GT/MLL Characteristic : Family Activities - Real World Lens

Características y Actividades para estudiantes multilingües y estudiantes dotados y talentosos Cómo apoyar la identidad y las fortalezas del estudiante en el hogar

Eagerness to share about their native culture 

• Share  oral and written history/family stories

• Open family discussion about family culture customs to help children to  be comfortable sharing these topics in school.

• Student shares school projects about culture  with extended family. (Student plays the teacher.)

• Use techniques/symbols of artists from their culture in art projects

• Participate in cultural activities such as community events- Lunar New Year, Day of the Dead altars

Teaches peers/adults words from the home language(s).  

• Invite friends with similar languages/interests to home

• Talk about the underlying meaning of culturally significant words to support student’s explanations in  English

• Incorporate songs/lyrics into family functions

Shows a strong sense of pride in cultural and linguistic heritage and ethnic background 

• Talk about family heritage and background

• Encourage reading through PebbleGo, Reading A-Z, EpicBooks, DPL, Libby

• Watch films and shows portraying your family’s celebrations/history

• Encourage reading in more than one language at home

Eager to interpret and translate for peers and adults

• Encourage child to take on mentorship/internship/foreign exchange opportunities

• Encourage child to participate in afterschool programs/ camps about their heritage/language.

• Attend a school district meeting, with multiple interpreters, that explains resources to families.

Cross-Cultural Flexibility - navigates roles expected of home culture(s) and/or new culture

• Talk to child about nuances of home language(s)/overlap with other languages

• Attend appointments/check-ups, films, art exhibits, celebrations that represent your culture or other cultures.

• https://scfd.org/find-culture/free-days/

Advanced knowledge and use of expressions and native dialects, interpretation into another language

• Outing to a library with a variety of materials in a variety of languages. Encourage interaction with a librarian to answer questions.

• Family members give detailed information, add background and reasoning to explanations of their work/hobbies

• Finding similarities and connections between different languages and how these similarities arose (evolutionary and historical events)

Ability to understand jokes and puns related to cultural differences 

• Encourage the unique use of language and responses and jokes/balance with a discussion of respect for other groups.

• Play outside and table games with family and friends

Able to read in native language two grades above their grade level

• Encourage additional reading - books from the classroom, public libraries, etc.

• SORA app - Heritage focused materials, poetry, mysteries, audio books etc.  (Step by Step instructions - Go to LION.dpsk12.org, select your school, click the “E-Books and E-Audiobooks” button, choose Sora and sign in (for students the username is 6 digit student ID and password is 8 digit birthdate.) 

• Encourage deeper thinking with higher level questions

  • Why do you like/dislike this book?

  • Why do you think the author wrote this book? What makes you think that?

  • What else do you want to know about this topic?

  • How did the author collect information to write this book?

Higher reading and speaking levels than their non-gifted MLL peers

• Ask a librarian for age and reading level appropriate reading 

• Encourage children to listen to/join in adult family members’ discussions.

• Keeping up with current events in home country to maintain connection with another culture

Multilingualism 

(the practice of alternating between two or more languages or  varieties of language in conversation) 

• Model and discuss how you navigate a complex world with multiple cultures and 2 or more languages

• History of the DPS consent decree 

• https://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/ to learn another language

• Co-CABE - Proud to be Bilingual Essay Contest

• Have student attend after school classes in another language

• Visit to child or parent’s home country

Actively leads their multilingual peers in translanguaging. 

• Encourage your child to use the language they prefer to think, speak, read and write. 

• Set up a mentorship/internship where people work in more than one language.

Sense of global community and awareness of other cultures and languages

• Ask about what they see/observe - and for their suggestions if they see problems

• Encourage atypical solutions to problems

• Dedicate time to community engagement as a family

• Encourage child to learn more about any topic that interests them

Learns a second or third language at an accelerated pace

• Take your child to a DPS DAC event to listen to and interact with the interpreters

• Find a world language school that offers scholarships for younger students

• Encourage Language learning through DuoLingo or other language learning app

Excels in math achievement tests when language ability is not a factor

• Access Khan Academy for self-directed learning

• Request additional differentiation in the classroom

• Connect with DPS GT teacher to advocate for your child

• Sign up for Code.org

• Encourage child to teach you what they are learning in math class

Creativity

• Encourage wise risk-taking.

• Wonder aloud about how to fix or improve things in your home. 

• Attend children’s programs at museums where creative play is offered.

Future-Thinking

• Encourage higher level coursework in high school and education beyond HS. 

• Look for college scholarships (there are many more resources)

• Volunteer at a school event

• Encourage your students to follow their dreams and learn more about the world through summer programs

• Pursue DPS and or Global Seal of Biliteracy

SCFD Free Days

RTD students ride free