Making Language Real From the Very First Day!

Monday (8/22/2022) will mark my 18th year in teaching Spanish as a second language, and I was a bit nervous to start. I had such a relaxing summer, and the first week, as we know, has a quickened pace. But here is the silver lining: I spent some time at the end of summer tweaking units, adding assessments, and gathering more resources for adjusting the curriculum. We’ve got some instructional moves, equity moves, and fun moves. This end-of-the-year sacrifice PAID OFF big dividends! And for that reason, I am less nervous about starting this week. So, what am I doing this week in my Spanish classes?

My Course Load

Just so you know, I am teaching Spanish I, Spanish IV, and Spanish V. I lobbied to get that class added, and it finally did! We’re in the process of making it a dual-credit course, so I am excited about what this means for our program and our students! This was a total equity move as many of our students can earn college credit.

The activities below are just for my Spanish level 1 students.

School Tour in Spanish!

This is one of my absolute favorite activities, and the students love it too. You can download the activity at the foot of the page (the link is there). I included an editable link so you can customize for your particular school environment. It is easy peasy!

Here is my step-by-step of how I introduce them to cognates, definite articles all while giving them a tour of the school! Not to mention, I get my steps in as well!

1. Provide students with the school tour activity sheet (link is included below). We don’t spend too much time analyzing the words on the sheet because the goal is for them to infer, and rely on input. This also gives me an opportunity to set them up for success in learning the language.

2. We walk around the school and visit the places on the list. I just point and say the name of the place or introduce an important person. Students then write the English equivalent. I love this part because I usually hear them working together asking questions, doing some pre-team work, which is always good for classroom climate and culture.

3. I introduce students to the security guards, the lunch staff, and office personnel. They have to write their names down too! This way they know some of the trusted adults in the school, and hopefully have a respectful interaction with them every time.

4. When we return to class, I have them work together and compare responses, then we review the words. Later, I am planning to play a game with the vocabulary.

The first week is all about building relationships and having fun! I get to the syllabus about the third class once we’ve gotten settled.