We started with “Poder corrumpe; poder absoluto corrumpe absolutamente.” I took a quick poll of some of the quieter members of class about whether power corrupts saying “¿poder corrumpe?” or “¿cierto o falso?” or “si o no?” and following up with “¿todas personas?” or “¿A veces? ¿Depende?” That way they at Read more…
I’m sure @SECottrell knows by now that I want to be her when I grow up–though I think I’ve got a few years on her. I have tried to imitate her, from her first 2 weeks of Spanish I, to 5 minute mumbles, to outside of class activities, and now Read more…
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…
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…
The truth is that only one student was terribly misjudged by his classmates. In fact, most were so accurately labeled that all they could do was say yes (hooray for repetition!) It went down like this: Last week, we selected activities (verb) vocabulary first through brainstorming, then categorizing, then a Read more…
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…