I am not going to lie when I say my kids need MORE practice with writing and reading. It's hard sometimes to do writing activities in Spanish 1 because they know so little. But I created this MINI chart for a reminder that each lesson....every single component needs to be in there in someway. It's helped me out a ton but I am struggling to think of writing ideas:
-I have my Spanish 3 & AP writing over notebook topics everyday for 10 minutes. Easy for Spanish 3 because they have the knowledge to write over these topics.
-I let my Spanish 1 have quiet, free writing time where they can go anywhere in the room and then write for 10 minutes straight about whatever they like. Sometimes I even say "OK, here is your goal: Use your -AR verbs conjugated in this writing"
-I have my Spanish 1 kids translate sentences but this is more guided writing than their production. We occasionally do essays but like I said, this is more guided.
So.....Let's have a SHAREFEST!!! Post your ideas for writing below in the comments section!!!!
God Bless,
Brittany
I love the idea of using class time for writing, especially if you are using a flipped classroom model which allows students to learn and process their lessons (e.g. "ar" conjugations) at home . I have my students keep a separate portfolio just for writing assignments. The assignment is usually due one week out and they can submit their work anytime during that time period for a grade and resubmit up until the deadline with any of my corrections/improvements, etc. My top students will often submit their assignments 2 or 3 times in order to improve a 12 out of 15 score to 13, then 14, then a perfect 15.
ReplyDeleteI think in a flipped classroom climate that a lot of one-on-one writing skills development will be enhanced with a dedicated time period just for writing in class.
I love the idea of having a separate writing portfolio! (May Steal) :) In my AP class, I have them keep one to take to job references to display their work but it's like a binder style portfolio. Do you use flipped classroom? Love to hear some ideas. Thanks!
DeleteI teach in middle school. My 7th graders take Spanish 1A and the 8th graders take Spanish 1B. The other teacher and I have made our students each others' pen pals. They love it because they get to write in Spanish with no pressure from me - I don't even look at them! - and because they get to learn from the 8th graders.
ReplyDeleteI also use the same writing prompt two days in a row, except I play different music each day. For example, I might give the prompt "Carlos is reading a book, when suddenly..." and day 1, I'll play a soft lullaby while the students write for about 5 minutes (they have to write as much as they can without worrying about editing). With the lullaby, I get replies like "Carlos is reading a book, when suddenly, he hears someone snoring. He looks around the room and sees the teacher. She is sleeping on top of her desk." The next day, I'll use the exact same prompt, but this time play some sort of epic sounding music like you would hear in the background of a Lord of the Rings movie. This time, I'll get replies like "Carlos is reading a book when suddenly the principal enters the room quickly and shouts 'Everyone run! There's a monster in the hall! We run out the windows and go to the teen center down the street. The monster is there!" I have all sorts of different types of music that can really change the tone of a prompt.
I also give them prompts that aren't like your regular, boring ones. For example, for the chapter where you are learning to introduce yourself, etc. most book use a prompt like: "You are an exchange student in Argentina and are meeting your host family for the first time, blah blah blah." I give them ones like "You fell off your burro while traveling in the Andes Mountains and smashed your head on a rock. You blacked out and came to in the hospital. Your doctor needs to see if you have amnesia so he starts asking you questions about who you are, etc." The kids are actually interested in using the vocabulary and grammar because the prompt is funny.
Personally, I'm lacking in the listening department. I am awful at coming up with effective listening activities and I often find that ones from textbooks aren't very good either.
I totally understand about the listening part. It is sooo hard to find the "perfect" listening for your class. I feel like with listening if you pull authentic sources you have to teach a "mini-lesson" over some vocabulary they don't know. We use the book Buen Viaje and it actually does have SOME listening exercises that are decent. Here lately, I have been using Spanish commercials. I just went to you-tube and typed in "Commercials in Spanish" and it listed a ton...McDonalds, Tire Centers, Banks, etc. I used them everyday for a week and the kids really enjoyed them. They were amazed at how some of them talk though. haha!
DeleteIt looks like someone has already given you my idea- I teach at two different schools so they all have a pen pal. However, if I teach at one school I can have them be pen pals with another class. That way you're completely in control and dont need to coordinate with another teacher. For each unit they have to write a letter to their pen pal about their personal relation to the topic- so I will give them a prompt etc. To make it more exciting, they get to write on brightly colored paper with gel pens and each letter has some kind of illustrational requirement (a mini family tree drawn, a picture of food cut out from a magazine with a caption below it, etc.)
ReplyDeleteTo add to that, a great listening activity I have done is having students draw something I describe. A monster to practice body parts and adjectives... A classroom or bedroom with prepositions... Ive even had students write out their own directions for a drawing and swap with a student (they described a fridge and what was in it). For colors, I told them in groups to find something of a certain color and they had to find something and show it to me. There are tons of possibilities!
DeleteNeat! Love all of these ideas :) I have a little file on my desk with paper that has your all's ideas on them. I have seen the monster and the body parts and then describing. I believe I might have done something like that when I taught Spanish 2. Anytime I say "Magazines" it's like I just yelled "PARTY" haha!!
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