Who are my students? They are English language learners (Ells), Spanish language learners (Slls), and balanced bilingual children whose heritage language is Spanish. The Ells are Spanish speaking children whom come from the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America. Among the Caribbean proceeding students we have children from Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. The North Americans are my Mexican students who still have very strong ties to their heritage and their families whose main language is Spanish. From Central America we service children from Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. And finally, South American children are form Ecuador and Peru. The Slls are English speaking children some who are African American and most whose heritage language is Spanish. The Balanced bilingual students are also Hispanics with a strong background in both the English language and the Spanish Language. Almost 80% of our population receive reduced lunch fee or free lunch. Moreover, we have one of the largest percentages of limited English speaking students in the district and most of our population has at one point participated of bilingual transitional services.
We have a very strong parent group who uses the school as a vehicle to understand mainstream America. Therefore, it is my hope that the learning in the classroom will permeate to the homes of my students. Furthermore, I expect that this will provide an exchange of ideas between parent and child that will enhance and expand my students' learning.
Specifically the groups of students who will participate in this unit are enrolled in a dual language program. The dual language program has been designed to give students the opportunity to become fluent in a second language. Yet it is expected to be a rigorous program that will enhance the academic achievement of students in their first and second language (Espino Calderon & Minaya-Rowe, 2003). What's more, it is expected to provide equitable opportunities for minority students to access the curriculum and to become interested in science (Evans, 1996). In other words, my instruction must take into consideration the academic, cultural, and linguistic needs of my students (Ovando & Collier, 1996).