Sixth Graders Author Original Short Stories in Spanish to Share with Bilingual Preschoolers
April 26, 2018 by
MILTON sixth grade Spanish students have been writing original short stories to share with preschool-aged children at a bilingual school. Since many of the children at this school are Spanish-speaking, our class wrote and illustrated beautiful books in that language for the five-year-old class. “I liked writing books in Spanish because it helped me connect me more with people who speak Spanish and a whole other culture,” reflected Alex A
Yesterday, the Spanish class visited CentroNía. As soon as they came in, they were welcomed warmly by the teachers, who like the CentroNía students, come from different parts of the world, and by a lively group of little ones who immediately felt very comfortable around their taller friends.
The sixth graders read their stories to small rotating groups of children. After that, they were invited by their younger friends to play together in the different class activity centers, using as many languages as available, including Spanish, English, hands, and the amazing language of tenderness. “This trip was a great experience for our Spanish class because we got to learn more about the language and spend time with little kids. The kids seemed to really enjoy the stories that we wrote,” said Lilli L. Adam S-J. commented, “It was very fun. It was interesting connecting with the kids that lived in a different environment from us and spoke a different language.” Mira added, “It was nice to see how happy the kids got connecting with us.”
At the end of our visit, the MILTON students donated their books to the class, including hand puppets to accompany the stories. Many hugs were given and received. All the MILTON Spanish students commented on how much fun it was to connect with the adorable preschoolers, and how much they enjoyed this meaningful opportunity to practice their skills. “I think it was a good experience because we got to meet with little kids who knew Spanish. They were a lot more advanced and we learned new words from them,” said Jessica.
Felicitaciones (Congratulations) to our sixth graders for a fulfilling morning, for creating the beautiful books, and for being such mensches around their younger new friends! And a heartfelt thank you to Sixth Grade General Studies teacher Fani Bettmann for organizing this wonderful opportunity. See more photos from our visit on Facebook.
