Kindergarten in Spanish: Lowell immersion students work toward learning a second language

Rebecca Sheldon's kindergarten class formed a circle on the floor, each student laying out a selection of brightly dyed beans.

Sheldon, a Spanish immersion teacher at Lowell Elementary, asked her class on Tuesday whether anyone had "quatro roja" — or four red — beans. For several minutes she asked variations of that question, allowing kids to respond in Spanish or in English. The exercise was about math and language simultaneously, illustrating how an immersion program works. Students learn the state standards, but they're learning them in a different language.

"They come in here, and they know nothing; it's herding cats," Sheldon said of the first couple of weeks working with kindergarteners. "Now, for the most part, kids are getting me, although they may not understand word for word."

Sheldon teaches one of two Spanish immersion classes at Lowell, which are offered for the first time this year by the Duluth school district. It's the second immersion program added to district offerings, along with Ojibwe, which began in 2014, also at Lowell.

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