Teacher Heidy Garibay knows that imaginative play is critical in the development of students, particularly language development, in her 2nd-grade class at Flowery Elementary School.
To support efforts in the dual immersion setting, she employs a variety of toys, games, and other materials that are specifically designed to engage students in collaborative and creative play. Acquiring them was made possible with a classroom grant from the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation.
“I have native Spanish speakers and native English speakers working with each other in order to play together,” Garibay says. “I have also seen students who are hesitant in using Spanish during the day, use their Spanish in order to explain the rules of a game, invite other students to play, or ask to borrow materials.”
The materials she requested will also be used as models during social studies and other content areas. “In social studies we focus a lot on communities and what they look like and what are essential parts of a community,” Garibay continues. “The play/model towns will be used to model this to my students. Another one of our focus areas is about producers and consumers. The play food will also be used during this social studies unit.”
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