Become a more confident language teacher.
Even though I have switched to an acquisition-driven, whole-language approach to teaching Spanish, I still like to do mini grammar lessons every once in awhile. When should I give a grammar lesson? I always wait to give an expository grammar lesson until after my students have been repeatedly exposed to whatever it is that I…
Read MoreAre there any ghost stories about your school or other places in your community? Now is a great time to dig them out and translate them into comprehensible target language stories. They are always high interest and often involve pretty basic vocabulary (people often HEAR or SEE ghosts that WALK or TALK or SCREAM or…
Read MoreI have used this video for several years now. Below, I posted the basic lesson plan that I first used for a 45-minute class period. Since then, I’ve expanded it quite a bit by adding more readings, songs, and reading activities. You can download the new plans here. They include four readings, two songs, a reading interview…
Read More
This is a great song that I found on Señor Jordan’s blog. It is excellent practice for the structures “tengo” and “vale más que”. Below are some basic lesson plans; you can purchase a much more complete lesson plan bundle that includes readings, slideshows, and additional activities and assessments here. Here is the lyrics and activities…
Read More
Here is a worksheet that I created for my Spanish A students to complete tomorrow while I am at the 2011 AFLA Conference. I got the great idea to have students search for cognates in children’s books (or whatever reading material you have) from Kristy Placido (she’s aweomse!). You can leave it as part of…
Read MoreMore beginning of the year things…getting together emergency sub plans! Leaving a video is a hassle for me because the sub needs to track down a TV since they are not allowed to use our Promethean Boards. Instead, I choose a short story from one of the copiable books that I have (this year, mine…
Read More
That’s right…we went back to school yesterday! It feels like I never left, but we’ve been gone since the end of May. My goal for the first day is to leave students feeling smart and successful and with a fun, unique experience! We have 50 minute periods at my middle school. Preparation and entering the…
Read More
This is a great low-key lesson to do when your students are worn out…like after a full morning of testing, as will be the case in Anchorage M-W next week! It could also work well as a follow-on for… SOMOS Spanish 1 Unit 14, which targets ‘hace’ SOMOS Spanish 2 Unit 5, which targets ‘hizo…
Read MoreDAY ONE Objective: Students will discuss adventure as it relates to their lives and the lives of others. Campanada: Students write their responses to these questions using complete sentences in Spanish upon entry. ¿Quién tiene mucha aventura en su vida? Escribe una lista de personas. – Who has a lot of adventure in their lives?…
Read MoreDAY ONE Objective: Students can compare what they have with what they don’t have and what they want. Campanada: Students complete the following sentence starters using descriptive Spanish when they arrive. Yo tengo.. Yo no tengo… Yo quiero tener… Yo no quiero tener… Discussion/PQA: Ask students to share their Campanada answers. Circle each student’s answers,…
Read More
