I am starting new classes on Monday. I will be teaching Spanish 2 Honors and Spanish 3 Honors. The majority of those students are coming from very traditional Spanish classes - Realidades and Así se dice - with the traditional pattern of learning:
Vocabulary - learn and practice - quiz
Grammar - learn by taking notes and practice - quiz
I have had this in the past and I always get some resistance from students because I don't give vocabulary lists and I don't give grammar notes. I ask for feedback the first few weeks and I frequently get "You need to give more notes". It is extremely frustrating for me and them and causes friction with me and the students, particularly the high-achievers/compliers. This new way of "learning" is frustrating because sometimes there is no right answers and they have to think outside the box. I don't want to have conflict with students, so I am trying to figure out how best to explain to them from day 1 what we are doing in my classes:
Communicating
Acquiring the language
Lots of stories
I just finished Spanish 1 and I did a better job explaining to them what language acquisition is and what it looks like. These are the non-honors students who were not successful in middle school -- they don't like notes and they also aren't the "compliers" -- one of the reasons I love them! One thing that I have in my classroom is this poster from Grant Boulanger(purchase it here):
I frequently referred to that poster with my Spanish 1 students and they got it. I will continue to that with my new students.
So, what is my plan with these new students? How can I convince them that this is a better way?
In both classes, I am starting with units revolving around stories based on music videos andEstrella del Día (this semester's questions). That is an easy hook with students because who doesn't love a good song/music video and it is authentic/real.
My big focus is presenting, on day 1, these Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings. (I have to have these for all my units.)
Preguntas Esenciales:
What is the difference between learning a language and acquiring a language? Which will help me to be able to communicate?
Do songs/stories help me to acquire the language? If so, how and why?
(Spanish 3) What helps me to alleviate and overcome sorrow?
(Spanish 2) What effects can social media have on a relationship?
How are the cultural products, practices, and perspectives in the song/story "Bailo la pena" or "#Idiota" similar and/or different to mine?
Enduring Understandings (Students will understand that):
Acquiring a language feels easier compared to learning a language.
Acquiring a language involves lots of listening, which then leads to → reading → writing → and finally speaking.
Acquiring a language will lead to communication.
However, language acquisition is slow, piecemeal and different for everyone.
In order to acquire high frequency structures and vocabulary, a lot of repetition and input are required.
An engaging story, images, and acting help me to acquire the language in an enjoyable way.
(Spanish 3) There are a variety of ways to alleviate and overcome sorrow. One way, as illustrated in the song/story "Bailo la pena" is through music, dance, community, and helping others.
(Spanish 2) Social media can have a variety of impacts on a relationship, both positive and negative.
The cultural products, practices, and perspectives in the song/story "Bailo la pena" OR "#Idiota" are similar and different to mine.
I will also explain the evaluaciones, which do not involve filling in the blanks with vocabulary words and/or the correct verb conjugations. Nor is there is there a big focus on accuracy!
Both classes will have similar evaluaciones during the units:
Interpretive Listening and Reading AND (some) Presentational Writing: Edpuzzle (example)
Interpretive Listening: Listen to parts of story and identify the picture.
Interpersonal Writing: Answer questions about yourself (related to story)
Interpretive Reading: Cierto/Falso about story
Presentational Speaking: Oral retell with pictures to help.
Presentational Writing: Write an original story with similar themes, vocabulary, and structures.
I am also explaining my expectations for class -- Students have to respond to me and interact during the class. They don't have to "talk" a lot, but they do have to "communicate" with me. They cannot just sit and absorb!
Something else I am doing (but will eventually not do): Give them a "vocabulary list" and a Quizlet (these students really think they need one!) but we never really go over it. At the end of the unit, take out the "vocabulary list" and ask, "How did we acquire all of these structures?" Hopefully, they say, "through communication and interacting with the text in a variety of ways!"
I am hoping I can win these students over earlier than I usually do!
In my Cultura y Civilización class (Spanish 4/5/6), we just finished our Chile: 1973 y 2019/20 unit. This unit is so rich with culture, history, and engaging authentic resources... some of this is CI, some is not.
Identity Standard #3: Students will recognize that people’s multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals.
Diversity Standard #7: Students will develop language and knowledge to accurately and respectfully describe how people (including themselves) are both similar to and different from each other and others in their identity groups.
Diversity Standard #8: Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way.
JusticeStandard #14: Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.
JusticeStandard #15: Students will identify figures, groups, events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world.
Note: This unit is for intermediate students. I will be sharing more details about an immigration unit that I did with my Spanish 1 class soon.
After recently purchasing a unit on TPT, and being a bit lost and disappointed and I couldn't figure out why. There were tons of excellent activities, really good resources, and detailed explanations of how to use everything, but when discussing with a colleague, we both realized that we were having a hard time with it because we couldn't see the big picture - Where are going in this unit!?!?
Here are the Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings:
¿Cuáles son los desafíos sociales y políticos que enfrentan la sociedad en Chile en 2019/20? ¿Cuáles son los orígenes de estos desafíos?
Desde octubre de 2019 ha habido manifestaciones por todo el país. Empezaron cuando hubo un alza en la tarifa del metro en a inicios de octubre de 2019. Muchos jóvenes protestaron en el metro y hubo enfrentamientos entre la policía y los manifestantes. Después de eso, el gobierno estableció un toque de queda y sacó a los militares a las calles. El presidente también dijo, ""Estamos en guerra contra un enemigo poderoso". El enemigo a que se refiere es el pueblo chileno. El 25 de octubre, ocurrió "La marcha más grande de Chile" con 1,2 millones de personas que manifestaron en Santiago. La gente no solo protestaban el aumento del precio del metro, sino por la desigualdad que existe en Chile, la educación, las pensiones, la salud, y otras cosas. Muchos de los problemas por los cuales protestaron existen por la Constitución de Pinochet. Hace treinta años que Chile volvió a ser una democracia, pero con la Constitución de una dictadura.
¿Por qué son los movimientos sociales importantes en una democracia?
Los movimientos sociales son importantes en una democracia porque a veces llegan a tener resultados. Por ejemplo, en Chile, por las manifestaciones, habrá un plebiscito (voto) en abril de 2020 en que los chilenos votarán por una nueva constitución. También, decidirán quién escribirá esa nueva constitución: los ciudadanos o los legisladores y los ciudadanos.
Además de las manifestaciones, los cabildos son parte de este movimiento social en Chile. Los cabildos ha dado voces a varios grupos en Chile. En los cabildos, los ciudadanos chilenos están hablando sobre lo que quieren en una nueva constitución.
¿Cómo puede ser la música una forma de protestar y/o de educar?
Se puede utilizar la música como una forma de protestar y educar. Dos ejemplos de esto son las canciones "La canción es protesta" por Yorka y "#Cacerolazo" por Ana Tijoux.
Por esas dos canciones, se puede ver muchos productos, prácticas y perspectivas culturales relacionadas con el estallido social en Chile.
¿Cómo se comparan y se contrastan los movimientos sociales de Chile con unos de nuestro país?
Los movimientos sociales de Chile (de 1973 y 2019/20) son similares y diferentes con varios movimientos sociales de nuestro país.
Se puede comparar y contrastar los movimientos sociales de Chile con varios movimientos sociales de nuestro país.
¿Qué es importante para mí en la sociedad? ¿Protestaría yo contra una injusticia o por una causa? ¿Qué? ¿Cómo?
Para tener una sociedad justa, es importante que todos los ciudadanos participen, que les importen ciertas cosas y que se levanten y actúen cuando ven injusticias.
Here are the "I can" statements for the unit:
Puedo describir algunos movimientos sociales en Chile, específicamente en el año 1973 y 2019/20.
Puedo explicar por qué son importantes los movimientos sociales en una democracia.
Puedo explicar cómo la película "Machuca" refleja la realidad de Chile en el año 1973.
Puedo identificar y explicar quiénes son algunas figuras importantes de Chile.
Puedo interpretar la canciones "La canción es protesta" y "#Cacerolazo" y explicar el propósito y el mensaje de cada canción.
Puedo comparar y contrastar los movimientos sociales de Chile con unos de nuestro país.
Ran out of time for this one! So, students only answered that last Essential Question Evaluación escrita - Contesta la última pregunta esencial y crea un poema, una canción, y/o un letrero para explicar tus sentimientos y razones por protestar/actuar.
The unit is broken into four parts. First, we talked about "2019 = El año del manifestante callejero". Second, I gave students a very general introduction to Chile. Third, students learned about Chile in 1973 and we watched the movie Machuca. And fourth, we jumped to present day Chile, starting in October and leading up to now.
Part 1
This doc (do first) and this slideshow helped get us started on the unit. It fit perfectly because there is so much music in there -- direct relation to one of the EQs.
Part 2
I wanted students to get a little idea about Chile, so watched these videos and students did an interpretive activity with the first one (see unit packet). The second video is definitely a commercial!
Part 3
This slideshow explains, in very general terms, a bit of history of Chile in 1973. I went over the slideshow and students wrote down the information. You will see that most slides have short sentences and images to aid comprehension. We also played Quizlet Live to give them more input with the information. Students also reviewed the slideshow with a partner by saying as much as they can with just the pictures (when you present the slideshow, you will see that the text fades in on click).
Without that historical knowledge, students would not be able to really understand and appreciate the movie Machuca. I really need to do a better job with what I did with the movie. I basically broke up the movie over 4 days and had a long list of questions that students answered (not CI at all!). Next time, I think I will do Write and Discuss and use that as the text for Machuca.
Also, without knowing about 9/11/73, students would not be able to understand where the protests of 2019/20 led to --> A vote for a new constitution in April.
Part 4
We then jumped from 1973 to October of 2019. Before learning about the protests that started, we had a class discussion (see slides 3-4) related to what started the protests in Chile (a rise in the price of the metro).
Then, students did a dictation activity with some important structures related to this infografía: ¿Qué está pasando en Chile? (also on slides 9-10), which is pretty comprehensible. They did an interpretive activity (p. 30-31 in unit packet).
This slideshow has LOTS of stuff in it. I did NOT use it all... it kinda became a filing cabinet for me.
Then, we got into the song "#Cacerolazo" by Ana Tijoux. The video, combined with the song, is so powerful. (And here is a version without the swear at the beginning.)
Other things (not all CI) that my students did during this last part of the unit:
I contacted the mother of Ana Tijoux on Twitter. She is a sociologist professor in Chile and she agreed to respond to my students' questions. Students recorded their questions on Flipgrid, but for reasons of time, I ended up transcribing the questions and she answered their questions (just this morning) - my students will be very excited to read her answers!
We reviewed with The Unfair Game (Martina gave me permission to share that link, since you can't copy, download and/or edit it when you "publish to the web". Buy the template for The Unfair Game here!)
better understand the song and the culture. I have put links and comments to help others as well.
Here is what students did (and will do - still working with it):
Listen to the (beautiful) song and do the cloze activity (AKA fill in the blanks).
Read the Spanish aloud with a partner and fill in the blanks for the translation
Match the lines of the song to simplified sentences (in Spanish) that convey the same meaning.
Instead of matching, students could write the simplified sentences (in Spanish) next to the song lines. I have provided options for both in the doc.
Read a list of cultural perspectives (that I wrote up in comprehensible Spanish) and answer this question: ¿Cuáles de estas creencias podrían ser (could be) unas perspectivas de la cantante?
I really like this activity and I hope to do it more with other songs.
Cultural perspectives are so hard for students to come up with, so I think this will help.
Choose five of the cultural perspectives and write the lines from the song supports their answers. #LiteracyActivity
Answer these cultural comparison questions:
¿Tienes tú algunas de las mismas perspectivas? ¿Por qué sí o no? Si tienes algunas similares, ¿cuáles son?
¿Tienen algunas personas en nuestro país las mismas perspectivas? ¿Por qué sí o no? Si tienen algunas similares, ¿cuáles son? Explica.
Watch this interview with the singer (they will probably need to slow it down to .75 speed) and take some notes about what she says. Compare her to an artist that they know about.
Finally, I think some of my students would love to illustrate this song or perhaps some lines from it. So, I am offering that for weekly homework.
Identity #5: Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces.
Diversity #8: Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way
Diversity #10: Students will examine diversity in social,cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.
Justice #12: Students will recognize unfairness on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g., discrimination).
Justice #13: Students will analyze the harmful impact of bias and injustice on the world, historically and today.
Justice #14: Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.
Justice #15: Students will identify figures, groups, events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world.
Action #16: Students will express empathy when people are excluded or mistreated because of their identities and concern when they themselves experience bias.
Action #17: Students will recognize their own responsibility to stand up to exclusion, prejudice and injustice.
Diversity #8: Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way
Diversity #10: Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.
Justice #12: Students will recognize unfairness on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g., discrimination).
Justice #13: Students will analyze the harmful impact of bias and injustice on the world, historically and today.
Justice #14: Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.
Justice #15: Students will identify figures, groups, events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world.
Action #16: Students will express empathy when people are excluded or mistreated because of their identities and concern when they themselves experience bias.
How is that possible in Spanish 1 you ask!?! With compelling authentic resources that have been comprehensified. Here are the resources that are the focus of this unit.
I just finished the unit and I am so proud of few things:
the authentic cultural products, practices, and perspectives that my students saw in this unit
the final reflections that they did (in English) about how their view on immigration and undocumented immigrants have changed
focusing on Social Justice in a novice class
In this unit, students acquired a ton of language, in particular through reading and interacting with these texts:
a story based on the song/music video "ICE El Hielo" - here is a Quizizz to see some of the text
a story based on the PBS short film "The Other Side," which has a fantastic, unexpected twist at the end - here is a Textivate to see a shortened version of the story
a story based on the song/music video "Un besito más" - here is a Quizlet to see part of the story
a reading about the movie "La misma luna" - Students still love this movie!
