January 5, 2005
Academy studies Spanish culture
Grand Traverse Academy integrates Spanish into entire school curriculum
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Si, ellos hablan Espanol!
From preschool to tenth grade, students at the Grand Traverse Academy most certainly do speak Spanish.
Since the charter school began five years ago, students in every grade have been absorbing a second language because Spanish is an integral part of the overall curriculum. With four Spanish teachers serving the 680 students, everyone is learning the language in an organic way.
Instead of focusing on grammar or vocabulary, the teachers tap brain development studies and teach using a Total Physical Response method.
For example, students act out the nouns and verbs, becoming a giraffe or elephant as the teacher calls out the word, sitting, standing or running when prompted in Spanish. This teaching method models the way a young child learns language, from hearing it spoken and learning to use it himself.
"We use motions and action to help the children learn," said Lorissa Nelson, a teacher at the school for four years. "Then next step is telling stories and then they begin making up their own stories."
Spanish is also integrated into the curriculum wherever possible at all levels and in all subjects. Teachers will have social studies, math and language arts in Spanish, which is where the older students learn grammar and spelling.
The school's ultimate goal is to have a high level of proficiency in both the spoken and written language throughout the school.
"The great thing is that Spanish is part of the curriculum - not an extra, not a passing fancy - but integrated into all parts of the school," Nelson noted. "We have some kids who dream in Spanish or sometimes can't think of the English word and that's great."
The Grand Traverse Academy's creative, multi-faceted approach to teaching Spanish caught the attention of the United States Department of Education. The school received a three-year, matching grant of $273,000 in October of 2003 from the DOE's Office of English Language Acquisition to further their efforts.
"The fact that we're so well supported by our administration won us this national recognition," Nelson said.
Fifth-grade student Megan Jones learns Spanish Monday through Thursday in her mixed-age classroom. On Monday morning, she and the fourth- through sixth-grade students reviewed their vocabulary after the two-week holiday break. They played vocabulary baseball, a fast-paced game led by their teacher, Dan O'Neil.
"After a while it [learning Spanish] became easy but it is hard when you learn new things," said Jones, a student at the school since first grade. "I like the games and it is fun how we don't have to just study all day, we get to move around."
Before leaving the students' classroom, O'Neil promised that the next day's lessons would be on the Spanish Conquistadors. Weaving culture, language and history together is another dimension of the Academy's approach to Spanish class.
The school also involves the whole family in their Spanish lessons by producing a compact disc for students four times a year. The school's Spanish teachers include songs, stories, games and even a scavenger hunt to reinforce the learning; each family receives one copy of the recording.
"(Students) listen to them at home with parents and they can learn together," Nelson said. "We've had tremendous, tremendous success with them, it's a great way to have parents support us and participate."
The Grand Traverse Academy also hosts one celebration a year that taps all things Spanish about a topic everyone studied that year. Last year featured Don Quixote as well as a catered dinner of Spanish Mediterranean food. This year they will be having a La Quinceanera, a traditional birthday party in the Spanish culture for 15-year-old girls.
This spring, approximately ten high school students will be traveling to Spain as part of their curriculum. As part of their learning experience, the Academy has partnered with the Great Lakes Children's Museum. While in Spain, the students will be purchasing materials to bring back for an exhibit on the Spanish culture that opens this summer at the museum.
"We're very excited about that, it is more than a one-sided learning experience," Nelson noted.