When it comes to helping my dual language immersion students make sense of a topic in Spanish (besides using teaching resources purchased by the school), the Internet is my first ‘go to’ place. While there are thousands of resources out there, one is often left wondering which ones are worth spending money on (if purchase is required) and which ones one could access for free and use without compromising quality.

I have come to narrow down a few sites/apps/resources, and while some require a paid subscription, many have certain units or topics for free so you can try them, assess quality, and decide whether it is something you really want. Without any particular order, here is a list of a few resources I find very useful:

•  BrainPOP Español: I fell in love with the English version when I started teaching, so when I found out there was a Spanish version I did not think twice and tried it. The great thing about this site is that there are few units you can try for free (without a paid subscription). For example: ‘The Scientific Method,’ ‘Recycling,’ Sources of Energy,’ and ‘Ecosystems’ just to name a few. As a matter of fact, I am using the scientific method this week while introducing science to my class. Remember, here you can find math, social studies, and even art & music resources. Clicking here will take directly the Spanish version of BrainPOP.

• Club Leo by Scholastic: Finding well-written Spanish books can be a hassle, yet Club Leo by Scholastic offers new Spanish and bilingual books as well as other American, Latin American, and Spanish publishers. Sign up for an online account (parent account) so you can start browsing the catalog right away. And it gets even better because Scholastic has its own version of ‘electronic books’ which can be downloaded in seconds – no more waiting for the mail to arrive.

• Cricket Magazines: I saw the review from Betty Galvan some time back about Ladybug en Español. I was ecstatic (seriously!) because I have been a long time consumer of Cricket Magazines and they are outstanding. Their magazines are filled with great educational content and non-fictional material (HUGE nowadays with the majority of states adopting the Common Core Standards and the emphasis placed on informational reading). If this company was putting a magazine in Spanish, I knew it had to be great… Remember, reading can take many shapes and forms from books, to magazines – it all counts.

• Learn Spanish – MindSnacks: A video-game type of app with all the benefits of a full educational experience. I was introduced to this app by one of my parents not long ago. She could not stop telling me how amazing this app was. I explored the free version and was quite surprised. It is not a curriculum, but a great way to reemphasize what many students are learning in the primary grades (basic vocabulary). I understand though that reviewing Spanish applications could be an entire different post. I cannot wait to try the full version of this app once my project requesting iPads for my class under donorschoose.org/lfcsa gets funded. I am so close!

So, while I run around making copies, meeting new parents, and memorizing students’ names, I thought you might want to find out some programs/resources I use from time to time. Try them, experiment with them, and let me know what you think.

Much love,

Kelly

Ps. THANK YOU for all your emails. I have been busy chatting with people from all over the world. I am glad to be of help.

Photos by Tim and Selena Middleton

Back in the spring, I was invited by New Futuro to participate in a really cool event hosted by Que Rica Vida in Chicago with the purpose of providing information and tools to Latino parents to be able to help their kids succeed. Aptly named Infórmate y Edúcate, the free event conducted solely in Spanish was a huge success with over 500 people in attendance.

I must say I was honored to be in the company of some great Latina women who also participated in the event including Ileana Rodriguez, Vice President of College Board; Clara Lopez, Vice President of Children’s Programs and Services at El Valor; Dra. Isabel Gomez-Bassols, host of Univision Radio’s El Angel de la Radio; and Ana Martinez-Dassow, Founding Principal of Rowe Elementary. I also had the pleasure of meeting fellow Latina journalists Lucía Navarro and Dra. Marisa Azaret of CNN en Español. Oh, and I even got to meet Sonia Manzano, of Sesame Street fame. That was super cool!

But I must say that the highlight of the event was being able to talk to Latino parents (and their children) about the bilingual resources available online so they can help their children succeed. I was super happy to see a great turnout and even happier when the children started participating by asking questions and suggesting additional online resources to the ones I shared during my presentation.

Now that we’re all in Back to School mode, I figured it’d be a great time to share these resources with you. Some you might already know, but I bet you’ll find at least a couple new ones. I know I did while compiling the list. I’ve divided them into categories to make it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for. I think these are great resources for anyone with bilingual kids, but especially for those of you with kids in dual language immersion schools.

Hope you find these resources helpful! Please feel free to add any others ones you and your children use so we can make this list even more comprehensive. ¡Gracias!

READING/WRITING

1) COLORIN COLORADO

2) EL RINCON DE LOS CUENTOS

3) READING IS FUNDAMENTAL (¡LEAMOS EN FAMILIA!)

4) BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL INTERNACIONAL PARA NIÑOS

5) PLAZA SESAMO

MATH/SCIENCE

1) AAA MATH

2) PBS PADRES — MATEMATICAS A TEMPRANA EDAD

3) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

SOCIAL SCIENCE

1) PROYECTO ILLINOIS EARLY LEARNING

2) MAPA HUMANO

GAMES/ACTIVITIES

1) CHILDTOPIA

2) PBS KIDS: MAYA Y MIGUEL

3) BRAIN POP

4) DISCOVERY FAMILIA

{Photo via IICD}

Thanks,

Rebekah”

Hi Rebekah. I have a very similar problem! My husband is Colombian and we are raising our son bilingually. Unfortunately, since my husband is perfectly comfortable in English as well as Spanish (and I suppose the same is true for your husband), it is very easy for him to slip into English when speaking with our son – especially since our son is more fluent in English and tends to want to speak more English than Spanish. Unfortunately, one of the best solutions for your problem is mainly in the hands of your husband. If you can get him to speak Spanish exclusively to your daughter, you would see her proficiency improve and she might feel more comfortable speaking the language. You don’t say how old your daughter is, but I would guess that her reluctance to speak Spanish doesn’t really have much to do with not seeing the need to speak it. She is most likely just more comfortable/proficient in English. You can also buy books, videos, toys and other materials for her in Spanish as a means of “sweetening the pot!” We offer our son “free screen time” (i.e., extra time on the computer) if he plays games or views videos in Spanish. Some of his favorite sites are:

SuperSaber: http://www.supersaber.com/

Club Penguin (in Spanish only!): http://www.clubpenguin.com/es/

Isla Megatrix: http://www.antena3.com/islamegatrix/

GoGoLingo: http://www.gogolingo.com/

BrainPOP Español: http://esp.brainpop.com/
As for Dual Language Immersion schools, I don’t know what area you live in, but you can research that for yourself with an excellent database from CAL – the Center for Applied Linguistics. The searchable database is called the “Directory of Foreign Language Immersion Programs: and it can be accessed online at: http://www.cal.org/resources/immersion/. Good luck!

Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here and submit your own question for any of our experts here.