Become a more confident language teacher.
The end of the year is tough, I know! Students are simultaneously exhausted and buzzing with energy… thank you, sun! You need lesson plans that teach themselves, and I’ve got one plan that will do just that. Try out this no-prep, hands-off “3 – 2 – 1” lesson for current events… or any texts! 3-2-1…
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Many of us pursued a career as a Spanish teacher because at some point we became connected to a Spanish speaking culture. Maybe we were born into one, maybe we traveled, maybe we studied abroad, maybe we met a cute guy at a salsa lesson and now we’re married and have a pile of salsa-dancing…
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An 8.2 earthquake shook southern Mexico on September 7, leaving Oaxaca completely devastated. It was the strongest earthquake that Mexico had felt in 100 years. Just 12 days later–when relief efforts were still in their infancy and aftershocks continued to rock the area–a second earthquake of magnitude 7.2 struck central Mexico. The 7.1 quake occurred…
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While I encourage teachers to use the issues of EL MUNDO EN TUS MANOS for free reading material (add them to a class library, let students choose to read them or not, and not complete an assignment after reading them), I realize that there are many reasons that teachers may want to or need to attach an…
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Thank you, Gracias, Merci, Danke, Grazie… The Art for Ecuador fundraiser wrapped up 10 days ago, and in total we raised over $7000.00 (that I know about–not all of it went through our CrowdRise campaign). I am so grateful to all of you for sharing the articles about the Ecuador earthquake and Gianina’s project with…
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Faith Laux shared with me a summary that she wrote about the story of a brave rescue dog that gave his life to earthquake relief efforts in Ecuador. She gave me permission to share the story here, and I’ve written a second, even more simplified summary so that more teachers can use it in their classes. Thank you…
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On Saturday, April 16, 2016, Ecuador was devastated by the worst earthquake to shake its shores in nearly seven decades. One week later, the death toll is at 650, more than 12,000 people are injured, and hundreds are missing. Carol Kovatch’s middle school Spanish class in Santa Rosa, California read last week’s special edition of EL MUNDO…
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Y’all have been asking me if I am going to continue the weekly news summaries in the 2016-2017 school year, and I’ve been dodgy with my response. I don’t think it’s actually worth my time, as a stay at home mom, but if I were still in the classroom I would want to be making the time…
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I finished up the April 18 issue of EL MUNDO EN TUS MANOS early because my sister took the three big boys for the weekend and I didn’t want to spend my precious toddler-free time on the computer! This meant that Saturday’s earthquake in Ecuador didn’t make it into the news. Since it is such an important…
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From time to time, Maris Hawkins puts together and shares Noticias (news summaries) on her blog. Her noticias are GREAT because they provide comprehensible reading material to students that they can choose to review during Free Voluntary Reading or that the teacher can use as a starting point for class discussion on current events or broader discussion of cultural…
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