As I get into the Narration Cycle of the Stepping Stones Curricular framework, I find myself having trouble getting my students to give me a complete summary of the stories I tell, the stories we read or the books they read independently. They always leave something out.
I have also noticed, working with 4th grade bilingual students, that students struggle with this concept in their OWN language. So, I created THIS easy Google Slides presentation (Spanish and the bundle can be found on my TpT store) to walk them through it step by step.
You could print it out and have students write on it. You could use it as a whole class lesson. You could assign it to table groups after reading a story at their level in the language. You could even assign it individually as an assessment. There are SO many possibilities!
Hope this inspires you to get students talking and writing with stories!
Does this October feel like May to anyone else? Hoping it isn’t just me, LOL!
So, Exit Tickets seem to be a quick, easy way for formative assessments. I had been using sticky notes, but…. that’s a LOT of sticky notes!!!
So, here are a few ideas you could print and use TOMORROW! Of course, I have about 8-10 more in my TpT store, but hopefully these 7 are useful AND can give you a template for you to just make up your own any time!
Hope this makes the end of class a little easier. The entire group of Exit Tickets comes free as part of the Sra. K. Spanish Squads. You can go HERE and learn more about the squads and join today!
When “Training the Troops,” I often think about the things that didn’t go so well the year before and then think of a system that might help.
I began to think about my struggles in my own language learning classes. Mostly, it was keeping myself and my students on a routine and then making sure my students were able to be held responsible for their own learning. So, I made this page:
This is a page I print out. I print the correct number of pages for the number of class days that week. Students are responsible for filling out the pages every class period. If they are absent, they find a friend who has the day’s notes or they grab my copy from the front of the room (I do this in a notebook I have for each class period). Then, at the end of the week, I ask for them to turn in one day’s paper. I don’t tell them before that moment and I only give them 30 seconds to get it to my hand. Why? This motivates them to do all the days, since they never know which I will ask for, AND it doesn’t give them time to copy their friend’s paper.
For classes that are more self-motivated, I will just train them with this page the first week or so and then have them do the same thing inside their notebooks. We are a 1:1 campus, so I then have them take a pic of the page I am going to check and submit it via our LMS (we use Schoology).
I also came up with some other graphic organizers that are super general, a place to keep anchor charts made in class for reference purposes and several other generalized pages you could easily fit to your teaching style in THIS Daily Learning Log. You can get this one and the others on my TpT store OR you can join my Patreon OR my SQUAD!
You can go HERE and learn more about the squads and join today!
I am planning out some things to do in my classes these first few days back to get students engaged right out of the gate, let them see some things they have in common with their classmates AND help me get to know them!
So, one thing I thought would be fun would be an always popular debate…. Do you prefer THIS or THAT?
I know, seems silly, but kids really get into this one! It is a pretty heated debate. Now… how could you use it?
Well, in any class, you can just use it as a way to get the kids involved. In a World Language classroom, you could use it to review vocabulary or preferences and even write about one of the slides independently, in pairs or in groups. This could work with ELA classes as well for a speaking and writing activity. You could level up or level down as much as you need to make it a fun and even meaningful debate. You could use a Venn diagram or t-chart to take a look at what the students in each class prefer. You could do some basic graphing for math classes! The possibilities are endless!
I have a full version up in HERE my TpT store, but HERE is a quick PDF to get you started! You can certainly use these and then just add your own slides in.
Hope this inspires you to get students talking and writing on day ONE!
For even more resources, group coaching and more, head over HERE and learn more about the squads! Join today!
Happy Teaching!
Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) , Facebook (sra k Spanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!Be on the lookout for the announcement for my annual membership site in July 2022!
I am planning out some things to do in my classes these first few days back to get students engaged right out of the gate, let them see some things they have in common with their classmates AND help me get to know them!
So, one thing I thought would be fun would be an always popular debate…. Is it a salad, a soup or a sandwich?
I know, seems silly, but kids really get into this one! It is a pretty heated debate. Now… how could you use it?
Well, in any class, you can just use it as a way to get the kids involved. In a World Language classroom, you could use it to review foods and even write about one of the foods independently, in pairs or in groups. This could work with ELA classes as well for a speaking and writing activity. You could level up or level down as much as you need to make it a fun and even meaningful debate. You could use a venn diagram or t-chart to settle the debate as well or have students write down their classification on a graphic organizer. The possibilities are endless!
I have a full version up in HERE my TpT store, but HERE is a quick PDF to get you started! You can certainly use these and then just add your own slides in.
Hope this inspires you to get students talking and writing on day ONE!
You can go HERE and learn more about the SraKSpanish squads! Join today!
Happy Teaching!
Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) , Facebook (sra k Spanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!Be on the lookout for the announcement for my annual membership site in July 2022!
As I transition back into a bilingual classroom, focusing on biliteracy is my main goal. As I started to look at some things I wanted to put on the walls, I started to think about some things I have learned over the years. Posters are good for catching the eye of wandering minds, (as a person with ADD, I know I used to always look around when my mind would wander), but they don’t serve the purpose of TEACHING much without context and LOTS of visual scaffolding. I have a LOT of posters I have collected in my 25 years in the classroom…a LOOOTTT! Now, I am realizing that I should start my year with blank walls. I know, I know, it sounds crazy. Hear me out…
Really, the BEST way make those wandering mind moments count is to give students things to look at that help activate prior knowledge. How do we do that? We make Anchor Charts! There has been a lot of debate on what constitutes an “Anchor Chart.” I believe, after all the conferences and books and seminars and years of experience, that it can only be called an “Anchor Chart” if it is something you have created WITH students DURING learning. So, I propose you take posters and turn them into anchor charts. This means you start with a blank paper (butcher paper or chart paper) and recreate that poster you love WITH your students WHILE they are learning! Now, I am NOT artistic. Like, I am challenged to even draw stick figures well, so do not fear, I have a trick for you if this is you too! The way around it is to create one or find one online you like (there are several in my TpT store and I am giving you some here too) and project it with your document camera or projector before class starts and very lightly outline it with a pencil. This way, when you are in class, you have a guideline to follow, but the kids don’t have to know that. They can just believe you are a FABULOUS artist! LOL! Like this one can be easily traced:
Guess what? It doesn’t stop there! You can erase some parts of the poster and make it a graphic organizer the students fill out later as a way to assess their understanding of the concept …..
OR you can create a bulletin board with the idea using things the students have written to fill in the board or things you have traced and added!
So, my challenge over the summer will be to create a bunch of templates for anchor charts / graphic organizers / bulletin boards that are meaningful for students and helpful for teachers and get them ready for YOU. I will be adding them to my TpT store in a growing bundle, but….
They will be part of my MEMBERSHIP SITE, which will give you access to my resources! New subscriptions will be available in July 2022! Stay tuned for more…
Hope this inspires you to at least consider starting the year with BLANK walls!
Happy Teaching!
Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) , Facebook (sra k Spanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!Be on the lookout for the announcement for my annual membership site in July 2022!
I am currently teaching in the Narration Cycle of the instructional framework. I have been telling a new story every week, and needed a new way to review the stories and get my students writing. So, I took a step back into my days teaching language arts and pulled out this classic review strategy.
It is the 5 finger review! I wanted a fresh way to summarize the story and get my students writing, not just listening to the story. I found my students really needed a way to organize their thoughts, so I drew a hand on the board. After that class, I realized it would have been great to have allowed my students to use this as a graphic organizer WHILE I was telling the story, not just after. It would also have been great to have a digital version I could have created with students. On top of that, I am just a REALLY bad artist. LOL. I mean, epically bad. So bad that my students end up having a running joke about some drawing I have tried to make at some point during the year. It is just one of those things about teaching with CI…you have to draw.
Anyway, after doing the notes that go on each finger, you can use those points to write a great summary. It worked out well, so I wanted to share! You can download the color English version HERE. The Spanish and English versions in both color and printable black and white can be found in my TpT store, linked below.
In my years in education I have learned there is power in using Graphic Organizers. This is true for ALL subject matter in ALL grade levels. I have taught elementary, middle, high school and college, and … graphic organizers were one of the BEST tools I had at my disposal at all levels. I have taught Social Studies, Math, Reading, ESOL, Bilingual, Dual Language and even Science. Guess what? … You guessed it! Graphic Organizers for the win!
They are POWERFUL because they help students see the information in a different way. We all know “chunking” works for struggling students, but it also works for ALL students. By giving students information in an “organized” structure, we allow them all to process the information at their own pace and store it visually. I have yet to find a lesson or concept that is not supported by a Graphic Organizer.
Now I teach Spanish and ESOL at middle school. One thing I do in both classes is tell stories. Kids are always super engaged with Visual Stories! (If you haven’t tried it, you should!) One great way to process the story after is to use a Graphic Organizer. Below, you will see a classic, and one of my favorites:
There are others (you can find some on my TpT store if you need some variety or want these in Spanish) you can use for a simple Story Retell, but this one is super simple. You can make this into an Anchor Chart that you create on poster paper or the white board during class.
In this digital age, it is even easier to share this with students. So, I made a Google Slides presentation you can either use WITH your students or share with them so they can fill it out on their own. Of course, the good ole printable version is HERE. Hope this is a helpful reminder for everyone about how amazing Graphic Organizers can be in your classroom!
Happy Teaching!
Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
Sra. K. Spanish 