viernes, 13 de noviembre de 2020

La lotería de Navidad 2020... and a TPT sale

 The 2020 commercials for the Spanish Christmas lottery came out yesterday and like always, they aref full lots of possibilities for using in class. I think I will just use the first one from this year and just keep it simple (no massive resource creating this year with hybrid happening!)

If you are looking for lotería resources, I am throwing a sale on all of my lotería resources - there are TON - click here to see them. 

Keep scrolling down to see all the commercials that are excellent for class! 

You can also find lots of free stuff if you search lotería on my blog. 

Here are some suggestions to get started and to explain what the Spanish Christmas lottery is.



Here are the previous year's ads that I have used and created resources for. 




This one was during the economic crisis in 2014. I just give a brief description of what happens in the commercial, but leave out the ending. I make sure to emphasize that a coffee there costs $1.




sábado, 3 de octubre de 2020

Bingo Musical + Canvas + Remote Day (or in class)

Update 3/1/21: Here is a Bingo Muscial for March Madness (day 3). And here are two more Selena songs (we are reading the reader Selena right now!): Como la flor and Bidi Bidi Bom Bom

Whoa! What a school year so far... and somehow I am only three weeks in (with students)!

My school has a hybrid schedule with two cohorts. 
  • Cohort A is in school Monday and Tuesday and does asynchronous work on Thursday and Friday. 
  • Cohort B does asynchronous work on Monday and Tuesday and is in school on Thursday and Friday. 
  • On Wednesdays, we are all remote and we meet with our classes  - both cohorts at the same time - for 30 minutes. Then, they have 30(ish) minutes of work to do after. 
  • Cohort B will always be two days behind cohort A... which makes our Wednesdays a bit tricky!
Since, cohort B is two days behind, we can't "continue with our unit" on Wednesdays.

So, thanks to Samara Spielberg and Bethanie Drew, I have an excellent solution: Bingo Musical! 

NOTE: This something I would actually use in ANY teaching situation - normal - remote - hybrid - bla bla.

Here is an example:

So, basically we Meet (can't use Zoom in my district anymore) and play two rounds of Bingo Musical. Students watch and listen to the music video twice. They type "bingo" in the chat as they win... there are lots of winners.

Then, they go and do a cloze (auto-graded!) activity, a translation (auto-graded!) activity, and give their opinion in Canvas. 

Here is why I love this activity:
  • We are definitely hitting this standard --> Communities: Lifelong Learning: Learners set goals and reflect on their progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.
  • Also, students are seeing and hearing an authentic resource from the Spanish speaking world. They are seeing a ton of cultural products, practices, and perspectives.
  • It is fun! 
  • They are getting to translate the song in an easy way (see video above).
  • It is auto graded!
  • It solves my "What the heck to I do with the whole group on Wednesdays when half of them are a day behind the other half?!"
Below are the five Bingo Musical slideshows that I have made so far. Feel free to make copies and adapt. The links to the Canvas "Quizzes" are also in the slideshows.


jueves, 27 de agosto de 2020

Song/Story of the week: Tan bien

Update 8/30/21: There are already quite a few links to prepare, tell and review this story (a slideshow, 3 Quizlets, 2 Textivates, and a prediction activity), but I just updated the activities in the doc to include the following:

  • Part 1a: Listen and draw
  • Part 1b: Listen, look and id pic
  • Simplified cloze activity for the song
Note: For this to work best, don't show the entire video until they know the story and have made predictions! 

 I used this catchy song in January of 2019 at the end of my Cultura y Civilización course.


I wrote a story to go along with it and incorporated lots of structures and vocabulary that are in the song lyrics (arrepentido, rechazar, enterarse, olvidar, luce, lastimar). That story is good, but a bit too advanced for my students in September! 

So, I wrote a simplified version of the story. It is in the present tense with basic structures (for the start of level 3+). You can find the text version here and the presentation here. There is also a cloze and translation activity for the song lyrics in the doc. Feel free to make copies and adapt! But, if you do, PLEASE share any enhancements or improvements that you make!


I also created these:

I start school next week, but students don't start until the 14th. We have a hybrid model with two cohorts. One going to school on M/T and the other going on Th/F. Wednesday is remote for all with synchronous lessons. Some of these song/story activities will be done face to face, some on Wednesdays on Zoom/Meet, and some asynchronously. 




miércoles, 5 de agosto de 2020

Street Foods: Latin America

Have you seen the Netflix series "Street Food: Latin America"? If not, I highly recommend it!

I still don't know my back to school plan is, but it seems like it will be a hybrid plan, with lots of challenges for planning. I am not going to double plan each day because that will be very difficult and time consuming.

I will have units for each of my courses (still not sure about that either, but each course will be a combination of my own units (here and here), units based around readers (Fluency Matters and others), and Nuestra Historia units.

But, some days, for planning purposes, students will be taking a "break" from the unit. That way I will be able to keep the cohorts on similar schedules, with one cohort a day behind the other (imagining an AB schedule with Wednesdays every other week).

So, on those days, I will have students watch Street Food: Latin America or listen to a Duolingo podcast

I worked with Bethanie Drew and Maris Hawkins to create guides for Street Food: Latin AmericaThey did most of the work! I only did the Bolivia guide, which will pair well with the Fluency Matters reader El Ekeko: Un misterio boliviano (for level 2). Click here to see the guides for the five episodes and some post-viewing-two-episodes activities.

For the Duolingo podcast days, I have a template and some guides. 

miércoles, 22 de julio de 2020

Breakout Dictation... and another PD offering


I have presented some PD in the last couple of months and one thing that teachers really like is Zoom Breakout Rooms (I hope Google Meet has them soon!).

So, I wanted to share something that I have done with teachers: Breakout Dictations (see below or click here).
Decided not to this PD now... Coming soon: A three hour workshop called "Story/Song of the Week(s): Remote Version". This workshop will be in mid-late August and will be three hour Zoom session spread out over four hours. Details coming soon!

lunes, 13 de julio de 2020

Duolingo Podcasts


Have yolistened to any of the Duolingo Podcasts? They are soooooo good! They are like an easier version of Radio Ambulante and tell interesting and uplifting stories from all over the Spanish speaking world.


I have listened to a ton of them (there are 60 total) because they are perfect for a screen-break-walk. Here are some of my favorites. And here is a detailed listening/question guide that I made for Episodio  52: Otro camino hacia la victoria

I hope to develop more listening/question guides like that, but in the meantime, I made this template (adapted a bit from Bethanie Drew's template) to use for my Spanish 4 and Cultura y Civilización classes this fall. I also made the video below to explain some things to my students. I have included some gramática in there... these upper level students really like grammar! UPDATE: The grammar section is now only for extra credit.



viernes, 8 de mayo de 2020

Ferdinando el toro... online version

I am so thankful for having the Fluency Matters e-courses! In Spanish 2, we are just finishing El Ekeko this week. My students have been getting lots of CI with the text of the book, the audio of the book, and the quizzes. Usually, I read to my students in a Google Meet and then they do the quizzes on that same day. The next day, they do some sort of activity related to what they read. 

I am starting the Fluency Matters e-course Bianca Nieves y los siete toritos in Spanish 2 next week. I always love to start with the original Disney short of Ferdinand the bull (link here):

 

So I have adapted my resources for online learning and I am sharing in case anyone else can use them:

domingo, 3 de mayo de 2020

Oldie but goodie for ONLINE Canción/Cuento de la Semana: Puebla

I created a unit with that song as the base and I am so looking forward to using it next year. There are lots of excellent authentic resources related to a legend and food in there, but for now, I am sharing because there are parts of the unit that could be used for online learning.

Here are the resources that could be used online:

sábado, 2 de mayo de 2020

Costa Rica Eduzzles

I am starting the Fluency Matters e-course Bananas this week with my students (we still have seven weeks left of school!).

The book is set in Costa Rica and whenever I use a book, I like to give students lots of visuals of the country. And, of course, I like to teach them a bit about the food (always a good hook!).

So, I made the Edpuzzles below to give students so they can see what the country looks like. They are a pretty "touristy" and have English subtitles, but I think they will be good.

I am sharing here in case anyone else can use them. They could also work if you use Robo en la noche or Noche de oro.

Costa Rica Edpuzzles:

domingo, 19 de abril de 2020

Canción/Cuento de la Semana... in EASY past tense



At the beginning of this year, I used that video as story/song of the year with my Spanish 1 class. They really liked the song and it was an easy story.

Right now, I have Spanish 2 and I have been exposing them to the past tense for a while now.

So, to give them some more input with the past tense and high frequency structures/vocabulario, I re-wrote that Spanish 1 story and put it in the past tense

During this online learning period, I am using the Fluency Matters e-course El Ekeko with my Spanish 2 class, but they also do a story/song of the week each week

They follow the same basic pattern. Here is an example of what they will do with this song story:
If you are looking for another easy song/story in the past tense, check out this one:








viernes, 10 de abril de 2020

¿Qué hiciste hoy?

Looking to talk to your students and see what they have been up to being in their houses all day long?

Looking to give some input with a catchy song and familiar tune?

Looking to give some input with the preterite (and some chores)?

Then, check out the video(s) and slideshow below.

When I saw this song (posted on Zambombazo and shared by @SraPenarandaMMS
on Twitter), I thought it would be a really good one to use in "class". 

And then, I found this version, which has a man doing all the things he mentions in the song. 
So, I made up this slideshow (click here if you want to make a copy) to use before we listen to the song (or before they even know there is a song):

And here are the full lyrics.

Extra credit idea: Remake this video at your house!

domingo, 5 de abril de 2020

Idea for extra credit and/or enrichment: Authentic Listening and Current Events

Just a little post to share something I am giving to my students this week:
Extra Credit: Authentic listening and current events (doc here)
  • Watch and listen to one (or more) of these songs from the Spanish speaking world.
  • Write up a quick little response about what you saw and heard and your opinion about it.
  • This can be in Spanish, Spanglish and/or English. 
  • Are these songs/videos similar to anything that you have seen in our culture?
  • OR DANCE! See the video 2b and 4b.
  • Note: There are THREE different songs called "Quédate en casa" (Stay home).

2b) Argentina/Spain - Resistiré (I will resist) - DANCE video
3) Spain - Quédate en casa (Stay home) Students probably won't know these people,
but they are famous people from Spain. Although, they might recognize one (Álvaro Soler).


viernes, 3 de abril de 2020

Yo no sé... past tense version

This story/song of the week was a big hit last semester with Spanish 1:

And a new version just came out:

I like the original better! But, that story that I wrote for Spanish 1 is a bit simple, so I have adapted it for Spanish 2 and put it in the past tense. It is pretty simple, but they will start to get some exposure to some high frequency verbs in the past tense.


As part of my online teaching, I have been continuing to do "Cuento/Canción de la Semana," (or another post here) but a bit of a lighter version. Basically, this is what I did last week and hope to do in the coming weeks:

  • Students do an Edpuzzle with a slideshow of me telling the story. I used Google Meet to record that. I like it because they can see the slideshow and my face and nothing is blocked. Why do I want them to see my face?!? Because I will be acting things out, just like I would in class. 
  • As part of that Edpuzzle, students watch the video too.
  • Students will do a cloze activity with the song and translate some of the lyrics. 
  • Throughout the week, they work on a Textivate Sequence (here is that Textivate). I have a paid account, so I can track their progress. 
  • By the end of the week, students to another Edpuzzle with the music video and the text of the story.
  • For this song, I will have them watch the new version and tell me which one they like better. 
  • One ongoing assignment all week is to sing the song with a lyric video. I love the Yo no sé video because the closed captions have the lyrics - so they can watch and sing! 
  • And, if I ever can figure out how to get students accounts, I might use this from TeachVid.
  • They will do this Edpuzzle at the end of the week. It has a text exchange between Mati y Ana.
This is pretty basic, but I really like it because:
  • The song and video are an authentic resource with authentic language!
  • Students like music!
  • Students like to sing... seriously, who doesn't? 
  • Students are getting lots of input and acquiring more because it is an engaging, memorable music video.
  • Songs and music videos provide an escape, something we all need right now.


domingo, 29 de marzo de 2020

Input activities for stories... adapted for online learning

Thank goodness I teach with stories! I can continue to give my students engaging, compelling input and I am not focusing on grammar or spelling. I am also communicating with them on a daily basis with the Pregunta(s) del Día.

Below, I am sharing some ideas for input activities for stories that you can do online

I am using lots of Google Classroom, so most of the things below would be "handed out" and "collected"there. We are also using Google Meet, which I love because I can see their faces and talk to them. Right now, we meet five days of the week, but I am really hoping we get a flex day. I have had 6 days so far, so I am not an expert at all, but just sharing some ideas 😊. 

My students are really liking story/song of the week, so some the ideas below have resources for the song that I will be using this week: No te vayas by Carlos Vives.
  1. Word Walls: I have words posted all over my classroom, but students don't have that at home. Give them a list of the interrogatives and the sweet sixteen
    • Tell them to write it down and keep it handy for when they are "in Spanish class."
  2. Reviewing and/or previewing key vocabulario y estructuras: Gimkit, Quizlet Live, or Textivate Match (see here or here).
    • Whenever I give key vocabulario y estructuras, my students usually know most of them and I sprinkle in some new ones. So, this is review and gets them thinking about what the story will be about.
    • Also, they will not learn these words before the story, they will acquire them with all of the input activities below!
  3. Clip chat --> Create slideshow with screenshots, record self telling the story with Screencastify (or Loom or Google Meet), and create an Edpuzzle with that video. The questions in this Edpuzzle are EASY because I really just want them listening to the story, but just knowing that there will be a question coming up make students listen more attentively! 
    • Tip (learned during la maestra loca's online workshop):  During your recording, ask your students to act our certain words (like you do in class). 
    • Another tip (learned during la maestra loca's online workshop): During your recording, say some of your students' names and/or pretend they are in front of you.
  4. Another Edpuzzle option: If you are using a video (like a music video!) for your story. Create an Edpuzzle with the video and make multiple choice questions (easier to grade) with the text of the story. See an example here. 
  5. Running Dictation (learned during la maestra loca's online workshop): Create "breakout rooms" in Google Meet (this involves creating "other Google Meets" that students can go in and out of -- not as easy as Zoom) or  Zoom (I can't currently use 🙄).
    • Students can come in and our of "main Google Meet" to read sentences that you (the teacher) are showing and then go back to their group.
    • I haven't tried this yet, but hope to!
    • Students can upload pictures of their work (if they hand write) or a doc to Google Classroom
  6. Match pictures to sentences: This can be a reading or a listening activity and can be done alone or with a group. Here are a few options:
    • Give students (alone or in groups) the pictures of the story. Students read the sentences (shared in a doc in Google Classroom) and write the letter of the picture being described. 
    • Give students (alone or in groups) the pictures of the story. Teacher creates audio of him/her reading the sentences. Students write the letter of the picture being described. 
  7. Textivate in teams (learned during la maestra loca's online workshop): Set up a Challenge with teams.  
  8. Cierto/Falso: In groups or alone, give students a doc like this and they have read the sentences and write if they are cierto or falso. They should also correct the false ons. You could also record yourself saying the sentences. 
  9. Put events in order: In groups or alone, give students a doc like this and they have to order the events. You could also record yourself saying the sentences.
  10. Comprehension questions: Give students a doc with a list of comprehension questions. Then, do either of these:
    1.  Record yourself saying the answers to the questions out of order. Students have to figure out which question is being answered and write the sentence. This is similar to a dictation, but a little trickier.
    2. Give students the answers to the questions out of order. Students have to figure out which question is being answered and write the number of the question next to the sentence. 
  11. Read, read, read and read some more: Set up a Sequence in Textivate: parte 1 and parte 2.
  12. Dictation: Record yourself and do one of these:
    • Students write what you say and illustrate each sentence. 
    • Say true/false statements. Students 
  13. Listen and draw: Record self saying sentences. Students illustrate. Upload illustrations to Google Classroom. 
    • Use the illustrations the next day. Say sentences and students have to point to what you are saying. You can record the sentences or do it live with Google Meet (or Zoom).
  14. Agárralo - AKA The pencil grab game: Use grid mode in Google Meet so you can see everyone. Give students a partner to look at. They have to be the first to give a thumbs up or thumbs down. Keep track of points, but who really cares about the points!?!
    • I have not tried this, so it might not actually work and/or it might be totally chaotic.
  15. All the worlds a stage (learned during la maestra loca's online workshop, I think Karen Rowan's idea originally): Have students "come to class" with old toys (stuffies, action figures, etc.). Tell the story and they have to act it out with the toys. This could be so funny with Google Meet, seeing them all acting things out. 
  16. Read some more: Create a Kahoot Jumble.
  17. ¿Quién lo diría? y/o ¿Quién lo haría?: See example here (thanks to Deanne Roach!)
  18. Video responses: Students can upload video responses to Google Classroom. These video responses could be predictions, reactions, questions, or anything else.
  19. Pear Deck: This can be used for a lot! More coming soon on this...

sábado, 28 de marzo de 2020

No te vayas (de tu casa)


Teaching online is challenging! One of my main goals is to give my students to get engaging input at this time. (I also want to make connections with them too!)

I surveyed my students yesterday and asked if they would like to continue with story/song of the week. I wasn't sure what they would answer, but the overwhelming answer was yes!

So, for my Spanish 3 class, I am working on activities for the song/video "No te vayas" by Carlos Vives. I love Carlos Vives! And this video is totally appropriate and fun.


So far, I have created this slideshow. My students will know most of the "vocabulario y estructuras importantes". These are my honors students and they sometimes like to have "vocabulary lists". However, they will acquire this vocabulary, NOT through studying it, but rather through lots of INPUT with the story.


I will be working on creating online input-driven activities in the next week, but wanted to share these few things in case anyone can use it. 

I will be creating  created a video (with Google Meet) of me saying the story in the slideshow and I made this Edpuzzle.


I also did something new. I created this Edpuzzle that shows the music video and has the text of the story. Students would do that after hearing me tell the story.  

This doc (still a work in progress!) has some other ideas and links. If anyone wants to help with any of this, let me know and I can give you editing access.




And how sweet is this version!?!

viernes, 20 de marzo de 2020

One little part of my online plan --> Pregunta(s) del Día

Update - 6/24/20:

  • I started doing this everyday, but that was way too much for me to keep up with!
  • I ended up doing two "Preguntas del Día" a week. 
  • This was one of the best ways to make connections with my students!


Update - 3/26/20: This is going very well! Here are the questions, videos and answers that I have done so far (click here or see below). And here is the rubric. This is a lot for me to grade, so I am giving them Fridays off.
Whoa! What a week (or two really) this has been! I had my first day of online learning today and I think it went pretty well.

I will be sharing more about my plan in the week(s) to come, but today, I am sharing one little (and kinda basic) thing that I plan on doing every day. (I ended up doing this two times a week!)

I really want my students listening, reading, and communicating. In particular, I want to have individual "interactions" with them. I plan on meeting face to face every day on Google Meet and to have lots of videos so they are getting input, but having one-on-one conversations might be tricky.

So, I have decided to have a "Pregunta(s) del Día" every day. Here is my plan:
  • Students will watch a video of me saying the question and my answer. They will also see the text of what I say. I underlined some structures in my answer to help them with their answer.
  • Students will upload a video of themselves answering the question. I loved seeing their videos today. I am not a super-sappy person, but I realized that I missed seeing them more than I realized. 
  • They will also submit their answer in a Google From that looks like this (see below). I have some extra questions in there the first day, but normally it will just be the "Pregunta(s) del Día". 
  • Then, the next day, during out Google Meet, I will choose some answers (easily collected in the Google Form) and share them (verbally) with the class. I will have them guess who said what. Students will get more input that might be about them (which = more engagement). Of course, I will be careful not to share anything too personal that they share in their videos.
  • Here is the slideshow of the questions that I will be asking. Any suggestions for future questions?!?!
  • Update: I had some questions about how I record these little videos, so rather than type it out, here is video explaining:

This is what it looks like on my Google Classroom:


sábado, 14 de marzo de 2020

Google Meet as a screen recording tool

I LOVE Screencastify and use it a lot! I pay for it and create videos to tell stories, to give instructions, and for a variety of other things.

I particularly have been loving creating videos and uploading them to Edpuzzle.

Here are a few examples: here is me giving login instructionshere is me telling a story (Edpuzzle), here is me introducing a unit and giving instructions (Edpuzzle),

As we prepare for a possible move to online learning (my school, as of now, is still on for Monday), I wanted to share a free alternative to Screencastify --> Google Meet. Google Meet is used to meet with students live (which I will definitely be doing), but it can also be used like Screencastify.

Here is a video to explain:


And here is the video that you get for students when you record in Google Meet:

jueves, 5 de marzo de 2020

Conversación Simulada... before AP

Note: Even if you don't teach AP or have it in your school, this post will be helpful because it is basically about Spoken Interpersonal Communication and some ways to assess it.

Screenshot take from WORLD-READINESS STANDARDSFOR LEARNING LANGUAGE
If you teach AP and your lower levels are not specifically prepping kids for that test, it can be shock when all of a sudden, students have to prepare and practice for this section of the AP exam!
Screenshot from College Board AP Central

This section is challenging for a variety of reasons:

  • It is odd to interact interpersonally without seeing the person... our students are not having a lot of phone conversations! 
  • Students have to try to fill up 20 seconds of time five or six times.
  • It is very possible that a students says something and then the next questions asks about that very thing. That can freeze up many students!
  • Students have to put themselves in the shoes of someone else. 
  • Students have to think on their feet and be creative.
  • Students have to understand the prompt and pay attention to how to respond. For instance, these are things they might have to do: salúdala, explica, sugiere, invítala, comenta, responde negativamente, despídete etc.
  • Students also have to show off some advanced vocabulary and advanced grammatical structures. 

So, what can we do in lower levels to get them ready for this? Or forgetting about the AP test, how can we get them ready for interpersonal communication in general in the real world? The answer is pretty simple: have them do conversaciones simuladas throughout all levels. 


But... how do we do that?!?

In my Spanish 3 class, which started about a month ago, my students have done two conversaciones simuladas. One was related to the story/song "Bailo la pena"(TPT link) and the other was based on the (free) song/story "Sigo buscándote." My Spanish 2 class did one based on the (free) song/story #Idiota. And I plan on doing another one related to the book Berto y sus buenas ideas. Another (free) unit that has a conversación simulada is this unit called "Carlos explora Lima, Perú" (a student favorite!).  And another unit is the 2018 lotería unit (TPT link).

Basically, students have the conversation as if they are a character in the story and/or as if they are talking to a character in the story. 

However, there are a lot of differences from the AP Exam (obviously!):
  • For the first couple of conversaciones simuladas, students do them at home (or in our TASC block) and they can listen to the prompt as many times as they want. Eventually, I will put them on a time limit and do it in class. 
  • We go over the situation together in English... trying to lower that affective filter.
  • They have lots of time to look at how they have to respond.
  • They can re-record as many times as they want. I do explain what interpersonal communication is though and I tell them that I want this to be rather quick with, ideally, one recording.
  • They don't have to fill up 20 seconds! I do tell them that eventually, that is the goal, so some might try.
  • It is actually kind of fun and easier because it is related to something (a story) that we have spent a lot of time on.
  • The voice they are hearing is me, so it is also easier.
  • The rubric is a bit simpler than the AP one.
Here is an example for the story/song "Sigo buscándote". Depending how you set up your recording, you can do two things: give students this document (click here or see below) and use Flipgrid to record (click here for post about how to do that) (or any other platform that you use) or just put all that information on the recording platform that you use.


I use the Voces Digital platform (much easier than Flipgrid!), which has its own curriculum, but you can add things to it that have nothing to do with what is in there! The student view looks like this:


And this is what the teacher correcting page looks like:

Here is the teacher script. It might only really make sense if you read the story for "Sigo buscándote". The teacher records his/her voice saying the prompts.


As we move forward in the class, students will do more of these and they won't be hearing my voice. For example, we will a unit in Nuestra Historia 3 (Voces Digital) called "En los tiempos extremos". After reading (and doing lots of activities with) a story called "La esperanza entre los escombros", they will have to do this conversación simulada (which won't be my voice):