Materials Matter: Parity and Quality for Spanish Language Arts

This report aims to guide the development of high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate Spanish language arts materials for use in Spanish-English dual language/bilingual programs in grades K-5 in the United States. This guidance is based on foundational research about initial Spanish literacy, the pedagogy appropriate to the language, and the educational and cultural traditions practiced in the Spanish-speaking world. Spanish language arts materials currently available in the U.S. were reviewed; observations and recommendations are included in this document.

Dual language/bilingual educators are responsible for instructing in both English and the partner language, in this case Spanish. This is ELSF's first step in helping to support the design and use of high-quality Spanish dual-language literacy materials.