Word Sort is a fantastic higher-order thinking activity that you can use to explore a text or topic. I first learned about Word Sort in the Teacher’s Guide for El Nuevo Houdini; I believe that the brilliant Kristy Placido came up with it. It’s used in one of the last three chapters, because we’ve not…
Read MoreLa llamada – Selena
This song, “The Call”, by Selena fits in very well with the novel Esperanza, by Carol Gaab. The narrator receives several important  (and disturbing) phone calls during the first three chapters of the novel, and you can compare and contrast the phone call that Selena receives with the ones that Esperanza receives. The music video…
Read MoreEl Nuevo Houdini, Chapter 1
Today, my Spanish 2’s read chapter 1 of El Nuevo Houdini. Another big hit; big surprise, right? (I promise that I am not being paid to make these posts!! I just can’t help it–Carol Gaab and TPRS Publishing develop the most fantastic resources for language learners!!) Here is what we did: We had already done…
Read MoreFan-n-Pick group discussion activity
I just got back from another Cooperative/Social Emotional Learning class session with tons of ideas from the brilliant minds of my colleagues. The course followed an intensive, full-day workshop with a trainer from Kagan Cooperative Learning, and it is run by the district Director of World Languages, and course credit is offered through University of…
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