  My brother, who had studied French, was able to do the same thing.  At the time, I had never heard the word cognates but I quickly learned how useful they were in understanding another Latin-based language. 

In the years since, I continue to learn how cognates not only help us make sense of a second or third language, they deepen our understanding of our first language as we make connections between words.  Did you know that over 90% of English words of two or more syllables are of Greek or Latin origin?  If we truly want to help our students develop a stronger vocabulary, we must help them deepen their knowledge about words.

Guess what?  We have the perfect resource to help you do that and, are you ready for this, IT WAS MADE JUST FOR YOU!  It is a vocabulary program designed with the intention of building word knowledge in both Spanish and English.  

Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan of the Valley Speech Language and Learning Center is the developer of the Words of our World (WOW) vocabulary program and she recently posted here about Vocabulary Development for English learners.  

From the Valley Speech website:

Words of our World (WOW) is a vocabulary program which addresses the use of cognates and common roots in Spanish and English to further develop word knowledge.  Students in bilingual and/or dual language programs can benefit from this program.  Students who are interested in learning Spanish can use their knowledge of English to develop Spanish vocabulary.  

Would you like to win the WOW program for your classroom?  Here is how you can increase your chances with up to five entries (one comment per entry):

• Become a follower of I Teach Dual Language (see the right margin of this blog) and leave a comment that you did or that you had already joined.
• Visit Valley Speech and Learning Center's website and explore their products.  Leave a comment here telling them which products would be the most useful in your classroom.
• "Like" EL Saber Enterprises on Facebook and leave a comment that you did.
• Blog about this giveaway and leave the link here OR send an email about the giveaway to at least five other teachers and copy me in your email (cgrover@elsaberenterprises.com).  Of course, leave a comment here so you get credit!
• Read Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan's guest post at Vocabulogic, leave a comment there, and leave a comment here telling us that you did.

Anonymous entries cannot win because, well, that makes announcing the winner a bit difficult!  Make sure you leave your email so that I can contact you if you win!  The giveaway will close at 12pm CST on Friday, March 23rd and the winner will be announced at 3pm.  Good luck!  ¡Buena suerte!

If you would like to read even more about using cognates in your classroom, check out a previous ITDL post titled Becoming Cognizant about Cognates.  

We have a winner!

Krista Carlson's comment #2 was the winner of the drawing for our giveaway of EL Saber's newest resource Blooming Writer/El escritor floreciente. Congratulations, Krista! We will mail you your copy next week!

If you are still interested in obtaining this resource, you can buy it for $24.99 here.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered! If you haven't already read through the comments for ideas of mentor texts, be sure to do so and stay tuned for more giveaways in the near future!

Happy Friday everyone!

GIVEAWAY: Blooming Writers/El escritor floreciente

Welcome to I Teach Dual Language blog's very first giveaway!  This week, we are offering a resource from the sponsor of this blog, EL Saber Enterprises.  The title of the resource is El escritor floreciente: Dándole vida a mis palabras, a mi mundo/Blooming Writer: Bring to Life My Words, My World.    You can read more about how this resource can be used in your classroom here.

Please note, this is not the actual cover of the revised resource.  The resource that will be given away is targeted to grades K-2.  However, after teaching some of the lessons, I think they could easily be stretched down to PK and up to grade 3. 
Do you want to win a free copy of this awesome resource?  Here's how you can get up to 4 entries:

1. Leave a comment here telling us your favorite mentor text (Spanish or English) to use when teaching writing to your students.
2. Become a follower of iteachduallanguage.blogspot.com and leave a comment here telling us that you did.
3. "Like" EL Saber Enterprises on Facebook and leave a comment here telling us that you did.
4. Blog about our giveaway and leave a comment here with a link to your post.

I talked with several vendors at the NABE Conference and we look forward to oroviding more giveaways of fantastic resources for the bilingual/dual-language classroom.  Thanks for helping us spread the word!


This giveaway will be closed on Friday at 12:00 PM CST and the winner will be announced at 3:00 PM CST.  Good luck! 

NABE 2012 & Upcoming Give-Away

I first heard about NABE when I was student-teaching in West Chicago in a bilingual first grade classroom.  The 1999 conference was located in Denver, Colorado and I seriously considered if I could make room in my college-student budget to attend.   I ultimately decided that I couldn't and the NABE conferences have stayed out of my reach until this year.  Finally, NABE is coming to Dallas and I'm not going to miss it!  Jim Cummins?  Josefina Tinajero?  Virginia Collier?  Lily Wong Fillmore?   Yes, please!  Be still, my nerdy-teacher heart!

EL Saber Enterprises will be there as well and I will be doing a demo of their newest bilingual teacher resource on Thursday afternoon.

Will we see you there?  If not, you will have a chance to win this resource in our very first giveaway next week!  Stay tuned!

Bilingual Books on CD Giveaway

Mommy Maestra at http://www.mommymaestra.com/2012/01/bilingual-books-on-tape-giveaway.html is giving away two book and CD sets by Alma Flor Ada.  I have heard Alma speak at bilingual conferences.  She is an incredible author and I have never read one of her books that did not connect with my students.  Go pay Mommy Maestra a visit and check out some of her free downloads!