Quetzals are found in the highlands of Guatemala and Mexico. For this activity, find a map where you can locate Guatemala and Mexico. You can also use Google Earth and find locations where this beautiful bird lives. What a great opportunity to review colors and describe the differences between the male and female bird (those differences being colors and feather length) – even a chance to touch on science and social studies, too. More information may be found HERE.
Here is a great video that you can share with your students:
To make the art and craft you will need: 1. Glue gun or craft glue 2. Green pompoms, different sizes 3. Pieces of red and yellow felt 4. Googly eyes
5. Piece of a branch or stick
Steps:
1. Glue the pompoms together
2. Add googly eyes and use the yellow felt for the beak. 3. Use the red felt for the front of the bird. 4. Glue the green feather.
5. Glue the bird to the branch / stick. 6. Prepare the quetzal to sing in your room like this QUETZAL.
I have a hard time using lesson plan books with too many pages to fill in. I decided to keep it simple and have just the information I need for the school year. I think keeping it simple is a good new school year’s resolution anyway, right?
Here is how my binders look:
Let’s take a look inside them:
The Plan Book, Grade Book and Substitute Teacher Binder are sold as a bundle on TpT. Just follow the link to learn more about this set:
I like approaching the first days of school in a very low key manner. We are all getting ready and adjusting to the new routine, and as some suggest, it may take up to 6 weeks for children to finally feel ready for your class. This is especially true as I am an specialist, and I see my students two times during the week. I am not a lucky homeroom teacher who gets to see them everyday! I like to use my first classes to show my students how my class works and what I expect from them, but before I dive into rules and procedures, I introduce myself.
Every year I make a book or presentation where I share with my students a bit about myself, my family, my country of origin, and something fun I did during the summer. I create a short story book and use pictures to illustrate it. I call this book “Todo Sobre Mí.” Students really want to know who their teachers are, and they really appreciate the information you can give them, even telling them my first name, but letting them know that I prefer to be called “Señora Gómez” (however, note that this is not true anymore; this year I am going to make the shift to allowing them to use my first name, just like my students always did in Colombia.)
This is how mine looks!
Would you like to make your own? Grab materials to create yours HERE!
After sharing information about myself, I inform them about what I expect from each of them in my class. I predominantly use the target language for this purpose, but I also speak about 10% of the time in my students’ common language, as suggested by ACTFL. To convey my expectations clearly, I rely heavily on visuals, simplifying my class guidelines as much as possible. In fact, the expectations I use are as follows:1.Respeto 2. Bondad 4. Español
And of course, I don’t want to end my first class without knowing students’ names and introducing or reviewing “Yo me llamo…”
Sonrisas is a Spanish-language curriculum designed for early and elementary classrooms. It takes a holistic approach, integrating music, art, games and culture. Teaching about culture can sometimes be complicated, especially if you are talking about “the Hispanic culture,” which is very diverse and should be referred to as various cultures. It is also a hard task to incorporate culture into your curriculum if you are not familiar with the culture you are trying to teach or don’t want to fall into teaching stereotypes of those different cultures into your class. Sonrisas Spanish Curriculum will help you be more effective bringing culture into your lessons.
What is included?
Sonrisas Spanish Curriculum includes well designed plans that go along with songs, art, activities, and games. I strongly value the cultural piece that this curriculum highlights.
If you are new to teaching this curriculum will take you through the different methodologies for teaching foreign languages and key terms that are used in this field. It will help you establish routines in your classes. If you are an experienced teacher, you will value all these reminders.
This is a very rich curriculum that will allow you to challenge your students according to their level, without adding too much pressure or competitiveness that can provoke fear of failure in class. This curriculum includes lessons for up to two years and every lesson includes:
1. Overview 2. Ideas for circle time 3. Suggested books for story time 4. Simple and easy art activity
5. Lesson procedures with list of materials needed. Each lesson is divided into two days, but this is not a strict rule since this program gives you a lot of room to adapt it for your own creativity.
6. Home report which will invite parents to become active and engaged in their child’s learning process. This will also make your program more visible in your school community, very important with tight school budgets and debates about curricular priorities!
7. Assessment Rubrics 8. Scope of sequence
The curriculum will save you a lot of energy and time. The layout is very simple and easy to understand, and the content follows the ACTFL standards for foreign language learning which are listed as “the 5 C’s” of communication, communities, cultures, comparisons and connections.
Sonrisas Spanish Curriculum has provided samples on their website where you can see for yourself that the program is simple and easy to follow:
Whistlefritz is an award winning series of music CD’s and DVD’s designed for teaching Spanish to young learners. In this set, created especially for Pre-K and Elementary Spanish classes, you can find just about every kind of lesson you can imagine! The collection includes five DVD’s and two music CD’s. It includes 40 lessons that will engage your students and will provide continuity for their learning process. Every lesson has been well planned and is supported by a song or episode on the DVD. The guide book is easy to use for new or experienced teachers, and it’s also very accessible for parents. You can find worksheets that support the lessons, as well as simple art activities that won’t take long, which is perfect for young learners. Flashcards to color, and games are also included. The activities can be done during class or sent home to extend learning.
The collection also includes a set of matching cards with a very pleasant wolf named Rito. Rito always seems happy, really enjoying the fact that everyone is learning Spanish.
Each lesson has been created to take 30 to 40 minutes to explore, but you can definitely extend each one according to the pace of your students and engagement in the lesson. There is no need to follow the lessons in the exact order presented in the book.
The Lessons
You will find in each lesson:
1. Brief description of the lesson
2. A simple and clear goal for the lesson
3. Objectives and more specifics
4. A list of the vocabulary
5. Suggested materials for the lesson
6. Time
7. Suggested activities
Main focus of the lesson and review
A list of teachers’ input
Guided practice as a whole class
Independent practice, a great opportunity to assess students
Closure
8. Extension activities: These can be done during the class, as a closure activity or at home. Children get to watch an episode of the suggested DVD and learn a song.
The DVD’s
The set includes five DVD’s where children will meet Whistlefritz, a cute and friendly little mouse that shows up in the episodes. The children will meet Maria, a teacher with a sweet voice who will guide them in this adventure. Children of different ages are seen in the episodes, and the best thing is that there is no translations! The DVD’s are only in Spanish, but the language used is simple and the situations are easy to understand because they are presented in a clear context. There is no need to translate them!
The Music CD’s
Songs are performed by Jorge Anaya, a native of El Salvador who has clearly added a lot of nice Latino flavor to the songs. The songs are in Spanish and are simple and catchy. They support each unit, and the videos for each song are found on the DVD’s.
Who wouldn’t love having a little mouse as a helper in Spanish class? Whistlefritz will make sure everyone learns Spanish the fun way! Visit Whistlefritz’s website to learn more about the complete collection or the Facebook page to stay tuned!
The Giveaway!
If you would like this little mouse called Whistlefritz to join you in your classroom next year, here is an opportunity to have one of these DVD’s. Just enter below to participate. The winner will be announced on July 18th, 2013. United States only.
¡Hola! I am Carolina, a Colombian elementary Spanish teacher based in Boston, MA. Fun for Spanish Teachers is the result of my passion for teaching Spanish to children and my desire to inspire collaboration and creativity in a vibrant teaching and learning community. It’s the perfect stop if you are looking for songs, games, teaching tips, stories, and fun for your classes.
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