Summer brings a variety of online and in-person professional development opportunities for World Language educators. These sessions are organized by various organizations and companies. I will be participating as a presenter in some of these sessions, and I have also presented at some in the past. These conferences offer a wide range of topics and presenters.
If you are new to comprehension-based teaching or would like to refresh your knowledge and gain new ideas for the upcoming school year, the CI-Reboot conference is perfect for you! It offers both pre-recorded and live sessions, so if you can’t attend in person, you can watch the videos later. Here are some of the topics that will be covered during the conference, with a diverse range of presenters each day:
Pre-conference: June 24 – 28 Sunday, July 7: The Fundamentals of CI/TPRS (What is CI Teaching? TPR, TPRS, CI Basics, SLA Theory) Monday, July 8: Backward Planning, Teaching Reading, FVR (Self-selected independent reading) Tuesday, July 9: Sheltered Subject Matter Teaching (All content) – What content are we teaching? Wednesday, July 10: Classroom Management, Classroom Set-up, Assessment Thursday, July 11: Advanced CI, Upper Levels, The Big Picture
If you would like to register for the conference, make sure to use THIS LINK, which provides a $10 discount for my readers. Valentina Correa and I will be presenting on July 7th about Using Comprehensible Stories to Spark Change.
Another excellent event for World Language educators is the World Language Teacher Summit – Back to School Conference. Teachers can attend this conference for free during the designated period – register here. I truly appreciate this complimentary professional development opportunity.
The conference will be held from July 22nd to 26th, with each presentation available for free for 48 hours. If you cannot attend during that week, don’t worry! You can upgrade to the All-Access Pass, which provides unlimited access to the entire event and exclusive bonuses. If you register for the free conference using my link and later decide to purchase the All-Access Pass, I will receive a commission. Also, don’t forget to register to receive the Playbook and learn about the presenters and topics.
I will also be presenting at the KLETT WL Conference. The registration for this conference is open from now until the end of September. Video access begins on August 1, and you will have three months of access from the date of registration to watch the sessions at your own pace.
Because I enjoy sharing at regional conferences, I submitted a proposal to present at MaFLA this fall, and it was accepted! I’m really looking forward to connecting with teachers in person. Presenting not only brings me joy but also helps me continue growing as a teacher and motivates me to improve my practices.
Last but not least, if you are looking for in-person professional development opportunities tailored to your needs, let’s work together and create a plan that suits you or your department perfectly! Visit this link to contact me.
Which professional development opportunities will you be attending this summer?
Creating stories with novice learners could be challenging but not impossible if you provide the language and a template for them to complete. Although they are not completely coming up with the details for the story, giving them this support provides them with a sense of autonomy in the target language. Rolling stories have become an all-time favorite activity for my second and third graders; the best part is that this can be done in just one class. My classes don’t last more than 45 minutes, so during this time, students get to create the story and illustrate it. This activity is so simple that students can decide to do it in groups or on their own, and now we have stories for different seasons and celebrations.
What do you need in order to roll a story?
Story Template: This guide includes sections for the type of character, color, emotion, place where they live, and what they like to do.
Dice: Using dice adds randomness and creativity to storytelling. Students roll to determine story elements.
Additional Story Template: This optional tool provides extra structure, which is especially helpful for younger students. It maximizes class time and relieves students from writing from scratch, which could be overwhelming for many younger students.
Flashcards with articles:Believe it or not, this question has come up in my second-grade classes, and it has been an opportunity to talk about definite and indefinite articles. That’s why I now support this with visuals when writing these little and short stories.
Once students have completed their stories, they illustrate them. I like keeping them in the notebooks. In the next class, I use a document camera to read their stories and ask questions about them. Some students might have the same stories, but believe it or not, they all want to hear them. I also expand by using their illustrations to talk about the stories. Rolling stories has to be one of my favorite stand alone activities that are engaging and meaningful.
As we approach the final days or weeks of the academic year, maintaining student motivation and focus can become challenging. Nonetheless, seizing the opportunity to make these last days count is a positive way to conclude the school year on a high note. Here are some tips to ensure these days are productive and meaningful:
Maintain Your Routines
You’ve worked hard to establish routines throughout the year, so it’s important to maintain them until the end. Keeping these routines helps provide a sense of continuity and stability for both you and your students, helping a smooth transition into summer.
Continue Building Classroom Community Until the Last Day:
Look for opportunities to celebrate your students’ accomplishments and milestones. Reflect with them on all they’ve achieved throughout the year, and keep finding ways to continue connecting and building on those relationships. It might be the case that you will have the same students the next school year
Keep the Brain Breaks Going
Simple brain breaks, such as Chocolate or the Aguacate game, that invite your students to move and then center back into the activities will help! If there’s too much energy, breathing breaks will help with this!
Make the Last Days Extra Fun
Wrap up the school year with your students’ favorite games and tunes in your class. Sing-alongs are always a hit! Try the Wheel of Names to pick the songs and games. This will also add excitement!
Bring Quick and Easy Activities
Bring in activities that don’t require a lot of follow-up and can be completed in one or two classes. Examples include creating a craft with memories of the school year, working on a short story with a follow-up craft, or doing color-by-code pages. These activities are fun and easy to manage, providing a relaxing yet meaningful end to the school year.
Reflect on Your Teaching Practices
Take time to evaluate what worked well and what didn’t throughout the year. Engage your students in this reflection process by having them complete a short survey to share their thoughts on what was helpful in their learning. This feedback can provide valuable insights for your upcoming school year.
The calmer and happier we are in the final weeks, the better our students will do. Stress causes more stress, so plan ahead and take deep breaths!
Aguacate has to be one of the most fun movement games my students enjoy! The great thing about this game is that it can be played with any grade level and at any time during the school year. It doesn’t require a lot of preparation—just a few vocabulary flashcards and a picture of a silly clipart avocado jumping, and that’s all! I have blogged about this game in the past, so if you need instructions and more cards for the game, I recommend that you visit the post.
This game is so much fun that it deserved a summer version! And of course, I don’t expect my students to know all these words. The first few times we play the game, I usually ask my students to repeat after me, and we all jump and say “Aguacate” together when the picture of the aguacate comes up. For this version, I added a set of vocabulary flashcards just in case you want to introduce them before playing the game.
Ready to play the Aguacate summer version? Click here or on the picture to download it!
I recently came across a post by the Comprehensible Input Classroom featuring a special guest,Benjamin Tinsley, discussing Map Talks. I love how he suggested having a script ready for the Map Talk. Although I’ve been using Google Earth™ for this purpose with my students, I never considered providing a script to guide our conversation. Typically, I engage my students in quick Map Talks, prompting them to guess temperatures in different parts of the world. Following their guesses, we virtually explore pre-selected locations to ensure the images spark curiosity among my elementary students.
Benjamin recommends changing the language to the target language in Google Maps™ by clicking on the three lines, then selecting the target language. Ben also recommends starting with your school community first if it’s your first Map Talk. I find this genius! I encourage you to check out Benjamin’s Map Talk and explore his blog for more insights and ideas to bring to your classes. Although he teaches high school French, much of what he shares can be adapted for different grades and proficiency levels.
When using Google Maps™, you can explore different layers to view the map. I personally love using the Global View and Satellite map types because, in my opinion, they provide more details.
After completing your community-focused Map Talk, consider broadening your horizons. I extend an invitation to explore Cali, Colombia—a city nestled between breathtaking mountains. Here are some of the questions you might ask during your Map Talk:
Vamos a visitar Colombia.
Colombia está en América del Sur.
La capital de Colombia es Bogotá.
Los colores de la bandera de Colombia son el amarillo, el azul y el rojo.
El idioma oficial de Colombia es el español.
Colombia celebra su independencia el 20 de julio.
En Colombia hay ciudades grandes y pueblos pequeños.
Una ciudad importante en Colombia es Cali.
Cali está en el suroccidente de Colombia.
Cali es una ciudad entre montañas.
Cali es famosa por la salsa. A muchas personas les gusta bailar salsa en Cali.
En Cali hay muchos lugares especiales: (these are some landmarks you can type in Google Maps and explore) El Museo del Oro de Cali, El Zoológico de Cali, la Biblioteca del Centenario, y el Barrio San Antonio.
You can also show the map and talk with your students about words they might already identify, and what things they can find in the city.