I teach at an Episcopal school that acknowledges and accepts religious differences and I am so grateful that the school provides space for students to share those differences. But because it is Episcopal, around this time of the year all the Christmas decorations fill the walls and the rehearsals of songs for the seasons start too. This is something that also happens in Spanish class since during the last week of December we take a moment to gather around a big Christmas tree to sing villancicos.
This year I have a new student who is Jewish, and I appreciate that when we started singing Christmas songs he shared with me that he practices a different religion. I told him that it was his choice to stay in the group or find a “safe” space in the room when he needed it. His choice has been to stay in the group. Thinking about him, I went to my school library to find some books, but all the titles were in English. I chose asimple picture book that I could still connect with Spanish. He was surprised to see the book in my classroom and even more when I taught the song“Ocho Kandelikas”.
Finding stories that are short and comprehensible is not an easy task, even more when looking for elementary or beginning levels. These are some of the stories that I have written and successfully used with my students.
This story goes well with the Monarch butterfly migration. In this story, Monarca is finding her way to Michoacán. On her way there, she asks a few animals for directions to Michoacán, until she finally finds a kind caterpillar that guides her there.
La Noche de las Velitas is a unique Colombian celebration that happens every year on December 7th. Felipe is getting ready for this celebration, but suddenly he realizes that he doesn’t have any candles for the celebration. He is worried and visits different supermarkets. He finally finds some candles at his last stop. He goes home and celebrates the ‘Night of the Little Candles’ with his family and friends.
This story works wonders to introduce the Three Kings Celebration in Puerto Rico. Daniel needs a box to put some grass for the Three Kings’ camels. He is looking for his box. Daniel even asks his dog, but there was no way for him to tell Daniel where the box was!
This is another fun story with a lot of repetition. Abuelita takes the time to make a big doll called “Año Viejo”. In some countries in Latin America, años viejos are burned on the last day of the year at midnight to get rid of the bad things that happen during the year. Burning the año viejo represents a kind of closure and cleaning for some people. In this story the año viejo becomes alive and runs away from a grandfather, a baker, and a parrot. What will happen at the end?
These are some of the newest Halloween songs on YouTube. I love how every year there are new ones to keep the list growing. These songs are easy to understand, and I am sure your students will love them!
It was so great to meet so many elementary teachers during #TFLA2019. It was exciting to share with you about Comprehensible Input in the elementary Spanish classroom, and I truly hope you were able to use some of what I shared as soon as you entered your classroom on Monday.
As I mentioned at the end of my session, if you are really interested in bringing CI into your teaching life, I recommend you start out by reading the research done byDr. Stephen Krashen. Once you have that clear, choose one or two strategies to bring to your classes as a starting point, and little by little start building your CI toolkit. The best thing about CI is the sheer variety of techniques you can choose from. You and your students will never feel bored, but remember to add your personal touch to anything you do.
During the TFLA session, we explored some CI strategies that I have successfully been able to use in my elementary classes. We peeked inside my classroom, saw a few routines in action (e.g. la frase de la semana y el saludo). We also talked about MovieTalks and Story Listening, and I was able to incorporate some brain breaks and breathing techniques throughout the session.
If you are new to CI, I highly recommend you start with this video:
I won’t share my full PowerPoint presentation here since it might be quite overwhelming if you didn’t attend the session. But I hope this is a nice refresher for the teachers who attended this session and talking points and ideas for those who couldn’t make it.
Last but not least, stop by Comprensible to learn other CI techniques, and join our Facebook group where you can freely ask or share about CI.
¡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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