Looking for ways to build classroom community from day one? Community is one the most important things to have a successful school year with your students. Having strong classroom communities will lead to empowered students who will feel validated and ready to thrive.
These are just some of the ways you can start building community in your classes:
Introduce Yourself
Students want to know who their teachers are. Sharing simple things about you will make them feel safer and find ways to connect with you.What can you share with your students? Likes, dislikes, special traditions, languages you speak, and so on! I recommend not asking about summer activities since not everyone has access to the same opportunities.
Learn How to Pronounce Your Students’ Names Correctly
This is key for building classroom community. Let your students know that it’s ok for them to correct you if you mispronounce their names. Find ways to help you remember the correct pronunciation.
Celebrate Your Students’ Cultures
World language classes should not only focus on the cultures of the target language. Our classes should be spaces where all cultures and traditions are celebrated. Look for ways in your classes to elevate your students. Make your class a space where everyone is welcome!
Focus on the Positive and Always Celebrate Your Students’ Milestones
Focus on the positive and always celebrate your students’ milestones: Remember that our classes are filled with students that have different learning styles and personalities. It’s important to keep in mind that they are all processing and learning at different paces.
Involve the Families of Your Students From Day One
Send a letter or email to your students’ families / caregivers prior to or right after you have your students in class on the first day.Let them know about you, your program, your professional experience, and expectations for your class, and ways to connect with you! Families are also important when building classroom communities!
As a World Language educator I want my students to understand the power and responsibilities we all have and carry as ethical citizens of the world, and I have been working hard on making sure that my lessons and class routines support this by going beyond linguistic goals and intentionally including topics on gender, race, identity, the environment, and opportunities for cross-curricular connections. Cultivating a sense of belonging is important at any age, but crucial in the early years. It is important for our students to be able to see themselves in the materials we bring to our classes, but also to be able to see and appreciate others who are not like them.
A good resource to help me guide my teaching practices is the Learning for Tolerance’s website. I have been basing my lessons on the Social Justice Standards in anti-bias education from their website.
Here are some ideas to celebrate family diversity in our classrooms:
Bring Pictures:
Show pictures of various different kinds of families and describe them.
Use sticky notes to label the family members in each picture.
Ask for volunteers to describe each family in the pictures.
Use Videos:
These videos are in English but you can pause them and talk about the different families in Spanish.
This song is algo great to pause and talk about the different family structures.
This song is algo great to pause and talk about the different family structures.
Picture Books:
Books are a great way to spark conversations. In most of the cases in the early language classroom, students have already read them with their homeroom teachers. (Click the image to see the list on Amazon or CLICK HERE!)
Inspired by this beautiful idea of the family as the strength and support ask your students to think about their families. Make sure to have multicultural crayons or markers for your students to use and ask them to draw their families. Invite them to talk about their families. Be aware that not every student might want to share about their families. Find a space to display their families. Ask your students to look at them and talk about the different families in their class.
Adapting the Family Tree to Different Levels:
Students draw a picture of themselves and their families.
Students make the pictures and label them.
Students make the pictures, label them and write a paragraph about their families. For example: “Esta es mi familia. Yo vivo con mi papá, mi mamá y dos hermanos. Tengo un gato y un perro.
Use multicultural family figures to talk about different kinds of families and continue reinforcing vocabulary in Spanish.
Are you ready for the summer version of the “A mí también” game? I have played this game with different age groups, and it’s always a success!
You will need to print the cards or project the slide on the board. I have blogged about this game before, but I can tell you quickly that anytime you show a card, read it aloud to your students or ask a volunteer to read it for you. Students who identify with that card can raise their hands or jump saying “A mí también”, then you stop and ask a few students questions about the card.
This game is quick but engaging! I have versions for different seasons and themes, but was missing the one for la primavera. The Spring here in Boston is at its fullest, so this a great time to make connections to bring to the classroom and why not take advantage of the better weather to take your students outside. Just print the pages or bring your computer outside to play the game. This game is played just like any “Would You Rather?” type of game, where you have a set of questions and students respond to choose what they prefer.
Click HERE to download the game and get ready to have fun!
Looking for ways to incorporate geography in your classes? These are some ideas that you could bring to your classes right away!
Money Basket
Over several years of teaching Spanish I have collected coins and bills from different Spanish speaking countries. Either someone brings them to me or I collect them during my own travels. I got to a point where I didn’t know what to do with them. It occurred to me that I could use them for a center in my class. I also printed some images and laminated them for students to manipulate easily and placed them with the coins in a basket. I printed and laminated maps where all the Spanish speaking countries are listed. My students really enjoy looking at the different bills and coins, comparing them to the United States bills, and locating the countries on the map.
Guess The Temperature
Create a slide with a world map and numbers on it. Choose a country, then a city and locate it on the map. If possible use Google Earth to take a quick virtual trip. Talk about the general weather and seasons. Ask your students to guess the temperature in that city. Record their answers on a paper or board. Use the Chrome extension “UV Weather” to check the temperature and find who guessed it right or came close!
Play Your Favorite Music
Create a slide with a world map and insert a video or audio to your slide. Add a flag of the country the songs belongs to. Locate the country on the map and talk about the colors on the flag. Then, make it a game! Have an object for your students to pass around. In my case I use a plush toy monster. Play the music and ask your students to pass it around. Stop the music and whoever has the object will have to answer questions. You and your class decide when to stop the game.
¡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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