Seventh International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education

Strand I: Pedagogy & Assessment

English/French

Elementary (K-5)
Middle School/Junior High
High School

In the French Immersion science classroom, teachers face the challenge of teaching scientific concepts while taking into consideration the fact that their students’ language competencies may be varied or limited. A common challenge is that existing resources are generally destined to first language teachers and therefore do not consider the pedagogical implications of second language teaching approaches. Drawing on the experiences of the two authors, this hands-on best practices session proposes interactive strategies to teach science through literacy and inquiry, including creative ways to engage students in discussion, innovative ways to introduce scientific vocabulary, strategies to incorporate recent scientific discoveries in the classroom, as well as a wealth of other strategies to allow students to creatively respond to scientific literature using second language pedagogical practices. These approaches may also be generalized to other subjects areas.