Los más pequeños is a fantastic book for Spanish world language or bilingual classrooms! Colombian singer and writer, Nathalia Palis takes us on an beautiful journey to discover the world’s tiniest animals and the valuable lessons they offer.
The book has colorful illustrations that are perfect for simple picture talks. For instance, when reading the first pages, you might ask your students, “¿Qué otros insectos pequeños conocen?” (What other small insects do you know?). This invites them to share their ideas in Spanish or learn new insect names in Spanish. You can engage your students by asking about the colors they see in the illustrations and incorporating TPR (Total Physical Response) to make the lesson more interactive. For example, ask whether the insect walks or flies, and let students mimic the movements of the insects. You can also play with the language by using diminutives and augmentatives. For example, “una abejita” and “una abejota.”
Additionally, the book is a great tool for practicing vocabulary related to nature. After reading about different creatures, have students create a chart listing the animals they learned, along with their Spanish names. This can turn into a collaborative group activity. You can also invite your students to create new creatures by combining some of the insects from the book. For example, combining the words oruga and araña to come up with a new animal, “oruña.” You can also have a sing-along in your classes with this beautiful song!
And there’s still more exciting news! Visit Nathalia’s page to participate in the fantastic giveaway! You have the chance to win a copy of the book this week, along with a special Zoom visit with Nathalia for for your Spanish classes.
This is a wonderful opportunity for your students to engage with the author, ask questions, and gain insights into the story behind the book. The giveaway ends on October 7th, 2024, at 3:00 PM Pacific Time. Head over to Nathalia’s page now to enter!
PQA (Personalized Questions and Answers) is a wonderful teaching technique to use with any level, but especially with novice levels. As its name indicates, PQA involves personalizing language by asking questions to your students. This is a great way to connect the language directly with your students’ experiences. PQA is also valuable for teachers to get to know their students and for building classroom community; it can be used at any time, even as a quick follow-up activity. The best thing about PQA is that you don’t need materials to start!
Personalized Questions and Answers (PQA) is an easy way to engage students with questions connected to their students’ lives and interests.
Here’s how it might unfold:
Starting with a Question: The teacher asks a simple, personalized question in the target language, such as “¿Tienes una mascota?” (Do you have a pet?).
Student Responses: Students answer according to their experience. Responses might be as simple as “Sí” (Yes) or more detailed like “Tengo un perro” (I have a dog).
Follow-Up Questions: The teacher asks follow-up questions to encourage further conversation. For example, “¿Cómo se llama tu perro?” (What’s your dog’s name?) or “¿De qué color es tu perro?” (What color is your dog?).
Engaging the Class: As the conversation continues, the teacher may direct questions to other students to keep the whole class involved. “¿A quién más le gustan los perros?” (Who else likes dogs?) “¿Quién tiene un perro”? (Who else has a dog?).
Use of Visuals and Gestures: The teacher might use pictures or gestures to help clarify vocabulary or concepts, especially for novice learners. I specially like having flashcards for every questions (like the one seen in the picture below).
Repetition and Reinforcement: The teacher repeats key phrases or vocabulary throughout the conversation to help reinforce language in a natural context.
Encouragement: Students are encouraged to participate, even if their responses are as simple as a single word or a basic sentence.
Movement and Engagement: In younger classes, the teacher might add actions or games to accompany the questions, keeping energy levels high and the learning interactive.
You can complement this activity by documenting the responses of the student being interviewed. Later, you can share the results with the class and ask questions about that student. This allows the activity to shift from using first-person language to third-person, all within a meaningful context.
Personalized Questions and Answers (PQA) creates a learning environment where students can practice language in real-life situations.
Let me start with my own story! ONCE UPON A TIME… I used to be a teacher who relied heavily on vocabulary lists and checklists of what my students needed to memorize. For example, my third graders were required to name five fruits, five animals, school supplies, and places in the community, among other things. All these vocabulary words were disconnected and lacked context. I also expected my students to remember these words indefinitely and use them the following year. This often left me feeling frustrated, and I blamed my students for not retaining words they had only heard during the fruit unit.
Everything changed when I started teaching with stories. I began to focus on high-frequency and useful phrases and language. Instead of just concentrating on the five-word fruit unit, I told stories where students not only learned the names of the fruits but also how to express likes and dislikes while following a plot in the target language. These stories were simple, engaging, and provided the necessary repetition for my students to acquire the language, not just learn it.
As a teacher, I felt my teaching toolkit was rejuvenated. I discovered different ways to bring stories to life for my students—through pictures, short clips, picture books, co-creating stories, songs, or short stories I created for them. I didn’t switch to teaching with stories overnight. I started gradually, and with practice, I became more confident in integrating more stories into the various grades I teach. Now, I can proudly say that my curriculum is 90% story-based.
I remember that the first story I told my students was the picture book Froggy Gets Dressed (Froggy se viste). I first read the story and then retold it using props. The story was so repetitive that by the end, they were repeating it with me. From there, I started incorporating more and more stories, and now I have a full repertoire.
The best part of teaching with stories is that it gives you the flexibility and creativity to make language acquisition an enjoyable process for your students. Your students are more likely to acquire the language when they experience it in context, which makes all the difference. Bringing stories to your students can also broaden their horizons and allow them to learn about themselves and others because through stories, you can also bring culture and teach life lessons. Stories naturally incorporate varied vocabulary and grammar, providing a meaningful context for language use.
Are you ready to start using stories in your classroom? Remember to start little by little, ensure that you feel connected to the story, and practice before bringing it to class! And remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect; with practice, you’ll become more confident and proficient at telling stories!
As we approach the final days or weeks of the academic year, maintaining student motivation and focus can become challenging. Nonetheless, seizing the opportunity to make these last days count is a positive way to conclude the school year on a high note. Here are some tips to ensure these days are productive and meaningful:
Maintain Your Routines
You’ve worked hard to establish routines throughout the year, so it’s important to maintain them until the end. Keeping these routines helps provide a sense of continuity and stability for both you and your students, helping a smooth transition into summer.
Continue Building Classroom Community Until the Last Day:
Look for opportunities to celebrate your students’ accomplishments and milestones. Reflect with them on all they’ve achieved throughout the year, and keep finding ways to continue connecting and building on those relationships. It might be the case that you will have the same students the next school year
Keep the Brain Breaks Going
Simple brain breaks, such as Chocolate or the Aguacate game, that invite your students to move and then center back into the activities will help! If there’s too much energy, breathing breaks will help with this!
Make the Last Days Extra Fun
Wrap up the school year with your students’ favorite games and tunes in your class. Sing-alongs are always a hit! Try the Wheel of Names to pick the songs and games. This will also add excitement!
Bring Quick and Easy Activities
Bring in activities that don’t require a lot of follow-up and can be completed in one or two classes. Examples include creating a craft with memories of the school year, working on a short story with a follow-up craft, or doing color-by-code pages. These activities are fun and easy to manage, providing a relaxing yet meaningful end to the school year.
Reflect on Your Teaching Practices
Take time to evaluate what worked well and what didn’t throughout the year. Engage your students in this reflection process by having them complete a short survey to share their thoughts on what was helpful in their learning. This feedback can provide valuable insights for your upcoming school year.
The calmer and happier we are in the final weeks, the better our students will do. Stress causes more stress, so plan ahead and take deep breaths!
This has to be one of the most engaging activities that I have used with my early elementary students. With the support of technology, I have animated their drawings, and this has consistently surprised them each time we reach this point. I followed the steps below:
Asked my students to make a drawing of one character using a pencil. I also instructed them to trace them using a black pen and then add color.
Digitalized their drawings by taking pictures or scanning them.
Created a presentation using Canva, with one slide displaying the drawing and the next slide showcasing the animations.
During class, projected the presentation and asked the illustrator or owner of the picture some questions about it (name, favorite color, favorite animal, and fruit) to create their personalities. Typed their answers.
While in Canva, searched for pictures to support the answers.
Clicked “Present” on Canva, and read aloud the information about the character.
This activity has been great for asking questions and having my students respond to them. Since I only focus on one character per class, it provides repetition in a fun way. This requires low preparation since I only digitalize and animate one character before each class, taking about three minutes. It’s worth the giggles and joy!
