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4DESIGN EDUCATION / JULIE BLACK, M.ED.
Give me a standard. Give me the learners. I’ll turn it into an engaging instructional experience - in Spanish or English. Or both.
Case Study 4
BATTE BATTE Chocolate
Project
BATTE BATTE Chocolate
Audience
Spanish-speaking bilingual learners
Format
Transferable thinking framework & visual instructional resource
Focus
Critical thinking, metalinguistic awareness, vocabulary development, translanguaging, and transfer of learning
Tools
Visual modeling, authentic text, bilingual language resources
Design Challenge
Traditional context-clue instruction gives students several ways to approach an unfamiliar word, including examining word parts, looking for synonyms, and using information provided by the author. For bilingual students, however, that approach can leave an important resource untapped: the linguistic knowledge they already possess in another language.
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The design challenge was to create a memorable, student-friendly Spanish-language vocabulary framework that would help bilingual learners determine the meaning of unfamiliar words while reading and treat students’ knowledge across languages not as interference, but as an additional tool for comprehension.
Solution
I created BATTE, a Spanish-language vocabulary framework that combines traditional context-clue strategies with translanguaging as an explicit comprehension strategy. The framework invites bilingual learners to use their full linguistic repertoires—including cognates and meaning already known in another language—to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words while reading.
BATTE was developed into a memorable visual instructional experience using authentic text, modeling, think-alouds, recurring characters, humor, and an anchor of support that students could reference independently.
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From Standard → Instructional Experience
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The standard defines the learning target; the framework, visual support, and modeled examples turn it into an instructional experience designed for bilingual learners.
Design Approach
I organized multiple vocabulary strategies into the mnemonic BATTE, incorporating familiar approaches to context clues alongside translanguaging as an explicit comprehension strategy—purposefully drawing on knowledge across languages to construct meaning. Students are encouraged to draw connections across their languages—for example, recognizing cognates and using meaning already known in one language to help interpret unfamiliar vocabulary in another.
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The framework was then developed into a visual instructional experience using authentic text, modeling, think-alouds, recurring characters, humor, and an anchor of support that students could reference independently.
Design Innovation
BATTE extends traditional context-clue instruction by explicitly incorporating translanguaging into the strategy set, positioning bilingual students’ full linguistic repertoires as resources for vocabulary comprehension.
SELECTED ARTIFACTS — BATTE BATTE Chocolate
Standards alignment
BATTE translates grade-level Spanish language arts standards for vocabulary and context clues into an instructional framework designed specifically for bilingual learners.
Interactive Slide Presentation
The presentation turns the BATTE framework into an engaging instructional experience through authentic text, modeling, think-alouds, recurring characters, humor, and guided practice in Spanish.
BATTE Anchor of Support
The visual anchor organizes multiple context-clue strategies into a memorable reference tool, adding translanguaging as an explicit strategy students can use independently across languages.
