Austin's 5-year Title VII project was intended to improve the achievement of elementary students in the following areas: oral language proficiency, knowledge of basic concepts, reading ability in Spanish, and proficiency in English reading and math. Results indicated that program participants gained in knowledge of basic concepts at the…

Describes a program for 8 to 11 year old gifted children involving one-half day of Spanish and one-half day of science twice a week. Discusses in detail lesson plans, instructional materials, and activities designed to provide the children with an experience of the Spanish culture and way of life. (MES)

Compares the phonetically regular orthography of Spanish with the phonetic inconsistencies of English. Reports on the role of phonics in six popular Spanish reading programs. Notes that the regularity of the Spanish language is compatible with the use of systematic phonics for reading instruction. (MM)

Studied factors contributing to early Spanish literacy and later English reading for students from kindergarten through grade 7 (complete data for 91 students). Results suggest that early literacy experiences support subsequent literacy development regardless of language and that time spent on the native language is not time lost with respect to…

An experiment in the teaching of reading in Spanish to second- and third-grade students, conducted by the author at the Ethel Phillips elementary school, utilizes a modified version of Dr. Laubach's "syllabic, analytic-synthetic" method of language instruction. In this approach, vowels are combined in succession with each of the consonants to…

This Spanish language arts enrichment guide for grades K-5 was produced for use in Detroit, Michigan, public schools. The guide is divided into three parts: (1) language development for grades K-1; (2) reading readiness, focusing on word recognition and comprehension, for grades K-1 and 2-3; and (3) cultural activities for grades K-5. The…

Concludes that the Spanish Oral Reading Test can be a useful tool for teachers who need to estimate the reading levels of immigrant children. (FL)

This digest discusses a project conducted in the Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, that sought to integrate effective practices in literacy education, an empirically based cooperative learning model, and a classroom management model to help teachers develop the English and Spanish language proficiency of their students. The…

A Test of Spanish Word Features was developed to determine if Spanish orthography contains graphophonemic features similar to English. Test administrations to bilingual children in grades 1-5 found that spelling features in Spanish were internally consistent (reliable) but varied little in complexity compared to English. There was little evidence…

This annotated list offers a selection of recently published children's books in Spanish. It also includes new books for teachers about working with Spanish-speaking students. A few teaching tips are suggested. (MT)

Effects of Spanish immersion on fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children's native English vocabulary were studied. Findings support the idea that Spanish immersion has English-language benefits and that positive transfer occurs from Spanish as a foreign language to native English receptive vocabulary. (Author/MKA)

A SERIES OF SPEECHES DELIVERED AT A SEMINAR ON EDUCATIONAL INNOVATIONS FOR THE SPANISH-SPEAKING CHILD IS PRESENTED. REPRESENTATIVE SPEECHES ARE DISCUSSED. THE LATIN-AMERICAN IN THE SOUTHWEST IS A CONGLOMERATION OF MANY CULTURES AND PEOPLES. HE COMPOSES THE NEWEST IMMIGRANT AND THE OLDEST SETTLER, THE HAUGHTY SPANIARD AND THE STOLID INDIAN. HIS…

IN THE BILINGUAL SCHOOL, ONE OF FOUR PARTS OF THE BILINGUAL PROGRAM, NONENGLISH SPEAKING PUPILS AT ALL LEVELS ARE CLASSIFIED ON THE BASIS OF THEIR PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH AND GROUPED HOMOGENEOUSLY ACCORDING TO THEIR LANGUAGE ABILITY. ENGLISH IS PRESENTED AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. AUDIOLINGUAL TECHNIQUES ARE EMPHASIZED, BUT READING AND WRITING ALSO…

The author takes issue with an unnamed supervisory educator who opposes bilingual education. Wilson points out that to avoid wasting human resources it is essential that better education be provided for Mexican-Americans in order to cut down the repeating of grades and dropping out by students whose "home language" is not English.…

This manual presents a series of lesson plans in the form of task cards which have been designed to implement Spanish language usage in the classroom in many areas of instruction. The lesson plans can be used in the first through the sixth grades to promote self-motivated learning among groups of bilingual children. Subjects treated include art,…