The first days and weeks of school play an important role in how the school year might go. In this post I have shared a series of practices and strategies I use in my classes.
Find a Signal To Get Your Student’s Attention
I’m a fan of having chimes in different places in my room. I also have them in my bag when I travel from classroom to classroom. Watch the video to see how I use a three-tone chime in my classes. I would love to say that I came up with this idea, but I learned it from an awesome colleague and translated it into Spanish.
Use Call and Response Chants
Yes, sometimes using our chime or clapping our hands doesn’t work! I have found that call-and-responses work magic to get my students’ attention while using the language. Find some that you like and work for your class!
Use Songs As Quiet Reminders and Transitions
Songs are great a way to remind your students what they need to be doing at the moment, especially younger students. You can use songs to remind students to line up, clean up, and so on!
Set Classroom Norms and Expectations
Some teachers like to set their norms prior to the first class, other teachers create them with their students and others piggyback on the norms students created with their homeroom teachers.No matter what you decide, make them simple, talk about your norms and expectation, model them, practice them and also make them part of your everyday routine. If possible place posters in the front of the class to keep them as reminders!
Greet Every Student
If you have a classroom, waiting for your students and greeting them at the door is one of the best ways to set the tone for your class. If you don’t have a classroom, you can still make sure to greet every student in your class. Remember that saying their names when you greet them is important for your students, and also a way for you to remember all their names.
What else would you add to this list? Write them in the comments!
Looking for ways to build classroom community from day one? Community is one the most important things to have a successful school year with your students. Having strong classroom communities will lead to empowered students who will feel validated and ready to thrive.
These are just some of the ways you can start building community in your classes:
Introduce Yourself
Students want to know who their teachers are. Sharing simple things about you will make them feel safer and find ways to connect with you.What can you share with your students? Likes, dislikes, special traditions, languages you speak, and so on! I recommend not asking about summer activities since not everyone has access to the same opportunities.
Learn How to Pronounce Your Students’ Names Correctly
This is key for building classroom community. Let your students know that it’s ok for them to correct you if you mispronounce their names. Find ways to help you remember the correct pronunciation.
Celebrate Your Students’ Cultures
World language classes should not only focus on the cultures of the target language. Our classes should be spaces where all cultures and traditions are celebrated. Look for ways in your classes to elevate your students. Make your class a space where everyone is welcome!
Focus on the Positive and Always Celebrate Your Students’ Milestones
Focus on the positive and always celebrate your students’ milestones: Remember that our classes are filled with students that have different learning styles and personalities. It’s important to keep in mind that they are all processing and learning at different paces.
Involve the Families of Your Students From Day One
Send a letter or email to your students’ families / caregivers prior to or right after you have your students in class on the first day.Let them know about you, your program, your professional experience, and expectations for your class, and ways to connect with you! Families are also important when building classroom communities!
This game is another fave in my classes. Quick to put together and great to review vocabulary while adding some movement. This game is known by different names, but I call it “Aguacate” in my classes.Use flashcards with different vocabulary you have explored with your students. For example, colors, numbers, seasons, animals, and so on!
Look for clipart of something that’s making movement. In this case, I chose a jumping avocado, and called the game “aguacate.”You can choose another clipart that works well for your classes and name it differently.I call this card the movement card. Print about 10 of them.
Mix all the vocabulary flashcards, and place the movement cards in the group of cards. They should be in different places in your group of cards.
Have your students say the name of every vocabulary card, and do the movement every time they see the movement card.
For example, if you follow this video it would be:Amarillo, azul, aguacate (jump), anaranjado, rojo, aguacate (jump) and so on!You can decide as a group how to end the game. Need the cards to download the game? Click HERE!!
¡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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