Whether you are full of energy coming off the fall conference season or starting to feel the winter blues, now is the time to give your language classes a BOOST with materials from The Comprehensible Classroom.
We are the #1 store for world language teacher resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, and with over 500 products, it can be overwhelming to sort through all of the materials to find the ones that will be the best fit for your classes this year. I've pulled out 10 popular 'Booster packs' to serve as a starting point for your lesson plan shopping.
BOOSTER PACK #1: CURRICULUM
The SOMOS Curriculum (available for Level 1 or Level 2 Spanish or Level 1 French) is the most popular curriculum for comprehension-based language classes. If you are new to CI, SOMOS will give you daily, step-by-step instructions on what to do so that you can focus on getting comfortable with the skills in this new way of teaching.
Be sure to join the SOMOS Curriculum Collaboration group on Facebook for additional support from other teachers using the curriculum and from SOMOS mentors like Elicia Cárdenas and Bill Langley! If you are looking for resources for upper level classes, shop these stores:
- Somewhere to Share
- Comprendes Méndez SpanishShop
- Placido Language Resources
- CEAUTHRES
- CCC Spanish Store
Booster pack #2: Current events
Sharing current events from around the Spanish speaking world is an easy way to incorporate culture into your curriculum. EL MUNDO EN TUS MANOS is a weekly (or bi-weekly) publication that gives you five summaries of recent news stories in easy-to-understand Spanish. Maris Hawkins and I work together to find stories of significance and of interest to the range of students that you have in your classes.
Join the EMETM Facebook Collaboration group to suggest stories and share ideas for using them! Need a sample? Check out the issue from Summer 2018 here.
Booster pack #3: Holidays
Spanish teachers LOVE teaching about holidays and seasonal traditions! Lessons like these are high interest and rich in opportunities for cultural comparison and insight. This year, I have bundled together all of the lessons I have about Winter traditions from Spanish speaking countries, and I'll be adding more to the bundle soon!
Want to prepare for spring? Grab the Semana Santa and Cinco de mayo resource bundles while they're on sale!
Booster pack #4: Method
Have you recently decided to give comprehension based teaching a try, or are you trying but feeling like you're failing? I put together this Comprehension based teaching starter pack to set you up for success with a range of resource types that will give you the confidence you need to succeed.
The most popular single resource from this pack is the Special Person interview question slides, also available in French thanks to Blair Richards!
Booster pack #5: Music
Music has been critical to my own language learning journey, both en español and en français. Music moves us. It gives us an emotional connection to the language and it allows us to hear the words that we read in a whole new way. If you are looking for input-rich materials to share popular songs with your students, the Canciones contagiosas 1 or Canciones contagiosas 2 song packs are the best starting place. Preview many of them in this post about my favorite songs for Spanish 1!
Already have the song packs? Be sure to snag the materials for Un poquito - hot off the press!
Booster pack #6: Worksheets
You don't have to attach a task to every text that you use in class--in fact, research shows that doing so can be detrimental to student motivation and is not the most efficient use of time in a language class. There are many times, however, that a well-designed task will boost student learning, help you to meet your instructional goals, and save your sanity!
The Textivities pack (also available in English) includes 36 reproducible worksheets that can be used with any
Booster pack #7: Stories
Our brains are wired for stories. Mastering the art of sharing stories with your students such that they understand is the single best thing you can do for your language students. Finding great stories that they want to hear is the second best thing! These Fábulas sencillas are fun fables that are ready for you to share with your beginning language students.
Watch my favorite YouTuber, Alice Ayel, tell one of these fables! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va40v6K_PzU Don't you want to be her student?!
Booster pack #8: Grammar
Grammar is the curse word of the comprehension based teaching world– but by choice or by force, many teachers find themselves looking for practical ways to address grammar explicitly even in input-rich courses. My Grammar in context bundle offers ready-to-go lessons that keep input at the forefront. (This is an expanded version of the Grammar in Context book available from Teacher's Discovery.)
Booster pack #9: Class library
I have zillions of resources for your class library, and my favorite is this pack of Printable storybooks! Filling your library with all kinds of different, understandable reading materials and helping your students learn how to select texts well will be invaluable in their language journey.
“There is massive evidence that self-selected reading, or reading what you want to read, is responsible for most of our literacy development. Readers have better reading ability, know more vocabulary, write better, spell better, and have better control of complex grammatical constructions. In fact, it is impossible to develop high levels of literacy without being a dedicated reader, and dedicated readers rarely have serious problems in reading and writing.” --Stephen Krashen
Looking for more resources for your library? Check out Lecturas diarias or Criaturas peligrosas!
Booster pack #10: Comprehension based games
I love games because my students love games. Whether you are looking for an input-friendly way to play BINGO (school supplies or comparisons) or want to give your students an experience that they will love to hate with Grudgeball or the Unfair Game, I've got games galore!
Got questions?
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