Benefits of Program
**NEURONS that fire together, wire together***
The Spanish Alphabet Tubs will be used to provide visual and tactile realia to our students on a daily basis. Realia refers to the practice of using real, tangible objects in the classroom to help our students connect with Spanish. It involves visual and tactile experiences for students to expand concepts and vocabulary. In the classroom we will use realia to strengthen students' associations between words for everyday objects and the objects themselves. In our K, 1st grade and RTI classes, students will be able to interact with authentic materials enabling them to interact with the real language and its use. This vocabulary can then be transferred to reading, word work, writing and math. Examples are; to illustrate and teach young learners vocabulary for animals, clothing, fruit, community members, tools, vegetables and much more. Realia is used to provide experiences on which to build and provide students with opportunities to use all the senses in learning. Realia allows the students to see, feel and hear the object being explored. Current brain research tells us that when children listen and read they utilize the left cortex where visual processing occurs. Therefore, children need gestures and visuals to make language clearer. We also know, stress makes the brain more dependent on visuals not only to hear and process, but also to establish a perception . In general, humans are designed to associated information with symbols. By providing our students with realia on a daily basis, we will be be providing them an opportunity not only to improve learning but also a way to analyze information. The population we serve at KBE is diverse, all learners will benefit from having accessible hands on realia directly associated to increasing their Spanish vocabulary.
