The Engaged Spanish Classroom, Author at The Engaged Spanish Classroom

5 Digital Friendly Resources to start the year right in Spanish Class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 19:16:00 +0000

It turns out that not all changes from 2020 were bad! I find myself creating more digital activities for my high school Spanish students, which has helped me stay organized (and save paper and resources!)

You can read about my typical back to school activities here, but keep reading to find additional digital-friendly ideas to support the start of the year in your Spanish classes. These are all resources that I use within the very first week of Spanish class (at any level I teach.)

Activity 1: Digital / Editable Back to School Survey

I give this survey every year to get to know my students from the start. During a normal school year, I give this in between activities within the first few days to give students some quiet time during the overwhelming first week. I always give them time during class to complete this (and honestly I offer plenty of time, around 20 minutes) because I want them to know that I take their answers seriously. I value what they share with me during this first encounter. I used to give this as their first homework assignment, but I didn’t get detailed or thoughtful answers. I’ve since moved away from hw altogether, but that’s a different story for a different blog post 😉

Within this download, you’ll find:

a PDF version, ready to print and go
an editable Google Doc TM version
an editable Google Form TM version

To give students a break during those first busy days, I like to give the survey during the last 20 minutes of class and offer to answer questions for any students that have those first week jitters. I definitely suggest making it a part of your class time, so that students aren’t needing MORE screen time once their classes have ended for the day.

I have learned so much about my students by using this survey in past years. By asking them their preferred name and offering a space to share pronouns, you show your students that you value their identity. This may seem inconsequential but I promise you that it is very meaningful. By asking about their motivations for learning Spanish, you may spark their enthusiasm for your content. By asking about a student’s outside responsibilities, you may learn why a specific student has their head down or seems disinterested. Honestly, opening these lines of communication from the first week can have lasting effects throughout the entire school year.

Sharing with students: This survey is editable within Google Drive. This means they can type their answers if you share a force copy link with them; they may delete the lines as they go. With iPads, students can write directly on the document with a program such as Notability.

To share a force copy for any Google Drive document:

Step 1 grab the normal sharing link, and set sharing settings to “anyone with the link can view”.

Step 2 find the end of the link that starts with “edit” or “view” and delete that word as well as anything that follows.

Step 3 write the word “copy” in that place.

Step 4 TEST the link for yourself! Does it prompt you to make a copy? Great!

Activity 2: Taco Tuesday – now ready for digital play!

This is a game I ALWAYS play within the first few days of school. I love bringing games into my classroom, and I feel that competition often brings out a more relaxed and silly side of my students. I have “back to school” versions for Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Spanish 3, and Spanish 4. I love playing within the first few days to prove to students that, YES, you remember a lot from last year. And for Spanish 1 students, I love proving that YES you know more Spanish than you might have thought!

If you decide to play on paper, 2-3 students can compete on one game board. My ideas and strategies for differentiation during traditional gameplay can be found here.

And now, the game is completely ready for digital gameplay! You decide which version makes the most sense for your class. Both options are provided in every single download!

All of my pre-made games (and my Taco Tuesday editable templates) are now READY for digital learning! I have pre-populated translucent circles on the side of the game board for students to play head to head online. Instead of racing to color their taco with a marker like they usually do, now they will claim a color and just click and drag one of the circles to cover their word! When they move one circle, there is a stack of more right underneath, ready to go.

For more detailed instructions on this virtual update, read more here.

Make sure you re-download any Taco Tuesday games or templates you already have for this FREE digital update!! I hope you love it. There are also now 5 game board sizes included in the editable resource, so you can create games of all different sizes!

Want access to a free game to try today?

This free version covers Spanish/English cognates, and would be a great morale booster in any level!

Other options:

If you are NOT ready to have multiple students working on one digital game board, I understand.

Instead of competing against one another, students can focus on their own game as you read the clues. You could prompt students to raise their hands I think this option would work best for smaller groups, so that students don’t feel overshadowed within the group.
Another way for students to play is by recording yourself giving the clues so that students can play on their own time. I tried this a few times during remote learning, and it went well. I would tell students that there would be 10 tacos, or 15 tacos during the round. That way, at the end they could count and make sure they didn’t miss a clue. The benefit of a recording is the students can also rewind and listen to clues multiple times, so you may feel more confident staying in the target language 🙂
Taco Tuesday at home: I made this version for Spanish STUDENTS to act as the TEACHER within their homes. During remote learning in 2020, many of my students sent me videos of their families playing. It brought joy to me, and laughter to their homes during a difficult time. I also made an at home version of Sonidos Secretos.
More ideas for differentiation within Taco Tuesday here.

Activity 3: La Silla Caliente

This is one of my favorite whole-group games, and it is one of the best morale-boosters for my classes! Students compete in teams of 5(+/-), and is a great opportunity to build a sense of community with new students at the start of the year.

I also love this activity at the start of the year because it is an easy way for me to gauge how EVERY student is doing after the summer vacation. It is a perfect way to assess how much review each class needs before moving on to new material.

For a full game tutorial, including game rules and strategies, visit this blog post.

I keep this activity in my back pocket at all times because it is so low-prep. My students just need their iPads/devices (or small whiteboards,) I need my game file, and we are ready to go. No printing, no handouts needed. Every game file also includes my digital score tracker that I designed… so now I don’t have to stand at the front tallying our team scores!

All game versions are now EDITABLE and ready for the digital world. Many teachers had success this year even playing via Peardeck and Nearpod, though I personally have only played in person. Still, I love activities that require nothing but the opening of a file and splitting my students into teams. Let’s go!!

The three examples below would be great for review or intro during the very first few days of class, depending on the level you teach!

Perfect for the first few days in Spanish 2

Great for review at the start of Spanish 3

Ideal for upper levels or native Spanish speakers

Want access to a free game to try today?

This free version covers the present tense of irregular Yo verbs – would be great for the first week in Spanish 2!

Activity 4: ¿Mano o Manos?

This activity is appropriate for in person, hybrid, or fully remote learning. Again, there is no prep needed. No printing, and no teams/grouping either!

In general, I love activities that get students moving! I love playing Four Corners or ¡Salta! where students express their answers or opinion with movement. In Four Corners, students move to designated corners of the room based on their answers. In ¡Salta!, which I learned from Allison Weinhold, students stand in a straight line and jump to the left or right based on their answer, then back to center before the next question. (Answers/options are usually posted on the board for students to see during each question.)

I created ¿Mano o Manos? as a way to incorporate this style of low-pressure and high-input activity withOUT needing to actually move around the room. Unlike in the other movement activities, students only use their hands/arms, and no movement from their seat is necessary.

The following versions were created with the beginning of the year in mind!

YES, this is meant for the very start of the year in Spanish 1! Focus on COGNATES and common words 🙂

Meant for the first few days of school, great for Spanish 2 and up

Perfect for the start of the year in Spanish 3 and up, as preterite tense is used

Activity Overview:

I don’t have a tutorial blog post specifically for this activity like I do for the others, so here is a quick rundown!

Teacher role: Share the PDF or editable Google Drive version on your screen. Each slide has one question or statement, with two options. Instead of being labeled A and B, or left/right, the questions will be labeled MANO and MANOS. (Questions should be low pressure with lots of FAMILIAR input, especially during the first week of school. For Spanish 1, teacher could have a note on the slide that says “me gusta = I like” and then use cognates with pictures throughout. Upper levels may need less support, but teacher can still provide support on the slides as needed.)

Student role: Students read the question, and show their answer by raising one hand or both hands based on their answer.

Teacher decides if there will be discussion after each question, or if it’s a REALLY low pressure game and more of a stream-of-thought pace.

EXAMPLES:

Prefiero beber… MANO – agua MANOS – soda

Me gustan más… MANO – gatos MANOS – perros

Me gusta más… MANO – el verano MANOS – el invierno

(leaving out obvious options here can prompt students to participate and take ownership in the activity by exclaiming “¡¿y el otoño!?!”)

In the student instruction page, I have added the option for students to raise one hand in a fist to show that they have a different answer to share – one that isn’t provided on the page. My goal is to prompt discussion/ownership here!

Activity 5: Reflective Language Learning from the start

During a typical year, my students complete these self reflections 8 (!) times throughout the year.

At the very start of the year, it is a great way to set a baseline and expectation for students to consider their proficiency within the language as they grow throughout the year.

I also think it is a great reminder that there is no “end” goal – but that we are all learning and progressing in the language at different rates and in different ways. I remind my students that even as a teacher, speaking continues to be the area where I need the most practice and focus.

Some students have an easy time identifying their strengths. Others need concrete reminders like this reflection. Personally, I need to be reminded to recognize my strengths. At the start of what is sure to be a difficult year, I think starting on a positive note could make a big difference. I also like that this reflection page gives students the opportunity to identify their biggest problem area – it could affect your plans for the following weeks. Maybe you notice a majority of your students express anxiety about their listening skills. How can you adjust your upcoming plans? Sometimes small changes can make a big difference in this way.

This reflection is completely editable so you can make any adjustments you’d like.

You will download your ready to print PDF, but have access to your own editable version in Google Drive TM.

For Spanish 1, you might consider adjusting it to be more of a goal-setting activity rather than a reflection.

I always plan to do this on a different day from my back to school survey. If you are teaching on a block schedule, however, this could serve as a mid-class break for your students. Or, it could be their exit ticket for the day.

Bottom line – however you welcome your students this year, you’ve got this!

I hope you can take something from this post and move through your first few weeks confidently. I’d love to hear if you try anything that works well for you! You can contact me via this page, or find me on social media. I’m most present on Instagram, and I love collaborating with you there! Feel free to tag me so I can follow you back, @theengagedspanishclassroom.

Thanks for reading and remember to take care of YOURSELF! Your students will be better for it.

Go get ’em, Profe!

The post 5 Digital Friendly Resources to start the year right in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

How to use beautiful digital notebooks and class hubs in Spanish Class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:46:00 +0000

Digital Notebooks and Class Hubs have improved my teaching life for so many reasons!

I am more organized (and planning AHEAD instead of at the last minute)
My students know where to look to find their work, and also know exactly where to submit!
Student work isn’t getting lost! (or forgotten..)
Parents have a quick place to check-in!
Digital stickers make my students smile – which makes ME smile.

When I first started designing and using class hubs and digital notebooks, I was super intimidated. It honestly took longer than I’d care to admit. SO, I wanted to take all of the design work out of the process for you!

All you have to do? Customize the text of your hub / notebook to match your unique class needs for each unit. Easy peasy!

I have added a few photos and videos throughout this post, so please feel free to bookmark and come back later for reference!

Using Digital notebooks in Spanish Class

A BIG victory – giving students one spot to organize all of their work!

These notebooks have the potential to become a digital portfolio. Students can personalize their notebooks with different clipart and fonts, and take ownership of their work.

You can have them share with you at the end of the week when they have finished their work, or you can prompt them to share with you from the start so you can observe and interact with them as they progress. No more opening 5-10 attachments per student… just one document that holds their work via text box, screenshot, video or audio file, or a link to work completed elsewhere in Google Drive.

I should note, these can be used independently of the Class Hubs. There is space within these documents to offer student instructions/resources; as I mentioned, I like to provide a LOT of options, and that is why I like using the Class Hubs for my end of things. You will learn more about class hubs later in this post!

Video Walkthrough

Click below to see a tour of my favorite digital (and editable!) notebook

Why do I use them?

I was tired of opening 5+ attachments per student per week, especially when some were simply a screenshot of an online score (Quizlet, etc.) It felt like I was spending a lot of extra time on my computer, when I was trying to limit screen time as much as possible.
Students are able to take accountability for organizing their own work
Students can visually see their progress throughout the week
I review student work within Google Drive instead of only through Classroom or another LMS (which sometimes can be glitchy or slow.)
I can organize student work easily in Google Drive folders, easier to navigate than some LMS

With the different sections it is easy for me to focus on my students’ proficiency levels
Can potentially be used independently from a Class Hub, meaning student needs just this singular document for the week/unit! (I am too wordy to use just one, but maybe you can be succinct enough to make it work!)
Can be used as a digital portfolio and saved throughout the year(s)
I can easily add digital stickers to show my students I care about them even when I’m not seeing them face to face every day
I can easily provide feedback within the document
Students are familiar with Google Drive and are easily able to work within this document rather than frequently changing LMS and expectations

How do I use them?

Digital Interactive Notebooks, also created and edited within Google Slides, offer yet another accessible way for me to communicate with my students. While I use the Class Hubs to provide student work and options, I plan to use these Digital Interactive Notebooks to help students organize their work for me.

Students will be instructed to insert their work into their digital notebook each week. They can do this by adding screenshots (Quizlet etc.), by typing directly into the document, or by linking to an outside document within Google Drive. They can even insert video and audio files easily! All of their work, of different files and formats, can be organized together in one place.

I can’t wait to motivate students to decorate their notebooks! They can add clipart/images to the front cover. They could also easily change the fonts on the cover or within each page, to truly make it their own.

Each inner page of the notebook has space for teacher resources/instructions, student work, and teacher feedback. I love that I can provide feedback for my students directly within this document. Throughout the week, I can view their progress and also easily add digital stickers to brighten their day.

Again, each of my templates provides detailed teacher instructions for editing and sharing with students, as well as a walkthrough video. Detailed student instructions are also included here, since students will be editing this document within their own Google Drive and sharing back with the teacher.

*Student instructions provide reminders for sharing with teacher. Once students share with me, the notebooks are found in the “shared with me” folder and I can organize from there by class and unit. I plan to make my life easier by giving an easy title before pushing out to students: for example, FIRSTLASTNAMEunit1week1. Then, students will just change the name and share with me each Monday.

Take a closer look by watching the video below:

I love seeing all the ways teachers have customized these notebooks for their classes! Feel free to tag me on social media (I’m most frequently on IG) @theengagedspanishclassroom so I can admire your creations!

My notebooks are available in different colors, bundles (with stickers,) and more.

I have Digital Notebooks currently available in English, Spanish, and French.

I have various themes available in Spanish, such as Rainbow, Blue, Pink, and Papel Picado.

Interested in free digital stickers to try with these resources? Access these and additional free resources today!

Using Digital Class Hubs In Spanish Class

I have been using Class Hubs sporadically over the past few years, but distance learning led me to use them each week and with a redefined purpose. You can download a free Spanish version here. (Free French version here.)

Video Walkthrough

Click below to see a tour of one of my editable Digital Class Hubs, and see how it differs from the digital notebooks above!

Why do I use them?

Everything my students need is in one place
I can provide instructions, student choice, and resources
No more scrolling to find specific posts within our LMS (“Wait, what day did you post that one?”)
Students can save a copy directly to their drive (or device) for easy access
The consistent format lets students know what to expect each week. I can change the categories and the contents, but students don’t blink. They understand where to look and what to look for.
The consistent format helps ME plan, and helps me see visually that I am in fact doing “enough” (this is something I struggle with.)
The easy to edit templates make it very easy for me to create and share each new hub with my students
Google Slides is a platform where I already work confidently; I can edit and update with just a few clicks and there is no need to learn something new like Google Sites
These versatile documents can be used for everything. I have used them for parent night, distance learning, my teacher portfolio, and more.
Class Hubs are interactive like a website, which makes me feel tech-savvy and awesome 🙂 if I’m being honest!
Again a moment of honesty, I love things that are visually appealing! These fit the bill for me.

Students quickly became used to this format during distance learning, and I am confident I will continue to use these even in a fully in person setting. The consistency helped keep both myself and my students organized!

My students told me they liked that they knew what to expect each week – they knew where to look, and they knew what type of options they would find. They also told me they liked that they could see their work ahead of time, so that they could budget their time throughout the week. I understand this final part might not be appropriate as we move toward our more traditional schedule, but it is an added benefit that students can pace themselves. Utilizing these has reminded me how much students enjoy having CHOICE.

How do I use them?

The most important thing to know is that all text is editable, so you can customize this document to your heart’s content.

Class hubs are a way to provide all of my materials to my students for the week or even for the unit. Personally, I like to use them one week at a time. This allows me plenty of space to provide for student choice, which is especially important during distance/hybrid learning. In the spring, I had far more work completion from students when there was student choice involved.

On the main page of the Class Hub, there are categories for the week or unit. On any given week, I might have the following; Openers, Homework, Unit Goals, Extra help.

During remote learning, my Class Hub was set up more like an interactive choice board: Instead of categories like openers and homework, I had categories and asked students to choose two activities from each. Examples of categories I had: Online Practice, Vocab Review, Writing, Listening, Culture, etc.

Regardless of the categories you choose (limitless possibilities since all text is editable!) – each button leads to a separate page within the document. On these inner pages, it is easy to host your information and resources for students. I often provide links to videos, Quizlet review games, Boom Card sets, or interactive online activities. All text on these inner templates is editable as well, so you can truly make it your own.

There are detailed teacher instructions included with each template. These instructions will help you choose between various sharing options. (Do you need your students to see changes you make in real time? Do you plan ahead and want to provide the finished document only?) The instructions also guide you with making any changes you might need to make.

I have various templates available, as well as tutorial to help you build your own interactive Class Hub. Overall, the templates are easy to customize to ensure you’re adapting for your unique class needs. It takes just seconds to edit the category buttons, remove a button (though on my templates, the clipart is fixed), or add your own buttons.

If you feel inspired to build your own Class Hub from scratch, my tutorial is perfect for you. You work with one of my templates first, but I show you how I set it up step by step as you follow along in your editable workbook.

I have Class Hubs currently available in English, Spanish, and French.

I have various themes available in Spanish, such as Coffee, Llamas, Succulents, and Papel Picado.

And Finally, Digital Stickers!

Digital stickers are available in three languages, too! I have had so much fun designing these. Please watch the video below to see how easy it is to use them within Google Keep and Google Drive. You can then see a few examples of ones I have created. Try some digital stickers for free here, and be sure to access an ADDITIONAL free set linked earlier this blog post!

My students love seeing these stickers on their assignments! I love designing them, and I love providing feedback that makes my students smile.

There are versions available in Spanish, French, and English in my store, and there are editable versions as well if you’d like to personalize the stickers with your students’ names or other special messages!

Have fun!

Thank you for reading!

I hope you have found something to help you this year! If you know you’d like to use a Class Hub, Digital Notebook, AND Digital Stickers, you might want to check out my bundle packs here (again, available in English, Spanish, and French) as they offer these materials together, at a discount!

Have fun, Profe!

The post How to use beautiful digital notebooks and class hubs in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

3 Free Digital Resources to Help you Streamline and Organize in any class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 21:34:00 +0000

I want to help you streamline your Organizational tasks.

Staying organized while teaching various levels of a world language is no easy task. If you are like me, you often feel overwhelmed by all the ideas, resources, and new things to try. I hope this post will help bring you back to center, and help you feel more calm and collected as you track your tasks, parent communication, etc. I use these resources with my various levels of Spanish classes, and they help me save time (and stress.) I developed these resources during distance learning but know they will continue to serve me well in the future.

These are the resources that have been the easiest for me to implement and have made the biggest difference for me personally.

Keep reading to gain access to free copies of the following:

Editable Digital Class Hub
Student Check-in Form
Class Communication Checklist

Google Drive is my Best friend

I hope that instead of overwhelming you, you’ll find that I have done most of the legwork for you by providing templates that will immediately create their own copies in your Google Drive. This way, you enter your own information and move forward seamlessly. You can learn more about these apps if you’d like to, but you also don’t *need* to right now. You can simply use what I have set up for you, and learn more about them later instead. (or.. never! I won’t tell.)

ALL of the resources in this post are free to my newsletter members! When you access them in my resource library you will have immediate access to your own copies for editing in Google Drive. Alternatively, the Editable Digital Class Hub is a free download via my TPT store.

If you have a moment and you decide to use my Class Hub, I’d greatly appreciate your feedback on TPT! Your positive feedback keeps me motivated to keep creating and designing new material to share.

Resource #1) Editable Digital Class Hub

The purpose of this class hub is to share ONE document with my students each week – yet it contains all of our activities and resources, as well as my contact information and expectations. This hub is created and edited in Google Drive. You then share with your students (I recommend sharing as a PDF) and they then use the document as an interactive website, so to speak. They click through the options or assignments for each day, and can access everything you have prepared for them from one document.

Your students will quickly get used to the interactive format, and you will be able to communicate with your students providing your plans and expectations in one single document each week.

I have various designs and more extensive template options for you on TPT! I created this specific one to support world language teachers during distance learning due to COVID-19.

Click the image to download your free copy!

Please feel free to share this French version with your colleagues.

Over 4,100 teachers are already enjoying this FREE resource. I hope it helps you, too! And since all text is editable, please feel free to share the link with teachers of all subjects. There are a few math teachers at my school who are using this exact hub! With multiple teachers using the same format, our shared students know exactly where to look and what to expect.

*Note* Since I share it as a PDF, I need to make sure the weekly hub is my FINAL draft before I share with my students. If you think you’ll make edits during the week, sharing the Google Slides file as “view only” with them works just as well; however, they will need to click “present mode” each time to use it as it’s meant to be used rather than just as a packet (which again, is fine!)

If you like the organization of the digital class hub, you should definitely check out the editable and digital notebooks I have designed as well. While the Class Hubs are meant for you to communicate expectations with your students, the notebooks help collect all student work in one place. Check them out by clicking the button below!

Resources #2) Weekly Student Check-In

I created this resource during distance learning because I wanted to make sure my students were OK each week.

As we return to in-person learning, I still want to be mindful about checking in with my students. I want them to know that I care about their health and safety more than my content.

This survey helps me check in with my students each week (or month, up to you). I also prompt them to fill out the survey as needed; outside of “assigned” times, I adjust the settings to receive an email alert when a student submits the survey.

The resource will immediately prompt you to make your own copy- you can edit, add, or remove questions as you please. You can then organize your students’ answers in one spreadsheet in Google Drive.

Personally, I like to create a new copy of the survey each time I give it, so that my student responses are collected on a new spreadsheet each time, which I label by date. I hope this helps!

Access this check-in survey and MORE through my Member Resource Library!

Resource #3) COMMUNICATION Checklist

I was originally motivated to create this during distance learning because I needed a way to track work completion as well as my communication with students and families in a way that wasn’t overwhelming to manage. Again, I know this will be useful for years to come even as we return to full time in person learning.

I created this spreadsheet to keep track of all my information for the week on ONE page per class. I have space to track when I hear from students, when I reach out myself, and space to track work completion. I can also track whether I have provided feedback on their work, and whether I have made attempts or had success communicating with families. I have made one sheet for you for each of your five classes; just change the block name and add your student names in the first column.

As we return to in person learning, I imagine I will use this spreadsheet monthly rather than weekly, or simply as needed.

Interested in more free digital resources?

Thank you for reading!

I hope you can find something here to take some of the weight off of your shoulders! Remember to visit my resource library to access your copies of these resources.

Since all of these resources are editable, I invite you to share this post with the teachers in your life whether they be Spanish teachers, math teachers, history teachers…. I hope these documents can help teachers in all content areas!

Talk to you soon, Profe!

The post 3 Free Digital Resources to Help you Streamline and Organize in any class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Spanish Class in a meaningful way

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 14:59:00 +0000

Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad

Looking for purposeful ways to celebrate el Día de San Valentín aka el Día del Amor y la Amistad in your Spanish classes? Wondering how to do this without it being “romantic?” My favorite activities for this time of year include poetry writing, sweet notes for classmates and teachers/colleagues, and of course valentine cards. All of these activities can be done to celebrate friendship and express gratitude, rather than focus on romance. As always, I love writing that can double as classroom decor, so students can show off their skills! I hope you can get a few ideas or inspiration for activities to try with your students this year 🙂

Activity 1. Poetry Templates

This is by far my favorite activity for Valentine’s Day in Spanish class. I love watching students build confidence in their writing, and I love seeing them deliver these to teachers and friends. It’s also great that they can double as classroom decor!

I love giving my students the opportunity to show off their creative sides.

In this activity they can choose from various templates and write an acrostic poem to a friend, a sweet poem with similes, and more!

These poems do not have to be romantic in nature, and they motivate students to be creative and discover new vocabulary.

If you want a broader topic, these spring poetry prompts are also great!

Activity 2. Letter Templates

Motivate your students to write letters to friends, family members, or even teachers. Students can express why they are grateful for the people in their lives. Again, this doesn’t have to be romantic! I love to emphasize the importance of friendship 🙂 and the difference our classmates can have in our lives.

These pages come in color or black and white — whether you print the color version or your students color them themselves, they make for great classroom decor as well!

There are also two sizes included; full page writing prompts and smaller heart templates as well

Interested in free resources?

Activity 3. Abrazos de Papel

These small notes are another sweet option to express gratitude for the people in our lives.

Students often choose to write letters to teachers, friends, or family members.

These ones in particular are not romantic in nature at all, and instead focus on giving thanks 🙂

Again, these are printed best in color on white paper but you can play around with other options that work for you!

Activity 4. Valentine Cards

Sometimes a cute valentine is the best way to make someone’s day! Honestly, I still have cards hanging on my board from *last* Valentine’s Day.

These Llama Valentines come in color or black and white so your students can do the coloring!

Activity 5. Posters & Coloring Pages

Our sophomores often have state testing right around this time of year. I like to keep extra coloring pages in my room on those days, for students that finish early and would like a way to unwind.

This Valentine’s Day set has cute phrases and clipart for Valentine’s Day.

Alternatively, you can print the color versions and hang them around the room!

Have fun!

Most of the activities I mention above can be found in my Valentine’s Day Bundle, which can be found right here. If you try any of them with your classes, I’d love to know what you think!

Thank you for reading!

The post How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Spanish Class in a meaningful way appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

How to play Sonidos Secretos: trust me, your students will thank you!

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 22:00:00 +0000

The origin of Sonidos Secretos

Sonidos Secretos is one of my favorite speaking activities. Believe it or not, it is an activity I designed based on a request from a student. She had seen a funny clip on a TV show and asked if I could make a similar game for our class. We played right there and then in class, an impromptu round with two students in the front of the room and I used a small whiteboard standing behind the pair of students. It was so fun and silly that I went home that night and created the template and instructions, so that all students could participate the next time we played!

I love that it is a low pressure activity that gets students “speaking,” thinking, and guessing all in the target language! Our room FILLS with laughter every single time we play.

Keep reading for a full game tutorial, link to a free version, and various resources for use with your students!

Teachers and Students Love Sonidos Secretos

Since those first few sets were posted online, LOTS of teachers have shared videos of their students using this activity on social media! I have loved all of the silly videos – keep them coming!

Feel free to tag me on Instagram @theengagedspanishclassroom and search #sonidossecretos to see videos from teachers all over the world!

I originally designed this activity as a fun brain break, but quickly realized how *sneaky helpful* it is. Whenever I give my participation reflections at midterms and report cards, my students consistently request this activity.

I often ask “Which class activity helps you to feel more confident in your speaking skills?” and the answers are overwhelmingly Citas Cortas, Sonidos Secretos, and Llama Mía (in that order.)

When I ask students WHY this activity is helpful, these are the types of answers I hear most often:

“It really makes me pay attention to my pronunciation”
“I don’t feel pressured at all so I’m not nervous”
“The slow repetition helps me so much”
“When it’s my turn to guess, I actually think in Spanish and I like that part!”

I always ask the students to reflect after we do this activity. “What helped you? Do you think you spoke more Spanish today than on a typical day? How do you feel about your pronunciation?”

Once, I used this activity during an observation by my department head. In my observation report, my department head noted that a student near her quietly said to herself “Wow, I’m just now realizing how much that activity actually helps me” during our post – Sonidos debrief. If I ever needed a reason to make time for this “fun” activity… that whispered realization was enough for me!

How to Play Sonidos Secretos

Overview

This activity provides a low-pressure repetitive speaking opportunity for students.

Students sit in pairs (groups of 3 are possible if needed, but not ideal)

The pairs of students will work together to decipher the Sonidos Secretos written on their game cards. There is usually a lot of giggles, and a lot of (ridiculous) *SPANISH* guesses!

The activity also includes an optional written extension activity. You could easily differentiate and build upon the written or spoken pieces as well!

Prep

::Medium prep required, cutting cards::

It does take a bit of time to cut the cards for this activity. I save my cards in a ziploc baggie (glamourous, I know) from year to year so that I don’t have to re-prepare the game cards the following year. The only piece that you’d need to prepare again would be the response sheet, which is just 1 page per student/pair.

To get ready your first time, print enough copies of the game for half of your class. For example, a class of 28 would need 14 game sets. Each game set from my TPT is fairly large, though, so you *could* print fewer copies and split up the decks, as long as students remember to combine them correctly after the activity for storage.

I print a response sheet for each student, so that I can collect them afterwards. You could have each pair work on one response sheet if desired, and ask them to initial their personal answers. This would be a fast way to save paper (and check their work quicker too!)

I should mention that the response sheets are completely optional; YOU decide whether or not you’d like your students to participate in the written portion. Sometimes I make this decision based on time, or based on whether I have response sheets printed. I keep a stack of about 50 response sheets printed at all times; no matter the unit, I know I have the game cards ready in my drawer and I know I can pull response sheets from this pile and BAM #SonidosSecretos is always ready 😉 !!

When you are ready, distribute the game cards and response sheets to your pairs, and instruct them to NOT look at the game cards. They must keep them in a stack, face-down on the desk.

Instructions

::Game can be played for any amount of time, whether you have 5 minutes or 20::

Seat students in pairs. Groups of 3 are OK if needed but not ideal.

Each pair of students needs at least one pair of headphones, and one device that can play music (phone, iPad, etc.) My students usually prefer if they each have their own headphones and device, but sometimes sharing is caring!

To explain, I will refer to the two students as Student A and Student B.

1. Student A puts in his/her headphones, and listens to music at a *somewhat* loud level. No hearing damage needed, but they should not be able to hear if their partner were to whisper to them. (I usually require my students to show me that they have chosen a Spanish artist/station!)

2. Student B chooses a card from the top of the stack. The card will have a familiar (or unfamiliar, heh) sentence printed on it. Student B does not show the card to Student A. Student B must instead SLOWLY and CLEARLY speak the sentence aloud. They must take care to enunciate and be dramatic. Their goal is to get Student A to guess the complete phrase, even though their music is playing and they cannot actually hear their partner. (You decide if they can move one word at a time, etc.)

3. When Student B confirms that Student A has correctly deciphered the phrase, student A can write the phrase on their response sheet. If you like, you can check their answers as they go along. You can also remove the writing portion if you don’t have time for it.

4. Student A removes their headphones, and Student B puts them on and plays music. They switch roles back and forth at their own speed, or with your cues!

I love that throughout each round, ALL of the guesses are IN SPANISH! This gets our students thinking and communicating completely in the target language. It is amazing to see my Spanish 3 students dig into their memory for any word that ends in “pa” or “ma” if they are confident that they need that syllable.

It makes my day to walk around and hear their guesses. They end up laughing at themselves, and the whole mood of the class is lifted 🙂

Why Sonidos Secretos?

If you need more reasons to try, here are mine!

This activity can be adapted for ANY vocabulary or grammar topic
I can easily differentiate by requiring additional writing or speaking (for example instead of sentences, maybe the cards are filled with questions. After discovering the question, students must also provide their personal answer)
Who doesn’t love laughter?
Who doesn’t love seeing their students excited about the target language?
Did I mention that my students end up THINKING in the target language without realizing it!? And without feeling like they are under pressure!? *Claps in Spanish*
Each semester I learn new ways that my students find this activity helps them
My students *ask* for this speaking activity. That doesn’t happen often with speaking activities!
I could keep going, but I’m going to stop so that you print this free version and try it yourself! Or grab the editable templates to make your own, forever and ever!

Time to try it!

You can find all of my pre-made Sonidos Secretos sets here. I love using this activity in all levels of Spanish class to build confidence with my more apprehensive learners. I also love using it in my classes that need a little bit of a morale boost, or if it gets too quiet! In all levels, it is great for a brain break or to motivate additional speaking. This activity can be modified to support students of all proficiency levels. Building confidence is a huge stepping stone to achieving proficiency 🙂 and enjoying class is important too, for students AND teachers!!!!!

Thank you to the teachers who have shared their experiences with me!

See videos from other teachers here!

VIDEO 1 VIDEO 2

or visit my IG and click on my story highlight “In the wild” to see even more!!

All classroom photos from this post were shared on IG by @senorakinneer and used here with her permission. Follow her to see more! As always, thank you for sharing, Señora 🙂

Interested in more free resources?

Thank you for reading!

I hope your students love this activity as much as mine do. Make sure you download the free version from this post, and comment below to let me know how it goes!

Feel free to tag me @theengagedspanishclassroom on social media to show me how you’re using my activities! I love to see! 🙂

Talk to you soon profe,

The post How to play Sonidos Secretos: trust me, your students will thank you! appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

SEMILLAS: My 4 Trusted Steps to Introduce Spanish Grammar in a Comprehensible Way

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 23:04:00 +0000

This post will interest you if you:

are interested in comprehensible teaching strategies
have to follow your school’s designated curriculum
still teach grammar, but hope to do so in a more mindful and purposeful way
want to help your students feel confident even when faced with a difficult topic
want to learn more about the process in my SEMILLAS Spanish Digital Interactive Notebooks
need ideas specifically for teaching the present subjunctive (however these strategies can be applied to any vocabulary or grammar topic!)

Do you teach grammar explicitly? Because… I do.

It might not be very often, and it might not always be the way that you think. I have found a balance that works for me and my students.

Comprehensible teaching strategies have helped many teachers absolutely transform their teaching styles. Teachers are more able to focus on the big picture; we are focused on what our students CAN do instead of what they can’t. We are providing repetition and increased input before demanding output from our students. We are far less grammar-focused.

From what I have seen personally, teachers are more confident in their lessons and students are more active participants in their classrooms.

Some teachers have completely changed their curriculum and taken on a full “comprehensible teaching” approach, while many of us have seen greater learning outcomes with incorporation of even just a few of these strategies. The truth is, the majority of teachers have a designated curriculum to follow. Some of us have flexibility to adjust our practices based on our teaching styles, and some have full permission to adjust the curriculum as they see fit. Personally, I have not had the flexibility to completely change my curriculum. Instead, I have adapted as much as I can to provide comprehensible input for my students while meeting the expectations of our existing curriculum. I am still finding new ways to incorporate comprehensible strategies every day. I am always learning.

My department has a textbook and sequence that we are expected to follow. Over the past 6 years in this district, I have slowly moved away from the textbook. I have created all of my own materials so that my students have not had to touch the textbook in over a year, however, I still must teach the themes that are covered within the textbook chapters. Yes, this includes grammar! I know many teachers may gasp at the fact that I still teach grammar explicitly, but I honestly love the current balance I have. These strategies have worked for me and for my students under our current curriculum as it stands. If change is coming to my department in the future, I will embrace it and find a new balance 🙂

If you are still reading, and you haven’t run away because I mentioned grammar, I will explain my favorite strategies below. I hope that some of these ideas can help you, wherever you may fall on the spectrum of teaching grammar explicitly vs. leading a completely comprehensible input-based classroom.

My strategies to make grammar more comprehensible

Just because I have to teach grammar doesn’t mean I have to teach it in the traditional way.

I do not have to make my students stare at examples in an outdated textbook. I do not have to make them take pages and pages of notes. I do not have to give them worksheets with conjugation drills. I do not have to lecture.

Instead… I can provide comprehensible examples from the very start that offer lots and lots of input. I can build their confidence and help them to think critically and make connections. And finally, I can provide them will practical options for output even from the very beginning!

For the sake of this walkthrough, I will use photos I happen to have from the last time I introduced the present subjunctive in my Spanish 3 and Spanish 3 Honors classes. These strategies can be used for any unit, but it helps me to speak about one specific example. That way I can show you photos, too! These photos are all from the very first day of our present subjunctive unit. They showcase some of my favorite ways to cover grammar in a way that I feel is mindful, comprehensible, and productive for my students.

If you would like to utilize resources that align with the strategies in this blog post, be sure to check out my Semillas Spanish Digital Interactive Notebooks. I designed these notebooks to be used in person or digitally – you can print them as-is, or students can type directly into the editable Google Slides document. All student workspaces and teacher examples are EDITABLE so that you can truly customize them to meet your class needs. You will see more about these notebooks later in this post!

SEMILLAS STEP 1: INTRODUCCIÓN

FOCUS: INPUT + DISCOVERY

When my students entered class that day, I had these example sentences on the board.

1) Me alegra que mis amigos me visiten.
2) Es importante que coma la fruta.
3) Recomiendo que duermas por 8 horas.
4) Espero que mis estudiantes estudien.
5) Dudo que Gronk juegue otra vez.
6) Ojalá que no tengamos escuela en julio.

My students had never seen the present subjunctive before. We had never discussed the use of “que,” the sentence starters, the changing ending vowels… any of it. They walked in to a brand new concept and I immediately expected them to read and examine it.

I asked my students to chat in their small groups about what they saw on the board (they sit in groups of 4-5 every day, you can see my post about seating and grouping here). I asked them to see if they could identify the verbs in each sentence, and I prompted them to look for patterns. What did the sentences mean? I asked them to make inferences. Who were the sentences about? Who was speaking? What patterns did they find? What did they think were the essential pieces of each sentence?

I walked around and listened to their discussions. After a few minutes, I stood at the board and asked them what they found. You can see the photo below to see what my students discussed. My students noticed the pattern of QUE being needed- they had me circle that in each example sentence. They noticed that there was a verb (sometimes with a subject, sometimes without) after the “que.” They had me underline those, because they knew those verbs must be important. The patterns looked different, yet familiar somehow. Why was that?

We also discussed the phrases before the “que”. Because of these phrases (and the cognates I chose to use), my students were able to infer the uses of this tense. We spoke about Ojalá, which they hadn’t seen before. That was the only word on the board that I had to explain explicitly. My students asked me to star that one, since there was no starting subject/conjugation before the “que.”

We discussed what happened to dormir, jugar, and tener in the examples. What did they notice? What might that mean about this tense, and how we use it?

(You can see some of my notes in green that were added at this point. My students remembered car gar zar changes, they told me that dormir proved that stem changes would apply in this tense, and they knew the “g” in tengamos must have come from the present indicative yo form. They KILLED it!!!)

We talked about the subject change in each of the examples, and what that might mean. So then, what questions did they have? How would we express a hope about ourselves? (Again you can see my example added in green at this point, Espero ir a México. So now, what was missing from this sentence? Why?)

We discussed A LOT aloud, and I wrote some things on the board as we went. I left these sentences on the board, with our notes, for reference for the rest of the class period.

SEMILLAS STEP 2: APUNTES

FOCUS: GUIDED NOTES + PREDICTIONS. Student-lead, with my guidance (in the background as much as possible)

I wish I took a “before” photo of the guided notes board, but of course I didn’t think of that. When we are in any grammar unit, I try not to provide my students with all of the notes. I also don’t want them just mindlessly copying out of a textbook. Instead, I do my best to provide a template on the board that we then fill in together.

My goal during this step is to say as little as possible; I try to ask lots of questions, and motivate my students to discover the language based on the examples we covered in the warm-up activity. I give a lot of wait time during this step- I ask probing questions and provide a lot of positive reinforcement, along with small clues disguised as questions. I want my students to know that they CAN do it. If they get really stuck on one part, I will of course help them. They get really excited, though, if they can fill in the notes for a BRAND NEW concept with so little help from me! I am always very mindful with the examples I use during the warm-up so that they can reference that activity during the guided notes section. I challenge you to try this, to see how your students impress you with patterns they notice and inferences they make 🙂

For this unit, I provided the following on the board:
I had the numbers 1-4 on the board for the conjugation steps, but the information was NOT filled in. (This section was labeled Los Pasos — it looks like my banner got erased to make room for other notes)
I had written 2 stars with space for 2 important tips, next to the space for the conjugation steps.
I wrote ar–> _______ and er/ir –> _______
I wrote out the acronym WEIRDO (just the acronym, not the uses) for the uses (Los usos)
I wrote the acronym DISHES for the irregulars. (Los irregulares)
I had a blank verb chart on the bottom left.

After our warm-up discussion based on the examples on the left whiteboard, I moved over to the right side of the room. I stood in front of this whiteboard and asked if any student thought they could fill in any piece of the template. Typically, I have students come up themselves and write in anything they think they have figured out. (This photo seems to be all in my handwriting though, so I must have asked for answers aloud this time.)

We started with LOS USOS. Based on the sentence examples we had already discussed, my students were able to decipher what many of the parts of WEIRDO stood for!

We then moved onto LOS PASOS – again, based on the examples, my students were able to help ME fill in the steps! I had to tell them very little. For example, because of the use of tener in the example sentences (tengamos) my students were able to discover that we *must* start in the yo form, because where else would that G come from? They also noticed the ending vowel change, and the common conjugation endings. I guide them in the right direction in these discussions, but they truly are figuring out so much of it for themselves. This makes them feel SMART and CONFIDENT in their language skills!

Then, I asked my students for their “go-to” verb. As in, what is the first verb that comes to mind when you are studying any tense? This class chose HABLAR. I asked them to follow the steps and tell me what the conjugations would be. I then asked if they noticed anything in particular — they told me to star the YO and ÉL form since they were identical.

After los pasos and the verb example, we moved onto the two stars. I said, what are two tips you think we should write based on the examples we examined? Those are the tips they came up with. If a class came up with more than 2 tips, I added another star!

Finally, we moved onto the irregular verbs. I asked students to guess the verbs based on D, I, S, H, E, S. Every class was able to guess every verb except for haber. I then provided them with the yo form of each.

**If you’d like a similar printed version of my guided notes, you can find those here. Be sure to check out the preview because it is slightly different from my whiteboard approach.

SEMILLAS STEP 3: EJEMPLOS

FOCUS: ADDITIONAL INPUT

If you have time here, and if your students need it, you may take the opportunity here to offer additional input. For me, it is usually a short reading passage that I have written myself. I make sure it is chock full of examples in the designated tense, just like the examples on the board (however, connected and cohesive rather than singular sentences.) I sometimes ask my students to do the same thing they were asked to do in the warm-up. Or, I may ask them to do a “Rainbow Reading,” where I ask them to highlight important sentence structures in one color (for this it would be QUE or sentence starters), regular verbs in another color, and irregular verbs in a third color.

I also love to have my students complete puzzles on the very first day of any topic (sometimes even BEFORE the warm-up sentences on the board!) An example for this unit can be found here, with various EDITABLE templates here.

This additional activity, if needed, should be input-focused only. I do not ask them to produce anything just yet- they are just reading and doing their best to interpret and examine.

One more option would be for me to provide additional single phrases aloud. After I provide the example, I could toss our globe (a soft ball) to a volunteer who could tell me the infinitive of the verb I used in the present subjunctive. For example, if my sentence was “Espero que no llueva mañana” the volunteer would say “llover.” “Ella quiere que no tengamos tarea hoy para la clase de historia” –> “tener”. This is a quick and easy way to provide LOTS more input in a short amount of time.

Already, after about 35-40 minutes, my students are much more confident. They have only seen this grammar concept for one class, yet they are talking with one another about patterns and nuances that they notice as they read (or listen). They feel like they are discovering the language. This helps them to be more engaged, and more active participants in their learning experience compared to how they would feel during a lecture or completing drills from a textbook.

** For extra input, you can see my best-selling reading packet here.
I also teach grammar through music as seen here and here.

SEMILLAS STEP 4: “¡SEMILLAS!”

FOCUS: STRUCTURED AND SUPPORTED OUTPUT. The goal is still to build confidence!

Our exit ticket on these days is always an activity that allows my students to communicate using the new concept, even though it is the first day!

On this day, I erased our examples from the warm-up on the left board, but left the guided notes on the right board for reference.

Where our warm-up once was, I quickly drew a flower and created my own example of what I hoped my students would create. For the sake of DAY 1 in the unit, my students and I focused on the sentence starter “Espero que…” (If it were later in the unit, for some reason, I would provide various options for sentence starters at the center of the flower.)

I had printed and cut flowers for each student before class. My example was ready and waiting on the board, and I read my sentences aloud. I then motivated my students to create their own flowers. They only had about 7-10 minutes to do this, but they were able to do a great job!

I found these flowers online by simply searching “flower template 6 petals.” You can find lots of templates of different sizes, and you can find different options depending on your unit or the time of year. For example, I sometimes use snowflakes. Sometimes it’s leaves, or it’s hexagons arranged to look like honeycomb. Sometimes it’s a clipboard with a checklist (perfect for practicing the present perfect tense, for example.) You can find a way to use any shape, any item, for writing!

Whatever the unit, I always try to find a quick activity that can help my students build confidence but can also be used as decor in our room. This serves as a reminder, through the rest of the unit, that “Oh yeah, we could use this tense on that very first day! We CAN do this!” This decor also becomes interactive- a perfect warm-up the next day is to have students walk around and read a few flowers, and share what they understand or what they still have questions about!

If you do teach the present subjunctive, you might be interested in my activities, assessments, and projects here or my bundle here. I hope you can find something new to try!

Timeline

I try my best to complete these activities all in one day, however it sometimes does need to be spread over two class periods. One class may need more time with the notes and review before moving onto producing the language. If a class asks for more input, I do not say no. If they want to slow down and discuss more as a class, we do so. If they want to create examples based on the ones I provided, we do that as a class before moving on to the individual activity. I want to make sure I am building their confidence from that very first day- I don’t want them to feel like “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

I hope you can use some of these strategies the next time you have to introduce a new grammar concept. Grammar doesn’t have to be the enemy, and I personally believe it can still have a home in your modern classroom 🙂

SEMILLAS – SPANISH DIGITAL INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS

These Spanish digital interactive notebook resources were designed to align with the strategies in this blog post. There are editable aspects so that you can truly customize for your unique class needs! The interactive notebooks can be completed digitally (via Google Slides) or they can be printed and used as-is.

SEMILLAS brings students through the four steps I outline in this post:

INTRODUCCIÓN: Students first read (editable) comprehensible example sentences and begin to explore the language, and record what they notice

APUNTES: Students make predictions about the language based on evidence from the INTRO page

EJEMPLOS: Students interpret additional comprehensible teacher examples (again editable!), and demonstrate understanding

SEMILLAS: Students create their own examples from our “semillas” and record any remaining questions they have

There are separate student and teacher copies included, with instructions and answer keys for support. Take a look at the video below to see what each notebook contains!

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK

Looking for free resources to try?

Thank you for reading!

I’d love to hear what you think, and what your favorite strategies are for teaching grammar in a comprehensible way! Let me know in the comments!

The post SEMILLAS: My 4 Trusted Steps to Introduce Spanish Grammar in a Comprehensible Way appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

La Lluvia Creative Writing Tutorial: How to offer student choice in Spanish Class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 19:16:00 +0000

I have been working hard to write thorough activity tutorials to share my favorite routines with you! In each tutorial, I provide a detailed walkthrough as well as resources for you. If there is a certain activity that you want to learn more about, be sure to let me know in the comments. For now, keep reading to learn more about one of my original writing activities, La Lluvia.

La Lluvia Overview

This activity provides students with choice and also provides opportunity for creative thinking, writing, and hands-on review. This is one of the only writing activities where my students *don’t*complain*at*all*!!!!! They have PLENTY of choice when it comes to what they write about, and how they do so.

Students are given a game board/sheet with 30 options to choose from. They “shop” through the raindrops, and choose ten (# is teacher discretion!) to create an original sentences.

They are choosing raindrops based on the teacher prompt: perhaps completely by student choice, to identify vocabulary within a category, or to identify verbs within a designated tense, etc.

This is also an activity that has plenty of room for differentiation. I will give a few ideas in my more detailed explanation below!

Materials

If you plan to print copies for each student, your students will need something to write with. They may also enjoy using markers or colored pencils for the initial part of this activity.

If you are a 1:1 district and you’d rather work paper-free, you can provide students with a PDF copy of this activity via Google Classroom so they can complete it directly on their devices. My students use the app Notability on our school iPads. This app allows them to color and write directly on the PDF.

I always have a few paper copies ready, because many students prefer to use paper every once in awhile and that’s ok with me 🙂 … and they also tend to get excited whenever markers are involved. Yes, even high schoolers like markers!

In the photo above, Sra. Kinneer’s students work on both iPad and paper! Thank you for sharing your experience with me, Señora! 🙂

Prep

Time needed to prepare: 5-10 minutes 🙂

First, decide which topic or concept your students will be working on. You can see all of my premade sets right here, or you can download these editable templates so that you can create your own! Many teachers prefer the editable versions, because one purchase leads to endless creation possibilities.

(Grab the bundle of My Favorite Editable Templates for even more activity possibilities!)

If you are creating your own La Lluvia board, your only task is to fill the 30 raindrops with options for your students.

For example, one of my popular sets is for reviewing Los Comparativos. To prepare this activity, I filled the raindrops with 30 pairs for students to compare. Coke + Pepsi, Starbucks + Dunkin’ Donuts, Las Frutas + Las Verduras, Cantar + Bailar… and so on.

For vocabulary review, you could simply write your vocab words in the raindrops, one per gota.

For grammar or a specific tense, you could type a subject pronoun and infinitive.

Another option for assessing grammar: I often create La Lluvia game sheets that motivate students to identify any raindrops that contain a verb that is already conjugated in the designated tense. For example, I will fill the board with common verbs conjugated in the present and preterite. I then direct students to identify all of the AR preterite tense verbs. (If you only have a few minutes, this option could be a perfect opener without the written extension needed!)

That’s it for prep! Once your raindrops are filled with options, the activity is READY for your students. The rest of the prep work is already done for you, whether you downloaded a pre-made set OR the templates. 🙂

There is also a template for an optional answer key, if you’d like to provide one for your students!

The photo here shows my example “completed” page being used in Señora Kinneer’s class.

Activity Walkthrough

Time needed in class: 15 minutes

Step 1

Once they have your prepared game board, students follow your instruction to identify raindrops. They read through the 30 options, and color in the designated raindrops as they go. (All of my blue colored pencils become coveted during this activity.)

As the teacher, you decide how many raindrops students are required to choose. I believe 10 is a good place to start, and you can go from there! I usually give students no more than 2-3 minutes to complete this step.

For open ended writing, you can instruct them to choose which raindrops they want to write about.

If you are reviewing grammar, the directions may vary slightly. Instead of choosing which raindrops they’d like to write about, students may be searching for verbs that are conjugated in a specific tense, or identifying all vocabulary words within a certain category, etc.

Step 2

The teacher then decides if and how the students will complete the written extension activity, where they must use the discovered or chosen raindrops to create an original sentence.

After students color in their raindrops they then challenge themselves to use the raindrop contents in original sentences on the other side/second page. For 10 sentences, I usually provide about 10-12 minutes. Student sentences can range from simple to complex depending on proficiency levels, but regardless students should find a way to exhibit their skills within the content while only using the target language 🙂

This activity provides a low-stress opportunity for students to succeed individually. Each student will complete this activity independently, so this is one where I like to observe and see who is moving quickly and who is relying on their group for assistance.

Students enjoy this activity because there is room for plenty of student choice. Teachers enjoy this activity because students are on task, and writing completely original sentences within an activity that seems “easy.”

The photo above shows my example with support being utilized in Señora Kinneer’s classroom!

Differentiation

1) The most straightforward differentiation option is the # of raindrops that you require, or the time you provide. For example, I sometimes offer 15 raindrops as a “challenge,” but only require 10 to be completed. Taking note of who accepts the “challenge” is a great way for me to formatively assess where my students are at, and how confident they are in our current unit.

2) On the written extension sheet, you can also provide support to some or all students. In my Los Comparativos example, I have provided sentence structure support for all students on this page. For many of my verions of La Lluvia, I do not offer this extra support. It’s up to you! If you download the editable templates, you will always have the option to add additional support for your students, no matter their proficiency level.

3) Looking to make the activity more challenging? Motivate your students to create sentences that relate to one another! Instead of writing random sentences… can they expand upon a particular topic? Can they use this activity as a warm-up for a more cohesive open response writing?

4) Want to take it further? You could print out the blank template from my editable version, and require students to create their own game boards! This will take their creative thinking to the next level. Then, you can have students swap game boards with a partner, and have them complete their classmate’s activity 🙂 (I always walk around and do a quick 5 minute check of game boards before allowing them to be redistributed!)

Time to try it!

You can find all of my La Lluvia sets here. I love using this activity in my lower level classes to build confidence with my struggling learners. Building confidence is a huge stepping stone to achieving proficiency 🙂

Even my novice learners are expected to complete the written extension activity! I also love using this activity in my upper levels, to help my students feel more confident about our more difficult grammar themes. Teaching grammar independently is NOT exciting, and it is important to make things as comprehensible and hands-on as possible!

This activity can be modified to support students of all proficiency levels. The photo above shows another pair of students in Sra. Kinneer’s class enjoying the activity 🙂

Reminder:
You can purchase the editable version of this game to create your own versions!

This teacher reached out to me via social media to let me know how she and her students were enjoying my editable templates for La Lluvia!

This photo and her comments below are shared with her permission.

“I created the La Lluvia activity and my students are working. I am loving it. Such a great way to review the concepts and grammar, and they are so on topic and on task!”

You can read her additional comments under her photo here.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me, profe!

Thank you for reading!

I hope you’re leaving with a few new ideas for providing student choice and motivating creative writing! I’d love to know if you try this activity with your students. Feel free to tag me on social media @theengagedspanishclassroom !

If there’s a specific activity tutorial you’d like to see, comment below to let me know!

The post La Lluvia Creative Writing Tutorial: How to offer student choice in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

Build Stronger Connections in Spanish Class: 6 Easy and Effective ideas to try

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 20:00:00 +0000

Developing a positive classroom climate is something that has the potential to affect almost all areas of your teaching career. For me, developing stronger teacher-student relationships has increased student engagement in class and made classroom management easier. It has helped me to look forward to coming to work each day, and it has made me feel more confident as a teacher.

There are small steps that you can take to building a stronger classroom community, even if you only have a few minutes! It doesn’t always need to take time out of class, but it doesn’t need to take your entire planning period either. Small actions of student recognition can go a long way, and to prove it I want to share my favorite quick ways to strengthen my teacher-student relationships.

1) Positive Communication Home

I start with this one because it is honestly the one that can make the biggest difference in the shortest amount of time. You don’t have to make 20 positive phone calls at a time to make an impact. If you notice that you have an extra few minutes at the end of your prep period, make one or two quick phone calls. Choose one or two students that have stood out to you lately, whether it be for academic or behavioral/social reasons. Make that call home, and after the parent gets past their surprise that a teacher is going out of their way to call for a GOOD reason, tell them a little bit about why you’re proud of their child.

I say do it at the end of your prep period if you feel cramped for time, because you can limit your phone time. If the phone conversation starts to run long, you have a firm end coming. “That’s the bell and I have students coming in! I wanted to make sure you knew how impressed I was lately with ________’s effort. Have a great night!” I forget who gave me this advice, but it’s four stars golden advice. I have been on parent phone calls that run 20 minutes if I call at a time where I have no firm end. And I’m not trying to be rude, but we do not always have time to risk that. Sometimes there is a need for lengthy conversations, and sometimes a 5 minutes phone call is absolutely all that is needed.

If you make a positive phone call home, I can almost guarantee that the next day your student will thank you, whether it be out loud or just with a nod and a smile. Some students won’t be able to wait to see you to tell you. “My mom was so proud of me! She was so happy all night!” Sometimes it’s even a few minutes later. “My mom just texted me! She said we can go out to dinner. This is so awesome. You’re the best.”

I often try to make these calls during the day, but sometimes I do make them on my own time after school. When you do that, you take a good chance that the student will be WITH the parent, and you can hear the happiness spread between family members. One time, I was speaking with two parents on speaker phone for a few minutes about how wonderful their daughter was. At the end of the phone call, the dad casually said “The reason I put you on speaker is because Jeanne is in the car and I wanted her to hear how you’ve been noticing her efforts. She has been smiling from ear to ear for the past 5 minutes. Thank you so much for making our evening; we are on our way to dinner and now we have reason to celebrate.” It made my night. Maybe my year.

Positive communication home doesn’t always have to be a phone call, either!

Sending a quick positive email home can make a big difference in your relationships with your students and their families.

When you make these calls or send these emails, and how much time you dedicate to the task is completely up to you. 5 minutes can absolutely make a difference.

Please don’t feel like you have to spend hours on the phone to be a good teacher, because it’s not true at all. You do what works for you! And I promise even a few phone calls will make a big difference in your relationships with your students.

2) Recognition Certificates

Yes, even high school students like these. I promise.

At the end of each quarter, I will scan my plan book and see if any students stand out for certain reasons. Just a quick glance! It doesn’t have to take more than 5 minutes total for all 5 classes. Did someone participate every single day, more than once per day? Is there a student who has a 100% homework average? Is there someone who used to be late often, but was on time every single day this quarter? It doesn’t always have to be grade-related, and it doesn’t always have to be the same award. Also, I try to choose students who don’t usually receive recognition daily in class. I choose students that I think will really appreciate some sort of small recognition.

Once I choose two students from each class block, I quickly print out a little reward certificate I have made up. It’s very simple; just a cute chevron background that says “RANGER PRIDE” with a line for a student name, and a line for my signature. I have 10 printed in my desk drawer at all times. Once I have picked the students, I’ll write their names and get them ready on a Friday morning before school. During each class that day, I give them to the students so that they can start the weekend on a good note.

This next part is kind of hard to explain. Depending on the student, I may give the certificate in front of the class or I may give it to them quietly before or after class. It all depends on the student individually and whether I think they’d appreciate the more subdued recognition. Students love receiving recognition, but they don’t always appreciate it being a big deal.

3) Check-ins at the Door

I have talked about this in another blog post, but it bears repeating. I will leave my thoughts on this below, but you can skip to #4 if you’ve heard this already 😉

Each day I try to be outside my classroom door to greet students as they enter. It is a school-wide expectation at my school that teachers be visible in the hallways between classes, so that was an easy reason for me to start this tradition. We are expected to be in the hallways for the 5 minutes in between class blocks to supervise and be available to students. I teach in a school of almost 2,000, and hallways can get crowded! Teacher visibility helps to keep students moving toward their destinations.

At first, it felt like *just one more thing I had to do.* OK GREAT, I can’t use those few minutes to organize my desk, catch up on attendance, or write the warm-up. I was frustrated! It felt like wasted time. So I tried to find a positive way to use this time in the hallway. Instead of just standing there in front of my door staring off into space, I started to engage with the students as they walk by. I’ll talk to students I don’t know by asking a question or paying a compliment. If they’re wearing an athletic uniform, I’ll ask who they’re playing that day and wish them luck. It feels good to make connections!

As my own students trickle in, I make sure I greet them by name and ask how they are doing. It is actually a great way to check in with students without them knowing what you’re actually doing. If someone who is usually very talkative avoids my eye contact, I’ll know to take it easy on them that day. If my student who works at night looks really tired, I can assume she worked last night and I won’t give her a hard time about the homework. If a student seems upset in any way, I can assume they may have a lot on their mind and I will remind myself during class that any reluctance or hesitation isn’t because of me. And conversely, if a quieter student smiles and gives me a confident answer, maybe I will try to push them a little bit outside of their comfort zone that day. That first connection can really help you be mindful of your class environment that day.

Sometimes, these small interactions make a much bigger impact than we might think. Last year, during my “Hola Aiden, ¿cómo estás?” moment… my quiet freshman boy opened up to me. “Miss, I think you’re the only teacher that likes me. You’re my only teacher that talks to me.”

Now there are mornings where I’ll be chatting with my neighboring teacher as we greet our students. Even as we talk, I will stop mid-sentence with her to greet each of my students by name. She may think I’m a weirdo for wanting to do this, as sometimes I am stopping to say “Hola, Casey” every 30 seconds… but I really do think it’s a valuable way to check in with my students before class has even started.

4) Seek Student Input

Asking students their opinions is a great way to show them that you value them and their feelings. I give participation rubrics 8 (yes 8) times per year, where students have a chance to reflect on themselves but also give me input on activities at the bottom. You can see my example here.

I also give student surveys throughout the year. I ask them for their feedback, and I take what they say into consideration. These surveys helped me decide to have my students sit in groups. They also helped me develop my corrections policy and participation policy.

These surveys take just a few minutes out of class, but provide really valuable insight into how our students feel about our class, and what they expect to see.

5) Homework Passes

If I ever notice a student going out of their way to help another student, I try to pull them aside on their way out of class. I have homework passes printed in my desk, and I will quickly grab one and write their name on the back, then initial it. I won’t make a big deal of it and I make sure no other students are around, but I’ll quietly say “I noticed you went out of your way to support __________ today, and I really appreciate you. I wanted to give you this to say Thank You.” Students don’t always enjoy praise in front of others, but they almost always appreciate positive feedback 1 on 1.

*I stopped giving homework last year, but wanted to keep this option in this post for you!

6) Positive Recognition Notes

Students love to know that we NOTICE their efforts. There are so many ways to do this, but I love printing these small notes and keeping them ready in my desk. I hope you can take some ideas from my favorite examples below!

One quick way to recognize students is with quick positive sticky notes on their desk! I have some pre-populated notes that I can print directly on sticky notes and keep in my desk, so that I can grab them at a moment’s notice.

I have notes for participation, effort, and proper use of technology!

All I have to do is write their name on the line, and then I can quickly drop it on their desk without a word. If you want to see these examples, click here!

I also love printing these open-ended notes and keeping a stack in my top desk drawer.

These “abrazos de papel” are great for colleagues AND students! It takes just a minute to write a quick note, and the recipient is sure to be grateful you took the time to show them you care.

Thank you for reading!

Students will love whatever you do to show that you notice them and their efforts, no matter how you do it and no matter how much time it took you to put it together. If you spend two hours putting together awards, they will appreciate you. If you take 5 minutes putting something together or making 1 phone call, they will appreciate you. Showing students that we notice them and what they do each day is one of the best ways to show them that we care about them.

I’d love to hear if you try any of these ideas with your students. Feel free to comment below, or tag me on social media @theengagedspanishclassroom!

The post Build Stronger Connections in Spanish Class: 6 Easy and Effective ideas to try appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

6 Effective Ways to engage your students with Puzzles in Spanish Class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 19:00:00 +0000

I absolutely LOVE using puzzles in Spanish class. In addition to helping students build confidence, they are great for so many reasons! I love finding new ways to use puzzles with my high school Spanish students, whether it be for review, or even to introduce a brand new topic.

Read on to learn about some of my favorite strategies for using puzzles in Spanish class (and to get access to free resources!)

My go-to puzzle strategies:

Introducing a unit
Warm-ups
Stations
Races
Take-home review
Review before a quiz

Prep + Storage

Before we begin, I want to note that I do not prep individual puzzles for an entire class of 30 students. I do usually try to make about 20, to make sure students can choose whether they’d like to work on their own and in pairs.

Having 20 on hand also helps me to offer all of the opportunities that I do below.

To save time, I always save my puzzles from year to year. My plastic baggie system isn’t pretty but it has definitely helped me stay more organized. 20 puzzles fit very easily into a sandwich-sized baggie (I like the ones that seal closed!)

If you want to keep track of pieces, some teachers love to color code each puzzle by flipping it over and making a dot in a certain color on the other side. That way, if you find a piece on the ground, you know “Ok this comes from one of the puzzles with BLUE dots on the back.”

1) Introducing a Unit

Many times, I have used puzzles on the very first day of a brand new unit. Teaching grammar explicitly is not something that teachers love to do (and students don’t love it either), but some of us follow curriculums that call for us to do so. To make it as comprehensible and engaging as possible, I try to present my students with as much input as possible, while asking them for small pieces of output along the way. Puzzles are an awesome way to do that, yes even on the first day of a new unit. (To read more about my strategies for keeping grammar comprehensible, visit this post before you go!)

For example, I may give this Future Tense puzzle (the regular verbs version) on the very first day of the unit. This helps students build confidence because they are able to use the process of elimination along with the infinitives they are familiar with to make connections and complete the puzzle. When students work in pairs or groups of 3, they are able to work even quicker as they discuss the connections out loud. They recognize many endings even before discussing the tense, since they have seen pieces of these language patterns before!

Finishing the puzzle before studying the tense at all helps them to feel stronger and build confidence. Before we even begin our unit, they realize “Oh I can do this!”

2) Warm-ups

I typically have my students complete warm-up activities (such as matching or multiple choice) on the board, but sometimes I like to mix it up by handing them a puzzle as they walk in the door.

I tell them to choose a partner in their group and get started when they’re settled.

Often, this means that puzzles are done before the bell even rings 😉 because students are eager to sit and get it done before others in the class.

Sometimes they even try to finish it before their partner arrives… and then their partner completes it on their own as well. The change in routine and hands-on warm-up is a great way to get my students ready and focused for the day in a very short amount of time!

Want to try one of my favorite styles for free? Click below to download your own copy! And see the bottom of this post for access to MORE free resources!

3) Stations

Puzzles are a perfect station activity. They are great because you only need 5-6 puzzles for the entire day, rather than prepping enough worksheets or copies for each student. I most commonly use puzzles as a preview of a new tense/vocab unit (I love showing students “Look, you CAN recognize patterns and make predictions about this tense and we haven’t even studied it yet!), or as a warmup during a normal class day; however, I also love using my triangle and square puzzles as a station activity.

When we complete puzzles during a normal class day, my students work in pairs. To use puzzles as a stations activity, we treat them a little differently. I provide enough puzzles at the station for each person in the group.

While at this station, students race for the best time. They complete the puzzle once, and the last person to finish is “out.” They continue this until they are down to one person. If there is time, they start again. After two people have gotten “out”, it is then their job to race each other so that they are not just watching for the remaining few minutes.

My go-to puzzle style is the triangle setup, however I often use this more traditional style as well.

4) Races

After we have completed the puzzle at least once, whether it be as a warm-up or intro to a unit, students sometimes ask to race one another. I’ll often offer 1 bonus point on an upcoming quiz to the winner of the paired races. (1 point on a quiz that’s out of 50 is really not much at all, but they act like it’s winning the lottery.)

You can also choose to only award the CLASS winner by keeping track of the best time in the class up on the board, and challenging the students to beat that time.

“Tim finished in 37 seconds. You guys have 5 minutes to try and beat that time. With your partner, one person times while the other person keeps track of time. Then switch. Good luck!”

My students love keeping the names and winning times on the board across all classes. They get excited to come in the next day and see “Ooh our class had the best time again!!!” It is great for boosting morale and the sense of community within the class block.

5) Take-home review

Sometimes students ask for extra practice before a quiz or project. When we are working on a current unit, I have my little “baggie” (it’s really a huge resealable bag filled with OTHER smaller bags….) of activities on my desk at all times. Students know that if they want to borrow a puzzle, all they have to do is ask. They can do this during class time if they have a few extra minutes, or they can also take something home to review on their own time.

Once you offer this, you may be surprised how many students take advantage of the opportunity for extra review.

I always ask them to just check the puzzle one last time when they return the next day, before returning it to the bag. That way they make sure they didn’t lose any pieces in their backpack, and I’m sneakily making them practice one last time 🙂

Out of all the activities I have prepped in these bags (Tiburones, Cacto Conversación, Café Charla, Sonidos Secretos, Maracas, Task Cards, etc.) the puzzles are the ones the students take home the most. They like racing themselves and building confidence each time they complete it correctly. And I love that they are choosing any type of extra practice 🙂

6) Review before a quiz

I often give my students 10 minutes to review before a quiz. I let them choose an activity that they feel will help them best prepare/address any areas where they feel they need extra support. This could be reviewing quietly on Quizlet or racing me to get the best “Matching” time of the class 😉

Again, I also offer up my plastic bag organizational system of wonders. And again, the puzzles are the most commonly requested review. Students take one last opportunity to race one another, or to quiz one other aloud using the puzzles. “Which piece do I need to find for this edge?”

Want to see MORE examples before you go?

You can see all of my available puzzles here, including EDITABLE TEMPLATES so that you can create your own very easily! The templates include two designs, each with two versions ready for entering text or ready to print and make on go.

If you missed it above, you can still snag a free puzzle to try with your Spanish 1 class right here!

I hope these ideas help you to find new ways to use puzzles this year with your classes 🙂 Thank you for reading!

The post 6 Effective Ways to engage your students with Puzzles in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

How to use seating and groups to your advantage in Spanish class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 22:02:00 +0000

After some trial and error, I have discovered that I am a big fan of group seating arrangements. With classes that often reach up to 32 students, I find that small groups help me to better and more easily manage my interactions with my students as well as their interactions with one another. Below I’ll tell you a bit about why other arrangements didn’t work for me, and why I’ve stuck with small groups for 6 years!

Double U … not for me

My first year teaching, I asked for advice and I modeled the teachers around me. Some had rows, some had groups, but most had arranged their student desks in a Double U. So I followed suit and utilized the Double U for the year.

My arrangement had a bit more room in the center of the smaller U, but my back row of desks were about as close to the wall as they are in this photo. In my opinion, this arrangement works well for a teacher centered classroom.

It was easy for me to maneuver around the center of the U and support students in the first row. It was also easy for me to make sure I was the center of attention. For my first year teaching, I thought this was great! They’re all paying attention to me! Sweet that must mean they are learning! (Spoiler alert: I was wrong. The teacher being the center of attention does NOT equal better learning outcomes.)

Meanwhile, I soon realized that it was very difficult for me to get to students in the “corners” of the second row. Looking back on this year (8 years ago now), I find myself remembering mostly the faces of the students in the first U. I don’t love that! Was I able to pay enough attention to the second row? And also, I have since learned that I should not be the center of the classroom. It is not about me. It is about my students and they should therefore be the center.

With all of that being said, I should mention that I don’t remember if we kept the same seats all year or if we changed throughout the year. I have a feeling they stayed put. We also didn’t do much movement during class-time throughout the year, simply because it was so difficult to move around the desks. Once students were in their seats, that’s where they stayed. It wasn’t easy to rearrange desks quickly, and the space felt very cramped overall. Again, in my opinion this wasn’t ideal for learning.

I’m not saying that this arrangement can’t work for teachers. If I had a larger space, it may have been a great option for me. But because I personally felt like I couldn’t reach all students easily, because I was the center of attention (instead of students), and because movement was difficult… I know that this arrangement isn’t for me.

Small groups, definitely for me 🙂

My second year teaching, I knew I wanted to try something different. I knew I didn’t want to do rows, but I also hadn’t *loved* the Double U set-up. My second year teaching is also when I had my first class of 30, so I knew I needed to find something that would better support me and my students. I decided to try small groups of 4 and 5, and it quickly became my favorite seating arrangement.

I always have six groups; three groups in front and three groups behind. Depending on the size of my biggest class each year, these groups may have 4-5 desks. If a group only needs 4, I remove the extra desk that sticks out at the end of the group.

Overall, I have 6 groups of 4-5 desks depending on class size each year.

I love these groups for so many reasons!

It is very easy for me to move around the room.
Students always have someone to work with.
I have a good view of all students and feel that I have a better handle on classroom management because of this.
I can quickly make my way to a specific student without it being obvious that I am targeting them (if I need to discuss their cell phone, headphones etc. I can easily walk by their desk and tap on it quickly as I walk by, rather than shouting across the room at them…)
Students are the center of the lesson. I am not. I move about the outskirts and guide students but I am not the end-all be-all of the lesson, ever.
It is easy for students to quickly rearrange seats and work with different partners for Citas Cortas, Taco Tuesday, or other activities.
In larger classes, it is common for students to work together before coming to me for help, especially if they see I am working with another group.
Sometimes quieter students may not feel comfortable asking me something in front of the whole class. In this arrangement, it’s easy for them to quietly ask a classmate or ask me to come over to their table so they can ask me without drawing attention to themselves.
Even rearranging desks is easy because there is so much space between groups! We often push all of the desks to the side for Quizlet relays, or we circle chairs for a reading or a Maracas activity.
Student movement AROUND the room is easy, as there is space around the edge of the groups for us to hang Task Cards, Gallery Walks etc.
I feel that the small groups help build community and relationships between my students 🙂

Here is a photo example I found online: this shows both the groups of 4 and groups of 5.

I often have my groups at an angle, not quite facing directly forward as this chart shows. But you can find what works for you!

I love that this setup offers so many benefits for both myself and the students. I don’t see myself changing anytime soon!

Seating assignments

My students love to tell me that I’m the *only* teacher that gives assigned seats. But… they also say that to all of the other teachers I talk to 😉

At the start of the year, I assign seats randomly. I do this before I even meet my students, so sometimes I’ll find that I do have to move a few students within the first week or so. But overall, the random assignment works well for Quarter 1.

At the start of Quarter 2, I will assign new seats. I again choose the seats and students do not, however; I do try to take note of at least one other person that a student enjoys working with. If I know that two students are friends, I will put them together as long as I think they will work productively together. As soon as they prove that they can’t handle it, I quickly move them. I often find myself saying “Keep in mind, once I move your seat you will never be moved back.” This makes them think “Oh crap! I like sitting with him. Shh guys! Focus!”

For Quarter 3, I do the same thing. New seats and new groups, but I try to keep students with at least one person they enjoy working closely with. Keeping them with one friend keeps them happy, and then mixing the groups (quiet/outgoing when I think it will help, or quiet/quiet when I think — or know — that anxiety is involved, and strong/struggling students but mindfully paired, and even sophomores/juniors to help build cross-year relationships) helps me to build these pairs into groups of 4 or 5 that turn into a little community or team. I have had multiple students come into my room as strangers and leave as good friends because of our groupings. Last year, I received a card from a lovely student thanking me for “bringing my best friend into her life,” saying “It’s like I’ve known her forever.” I know this is dramatic and definitely not always the case, but that one example is enough for me to hold onto for now 🙂

For Quarter 4, I allow my students to choose their own seats. I shamelessly use this all year as a bargaining chip. When it’s the start of a new quarter and they’re groaning about their new assigned seats, I say “If you work well for Quarters 1 2 and 3 remember YOU get to choose where you sit for Q4!” And this somehow works. I also remind them to trust me, and I always promise them that I don’t really do random seating. I always put care into the seating chart (one can easily take ma 30 minutes) to make sure that they are somewhere that they will be comfortable.

*Requests*
When students are not satisfied with a new seat, I tell them that I take requests after class for very specific reasons. This request cannot be “I want to sit with ____________.” If they feel that they cannot see from their seat (which is hard with these groups since everyone has a pretty good eyeline of all activities) or they feel they cannot focus for any reason, they can talk to me. I then discreetly make changes without letting students know why I am making the changes. It’s not “Hey! Cory can’t see so we are changing seats!” It might be, “Hey Cory, you’re really good in this unit and Sean was looking for someone to review with. Do you mind if I move you to this group for now?” (Then I never change them back and everyone forgets about it anyways, and Cory is in a new seat where he feels more comfortable.)

It’s settled!

For me and my students, this system has worked really well for me over the past 8 years. I love that it’s easy for both me and the students to move around, and that there is room for different seating arrangements for different activities. I love that the groups are always ready. Pairs are easy to make, and classroom management has become easier. Student community building is stronger, and they are more engaged in my lessons. I could keep going! There are so many reasons that I love these groups, and maybe you will too!

Thank you for reading!

The post How to use seating and groups to your advantage in Spanish class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

My journey to a clear and fair quiz correction policy in Spanish class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 23:08:00 +0000

During my first few years teaching, I followed the lead of other teachers and adopted their quiz retake policies. I tried a few different options, but never felt like I had settled on one I fully agreed with. I found myself saying to my students, “those are the rules.” Then I realized, I hated that answer. And I realized it was my classroom and I had to claim this as my policy. As long as any changes were approved by my department head, I could make adjustments! After one interaction with one student, and one conversation with my department, I realized I wasn’t alone in my discomfort. My colleagues and I have come to a general consensus over the past few years, which involves a corrections policy rather than a retake policy. I will give you some background to explain how it works, how we got there, and why I was so motivated to make a change in the middle of the year.

Year 1: Taking Advantage?

During my first year teaching, I implemented a complete retake policy for anyone who received a failing grade. They were given another chance at the quiz after school, and I would take the new grade. I was told this policy had worked for other teachers in my department, and I truly didn’t give it much thought. As a new teacher I was taking advice from anywhere and everywhere. And I was so grateful to work with people who were willing to guide me and share with me. But out of everything I tried during that first year, this is something that didn’t feel quite right.

The original retake policy left me with a few problems; I felt that some students were taking advantage, even saying out loud “If I don’t do well I will just make sure I fail so I can retake it next week for a new grade.” Hearing that was a wakeup call that this was not an ideal strategy for student learning. I also struggled with a few students who would actually receive a lower grade the second time around. They weren’t taking their review time seriously, because they saw the retake as a “given.” Was I supposed to give them the lower grade? Or the original grade? Should I be averaging the two grades?

The argument on giving the new grade was that our overall goal is proficiency; so if we want students to perform well and communicate, we should award them the better grade once they have earned it. But what happened when they took advantage, or when the grade was lower!? I had too many questions after my first year.

Year 2: Just OK

The following year, I was in a new school, in a similar district to my first. I asked around to see what the department policy was. Again, many teachers (but not all) in the department followed one policy. Theirs was similar to the one I had originally tried; students could retake a quiz if they scored under a 70%, and they would receive the average of their two grades. Some teachers gave the new grade, and some gave the average of the two. I opted to give the average of the two grades, since that’s what *most* teachers seemed to be doing and since that would eliminate the issue of a student who received a lower grade the second time. This policy seemed to work OK for me that year.

Year 3: Eye-opening

My third year teaching, I actually moved one last time. I had been so happy in my first district and even though I had been a long term sub I had been treated like family. That environment taught me what a supportive team/department head looked like. I hadn’t quite found that in my second district, and so I took a risk to teach in a larger district that had amazing technology and was offering me a few coaching opportunities. My third district has now been “my school” for 7 years. It is my home.

At the start of the year, I implemented the policy that I had felt was OK from the previous year. “Students who receive under a 70% can retake for an average of the two grades.”

One day during a discussion of retake dates, an honors student raised his hand. I had a mixed class of honors and CP students. This boy had never received under an 85% in my class, but he brought up a very good point. This is how the conversation went, to the best of my 5-year-ago memory:

S: I have a question. If someone receives a 74% on a quiz, they can’t retake it, right? But if someone receives a 69%, they CAN.

Me: Yes, exactly.

S: So if the student that got a 69% studies and retakes the quiz and gets a 90%, their new grade is about an 80% since you average the two quiz grades, the original and the retake.

Me: Yes that sounds right.

S: So the student who had time to study and retake the quiz ends up with a grade much higher than the student who wasn’t allowed a second chance. That doesn’t seem fair.

Me: Actually…..You are right. Again. That doesn’t seem very fair. This is something I really need to think about.

Time for immediate change… yes mid-year.

My conversation blew my mind. I was so upset with myself for not realizing this before. How was that fair? Students who received between a 70 and 75 would OFTEN ask to retake, but I would tell them “Under a 70% allows a retake, sorry that’s the rule!” But…. what!? WHY??

I brought this issue to my department, and I remember talking to a few teachers about it. None of us had ever considered the point that my student had made. But we all agreed that it truly didn’t seem fair. I honestly forget who opened my eyes to the new policy that a few of us decided to try immediately. My interest was sparked after the question from that student, and I think another teacher in my department suggested I try this instead. Maybe we adapted it from another department in our school? Or maybe we read it online somewhere? I wish I remembered where we got it from, so that I could give credit! All I do remember is that I went to class the next day with an answer for my students. This was an answer I finally felt confident about.

We decided: Any student can make corrections to any quiz, to earn half of their points back.

There is no “grade limit” that you have to fall below in order to earn this chance. Any student can come in for this opportunity. If a student earned a 70% originally, they can earn an 85% max. If a student got an 80%, they can raise their grade to a 90%. And if a student originally got a 92%? Yes, they can come raise that grade to a 96%. You’d be surprised how many students come to see me even when they earned a 90% the first time around. (I know some teachers don’t like this, but I honestly don’t mind. If a student wants to show me their best work, and put MORE effort into my class… I think that is a GOOD thing!)

Stipulations/Routines:

Notice that with this policy, it is no longer a full retake. This matters for lots of reasons and I’ll explain below.

These corrections still have to be done on student time. This means before or after school. No, a student cannot make quiz corrections during our warm-up. They need to put in the time to review and prepare, and come to me when they are ready.
Students have 2 weeks from the original quiz date to do this. I try to enter quiz grades into our online system within a few days for this reason; I want to be fair to my students and give them the chance to take advantage of quiz corrections. This rule also means I won’t have a pile of quiz corrections at the end of the term. “No, you cannot cram and correct every quiz from this quarter. You can only correct assessments from within the past two weeks.” You could absolutely adjust this timeline to what you think is reasonable for your students!
When a student plans to come for quiz corrections, they must schedule it with me beforehand. They cannot just show up and demand their quiz– they must show me that they have been planning and preparing. I may ask to see extra practice they have done in order to prepare.
When they enter the room for corrections, I hand them their original quiz along with a colored pen. I may give them a green, purple, or pink pen; any color that is different from what they wrote with originally, and different from the color that I used to grade the quiz.
I direct students to correct any answers they can, by simply writing the correct answer AND explaining their new answer in the margin. They can do this by explaining why they made the original mistake, or by giving a piece of evidence that they used to get the correct answer. For me to consider the new answer, they must write something. I tell them to think of math class, where they have to show their work! The explanation piece is key, because without it there is no way for a student to fairly earn their point back for correcting a true/false question etc. They could also completely guess on multiple choice questions, when they are supposed to be showing that they have studied and improved their knowledge.
After students correct their quiz, I ask them to sit and discuss it with me. This means they cannot drop their corrections on my desk and walk out of the room. If I am working with a few students that day, they know they have to wait. Yes, this is their time. And yes, I expect them to give me their time for this privilege of corrections. I go over their quiz corrections and explanations with them, and we discuss any areas that are still areas of need. I show them their new grade before they leave, and they are able to immediately see the value in the extra time and work they put in.
You decide what a student needs to do to earn their max number of points back. For example, for a student to get from a 70 to an 85, some teachers would require they correct their quiz to perfection. Personally, I count every correction as an individual point until I hit that max score. So if a student with a 70% comes and makes corrections, as long as they pass the 85% they have earned that grade in my eyes. They don’t need a perfect score to get to that 85%. I hope this makes sense, but feel free to reach out if this part is fuzzy.

Immediate benefits

A small teaching benefit of this policy: as I am grading quizzes, I do not correct mistakes in detail. I simply mark the answer wrong. That way, the student has the chance to make their corrections. In writing, I use shorthand such as VT for verb tense, VF for verb form, SP for spelling or a ^ if a word is missing, but I am no longer editing their writing for them like I was doing before. This was so time consuming and I didn’t realize it! This policy has actually helped to streamline my grading.

Another benefit? There is no fear of a lower grade the second time around. Students can only improve. Sometimes they may only improve from a 75% to a 80%, but that is still progress! And the discussion / reflection piece usually leads to more improvements in the future.

This policy ALSO takes the pressure off of the teacher to make a new quiz anytime someone has to do a retake. For me, making “Quiz A” and “Quiz B” was very daunting. I struggled with making sure they were the same difficulty, score, etc.

**Something to consider** Will you give quizzes back to the students in between the quiz day and the corrections deadline? I often enter the quiz grades into the computer, but I do not give the actual quiz back to the student so that they cannot simply study their quiz (or study the quiz of a friend who did better…)

Another option is giving back the quizzes but having students immediately place them in their student folders, which never leave the room. That way they can *glance* at their quiz and take note of what skills they need to review for corrections, but they don’t have time to study the exact quiz. While assessment folders are out, I make sure students keep phones and iPads AWAY. Students are generally pretty good about this, but again use your judgement for your class 🙂

Reflecting

As long as your department head / principal approves, I think you should be able to make adjustments to find what works for your students! Sometimes we assume that the first idea we’ve tried is the best for your students, but this is only because we haven’t tried something else yet. And I get it, I am often very resistant to change. But, we are allowed to reflect and make changes based on our (or our students’) observations. Maybe you think my beloved policy stinks! And that’s fine – I want you to find what works for YOUR STUDENTS. You and I most likely have different teaching styles, just like our students have very different learning styles.

Just as we differ as individuals, every district is different and has different needs. In my district, it is important to nurture our students’ buy-in and investment in their own education. My colleagues and I work to keep our students engaged in the process– this means that my students need to understand exactly what is expected of them. They want to know exactly how they can take responsibility for their learning outcomes. And, they want to know why rules are the way that they are. They will not passively accept the “that’s the way it is” line, and I don’t blame them. Many of my students are the first to graduate high school or the first that plan to go to college, whether it be community or private. I want them to feel valued and heard within their educational journey.

Many (most? all?) teachers in my department now implement this corrections policy, and we have never looked back. Our team had multiple discussions at department meetings about our personal “corrections” policies; we openly discussed what we liked and what didn’t work for us. We talked about why most didn’t seem quite “fair.” Then we worked together and settled on the policy that I love so much today.

Since making the changes to my corrections policy, I have absolutely noticed more engagement in assessments and an increased amount of students striving to do the best that they can. Some teachers might not like that a student comes to make corrections for just a few points (for example, if they scored a 90 but want to get to a 95) but I actually love that. They are voluntarily studying, reviewing, and putting in their own time after school to better themselves. I also get to know students better after school, which then leads to more class participation and engagement overall. Why would I ever say no to that?

Thank you for reading!

I hope this post has helped you reflect on your grading practices, and consider what changes may or may not work for you!

The post My journey to a clear and fair quiz correction policy in Spanish class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

3 Creative Ways to Explore Culture through Music in Spanish Class

The Engaged Spanish Classroom — Sat, 07 Sep 2019 18:42:00 +0000

I absolutely love using music every day in class. I think music is a great jumping point for cultural discussion and comparisons, simple cultural exposure, and often vocabulary and grammatical connections as well. Sometimes, it’s just fun. The other benefits are a bonus!

There are so many ways to work music into your class daily. There are some time-consuming but valuable ways, and there are quick and seamless ways that are also valuable. For me, I like to try a little of everything. Just hearing music every day makes me happier. Happy teacher = happy class, right? 😉

Music competitions

Some ideas are a bigger commitment, but worth it! Last year, my classes participated in two music competitions:

“Manía Musical” This music competition was organized by Mis Clases Locas during National Foreign Language Week

“Locura de Marzo” Señor Ashby organizes a WORLDWIDE music competition with tense of thousands of voters. He provides all of the links/resources/voting for you for free online, which is pretty amazing!

My entire department actually banded together for the first music event, Manía Musical. We purchased multiple license of Mis Clases Loca’s music materials, so that we could all participate with our classes. There were around 10 of us! We all had our students vote in the same Google Forms throughout the competition, and each round received between 700 and 800 votes! We had a huge competition bracket (like a sporting event playoff) in the hallway outside my classroom, and students from all grades would stop by during the day to see who was winning. It was awesome for community building and enhancing interest/engagement between all levels of our classes. This first competition was in November, and I loved building interest and hype toward the beginning of the year like that.

The second music competition of the year, in March, I ran just between my own classes. My students even decided that they didn’t want to vote in the worldwide competition; they wanted to vote solely amongst themselves. I let them make this decision, and it went really well! Some students would even go above and beyond and vote twice per day; they voted with our class, but also logged into Señor Ashby’s site to join the worldwide vote. Our class matched the larger competition *almost* all the way until the end!

To stay within the curriculum during these music competitions, I make sure my students know they are responsible for a warm-up during the music video and voting. If possible, I make the warm-up connected to the song/country/artist. After we have seen the video and heard the song a few times (so once we are done the first round of the songs), my warm-ups are more content based // connected to our current unit. Since my students have already heard the songs and seen the videos at that point, I don’t feel bad asking them to do a quick vocab matching activity, puzzle, or other warm-up as the music plays. My department head really liked this as well, as it integrated the competition seamlessly into our typical daily routine.

I absolutely plan on hosting at least one music competition this year as well. My students really enjoyed how many songs they were exposed to in a short amount of time!

Seamless integration

You don’t necessarily need a big competition to integrate music into your classes!

Sometimes you aren’t able to adjust your curriculum enough to do a three-week music competition, and I get that. But please do keep in mind, they can be done during your warm-up time and they do help build community if you ask me! BUT, if you aren’t interested in that commitment, you probably want a more seamless way to integrate music.

After the music competitions last year, my students were always requesting music. They had multiple favorites from both competitions, and I wanted to find a way to expose them to these different styles as much as possible. Here are a few ways I integrate music without taking up any class time:

Before class– As I am in the hallway greeting my students, music is playing inside the room. Students love walking into a welcoming environment with music playing. I allow it to continue through my attendance/homework check, and stop it when we are ready to go over the warm-up.
During transition time– Do you give your students a few minutes in between activities? Do you ever have students engage in lessons that take a little bit of set-up? This is a great time to play a quick song or music video.
During independent work– I often have music playing *quietly* as students are working independently. Sometimes, they even request it during writing prompts. I always make sure no one is being disrupted by the music playing, and I always bounce around the room allowing different students the opportunity to choose the song. They love feeling like the class DJ for a moment (and they are only allowed to choose songs that I know, and that I know are appropriate for class.)
During my MARACAS and TACO TUESDAY activities– If we ever play Maracas or Taco Tuesday, you can bet music is playing. With Maracas, pausing the song is the signal that it’s time to pass the card. For Taco Tuesday, we just sing and dance as we play 🙂
….almost any other time that isn’t direct instruction. Once you hear students begging for their favorite song, and then singing along to that song in Spanish… you’ll want to play music more during class 🙂

If you want to see the Spotify playlist I use during any of the above mentioned times… you can find it right here! I teach high school, and I am fairly careful about what I play // add to this playlist. That being said, please always preview songs and make sure you are comfortable playing them for your students 🙂

Music with culture and grammar in mind

Sometimes, heaven and earth collide in a shower o f s p a r k l e s and I find a song that matches perfectly with one of our units. This means that I get to stay on-content, but sneak in some extra cultural exposure as well as extra teacher-shoulder-dance-time. (Picture me standing on the side of the room, smiling wildly and bouncing my shoulders to the music. YEP.)

When this glorious event happens, I try to squeeze as much out of the song as I can. That means we do as many things as we can from the following list:

We watch the music video or lyric video if appropriate
We read the lyrics and find cognates, familiar words, unknown words
We assess the grammar or vocab within the song and make connections to our class (YAY!)
We discuss the style of music
We research the artist and country (exports? location? other famous people?)
We research the cultural influences behind the music (instruments? aspects of the video)
We identify meaningful lines within the song (students mark lines personally)
We research the meaning behind identified lines in the song (I pick these lines)
We expand and have cultural discussions that have been sparked by the song, in Spanish or English depending on the level and intensity of the discussion. If a student can only contribute in English, they are never told not to contribute during these discussions. We help them with Spanish when needed.
and even MORE!!!

And then tomorrow, students ask to hear the song during the warm-up. And my heart shines.

Want to see examples?

I have made various activity packets for my favorite songs that match the units I teach. Here are some examples of my favorites! Each one is connected to the grammar or vocabulary of the unit, while also including the culture of the artist and country.

Latinoamérica by Calle 13 — I use this at the start of the year every single year, within the first few days of class.
Corazon sin Cara by Prince Royce — my students love Prince Royce, and this is great for Spanish 1 examining ser/adjectives
Yo No Sé Mañana by Luis Enrique — future tense! I use this with Spanish 3
A Dios le Pido by Juanes — I use this with my Spanish 3s during our present subjunctive unit
Ojalá que Llueva Café by JLG — another present subjunctive option for Spanish 3!

You can also find a bundle of all of my available Culture and Grammar through Music packets right here.

Thank you for reading!

I hope these ideas help you find a few new ways to incorporate music this year in your classes! Good luck and have fun!

The post 3 Creative Ways to Explore Culture through Music in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.