Centers in the WL classroom - Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Whether it is because you want to bring an exciting new aspect into your teaching methods, or you would like to encourage more movement and active learning, or perhaps you want to differentiate learning, there are various reasons to implement “centers” into the World Language classroom. 

On this particular occasion, I was able to volunteer as a cultural guest speaker in order to share my knowledge of the “Cinco de Mayo” celebration of Puebla, Mexico. The lesson and centers were used in Spanish 1 classes consisting of students from Grades 6 - 8.

The lesson began with a 2-minute video to introduce the “Cinco de Mayo” historical background. Next, using Haiku Deck (and 2 decks), I introduced 20 new vocabulary words through images, oral response and pronunciation “gimmicks,” along with a little TPR. Finally, students were separated into six groups of 3-4 students for centers for small-group play. 

Centers:

-Tierra de Dulces (Candyland) - using stuffed colorblock die, 4 game pieces (Go-go’s), a gameboard (hand-made on foam board), and the Haikudeck cards (images printed on cardstock as a PPT, with 9 slides on each page, cut apart) Students move along, while identifying cards by naming the correct word/phrase in Spanish.

-Lotería (Mexican Bingo) - Using a simple “table” in Word/Pages, within 16 boxes, I copied the images randomly into the boxes, and then labeled the Spanish terms under each image. Second, I randomized it and made 3 different boards. Third, I made a black-and-white copy of the PPT (9 slides on each page), cut them out, and placed them in a SOLO cup (for individuals to draw upon). Taking turns, students would draw one card from the cup, and give the group a clue or riddle, in Spanish. All of them would place a penny, or Bingo marker on the word, if they have it. First to get four in a row yells Lotería and wins the game.

-Matamoscas (Fly Swatter) - I wrote the names of all the vocabulary words in Spanish on the board in random “directions,” and handed 2 of the 4 students a swatter. I then called words aloud in English (or gave a riddle), and then students hit the correct Spanish translation. The students took turns in teams of 2. Whomever got the answer correct first, received the clue card and held onto it until the end of the game. Whichever team acquired the most clue cards won.

-Cabeza Arriba (Head’s Up) - created with the Card Creator app and allowing students to use my cell phone, a group of 3-4 students played the game. This game resembles Charades, but backwards. Whomever gets the most points (or most answers guessed correctly) wins. 

-Tiny Tap - Students can independently create an interactive question-and-answer session using the images from Haiku Deck, and their own voice/written questions to test for comprehensibility.
http://www.tinytap.it/games/gp6b/El-Cinco-De-Mayo

-Thinglink - Students can independently create an interactive “photo” where they add their voice/video using the images from Haiku Deck to demonstrate understanding.

Hope these activities prompt your own creation of CENTERS, whether it be for “El Cinco de Mayo” or any other vocabulary unit you have. Happy active learning!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCQRu5wrgHk&feature=youtu.be&list=PLYK2BbSsW-TGw9fZYH1P9rHHuFmY1EJAk

Haiku Decks:


Cinco de Mayo - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires


Cinco de Mayo - Vocab - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

All my files can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/open?
id=0B67mXQuLomI0fms5dnJzV0lrbjFmYkZtaGRJTEkwODhUdkloMVJfb0RWcDVjR09rcW5hMHM&authuser=1

Uno más: Here is another resource I have from a teacher from Schoology:
http://www.creativelanguageclass.com/whats-new/celebrate-the-cinco/

All that Glitters is SCOLT - March 5-7, 2015

This last week, I had the amazing opportunity to present both a workshop and a concurrent session alongside fellow iPad Gurus and Spanish teachers Donna Guzzo, Janet Robles and Michelle Olah at the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) in Atlanta, Georgia. During our sessions, we emphasized the benefits and creativity possibilities for students in a 21st-century learning environment that does not emphasize rote-learning but rather authentic use of target language, thus honing learning and innovation skills (critical thinking, communication, collaboration & creativity) and problem-solving skills. 

During the workshop, Donna, Janet and I worked with educators in separate "centers" to demonstrate 3 apps, and then facilitated their productivity with these apps. We discussed possible activities, projects and tasks in which to use these creativity & productivity apps in the WL classroom (as soon as Monday). Educators make the BEST STUDENTS, and their creative juices were flowing. In my center, we utilized Aurasma, Padlet, and Nearpod. 

Due to personal family reasons, Donna and Janet had to leave the conference early. Therefore, because I prefer to present with a "partner-in-crime," Michelle Olah stepped in during our iCreate session. Attendees participated in live tutorials of 3 apps, as Michelle and I called on one volunteer to come up to the front and utilize the chosen app for the first time. Applications we facilitated included Photo Mapo, Educreations, and Tellagami. Again, the educators in the room were eager for the active-learning pieces. We had a lot of laughs, and immediately tweeted out during our session the digital artifacts that were produced. Amazing learners! 

tellagami.com/gami/MYNKUY/  

https://tellagami.com/gami/YQBUF9/ 

(World Language teachers are crazy and fabulous, by the way!) To all the attendees and those that may just happen upon this post, please share your experiences and digital artifacts with us. We love to hear about the creative activities happening in your classrooms. 
Happy creating!!!! 

Handouts and session examples from both the workshop and session are available in shared Dropbox folder here: 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vv90wjvusdeueh5/iPadiPlayiPower%20Workshop%20handout%20030115.pdf?dl=0

Duolingo for Schools program - it's official!

Great and pertinent read for World Language teachers! 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/01/08/duolingo-for-schools-may-change-the-edtech-market/Duolingo for Schools: https://schools.duolingo.comOn the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/duolingo-learn-languages-for/id570060128?mt=8

http://kpcbweb2.s3.amazonaws.com/content/536/original_Duolingo_logo_(1).png

El Cuerpo ... The Body: Learning Body Parts in Spanish

There are two songs I used with little ones that could also be used with older students to teach the body parts vocabulary. First, "Jabón de Coco" by Frank Leto and the other is "Juanito cuando baila." With older students, I had students complete a project called El Chico/La Chica Ideal. They used magazines to clip body parts (each from a different picture) to create a funny Chico Ideal. It is really a collage of body parts, and when done correctly, will look similar to a cubist Picasso piece or a Salvador Dalí creation! Then students were asked to label the body parts in Spanish. I also made body labels with post-its, and had students take turns labeling a partner/body on the ground, and called it "Crime Scene." You can also play "Quién Soy Yo?" with taped namecards on backs, and they have to ask yes/no questions of different people in the room to guess/figure out who they are (by asking questions about their physical characteristics).
Another simple idea is the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes verse in Spanish, as well as the Simon Says game. With my Pre-K students, I used the "Dos Manitas" song, and you can see my sign language movements with song demo here below on my video.
I hope I prompted your creativity with my experiences. Please let me know if you have other suggestions. Hasta la vista!

My Summer Story

My students impress me so much each day with their written and oral communication skills. I am in awe at what mature and interesting people they are, and with how much they accomplish each day in my class. Here are some amazing visual stories to share:

Grade 8:  

Grade 7:

Grade 6: 

Halloween ... in Spain? Definitely, through a global project!

http://herecomesthe2ndesoclass.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/halloween/

Working with Colegio Decroly in Spain is certainly a TREAT! Inés and I were discussing our own individual lesson plans with the other, and after brainstorming a little bit, we came up with a cross-over lesson. My lesson plans for the next month (Grades 6, 7, 8: Spanish 1H, 2H) included the following: 

Focus Lenses: Relationships, Connections

Cultural: Hispanic Heritage Month

Grammar: Imperfect tense, tener, gustar, possessive adjectives

Vocabulary: The Family, “Fiesta en Familia,” “Memories from the Past”

My students were going to be practicing using the past tenses in Spanish with a focus on the Imperfect tense, and we were researching a bit about Latin-American holidays. We also discussed American family celebrations and traditions. So, as part of our exchange, all my Middle School students created a presentation to showcase what they do, or what they used to do, to celebrate Halloween. After uploading projects to Schoology, students additionally uploaded them to Edmodo to share with their Spanish counterparts.

Then, our Spanish counterparts watched our presentations and commented on Edmodo; later they prepared their own adaptation celebration of Halloween at their school. (Remember, typically Halloween is not celebrated in Spain.) The Colegio Decroly students wrote, acted, and produced original horror films in English, as well as hosted an official schoolwide Halloween party (festooned with decorations and awesome homemade typical food, drinks and treats). At their party, they watched the horror films, which were later uploaded to the C.D. class website, so that the U.S. students could watch their films and enjoy. Of course, they were AMAZING, and these students commented their praise, comments and questions on Edmodo.

U.S. Students send their interpretations to Spain:

Luciano (6): https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bw3RhX4eIalNMEhSRXlHS3ZzN0U/edit?usp=docslist_api

Trevor (6): http://www.haikudeck.com/p/RRIzsco9AR

Spain students create horror films and share with U.S. Students: 

https://herecomesthe2ndesoclass.wordpress.com

Speaking Practice with a classroom full of students? Yes, it is possible!

Shadow Puppet app icon

Speaking Practice is a classroom activity that I always wish we had more time to complete. So many factors play a role: classroom management, volume of voices, students staying on task, only one teacher... the list goes on and on.

But I did learn about an awesome and simple little app which is the "dream app" for teachers. It is called SHADOW PUPPET, and it is the World Language teacher's new best friend! 

This app is simple with only a couple options/buttons to push. You can add photo/video, you can narrate with text, and you can record your voice. That's it! This makes it easy for teachers to have their students get right to work, as in producing and displaying within a matter of minutes. 

For example, I volunteered in a fourth-grade classroom within a school with a one-to-one iPad program. (They were still a couple students that had forgotten their iPads and those students were asked to buddy up with another student.) Previously in their language arts classes, the students had written Thanksgiving narratives in their own writing on paper. With the Shadow Puppet app, students were asked to create a short video reflecting upon or adding to what they wrote in the narratives.

After a teacher demonstration, students chose images from their camera roll or those images already embedded in the app, added sentences or text to the slides, and then spoke/recorded their voices. Some students read right off the slides from the text they had written, and other students spoke spontaneously in summary of what they had written previously during the morning on paper. Students all had the most fun when choosing pictures and images that reflected the sentiment of their narratives. 

As soon as everyone was done with the video production, the teacher let each student mirror their presentation to the Apple TV and screen at the front of the room. Students one by one presented their projects to the class, while classmates watched and listened attentively. They were intrigued by what the classmate would say and by the images he/she may have chosen to display. 

The Shadow Puppet app gives you the opportunity to share the link to your video, to share your video by email, or just to simply save it to camera roll. With one of those three options, all students were able to share the videos with their family members and with their teachers. 

With regards to World Language teaching, this app is awesome for presentational speaking. Whether it be a two-sentence response to a prompt written on the board or a more complex Summative Intrapersonal Assessment between two students, for example, the app is a great tool to enhance and engage students! Please let me know if you use it in the classroom, or if you have ideas or comments. ¡Gracias! 

http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Can-Do_Statements_FINAL3.pdf

SHADOW PUPPET example (Spanish 2H for Heritage Speakers, journal prompt response):

example (Spanish 2H, Preterite Tense activity):