Ground Your DLI Schedule in the Science of Reading

Have you ever heard of Cognitive Framework A?  When I was hired as a founding dual language teacher, I used Cognitive Framework A to create a research-based schedule.  

Look familiar? If your district has been talking about the Science of Reading, then you must be making associations with Scarborough's Rope.

Yes! You can design a dual language program that follows the Science of Reading, but you need to know how to build it well.

Your Schedule Is Your Backbone

How do you know that you’ve created a strong dual language immersion program?  As a dual language consultant, I’m often asked to conduct programmatic reviews.  Without exception, the first document that I ask for is each grade level’s schedule.  

Why the schedule? I always tell my teachers and their leaders: “Your schedule is your backbone.”  When I examine schedules, I check to see if they are designed in a way to develop biliteracy.  Successful DLI programs carefully allocate time for literacy instruction in two languages.  Their schedules reflect the research on second language acquisition, demonstrate best practices around literacy instruction, and adapt to their student population.

A quick glance at a schedule can show gaps that may impede students becoming biliterate by the time they graduate.  I often see schedules that do not not reflect best practices in second language acquisition.  One glaring example is more time allocated to English literacy (at the expense of Spanish literacy) for a student population whose home language is Spanish.  

I have found this to be the most common error related to language acquisition, but what about best practices regarding literacy or how the schedule may be slightly different based on the student population we have?  If you can pinpoint your errors - or avoid them altogether - then you can set the foundation for biliteracy.

That’s why I created Dual Language Immersion 101, an online course to build your schedule based on the Science of Reading and best practices regarding second language acquisition.

A Self-Paced Online Course

Dual Language Immersion 101 is a short online course that empowers dual language immersion educators to schedule in the nine components of a student’s day, while looking for programmatic pitfalls.  I want my colleagues to be in a position to look at their schedules, and check that they’ve got it right.  Don’t be fooled by the title of this course.  Yes, it’s meant for total newbies to DLI to build a solid foundation from day 1, but it’s also a valuable check in for veteran teachers who are seeing gaps in student outcomes, specifically in biliteracy.  

This step-by-step process of building your schedule will help you develop biliteracy for your students!  Instead of adopting a particular “model” of dual language immersion, learn how to tailor your schedule to meet your students where they are.  

Dual Language Immersion 101 includes two hours of core lessons where I dig into the nitty gritty of creating a schedule.  And because I love practicality, you’ll also have access to two additional hours of videos of teachers in action to help show you  how to construct your schedule.  

Start the year off on the right foot by making the correct programmatic choices for your language learners.  Register here for this $25 course. 

Don't forget to check out Strategy-Based Teaching and Productive Language Goals to learn about how to write content objectives and language objectives for the dual language classroom! 

Your partner in all things dual language,

marie