A Class Día in Español

This week I leveled my middle school/high school classes as each class has up to three different levels within. It was done for a variety of reasons, but mostly to stay organized, provide students with the direct instruction and support they require, and to identify who needs what.

I will focus on the Spanish 1 group as they are working towards expressing themselves in the target language and expand upon their vocabulary usage.

My goals for the week were for students to acquire and use new vocabulary as they emphasized their use of new words, the verb tener and the theme for the week.

Pre-Assessment: 

• Slide show of images (ask for name of each and how to say the/a/an)

After the brief informal pre-assessment, I realized some students had some understanding of the basics (nouns are either masculine or feminine), but few understood that adjectives and the (el/la) must match the gender of the noun when speaking or writing. This clarified my goals and focus overall.

Student Activities: 

• Watch a short video on articles (the, a/an) with lots of new vocabulary. 
• List new vocabulary words and identify gender of each. Some worked independently while others worked in pairs. 
• Write two simple sentences & illustrate using new vocabulary and verb conjugations. 
• Whole group review for support and clarification

Reflection: 

While this was not exactly the same lesson as originally intended, I find myself changing to accomodate the needs and learning styles of my students. It took longer than anticipated and I certainly spent more time with individual students to ensure they understood the expectations and assignment. I explained to them the 4 point rubric and with that they were able to determine their own level of understanding and attainment of the goals and objectives. 

What would I change? I would try to make it more interactive for the students. Perhaps have them create a simple dialog in pairs to practice language and pronunciation. I will certainly be doing more activities like this and will incorporate more TPR (total physical response) activities along with art and technology. 

What did I like? I liked that students were interested in learning new words through a short, but authentic Spanish language video. I like that they took ownership of their learning and asked questions for clarification. I appreciated that they all participated in the wrap up and made sure that they demonstrated to me how much they had learned in just one lesson. This made it all worthwhile. 

To Have, not to Hold: The Verb "Tener"

This week proved to be a trying one for me.
I was reassigned from teaching grades K-6 Spanish to grades 3-10 Spanish (grades 7-10 being levels 1 through 4). That being said, I had many ideas and an overload of content to consider implementing and organizing. Needless to say, I've been somewhat overwhelmed.

As a practice warm-up/pre-assessment activity for my students I decided to implement one of the assignments from my TED 633 class which would be useful and meaningful to my 5th graders.

TENER (to have) Verb Conjugation Matching Activity
      Materials

• Small slips of paper with pronouns in Spanish
• Small slips of paper with all of the conjugations of Tener (to have)

      Activity

• All slips of paper are placed in a festive hat
• Students choose one slip of paper & find the person with the matching pronoun & verb conjugation
• The pair comes up with two sentences (one each) and illustrations

Results
Overall students did quite well and enjoyed the activity.
I did not give instructions until they each had a slip of paper in their hands which created anticipation and curiosity. Just putting their hands into the hat to choose something was exciting. Once they each had their slips, I explained.They had ten minutes to find their "partner" (also a great community building activity) and create and illustrate two sentences.  They were eager to get to work and the energy in the classroom was palpable. Unfortunately, some students were confused. They thought they had to find the person with the same verb as theirs which led me to believe I did not provide clear, detailed instructions.
After the ten minutes, most students were done though I gave an additional five minutes to wrap it up. We went over each conjugation and the pairs chose their favorite sentences to share with the group.

Reflection 
As I think back on the activity, I feel it was successful overall as students had fun and learned more about conjugation.  I also learned the importance of providing clear, step-by-step instructions for students who are not audio learners. I gave the big picture expectation, but they could not really "see" it. This sometimes happens vice-versa when we give too many details but fail to provide the big picture objectives.
This activity helped me in assessing where students were in their understanding of verb conjugation. Some of them have been taking classes with me since Kindergarten so they are very aware. On the other hand, half of the class is new this year and most of those have had very little, if any, exposure to Spanish.
After the activity I asked if everyone understood and I got a few blank stares. I asked if there were any questions, with yet more blank stares. Then I asked everyone to give a show of hands (using their fingers) to let me know how much they understood. Five fingers up meant "I totally get it" and one finger up, "I'm totally confused". This was eye opening as it provided me with a true glimpse of which students needed additional support from me. I now have a small group to work with individually.
I think I will do this type of thing more often.

Why am I here?

I'm here to share my experiences and knowledge with those who care to learn and share their own. I've been an educator for over 15 years. This spans time and space as I've taught in urban public schools on the East Coast, resource-rich private schools in Puerto Rico, and alternative charter schools in California. 

I love to teach: especially when I get to share my passion and personal experiences, love of literature, and social justice with my students. 
I chose the education profession because, to me, it was the only way to give back to humanity in a cyclical and multiplying manner. What I do affects many. What I share and how I present myself can determine the life and fate of a world changer, a doer, a future world leader and humble servant of our social structure. My goal as a teacher is what Gandhi most eloquently spoke of being "the change you wish to see in the world". Who better than a teacher can ignite that same spirit in future generations?
So I am on my way... 

I've completed all coursework and the National University internship program for a multi-subject credential. I am currently working towards a Single Subject Credential with a focus on Spanish, but honestly, I love all Humanities and feel the options to be limitless. 

After taking the personality test, I found I have INFP characteristics. This makes sense as I tend to see the world through rose colored glasses (I even own a pair!). The upside to this is I can be empathetic to my students' strengths and challenges. The downside is I often fail to notice smaller, more important details which would lead me to identifying those needs because I daydream about the magnificent things I will do to incite a love of learning. This quiz opened my eyes to the fact that I must take time to think deeply and act on my students' individual needs in order to lead learners towards success. 

I currently teach Spanish to K-6 students at Creekside Charter School in Squaw Valley, California. My days are very busy as I teach 7 classes per day. I try to make learning fun through music, games, videos, and lots of literature and follow up with creative activities. Some of my (and my students) favorite units have been focused on the Day of the Dead, tropical birds of Central and South America, and Oceans and Trees. 

Someday I hope to take the time to write soulful bilingual books for children which are artistic, poetic, and meaningful. Until then, I will use what I've got and do what I can to ensure my students learn not only a new language, but about the beauty of the world and its inhabitants.