The bird's out of the cage, and it’s time to share my big secret with YOU, my readers!!
At ACTFL, I announced the launch of GARBANZO, the new web application from The Comprehensible Classroom.
The journey to create an app that would help teachers find reading material that is suitable for early language learners began almost a year ago. I have been working non-stop with an incredible development firm to bring you an easy-to-use, beautiful platform for sharing stories with your students.
Want to be part of the Beta group?
Visit www.garbanzo.io and click ‘GET STARTED’.
Enter your email with Access Code GRACIAS to get on the list.
WIN a 1-year subscription!
LIKE @garbanzoapp on Twitter and Instagram and Follow @garbanzoapp on Facebook.
We'll announce the winner on Wednesday!
What is Garbanzo?
Garbanzo is an online, interactive library of 1000s of stories written for beginning Spanish learners.
Garbanzo’s stories include:
- fairy tales
- fables
- cultural insights
- current events
- historical information
- class created stories
- word/logic problems
- and more!
Each text is sorted into a path, making it easy for you to find texts that your students can understand with ease.
All stories in the first path are written with just 50 core words.
In the second path, stories are written with 75 unique words.
The core words in each path continue to increase in 25 word increments, building a scaffolding that will eventually graduate students to comprehension of authentic texts.
Garbanzo solves longstanding problems for teachers that rely on Comprehension Based methods of language teaching.
- Absent students can read stories on Garbanzo
- Transfer students can read stories that are familiar to the rest of the class
- Students can read Garbanzo stories with a sub
- Students can read Garbanzo texts in multiple tenses and from multiple perspectives
- Garbanzo stories can provide additional input for students that need support
- Teachers can quickly and accurately assess student proficiency and working vocabulary
- No paper needed: students can read your favorite texts from The Comprehensible Classroom online!
Garbanzo works with any curriculum
No matter what curriculum –or non-curriculum– you are using, Garbanzo will help your students progress on the path to proficiency.
Teachers that use the SOMOS curriculum can find all texts from the curriculum in Garbanzo– sample class stories, cultural readings, assessments, biographies, and more!
Teachers that use textbooks can find stories to support their students’ language acquisition by searching Garbanzo by topic (house and home, school subjects, etc.), AP theme, tense, or country.
Garbanzo gives you flexible control.
Teachers can assign any story to any student, or they can place a student in a path and allow them to move through it at their own pace.
If you aren’t sure which path a student should be on, use Garbanzo’s placement test to give you a recommended path for them to follow.
Got questions?
We’d love to answer them!
Email [email protected] for information on content, pricing, and more.
Beta access will open after January 1 and will be offered to anyone who is on the list. Anyone on the list will get full, free pre-launch access to the site! The web app will be fully launched in time for the 2019-2020 school year.
Connecting with some SOMOS teachers at the Garbanzo launch event at #ACTFL18!
