Middle School Immersion
Comprehensive, interdisciplinary middle school programs for continued language development.
Overview
Elementary schools offer different models of dual language programs, but students need support in bridging elementary and more advanced high school language courses.
Our middle school immersion programs ensure continued growth in Spanish / Mandarin language proficiency while cultivating global competencies in students. They consist of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary middle school curriculum and teacher professional development support.
Why Middle School Immersion?
Ensuring Growth in Language Proficiency
We designed our middle school immersion programs to support post-immersion and heritage language learners as they transition out of elementary school and prepare for the rigors of middle school and on to high school. The programs are flexible as they can be incorporated into a variety of schedules.
Expanding Heritage Speakers’ Language Skills in a Wide Range of Contexts
Our middle school programs strengthen the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of heritage speakers by providing them with opportunities to practice their language skills in a variety of contexts while exploring cultures from around the world as well as their own.
Preparing students to lead and thrive in the world community
Students are empowered to use their language skills to complete projects grounded in global issues By working with their local communities and connecting with classrooms abroad, students are cultivating global competencies, learning about different cultures, and gaining the necessary skills to become bilingual global leaders.
Our Offerings
Conexiones
Conexiones is a program that ensures continued growth in Spanish language proficiency while cultivating global competencies in students.
Quan Qiu Hua
Quan Qiu Hua (QQH) cultivates global competencies that enable students to lead and thrive in a competitive global world while ensuring growth in Chinese language proficiency.
Learn more about Conexiones
Hear from Jason Straus, Conexiones Program Manager, and students in the Conexiones program about their experiences and the power of being bilingual from an early age.
Middle School Immersion Curriculum
Through its emphasis on project-based learning, Conexiones and Quan Qiu Hua programs help prepare students for the global marketplace and to become active contributors to society while developing Spanish or Chinese language proficiency.
The curriculum covers three levels with units distributed across the school year. Each unit offers increasing rigor as students explore different content and develop effective language and global competencies.
Curriculum Themes
Global Society and Culture
Students explore the connectedness of the world’s people, the meaning of culture, and similarities and differences between cultures in the U.S. and other countries. They also apply their knowledge of global competencies and global themes through examining and sharing their own cultures.
Environment and Geography
Students investigate global environmental challenges, including population growth and world health issues solutions. They explore how protecting the environment involves political, economic, and social responses that influence the daily life of the global population.
Access and Equity
Students address many issues that different countries face in providing education opportunities for their citizens. They explore global literacy and educational access issues as well as human rights issues such as racial and gender equality.
Economic Sustainability
Students explore the increasing economic dependency between countries, their financial institutions, and the movement of goods and services.
Professional Development and Instructional Support
Our services support in-person, blended, or online learning. We provide a variety of flexible options and approaches to meet the specific needs of our partners, such as:
- An online community of practice where teachers can access a dynamic collection of materials, instructional tools, lesson plans, and professional learning experiences.
- Virtual PD meetings facilitated by Participate Learning, where teachers share dual language best practices.
Assessments and Evaluation
- AAPPL testing for participating 8th grade students included
- Support for districts who want to implement the Credit by Demonstrated Mastery process for exiting 8th grade students
Resources and Materials
- Grade-level specific lists of suggested and required instructional resources
- Classroom kits containing branded and instructional classroom materials
- Interdisciplinary, project-based learning curriculum in Spanish
Middle School Program Impact
“
Being a former foreign language teacher myself, before I went into administration, I think the Conexiones program is a fabulous bridge between that dual language immersion that students are getting all day at the elementary level going into high school where they are taking Spanish credits.”
“
Seeing them in 8th grade as bilingual students with improved skills and ready to go to high school, is an amazing part of our job. Current events that we teach in middle school in Spanish help them realize how important the language is for their careers.”
Support your middle school language learners.
Fill out the form below and we will be in touch to answer your questions about our middle school program offerings.