If you've seen me at KWLA or NNELL then you have probably heard me talk about my ¡Sí se puede! bubble system I use to track student participation and to motivate studnets. I've posted a couple of times on my Instagram about it but can you believe it's been TEN years since I first talked about ¡Sí se puede! bubbles? Ten years ago I got the idea from Nadine Jacobsen-McLean and for 10 years it has been a staple in my classroom!
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How does it work?
It's pretty simple - for each class that I teach I print out a class list with 10 bubbles out to the side of each name.
During class when students answer a question, write on their whiteboards, have a conversation with a partner during Turn & Talk, Hand Up, Pair Up, or Quiz Quiz Trade, I tell them "¡Sí se puede! con verde or another color.
Students go over to the binder where the lists are kept, find their name, and color in one bubble according to what I told them.
Yellow is for novice low. Green is novice-mid and blue is novice-high.
Once they fill in all 10 bubbles then I check it off and they get a prize. Right now in middle school they get a jolly rancher or a sticker. In elementary school I had colorful pencils and erasers to choose from.
Why does it work?
Students like getting up and moving. It's like a game - they have to earn points in class to get the prize. I like it because it's both instant and delayed gratification. They get to get up and fill in a bubble which feels like a reward but it takes work to get all 10 and earn a prize.
The color coding is truly a secret weapon! For students who have taken Spanish for a little bit it motivates them to do more. My 5th graders would ask me how they could get a blue (novice high) and I would explain they needed to add details or write in complete sentences. Some of my 8th graders won't even get up for a green bubble (they don't do mid!) but make sure to ask me a question or add details to get that blue bubble.
For students who are new to class, feeling overwhelmed by all the Spanish they are hearing, they can still get a yellow bubble. It helps motivate them to jump in and try as well as contributes to them feeling like they belong. They too can be successful!
A few other tips & tricks I've learned in 10 years
At one point I tried to include the success criteria and only give bubbles for what we were working on but that got to be too unwieldy and I wasn't giving out as many bubbles.
You have to explain the proficiency levels you are targeting and give examples so that students understand what the color coding is for.
My overachievers are sometimes way ahead of the rest of the class and it does get to be a little messy with all the extra pages or a kid gets irritated with me because I haven't put a new sheet in for them. So every once in awhile I print a bunch of new sheets, go through and organize the binder the best I can. I'll consolidate sheets where I can and take out old ones (I transfer the few kids who haven't made it to 10 on the new sheet). It does take a minute but the extra engagement in class makes it worth the effort.
Yes, some kids will cheat and try to fill in more than one bubble at a time. It was pretty obvious in elementary school because they would fill in all 10 in one go. Those students would get banned from doing Sí se puede. I only ever had to do that two or three times. They're sneakier in middle school so I put the binder up when I know I'll have a sub and I don't worry too much about it.
Get a link to the bubble template HERE.
And click HERE to get a free proficiency pyramid poster!
Do you reward participation in your class? How did you get students to level up? Share in the comments below!