Presentational Writing Practice in the FLES Classroom

Last year I realized that I don't do a lot of writing in my room. I teach at a Title I school and while our scores are going up, we still need our students to be writing more. Writing in Spanish is a good way to get in more of the presentational mode and I use it as a way to reinforce L1 skills like punctuation and handwriting.

But how to do it?

1. Do group writes. Especially for younger students, start out by modeling how to write. Ask students to give you the sentences and you write them. Then let them come up and write the sentences.

2.  Have students partner write - One person has the whiteboard and marker but they have to listen to their partner as they dictate. Then they revise it together. My second graders loved this last year as they wrote animal riddles during our zoo unit. And it was great scaffolding for later when they wrote on their own at the end of the unit.

3. Whiteboards during our Hola time. We have a time where we practice our interpersonal conversations. Some of these times instead of orally practicing introducing ourselves and talking about what we like, we write our answers on whiteboards.

4. Make it fun. In our My Food Choices unit in second grade we take laminated place mats and write what we like and don't like on them. It takes what would be a boring activity using a worksheet into a fun activity because they are writing on the plate. Later we do the same thing when talking about school schedules and our favorite subjects. They write on a large laminated schedule.

5. Write on the tables - My fourth graders wrote descriptions of their friends using expo markers on my tables. Each table had a different adjective. Working with a partner they took turns writing who they knew that matched that description. They had a lot of fun and it was super low prep. Before my third graders did the notebook foldable below they did the same thing. Writing with a partner the names of their family members. Each table was a different person in the family.

6. Interactive notebooks - a lot of our activities in our interactive notebooks have the students writing. This activity in third grade, had students writing about where they lived and the members of their family.

7. Use social media - my students are too young to be on social media but Instagram on paper was a big hit right before Thanksgiving break. Some even asked if they could take a picture and post it to their real Instagram (I pretended not to notice they are about 4 years too young to have their own accounts...)

8. Lengua Lunes - Outside of class, as part of our morning show, students write the answer to a question and turn it in. On Tuesdays, someone is drawn and they get their name announced on the morning news show and get a pencil from our school counselor. If you don't have a morning show like I do you could use a bulletin board with a weekly question. Or put up butcher paper and have a Spanish graffiti wall. Just be sure to show and model to students how to use it appropriately.

So that's how I get my students writing more in class. What are some activities that you do in your classes to get in the presentational mode? Share in the comments below or on Twitter using the hashtag #earlylang!

Finding Balance as an overworked, underpaid World Language teacher

It's time to #highlightreal. My to-do list is out of control. My fifth grade unit is a hot hot mess but we're too far in for me to change much. Halloween just happened AND I was sick all week. I've been having stress dreams that leave me cranky. And my goal of drinking less caffeine has gone down the drain. It must be DEVOLSON (Dark Evil Vortex of Late September, October, and November.) Read more about that here.

Finding and maintaining balance as a teacher can be hard to do. I'll admit sometimes my sanity-saving strategies include wine and Cheez Its but with the exception of a week or two in late October and February I have healthier strategies for self-care.

1. Let go of perfection and focus on what impacts student learning. That means my door isn't as pinterest ready as it could be but my interpersonal activities are on point. Ditto for bulletin boards. I tend to go for things that can be left up for several months.

2. Document what you do with tips for what you want to change for the next time. Last year I made a google doc for each grade level with I cans statements, assessments, links to resources, and reflection on what to change for next year. It's has saved me a TON of time this year.

3. Get students to help you. I recruit fifth graders before and after school to help me with monotonous tasks like sharpening pencils, stamping papers, stapling paper books, etc. Having student teachers  has been a God send in that I almost never stay late now because I either make them do the copies while I'm teaching or I do them while they're teaching.

4. Plan on Thursday for the next week. It's the only day I stay late. I get all of my copies made, write my plans, and make any resources I need. I do work on the weekends but in my PJs with coffee and Law and Order on in the background. But only on Saturday mornings. I don't do the Sunday night panic.

5. Have teacher friends. I'm part of a book club that is really more teacher support group than book club...although some of us do read the books too. It's nice to have women who really get what it means to be a teacher that I can vent to.

6. Have non-teacher friends to remind you that the grass is always greener on the other side. I call my best friend Susan most days after school and listening to her talk about sales reports reminds me why I left my corporate cubicle for teaching.

7. Make time for your hobbies. I dance Cuban salsa which has the triple benefit of being exercise, a place I can practice Spanish and learn about Cuban culture, and meet new people. Dancing is an instant boost for me. I also love to read, listen to podcasts, hike, and travel.

8. Speaking of exercise...don't forget to get some. Besides dancing I also have an energetic dog who needs walking everyday. While we walk I listen to a favorite podcast (I love Happier by Gretchen Rubin and Stuff You Should Know).

9. Get enough sleep. I'm a morning person so that means I go to bed at a ridiculously early time but even if you're not a lark, make sure you're getting enough Zzzzs. I have an app that filters out blue light (which will keep you up) that automatically comes on at 7pm. And I listen to a podcast to fall as I fall asleep, which gives my mind something else to focus on rather than all the things stressing me out. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I either put my podcast back on or I have a phrase I repeat to myself that puts me right back to sleep.

10. Write everything on your to-do list, even the smallest things. I do this so I get the satisfaction of crossing things off and it reminds me off all the things I have accomplished even when I feel like nothing got done that day. Or you can keep a Ta-dah list and write everything down you've done rather than things you have to do.



What do you do to stay positive this time of year? Share in the comments below!