Yes! I just started the new school year, and my classroom has been ready for a couple of weeks. After being a traveling teacher for a few years I truly understand the feeling one has when other teachers share pictures of their classroom, but I also remember that I didn’t really have to use any of my time before to set up space. I just had to make sure I had enough tote bags for my class. There are pros and cons to having or not having a classroom, but I consider that a topic for another post.
I am the kind of teacher who likes to make changes every year to my room. I also never finish the school year with the room looking the same because I like to move things around according to my students’ needs. This is how my room looks right now!
I have a deskless classroom. We do a lot of movement activities so this setting is perfect for our needs.
My kindergarteners and first graders sit on the rug. These carpet Spots Markers*** are great to help my little ones remember their places on the rug. I assign seats to make that transition to my class faster.
I have a closet where I keep many of the materials we use in class. I have a set of clipboards to use when we do writing activities.
I keep the notebooks for each grade in baskets. We only use notebooks in grades 3 to 5.
This year I decided to add these light filters*** to my room because the lights were very bright. I like the ambiance they give to my room.
This map by Spanish Cuentos is a “must-have” in a Spanish classroom. It’s also good to have on hand when we talk about different Spanish speaking countries.
I like keeping my classroom rules at the front so I can refer to them when I need them.
These signs with hand signals avoid a lot of interruptions in my class. Visit this post to read more about how I use them.
I really love this reading corner! The classroom cushions***are made of a fabric that is easy to clean. My students really like using them during our free reading time.
The books in the library are leveled by grade, but if a student feels that he or she can read beyond the suggested level, they will need to conference with me to make sure that the reading is not going to make them feel frustrated. Stop by my Facebook page to get the pictures of the posters I shared there.
These are some lovely friends that accompany my students when they have birthdays or need extra love during class.
I like decorating my room with authentic art and label them with their country of origin. Most of them are from Colombia (I wonder why…).
I use these signs to greet my kinder and first grade students.
This year I changed my sign from “La frase de la semana” to “La frase del ciclo” to “honor” the new 10-day cycle schedule that we have. I figured the frase will need to stay longer on my door for my students to remember it.
We have a new class pet this year. We are still deciding on a name for it. This pet is also a favorite during birthdays. It also has different outfits for special occasions during the school year. My students love it!
I am keeping my calendar area simple. I think I already have so many colors around the room, so it was fair to keep this area simple.
I couldn’t have gotten this book at a better time! With the monarch butterfly migration heading south, this book is the perfect way to introduce it. Señorita Mariposa was written by Mister G, Latin GRAMMY award-winning children’s musician who currently lives in Massachusetts. Señorita Mariposa is a short but engaging bilingual picture book. The story is catchy and truly represents the journey of the super generation of monarch butterflies. In this book, Señorita Mariposa is traveling south in search of a warmer place. While making the journey south, Señorita Mariposa brings joy to many lives. While reading the book, the reader can easily put him or herself in Señorita Mariposa’s shoes (very small shoes!) and feel what she goes through while she embarks on her journey.
The book’s illustrations are appealing, and many readers will be able to see themselves represented in them. In the book, Señorita Mariposa travels through different landscapes to show and prove how strong a little butterfly can be. Señorita Mariposa is a beautiful tribute to the monarch butterfly.
After reading the book with your students, I would suggest you and your classes join the Symbolic Butterfly Migrationhosted annually by the organization Journey North. What a great way to send many paper butterflies to accompany Señorita on her journey.
Señorita Mariposa was just released, and it’s now available on Amazon. It would definitely make a great addition to your school or classroom library!
Rejoinders are those phrases that come naturally in a conversation to keep it going. They add magic to any conversation! They are usually quick and short answers. Using rejoinders in your classes will add authenticity in the conversations, as long as your students know to use them correctly.
I like introducing one rejoinder at a time before posting it on the wall or bulletin board. Keep it simple, there is no need for your students to know so many rejoinders that they won’t get to use. Use the ones that come or feel natural to you. For example, I know that I say “¡Qué chévere!” often, so that one is definitely one that I teach my students and place on the wall.
Feeling inspired to use rejoinders with your elementary students? ClickHERE to download a few!
I compiled a few jokes to use with my 5th grade students weekly. I plan to use them on Thursdays for “Jueves de ja ja ja”. I decided to re-create them to make them more elementary student-friendly. I really want to grow this list, so if you have or know of any other short and easy to understand jokes in Spanish, feel free to share them in the comments.
If the jokes are understandable, they are a wonderful teaching tool to lower the affective filter and generate a comfortable learning environment for students. I like to use them at the beginning of class. An easy way to do it is to project the joke on a screen and give students some time to look at them and to convey meaning. Then we talk about them and the words they might not understand. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Click HERE to download them all. Have an awesome “Jueves de ja ja ja.”
One more year has ended! I can’t believe it’s already summer break for this teacher. As always, I like taking the time to reflect on my school year once I am done because many of my ideas and experiences are still fresh. Reflecting at the end of the school year is actually a good exercise for anyone to do, as you can go back to your reflection at the beginning of the new school year to remember what you want to keep, get rid of or implement. If you haven’t done so, I invite you to reflect. You will find it helpful next school year!
This is my 4th year using Comprehensible Input (CI). I teach grades K through 5 as one member of a team of three Spanish teachers. We all teach the same grades, and this allows for consistency and more contact time with our students. Our students currently have Spanish five times per seven-day cycle, although things might change a little since our administrator is working out a new schedule. Fingers crossed we will continue to see our students as often as we have so far.
As a team of three, we work hard to align our curriculum. But it really wasn’t until this year that we all agreed on establishing commons goals for our program, while still allowing space for individual creative expression and each of our special “rituals” in our curriculum and separate classrooms. For example, I tailored my own classes by teaching certain songs that I felt connected well with the curriculum, creating my own stories, and doing different movie talks, but I still worked toward the same goals as my colleagues. They also had their favorite songs, books, and games they taught to their students, and that was completely fine! We don’t need to align 100% on activities all the time, as long as we are all teaching towards the same proficiency goals, finding our own unique ways to reach those goals that play off our talents, interests, and passions (our TIPs).
What Am I Reflecting On This Year?
Reading Aloud and Free Voluntary Reading (FVR)
It was great to experience first-hand the benefits and power of reading aloud in class, and there was no student who didn’t look forward to that time. I read aloud to every class from K to 5th grade. I chose when reading aloud best fit, not reading aloud in every session. I also used it as a way to start the class and mix things up. It was challenging to have books for K-2 students. Luckily, at the beginning of the school year, my 4th and 5th graders made picture books that I added to my read aloud library. My 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders also had the pleasure of reading on their own during our FVR time two or three times in a cycle. I do have to say that the books by Spanish Cuentos were the most popular among my students.
This was a great way for my students to transition into my classroom using the TL (Target Language) right away. I used it with grades 2 through 5. With the younger students, I had used different greetings for them to practice as they entered the classroom. I feel that la frase de la semana would be too much for my younger students.
Pardon the appearance! My door needs some painting!
I used some jokes and other simple pictures as warm up activities with my 4th and 5th grade classes. I plan to extend this next year to include more cultural and social justice-related pictures relevant to the age groups I teach.
I used this strategy close to the end of the school year. The students were excited, but sadly we didn’t have the time to use the two characters in co-created stories. I didn’t really have the time to explore all the beauty behind the creation of “One Word Images” during the last three weeks of school and decided to go ahead and jump into the creation of some characters with my fifth graders. They were excited about the idea.
We got to create two characters and even created personalities for them, but we never put them into action in a story. I have to be honest that I used the OWI for about 8 minutes. Not sure if I would spend an entire class creating an image, but it definitely is something I really want to learn more to bring into action in my CI class. If you want to learn more about it, I suggest you watch Mike Peto in action!
Classroom Jobs
I didn’t really have any classroom jobs this year but used helpers that I called “secretarios” whenever it was needed. However, I am interested in adding two jobs that Alina Filipescu mentions on her blog: (1) a poster holder, and (2) a student in charge of the stuffed animals’ basket. If you are a teacher using classroom jobs with your elementary students, please share in the comment box how you use this in your FLES classes.
Decorating With Purpose
It took me a while to give up the empty spaces on my wall. I am kind of a minimalist at heart, so my walls felt busy this school year. However, I completely understand that the signs are not there to decorate but to give my students quick access to high-frequency vocabulary, phrases, and communication. I plan to add more rejoinders to my word wall for the next school year!
What Am I Excited About?
PBL (Project-based Learning) Training: I took a three-day training since the school is heading in this direction. I got to work and expand on an existing project. I will share it on my blog soon! During this workshop, we had to present our projects to receive feedback from other elementary, middle, and high school colleagues. I got really valuable feedback from them, and I am very much looking forward to using this project in the fall.
Launching a Comprehensible Input Group in Austin: One of my colleagues and I created a CI group for the Austin area called “Keep Austin CI.” I am really looking forward to connecting with other colleagues and meeting up in the fall.
Presenting and Sharing My Passion for Teaching With Others: It has been a while since I last presented at a conference. I will be presenting at an online conference and hopefully a few other regional conferences next school year.
Continuing My Growth As a Teacher: It doesn’t matter how long you have been teaching, you will never stop learning from colleagues, students, and the community of teachers! I look forward to continuing to derive inspiration from many of you!
Publishing My First CI Book: I am currently working on my first CI story. I can’t wait to see it in paper, and, most importantly, getting the reactions from my students!
How was your school year? What are you looking forward to in the new school year? How are you recharging during the break? Remember to take care of yourself first!
¡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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I have a deskless classroom. We do a lot of movement activities so this setting is perfect for our needs.
My kindergarteners and first graders sit on the rug. These carpet Spots Markers*** are great to help my little ones remember their places on the rug. I assign seats to make that transition to my class faster.
I have a closet where I keep many of the materials we use in class. I have a set of clipboards to use when we do writing activities.
I keep the notebooks for each grade in baskets. We only use notebooks in grades 3 to 5.
This year I decided to add these light filters*** to my room because the lights were very bright. I like the ambiance they give to my room.
This map by Spanish Cuentos is a “must-have” in a Spanish classroom. It’s also good to have on hand when we talk about different Spanish speaking countries.
I like keeping my classroom rules at the front so I can refer to them when I need them.
The books in the library are leveled by grade, but if a student feels that he or she can read beyond the suggested level, they will need to conference with me to make sure that the reading is not going to make them feel frustrated. Stop by my Facebook page to get the pictures of the posters I shared there.
These are some lovely friends that accompany my students when they have birthdays or need extra love during class.
I like decorating my room with authentic art and label them with their country of origin. Most of them are from Colombia (I wonder why…).
I use these signs to greet my kinder and first grade students.
This year I changed my sign from “La frase de la semana” to “La frase del ciclo” to “honor” the new 10-day cycle schedule that we have. I figured the frase will need to stay longer on my door for my students to remember it.
We have a new class pet this year. We are still deciding on a name for it. This pet is also a favorite during birthdays. It also has different outfits for special occasions during the school year. My students love it!
I am keeping my calendar area simple. I think I already have so many colors around the room, so it was fair to keep this area simple.
This chime is a lifesaver when my call and response chants don’t work anymore!
