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Sweetening the Deal: Debate in Spanish

Chocolate increases target language usage. As do edgy topics and plenty of preparation beforehand. Before the debate, students completed a survey, ranking different situations that could be considered racist either “aceptable,” “cuestionable,” “maleducado,” “cruel,” or “peligroso.” Then they created their own definitions of racism, and shared them (in one class Read more…

2 do for Spanish 2

1. Increase target language interaction during Spanish 2 discussionsI need this to happen, in part because National Board certification demands it. According to my new National Board bible: A wisely-selected video segment will show your interaction with the students in the target language. It should not focus entirely on you but should Read more…

Ser AfroLatino

I don’t wish to presume with my next essential question (much harder to formulate than the last for Spanish 2), but I do want students to compare experiences and to develop a deeper sympathy for other cultures. In that spirit, I will be asking: ¿Qué es ser afrolatino? I intend to Read more…

Problem/Solution?

My first problem was that even I was unconvinced by how tightly connected the appliance/peso lesson from my Spanish I cooking unit was.  Solution? Record something juicy from my narcocorridos unit! Second problem? Though the lesson was, I believe, sufficiently juicy, I was only able to get 7 of the Read more…

Experiments This Week

Bilingual “Plátiza”Chalk talk = plática de tiza = plátiza “Chalk talks” are a classic method of instruction at my school.  I don’t know where they came from, and they are probably classic elsewhere too, but I believe I have taken it to a new level–a bilingual level.  Furthermore, it was the Read more…