Cold has finally hit Austin! It never snows here, but the cold weather makes a good opportunity to bring this song to my younger students. You can contrast the seasons and weather by sharing that in Argentina it is summer now while in the U.S it is winter. You can show picture cards for different seasons, and use TPR while asking “¿es verano?” Do the same for every season and finally get to “es invierno.” Point at the snow and say “nieve, llegó la nieve” and throw paper snow flakes that you can print from the template provided in this post. The snow flakes can be made out of paper or felt. Another idea is to use a play parachute or a large piece of fabric, and place the snow flakes and shake the fabric or parachute while singing the song.
It’s important as language teachers to make space in our curriculum for other important and relevant topics. In the past, I have shared resources to incorporate teaching about Martin Luther King Jr. in Spanish class:
You can add these posters to your classroom and leave them on your wall during the rest of the school year!
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
“We have learned to fly in the air like birds and swim in the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”
This is a low prep activity that you can use after any break. It involves some movement and questions that can be asked about each slide. If you have used my “A mí también” activity, this works exactly the same way. If you haven’t used the activity, visit this link to learn how to use it.
Welcome to 2020! This year I have decided that I won’t make a list of resolutions for the New Year, only because I find myself writing the same list over and over again each year and not being able to follow through. I also generally add things that should be a habit in my life such as eating healthy, exercising more, reading more books instead of spending so much time on social media and so on! I did decide that I want to learn how to play ukelele and will tell you more about it at the end of 2020. Are you setting any goals for this year?
This holiday season I got to spend a few weeks in Colombia with my parents, and I am now feeling recharged with new ideas to bring to my classroom (even though I miss my parents).
I wrote my lesson plans my last day before going on break because I knew I was going to forget a lot of what I was doing in my classes.
Many children hit a kind of reset button during the break so as a general rule, I find it very helpful to treat the first few days after the holidays as I’d done on the first days of school in August. I think it is a good idea to review your classroom rules and procedures as well as continue building relationships with students and creating community before diving into teaching Spanish. This means that I will spend my first days revising our classroom rules and routines: discussing, modeling, and practicing rules. We practice how to walk in a line, enter the classroom, and find a place on the rug to get ready for class. We model it, talk about it, and keep reinforcing it for the rest of the school year. For me this also means that part of my class will take place in English the first few days back after the break. It will pay off nicely during the rest of the school year!
I use this opportunity to revisit the use of the chime with my students. We review that the chime sound means to stop, look, and listen. I also revisit some of our call & response chants, hand signals, and brain & breathing breaks.
Download these cards to introduce your students to “para, mira y escucha.”
I am always grateful for the teachers who come to this blog to read my posts. I share them with a lot of love and really hope I can save busy teachers out there just a little bit of time (time is such a precious commodity for teachers!). This blog was started as a way to connect with other teachers because for a while I was the only Spanish teacher in one of the schools where I taught. Having this blog made me feel connected and part of a larger community. Thank you for stopping by to read my blog!
¡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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