If you haven't seen this year's ad, here it is (Thanks Maris for texting it to me!):
So far, I have come up with this slideshow with this text and will (hopefully) be creating more, but I thought I would share here in case anyone wants to collaborate and/or add on to what I have done and share back!
Stay tuned for more FREE resources coming!
Things to create:
- Quizlet with vocab to preview
- Quizlet with questions and answers OR fill-ins
- match pic to sentence
- cierto/falso
- Quick Grid Bingo
- ¿Quién lo dijo? / ¿Quién lo hizo? OR ¿Quién lo diría? / ¿Quién lo haría? (Julián, las personas de España, Daniel)
Join me (Kara Jacobs) and AnneMarie Chase on a ten day Professional Development trip in Segovia, Spain from June 16 - June 25, 2024.
Workshops:
You will participate in six workshops designed to hone your Acquisition Driven Instruction skills, taught by Kara and AnneMarie. Topics range from Unit Design, Comprehensible Culture, Assessment and you’ll even experience acquiring a new language like our students do. Our small group (limited to 12 participants) will allow you plenty of time to dig in, ask loads of questions and process your learning along with other motivated Spanish teachers from all over the US and beyond. The cherry on top is the location of our workshops: overlooking the Plaza Mayor of Segovia, right next to the Cathedral! There’s no AC at the workshop location, but we’ll be comfortable with Segovia’s average June temperature in the mid 70s.
Homestay:
You will spend 9 nights with a Spanish host family, right in the city of Segovia. You’ll enjoy breakfast, lunch on most days and dinner with your new familia española who is excited to share their city and home with you! And just to put your mind at ease, you’ll have your own bedroom during your homestay.
Cultural Activities:
Segovia has so much to offer and we will take advantage of it! You’ll spend most mornings in professional development workshops but the afternoons/evenings are dedicated to discovering Segovia and its culture. No visit would be complete without a visit to the magnificent Alcázar de Segovia. We’ll learn about the historic acueducto romano that towers over the city and wander through the Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso. Just think of the wealth of cultural knowledge you’ll be able to share with your students.
Day Trip to Salamanca:
We’ll travel by train to the picturesque city of Salamanca. Other than lunch all together (included in the program cost) the day is yours to explore Salamanca. Wander through Old Town, check out the Universidad de Salamanca, (one of Europe’s oldest!) cross the Puente Romano or just take it easy people watching in the Plaza Mayor with a cold drink.
Who is this trip designed for?!
Spanish teachers who are interested in developing their Acquisition Driven Instruction/Comprehensible Input Teaching skills alongside like minded teachers. An adventurous spirit is important too: if public transportation, staying with a Spanish family and lots of walking doesn’t sound like a good time, this isn’t the trip for you! If you have questions or concerns, please reach out; we’d love to chat with you!
Sound like the trip of a lifetime? We would love for you to join the adventure! Spots are limited to 12 participants, so don’t wait to sign up!
Total cost: $2000
What’s included?
Included in the trip cost:
Homestay experience (private bedroom) including breakfast, lunch and dinner each day
6 Professional Development Workshops taught by Kara and AnneMarie
Day trip to Salamanca (Train transportation and lunch)
Cultural activities in the afternoons/evenings
Farewell dinner on our last evening together
What’s not included?
Flight to and from Madrid
Transportation to and from Segovia but we will provide detailed recommendations. (metro + train or bus is easiest!)
TBD: Zoom meeting for those interested, to ask questions and hear more details
A few more things:
We must have 12 participants to make this trip a reality. We ask that you wait to buy your plane tickets and make final travel arrangements until Dec 15. On (or before) Dec 15, if we have enough participants, we’ll confirm that the trip is on- buy you plane tickets, start packing and get excited!
If we do not have enough participants by December 15, your $500 deposit will be returned to you in full.
The $500 deposit is non-refundable after December 15th, unless your spot can be filled. If your spot can be filled, we will refund your deposit in full (although we will miss you!)
I am teaching AP Spanish this year and I have a super strong, wonderful class of curious, worldly, thoughtful learners. I am enjoying them a lot!
So far, we have done two units: one that revolves around Frida Kahlo and the other that revolves around Encanto.
I have a pretty solid AP curriculum and really enjoy teaching it. However, when I was in Spain in March, I saw the movie "El maestro que prometió el mar" and I decided that I was going to use it. It is very similar to "La lengua de las mariposas", but has a connection to modern day. Here is the trailer (and here is the movie with auto generated subtitles):
If you are interested in resources for the movie, here is my (FREE) unit packet and here is a slideshow (also below) that walks through most of the unit. The Preguntas Esenciales (which help me and students think about what the BIG TAKEAWAYS are) are:
Preguntas Esenciales:
¿Cómo impacta la historia de un país en la vida actual?
¿Por qué es una buena educación importante? ¿Cómo impacta la educación de los niños a un país?
¿Por qué es importante reconocer lo bueno y lo malo de la historia de un país?
And the Assessments are:
Una Discusión sobre la película "El maestro que prometió el mar".
Una Comparación Cultural: Compara algo cultural de la película "El maestro que prometió el mar" con algo de tu cultura.
Un video sobre la dictadura de Franco: Contesta preguntas sobre el video.
I LOVE teaching with music videos (you can find some of my faves here). I find it an excellent way to start the year because these are the things I want to do at the beginning of the year:
I want my students to LIKE and ENJOY Spanish class.
I want to ENGAGE students.
I want to give students LOTS of INPUT.
I want students to feel SUCCESSFUL.
I want students to ACQUIRE some language.
I want to have JOY in the classroom.
I want to create COMMUNITY.
I want students to understand that the GOAL of the class is to improve their COMMUNICATION skills in another language and to develop INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE.
I want my students to see and hear some people/voices from the Spanish speaking world #authres!
At my new (2nd year here) school, we rotate curriculum in every level, so I couldn't use what I used last year. So, here is what I am using for Spanish 1 and Spanish 2.
It isn't the best "story", but rather a description of the music video, but I still think it will be engaging and it has lots of good input activities! I am sharing in case anyone can use.
Everything is based on this Álvaro Soler video (an oldie, but goodie):
Here is the text for each level:
Spanish 1
Spanish 2
Hay un hombre. El hombre tiene veintisiete años.
El hombre se llama Álvaro Soler.
Él es de España, pero ahora vive en Cuba.
Al hombre le gusta cantar. Canta mucho.
Hay una mujer. La mujer tiene veintiocho años. La mujer es muy fuerte.
La mujer es de Cuba y vive en Cuba.
La mujer se llama Julieta.
A la mujer le gusta correr. Corre mucho.
El hombre y la mujer son novios.
El hombre admira mucho a la mujer.
El hombre escribe una canción para la mujer.
La canción se llama "Animal".
Hay un hombre. El hombre tiene barba. El hombre se llama Álvaro Soler. El hombre tiene veintisiete años.
Él es de España, pero ahora está en Cuba. Está en un apartamento con su novia.
A Álvaro le gusta cantar. Álvaro admira mucho a su novia.
Hay una mujer. La mujer tiene veintiocho años. La mujer es muy fuerte.
La mujer es de Cuba. Es cubana. La mujer se llama Julieta.
La mujer se despierta a las siete de la mañana. La mujer corre por las calles de Cuba. La mujer corre un poco y estira. La mujer corre más. La mujer corre rápidamente.
La mujer ve a muchas personas. Las personas le dicen, "¡Ánimo Julieta!"
Todas las personas conocen a Julieta porque ella corre por las calles todos los días.
La mujer choca los cinco con muchas personas cuando corre.
Ella corre muchísimo porque entrena para un maratón. Julieta entrena para el maratón de Boston.
Have you seen Suno.com yet? It is pretty wild. It is an AI site that will create short songs for you. Currently, my Spanish 3 classes are doing a unit around the movie Pachamama (thank you Arianne Dowd and Amanda Benavidez-Williams for your ideas and resources). So I put in this prompt, which includes vocabulary from the unit, the name of our school and the name of the town that the school is in.
A rap song about Pachamama and a small school in the village (vocabulary word in the movie) of Andover. The school called Proctor. Use the words aldea, cultiva, cuida, huaca (vocabulary words in the movie). Write it in very simple Spanish.
And it came up with two versions: one and two. These are the lyrics:
In Spanish 1, we are reading the book Tucán, so I entered this prompt:
Make a simple rap about a tucán from named Panchito with an injured beak. Oscar and Ana find him in a park. Oscar cries. Oscar's dad brings him to the animal rescue center. Put the song in Spanish.
And it came up with two versions: one and two. These are the lyrics:
I used to create a ton of resources and share here (mostly for free)...
I posted and shared resources 176 times from 2017-2020!
but post-covid I was just spent. However, with a change of school and location, I am happy to back at it - and excited about creating resources and sharing them here.
While I love "teaching Spanish", I think what I really actually love is "teaching about the Spanish speaking world in Spanish"... and then seeing two things:
Students learning how to communicate in the three modes of communication in Spanish
Students increasing their Intercultural Competence
In case you need a refresher, Intercultural Competence is defined as: "a combination of attitudes, knowledge, understanding and skills applied through action which enables one, either singly or together with others, to:
understand and respect people who are perceived to have different cultural affiliations from oneself;
respond appropriately, effectively and respectfully when interacting and communicating with such people;
establish positive and constructive relationships with such people;
understand oneself and one’s own multiple cultural affiliations through encounters with cultural “difference.” (Huber, J., & Reynolds, C. (Eds). (2014). Developing intercultural competence through education, 2014, pp. 16–17).
And here are the ACTFL descriptors:
So, with all that in mind, my third term of Spanish 3 is going to revolve around Peru. Students will learn about a wide variety of Cultural Products, Practices and Perspectives. We are going to watch the movie Pachamama (and use Arianne Dowd’s resources) and then listen to some Duolingo podcasts to learn about: Heroes del Clima in Peru (2 episodes), Andean music, a Peruvian dog’s experience in Maine, and el Rio Hirviente.
But FIRST, we are going to delve into some Milena Wharton music!
I compiled Spanish 3 the Milena Wharton (for free) here. It includes three of her songs, basic information about Peru, three possible assessments (one still being created) and two readings + activities created by Diffit. If you haven't tried Diffit, I highly recommend it!
We will start the unit with some estructuras importantes and then students will get a basic overview of Peru (text created by ChatGPT) with this slideshow and this Quizlet Live review:
Then, we will dive into the music videos and the articles (see here)! Possible assessments (with rubrics) are also in the unit packet.
I am at a new (amazing) school this year, so I am still learning about the school's culture, my students' abilities and how to best teach and assess here in my new setting. This year I am teaching Spanish 1 and Spanish 3. We have trimesters, so I am giving final exams this week.
One of Spanish 3 class took their Final yesterday and the other will take it today. I feel really good about the assessment and how the first class did (I have graded all of the speaking sections and 1/3 of the listening/writing/intercultural section for ).
I thought I would share the assessment here because it could be used for a variety of classes.
Presentational Speaking: Present basic information on familiar topics using language that you have practiced using phrases and simple sentences.
Interpretive Listening: Understand words, phrases, and simple sentences related to a familiar topic. Recognize pieces of information and understand the main topic of what is being said.
Interpersonal Speaking: Communicate and exchange information about familiar topics using phrases and simple sentences. Ask and answer simple questions.
Here are some examples of what students came up with. Students presented in groups of 3 and recorded on Flipgrid (where I watch later). I was so impressed with what they came up with, in particular the 5 symbols and the gift. As you can see, all the students chose a character from Encanto because we just finished that unit. However, they could have chosen a character from our Lotería de Navidad unit or from the book Robo en la noche.
Before starting to create their caja, I presented an example (see sides of box below and click here to see text) to my students. It was about Edna Liliana Valencia. So, not only was I demonstrating to them what they would do, but I was also teaching them something about the Afro-Colombian research that Disney did and the Afro-Colombian representation in the movie Encanto, so win-win!
The second part was choosing a Duolingo podcast (of 3 that I give them), listening to it, filling in the blanks and then writing a series of things about the podcast. Click here to see the details and the rubric. Here is what is being assessed in this part:
Interpretive Listening: Understand the main idea and some pieces of information on familiar topics from sentences and series of connected sentences within texts that are spoken or written.
Presentational Writing: Communicate information, make presentations, and express my thoughts about familiar topics, using sentences and series of connected sentences through spoken or written language.
Intercultural Competence: In one's own and other cultures, make comparisons between products and practices to help me understand perspectives.
Note: If you have not used Duolingo podcasts in class, I highly recommend using them! They are an excellent "bridge" to authentic audio and they are chock full of culture! They are in Spanish and English, but the English compliments the Spanish. It is not a translation of the Spanish. The bits of English give students a "mental break" while listening. If you are interested, previous posts are here and here.
All of the podcast were related to Colombia, so one of the questions was how does this podcast connect to Encanto. Below are the choices of podcasts. I love that students had a choice and I love grading these because there is variety and a lot of open ended answers.
Episode 10: Los guerrilleros: María Clara Calle grew up hearing about the atrocities committed by the FARC rebels in Colombia. She never imagined that one day she would not only meet them, but eat and sleep among them, deep in their territory, as they thought about their role in the future of peace in their country.
Episode 37: La reina del pelo bueno: All her life, Cirle Tatis Arzuza had been taught to think her curly hair was something to hide. But after years of harsh chemical treatments, Cirle learned to love her hair, and taught other women to do the same.
This what students had to do:
As you listen/read or after, fill in the blanks, answer the questions and write the following things on a separate piece of paper:
El nombre del episodio
Un resumen breve (brief summary) de 8-10 frases de lo que escuchas/lees
Vocabulario nuevo y/o importante, por lo menos (at least) 10 palabras
El inglés y el español
Si te gustó el episodio y por qué sí o no
Identifica 2 a 3 Productos, Prácticas y/o Perspectivas Culturales del episodio y escribe una comparación y/o un contraste con algo de tu cultura
¿Cómo conecta este episodio con la película "Encanto"?
Escribe 3 preguntas, comentarios y/o predicciones sobre lo que escuchas/lees
What are some of your favorite assessments to give and grade?
It came out a few months ago, but Carrie Toth just brought it back on my radar. She created some great activities for the song. You can find them here.
But I wanted to something for my Spanish 1 students when they come back to class with three weeks away from Spanish (break + Project Period week), so I created this slideshow and some other activities. You can find them below or linked here and here.
Have you seen the book Arroz con cosas? If not, I highly recommend it!
I just finished it with my Spanish 1 students and they will be getting ready for the assessment soon. Students really enjoyed the book and I did too!
In addition to enjoying the story, my Spanish 1 students acquired LOTS of great vocabulary and grammatical structures.
There isn't a Teacher's Guide (yet?), so I am sharing what I created to use with book:click here. I don't have as much time as I used to (new school!), so I hope to add to it the next time... or have others add, enhance and share back!
There are LOTS of opportunities for cultural extensions with this book. One excellent accompaniment is the Max show José Andrés in Spain: Valencia... or just show the clips below. They are in English, but provide great visuals and emphasize some of the themes of the book.
And this video is excellent for when Remei starts to cook the paella for 400 people:
One thing I do wish was a bit different was that Remei's face was a bit more playful during the whole ¡Cataplán! chapters. It seemed a bit violent, but I just told students that she was like a playful grandmother.
I also love to use "1977" to quickly teach students some numbers (just have students sing "mil novecientos setenta" many times and they won't stumble as much on some of those big numbers!)
Well, she is (finally back) with this amazing song and video:
