How to conference

We're in the middle of conference season and with ACTFL coming up I wanted to share my tips for having a good conference.


Pick a conference theme - In the past I've gone to mostly sessions on assessment. Lately it's been differentiation. And of course anything early language is also on the list.

But sometimes abandon that and go hear great speakers no matter what they're presenting on - Paul Sandrock, Greta Lundberg, and Meredith White are presenters I'll go listen to no matter what they're presenting on. If they present at STAR Talk it's a good bet they're excellent.

Take lots of notes! - And when it's moving too fast just take pics of the screen.

Wear comfortable shoes - ACTFL is huge. Regional conferences are also usually spread out.

Don't forget to see some of the city - I only saw what I could see from the shuttle bus of Boston when I was there for ACTFL.  SCOLT has been at an airport hotel in Atlanta that I never left. Conferences are great but so are the cities they are in. Since then I've made sure to get out and see some of whatever city I'm in.

Make new friends! And reconnect with the old - Talk to the people sitting near you in sessions. Get yourself invited to a vendor happy hour. Or sign up for the NNELL Breakfast. There are lots of ways to connect with other teachers.

Have a card with your contact information - Because you never know when someone like Helena Curtain is going to ask for YOUR card and you will not want to tell her you don't have one.

Be strategic with your vendor swag - Because you will have to carry it around all day and then get it home.

Follow the conference hashtag to see what's happening in sessions you couldn't make it to - This is also a great tip if you can't make it to the conference (like me this year!)

Get a massage pillow because you WILL be sore - When you get home you will need it!

Take time to reflect and decide what you want to implement and how - Some things you'll try on Monday. Some things need deeper reflection.


Wish I could tell you I'd see you in DC this year. I was supposed to present at ACTFL but then a dear friend from my time teaching English in Japan told me she was getting married that weekend. So instead of DC, I'll be in Tahara City, Kyoto, and Tokyo. What are your go-to conference tips? Share in the comments below!

Spanish Class at the Supermarket - Authentic Food Pictures from Mexico

This summer I got to go to Merida, Mexico. And as a World Language teacher I couldn't help myself when I passed a Wal-Mart. I went in and bought a few things and took a TON of pictures. I tried to make sure to get the different foods I teach and lots and lots of text!

A few days later I went to the local market and snapped a few pictures there as well. I'll be using these in my kindergarten unit Foods I Eat and my 2nd grade unit on My Food Choices.

Here is a sample. You can find the rest here. Feel free to use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike license. More info here.

Also check out my free La Comida Posters here. They are great for bulletin boards or to get kids writing about what foods they like and dislike.

What are the craziest things you've taken pictures of while visiting a Spanish speaking country? Share in the comments below!

Hola! Greetings in the Elementary Spanish Classroom

What's the first thing you teach novices? How to say hello and goodbye. Most of my kids already know Hola and Adios but it's a great way to start and immediately inject some intercultural communication as well as get in some culturally responsive teaching. 

I start the year in English in order to make sure that students understand the rules and procedures. One of those procedures is learning my name. Otherwise I would be "Spanish Teacher" or "Spanish!" all year long. We practice how to say it in class. Hola maestra! And how to whisper it and give a "hug from afar" in the hallway. (You cross your fingers and wiggle them at the person you want to hug but can't because you need to stay in line - this also prevents me from being mobbed by kinders in the hall.)

We also practice saying hola to my stuffed dog and cat. At the end of class we say Adios maestra. Adios perro. Adios gato. As the weeks go by I add more and more animals that we greet. It's really helped them learn their names and made it way easier later during our Animals Around Me unit later on. 

Then we talk about how we greet people we know. I use an anchor chart that is laminated (so it can be wiped off and used again for the next class) and I write down their answers.

It's interesting to see what answers I get in kindergarten. Sometimes I have to really lead the conversation because otherwise I´ll ask how do we greet our families and they'll answer "If my mom tells me to do something I should do it" or something even more random. But once I give some examples they are pretty good about coming up with some on their own.

After we talk about how we greet people then we watch this video about how people greet each other around the world. The kids love this video!

In the following classes, I like to watch it a second time and pause and we practice greeting each other in the different ways. We also go over the anchor chart again and practice those greetings with each other too. 

Be sure that the kids ask their partners if it is ok first. It is definitely alright if a kiddo doesn't want to try a greeting.

Next, we talk about how in Spanish-speaking countries they greet each other with an air kiss. I show them this video (which also has a lot of repetitions of Me llamo too!) Be prepared for ewws and gross! but we talk about how it's not gross it's just different. 

Then I pass out stuffed animals and they practice say hola and doing air kisses with the animals first with their partner and then again as we play Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up. The stuffed animals are important because at the same time I am teaching them all of these different greetings they are learning that they need to keep their hands and feet to themselves at school. I do get kissed on the cheek by at least a few students as they leave class though!

I also like this video with it's many repetitions of the greetings. It also includes a few different ones which are good for my heritage speakers to hear.

And finally I this year I will introduce this greeting choice board from Fun for Spanish Teachers. Students will get to choose a greeting as we sing coming in the room.

How do you teach greetings? Share in the comments below!

Elementary Spanish Classroom - Updated!

Every year I make tweaks to my room. See past posts here and here.  This year I kept the same set-up but I spent a lot of time making new flashcards and posters because...and I am not kidding...I was still using flashcards that I had made to use to teach English in Japan ten years ago.

I have maps all over my room including this one from the Parent Teacher Store. The number posters are available HERE. I glued them onto astrobrights and then laminated them. You can also see my fast finisher menu on the right and the stop sign that has student check to make sure their name is on their paper and they have followed all the directions before they put it in the turn in basket.

I've added lamps all over the room from Goodwill so I can turn off half the fluorescent lights. I get less headaches that way and it feels more home-y.

Looking into my room. I have a trapezoid for a room and two doors. Also where that blank space on the wall is where my new smart TV will go but it didn't arrive in time for the start of the school year. The students mostly sit on the carpet at the front of the room and we work at the tables. I have some huge classes this year so I have an overflow carpet and one group that sits at a table. My table toppers are famous Hispanics like Ellen Ochoa, Frida Kahlo, and Sonia Sotomayor.

This map is by the door to the special area hallway so students can check it out as they are waiting to leave the room. It's a huge hit. The pictures on the side are from Fun for Spanish Teachers and they are gorgeous! I don't display all of them as once because it's a little too overwhelming visually so instead I hang them on binder rings and flip to a new country each month and add country facts below.

Right next to the map above are my greetings students can choose as they enter the room. I started these last year but didn't do it with fidelity. I vow to do better this year because the kids love it. They are also from Fun for Spanish Teachers.

On the other side of the door are my self-assessments. Students tap one depending on how they feel at the end of the lesson. I used to do high five hands but that go out of control. Then I made these and it got better but I still had to add the orange dot to emphasize that they should use one finger to tap it rather than their whole hand and slap it. 

Also near the door where students line up is my student work board. It used to be in the back of the room but I realized that the kids never really saw it so now it's in a prime location. The banner says Obras de arte (and yes that is my bitmoji!)

My green screen and flexible seating area! The last two years we have been 1:1 in some grade levels and I have been getting more and more comfortable with it. I'm hoping that kiddos will get to do even more this year on their devices!

The whiteboard on the other side and near my desk area. I keep our supply cards and instruction cards here so I can easily grab them to explain an activity and stay in the TL. You can get your set HERE. 

This is a close up of my whiteboard easel. I used to write and rewrite and rewrite our schedule for each class here and we mark it off as we go. Since I am committed to greeting the kids as they enter I didn't want to waste time writing so I made these activity cards and then put magnets on the back. So far they have been working great! Get your own set HERE!

I posted earlier this year about my calendar board. This year I updated it with seasons posters and clothing labels from my Weather Bear Activity Set. I also added a Persona Especial and will feature a famous Hispanic each month (also from Fun for Spanish Teachers.)

More art just because. I love this mola from Panama that I bought on Ebay and then had framed. The papel picado is from Hobby Lobby.


So that's my room this year! I'm still anxiously awaiting the installation of my new TV but it's my home away from home. What are your favorite spots in your room? Share in the comments below!

8 Ideas for Spanish Club

Last year I started cultural explorations of a specific country spread out over 6-8 club meetings. We learned about Spain in the fall and Mexico in the Spring. This year we'll study Peru in the fall and probably Panama in the Spring. The nice thing about this format is that I can keep it basically the same and just plug in specific country activities. Read on to see what kinds of activities I include in each semester.

1. Paint a flag - elementary kids love painting and yes it's messy but they're actually pretty good about cleaning up after. I just use butcher paper and tempura paint and if the flag has a seal then I print it out as big as I can get it on a piece of paper and we glue it on. You could also make this an individual activity with smaller flags but I like the teamwork aspect. Since it's the first thing we do it helps the club members get to know each other.

Don't forget to eat a flag snack! Toothpicks and fruit and marshmallows in the color of your flag!

2. Learn a dance - for Mexico we learned el jarabe tapatio or the Mexican hat dance. For Spain we did el flamenco. There are TONS of videos youtube showing the steps or easy enough dances to copy. I just googled "name of the dance + for kids."

For Peru we will learn an easy version of the La Marinera. I actually attended a session on La Marinera at ACTFL 2 years ago and I'm excited to finally try it out. Here is the video we will use.


We practice our dance at the end of each meeting when the kiddos are starting to get a little crazy. Sometimes we just have 5 minutes left and sometimes 15 but either way it's a good way to wrap up Spanish Club.
3. Make some art - For Mexico we made Frida Kahlo self portraits complete with construction paper cejas glued on. For Spain we made Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali self portraits. For Peru we will make construction paper arpilleras - maybe one depicting our city and our school! We are also going to make our own Nazca Lines. 

This is where Pinterest will be your best friend. It's kind of funny but I now get a lot of art teacher pins in my feed but if you search for "country + crafts for kids" or "country + activities for kids" you should get tons of ideas. And I think even high schoolers would like some of them!
4. Go sightseeing - I didn't do this last year but I used to do "sightseeing" club meetings where I would project different landmarks on SMARTboards around the school and the kids would take their pictures in front of them. It was hilarious and fun. This year I plan on doing it using a green screen. We will learn about Machu Picchu and then have our picture taken as if we were there. Later I'll print the pictures and the kids will get a souvenir of their "trip." Here are some tips to get you started!
5. Learn a few words of another language - most kids no matter their age don't realize that there is more than just Spanish spoken in many Spanish speaking countries. This is another thing I'm adding this year after spending a week in Mexico this summer and learning a few words in Maya. This video is a cute way for my students to learn a few words in Quechua. 

6. Do some math - This one kind of falls under learn a few words of an indigenous language. I wish I would have done this when we studied Mexico but it would have been cool to play with numbers using the Maya writing system. For Peru I'm thinking we might make our own quipus. Learn more here. 

7. Make some food - This one is a no brainer. I used to actually do nothing but cooking. It was like a cooking club but with Spanish flair. Not surprisingly that got expensive and stressful so now I just do one a semester. For Mexico we made pico de gallo - super easy for elementary kiddos. For Spain we made gazpacho. Not sure about Peru yet. I need to check with my Peruvian friends to see what they suggest. (If you have ideas for something easy please comment below!) 

I had a Donors Choose project that was just for cooking supplies!

8. Invite a guest speaker - this is also something I haven't made happen yet but I really really want to. If you have someone that is from the country you are teaching about see if they can visit your Spanish Club for the afternoon or do a skype call. Have students brainstorm and practice questions they want to ask before the visit. And later you can have them make thank you cards! 

Other things to consider - what are your club rules? How and when can a student be asked to leave your club? Do you need a permission slip? What are your school's policies regarding after school clubs? How often and where will you meet? Will your school reimburse you for supplies? Will members be expected to pay dues? Will you have officers? A secret handshake? You get the idea. Make sure you have thought through all that and include it in your sign up form.

Of course it depends on what level you teach to. At the elementary level I limit mine to 3rd-5th graders and a max of 20 kids. Everyone must have a permission slip with parent contact information on it and all of our clubs have a three strike policy in regards to behavior and late pick ups. 

So that will be Spanish Club this year for me. What are your favorite Spanish Club activities? Share in the comments below!

I make my forms in Canva -  it's easy!

Calendar Notebooks for Spanish Class

Earlier this year I wrote about how I set up and do calendar time in my elementary Spanish classes. You can read Part One here and Part Two here. I also mentioned that I was trying something new with having calendar notebooks. It was an idea I found on either Pinterest or Instagram from a second grade teacher who did it daily for calendar math.

I implemented them in the last two months of school and they were a such BIG hit in first and second grade that I think I might expand to other grades.

What you need:

Three ring binders - enough for each student plus a couple extra
Sheet protectors
Dry erase markers - I sent a quick email to the other teachers at my school and the general consensus was the smaller ones are better for this kind of thing.
Calendar pages - get your copy here.
Other pages with song lyrics or writing pages with things you want practiced regularly

I quickly made this title page with my bitmoji and google slides

How I used them:

Firstly, I was lucky to have a student teacher around the time I was implementing these so I was able to assemble them while she did her solo week. I have two different versions of the Mi Calendario pages - one for first grade and one for second grade. I printed them on different colored paper so that students could easily find which page they should be on. I also included the song lyrics to most of the songs & chants we sing on a regular basis or that I want to introduce. Just having the words in front of them is good for literacy and it's wonderful for visual learners like me!

First grade calendar page

I keep my binders in six different tubs under my SMART board so I can quickly pass them out. In the tubs are the binders and socks for erasing when they're done. I used to keep the markers in there too but my kiddos were having a hard time putting the caps on and I had a lot of dried out markers. So now I keep them in a cup on my desk and quickly pass them out.


The students LOVED filling out the pages. I filled one out as an example and walked around to make sure everyone was on task and getting the right answers. The first grade page is simpler and just includes days of the week, weather, and clothing. The second grade page has the day, month, date, season, weather and temperature. On the back side was clothing and they even had their own bear to dress!

Second grade calendar page

They do take some time - about 10 minutes, which in a 25 minute class is an eternity. If you have a longer class however these are a perfect way to start the lesson. They were also great for those random classes at the end of the year where one group is off schedule because of field trips, assemblies, parties etc. If one class was way ahead I could pull these out for a fun review. When they're done they simply wipe off their answers and put their binder back in the box!

One thing I realized while doing them was that I hadn't included enough clothing - specifically warm weather clothing so I had to update those pages and will make new copies before the start of the year. I was also tasked with making sandals, a water bottle, and hot chocolate for our class weather bear - this after I'd already made pajamas, slippers, a hoodie, and sweater. 2nd graders can be very demanding!

So those are my calendar notebooks. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions! How do you do calendar in your class? Share in the comments below.

Hispanic Heritage Month - Resources & Ideas for Spanish Class

So every year I am frustrated with myself because I haven't done enough for Hispanic Heritage Month. The only year I did something big was the year we did flamenco. Read about that here. But that was because I had gone to a Arts Integration Academy over the summer and planned it then.

And then it hit me - duh! I planned it over the summer. If I want to have a meaningful celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, I need to plan it NOW.

So here are my plans...

- Highlight a Hispanic American leader on the morning news show (in English) each day for a week. Create a bulletin board for students to read about each person. If you prefer clip art and/or a short biography in Spanish then I suggest the calendar set from Fun For Spanish Teachers. I plan on using her posters alongside one I created that have photos of notable Hispanics.

         
                Famous Hispanics Calendar Set from Fun For Spanish Teachers
                Notable Hispanics Biography Research Project & Bulletin Board Posters by Señora Speedy

- Have older students color this collaborative mural to hang in our front hallway.

               Hispanic Heritage Famous Faces Collaborative Mural from Art with Jenny K

- Make a list of books for the librarian to read to younger kids. Talk to her about having the older students do a research project on a famous Hispanic leader using these infographics that I created. Get your copy here.

              Notable Hispanics Biography Research Project & Bulletin Board Posters by Señora Speedy 
              Famous Hispanic Americans Coloring Pages FREE
              Hispanic Heritage Month Coloring Pages & Quotes from Classroom Doodle FREE
             

- Ask my principal if we can get The Salsa Center to do a dance workshop for kids during specials one day. We did this a couple of years ago and the kids STILL talk about it. They taught them merengue, mambo, and some salsa steps.

-We also do a school wide movement break on Wellness Wednesdays so I'm also thinking                      salsa or merengue music for that time.

- Sneak some reading passages (in English) about famous Hispanic leaders into my morning reading group. Every special area teacher at my school has to do a reading and a math group during the day. Normally I do what the third grade teachers ask me to do but I'm sure they would be happy to not plan for me one week (or two!)

                 Hispanic Heritage Month Nonfiction Reading Passages

- Take the people we highlighted and make a persona del mes to talk about during calendar/warm-up time FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. Learning about famous Hispanic leaders doesn't have to end in October!

Fun for Spanish Teachers's awesome calendar set has informational posters and masks. AND each month has a person already on it so deciding who goes when is already DONE! I'm thinking I'll highlight someone new each month with a poster next to my calendar and a persona especial style interview but with the famous people so that the kids can get practice asking personal questions. I´ll use her posters and masks and my mini posters on my bulletin board throughout the year.

I know that's a lot but I'm an overplanner. The main thing for me will be the Persona Especial del mes, bulletin board display, and research project in Library class. What are your plans for Hispanic Heritage Month? Share in the comments below!

Places in the City - Resources for Spanish Class

My fourth graders are finishing up our Welcome to Our Community unit where we talk about places in the city and describing where we live. This unit is really supposed to be about community helpers and where they work but if you read my last post on spiraling you'll know that I'm having to modify parts of my curriculum. In order to get to Novice High in our Let's Explore our City unit in fifth grade, my kiddos need to learn places in the city at a Novice Mid level in fourth grade.

With that in mind I changed around what I did last year. Below are some activities and resources that my students and I particularly enjoyed.

1. I introduced the different places with pictures and describing Lexington. I started with size - students listed cities of different sizes. Then we talked about what Lexington is famous for (horses and UK basketball.) I have this landmark matching game I bought at the Dollar Tree that next year  I hope to use so we can go more global with talking about what cities are famous for but honestly we didn't have time this year.

Get your own posters here.

2. This video is great for introducing places in the city. I love it because it is authentic - it's made for native speakers (really young ones) and my kiddos get genuinely excited to try and guess in Spanish.






3. Google Tourbuilder is a great way to introduce students to different cities around the world and get in some comprehensible input. You can add pictures and text to different places on the map. I had students tour Santiago, Chile. They loved being able to explore the different places by moving around the street view. Check out my tour of Santiago here.

#highlightreal - I did this with fifth grade as well and then had them create a tour of Lexington. Major fail! We wasted two class periods and got very little done. They just weren't ready for that much output. I was asking for sentences when I should have been asking for just labels. If I try this again I will scaffold it better. 


4. I love following teachers on Instagram and Twitter - I get so many great ideas for class. Recently I saw an awesome activity from @MaestraPlata. She had students using spinners to create longer sentences.  I had my students using three spinners to write silly sentences about what they wanted to do, where, and with whom. My students LOVED this activity. Once they wrote several silly sentences, I had them write more serious ones. Get your spinners here!

5. And finally since I didn't get a chance to do Hour of Code this year I took part of this unit to practice not only places but a few direction words and had students code our Beebots around the city. I made large maps from butcher paper and clip art I found online and borrowed the robots from our STEM lab teacher. The kids had a paper that told them where they should start and where they wanted to go. They wrote the code and then tested to see if it was right.  This was another favorite of students.

I will probably make some adjustments next year but overall I'm happy with how my students progressed during this unit. Most could perform at a novice mid level. Next year in fifth grade I hope to continue to spiral places in the city with Berto y Sus Buenas Ideas. Stay tuned!

How do you teach places in the city? Share in the comments below!