tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956682240499963252024-03-05T21:32:32.060-08:00Señora Baxter's Spanish ClassThe Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-37609329349602415202018-02-28T08:12:00.002-08:002018-03-01T10:03:49.326-08:00The Ser Verb Rap <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>So I love MUSIC! I love TEACHING with MUSIC even more. In my 8 years of teaching Spanish, I have created a TON of songs that help kiddos remember their Spanish. I hate to admit it: they forget the grammar, they forget the vocab, but they don't forget the songs. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Recently I just had a girl visit from college, she's a sophomore now, and she busted into my classroom singing "Yo Soy...I am, Tu eres...You are" I saw her, screamed from excitement, and hugged her. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>She told me that she was minoring in Spanish and thanks to Mrs. B's crazy songs...she definitely felt a lot of it STUCK. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>It was "music" to my ears!! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>So since this song is SUCH a hit...I thought I would share a little video of one of my former classes singing the lovely Ser Song! They are adorable by the way! </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBbo-9gqKCAs66MgsxDx2uVxk7EBGcIVyrbWoeaWko2Jae7SSXhEaQkL5dkOqsAbDKMU_9gmqLSS86A4eCDuTR8kDzxDuKqjRyGyiH1kfTK0s94EfX335BHoKDM7dK3KPpy5YONadsPrJ/s1600/Ser+Verb+Rap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBbo-9gqKCAs66MgsxDx2uVxk7EBGcIVyrbWoeaWko2Jae7SSXhEaQkL5dkOqsAbDKMU_9gmqLSS86A4eCDuTR8kDzxDuKqjRyGyiH1kfTK0s94EfX335BHoKDM7dK3KPpy5YONadsPrJ/s400/Ser+Verb+Rap.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>I also like to include a little fill in the blank after we sing it to see just how FAST they can remember it! The kids will get so proud when they flip the paper over and fill in every blank their first time with no peeking. Heck, it's a proud moment! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>So here it is....the famous & simple Ser Song: </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">https://www.facebook.com/Senorabbspanish/videos/553435125025569/</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>I have included a link below if you would like to purchase the Ser lyrics with the actions & fill in the blank. If not, feel free to just copy the words! </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Ser-Verb-Rap-Fill-in-the-Blank-Activity-3679634"><span style="color: black;">Ser Ver Rap with Fill in the Blanks </span></a></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>God Bless! </b></span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-85545439477449438882017-12-22T06:49:00.000-08:002017-12-22T06:49:15.352-08:00Can I look at your grade book?!? <span style="color: #454545; font-size: 17px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">OK, so let's talk about an issue that can actually be really sensitive to each teacher. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Meaning IF someone were to tell you to do this a certain way...the issue could be quite sensitive! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That issue is...how to set up your grade book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So I have been asked by several readers what does my gradebook look like. Along with the requests, I have also been given the opportunity this year to work with some of our new teachers and help them in deciding how to set up their grade book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before I share what my personal gradebook looks like...I would like to share some rules. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Woah, rules for a grade book? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Let's just say I had to learn the hard way 8 years ago when it comes to grade books. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Rule # 1: It must be personal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Okay, you're probably thinking whattttt??? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So I can't tell you how many teacher friends have shared their "grade book preferences" and I have absolutely adored what they are doing in their classroom with their grades. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They make it sound so easy and so awesome that I literally wanted to run back to my classroom and change everything I was doing. Here's the problem though...it may not work for YOU! It has to be personal! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What they are doing in their classrooms every single day may not translate to what you are doing every single day therefore it does not translate in the grade book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So before setting up your gradebook (or giving your gradebook and makeover) you have to ask yourself some pretty hard-core questions, and this means knowing what your class looks like from day to day...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#1: what do I want my students to do everyday? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#2 What will be our routine? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#3 How much grading can I do without killing myself?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(There are plenty of ways to grade WITHOUT checking every answer) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#4 How much do I want my students to do to acquire a grade?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#5 How will the grades help my students to learn more?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#6 How will I assess my students?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#7 Have much emphasis am I putting on participation? Is my classroom even NEED a participation grade? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">#8 Off the top of my head, name some assignments that will be graded? Are the assignments worthy of different categories? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So after you have answered these questions, this will really give you a clear picture of how your grade book should look like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The second rule I want to share is something that I had to learn along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Believe it or not, I was one of those people that wanted to over complicate the system way too much so my second rule is simply DON'T over complicate things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thank God to my KTIP teacher who corrected me in this manner! Shout out to Ms. Laura Prather from Scott Co. HS! You were a blessing! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I have seen some grade books where they literally have up to 10 categories. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I don't understand how the teacher can manage the gradebook nor can the student interpret their grades. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Think of what you want your kids to do and what those categories are called and stick with the basics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So now that I have shared the 2 very important rules that I think are super vital to grade book success, here is my own grade book set up: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Classwork </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Whole classroom activities </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Participation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Test and quizzes </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Final Exam (includes only 1 grade) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Side Note: it's our district policy that every class much give a final exam and it's 20% of the students final class grade. So therefore, we have to create a separate category for it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now, let me give you a little sneak peek into my classroom of WHY I have my gradebook set up this way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">First things first: I do not weight my grades. I used to but I decided that I wanted to even out the playing field for all students so this would mean letting everything count by a point system and not a weight system. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was done with making ONE category mean more than another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For instance, I had some kids that would absolutely never do their work but yet they would always do really well on the test and exams. This would do enough to get them a B in the class and they were satisfied with this...but I was not. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Or I have the opposite where kids would do really well at turning in all their work, and work really hard but yet they would bomb the tests and quizzes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I just didn't feel like this was fair. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The ONLY reason I even separate the categories (or have categories) is so when my students are reading their gradebook it breaks down a percentage of each area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This way I can help the student see what is their weak area and what is their strong area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I can also specify direct problems in the class such as participation or not wanting to be involved in whole class activities or never turning in classwork. They know where to improve exactly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's also nice and organized! :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So let's get to details: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Class work and homework are bunched together. Class work and homework include everything that the students are having to do independently and a lot of this does include writing and reading activities. I don't give a ton of worksheets but this is where they would go. This is also mini projects, simple writings, and any quad d Products. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The whole goal of my class work category is that students are constantly practicing the language so that they can get better at the topics. They are solely accountable for their classwork. It's the same equivalent to practicing a sport every day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I want the concepts to become easier where my students are pros! When asking someone what activities they do, they don't have to think about their conjugation, they just spit it off. This is the point of my classwork grade: independent practice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Side Note: I do not give homework. Check out this link to hear the only homework I give: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The next category I have is whole class activities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> In my class we are always working and interacting together to get better at the language. I think it's important that when learning a language students have plenty opportunities to do communicative activities daily. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What better way than to use your peers in the class in a real life setting? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Almost every single day we have a whole class activity where the students are accountable to each other to learn the language and to get better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not only do I think that this is important to the kids in high school, but I strongly believe that this will help them in life and it will help them to be more of a sociable person who can interact with others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So how do I grade this whole class activities? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am always the facilitator of these whole class activities plus I am always monitoring even when I am playing with the kids. Yes, I play too! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If I feel like a student has not given their full effort, if they have not done the prep work for the activity, or they are goofing off and really don't even care then by golly I am going to lower their whole-class activity grade. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(I will show you how I grade this in live action when we return to school). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Also, in many of these whole class activities the result is an end-product: Skits, art work, conversations, ending of a game where we have winners, or getting the answer to a mystery question. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So if an end-product is missing from a student, I know they didn't do their work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The next category I have is super important to me. I have been doing this for eight years and don't plan to stop any time soon! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is the participation grade and I honestly believe it is a huge part of my classroom management style. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In learning a language you must participate in order to learn the language and practice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If the students do not do this, this is where they are going to see it affect their grade. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If the students are on their phone, goofing off, not trying, talking when they're not supposed to, or just blatantly not doing what they should be doing...this is where they will lose participation. Because face it: they're NOT participating! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I give this grade daily. 95% of my students do great with this grade. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The next category is quizzes and tests. Unlike the classwork grade where they don't have to have every answer correct, this is where I'm checking for the "right" answers. It holds them accountable to listen, get the notes, and STUDY (which I believe high schoolers struggle with) but yes, this is important to the students and myself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's a way to look at my teaching and to see if I'm doing everything I should be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The last category is Final Exam. As I said, this is mandatory for every teacher, and it's worth 20%. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am totally indifferent about this category to be honest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Alright guys, there it is! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you would like me to include anymore details or go into depth on anything, give me a shout on here in the comments or message me on my Facebook Page</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Señora BB Spanish" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">God Bless!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Brittany B!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Note: pics to come later! </span></div>
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The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-47242609839239397922017-11-22T08:23:00.003-08:002017-11-28T06:50:05.503-08:00The Crazy Spoons Game <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSnC-OG97bijiw1_F6xJWTZPtS9XUY0c78t8MBNRn31othciD-wEIm43mogBMYEkCvW7-Ujc35xE8XnmDXh3BDGfr6yP2oKbjWbCwaimXAY9DsDKYSaLZraKVd73EgE_GCU9oDw4oJBfv/s1600/Spoons+Pinterest+Ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSnC-OG97bijiw1_F6xJWTZPtS9XUY0c78t8MBNRn31othciD-wEIm43mogBMYEkCvW7-Ujc35xE8XnmDXh3BDGfr6yP2oKbjWbCwaimXAY9DsDKYSaLZraKVd73EgE_GCU9oDw4oJBfv/s400/Spoons+Pinterest+Ad.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So guys...if you have followed me for any amount of time on my blog or on my facebook page...you can probably tell...I love me some GAMES!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am all about high engagement and students learning Spanish without "realizing" they are learning Spanish. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am not going to lie...my kiddos love my class. They talk about how it goes fast, they feel confident in what they learn, and its the "least" dreadful of school. As much as I wish I could say it's just me as a teacher (shoulder dusting at the moment)...I don't this it is. It's because my kids have a ball in here. I am ALL about games & competing BUT learning Spanish at the same time! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My units are chunked full of games and they aren't just your good ol' educational game but actual game the kids play in real life but just modified with Spanish. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, has anyone heard of the Spoons Game? Whew! It's a fun one...highly energetic, active, and super competitive. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRcAtrvcO60fUepot27jtFpoIeFK0PoTZ81-FD-JGpZMmGhzY6oA-i-6qDWixKBvYUv-cjtkQ4HC-FDGaLAnK8I9cgkyuN62jbgr4HL1c1sL2gRCVQFg-2t3AMnehX2Zp-GmqVfCLKP08/s1600/Spoons+Game+Kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRcAtrvcO60fUepot27jtFpoIeFK0PoTZ81-FD-JGpZMmGhzY6oA-i-6qDWixKBvYUv-cjtkQ4HC-FDGaLAnK8I9cgkyuN62jbgr4HL1c1sL2gRCVQFg-2t3AMnehX2Zp-GmqVfCLKP08/s320/Spoons+Game+Kids.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here is a little clip of the ACTUAL spoons game being played (not the Spanish class kind): </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zyrxFg8emtg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zyrxFg8emtg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Well, I brought the Spoons game into Spanish class and it was SOOOOO easy! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So let's review the Spoons Game Basics: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1. You need at least 4 to 6 people to play to make it fun. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2. The whole goal is that you're going after a spoon & there will ALWAYS be one less spoon than people sitting at the table. Womp Womp...someone ain't getting a spoon! </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3. You are trying to get a matching set of cards that allows you to be the first to grab the spoon. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now in regular playing cards, you're going after 4 of a kind (3 of hearts or Ace of Spades, whatever) BUT in Spanish...you're going after 5 of a whole conjugation of a verb. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So if you want to be the first to grab a spoon, you're deck must look like this: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7QgrjMEO3pzshcqG1F1Eqki_6b4XR09buP1ISKt_lI85WOG1eQFNv4n9My9s6qc57piXVZicAp-GseMIZWpyfuQXywNMz0V0ywojiYODGsCnjvroJ6Fkl1gYB8U2wTqsqMxUaYsAhqnV/s1600/Hand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7QgrjMEO3pzshcqG1F1Eqki_6b4XR09buP1ISKt_lI85WOG1eQFNv4n9My9s6qc57piXVZicAp-GseMIZWpyfuQXywNMz0V0ywojiYODGsCnjvroJ6Fkl1gYB8U2wTqsqMxUaYsAhqnV/s320/Hand.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Notice the kid above is holding "Escribo, Escribes, Escribe, Escribimos, and Escriben" </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(He didnt' have them "in order" but who cares...) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is the precious match that allows you to grab that first spoon which spins everyone else in a whirlwind grabbing a spoon. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's not over though: </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The kid that was the first to grab the spoon MUST lay down his cards and show his conjugations AND (here is where it gets interesting)...he must tell the English of EVERY card....yep, that's right. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If he/she can't, they have to take their precious spoon and hand it over to the person who DIDN'T get a spoon!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Know those verb conjugations kiddos! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So how do I play this in my class. Well, lots of ways. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If I see a whole table is finished and we have 10 minutes left. I'll say "Go grab a spoons baggie" </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Or...some days (such as a Friday after a quiz) we'll dedicate the rest of class to Spoons Game Class Wide. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I have 4 different games: Present Tense Regular, Present Tense Irregulars, Preterite Tense, and Preterite Tense Irregulars. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If I am dedicating the whole rest of the class, I will divide the class into stations: Present over here, Present Irregulars over here, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They'll play for about 10 minutes and then switch to a new deck allowing them to focus on a TON of conjugations. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What if I want to assess my kids after we play to make sure they know it?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Great question! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With every game I have produced, I have created a written translation practice. See below for a little peek: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLqsVNQBzV-7-HnmQ54K4nFBLaU_0iMkZbhXn13ll4czNqSDJQYOaz9H9ZSNQNS3d_uJsFU4X9134QgvDUIGZpKBZKokINSur5pxQmscFfv-h7vjt7QTUqo4oeZBKDjFWyPzDcqVAUSYJ/s1600/SS+Spoon+Game+4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="610" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLqsVNQBzV-7-HnmQ54K4nFBLaU_0iMkZbhXn13ll4czNqSDJQYOaz9H9ZSNQNS3d_uJsFU4X9134QgvDUIGZpKBZKokINSur5pxQmscFfv-h7vjt7QTUqo4oeZBKDjFWyPzDcqVAUSYJ/s400/SS+Spoon+Game+4.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My kiddos always complete this after playing their game. If we are in stations, they will complete before moving on. I have also given them these written translations the following day as well for a bell ringer or exit slip. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">No matter how you plan the Spoons Game in your lesson, it will always be highly effective and yes, they will KEEP asking to play! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Let me know if you have any questions & God Bless, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Brittany B. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">See below for my products of the Spoons Game if interested. Every game comes with directions, playing cards, verbs list, and post-written activities of verbs used in game. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqq-yWcx3NC5CYvZWKoIWRS9m5EHSl9k1_UQ5hR5QSLIb-DXTfrJnfPenQjbXyrIaP7CvPvk_6G3PZ6CWrDlBaP5dUtPFSh1ux35VdJz92419ecEZjcthIL2qwonKnxEFoGUJrmtOerjr9/s1600/Spoon+Conguation+Game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqq-yWcx3NC5CYvZWKoIWRS9m5EHSl9k1_UQ5hR5QSLIb-DXTfrJnfPenQjbXyrIaP7CvPvk_6G3PZ6CWrDlBaP5dUtPFSh1ux35VdJz92419ecEZjcthIL2qwonKnxEFoGUJrmtOerjr9/s320/Spoon+Conguation+Game.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Present-Tense-Conjugation-Spoons-Game-w-Written-Translation-Practice-3504076">Present Tense Conjugation Spoons Game </a></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Present-IRREGULAR-Verbs-Conjugation-Spoons-Game-w-Post-Assessment-3505930">Present IRREGULARS Conjugations Spoons Game </a></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Preterite-Tense-Conjugation-Spoons-Game-w-Post-Assessment-3505933">Preterit Tense Conjugations Spoons Game </a></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Preterit-IRREGULARS-Conjugation-Spoons-Game-w-Post-Assessment-3505939">Preterite IRREGULARS Conjugation Spoons Game </a></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/MEGA-BUNDLE-SPANISH-CONJUGATION-SPOONS-GAME-Present-Preterit-Irregulars-3505968">MEGA BUNDLE MIX OF ALL SPOONS GAMES</a></span></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOz6Q0Vn4Y8QbPMargNb7aa6qmF4xInPHZV3oaUAupy3TV7mQz_zd4qcRyTSWv96cQbBxEGutqM4nWaDGtYfCsAVgug-hudOdrA5t_IhOZoL75O4bf9lk7kzypF9sIfjcBx5KT9caTYFz/s1600/Mega+Spoons+Bundle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="338" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOz6Q0Vn4Y8QbPMargNb7aa6qmF4xInPHZV3oaUAupy3TV7mQz_zd4qcRyTSWv96cQbBxEGutqM4nWaDGtYfCsAVgug-hudOdrA5t_IhOZoL75O4bf9lk7kzypF9sIfjcBx5KT9caTYFz/s400/Mega+Spoons+Bundle.jpg" width="386" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Thanks again & God Bless!!! </i></span></div>
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-69125098528975740992017-07-13T09:29:00.000-07:002017-07-13T09:29:13.289-07:00Social Media Accounts Hey guys!<br />
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I have been using my social media accounts a ton here lately posting little teaching tid-bits and an idea here and there.<br />
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Make sure to not miss anything :)<br />
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-16199318587719355212017-07-09T16:29:00.001-07:002017-07-09T16:48:50.793-07:00Ditch the Boring First Day...Shake It Up a Bit! <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16pt;">So, I’ll just be honest…as a student, I
hated the first day of school. Especially in high school. I could predict what
the day would be like, and I honestly dreaded it to no end. Visit every class,
barely meet your new teacher, and then get a syllabus to go over.
Same.thing.every.year. It was in my mind…pointless. I thought to myself, “Tell
me your name, give me the syllabus, don’t insult my intelligence by reading it
to me, and let’s move on.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I understand that you want to “set these
standards” but is there any other way we can do it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I vowed to myself that when I became a
teacher that my first day for my students would rock. I wanted my class to be
their favorite (or at leas their least dreaded). I wanted that when students went
home & told about their day…that maybe, just maybe, there was a little
excitement for the next day in Spanish class. I knew that by "liking the class, the language had a chance" <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So today I want to share some secrets that
set my class apart from other typical classes on the FIRST DAY! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">SIDE NOTE: Many of these activities CAN BE adjusted FOR ANY subject & any level. You just have to customize the task to your own subject & teaching! </span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "harrington"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 1. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Music…when they walk in, they
might just walk in moving their hips. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">For
some classes, I will show a music video that compliments a Spanish song and
displays culture. The kids can tell from the music and video that the energy
will be high, and the class is going to be very different.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>2. </b></span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Make them an honorary Latino for the rest of the year. I don't
put my kids in alphabetical seating and I don't do rows. Instead, they are
placed in a Spanish speaking country group where they will be competing against
OTHER countries. They win prizes, homework exemptions, and even food. I love
hearing the kids say on the first day, "What are you? What country are you
in?" Plus, if they didn't know any countries that spoke Spanish, they
learned six on the first day.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Note: what's even awesome is when OTHER teachers ask you about
this "country thing" because they overhear kids in their classes ask
what country other students are in. </span></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I use little seat flag tags on the desk that group the countries
together. The kids on the first day get exposure to the flag, the country name,
the word "soy", and the nationalities all IN SPANISH.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Little tip: I stand at my classroom door and tell every student
that enters which country they are in. I have always done this idea because it
allows me to talk to every individual student on the first day. I can smile and
introduce myself. Plus, making that first impression has always played in my
favor.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">3.</span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> Close the door & give a quick intro. This is one of my
favorite parts because this will be the FIRST time ever they get full exposure
to the Spanish language. Before I even do attendance, I give a quick little
three minute intro of my class (and myself), but I use half Spanish and half
English. I only speak Spanish that is complete cognates and I speak very
clearly & slow. I love it because the kids will respond "I think I
totally understood what you said" or "I followed you the whole
time." I try to be very warm and embracing during this little intro. I am
amazed at what personalities I will see come out within the first five minutes
of the class.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">4. </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Spanish word attendance. This activity is soooo much fun &
can be played anytime, but you AND YOUR STUDENTS will love it on the first day.
Basically, you're going to call out your students names for attendance. You'll
teach them to say "hi, here" (In Spanish: hola, aquí) but then they
must say ONE Spanish Word that they know (or whatever language you teach). It
can be a food, animal, country, etc. It's so much fun to hear the kids spill
out a Mexican restaurant menu. I promise there will be laughs by the end of
attendance, and look at how much Spanish you're already exposing to the kids.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">5.</span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> Time to show the "About the Class & About the Teacher
PPT" This is where you'll settle some Spanish nerves and give a great
snapshot of your class. This PPT answers any dire questions, but more than
anything: it shows the kids WHY, JUST WHY learning a language is so important.
I even make a slide of jobs they can obtain with being bilingual. Hey, money
talks!</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The 2nd half of the PPT is an About Me section. This is where I am
going to be vulnerable and connect with my kids. I am going to tell them about
my childhood, where I went to school, why I became a teacher, etc. This is
where the students will connect. This is where they will understand why you are
doing what you're doing.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">6.</span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> After the PPT, time to go over the Syllabus....but...</span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">with memes! That's right. It's time to explain the expectations
of your class but for each section, the students will see funny memes. This
makes the most boring part of the class a little less painless, and who doesn't love a good
Will Farrell meme.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">7.</span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> One more PPT (and it's a biggie)...Class Procedures. Okay, I'm
going to vent/nag/whatever...I hear and talk to so many teachers who complain a
few weeks into school about how their classes have gotten chaotic & they
have lost control. My first question: did you teach class procedures? They'll
often say, "Yeah, we went over the rules." Noooo...did you go over
class PROCEDURES? There is a huge difference. No cursing in class is a rule.
Telling the kids how you want them to turn in their HW, what to do after
completing class work, and what to do the last 5 minutes of class...are Procedures.
You MUST teach them if you want structure. I always show this PPT! I will tell
the kids I love to have a good time (if we're learning) BUT if I think we're
sacrificing learning FOR a good time, you will see a different person.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Side note: Teaching the Procedures is important, but following
through is probably even more important. Basically: Don't get soft. Stick to
your procedure game plan.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">If time: Group Introduction...I will teach the kids how to say "My name is...I am from...I like..." and have them share with their group. We
often don't get to this, but I always keep it in my back-pocket.</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">That's it, folks. That is my first day. It looks a little
different from the traditional first day but honestly, it excites me as a
teacher so I know it must be exciting to be setting in a student desk!</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">If you would like to purchase of any of the products I use on the first
day, see below. All products are editable and can be customized for your own
class:</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Seat Flag Tags for Country Groups:</span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span class="xapple-converted-space" style="font-size: 21.3333px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Country-Desk-Flag-Tags-3187622</span></span></div>
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<span class="xs1"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><b>All About the Class & Teacher PPT:</b></span></span><span class="xapple-converted-space"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="xapple-converted-space" style="font-size: 21.3333px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Spanish-1-About-Teacher-PPT-can-be-used-for-other-languages-3244663</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;"><b>Syllabus & Class Behavior Contract:</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Foreign-Language-Syllabus-Behavioral-Contract-3247428</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/PPT-Memes-for-Spanish-Syllabus-Behavior-Contract-3247587</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;"><b>Class Procedures PPT:</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Procedures-of-the-Class-MIDDLE-OR-HIGH-SCHOOL-295940</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;">Thanks, God Bless, and Happy Teaching! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "harrington";"><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;">Brittany B. </span></span></div>
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The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-88111413050552701112017-06-13T05:42:00.002-07:002017-06-13T05:42:17.003-07:00Brain Breaks...in Spanish! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I went to this conference a few years ago and was told that through-out the seminar/conference, we would be receiving ANOTHER seminar/lesson, but it was going to be delivered a bit different. I remember thinking What, Huh, Whatever...I paid my money. LOL </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So about a quarter of the way through the seminar when my butt kept going to sleep, my water was empty, and I noticed there was a change in the temperature of the room, I started to get, well...done. Yes, I was still interested in what he had to say, but I couldn't get my body comfortable...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, oh yes, I felt like one of my students. I'm setting there switching from butt-cheek to butt-cheek trying to get comfortable, FORCING my mind to get tuned in and thinking how the heck do they (my students) do this ALL DAY LONG? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You called it...I needed a brain break (or maybe a butt break)! About NO JOKE 5 minutes later...the dude just stops and says "You know what folks, I need a break." I was thinking so does my butt. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He introduces this other "speaker" and I'm like "Hey, hey, hey I NEED A BREAK TOO!" (In my mind...I don't have the cajones to say that out loud!) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So yeah, we're all polite and clap (and really thinking...OMG). Really I am thinking, "Go away. I need to stand, I need to re-adjust, I need to talk. I need to just...do something else." And...that is exactly what we did. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He stands us up and makes us stretch and WHILE we're stretching HE TEACHES US...about what we are doing. He tells us that we could teach VOCABULARY everyday with brain breaks...we could teach tiny lessons...we could teach facts of life. Whatever our heart desires. and the state tests. Blah :/ </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I instantly thought of my reflexive unit where I teach the verbs: Wake up, Go to bed, Shower, Wash, Stretch, etc. This is brilliant. We could be pretending to do the action. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He then tells us that he wants us to interact, but we MUST move from our space to the next ACTING like an animal. Oh my goodness! It was a blast! So...a genius idea came up to me...what if I had a little poster that had the names of popular Spanish animals and the kids could do this EXACT same thing...except yell out every animal sound with what they are doing. Example would be: Neigh....caballo....neigh....caballo....neigh OR mooo...vaca....mooo....vaca...I was loving it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went to "visit" a new friend & he gave us a very strict talking assignment. Talk about how we liked the conference so far, and what needed improvement. I met a new friend named Wanda. She was so sweet. She game me a piece of candy from her purse. Reminded me of my nana a bit. But anyways, we talked about our experience at the conference. I didn't mention my butt but I did say I was getting a bit "tired" </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I noticed something while we were talking... There were little ladies & men walking around just wandering...Ah hah, they were from the conference. Cheaters. Trying to hear what we thought of the conference. Then it hit me...this could be ME. I could give the kids a SILLY and FUN talking assignment and do the same. This would be presented as a break but really it's continually giving formative assessment to my kids. And it doesn't have to be some serious assignment. It could be goofy: "Think of all the Spanish Item Vocabulary you know...what would you take on an island." Everything you name, you can take, if you can't think of it in Spanish, you can't take it" </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BRILLIANT! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I ran back to my seat (as a chicken), got out my notebook, noticed my water glass had been refilled, wrote down my ideas real quick, and was re-inspired (and really freaking excited to take this back to my classroom)! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brain Breaks! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So...here is a list of all Spanish Brain Breaks you can do in your classroom. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Honestly, you could take a WHOLE Friday (maybe a day when there is a large field trip and attendance is low) and JUST DO BRAIN BREAKS! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Okay, here's the list:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Dance to Commands. Play an instrumental song and make the kids dance to action commands. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Dance to "Anywhere a Mouse Can Go". Once again, put on an instrumental song and have them do actions (dance moves) of the Spanish you are saying: Encima, al lado de, cerca, cerca, cerca, etc. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Harry Potter Wand Command (Duck & Hide): This is a fun one I thought of & my kids LOVE IT! So the kids are all walking around (you must walk) and trying to HIDE from spells. So when I say "Vaya" if a kid can cast a command at another kid before he gets down behind a desk (or behind a cabinet), they must continually do that command for the remainder of the brain break. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Come, Bebe, Habla, Grita, Escribe, Etc. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Command Stretch. This is the example I gave up above about acting out the reflexive verb unit. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Animal Sounds. This is the example I gave up above about acting like an animal. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. 4 seconds to answer & sit. So the students are all walking around. When I yell "Pregunta" (out of no where) the kids have to ask the person closest to them a question. If the one who didn't ask can't answer in 4 seconds, the "responder" has to sit. So basically, you want to always have a question ready. Oh, and I will tell the kids "Como te llamas" is OFF limits after the first couple rounds then De donde eres is off LIMITS, etc. If a partner asks a question off limits...they are out. It will come down to just a few standing. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. Complete the pattern. This is the same concept as above of just walking around but when I said "Continua" the kids will say a number pattern "veinte, veintidos, veinticuatro..." and then the other partner must complete. If they can't immediately, they are out. IF they can, they stay standing. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8. How is the food. This goes along with our "estar" and descriptions of food. The kids walk around acting the way their food is. Example, if spicy...they may be waving their hands and have their tongue hanging out. When I say "estima" the kids have to guess how the food is "La hamburguesa esta picante" If they get it wrong, they have to sit. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the way: the games with elimination where the kids SIT when out, they became police. So if they see someone not doing something, or just trying to stay under the radar, they can police them, and have them sit! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are just a few we play. You can use these as actual class game OR you can use them as quick brain breaks. The possibilities are endless!!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope you guys can get some great Brain Breaks (Butt Breaks) in this year! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God Bless, </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brittany B. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-57169546963232837492017-06-12T19:20:00.000-07:002017-06-12T19:20:00.352-07:00Creating Culture...in a Seating Arrangement! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's all raise our hands if we have attempted 50 billion seating arrangements in our classroom? That's right...every hand should be up. I don't know about you all but for me, searching for the perfect seating arrangement is like searching for the secret formula for success in my classroom. Anybody else agree?! IF I just get them to sit like this, then this will be better, and that will improve, and this, and that. And...I'm tired. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sound familiar?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways...I have been through the loop & back trying out different seating arrangements...I've done rows, I've done groups, I've done the horseshoe, I've done what's called the "butterfly"...you name it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But...there was ONE in particular that was definitely memorable and my favorite. That...was groups. Groups of 6. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now why did I change it if it was working? Well, at this time I had eliminated my desks and had little to no desks in the room. I decided to get rid of my 2nd hand furniture due to stuff breaking, fighting over the furniture, the littering in the couch seats, etc. I was done. BUT...I SHOULDN'T have been done with groups, COUNTRIES that is...they worked! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So this year, I will be bringing back the countries, and I will be bringing back the groups. Honestly at 8 years of teaching Spanish...I am tired of being a walking dictionary. I feel like allowing the kids to be in groups makes me LESS of a walking dictionary. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I'm getting to the culture part...I promise...but before we do, let's take a look at the pros & cons of group seating: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pros: </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Teacher is LESS of a walking dictionary. "ASK YOUR GROUP" goes a long way. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. They get to teach each other. Isn't teaching something truly learning it the best? </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. They are less likely to get bored. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. The desks are actually easier to maintain because they are all squished up against each other. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Relationships are built and cliques are separated. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. They are more likely to TRULY speak Spanish & interact. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cons: </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Cheating, cheating, cheating. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Solution: Folder tents during assessments. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Maybe too much talking? </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Solution: Be strict when direct-teaching & monitor work progression while they are completing assignments. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Drama? Well, mine are high schoolers and like adding weight around Christmas....IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN! LOL </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once I added the pros & cons, I realized that groups will do me so much better. Sooo...I'm not just stopping at groups. I'm building on it. I'm making them be apart of COUNTRIES...SPANISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They will compete with one another, help each other, earn rewards, get to dress in their country colors on certain days, get to research places within their culture, and embrace their "country" </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So on the first day of school, they will see the image below on the projector & find their name: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZTnNAz8DtMLczfvHmtOyFgl5sT25MJWU7oSpS3RE3QHA5cbf1Xr4wvCtMu2wJC8qFodFbuhgrjzOS7Vy6H57GSAWDL-gI4_OM3iEH1HTH7u6J5zh7G6D4VGtle6pE7QX5yrPGYZJMGTW/s1600/Seat+Tags+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZTnNAz8DtMLczfvHmtOyFgl5sT25MJWU7oSpS3RE3QHA5cbf1Xr4wvCtMu2wJC8qFodFbuhgrjzOS7Vy6H57GSAWDL-gI4_OM3iEH1HTH7u6J5zh7G6D4VGtle6pE7QX5yrPGYZJMGTW/s400/Seat+Tags+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every person will be apart of a country & will sit where their number is. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is what the tag looks like: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjEoKuVteAvdPT0w2rNKD0PU8I6OJ0f-JQNrz_dr5JtVf7Lxsh2aA3rAF_j3vWMDbML66BlTPRyTiJ1QNZG9ayzqoEdKLKLc0huXoUQ5hR7YafFHwEupvY083khlQVrK5R61_8QeJ9aYB/s1600/Seat+Tags+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjEoKuVteAvdPT0w2rNKD0PU8I6OJ0f-JQNrz_dr5JtVf7Lxsh2aA3rAF_j3vWMDbML66BlTPRyTiJ1QNZG9ayzqoEdKLKLc0huXoUQ5hR7YafFHwEupvY083khlQVrK5R61_8QeJ9aYB/s640/Seat+Tags+5.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With these little tags alone, they are learning the flag, country, nationality term, and "soy" (which we know they will ask the first day). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpb5mr_yLoZhnp1svb_snMe88fEQyBA3zvw1nnrOblWvTV6bp2UBscMEDQTGoQXrL1XFLYVOxsGEaOE6T7J6im8p71Hez13CxFa8HJ4K_0AC4BVAf7Up9_2OqYXFbgtzO0HzNEnjlkf6C/s1600/Seat+Tags+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpb5mr_yLoZhnp1svb_snMe88fEQyBA3zvw1nnrOblWvTV6bp2UBscMEDQTGoQXrL1XFLYVOxsGEaOE6T7J6im8p71Hez13CxFa8HJ4K_0AC4BVAf7Up9_2OqYXFbgtzO0HzNEnjlkf6C/s400/Seat+Tags+3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do plan on switching up countries 1/2 way through the trimester so they'll get to learn more about another Spanish speaking country, but I am so excited to re-introduce this. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL37L3bvP4brWbFLmFCCROajjAenvl-nDZ2N68H8Db1oH4ktJYRjwIDu8Z6t0mZ_GGkySatPVpliIbLZl4A_pzyuvrSj_efsV67qGZE7AyOdN-5iJbVpfBzrYFADDvM4_pWIDQ7-GkHmNB/s1600/Seat+Tags+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL37L3bvP4brWbFLmFCCROajjAenvl-nDZ2N68H8Db1oH4ktJYRjwIDu8Z6t0mZ_GGkySatPVpliIbLZl4A_pzyuvrSj_efsV67qGZE7AyOdN-5iJbVpfBzrYFADDvM4_pWIDQ7-GkHmNB/s400/Seat+Tags+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PLUS, when you play games...the kids are already in groups! We also did a thing were we would have "embassy" workers that were allowed to represent their countries while VISITING other countries. This is where the numbers come in on the desk tags. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHgp0eL63mdk6qAA8QX2tydFKzaZr73sOu-7BOBjhKOqPX8pWLtU5CYiW8VtqzwNrW3aFvOBQbh51M7HtTC0VGhyphenhyphenR1LpPLbNes_2dg_NeuCEW3FqvWLXbq8tr7NtPWsCvyglpez1nFaBj/s1600/Seat+Tags+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHgp0eL63mdk6qAA8QX2tydFKzaZr73sOu-7BOBjhKOqPX8pWLtU5CYiW8VtqzwNrW3aFvOBQbh51M7HtTC0VGhyphenhyphenR1LpPLbNes_2dg_NeuCEW3FqvWLXbq8tr7NtPWsCvyglpez1nFaBj/s400/Seat+Tags+4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will laminate the tags & keep two sets, just in case some little booger tries to steal the desk tag, I can easily replace it. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Feel free to steal my idea. If you would like to purchase my desks tags, the product is below: </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Country-Desk-Flag-Tags-3187622</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Feel free to create your own that represent your own favorite Spanish speaking countries. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hasta luego mis amigos! </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brittany B. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-25341747797639122172017-05-29T08:22:00.000-07:002017-11-28T09:33:52.722-08:00To Give AP Summer Homework or not...that is the question! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I had the pleasure of attending AP training when I began teaching AP Spanish 6 years ago. I absolutely loved getting to talk to other language teachers, and see how they ran their classrooms.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One very common practice was...AP Summer Homework. I remember saying, "Wait...we need to give AP Summer Homework?" I remember every head turning to look at me in awe; as if...did this chick just say that?</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One really sweet gentleman spoke up and said, "This test is incredibly hard. We need to make sure our students continue learning and don't lose any grammar, vocabulary, idiomatic phrases, and more. Summer homework really pushes the kids to keep going."</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So...after the training I went home and started preparing my first AP summer homework packet..hmm...</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok, honestly....the very first year that I prepared the AP summer homework packet, it was awful. Horrible. Pointless.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To be honest, I really didn't understand what the students should be doing in the summer. I didn't understand the three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But...</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Four years later, I finally figured out summer homework that actually increased my students ability to be conversational speakers and to grow their skills.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCvTY5VxgJzlvrUNLFcXAvva_5_QW3zbQIeyjSTLz3Q0PsZGbkyzW2QKP4imWCM8taT3peh628TAspoOxTtRMrwpyVK9-WUlU9NxeUjEgqtT0ZhP2OGjxzsbAjQfg2WQIstoHum9lso4h/s1600/Ap+Summer+Homework%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCvTY5VxgJzlvrUNLFcXAvva_5_QW3zbQIeyjSTLz3Q0PsZGbkyzW2QKP4imWCM8taT3peh628TAspoOxTtRMrwpyVK9-WUlU9NxeUjEgqtT0ZhP2OGjxzsbAjQfg2WQIstoHum9lso4h/s400/Ap+Summer+Homework%2521.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I learned how to give assignments that reflected listening, speaking, reading, and writing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I prepared this final homework bundle, I handed it out to my students and waited for their reaction. Believe it or not...I was shocked. They were actually kind of "excited" to start on the homework.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So this is my secret: if you want your students to be enthusiastic and open minded about summer homework, you must make all the tasks "doable"</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a very fine line of being challenged and being overly challenge to where you feel defeated.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the past, it took it too far. I was assigning actual AP work but yet my kids hadn't had a day of the AP Spanish class. They didn't know the trick, the patterns, or even a grasp on the various grammatical concepts.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can finally say that I have summer homework that I am extremely proud of, and can see SUCCESS for the past couple years.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It took a lot of research and work to prepare, but I can tell when my students return their skills are still intact.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They still remember the conditional, future, present, etc. They still know the difference between imperfect & preterite. Their listening skills are strong, and basic conversation has not been lost.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So my final thoughts are... don't be scared to assign summer homework. Start small and build on a full bundle that you are proud of.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Think...will my assignments help my kids conquer AP or are the kids doing busy work? My first few years it was pure busy work, and on top of that, it was freaking hard busy work.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some basic benefits of assigning summer homework:</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Continuation of practicing skills</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Sets the tone that the class is rigorous.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Can weed out kids that don't want to take it seriously.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Forces the kids to make Spanish apart of their life.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. On the road to fluency.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have included a link to my Summer Homework for AP Spanish below if you would like to just buy mine:</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/AP-Spanish-Summer-Homework-3177110</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me know if you all have any questions about summer homework. I'm glad to answer as well as engage in any conversation about AP Summer Homework.</span><br />
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The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-52901049963688381372017-01-28T08:48:00.002-08:002017-11-28T09:31:48.920-08:00Ser Basket Game <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hey Guys, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Check out my video below that describes a really fun way to practice verb conjugations! This is a student favorite & you'll hear why in the video. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbkPyUfDLUuVa8W4qGJvKI1Ec2ES9UXBSXjPz4EILdjVmPps6Q1NfVYufwsU1dz2pV1F17afOvolm4F7swH1VlJ5hcZKjyoppb3J-tAY_so5nB8638ulRsJaVaRjJJijNtG-50uh__0weo/s1600/Ser+Basket+Ad+Pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbkPyUfDLUuVa8W4qGJvKI1Ec2ES9UXBSXjPz4EILdjVmPps6Q1NfVYufwsU1dz2pV1F17afOvolm4F7swH1VlJ5hcZKjyoppb3J-tAY_so5nB8638ulRsJaVaRjJJijNtG-50uh__0weo/s320/Ser+Basket+Ad+Pin.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I use this game with all levels, and it can be used with ANY verb. It actually could be used with subject pronouns, and even question words. I was actually observed (walk-through) while playing this game & my principal couldn't say enough awesome things about engagement, whole student-learning, accountability, & some other $10 words. He even brought it up at a staff meeting which made me turn lobster red (but it was all good). :) lol </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am going to put the link down below of the game that you all can purchase if you would like to avoid the creation process. It comes with everything you need to know to play plus all the cards that can be edited for any & all verbs. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWe2NTpavgK9EHylnwGAx526JYxG1_xpOX6AyUrC2SVe5ve41_3xtPqswYcTS8tyu-RQ4jsw59s6bXNBXZCQeadugP2votYe8CJDEBgqkaDlf3RMOldBpOUHtZAgictzp-ARXhHx3y-k-/s1600/Ad+Pin+for+Ser+Basket+Game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWe2NTpavgK9EHylnwGAx526JYxG1_xpOX6AyUrC2SVe5ve41_3xtPqswYcTS8tyu-RQ4jsw59s6bXNBXZCQeadugP2votYe8CJDEBgqkaDlf3RMOldBpOUHtZAgictzp-ARXhHx3y-k-/s320/Ad+Pin+for+Ser+Basket+Game.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You could create this game yourself using flash cards if you wanted. This document could also be used with other languages besides Spanish, possibility even other subjects. </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yoLLhE_9UhA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yoLLhE_9UhA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ser-Basket-Game-Spanish-1-Class-Game-2983294">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ser-Basket-Game-Spanish-1-Class-Game-2983294</a></span></div>
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To check out the Preterit Tense Basket Game, click the link below:</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Preterite-Basket-Game-Spanish-3516302">Preterit Tense Basket Game </a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have any questions about the game, feel free to message me through "Senora BB Spanish" on Facebook, email me at brittanybaxter777@gmail.com, or leave a comment right here. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">God Bless to You Guys & Happy Teaching!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Britt B. </span></div>
<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-48861174421942227492017-01-26T07:58:00.002-08:002017-01-26T07:58:32.150-08:00My Guilty Confession as a Teacher <span style="color: #cc0000;">So while I have been home on maternity, I am not going to lie and say I haven't thought about my job. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">As a matter of fact, it's actually gave me some pretty good "Pinteresting Time" </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">When you have a baby that's not content...unless he is held, & your 3-year old wants to snuggle on you, let's just say...I've gotten some good "recliner cuddle time" & done a little pinteresting on my phone while they sleep & watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse all.day.long!!! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Back to my confession...so I have ALWAYS been jealous of elementary teachers because of the "details"...Their fun activities, their AWESOME classrooms, their limited number of students, but the one thing I am jealous of is the "diversity" and "variety" in one school day! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">They have "around" 25 kiddos and with those kids...they do math, art, music, science, reading, etc. (sigh) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I wish as a (high school) teacher sometimes I could "branch" out & yes, do some of the awesome activities that elementary kids get to do while relating to my own subject area. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I was actually having this conversation with a friend/colleague. We discussed what would our kids do if we treated them like elementary kids with respect to the diversity & activities? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">We came to one conclusion...they would probably LOVE it! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I don't get it...in elementary school...the engagement is high, it's hands on, it's so diversified! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Then you get to high school and it is desks in rows, note-taking and tests. Where did the fun go? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Where did the excitement for learning? Did anybody else LOVE elementary school? I know I did, and I rocked it! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I was the best alphabet finger painter around! I know elementary education is WAY more than this, just a little fun pun :) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">But back to topic: so if you're reading this blog post...you are "probably" a world language teacher and if not, you're awesome for checking it out. (You're awesome no matter what you teach or don't teach, by the way)! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Think about it...world language teachers, if we were to take our language content level into consideration...we are "kind of" teaching elementary school, right? So shouldn't we be able to do some of the awesome, diversified activities that elementary does? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">(Sigh again)...So here is my dream, you ready............... </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I wish that everyday when students entered my classroom, they had variety at their fingertips in 70 minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I want my classroom to represent "different" areas of learning: listening practice, speaking practice, culture, grammar & mechanics, writing fun, and reading experiences, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I want them to have a known routine so when they enter, they dive in quickly in 70 minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I want them to have every minute used for authentic & meaningful hands-on activities. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I want to teach using props, using conversations, using each other! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I want color, I want pictures, I want technology, I want resources! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I want laughter, I want silliness, I want time to pass quickly, not because I'm bored or they are, but because we are involved, engaged, and having fun & lost track of time! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Anybody else getting excited reading this?! No, just me?! LOL </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Anyways, why can't we make small changes to add this type of learning into our HIGH SCHOOL classes?! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">We can have this TOO! Is it harder for us? Ab-so-freaking-lutely! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Does it involve switching up the whole "high-school traditional style learning"? Yep, and it's a step-by-step process. It can't be done in a day, week, or even a whole school-year. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">But we can make steps to bring back that engagement & that "love" of learning! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">One thing that gets me inspired is sometimes to "look" at elementary classroom pictures, their activities, and their schedule of how they do things! I instantly try to "convert" it into something that would work for my own classroom. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Let me clarify one thing: I DO NOT want to be an elementary school teacher. I know it sounds like it...but no, I promise! I love my high-schoolers and my content! It's just...I want that "spirit"!!! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Below you will find some of my inspiration & ideas. Check out pics of these lovely classrooms that "represent" diversified areas of learning & some activities that can be converted to high school. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Task Drawers Using Hands-On Props</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnXockHH66MUgKpEX9VyabOLwoA9M3Y_wbv0OgDu0gUrpiVsL_wKrZMtXf0I5XuKGUtgo9NO_DrRINp4dA0nN3HOlGYmZ2S7T45rwvCp5Do-Cw0BUYGpqRpO_AzawTqA6ELmgbpcnw9Ws/s1600/Task+Drawers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnXockHH66MUgKpEX9VyabOLwoA9M3Y_wbv0OgDu0gUrpiVsL_wKrZMtXf0I5XuKGUtgo9NO_DrRINp4dA0nN3HOlGYmZ2S7T45rwvCp5Do-Cw0BUYGpqRpO_AzawTqA6ELmgbpcnw9Ws/s400/Task+Drawers.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">You could have directions/tasks in target language that challenges students to follow directions using the items?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Adjective Door </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Pzdl_n1c77SWXOCdZQWLzTt6Q5_htJg6mLkCQJcXqSc5lDQ9fk5nYfyrYd8taKR58AYIC8toShk8UCp9qFrXFxy9VxfjwLcX6LpYg3iNX9SDpFMDrStK8r9MYoCrKAMFH2rO4B4ef5QC/s1600/Adjective+Door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Pzdl_n1c77SWXOCdZQWLzTt6Q5_htJg6mLkCQJcXqSc5lDQ9fk5nYfyrYd8taKR58AYIC8toShk8UCp9qFrXFxy9VxfjwLcX6LpYg3iNX9SDpFMDrStK8r9MYoCrKAMFH2rO4B4ef5QC/s320/Adjective+Door.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">This could be used to have all kinds of target language adjectives. Think of all the possibilities/tasks you could do with this door/area alone?!?! Also, the students could be the ones who make it...that is a great station activity! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Brain Break Cards </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUDQhuluBiLUcgINJO46yXscNexFTHzu_ZdpuEM8kn7ySHTLOGGmjW57x0rykv-b7cemY0urD5WVNO-zYDW9YA0_RrOyCX5yEMg-h4WuPfxzfk4RmhLUywJIpKjt6AuiaQufQHPGLyMS9/s1600/Brain+Breaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUDQhuluBiLUcgINJO46yXscNexFTHzu_ZdpuEM8kn7ySHTLOGGmjW57x0rykv-b7cemY0urD5WVNO-zYDW9YA0_RrOyCX5yEMg-h4WuPfxzfk4RmhLUywJIpKjt6AuiaQufQHPGLyMS9/s320/Brain+Breaks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">I can think of so many possibilities...Spanglish task cards, finish early tasks, whole class Spanish language brain breaks, vocabulary run-though brain breaks, ahhh, the possibilities are out there people!!! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Today's Word or Phrase</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdoDikB7M3euHaUKhPa_HNecTT6Ui6MXZgjZH0q5IJhIXa0VJm2615c611eANpPBUg8LF-N19a8TooPnDws7_mbnSh5qb4m14cek10Mg-Jie0_5NpMH4B9hAvMbw49dnslA_0diSHuNor/s1600/todays+word.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdoDikB7M3euHaUKhPa_HNecTT6Ui6MXZgjZH0q5IJhIXa0VJm2615c611eANpPBUg8LF-N19a8TooPnDws7_mbnSh5qb4m14cek10Mg-Jie0_5NpMH4B9hAvMbw49dnslA_0diSHuNor/s320/todays+word.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Instead of today's "number"...it could be today's word or phrase. Use it with a friend, build a conversation, create a scene in writing or act out (and video record)...so many cool activities! This could be one of "many" variety options for a bell-ringers or station activities. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Telling Time - Target Language Phrases</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqRscq8T54JxYun3gYSO9Qwi9N4o5LahJ-TS-fqM8ETHbJEr-K0VZ3CVbxrSjphwuOFqeUhl6hdRkLtcyGjZ3qXMet7E3aoWgmvlXQ5WoIg8u7SDlE83c_3vg4SoanyJpkWhTusBfvWfV/s1600/Telling+Time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqRscq8T54JxYun3gYSO9Qwi9N4o5LahJ-TS-fqM8ETHbJEr-K0VZ3CVbxrSjphwuOFqeUhl6hdRkLtcyGjZ3qXMet7E3aoWgmvlXQ5WoIg8u7SDlE83c_3vg4SoanyJpkWhTusBfvWfV/s1600/Telling+Time.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">You could TOTALLY take this activity and just convert it to target language "Son las dos y veinte"(that means 2:20 in Spanish) & match with the egg-clock! Awesome hands-on activity! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Writing Idea...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Think of all the "scenarios" you could do with writing practice. "Everyday I....(create sentences)"..."On the weekends I...(Create sentences), so many neat things to write about. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Read & Sort</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Read and sort...you could do the different tenses "Present, Past, Future, etc." or lower level ideas: Sports, Family Members, Verbs. The students could write the English & Spanish on a writing sheet & put into a sentence. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Okay, now that you have seen some cool activities...check out these classrooms to die for:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Hope you all enjoyed today's "Guilty Confession" & maybe got the brain stirring a bit :) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">God Bless & I'll be back soon! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Britt B. </span></div>
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-58209340431887940352017-01-22T10:35:00.003-08:002017-01-22T10:35:27.342-08:00Switching Up My Spanish 2 Review Packet <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Hi guys! Long time, no talk! A lot has happened in the Baxter world over the past few months. Let's me show you through a little picture...</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>My precious Ben entered the world on December 8th and let's just say...my time has been limited. I love it when people say "You'll be home on maternity & babies just sleep, eat, & poop so therefore...you'll have lots of free time." NOT when you decide to keep your 3 year old home with you & the baby at the same time. AND when you have a baby that wants to be Held.All.The.Time! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Anyways, back to what you're interested in...so I'll be going back to work here in a couple weeks & we'll start our last & final trimester! Wooh, summer is around the corner! I need this more than ever! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Anyways, again, (shew, have you noticed I haven't had any ADULT talk in a while) Focus Brittany!!! With a new trimester is the usual review packet over the past Spanish class. I give a review packet for EVERY new Spanish class because we are on weird trimesters and our students may or may not get consecutive Spanish classes...meaning they may go 3 or more months without a Spanish class. They forget....everything! Unfortunately, we do have to spend a decent amount of time reviewing previous concepts because well, you can't teach stem changer conjugation if the students haven't mastered conjugated in general. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So, I always give a review packet...and it's a hefty hefty one. When the students see if they go through mixed emotions. Excited they are reviewing & not jumping straight in, scared when they see how big it is, but relieved when I tell them they will receive a few days to go over it. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This trimester instead of just handing out the packet & letting them work on it over the next few days...I am going to do something a bit different. Higher engagement, higher enthusiasm, and raising higher confidence levels in the language. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Normally I would tell my kiddos when doing the packet if you don't know a section, just skip it, do what you know, and then we will go over the answers. Yeah, I had kids bringing me their packets saying "This is all I know." (and the two who sections they worked on). Yes, we all have those kiddos. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Okay, so the new way: I love stations. Love, love love them! I actually have my room set up in 6 tables of 6 people. I don't always have 36 kids...usually around 28 but this works for me. So, my room is ready. Also, I think getting to get up & move around does wonders. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So I decided to take this packet & divide it up into 6 sections but provide "Helpful Documents & Resources" that basically gives "hints" to helping figure out the content. Now, the kids won't be like "this is it" </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>But, I don't just want to THROW the resources out on the table & say okay in 20 minutes we'll switch so here is my plan: </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. You arrive at your station & you ONLY work on the sections assigned to the table. You will receive 10 to 15 minutes (can change once I see how they are doing) to figure out as much as you can. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. After this time period, you can grab the "Helping Resources" & add any missed information. You will receive an additional time limit to this activity. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Then, if you haven't figured it out by then, you will take the highlighter & highlight the sections you don't know. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Move onto the next station, do THOSE assigned sections & repeat. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. At the very end, I am going to provide a "Get What You Need" period. This is ONLY going to last 10 minutes because I don't want this to become social time. So it's highly monitored & time limited. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Lastly, I will give a grade for completion of the packet. This whole station activity will last over the course of a few days. I don't expect to get this done in one class period. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here's why I wanted to add this activity: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. Higher accountability - no dilly dallying around </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. Prevent Boredom - working on an 18 page packet will bring this on</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Higher Engagement - the switching, working with resources, and group shakes it up </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Higher Levels of Confidence - if the students can just see a little hint, it may help them figure it out without leaving everything blank & not caring </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. It's just more fun - for me...hopefully for them too :) </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So there you have it. My "New Way" of doing the Spanish 2 Packet. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I want to clarify that I have TWO Spanish 2 review packets...one for coming INTO Spanish 2 & one for mid-year/2nd semester/after Christmas. This one I made the "Helper Resources" is for the mid-year/2nd semester/after Christmas. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Overall, if you have a huge packet or large load of work, simply take a marker & try dividing it up. This is a great universal accommodation for all students. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you would like to purchase my Spanish 2 (2nd semester) Review Packet, here is the link below. It comes with the packet AND a ppt that has all the answers divided up in sections: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Semester-Spanish-2-Review-Packet-PPT-2970264">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Semester-Spanish-2-Review-Packet-PPT-2970264</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you would like to purchase the "Helpful Resources" the link is below: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Helpful-Student-Resources-for-End-of-Spanish-2-Review-Packet-2974686">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Helpful-Student-Resources-for-End-of-Spanish-2-Review-Packet-2974686</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you are interested in the "Entering Spanish 2" review packet, here is the link below (it does not include the ppt within the product): </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Total-Review-for-Spanish-2-2024060">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Total-Review-for-Spanish-2-2024060</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you are interested in the "Entering Spanish 2 PPT" for the review packet, here is the link below: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Total-Review-for-Spanish-2-PowerPoint-2024103">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Total-Review-for-Spanish-2-PowerPoint-2024103</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you all have any questions about any of the products/documents, feel free to email me at brittanybaxter777@gmail.com </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Thanks & God Bless! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Britt B. </b></span><br />
<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-62343475831530790462016-11-28T15:46:00.000-08:002016-11-28T15:54:56.428-08:00My New FAVORITE Game...Double Down Dice Game <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Fellow Readers...I am LOVING this new game I created over the break! As you all know if you have been following me for a while, I am DEFINITELY not a worksheet teacher. Yuck! I love teaching OUTSIDE the box! :) I was browsing FaceBook and came across this "Oven Mitt Christmas Present Unwrap Game" Check out this fun (and hilarious) game on YouTube. We WILL be playing this at my family Christmas this year (the Oven Mitt one, not the foreign language one) haha! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Anyways...back to how this game can benefit you guys...I saw this game & modified it for the classroom. I decided to call it the "Double Down Dice Game" because the game centers around "Rolling Doubles" (If you are running short on dice, you can tell them they have to roll a 6). </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>It's so easy to get going because it literally only involves the game sheet (one per group), dice, and a pencil. After you play the game "ONCE" with your kiddos, they'll remember it forever...and want to play it all the time as well. :) Another wonderful thing I love is that you can easily monitor your kiddos and see who can do the task and who can't. No grading, no charting, no data (unless you want to maybe mark notes on your clipboard of who needs extra help or...) just watch them play the game! Also, nobody is "left out" everyone must play & participate! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Side Note: If you have your kiddos already in groups, this would be a great "practice activity" after teaching a new verb, concept, vocabulary, etc. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Also, this is the perfect activity if you have a sub or really want the classroom to be "Student-Led" that day! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>(Confession: I have been working on creating MORE student-led activities that I can facilitate but not have to run!) </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Anyways, this game can be played with any "listing concepts" For my Spanish class, we played this with creating conjugated verbs. We first practiced in the Present, and then moved to the Preterite. I plan on using this for practicing category vocabulary such as jobs, places, people, etc. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I am definitely going to use this for my "Creating Questions" unit in Spanish 2A. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>To really push reflection & correction, after the kids played the game...I made them tell the ENGLISH of what they created but it had to be the other team's answers. It was kind of funny when they went back and saw some of the conjugations were totally off and one student randomly put "perro & libro" (yeah, that's NOT a verb)! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>So in all: Be ready for some loudness, intensity, but overall fun. Also, it makes the class pass by really quick...win! And to be honest...I kind of wanted to sit down & play with the kiddos myself :/ LOL </b></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwJDmLca-mJUWTE7m6TG2OpObtiX8TP78ED5ZchgM0-5VP139K2qpKTQVSpS7Hb4EMb_YVJUUtlXeZe2KbwDg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If you would like to purchase my game sheet along with student-friendly instructions, see below: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Double-Down-Dice-Game-Engaging-Competitive-Activity-for-Any-Subject-2899651</b></span>
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-18411800357488138322016-10-12T11:29:00.000-07:002016-10-12T11:29:07.873-07:00Hold Them Accountable to Speak Spanish with...a Clothespin! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So I can't take credit for this idea because I have seen SEVERAL teachers use this technique. I have even seen teachers use this technique in other subject areas, but let's just say in a foreign language classroom...it's wonderful. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So in my class I design SEVERAL activities that design around speaking Spanish & just PURE trust that the students are doing it. I try to be as active as possible in their activities when they get up and walk around the room, completing the speaking assessments BUT let's face it...36 students in a class, one me...they are sometimes going to get away with not speaking Spanish :( Boo, it sucks! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I saw this idea in several other foreign language classes & instantly knew I was stealing this idea. It's as simple as 1, 2, 3, and it's the use of a.........drum roll, please.........clothespin. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Yep, a simple clothespin! But for my students, they receive THREE clothespins. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here's how it works: </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. I tell the kids what activity we are doing. Getting up & sharing our birthdays, asking others theirs, writing it down, getting phone numbers, etc. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. Next, every student receives three clothespins they put on their sleeve. It must be where others can get to them. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Lastly, I tell the kids every time you hear someone NOT speaking Spanish...you can take one of their clothespins and add to your own sleeve. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Lastly, once everyone returns to their seat & the activity is over...the option is truly yours to WHAT you want to do with it...you can make it a "fun competition, give a grade of 1, 2, 3, be intense or even give a small punishment (warning: this might backfire on you). For me, I try reward the biggest collector with a piece of candy, and will tell the kids that I am going to surprise them with participation grade or NOT. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I also tell the kids that IF they don't know what to say, to come find me, and allow me to help! I was really surprised how many took me up on this offer than before the clothespins. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It kind of reminds me of the wedding/baby shower game where every time someone says wedding, bride, baby, etc. you can collect their clothespin, but we have altered it to Spanish. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Let me just say folks...oh my dear, how this has CHANGED everything! You still have to monitor, you still have to circulate but guess what? You're collecting too BUT it definitely puts a lot more pressure on the kiddos but positive pressure. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Before, I would tell the kids to go around and ask each other their birthdays and I know in my heart of hearts SOME of them were just saying the English & quickly passing the information. What? Not our little lovelies. Yes, even the best of the best does it. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This activity makes it a competition, and sort of positively "turns" everyone on each other! haha! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So there you have it...go to the Dollar Store and buy some cheap packs of clothespins, find you a ziploc baggie, or mini bucket and dump them in...put them in a cabinet, desk area (I suggest a hidden spot) and next time you have a speaking activity...tell everyone to attach them on. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Hope this activity helps & your students have fun with it!!! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>God Bless,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Brittany B. </b></span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-74104236486788238102016-09-07T06:15:00.004-07:002016-09-07T07:22:34.416-07:00Friday Fun Free Write <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">So today I'm going to share a simple,
simple "fun" technique/event to get your kids writing...I call it
"Friday Fun Free Write" Don't know about you all but here in KY there
is a push for student growth goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">This is where the teachers set a
standard goal for the whole class, takes pre-data through various tasks, work
on teaching the goal, the students do samples tackling the goal, the teachers
take those samples, charts evidence, evaluate if the students "met"
the goal, and then go back and offer interventions. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">Now, no offense against SGG and the
"highers" that need to see this data in our yearly summative
evaluation...but...isn't that the whole point of TEACHING and what we are doing
EVERYDAY?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">Everyday, we have a goal! We teach
the content. We work towards the goal. And then we evaluate whether the kids
met it or not. If not, we go back & try again. Teaching Purpose in a
Paragraph! </span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">Well, anyways, I digress. Every year I focus on
"writing" as my goal. Why writing? My thought process is...if the
kids can put it together on paper with a bit of a time increase and patience,
they could "probably" verbally speak it. Writing is a great way to
"combine the masses"....the masses of content and grammatical info we
must teach. It's also their personality, their thoughts, their interest, and
their words. I always say I can figure out a student's personality by reading
their papers. For example, I have a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>student
who loves food. If I want him to write...I tell him to write about "food
prompts" He especially loves to write about "queso"????<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">So on I saw
on Pinterest several pins of "Flashlight Friday." This is a really
neat idea that is being done at the elementary level but can totally can be
transformed into high school level. I love seeing my kids break down the
barriers of pressures of writing in Spanish. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1tH9Y6SF0Ovuj_dpFg26YH_Bmq27ZqMlp7_sMsQcTNlBkOHIoKAwAWP1u9T3_ee32KzzTVMe_Chq6SeY2ob-Xa5QLp4V2cIMgj0IHPonBqj5XsbC08E8PrIEA7nU0KZAuFBf5kFchbQm/s1600/Friday+Fun+Write+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1tH9Y6SF0Ovuj_dpFg26YH_Bmq27ZqMlp7_sMsQcTNlBkOHIoKAwAWP1u9T3_ee32KzzTVMe_Chq6SeY2ob-Xa5QLp4V2cIMgj0IHPonBqj5XsbC08E8PrIEA7nU0KZAuFBf5kFchbQm/s400/Friday+Fun+Write+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">THEY LOVED
IT!!!!!!!! The 20 minutes were up & they wanted to keep going! I was blown
away! Fine, sure, okay! :) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh449pyxbWDWJKkfZA7h9G1PaisRSAG3PvX4mHF3RRH_en8vwVSeRN-OFD6bYKllgkfxyOI0iX0F8aNA9WeohfwU6OH_2J-QyP7jINcDLD0H4L4UwaHiLahQUo9Z6kYRc1ZPUIOcZfeqo6P/s1600/Friday+Fun+Write+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh449pyxbWDWJKkfZA7h9G1PaisRSAG3PvX4mHF3RRH_en8vwVSeRN-OFD6bYKllgkfxyOI0iX0F8aNA9WeohfwU6OH_2J-QyP7jINcDLD0H4L4UwaHiLahQUo9Z6kYRc1ZPUIOcZfeqo6P/s400/Friday+Fun+Write+3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">I am now
making "Friday Fun Free Write" a Friday routine. I honestly did NOT
check every SINGLE word on their writings. I glanced through them, made a few
minimal corrections, and moved on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpe4zMQSpvVAuBxHpP3CrSBJ2q8gTmqlCEwZOSn3yei8nLLgaKh1zLEjy1uKYSiMY_b4snuMYIm08AYL1B9twQvPo9zzWNiZCYGbE0t0aBnNtcfczlmbBuni57xKv-9sv8s4NWWg9Vbup/s1600/Friday+Fun+Write+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpe4zMQSpvVAuBxHpP3CrSBJ2q8gTmqlCEwZOSn3yei8nLLgaKh1zLEjy1uKYSiMY_b4snuMYIm08AYL1B9twQvPo9zzWNiZCYGbE0t0aBnNtcfczlmbBuni57xKv-9sv8s4NWWg9Vbup/s400/Friday+Fun+Write+4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Here is a sample of a student's free write. </div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">I made sure
to tell them I DID NOT check every word, or else I would probably never get
their papers back to grown off of. I wanted to focus on one or two errors and
let them expand from there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">Friday
already has a perfect atmosphere to do this. Feel free to try it in your class.
I would love to hear how it went. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">Also, my
kiddos forgot their blankets and pillows on the first day of doing it, and said
they were definitely going to bring them on Friday. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">I know this
is lame but I actually think the kids just enjoy the "quiet, no talking,
no pressure" opportunity! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui";">God Bless
& I would love to hear how it goes in your own classroom!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Britt B. </span></span><br />
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212121; font-family: "segoe ui"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-47783871950785958202016-09-01T09:15:00.006-07:002016-09-01T10:40:49.008-07:00Reviewing Infinitives & Present Tense <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I am a huge fan of infinitives. I truly believe students should be well-equipped with lots of infinitives. Once, they learn how to conjugate and learn the pattern, you can teach them ANY infinitive and they should know exactly what to do with it. It gives them confidence, it allows them to be versatile with the language, and let's face it...you can't speak without VERBS! </b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In Spanish 1 we teach a certain # of specific verbs, but sadly, by the time summer passes and classes restart, they have forgot a few of them...or all of them.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I use this list of 25 verbs to review present tense. These verbs are common, popular, and highly used. I like to do various tasks that will help them remember the verbs. I always give a quiz with the 25 verbs to hold the kids accountable. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here are some things I do to get our "Verb Review" started: </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1. I give the master list and have the kids repeat each verb. I ask them to flip their sheets over & I yell out the English or Spanish, and make them say aloud the verb. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2. We (as a class) match an action to each verb. I let them help create the action (even if I know what I have done in the past). It puts the ownership on them & adds their personality to it. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3. We run through the daily action verbs - everyday for like a week!!! Once they know them, it only takes a 2 minutes to do. </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMe9dy6dOH47y2sTQ_jqi5GTUMG4FudpiY5-6mKhbI9jlmDeR5hymIRQg7dh1uTWnibFolKPvxNjJOvSAO-Pt2W8ErG5-UosxAUSmpUaVA1wgxup-TDT_F3suuc7wF3oEt97ddo8xymCld/s1600/Infinitive+Review+Ad+Pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMe9dy6dOH47y2sTQ_jqi5GTUMG4FudpiY5-6mKhbI9jlmDeR5hymIRQg7dh1uTWnibFolKPvxNjJOvSAO-Pt2W8ErG5-UosxAUSmpUaVA1wgxup-TDT_F3suuc7wF3oEt97ddo8xymCld/s400/Infinitive+Review+Ad+Pin.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">4. We play Simon Says with the actions - they love this! This is a fun game to do after they take the quiz and we need to eat up some time. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">5. I do all their bell ringers with these verbs and have them practice conjugating, building sentences, and writing with the infinitives & conjugating.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">6. I do a "Silent- Sit Where You Want" WRITING CHALLENGE. They are allowed to sit anywhere (even in the floor), take one sheet of paper, something hard to write on, pen/pencil, and create as MANY sentences with the verbs that they can. They turn this in at the end of this activity. They enjoy this because of the atmosphere I create - we usually turn the lights down except for the lamps, and I put on the crackling fire on YouTube. I have even told them in the past, they can bring a blanket on this day. The only stipulation is that they can't use their phones for assistance (they can listen to music) and they can't TALK! This isn't a group or partner activity, solo! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>7. I also give a little packet that has to be turned in & I give this right after I give out the master list. It includes riddles, unscramble, sentence conjugation, and the quiz. I give them a copy of the quiz so they know exactly what it will look like & we even do a practice quiz before the "actual" one.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>8. I also use "Quizlet" I have the vocabulary words on Quizlet & the kids can join my "class" on quizlet to practice their vocabulary at anytime. They can do flashcards, play games, take a quiz...and it ALL can be done on their precious, precious phones! LOL </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Here is the link to the Master Verb List Vocabulary on Quizlet: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>https://quizlet.com/146413181/starter-verb-list-flash-cards/</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>9. Last but not least, we do the quiz! By the end, I can EASILY tell who knows the 25 verbs. 99% of my kiddos know THEM PERFECTLY! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I give these activities about 3 to 5 days depending on how well the class is doing with everything. We are also working on the Ultimate Review for Spanish 2 while doing this so we're not spending the WHOLE time just doing infinitives. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>So there you have it, that's how I review infinitives and make sure we all get on the same track. Feel free to create your own infinitive list & do any of the above activities. :) It works for me! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If you would like to purchase any of my resources used in these lessons, links are below: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Master Verb List with Practice Activities & Quiz: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Starter-Infinitive-List-Activities-2762053</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Ultimate Review for Spanish 2: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Total-Review-for-Spanish-2-2024060</b></span><br />
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-67297290559242666032016-08-26T09:35:00.000-07:002016-08-29T17:58:38.988-07:00Finally....Extra Episode Watch Guides are Available! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Shew, I need a nap! I worked and worked during my plan period to knock this out and did it. I'm so excited for next week & presenting this to my kiddos. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPrIWbTY7bGOv7mWUAIWXl5gT_H9zqNXIb6GrXw6KDkc9_9yYtvJyG4ZmTb1GlBEPcMdnJJgDxSlPxWB5D6khyphenhyphen6F4h-08AtPpG69SBuNF7FqcjOHY_Uiy28X0ksUAMYnLt_sJeQbKqSiR/s1600/Extra+Ad+Pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPrIWbTY7bGOv7mWUAIWXl5gT_H9zqNXIb6GrXw6KDkc9_9yYtvJyG4ZmTb1GlBEPcMdnJJgDxSlPxWB5D6khyphenhyphen6F4h-08AtPpG69SBuNF7FqcjOHY_Uiy28X0ksUAMYnLt_sJeQbKqSiR/s320/Extra+Ad+Pin.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Now, I can make SURE every student is held accountable & is fully engaged during the episodes. I'm so excited to have them do a little MORE after the episode ends with the Quotes Activity! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Ugh, I'm such a nerd but I love it! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYgPSYlcMEjNgAjcnvnThvUnvKlxb1rlAFJEYxrlt8XIv0bP2PcPMF_sIeSR3fswwLnFUnuqB670JeozpvJQ5cnQ_ltYXRsNwcqAcck64Xn6jJpzaZWU5gjFkXG6paR7E3nYZ0nzxEBMc/s1600/extra+pic.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYgPSYlcMEjNgAjcnvnThvUnvKlxb1rlAFJEYxrlt8XIv0bP2PcPMF_sIeSR3fswwLnFUnuqB670JeozpvJQ5cnQ_ltYXRsNwcqAcck64Xn6jJpzaZWU5gjFkXG6paR7E3nYZ0nzxEBMc/s320/extra+pic.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If you would like to purchase the watch guides, visit below: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Extra-Episode-Watch-Guides-Spanish-1-6-2753216</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>***Episodes 7 - 13 coming soon :) </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>God Bless You All! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Britt B. </b></span><br />
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-46772285728975609022016-08-25T18:00:00.002-07:002016-08-25T18:00:58.731-07:00Get Ready for Extra! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">NOTE: French teachers, don't leave. They make the French Version of Extra. Read below & find out how to access. :) </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So if you haven't had the opportunity to use "Extra" in your Spanish classroom, you are missing out. I learned about Extra my second year of teaching and it's a huge huge part of my instruction, assessment, and I use it to "fulfill" authentic listening components. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what is Extra? Extra is a Spanish learning series that uses episodes like a TV show. It's perfect for classrooms because it's engaging, age-appropriate, and hilarious. The kids will love it and probably want to watch an episode everyday. I try to show an episode about once or twice a week. The episodes are about 25 minutes long, and the possibilities are endless with what you can do with them. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For years, I did nothing except had my students watch. This summer I got really inspired and wanted to create some watch guides with an additional activity that allowed them to reflect and practice their listening skills. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, that is where I am right now with my "watch guides" I have been asked a ton if I will share these and allow them to be bought. And like I promised this summer, of course. My goal is to have them up by this weekend. (Not going to lie...I might have underestimated the workload it would take to get these ready...oh my geez is all!) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you don't want your students to do anything, except watch, then no big at all. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Okay, so how do you get to Extra? I have been "told" that some of the episodes "might" be on YouTube. I never use this option but by all means, go for it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Update: all episodes ARE on YouTube. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The safer way is to call your librarian and ask if your school has a KET Encyclomedia/Discovery Education user code. Schools SHOULD have one. If not, you can easily register and you can go online and watch all the episodes on the website. This is safer because YouTube could pull them any time if they wanted. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Easy steps: </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Google "KET Encyclomedia" </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click the first option </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Find the area that says "Discovery Education" & log in (if you have user name) </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the top, type in "Extra Spanish" </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Scroll down and you'll see lots of videos. Find episode #1 "The Arrival of Sam" </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click the episode & play for your class :) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">French teachers, do the same except type in French instead of SPANISH :) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope you all can get it working & give it a try!!! It's so awesome and so much fun! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Episodes 1 - 6 watch guide/activity sheets coming asap (by Sunday for sure) :) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God Bless & Thank You all For your awesomeness! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Britt B. </span><br />
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-18533646879758903362016-08-19T10:29:00.004-07:002016-08-19T10:29:34.292-07:00The Bang Cup - The Game of Ultimate Engagement & Proficiency <span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>My Spanish 2A kiddos have been working so hard this week. I ALWAYS ALWAYS like to review, review, review because it could have more than 7 months since they LAST had a Spanish class with the way our scheduling works at school. </b></span><div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Honestly, even after the summer coming from Spanish 1...my kiddos have forgot A LOT! I so hate this, but it gives me the opportunity to see what they really know, my chance to reteach, and an opportunity to stick it back in their mind (maybe stronger this time). </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I always like to "reteach" the Present Tense because this is a HUGE concept taught in IB, but there is also a HUGE chance...they forgot it ALL! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This week I have been working these kids to the bone. We have wrote, spoke, conjugated, listened, read, and when they come in today (Friday)...I could tell they wanted something...different. Luckily for them, I had a fun little game planned out that would give them a bit of a break from the traditional classwork they have been doing. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It's called "The Bang Cup" (I will get to why it's the "BANG" cup later). Anyways this game is pretty easy...teams, points, practicing whatever concept you are practicing. But it's also alliances, enemies, taking, giving, and even some back-stabbing! hehe! </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzvx2WdXQ8I6qlPwP7n2UtunlN-dALa7E0NqDBGn-RWCs06aiyRNGgf9lwRdnFwERs8VsKf83aNFYXj9UURyU5hMDAS7kZcUy8GCp-bt_SQoCBADRZXm4SE42BfaKxksvfbDEwln7LgNg/s1600/bang+cup+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzvx2WdXQ8I6qlPwP7n2UtunlN-dALa7E0NqDBGn-RWCs06aiyRNGgf9lwRdnFwERs8VsKf83aNFYXj9UURyU5hMDAS7kZcUy8GCp-bt_SQoCBADRZXm4SE42BfaKxksvfbDEwln7LgNg/s400/bang+cup+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What makes this game fun is the fact you can steal points if you get a certain color, you can GIVE points to your alliances, or you risk your whole livelihood and lose everything...hence "BANG". When this happens, it's a very sad moment...or funny...and the kids will yell "Bang" (it's kind of like ha-ha).</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The best part about this game is that it can be played with any concept, with any class, with any subject, and any level. All you have to do is switch the game sheets out. The games sheets are number 1 - 18 (determined by dice rolls) and each number is a "task" (I can statement, verb conjugation, #, something to do/say, ask, etc.) You could always give your kiddos more die (4 instead of 3) and bump the tasks up to 24. Make sense?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I have literally created a whole folder on my computer called "Bang Cup Game Sheets" which focus on different vocabulary concepts: colors, #'s, adjectives, family members. (I had someone ask if I would be willing to put that on TPT, and yes, I can do that). You can do this too with your classes with whatever you teach. If you teach science, and you are studying photosynthesis...think of all the different questions you could ask. The possibilities are endless. Also, you can MAKE your review the game sheets (# each task) and have the students go find the answers (alone, partner, with their group...up to you). Then, post the review as the game sheet which a number by each task. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinM9qZD_NbD5BqN2xOlWPDNj39QgdKe92Wz07Z0kxshKf9wjQFfg9mVBQwIl512CPaZNZS0RSrTQzz1l6cVJxa3OiTNDVakmTBDxw1hgoXDLOYKSLQ8QNjNe8mZO0SbYDidDVRuWCjeHxM/s1600/bang+cup+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinM9qZD_NbD5BqN2xOlWPDNj39QgdKe92Wz07Z0kxshKf9wjQFfg9mVBQwIl512CPaZNZS0RSrTQzz1l6cVJxa3OiTNDVakmTBDxw1hgoXDLOYKSLQ8QNjNe8mZO0SbYDidDVRuWCjeHxM/s400/bang+cup+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It's not the content that makes the game fun, but the fact the kids are getting to be evil (or kind) to each other in the game. It's also kind of funny when they negotiate with each other, make bribes, etc. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Each color represents what will happen if they pull the stick: red, green, blue, and even pulling a blank stick all mean something! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>(Check out my student's face below when he pulled the RED!)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I had one kid give a whole pack of Spearmint gum to his buddy for giving him points!!! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It's minimum prep (get the supplies together), clean up after quickly, and everything between that is just fun - hands on proficiency. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Hope you guys enjoy & feel free to add this to your classroom. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you would like to purchase the game already completed with the rules, procedures, supply list, color-code keys that can be given to your teams, the link is below. BY THE WAY, the product comes with two editable Present Tense practice game sheets for Spanish teachers. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Bang-Cup-Game-Perfect-for-all-HS-Classes-2740087</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>God Bless & You All Take Care! </b></span></div>
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The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-78405137482277743362016-08-11T09:43:00.001-07:002016-08-11T09:43:34.578-07:00Boost the Confidence Level of Spanish on Day 1 <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So...we all get those kids...who, let's face it...they don't want to take Spanish. They don't see the point. They're incredibly nervous. Their parents may even be a little hesitant about them taking a language. Or...they.simply.don't.care! Why do I have to learn Spanish? We all hear it, we've all been there.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A lot of the times I have noticed with my own kiddos that it's not that they HATE Spanish, it's simply they are totally UNAWARE. They are unaware of the possibilities, they are unaware of how similar it is to their English language, and they are unaware of they great they can be with the language.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I LOVE seeing my kiddos when they get it. Let's face it...we all do or we wouldn't be doing this for the crappy pay we get, right?! We all love seeing our kids become confident in their subject, the light bulb come on, and even maybe leaning towards LIKING what you teach! Wow, that feels great!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I learned quickly you have to take a Psychological Perspective being the teacher. You have to BOOST their confidence & this can be done on Day 1 (actually Day 2 for me because I do go over my syllabus on Day 1) :)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYp61L0nvqhFdJnNiTcgVpdfInzx5v4NSxJr546_ZBmZ0oFVX3lA9p_YKxzkiDDpLtOeGWY_Nk7zIVgqBp8m47GsP5P8_jjsY5_wHL7_yo3a1H21DmobuJbGFnx6LXV7-RtHWbXe3QxaEZ/s1600/funny+memes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYp61L0nvqhFdJnNiTcgVpdfInzx5v4NSxJr546_ZBmZ0oFVX3lA9p_YKxzkiDDpLtOeGWY_Nk7zIVgqBp8m47GsP5P8_jjsY5_wHL7_yo3a1H21DmobuJbGFnx6LXV7-RtHWbXe3QxaEZ/s400/funny+memes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First, teach them what a COGNATE is...I just LOVE cognates. I have attached some fun little Powerpoints and they are free! Feel free to use them to your preference:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/SpanishEnglish-Cognates-Powerpoint-Activity-2723770</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next, pronunciation is fun to practice when there is no pressure. Just seeing the word, guessing what it is, and then trying to say it will open up a ton of doors. The kids will probably laugh at a few because they will totally butcher them but oh well, it's fun trying!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are a couple free Powerpoints to use with pronunciation & you can even continue practicing cognates:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Two-Spanish-Pronunciations-PowerPoints-2723777</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So how else do we do it? READING! What? Reading? But they don't know any Spanish words? It doesn't matter...there are SO many words that LOOK like the English that they already know them. The wonderful little cognates...oh, how they hold the power!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Context Clues & Basic level reading is how you do it! I have prepared basic little paragraphs that have so many cognates, they have no choice but to fully understand the Spanish in front of them & you know what...it makes them feel pretty darn good because...it's a WHOLE paragraph! haha! So there you have it, put together some simple little paragraphs. Make sure to use "I" conjugations" and lots of vocabulary that allow them to know the meaning. You can do this on a word document or on a PPT & have fun with it!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have prepared a fun mini packet that has 3 exercises of reading, writing, and cognates. Feel free to buy mine (link below) for 0.99 OR you can create your own exercises:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Confidence-Booster-Mini-Packet-First-Day-Exercises-2723738</span><br />
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-86909588903279751752016-07-22T08:37:00.003-07:002016-07-22T08:37:51.662-07:00My Top 5 Favorite Reflexive Verb YouTube Vids!!!<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I love teaching reflexive verbs...there is so much content and so many FUN things you can do! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I try to ALWAYS show a few youtube videos with EVERY concept I teach. I always, FIRST, teach it myself, and then I have a few videos to "back me up" It's like my teaching squad...and it's engagement for the classroom. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here are my TOP 5 YouTube Videos for teaching Reflexive Verbs. Under each link, I'll try to give you some advice of "when" to show it to your kiddos & what each video is...if you don't want to read my paragraphs, just skip it, and check them out yourself :) </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. Reflex Your Verby - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KATBgZ5oyIg</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This fun little song video, which has A TON of views, is perfect to show immediately after you teach HOW TO CONJUGATE the reflexive verb. It's catchy, it's simple, and it's entertaining. Plus. it's to the tune of a song the kids will relate it. It's a must watch. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. Reflexive Verbs Made Easy With a Song! (Spanish Lesson) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYFCwIfZ-s4</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This video is of Senor Jordan (who is AWESOME). I will be gone on maternity leave halfway in the year & you better bet, if I don't get a Spanish speaking sub, Senor Jordan will be reinforcing EVERY lesson. He is so to the point, has a great teaching personality, and usually puts EVERYTHING to a song. If you are out, or need reinforcements to teach reflexive verbs, this video is perfect. I usually like to show it just because the song he uses is so catchy! It's to the tune of if "If You're Happy & You Know It" (and yes, my high schoolers like it...and they clap!) hehe! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The next 3 videos (in my opinion) need to be shown later on when the kids understand the basics of conjugating a reflexive verb. It's not so much about "teaching" the basics of a reflexive verb but showing daily routine. After my kiddos KNOW how to conjugate reflexive verbs, my BIG OVERALL goal is that they can talk about their own daily routine. Conjugating is the skill, talking about their day is the overall goal! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Verbos Reflexivos con Frida Kahlo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmWsaZCmpw0</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I am obsessed with Frida! So when I saw this video, I almost died of excitement. Of course this is a homemade mock video of Frida (she's dead but you can visit her home museum in Mexico) but this woman is so awesome & entertaining. I like that it puts the sub-titles! So not only does she say & do her daily routine but the students get to see the Spanish on the screen. I love teaching culture so I always give a 5 minute little lecture of WHO Frida was. The kids are amazed with Frida because she was such a different character! Two birds with one stone: culture & grammar! :) </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Mi Rutina Diaria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSblebrx6ng</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This video is of a little boy getting ready & it takes you through his daily routine. He is ADORABLE! Your girls will go "awwww" He goes through his daily routine and the sub-titles are on the screen (double cha-ching)! It does a great job of showing a completed "Mi Rutina Diaria" Like I said, make sure the kids are very familiar with the reflexive verbs (they know lavarse, ducharse, blah blah) and they know how to conjugate well before you show this video. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. Mi Rutina Diaria Subtitles - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IV2xTA5QHU</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This song is sooooo catchy! I like to show this when the kids are walking in to class before the bell rings. It's to a known song & the kids will be dancing (well, they will WANT to). Make sure, your kiddos know the basics: know reflexive verbs, how to conjugate, and they are "starting" to understand their overall goal of creating a daily routine. I would say this video definitely shows the most skill but after watching it, your kids will know what is expected of them. Plus, they can sing along! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Happy YouTube Watching! Hope these videos help you out in the classroom!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>God Bless!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>~Britt B. </b></span><br />
<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-56291018387421957232016-07-21T17:09:00.002-07:002016-07-21T17:09:19.903-07:00Thank You for the Connections! <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Warning: this is kind of a sappy post...let's blame pregnancy!!!) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This post is nothing more than a big fat thank you! This summer has been the biggest blessing to sit back and get to connect with my readers. Many of you find me via Pinterest, get on the blog, see the Facebook Group Page (which you can like), and from there...we're forever teacher friends! I want you all to know that you have become a resource to me as much as I can be to you (Becca Lynn - you know exactly what I'm talking about: this girl has GREAT ideas!)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I can't begin to tell you how awesome it has been to get a message, and get to meet (via messenger) someone reading on the other side. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started this blog...I think 4 years ago, WOW! I'm not a writer, blogger, or anything special with ENGLISH (hence, Spanish Teacher and all the many grammatical mistakes in my posts-oops), but it was simply an outlet to get my ideas from my brain to where someone could read them & maybe use them!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love people. From the time I was little, I have always been a "people person". Hence the note home on my report card in the third grade: "Brittany is smart but is too much of a social butterfly!" Well sorry Mrs. C but that's just who I am. ;) I love meeting new people from all different walks of life & I think the BEST way to learn is basic human interaction. It has shaped me into who I am today, it has given me compassion for other people, and it has developed a want to always share & make each other's day easier. I truly believe that's what life is all about: having each other's backs! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So from the bottom of my teacher heart: Thank You! I pray each one of us (as we are preparing to go back here in the next few weeks-maybe some of you have a month left) that we have the best teaching year yet! I hope anything you read from this blog, even if it's the tiniest tidbit, can help you with sanity, inspiration, and passion....I promise I will keep dishing it out & letting my rambling continue if it's helping! LOL </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't feel shy to ever chat or connect! Feel free to always message me if you have a question about anything as far as ideas, curriculum, organization. I can't promise I have the answers but in this process I have made some pretty awesome connections! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love that we all have common ground & "get each other" (My husband often makes jokes that teachers can connect better than any other professionals out there---I believe this with all my heart!) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm so excited to start my 2016-2017 school year blog entries & together, we're going to enlighten our kids on the many advantages of being bilingual, meeting new cultures, and being Global Thinking Worldly Individuals! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God Bless Each One of You & Let's Rock This School Year!!! </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~Britt </span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-43524138341810115652016-05-09T15:20:00.002-07:002016-05-09T15:24:52.879-07:00Circle Up Activity <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Tis the time of year for distractions...EOC's, AP Exams, Finals, Field Trips, College Visits, you name it...it's that time of year. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Today, I want to share an activity that I use when class numbers are small & the kids have little to no motivation...best news: you get to sit...Yes, sit! :) And...NO PLANNING! Say what?!?! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I call it: Circle Up! Give the kids a break from the pen & paper and bring in some fun, interaction, and a no pressure review. Have every kid grab a chair, move the desks if needed (especially if you plan to do this all day with your classes), and make a big circle. You get to bring your nice comfy rolling chair over to the circle too (if you have one - mine is a $200 Staples Office Chair but purchased for $30 at yard sale). Sorry, I have a problem bragging about my bargains! Anyways...</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Once everyone is in the circle if you have a large or rowdy class, you want to set some expectations right there. Probably not a bad idea to just do it anyways no matter what type of class you have! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I tell my kiddos: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>First, do not be chatting with your friend beside you. I tell my kids everyone today will get 15 points participation grade IF you are doing the activities and paying attention. If you are talking or off task, that will come off your personal grade. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Next, tell them everyone is expected to try. None of that "Do we have to play?!" Yep, you do and if you don't, it's your participation grade. Once the kids get playing, they will bug you all the time to "Circle Up" </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Finally, no screaming the answers UNLESS the teacher says so. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>So what are you doing in this circle? Well, you can do all kinds of things & here are some ideas: </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>1. Verb Conjugation Circles - Teacher picks a verb, and the students must go around in the circle and conjugate it. Want to make it harder? Tell them to make a sentence out of it. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Example) 1st student - Yo como pollo, next: tu comes mucho, next: ella come en la clase, next: nosotros comemos pizza, etc. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>You can even set a timer and see if the class can beat the timer around the room but warning: go on and write down some planned infinitives on a note card or they'll get mad at you for taking up thinking time (yes, I speak from experience). </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>2. Keep the conversation going - This is a fun one. One student starts the conversation and the next must reply and keep it going, then the next, and next. So yes, it can be a conversation intended for 2 people but 10 people reply to it, and keep it going. Imagine below in a circle: </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Example) Hola Bob - Buenas tardes Johnny - Como estas hoy? - Estoy muy bien, y tu - Estoy mal - por que - tengo examen en mi clase - lo siento - si es muy dificil. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>(Sorry no accents - that drives me a little crazy) but anyways this is a really fun one and puts a lot of pressure (but fun pressure) to keep it going. I told the kids if they could keep it going around the whole class one day, I would bring them candy the next day. Yes, they did it and I bought Jolly Ranchers for everyone! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>3. Pasa el sombrero - Get a cheap straw sombrero (Dollar Tree) or ball, or any item really and play some music. I usually use a dock (I found a cheap one at a yard sale for $2 - BARGAIN) and I use my phone since I don't want to get up and keep running to my computer. Once the music stops, whoever is holding the hat, ball, whatever...must answer a review question (feel free to prepare them beforehand, use your review already made, or pull them from the top of your head) or have them answer a Spanish question. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Example) Cuantos anos (oops) tienes? - I mean years, years, years...not the other word LOL </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Anyways, they must answer or they get another question. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>4. Rojo VS. Azul - Make it competitive and assign each kid a color. Go in order & make them say it - rojo, azul, rojo, azul, rojo, azul, etc. You can now make it a competition whether it's answering a questions, keeping the conversation going, etc. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>5. Listening Challenge - Speak in Spanish telling a mini story then attach a question to the story & the kids must answer the question that went along with your story. I usually like to do about 5 questions for each little story. This is a good idea to go on and prepare the listening stories beforehand or you'll be scratching your head in that moment. If you're playing team games if the person does not know the answer, they can use a "Ask a friend" lifeline...this allows to get the "other" side of the circle involved. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>6. Numbers Challenge - Need a number practice day? Tell the kids the range of numbers 1- 100 and counting by 10's or 1 - 30 counting by 1's, the 100's...etc. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />Example) uno - dos - tres, cuatro - cinco, etc. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Whoever forgets their number is out - I make the kids sit on the back of their chairs or on the floor in front of their chair when they are out. You should have two kids left battling it out for the ultimate victory.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>7. Infinitive Blast - Did your kiddos learn lots of verbs this year? Put them to the test with Infinitive Blast. Circle up, first kid says an infinitive "Comer" and the next kid must do a conjugation of the infinitive "ellos comen" then the third kid would say another infinitive "bailar" and the fourth kid would say a conjugation of bailar "yo bailo" and so one. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The possibilities are endless with Circle Up & like I said...you get to sit, enjoy your kiddos, and NO planning. Have an idea of which activities you would like to do and depending on the personalities of your class...it can get REALLY fun! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Either way, it makes for an easy day & lots of learning and also it's great to show YOU what your kids know!!! :) </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Have a great rest of the year readers! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>God Bless Each of You, </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Britt B. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>SIDE NOTE: If you made it all the way down here, congratulations because that was a huge post but I didn't want to seem lazy saying "Hey, you get to sit all day" Sitting for me is amazing because well, I will be welcoming baby #2 in December!!!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Sorry, not being lazy, just being comfortable! But some days...it's nice to be able to rest our feet :) </b></span><br />
<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-85938965127819947322016-05-06T16:47:00.001-07:002016-05-06T16:47:11.719-07:00Free End of Day Checklist<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hey Guys,</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I created an "End of Day" Checklist to help me get out of the building, but also feel confident I have done what I need to do before heading out. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't know about you all but with end of the year, at the end of the day...I have almost been numb in the brain, and really can't see what is SUPER important that must be done. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, confession: I feel like some things I skip & say "I'll get it tomorrow." But yet hate myself walking into my classroom the next day and having to pick up from yesterday. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPiUydYgop2uZ8ulsEIJrsdg_AHVqZHH9Wf4Pq_f4ENk1IxxI2cj8mjpXAaCUeeg0FrdaGEKIvdbWXiQSMq5C_8Q6XxdkWFGWAN-Z1UzS5yAVwG7B6e4aQWJ73_amwBTONPoi6Q519eRS/s1600/procastination.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPiUydYgop2uZ8ulsEIJrsdg_AHVqZHH9Wf4Pq_f4ENk1IxxI2cj8mjpXAaCUeeg0FrdaGEKIvdbWXiQSMq5C_8Q6XxdkWFGWAN-Z1UzS5yAVwG7B6e4aQWJ73_amwBTONPoi6Q519eRS/s320/procastination.jpe" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wrote a generic one and make a few copies and realized...I am wasting paper. So I made a "cuter" version and just put it on TPT. You can put this in a clear pocket sheet and use a dry erase marker daily. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you would like a copy, feel free to visit:</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-of-Day-Checklist-2541082</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's free!!! </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hang in There, guys....we've almost knocked it out! </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Much Love, </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BB </span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-52922122518450904622016-04-11T13:24:00.006-07:002016-04-11T14:19:35.656-07:00Ditching the Traditional Classroom Setup <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695668224049996325.post-15622791200165234012016-03-30T19:12:00.000-07:002016-03-30T19:12:17.679-07:00Here I come..out of MIA...<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So first of all I wasn't kidnapped, I didn't get fired, and I didn't give up...I simply have been...swamped :( </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>We go on Spring Break in 41 hours and 20 minutes or 8 classes (if you don't count plan periods)...but I mean, who's counting?! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I absolutely love my job but Lord knows I need a little break. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So one of the reasons I have stepped away from my blog is I am doing what I do EVERY year...I am already starting to see what I need to change for next year, what needs to be modified, kept, etc. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I absolutely love my job but when it comes to my advanced program...if the class makes or not, is sort of unpredictable. It is not out of the ordinary to one year have 25 Spanish 3 students and then the next year have 9 who are independent studies placed in other classes. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I have been ALL ABOUT personalized customization for each class...trying to meet them where they are and go from there but as the years go by...I am exhausted & I feel like I am constantly recreating and recreating and recreating the wheel. Sometimes, I forget which activities I have made from the year before (and then I get really mad when I figure out a month later that I forgot to do an awesome activity that I put my blood, sweat, and tears into the year before). </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I have decided that I am ready for some consistency and even though creating new sources are great to add differentiation, creative style, and flair...sometimes I feel like I am doing more harm by being "too personalized" because I forget other aspects that are important. The problem is I have WAY.TOO.MUCH! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I want to apologize that I was MIA...working on each curriculum and what MUST be present, which activities, how to assess, and making everything readable (maybe for a future maternity) is extremely time-consuming but I am hoping with all this chaos and MIAness, I will be able to share my curriculum & what I have marked as important and MUST TEACH! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>For now, take care, God Bless, and I shall return! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Gracias as always, </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>BB</b></span>The Baxter Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11304870988157174470noreply@blogger.com0