Connecting Latino Middle School Students' Passion for Soccer to Science Learning in English and Spanish

• In Event: Roundtable Session 57
  In Roundtable Session: Dynamic Co-Constructions of Identity and Literacy Among Bilingual Students

Abstract

As part of their cultural heritage, most Latino middle school students are passionate for soccer and devote substantial time to this activity. In this paper, we merge soccer with science by using five practices developed by the Language-rich Inquiry Science with English Language Learners (LISELL) project to promote the importance of students thinking, reading and writing their scientific ideas using English and Spanish. Inhabiting the classroom and the soccer field helped us, the Latino students on the soccer team, and the soccer coach/science teacher to explore the possibilities of using soccer as a resource to promote science learning. We use assemblage theory to explore how science can be used along with Latinos’ passion for soccer in middle school settings.

Authors

• Max Vazquez Dominguez, University of Georgia - Athens

• Martha A. Allexsaht-Snider, University of Georgia

• Cory A. Buxton, University of Georgia - Athens