Samantha Morron, an immersion teacher specializing in English, works through a phonics exercise with kindergartners during a dual immersion Spanish and English class Wednesday at Summit Elementary School in Bloomington. Staff photo by Chris Howell
If you thought learning math was hard, Marelis Miller’s kindergarten and first-grade students can one-up you: They are learning math in Spanish.
Last Monday, Miller sat on the carpet with a small group of students, using blocks to illustrate addition and subtraction problems. Her students watched her hands carefully as she counted, slowly and clearly, and asked in Spanish: How much is 14 minus 9?
¿Cuánto es 14 menos 9?
Across the room, small groups worked at learning stations. Some pored over math worksheets in Spanish.
Others made their way through a math learning program on their school-issued iPads.
At the end of class, they sang a few songs in Spanish before Miller told them to line up for lunch. In Spanish, she said students wearing blue could go first, followed by those wearing red, green and pink. Bundled up for recess, swinging their lunchboxes, the students followed her in a line to the cafeteria. Several of them were still singing to themselves in Spanish.
Dual immersion
Miller is one of two teachers in the Dual Language Immersion program at Summit Elementary, the first of its kind in the Monroe County Community School Corp. About 11 students between the two classes come from Spanish-speaking homes.
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