This is a simple idea to keep track of all the games and songs you teach during the school year. I use different containers and baskets for each grade level. I use clothespins and glue happy faces on the top to make them cute and give them some character. I use permanent markers to write the names of the songs and games we’ve learned during the school year. You could do this during the school year and gradually add the clothespins to the basket.
I use this idea at the beginning of the class as a warm up, for game day, or simply to end a unit. Before using this activity I collect all the props necessary for each game or song: bingo, memory games, balls, or any material needed to make this happen.
Playing the game
I do this in two different ways. Sometimes I just call a volunteer to pick a random clothespin. I also have the class sit in a circle and then pass a ball in the circle while playing music. I close my eyes while stopping the music, and whoever has the ball at that time will choose the activity from the basket.
To keep track of the games and songs we’ve done, I just place the clothespin on the top of the container just as you see it in the picture below.
Give it a try, and you will be amazed to see how much you have done with your classes.
Nothing is more exciting than finding great resources for Spanish class (okay, other than maybe traveling to Spain or Latin America on an extended, stress-free vacation …). Conversa books will get any teacher ready to teach Spanish and will help you present the language in a fun way. What I like the most about Conversa books is that the language is not presented as several isolated vocabulary words. Conversa does a great job of presenting the language in context. This helps teach students to identify main and important words in a sentence and learn how to decode them to find meaning. These books are good for classroom use or to extend learning at home. They can be used with children who are exploring the language or with native speakers. The sets are divided into elementary and middle school levels which will help you transition and have a consistent program. The program starts in 1st grade and goes all the way up to 8th grade. The illustrations are clear, fun and engaging.
This is a teacher’s dream! Every story in these books invites movement and taps clearly into TPR. Each book includes a teacher’s guide with tons of ideas and games that will save you a lot of time when planning for your classes. The teacher’s guide states the objective for every lesson, the materials needed, how the lesson should be introduced, gestures for each story, engaging activities, questions to ask while presenting the story, cultural information, simple crafts to make, and a lot of learning and fun! It also suggests songs for every lesson. The books provide a lot of repetition and model the Spanish language to invite students to later create their own compositions and stories.
Another important feature about this program is that there is no need to be an experienced storyteller or know everything aboutTPR to use these books in your classroom. Conversa Books will show you everything and will guide you through every step!
Visit Conversa Books to learn more about the program. Stay connected on Facebook to receive updates about sales, freebies for teachers, teaching tips and more!
Giveaway Time!
I know you would love to have this set for your classes. Here is an opportunity for you to have it! Conversa Books is giving away their Elementary Teachers’ Starter Kit. Just enter below to participate. The winner will be announced on June 12th, 2013. United States only.
I teach PreK-3 Spanish in a FLES program. I don’t have a classroom, which means I am always on the run. Sometimes I consider myself lucky not to have a classroom – like a traveler who can live simply with whatever she can carry instead of building up “stuff” or having to take care of a “home base.” It’s also really nice to get to know what’s happening in all the different teachers’ classrooms so I can coordinate my curriculum and tailor or tweak my lessons to support some of the units my students are exploring with their homeroom teachers, and to match each classroom’s distinctive look, feel, and personality. However, the downside to being an itinerant viajera (traveler) is that my school is laid out as a campus, with several small buildings scattered about, and when the weather gets bad, I suffer from all the things I have to carry with me (though I save money on gym memberships, but that’s another story…). I have been teaching for 15 years and have found that every year I have been developing strategies to make my job easier when moving from classroom to classroom. In this post, I’ll share what I’ve been doing, hoping this can help you too 🙂
TOTE BAGS ARE GREAT!I use rigid canvas tote bags because they remain open, making it easier for me to reach my materials at a moment’s notice when teaching. Since I teach from Pre-K through 3rd grade, I use three bags: One for Pre-K and K
One for First and Second grade One for Third Grade
LET’S TAKE A LOOK INSIDE ONE OF MY BAGS
They might look heavy, but really they are not! I’m careful to pay attention to the weight I put in my bag, again like a backpacking traveler! Many of the objects I have are made of fabrics or paper – more bulk than weight.
USEFUL PROPS TO CARRY IN YOUR BAG
1. Clipboards: I use clipboards to carry my lesson plan for the day and my schedule.
2. Chime: I have a chime in my bag just in case my chants don’t work to call the
students to attention!
3. Balls: I use them in games to give turns to children. There is also a game called “Pasa la Bola” that my students love to play. You can find more info about this gamehere.
4. Hangers: I use them to carry a calendar and posters.
4. Puppets: My younger students always love when I invite puppet friends to class to sing songs or play games. Here is a post that will give you more tips to use puppets in class.
5. A map: I found one at a fabric store, and I love it! It has every single continent, and I just fold it and put it in my bag. I am still trying to find one in Spanish!
6. Gloves: I use gloves for storytelling with my younger students. I love making props out of fabric and just add velcro on the back. Students love stories and poems with props!
7. Flash cards and fly swatters: Flash cards are always easy to carry and are helpful when introducing vocabulary. Here is a postthat will help you with different games to play with flashcards and fly swatters.
8. Cookie tray: I use cookie trays with small pictures and magnets on the back. I also use them to place work that I collect from my students.
9. Music: An iPod or CD players are always helpful. Believe or not, not every teacher has a device to play music in their classrooms, so it helps to have my own. Plus, I can pre-load playlists according to my lesson plans and class adventures.
10. Last, but not least! This one is not heavy and belongs inside your heart! Creativity and passion for what you do!
I am really happy to welcome all the new teachers! Thank you for spreading the love of learning a new language in your school community and to your students!
Planning is one of the most important aspects to ensuring a successful class over the course of a school year. Of course, getting to know your school community and the needs of your students are intimately tied to this part of the teaching process. You also need to be clear regarding what kind of language program your school wants to develop or has in place so that you tailor it to the demand and expectations appropriately. In many cases, we language teachers are in charge of planning our class 100% while building a curriculum from scratch, especially since textbooks at the elementary level have limited applicability for a natural approach to language teaching and learning.
In over fifteen years of teaching languages to children, I have found that planning a week in advance for the following week works perfectly and gives me time to assess the material, reflect on the way I am teaching, and to adapt for my students as needed. Although there are fancy higher tech ways to do this, I’m old school when it comes to planning, choosing to keep it simple. I plan for every day on a single sheet of paper, and by the end of the school year, I have about two big binders with all my lesson plans collected in one place. I re-use this lesson plans the following year, but I create a new binder with changes as I adapt activities year by year.
How to write a lesson plan for a 20-30 minute lesson
Prepare a routine: Make sure you develop a clear routine for your class. A routine doesn’t equate to boredom and doesn’t mean that the activities are always presented in the same way. Creating a routine means creating a space for learners to feel safe about their knowledge and to be ready to switch gears. Prepare two to three elements that are always in your routine, but make sure they can be presented with plenty of variation.
Objective:
This objective is one objective or piece of an objective drawn from the objectives planned for the entire unit. Remember that a spiral curriculum plan will allow you to come back to your other objectives later. This singular focus helps ensure that your entire lesson is well-targeted and clear. It’s the foundation for all that you do with your students.
Warm-up:
Includes your routine (calendar, weather, birthdays, etc). Singing or playing a game related to the routine or theme of study helps students warm-up for your lesson and creates a positive environment.
Activity/Procedures
The activity is the core of your lesson. In this stage of the planning, students will get engage with your theme for the unit. Different strategies are stated here to allow students to accomplish the lesson’s objective. It is important to determine the steps of the activities and to be clear about them to create a confident learning environment. An unclear set of activities will create confusion between students.
Wrap-up:
This allows you and students to know clearly when a class is over and feel a sense of accomplishment. This ending can be done through a simple game or by reviewing some elements that were explored in the lesson.
Evaluation/Assessment:
In a FLES class, the assessment is mainly done during the progress of the lesson. Try to focus on a few students per lesson, and observe them closely during the development of the lesson.
Materials:
List all kinds of resources you will need to teach your lesson effectively. This will also help you to prepare in advance and avoid trips to your office during class.
I have been extremely lucky this summer during my trip to Colombia to have had the opportunity to find amazing people who can continue contributing to my professional development and to become better at what I do, teaching language to children. This time I had the opportunity to learn from Jaime Andres Castaño of Corpoteatro. Corpoteatro is a small organization that provides workshops for teachers to learn more about how to incorporate theatrical techniques into their teaching. It also offers workshops for children and anyone who is interested in learning how to use theatrical techniques in their daily life. Reminds me a bit of all the ads I’ve seen on the subway (T) cars in Boston for Improv Asylum and their ads that say “No More Group Hugs with Brad From Accounting,” targeting corporate team building, as well as all the amazing ways theater is used in social cause grassroots organizations. Theater is essential – it really enriches the theater of our lives and is fantastic for teaching people of all ages.
One form of theatrical art involves puppets. With my visit to Corpoteatro, I wanted to learn more about basic techniques to use with simple puppets. With their help, I learned that mouth puppets work great because they are very simple to handle and give me one free hand to point at other materials. I have always loved puppets and use them frequently into my teaching (I am a PreK to 3rd grade Spanish teacher in a FLES program) because puppets give me excuses to create silly and joyful situations that open the children to learning and make a dynamic conversational environment based on play and make-believe. Puppets are a great teaching tool that allow children to forget they are listening to a language they are just learning and gives space for a playful and natural-feeling environment. In many cases, my puppet friends show up in class to teach something new, or to ask my students about something we recently learned. Their appearances in my classes are usually very short, which makes my students ask for their puppet friend in the next class. Each of my puppet friends has a name, and I usually use a name that is tied to a cultural connection or refers to a word in Spanish. For example, I have a puppet girl that I have named Cumbia (traditional Colombian dance) and another one I named Rana (frog).
Tips to Keep in Mind!
Andres gracefully shared his basic tips that can help educators when using puppets in their classes.
1. Treat your puppet like any other class member. Give it a name, a voice, and a space in your class. This puppet cannot be used by your students. They need to show respect to the puppet too!
2. Make sure you always use the same voice for this puppet, and don’t confuse it with any other puppet. Limit yourself to one or two characters for the school year. This will make the children feel confidence and know that it creates a safe environment for everyone.
3. Use syllables when your puppet talks. You want this puppet to look very natural.
4. Always look at your puppet when he or she talks.
5. Make sure to greet your puppet when he joins the class and also say adiós when he leaves the class. Put it away very carefully. Have a box or bag where you always place it.
6. Most importantly as with all teaching, smile and have fun!
I do have to admit that at the beginning it is not comfortable when using puppets, but once you see your students’ faces, you will see how rewarding it is to have puppet guests in class!
¡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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