Whether you’re a new teacher or have been in the classroom for a while, there are simple yet powerful tips for decorating your classroom that can save you time and transform your classroom into a hub of creativity and teamwork.
Imagine stepping into your classroom on the first day of school. The walls are adorned with bright decorations, everything neatly organized, and inspiring quotes displayed everywhere. Many teachers aim for this kind of inviting setup to grab students’ attention from the start. But what if there’s a different way that not only saves you time and stress but also brings your students together and gives them a sense of belonging? This approach involves keeping things minimal and letting your students take the lead in decorating. Personally, I prefer using whites and earth colors, and I also recommend adding plants to create a more relaxing atmosphere.
Instead of spending hours making everything look perfect, provide the basics and let your students get creative. When students help decorate, they feel like they’re part of the classroom. They understand that the classroom isn’t just your space; it’s a shared area where their ideas count. Keep your classroom decoration simple and minimalist.
In the first few weeks of school, involve your students in decorating tasks. For example, they can color the calendar, create signs, and discuss and put up class agreements together. This teamwork not only saves you time but also fosters a sense of community right from the beginning. Additionally, consider that most of the visuals in your room should serve the purpose of supporting your students’ language acquisition process.
Also, set up a spot on the walls or bulletin boards to showcase your students’ work. As you do different projects throughout the year, displaying what they create boosts their confidence and makes them proud of what they achieve.
Besides the basics, think about adding a few things that represent your students’ different cultures. Talking about these items can start interesting conversations and help your students learn about each other. By going for a simpler look and letting your students join in decorating your classroom, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on your lessons and what you want to achieve during the year.
In the end, whether you decide to go all out with decorations or keep it simple is up to you. As you get ready for the new school year, remember the great potential of letting your students create a welcoming space where everyone’s contributions are valued.
After the long summer, it’s likely that our students haven’t had the opportunity to listen to or practice the target language. This four corners game is perfect for the first weeks of school because it serves as a means to rekindle your students’ acquired language skills. The four corners game is a simple game played in a room with four corners. One person stands in the center of the room while the others choose one of the corners to stand in.
The person in the center closes their eyes and counts to a certain number, then calls out one of the corners. Anyone in the called corner is out of the game. The game continues until only one person is left or until players tire of playing. It’s a fun and interactive game that involves movement! I like to change the rule of the game a little but not asking anyone to leave the game.
This time the players in the corner with the called number become “it” and help the original caller in the next round. The original caller can join the group, and one of the newly chosen “its” becomes the new caller for the four corners game. Repeat the process with the new caller counting and calling out a number. This way, all players get to be involved without being eliminated. Additionally, if you have a new student in the language, this can be an approachable method to help them integrate into your class.
Let me save you some time so that you don’t have to create the game from scratch. Click on the picture below to download 12 slides and blank templates to use for this game the next time you see your students!
Last December I had the opportunity to attend the PoCC conference, and, on my second day, I found a session that was about exploring race and identity in early childhood. This session was filled with beautiful ideas that can be adapted to Spanish class. I really loved this idea that I have been using during the first weeks of school with my second graders. Some of them get excited when the class said “Me gusta, me gusta, me gusta tu nombre”. This is a simple activity that doesn’t require a lot of preparations, and it’s great to celebrate your students’ names and identities! This activity is also a great opportunity to learn how to pronounce your students’ names correctly. Don’t be afraid of asking your students to say their names again for you.
You will need:
A jar or container
Paper
Pencils
Color pencils or markers
Activity:
Give your students a piece of paper, big enough to place in the jar or container.
Have your students write their names on the paper or write it for them if needed. They can use different colors and decorate them.
If teaching virtually, you can still ask your students to decorate their name at home and send you a picture that you can later print or place in a slide to use during class.
Modification: You can create a wheel of names using this free website.
How does it work?
Teach the structure “Me gusta.”
This can be used during circle time or as part of the routine in your class. This is not a one-time activity. You can take as long as you and your students need and spiral back anytime during the school year.
Place all the names in the container or jar.
The teacher or a volunteer in class takes one name at a time and asks “¿Quién es (complete with the name)?
Your students can raise their hands and/or respond by saying “yo” if they are ready for output.
Then the class responds “Me gusta, me gusta, me gusta tu nombre.”
If teaching remotely, use the wheel name website to create a roulette wheel with names and then ask your students to show their names when you call them.
Seesaw is one of the most valuable teaching tools I have used during Distance Teaching. I have been using it for over three years, but I’d always limited myself to asking students to retell stories or to send them messages with links they would need during class. I have also used Seesaw as a backup plan for third grade and up when I had a sub that didn’t know Spanish. Seesaw is a wonderful portfolio that allows students to see their progress. It has also been a tool that has replaced paper assessments (Yay for the trees!). So I realized that I really needed to learn more about Seesaw during Distance Teaching. I feel that I now have created a bank of resources that I can use as emergency lessons or reuse if we continue with online teaching.
If you want to learn more about Seesaw, they have been offering different types of professional development (PD) and also have a lot of information on their website.
These are two activities that I created during Distance Teaching. Feel free to copy them to your library and make the changes you need to make them work for your students. You will need to have access to a premium Seesaw account to make changes to it. If your school is using Seesaw, you likely already have access to it. If you or your school have a free account, you can assign it to your students as is.
The first activity is based on the story “La vaca que decía oink”*** by Bernard Most. I read this story to my kinder and first grade students and used this activity as a way to review key vocabulary.
This second activity is a retelling of the story “La gallinita roja”*** in a much simpler way. Just like the activity above, you can edit it to make it fit the needs of your students.
I hope you and your students enjoy these activities!
I like approaching the first days of school in a very low key manner. We are all getting ready and adjusting to the new routine, and as some suggest, it may take up to 6 weeks for children to finally feel ready for your class. This is especially true as I am an specialist, and I see my students two times during the week. I am not a lucky homeroom teacher who gets to see them everyday! I like to use my first classes to show my students how my class works and what I expect from them, but before I dive into rules and procedures, I introduce myself.
Every year I make a book or presentation where I share with my students a bit about myself, my family, my country of origin, and something fun I did during the summer. I create a short story book and use pictures to illustrate it. I call this book “Todo Sobre Mí.” Students really want to know who their teachers are, and they really appreciate the information you can give them, even telling them my first name, but letting them know that I prefer to be called “Señora Gómez” (however, note that this is not true anymore; this year I am going to make the shift to allowing them to use my first name, just like my students always did in Colombia.)
This is how mine looks!
Would you like to make your own? Grab materials to create yours HERE!
After sharing information about myself, I inform them about what I expect from each of them in my class. I predominantly use the target language for this purpose, but I also speak about 10% of the time in my students’ shared language, as suggested by ACTFL. To convey my expectations clearly, I rely heavily on visuals, simplifying my class guidelines as much as possible. In fact, the expectations I use are as follows:1.Respeto 2. Bondad 4. Español
And of course, I don’t want to end my first class without knowing students’ names and introducing or reviewing “Yo me llamo…”
