If you need a quick way to share the culture behind Día de Muertos, I got you!
Just use THIS presentation to Movie Talk a short video from Youtube. The video is also linked in the slideshow.
You could just use this to talk about the holiday in English, or with upper levels, you could definitely have the discussion in Spanish. There are some ideas on the first slide, but those are just a FEW ideas. Have fun!
Hope this inspires you to get students talking about the Hispanic culture!
Working with English Language Learners this year has really opened my eyes to just how much we use idiomatic expressions. They are EVERYWHERE! We use them in everyday conversations. We see them referenced in literature. We see them used in movies and tv and commercials. They are everywhere, and our students need to have a strong base in idiomatic expressions in order to be able to fully understand the language.
So, I started “an idiom a day” with my ESOL and bilingual classes. It has been really a great conversation starter! I am hearing lots of “oh, I heard that but I didn’t get it” and “oh, that makes sense now” from my students.
Here is a link to a free version with a few of them. Feel free to use them in your classes, use them to create your own or even adapt them to the language you teach!
I have used them to start class, given them to students to try to figure out on their own and used them as group work for students to discuss and come up with their best guess at the real meaning of the idiom! You could use all of the slides or even have students draw what the words say and then what it really means after a class discussion. This helps them really internalize the difference in the words alone and the expression as a whole.
You can also find Idiomatic Expressions in English Part 1, Part 2 and 3 (each with 15-20 idioms) on my TpT store!
Hope this makes incorporating idioms a little easier. Idiomatic Expressions 1 comes FREE as part of the Sra. K. Spanish Squads, and Part 2 and 3 will be included in November and December. 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…. 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!
Every year, I have done a Menu Project after our unit about food. I generally have students create a menu with a group and then make the classroom into a cafe and allow them to take turns being the waitstaff and the customers. The kids usually enjoy this project, but I had to do it differently during pandemic teaching, and that really changed my mind about the project.
During the start of the pandemic and even into the following year, I had to pivot to making this an online project. I decided the first year to let students just create one. It didn’t go well. There was LOTS of copying and pasting going on. The next year, I decided to throw some culture into it since some were still at home in their copy and paste/Google Translate mode. Instead of focusing on language, I made the project really based on culture and even allowed them to do it in English (it was Spanish class).
This year, I came to a happy medium. I made it a mixed project and used several opportunities to differentiate the project.
First, I had students choose a country, region or city they were interested in. For my Spanish classes, this had to be one in Latin America. For my ESOL classes, I allowed them to choose any country, including their home country, they were interested in or wanted to share.
Next, students had to find at least two dishes that were common, or popular or traditional to that region, country or city for each meal of the day. They had to find pictures of the dish and save them to their computer or drive. Then they were told to keep a Google Doc with all the information about the dish (ingredients, how it is served, when is the dish generally prepared, etc…)
After that, it was time to decide on how to present this. This past year, I gave them the option of doing it digitally (they had to present a written rough draft first) or creating a menu on a piece of posterboard (remembering they had to draw for this one).
Now, they had to write out their “order” for a waiter.
Finally, they were to present their favorites and their “order” with the class in person or in a video to be shown to the class.
I really did enjoy the mix of culture and language that I saw being practiced this year was AMAZING, and I will definitely do this project this way again! I hope these ideas help you get your students to review vocabulary and practice speaking while learning about cultures around the world. I have the full project slideshow on my TpT store HERE, but you can totally just take the idea and run with it. The key is to sail on into the summer with low stress and high engagement!
Happy Teaching!
Alana
You can go HERE and learn more about the SraKSpanish squads! Join today!
Teaching about Afro-Latinos is something I do all year long, but, during Black History Month here in the United States, I do like to show the great documentary entitled, “AfroLatinos the Documentary.” You can see it on Vimeo HERE.
I currently work in a school with several Afrolatino students each year in my Spanish for Spanish Speaker classes, and I have found showing this documentary is really helpful to them. We watch it together in all my Spanish classes, we stop and answer some discussion questions (which you can find HERE) and we process it together.
There are also some others that are pretty easy to access. One good one with shorter episodes is called “Black in Latin America,” which can be found with an easy Youtube search.
Regardless of the resource, it is important to continue to educate others about this population, which is often not mentioned in Latin American culture. Although it is best to include this population throughout the year, this month is a great opportunity to learn about how Central America and South America have been influenced by Afrolatinos and their culture.
Happy Teaching!
-Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
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!
Hey there! It has been a while since I have posted. It has just been…quite a start to 2022. I hope you are all getting into the semester and finding your groove.
I have an activity that may be fun and can be adapted. I did this with my students last week in my Spanish classes AND my ESOL class and it was a HIT! So, of course, I will be making more. For now, I will share THIS one and how I used it.
I created THIS slideshow. I gave each student a copy of the slideshow through our LMS (we use Schoology, but you could do this with Google Classroom or Canva or whatever you use).
First, we reviewed the items on the last slides (the moveable parts). We practiced describing them by color, size and name. It was a great practice! Then, I had them open their copy of the slideshow. We chose a room and then I covered my projector. I called out the item and where to place it in the room. (We have recently covered prepositions of place.) After about 5 items, I revealed my room and had them look and see if theirs was the same. We did this a few times with different objects. Then, I had them partner up and create a room and a script of sentences. I only gave them about 5 minutes. Then, as time allowed, I had students come up to my computer and do the same thing for the class. They loved seeing if they could stump their friends.
This could also be used as manipulatives! You could print the blank room slides on paper and laminate them or put them in page protectors. Then, you could print the objects and cut them out and laminate them. this would allow students to move them around. I think this would be especially fun for the littles, but I know my middle schoolers would love it too.
I hope this gives you a fun activity to do and some ideas about how to use these. I will have more for sale in my TpT store in the next couple of weeks. For now, I hope you enjoy it!
Happy Teaching!
-Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
In the district I teach in, we have some required topics and vocabulary. This doesn’t always mix easily with the world of CI. I have found, through my work with Tina Hargaden, that it is possible to integrate required lessons/topics/vocabulary and still make lessons based in communication.
So, how do I do that? Well, one thing I do is follow the curricular framework presented in Tina’s book, Foundations. There are six cycles of instruction, and those really help me frame every lesson and keep a structure, yet still have flexibiity.
Recently, I had to teach house vocabulary. After introducing the vocabularyThis, I created THIS activity for us to do together. I incorporated a section for us to do together, a listening activity and then an interpersonal communication opportunity for students where they practice listening and speaking with a partner or group. This could also be done virtually by having students submit a video of them talking through their “casa.”
HERE is a Loom video I recorded explaining how I used this resource. Although it is in Spanish, you can absolutely put text boxes over the words (there are only a few) in your language.
I hope this helps with some ideas for teaching these required vocabulary sets and/or topics while keeping lessons focused on communication!
Happy Teaching!
Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
I am gearing up for the first few days back from break! I know, I should be relaxing and disconnecting. I have been, I promise, but I also know I relax better when I am prepared.
So… I have been continuing with my series of Following Simple Directions worksheets. I know worksheets are NOT the preferred task, and I plan to do a lot of guided vocabulary work and story telling along with this, but, that being said, I feel like my students are better on task when there is something concrete for them to accomplish and turn in. I hope to NOT have to do this next year, but my students seem to really need the structure and to be reminded how to be in school this year.
HERE is the link to the PDF with English AND Spanish
Anyway, I hope you can find some way to use this that will benefit your students. This is just one level. The leveled versions will be up for sale on my TpT store by the end of the week.
HERE is the link to the PDF with English AND Spanish
I have also created some New Year Student Practice for Following Simple Directions for sale on my TpT store. HERE is the link to the Spanish, and HERE is the link to the English.
Happy teaching!
Follow this blog for more great, free resources! Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
I am beginning to prep for the next semester and using this time off to create some fun, fresh new resources with that “old school” kind of feel to them. Sometimes, the quick, easy things really help keep class moving.
After talking about houses, looking at pictures of different rooms inside the house (there will be more resources you can find on my TpT store in January), I would give students this page. We could do it together OR they could work with a partner or in small groups OR students could try it on their own. Then, I would have students use this as an example and then have them draw their dream house on the other side of the paper, labeling the rooms and, depending on their level, putting things in the room to support the room.
This is only one level. I do plan to have at least one more level and a digital version with moveable parts in a pack on my TpT store, but I wanted to share THIS free English and Spanish version in hopes it helps you build a lesson that fits well in your teaching context.
Sra. K. Spanish 