Have you wondered how to teach weather to kindergarten? Or how do you even help kindergarteners understand the patterns of the weather? Does it seem like a daunting task to integrate Spanish Language Arts (SLA) and the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)? If you answered 'yes' to these questions, then keep reading! In this post I will show you the importance of integration of SLA and NGSS, the impact that it has on the Littles, and how to use one of my resources to do just that.
Sunshine and Weather: Kindergarten Integrated Spanish Unit
Springtime brings with it a sense of wonder as nature awakens from its long sleep. This unit on sunshine and weather is designed to engage Kindergarten Dual Language students in both scientific inquiry and language acquisition. It seamlessly weaves NGSS and SLA/CCSS together so that your kiddos will experience dynamic learning.
This unit integrates the following standards:
NGSS-K-PS3-1: Make observations to determine the effects of sunlight on Earth's surface.
NGSS-K-ESS2-1: Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
CCSS/SLA:
RF.K.1b / LF.K 1.b: Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters. / Reconocen que el lenguaje oral (palabras habladas) se representa en el lenguaje escrito mediante secuencias especificas de letras.
RF.K.4 / LF.K.4: Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding. / Leen textos para lectores principiantes, con propósito y comprensión.
W.K.1 / E.K.1: Use a combinations of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion of preference about the topic or book. / Usan una combinación de dibujo, dictado y escritura para redactar propuestas de opinión en las que le dicen a un lector cuál es el tema o el nombre del libro sobre el que están escribiendo y expresan su opinón o preferencia sobre el tema o el libro.
How to Deliver Sunshine and Weather: Kindergarten Integrated Spanish Unit
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Many educational systems, districts and educators already have their lesson plans created, and they are looking for resources to plug into their plan. That's exactly why I created this unit. You can easily plug in the activities that you need from this resource and use them in your own unit plan.
Vocabulary and Spanish Literacy
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When you download this zip file, you will receive various PowerPoint presentations that you could easily upload to your Google Drive for quick if desired. The first presentation is on vocabulary. You can project the presentation for a whole class learning moment, or moments throughout the unit. I usually print the sheets and post them as the class learns and uses the vocabulary.
Illustrated words included in Spanish only are: sol, temperatura, calor/caluroso/cálido, frio, tiempo, superficie, oscuro, clarito, me gusta, adentro, afuera.
The next presentations are 3 reading passages in Spanish that you can also read aloud together, and print and bind as books for kids to check out. The first passage is a story is called "Mi Jardin" and is about a brother and sister playing outside and observing hot and cooler surfaces.
The second passage is "Jugar Afuera y Las Superficies". This is about observations that can be made outside at the park, or by a river, or at the beach. There are questions on each page asking where the most heat might be felt and why the reader would think this way.
The third passage shows the sky during different seasons of the year and proposes what the best clothing for the weather could be. The passage tells readers that they can make predictions about what kind of clothing they can use by looking outside at the weather that day.
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Your last PPT presentation takes readers on a theme-based journey based on the vocabulary and reading passages using dialogue and speech bubbles to help readers move from the word level to the sentence level, and then to the discourse level. Use the vocabulary cards to navigate the word level, then use these illustrated sentences to move into the sentence level and the conversational discourse level.
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If you like, you can also work with your class starting with the discourse level and break apart the sentences and their meaning based on the words students have learned.
How you deliver this section depends completely on your classroom environment and the level of reading for your kiddos. It works well either way, but I have always preferred using this system from the word level, to the sentence level and then to the discourse level.
Your PDF:
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This file is full of writing resources to express opinions and scaffolding activities to get there. You will have vocabulary sorts, vocabulary cards, 3 differentiated levels of readers, a Literacy Journal so that kids can record their opinions on different books and reading passages that they read, color by code sheets, shared reading and a super simple experiment. You will also receive weather cards to create a class weather chart for the month, and students will have their own copy as a calendar and a graph.
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The PDF contains all the resources in the most convenient order of use, but the PPT presentations are nice to have on hand because you can find what you need quickly, right in your Google Drive.
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Sunshine and Weather Observation
This experiment is simple, quick and fun.
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The objective of the experiment is to observe what surface is hotter: a black surface or a white surface. On a sunny day, students plan to be outside for at least 30-40 minutes. You could use the sheets provided in the unit, or use a black and white piece of construction paper. It is important that each student has access to the papers so that they can feel the differences in temperatures.
Simply put the 2 colors in the sun for about 30 minutes, and then touch the black paper, and then touch the white paper. Then observe and discuss what color is hotter and which color is cooler.
Student make a prediction, or 'Pre-Observation', then they put the sheets in the sun, and then they make their observations in writing and show visually what they observed as well.
In Conclusion
Our resource offers a holistic approach to learning, transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries, allowing students to deepen their use of the Spanish Language PLUS deepening their scientific understanding. It is our responsibility as educators to nurture curious minds, and to equip them in our ever changing, global society. The integration of both the NGSS and the SLA / CCSS will help you to do just that.
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If you found this resource to be a help to you and your classroom, please leave a kind comment below!
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