In the search of books to read to my own children at home, I came across the book “What Was Your Dream, Dr. King?“*** It was written for children, yet I find it very informative and descriptive about that moment in the history of the United States and still at the level of a second grader. While reading the book, the idea occurred to me to write something that I know my 4th and 5th grade students can read and understand.
I feel fortunate that all the schools I’ve taught in here in the U.S. make a special point to mention Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. around this time of year to commemorate his birthday and legacy. Sadly, I don’t understand why some of us (yes, including me!) have to wait for a special month to talk or incorporate important events like this one in our curriculums. We have to be intentional about including this in our curriculums. And yes, it’s possible to teach them in the target language. It’s possible to make it comprehensible. ¡Sí se puede! You can always reserve that 10% for the L1 if necessary (note this is actually recommended by ACTFL).
It’s certainly possible that you might feel that this topic is not directly related to your curriculum, but I believe it is! I feel that as a language teacher I have to honor the diverse cultures and backgrounds of my students as well as to help them understand the wider world, teaching about the cultures of Spanish speaking countries. And Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s messages for equity, equality, and inclusion was and is universal, leading to rich discussions in any language that can help deepen connections with your students. The fact that his message of peace and social change spread all over the world makes him relevant for students and cultures worldwide, and his words (e.g. “Free at last”) and actions (e.g. the March on Washington or the Montgomery Bus Boycott) inspire me and fuel me as a teacher, too. After all, students who apply their knowledge to do what’s right are the kind of young people I want to help bring up in the ever-changing world.
Click HERE to download this resource to use with your students. It’s recommended for grades 5 and up!
I teach at a school with strong SEL and Responsive Classroom programs, so many of the teachers already have as part of their routine the practice of greeting their students at the door. I have seen how positive the children enter the classrooms after greeting their teacher.
Last year I started using “La frase de la semana”as part of my classroom routine and a way to teach new phrases to my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. I normally great my K-2 students with a simple “buenos días” or “buenas tardes.” Inspired by all the videos of teachers using different greetings with their students at the door, I created this set of signs. I made different types of greetings that I rotate weekly. The poster only has room for three greetings. I feel that adding all the greetings will make it hard for my students to choose one, so I keep it simple.
Watch the videos below to get inspired!
You can even make it a classroom job!
Are you ready to bring this idea to your classroom? After downloading the pages, I recommend laminating then trimming down each sign and adding velcro on the back so you can change the greetings easily. As I mentioned above, it’s better to keep it simple for the little ones, so I don’t recommend adding more than three greetings to the poster at a time. Here is an example:
Click here to download all the signs to make your poster!
Happy New Year! Wishing everyone who reads this blog an awesome year! I wanted to start my first blog of the year by recommending some free and paid resources for your classes. Here is the list:
Printable Calendar
I updated the calendar I shared last year. I added some images and now the pages are not dated. This will allow you to save the files for the upcoming years. Click here to download your free pages.
Feliz Año Nuevo Sign
I also shared this last year! This sign is great to welcome your students back to your class! Click here to download it.
End of The Year Traditions
It’s never too late to share with your students the traditions people practice in some Spanish speaking countries: El Año Viejo, las doce uvas y la maleta.
El Día de Reyes
I wrote a short story to use with my kindergarten students. This story works great to introduce the lower elementary grades to the Día de Reyes celebration in Puerto Rico. Download the story here. After reading the story, I had my kindergarten students decorate small paper bags and put grass in the bags for the camels. I made sure to let them know that this is something some children in Puerto Rico do the night before January 6th. Since this is not a tradition that belongs to our culture, I will be the one putting something little in the bags. Usually a pencil with a small eraser.
Remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This is one of my goals for the new year, finding ways to incorporate and make connections with social justice topics in our curriculum. Last year I shared some printables to use in Spanish class. Click here to download them.
I also have an activity packet with teaching tips available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Last, but not least, this is a fun ice breaker activity that will be get everyone moving. I recommend this activity for grades 3 and up! Click here to download the activity.
I can’t believe 2018 is almost over! Thank you for all the support I receive from you, my readers throughout the world. I truly enjoy receiving messages that share how my blog has inspired new ideas in other classrooms or helped other teachers, or that express a simple hola to connect with me. This year I gave a new look to my page in the hopes of making it an easier space for teachers to navigate. I truly hope it has been more intuitive and even fun to spend time on my page!
I started this blog about 8 years ago, when I was the only Spanish teacher in a school where I taught in Boston. I started it as a way to connect with other teachers. Soon after I started this blog, I was able to meet other teachers in the area and created a small group that met face to face once per month to exchange ideas.
Seeing that Facebook was also a place to reach more teachers, I opened a page for the blog, and recently, with all the changes with Facebook, two years ago a Facebook group called“Profes de ELE para niños”was born. I am telling you a little bit of the history of this blog to let you know that this blog wouldn’t exist without you! The awesome teachers who’ve inspired me every day!
Here are my posts that were most popular during 2018! Make sure to visit each post to download the resources that go along with them.
El Burrito Sabanero is one of the most well known villancicos (Christmas songs) in Latin America. Listening to this song brings back memories of my navidades in Colombia with many of my childhood friends as we gathered around the Nativity scene praying and reciting Las Novenas de Aguinaldo. Although I always thought this song was Colombian, I learned that it was written by a Venezuelan composer named Hugo Blanco. The song was first recorded in 1972 with the voices of the chorus “La Rondalla.” Nowadays you can find many versions of the song. Here are a few versions. Which one is your favorite?
Download the burrito HERE to make props to use while singing the song. Have fun!
¡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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