CoachWrite Overview

           Students in Spanish 326 will participate in the service-learning component

Melody Wharton, Literacy Coach, Frank Porter Graham Elementary

and volunteer as literacy helpers in Spanish writing classes at Frank Porter Graham, the new

dual-language immersion school. Volunteers will serve in 1^st-5^th grade classrooms under the

guidance of the teacher and the literacy coach, Melody Wharton. 

 

                                                       Class times available, M-F:

8:00-9:00, 9:00-10:00, 10:00-11:00, 10:30-11:30, 10:30-12:00, 12:30-1:30, 1:00-2:30, 1:30-2:30

 

           When students register to volunteer at CHCCS, note FPG CoachWrite on project preference. In the grid for daily availability, please remember to factor in transportation

times. FPG is served by the J and D bus routes.

   

           The student population at FPG is evenly divided between native English and native

Spanish speakers. At most grade levels, literacy instruction is offered in both languages, but

Spanish 326 students will volunteer during the Spanish literacy blocks.

 

            Guiding principles and tips for working with students in this biliteracy program:

 

1)      Respect the many backgrounds and linguistic strands of Spanish represented; everyone’s Spanish is unique in this setting!

2)      Although you will hear students using a mix of languages, avoid using the term “Spanglish.” The official term is “community informal Spanish.”

3)      Validate whatever forms of language they’re using, while also reminding them that the Spanish they often use at home or in other settings may not be the Spanish they are learning at school.

4)      Try to avoid using directives like “You should say it like this…”

5)      Learn to apply “growth mindset principles” with respect to the students’ use of language. Help them learn to view themselves as adventurous language learners, without fixed identities in their literacy development.

 

                    Thank you in advance for the significant support you will provide to both students and teachers at FPG.

                                          Melody Wharton, FPG – mwharton@chccs.k12.nc.us

                                          Stuart Phillips, CoachWrite- sphillips@chccs.k12.nc.us