One of the many, MANY important things I learned from attending my first Maestra Loca workshop is that you have to keep things moving: https://twitter.com/SraSpanglish/status/1124757088700334085?s=19 I applied this principle for some intense STAMP test prep (I know, I know, I miss my AAPPL, but if my new) district wants to Read more…
Did you know that Flipgrid has a place for you to find and share connections?? There are so many ways you can learn and share with other languages! So not only did I take it upon myself to post my Mejor Yo grid, I made sure Maris posted her more Read more…
This year I shared some of my favorite resources: from music to social media, authentic texts to tech tools. I also shared some strategies that have worked really–I mean REALLY–well for me, as well as some that are still evolving. I’ve also shared posts about what NOT to worry about, Read more…
You know when you get a great idea at a conference that you can immediately implement Monday and change E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G? Well this isn’t one of them. I implemented it on Tuesday. We had an interdisciplinary marketing project thing scheduled with Public Speaking for Monday. Our AATSPSC keynote speaker pointed out Read more…
So you’ve got an authentic audience: real live native speakers in the same room with your students. Maybe you’re lucky like me and have a thriving Sister Cities exchange program. Maybe they’re some or your fourth period heritage speakers’ moms. Maybe they’re local business owners or the ELL class from Read more…
They will be here in two weeks. They do speak English, but it is not their first language. They may have traveled to the U.S. before, they may not. One thing is for sure. They have never seen anything quite like Gaston County. It’s as true for our community as Read more…
The level of confidence I saw in the final round of assessments last semester–after the tearful season mid-semester–it completely convinced me that this is how I want to assess going forward: with small groups with prepared cues with student choice Preparation Students have 2 days to A) choose a relevant topic Read more…
Ignite talks are short and fast. They’re like Pecha Kucha, with 20 carefully timed images, but they’re even shorter. I mean, yeah, you can rehearse and rehearse (and rehearse) an ignite talk to time it perfectly (and that’s actually a good option for kiddos just breaking out of Novice Land), Read more…
Whether you’re going to a Mexican restaurant (we are) or participating in a foreign language competition (that too) or taking your kids on a mile-long walk with water jugs (#squadgoals), students can always engage in a little interpersonal exchange, as well as a little presentational reflection. Last year I tried Read more…
What makes Adobe Voice so great is the one-press recording and the quick image search. Kids don’t have to spend hours designing the perfect visual representation for their video–they pick one image from the vast clipart and/or Creative Commons stash, record, and move on to the next image/recording. And all Read more…