While talking about how unique we are, I have used the book All the Colors We Are – Todos los colores de nuestra piel by Katie Kissinger, and it has been a great resource to start the conversation. The children love learning about the magic power we all have called melanin and how we get our skin color from the sun, our family, and our ancestors.
Here are some ideas to talk with your students about how unique we all are:
1. Start by reading the first pages of the book All the Colors We Are. This introduces the children to the idea that we all have different skin color and why everyone is unique, plus you will see that your younger students will enjoy saying the word “melanina” a lot!
I take the time to have this conversation in English. Chances are that your students are already reading books related to race/skin colors with their homeroom teachers too! This is a great opportunity to talk about the different eyes, hair, and skin colors in Spanish.
Mi ojos son de color negro, azul, café/miel
Mi pelo es negro, café, rubio
Mi color de piel es blanco, café, negro.
As the book All the Colors We Are suggests, children in younger grades can also compare their skin color to things in nature. I think this is great with lower elementary students but not as much with older students.
2. I created a resource to accompany and support the book All the Colors We Are. The resource is called Me gusta como soy. It includes a short story and activities that go along with it.
Read the short story Me gusta como soy– Something that has worked great during reading the story is to invite the children to engage in the reading by saying the phrase “A mí tambíen” after reading each page of the story. For example, if you read “Me gustan mis ojos,” invite the class to say “A mí también.” You might also ask again about the color of their eyes. After reading the story, make it a celebration by creating your own song with the lines in the story.
3. If you don’t own multicultural crayons,* colored pencils,* or markers,* you really need them for this! Allow students to look at the crayons, colored pencils, or markers to find which one matches or is close to their skin color. Put together mini-books using multicultural crayons and other colors.
4. Invite your students to take the mini-book home to share and start and share with their parents what they learned about where we get our skin color from.
5. Students who are learning from home can also complete their books via Seesaw.
I hope you join me in celebrating your students and talking about skin color in Spanish class!
Abrazos virtuales,
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If you are looking for books to help you to rethink the content in your curriculum, here are a few! Hard to choose one since all of them are filled with great content. I love that these books have been written by educators for educators. I’m currently working on updating/replacing and creating units, and these resources have been a great support.
? “Unpack Your Impact: How Two Primary Teachers Ditched Problematic Lessons and Built a Culture-Centered Curriculum”: This book has great examples of how to reconceptualize lessons to help students think critically and go deeper, and beyond “fun facts.” I actually learned historical facts from this book myself!
? “Being the Change – Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension” is a book that I have used as a resource for the affinity group for students of color at my school. I have also been able to adapt some of the ideas presented in the book for my Spanish classes, e.g., Identity unit.
? I first came across the “Rethinking Schools” publications in a course I took for my master’s degree a little over ten years ago (time flies!). These books are filled with anecdotes and reflections from teachers and their classroom experiences. There is no need to read these books in a certain order. These are the two books in the video: 1. Rethinking Early Childhood Education 2. Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice – Vol 1
? Last, but not least “Words and Actions: Teaching Languages Through the Lens of Social Justice” is a book written for world language educators, but anyone can benefit from reading it. This book has great examples of language lessons for different levels. I’m still working on finishing this one!
I just started teaching many of my students in person. I didn’t even know some of them because I was just assigning lessons to their grade through Seesaw and Otus (the Learning Management System used by the school where I teach). I have seen others quite a bit during our Zoom classes, as they have been participating in the home learning program which includes live (synchronous) classes.
When I started teaching more of the students in person in January, I had the opportunity to rethink many of my lessons and also connect to what the homeroom teachers have been doing in their classes. Students across several grades have read the book “Your Name is a Song” by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and I have seen it frequently in the library. I have always loved the title of this book and decided to read it myself and find ways to incorporate it in class. I’m sure what I’m sharing here is not new and that many teachers inspired by the title of this book have asked their students to create songs with their names. I have used this activity with grades K through 5, and, to my pleasant surprise, the upper elementary students really enjoy singing their names.
I never change my students’ names in Spanish class for various reasons: (1) I want them to be respectful of other people’s names and not using them as something they can appropriate; (2) I love hearing my students say their names; and (3 because our names are part of who we are!
I must confess that I sometimes have a hard time pronouncing some of my students’ names, but I let them know that I need to hear them say it again and try really hard to say their names the way they pronounce them. This can be especially challenging for me because I tend to use my (occasionally thick!) Spanish accent while pronouncing their names. But I think it is really important for them to hear me facing a challenge and for them learn to hear my Spanish accent with English words, and to make a special effort to listen and understand English that has a different cadence and sound. I think that maybe it even builds greater empathy and tolerance.
I have been using a simple activity where I choose a student volunteers, and, as a group, we ask the question in the picture using some American Sign Language (ASL) from YouTube tutorials.
What’s your name?
For the part that says “¡Me gusta tu nombre!”, we make the heart shape with our hands.
And for the part that says “¡Es una canción!,” we use the following sign:
And then the student sings a song with his/her name.
Using this activity has been beautiful and a great way to connect with students!
If you are looking for games that work in any setting, either virtually or in person, then this is the right game for you and your students! I have played this game with different age groups, and it’s always a success!
This is how the game works:
You will need to print the cards or project the slide on the board. I have blogged about this game before (read my previous post HERE), but I can tell you quickly that anytime you show a card, read it aloud to your students or ask a volunteer to read it for you. Students who identify with that card can raise their hands or jump saying “A mí también”, then you stop and ask a few students questions about the card.
Are you ready to have fun! Click HERE to download the game!
Con cariño,
You might like these resources available on Teachers Pay Teachers:
The end of 2020 is here! What a difficult year for everyone. In the midst of hard times trying to stay positive was helpful for me. Admittedly, some days and weeks were easier than others to keep my head up. In Latin America, we have a New Year’s song whose chorus goes: “I won’t forget last year, because it has left me with so many good things!” while we simultaneously go to extra lengths to rid ourselves of bad memories and energy by burning the Año Viejo (Old Year). So it goes, year after year, a recognition of the good, bad, and ugly. But 2020 was particularly intense.
2020 made it possible for me to become closer to friends who live states away and across oceans. I have been able to spend more time with my children and see them grow and enjoy them. I have been able to take ukelele, salsa lessons, and yoga classes via Zoom, I have also developed new routines like drinking coffee on Saturday morning with my parents on WhatsApp. I still can’t tell if our dogs are grateful or not for having us around all the time!
It was also difficult for me not to be able to go to Colombia and to learn that friends have been taken away by this pandemic and that close family members in Colombia have also been affected by it. I feel extremely lucky that I still have a job, as I am aware that is not the case for many people. I’m keeping them in my thoughts during these hard times!
I am grateful for your continuous support of my work. Coming to read my blog, interacting with me on social media, purchasing my resources, downloading my freebies, and so on! Just know that everything I do here is with deep passion and love for teaching languages and connecting with teachers from all over the world. Your messages continue to inspire me! ¡Gracias!
Cheers for a healthy 2021 and hoping that soon we will be able to see our loved ones and friends – and give them the longest, squeeziest hugs ever!
Here are the most-read posts on my blog during 2020!
