I knew Duolingo would be the winner in my Google Classroom poll, but a surprisingly close second was the option with a choice of Duolingo or Señor Wooly PLUS an optional daily video/reading. (No one, literally NO ONE picked “optional daily reading” by itself. Go fig.) Ultimately, since we’re officially Read more…
I have been wondering if Tiktok might be an even more effective tool for connecting–not only language with the visual, but also with the students who almost unanimously voted this app their favorite at the beginning of the year. So, here are some ideas I had as I start to experiment.
I know non-targeted input is all the rage, but frankly, I’m hung up on high-frequency vocab repetition. And the more I can get key words, phrases, and structures stuck in kids’ heads, the more Spanish they can take with them when the class is over. So these are the tunes Read more…
My students have not personally approved every song on this list. But these are the songs I have found since last year that hit the two main requirements: Language they can use Lyrics they can’t forget High-frequency ear worms, tat’s the name of the game. Now routine has become sort of Read more…
My new work amigas said I needed to plan in some low-stress fun, not just for the kids, but for me too. And while I don’t have any memory games locked and loaded like my colega had for her class, I do have A popular song we’ve been dissecting A Read more…
I over planned my first two weeks at my new school. You would think that over planning meant I was also over prepared, ready to handle anything they threw at me. In reality, though, it ended up being quite the opposite. It was only when I scaled WAAAAY the heck 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 could just assign a writing task to see what they can do. And they could just run the whole thing with a translator. You could have them upload a video of themselves speaking. And they could script the whole thing–and then run it through a translator. You could have Read more…
So my master plan to improve listening through music and the coros bellringer pretty much fizzled. Music is still THE number one way to hook students right off, but it kind of loses its magic if I do it every day of every week, ALL. SEMESTER. LONG. As I’ve been going through this Read more…
The daily chorus bellringer is hands down the most popular activity I have ever done. It’s the ideal way to get Spanish language stuck in kids’ heads and build skills. It’s also a little lame. Novices need to learn to follow along with something they read. They need to get a catchy chorus Read more…