A Peek Inside My Deskless Classroom

by | Sep 18, 2017 | classroom decoration, deskless classroom, Spanish class, Spanish Classroom

I hope everyone is having a great school year so far! This will be my 4th week with students. We spent the first week and a half making it a safe place for our students, getting to know to know one another and giving them a chance to get to know the space. I teach K-5, and this week was my first full week with my K students. Everything is so new for them that our school principal and their teachers feel that for specialists to start teaching them subject material from day one could be terrifying! I love this new approach of getting to know our students before we dive into our curriculums.

 
I have been working on classroom routines, classroom rules and encouraging them to use hand signals when we are in class. I have decorated my classroom with some input for them but will be adding more little by little. I feel that it doesn’t make sense for me to fill every space on the walls of my classrooms with signs that they don’t yet understand, and I know I am not in need of them yet.
I have been making some changes around the room according to the needs of my students. I have a deskless classroom. My K-2 students sit on the rug, and grades 3-5 have assigned seats.  Each chair has a pocket where we keep our notebooks and pencils. That saves me time when we do writing activities.
 
 
 

I have a calendar, but I mostly use an online version projected on the board. The online version of the calendar has links to guess the day’s temperature in different Spanish countries.

 

I have about 115 students, so this poster has been helpful to remember dates. Every month we change it, and the children quickly write their name and date of their birthday.

 
 
 
 
 
I have a class list and have assigned a number to each of my students in each grade. I use these popsicle sticks (not a new idea!) to choose participants in the different games we play, since sometimes it is hard to choose. Students also have the choice to say “paso” to indicate “I pass.”
 
 
 
 

I added a reading corner to my classroom. I haven’t use it yet, but I plan to add copies of the TPRS® stories we do this year. I have some students who are heritage speakers, so I think they could benefit from other stories as well.

 
 
 
 
I also like comparing the time zones in different countries. I have a clock that shows Colombia, one for Austin and one for Equatorial Guinea. I might change the countries later. 
 
I have decorated the classroom with some useful language, question boards and signals, and classroom rules. At the top of the board, I keep the flags of the countries of study. We do about 8 per school year with grades 2-5. One more thing is that this year the interactive board comes with a microphone which is great for the little ones. They can hear me better and are more engaged.
 
 
 
I have a projector that I can use to work on rewriting stories together or simply filling out worksheets in class. Best thing to have ever!
 
 
 

Next to the projector, I have a table with different props and with some Yoga cards that I use as brain breaks with my students.

 
 
I also have use this fun game called “La caja mágica de pañuelos”  or “Magic Tissue Box.” You can read all about it here!
 
 
 
 
I also keep a chime handy when the attention getters I use don’t work. Voice saver!
 
 

I have decorated the classroom with art from different Spanish speaking countries. I wish I had one to represent each country. So far I have a lot from Colombia, Panamá, La República Dominica, Guatemala, Ecuador, México, and Chile. I write the name of the country under the piece of art so students know where it comes from.

 
 
I also have have other small decorations around the room, mostly around my computer. I have a chair next to some furniture that is part of the classroom.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I use this chair for students to sit when we sing the birthday song.
 

This is a Friday selfie! Feeling ready to go home!

 
 
How is your school year going? Do you have a classroom, or are you traveling? I used to be a traveling teacher and wrote a post a while back about how I used to roll! You might find the post helpful!
¡Feliz año escolar!
 
You might like these resources available on Teachers Pay Teachers:
 
ROCKALINGUA IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

ROCKALINGUA IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

by | Aug 31, 2017 | Rockalingua, songs

Rockalingua was created by an elementary Spanish teacher who really knows the needs of Spanish teachers in the classroom. Cesar and Rockalingua make our jobs as Spanish teachers easier. Rockalingua has engaging songs with different online components to engage students. The videos are appealing to an elementary level audience. They all love the online games! Rockalingua has now added a student tracking system for us for teachers to know how much they have been practicing in our classes and at home! Teachers are now able to print not only supportive worksheets but also stories and flash cards.  I am so lucky to be able to host a giveaway where one teacher will get to win a one-year subscription with a full access membership to Rockalingua’s website.  Scroll all the way down to participate!

 I also got inspired by Rockalingua so I am sharing some supportive ideas to use in your classes. I am using the video “Los animales de la granja” as a reference. This post ended up being quite long, so please bear with me! You are also welcome to go all the way to the end to enter to participate!

You can find the complete version for free on Rockalingua’s website
 

Basic vocabulary and expressions:

La granja: Farm
Hay: There is/There are
Perro: Dog
Gato: Cat
Cerdo: Pig
Pato: Duck
Vaca: Cow
Oveja: Sheep
Gallo: Rooster
Caballo: Horse
Mi animal favorito: My favorite animal

Materials:
Animals flashcards from Rockalingua (multiple copies), bag and Rockalingua’s video.

Activities

Introducing the vocabulary: Place cards of different animals in a bag. Invite the children to take turns taking the flash cards from the bag. Introduce the name of the animal and the sounds it makes, one at a time. Talk about their colors. You can also count to see home many animals are in the bag.
You will need to choose the amount of vocabulary you would like to introduce depending on the time and frequency with which you see your class.
Place the flashcards around the room and have the children jump next to the one you name.
You can also make a line with the flashcards and have the children jump next to them while naming them.

 

Mi animal favorito: Make a chart with the animals and have the children place their name under their fruit they like the most. Talk about the chart with the class.

More games: Divide your classroom into two spaces. You may use tape to divide the space. One side, place a sign with the expression “Es mi favorito” and the other side “No es mi favorito.” Have the children make a line. Name an animal, have the children jump to the side according to what they decide. A variation is for the teacher to speak a sentence in which he or she decides whether the response is “es mi favorito” or “no es mi favorito”, and to make it a game that stresses listening skills. For example, the teacher might say: “El perro es mi animal favorito,” and all the children must jump the “es mi favorito” side. If they jump to the other side, they will be out of the game.
 
Animales, animalitos (tagging game): This game is based on a popular game called “color, colorcito”. This game works best in an outdoor space, but it can still be done in the classroom. In preparation for this game, you will need the flash cards, two or three copies per animal. Spread the flash cards across the field. Have one child be the tagger. The tagger will have to say “animal, animalito” and then name an animal. The tagger will have to tag a person who is not touching the flash card for that animal. You and your students can decide on the amount of time you would like to play this game.

TPR® (Total Physical Response)

 

    • Your students and you can create gestures or movements to go along with each animal.
    • Play “Simon says”: Play this game and sing the gestures that you and your students agreed on. Have your students make a circle. The teacher or one of the students should be the caller for the game. The caller has to say “Simón dice, “gua, gua, hace el perro” and everyone in class will do the gesture for perro. If someone does something different, then that person will be out. If the caller says “gua, gua, hace el perro” without saying “Simón dice” and someone still does the gesture, then that student will be out of the game. The game continues going until there is one player left.
    • Play charades: Show the card to one student and have that student show the gesture to the class. Whoever guesses the name of the animal gets a turn.
  • Reverse charades: Have a student close his/her eyes. Show a card to the class. The class will show the gesture for the animal. The student has to guess. You can decide on the amount of turns or opportunities you give the student to guess.

Introducing the video: Once you are sure the children know the vocabulary and structures for the song, show the video. A recommendation is to show the video by frames and talk about what students notice in the picture.See the picture below:
 
1. Talk about the animals they see, their colors and how many.
2. Talk about the expression “Mi animal favorito.” Ask questions of your students using this expression.
3. Ask them which one they like the most and which one they like the least.
Talking about the song is also a good way to provide repetition without making it obvious.
Once you have talked with the children about different parts of the video, show it without interruptions.
 
Playing with the song: Caiga en la nota: Invite your students to play along. Play the song for a few seconds and the mute the sound. Your students should continue singing. Turn the sound back again and see if they were on track with the video.
 
Make a video with your class: Record your students singing and dancing to this song, and share it with their families. 
 

More activities: Download Rockalingua’s worksheets and have your students take them home to sing their song to their parents. If you want to assign it as homework, you can ask your students to bring their worksheet back with a parent’s signature, noting the number of times they sang the songs for them.

Have fun singing!

Curriculum Ideas for Preschool and Kindergarten

by | Jul 31, 2017 | curriculum ideas

 
I am sharing general ideas for teachers based on how a “typical” school year might look in a Preschool and Kindergarten Spanish class. All the ideas I’m sharing here are geared toward programs that meet once or twice a week. In this schedule, there is not that much contact time with the students in the target language, so some of the concepts should be recycled and taught in a spiral way. In other words, if you teach numbers during the first month or two of the school year, continue to make time throughout the year where students may continue to be exposed to the vocabulary. For example, count apples in September and have them guess how many hearts you have in a bag in February.

 
I like using my students as a guide to know how long I should be exploring the content, but make sure to always go back to it and weave it throughout the school year. 
 
In the spirit of full disclosure, please note that many of the suggestions have links to resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers store or affiliate links to Amazon. I invite you to also explore many of your local libraries to find some of the books suggested below. The activity packs that are available on Teachers Pay Teachers have teaching tips, suggested ideas, and games.
 
I hope this serves as a good starting point to help you create your own curriculum. You might also find new ideas here that you would like to incorporate into your existing curriculum. 

Click HERE to download your document. Please make sure to click on the pictures to see the links.
Happy teaching!

Virtual Field Trips in Elementary Spanish Class

Virtual Field Trips in Elementary Spanish Class

by | Jul 8, 2017 | Tech

There is nothing children enjoy more than pretending! Role playing games are such valuable tools for teaching languages. Planning a virtual trip requires some planning. You have to make sure the content is suitable for the level you teach. 


Introduction of a country or cultural activity:

 
1. Passport: You can create a simple template that your students will have to fill out with basic information such as name, age, and country where they were born. They can draw a small picture about themselves. 
2. Ticket: The ticket will have their seat and arrival country.
3. Sitting on an airplane: You may need to adapt this based on your space and the amount of time you have available to set up. I usually like making single lines and numbering the chairs from 1 to 20, depending on the number of students you have. Each student gets assigned a number. You can have two students pretend being the flight attendance to greet everyone when getting on the plane. This might take up to 5 minutes.  You can also pretend that you have a pilot who will welcome everyone and let them know where they are heading to. For example, “Buenos días, Bienvenidos al vuelo de la clase de español. Vamos a Colombia.”
4. Google Earth: This requires some advance planning. You might want to choose the pictures of the places you would like to visit. I found a post written by The Teacher’s Prep with great information on using Google Earth: Create a Virtual Trip Using Google Earth

 

5. Choose a few short videos about the country you plan to visit.6. Postcard: Have the children make a postcard that they can pretend to send to a family member. The postcard can have information about what they learned during the virtual trip.

Steps 4 and 5 might require a few class sessions to complete while the children do the cultural exploration. This also depends on how many times you see your students and the kind of program in which you teach. Some teachers prefer to do the cultural part in English , while others keep the target language basic and at the level of their students. 

I have a “Travel Set Activity” in my TpT store that I have used successfully with my students. Everything is ready to set up, and it even includes printable stamps that students can add to their passport every time they visit a new country. Click on the picture to learn all about it!
Have a fun trip!

 

Using Centers in Spanish Class {Facebook Corner}

by | Jun 6, 2017 | Center in Spanish, Conversaciones de maestros, Facebook Corner, Spanish teachers sharing


This space has been created to save all those awesome conversations happening on Fun for Spanish Teacher’s Facebook page.

Xtine says:

“Hi all! My district is moving more towards a centers based learning and I was wondering if you have any suggestions for centers for K-2 Spanish? We are currently working on numbers 1-10 and wanted to see if I could somehow incorporate centers. I have no curriculum so I’m all on my own. I have 19 classes with the class size ranging from 8-22 students. Any advice or help would be great!”

Kelly: using color sticks at one table, numbers at another, vocabulary matching at another, copying printed words in Spanish (lots of web sites for this) just a few ideas off the top of my head

 Joe: If you can get some internet-connected devices then one or two centers can provide online activities. tackk.com/colorsinspanish

Janet: Calico have some great ideas: Calico

Susan: I do centers every Friday. Some favorites are:
Candyland (say colors and count in Spanish) 
UNO cards with toss across ( they earn a bean bag to throw for every color and number they can say correctly from the UNO CARD) 
Puzzle: One center is a puzzle of the world to help them with geography. 
I usually have groups of 5 students and rotate every 5 minutes. If one of the centers was a worksheet, I let them use the rest of class to work on it so they are calm by the time their teacher picks them up. Hope this helps!

Jessica: With 2nd graders I do a conversation center, a listening center, a game center, technology center (Spanish apps on tablet generally), independent work center & one with me. . I do centers with 1st grade too, though I don’t generally do conversation center with them. With kinder I do “actividades” = sort of center like with lots of games and puzzles. (example shape memory, number memory, body parts puzzle match up etc)

Diane: get some of the shape cutouts from dollar store and make matching cards. Pictures & words or just some in English and same ones in Spanish. We have table races where groups match up the pairs. Sometimes individuals match so I can assess. Other times kids play memory with the cards in small groups.

Amy: I got a number puzzle and labeled the numbers in Spanish so they can say the numbers as they take it apart. The puzzle also has a plus, minus, and equals sign, so they can use it to make math problems. I also got a fishing set with fish in different colors on one side, and numbers on the other. They can “fish” by number or by color. I also got a Zing-O game, several varieties of Bing-O games, and books they can read alone. I still don’t have much, but it’s a start!

I got some Legos and labeled them with days of the week. They have races to put the days of the week in order. A Twister game that I covered up the English with Spanish. I am currently trying to come up with some Go Fish games. I also have a “free draw” corner and some Sp-Eng dictionaries. They can put their name in a box for prize drawings if they do any writing in Spanish.

I also have a puzzle of South America, a dice game, and an emotions game. ha… I guess I have more than I realized. . It still doesn’t seem like a lot of variety, though. It’s almost all vocabulary-based except for the books.

Fun for Early and Elementary Spanish Teachers: Here is just one more idea: https://bit.ly/2hmWqk6

Soyla: Check out my Bilingual Pinterest boards for ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/castilloesc17/

Xtine: Thank you all for your help!!! I’m going to definitely incorporate some of your ideas!


Enjoy,