Organizing Your Classroom Library

These mini crates easily fit a class set (25-30) of novels. I use two crates for my class set of Brandon Brown versus Yucátan. Some publisher’s books, especially the ones found on Amazon are a little bit too tall for these but they work for the other publishers. Just turn them upright. You can score these for $1 during back-to-school sales or for 50 cents when they go on clearance.

Appoint CLASS LIBRARIANS! This is the perfect job for your kiddos who: like to tidy up, pay attention to detail, and don’t mind being a tiny bit bossy. I have 2 students who pass out and pick up class sets when we do a whole-class novel study. I train them by explaining exactly what I need them to do (keep all books in the same direction, make sure the covers aren’t bent, erase drawings, etc). Then I supervise them for a couple of days and they’re ready to go. Ideally your librarians would train their replacements as they rotate jobs. Or just keep the same students for however long they enjoy the job and meet your expectations.

For FVR (check out Dr. Krashen’s article) my two librarians supervise as their classmates choose and return various novels. They’re basically my librarian bouncers-keeping order and making sure no one wastes time instead of reading, and that the books don’t get thrown into an untidy pile.

To keep your shelves neat use this handy trick: Add a small picture of the book’s cover to the spot on the shelf where you would like the book to go. Now your students know exactly where to return the book!

My books aren’t really organized by any criteria. Some, like my level 3+ are grouped together and titles that are sequenced also get grouped together. Other than that I mix ’em up! It’s really fun to display the books on my wall. The covers provide really great visual interest.

If you’re looking for some inexpensive shelving ideas use window caps. I made the cardboard shelves pictured above but once they wear out I’m totally going with window caps since I’m not allowed to mount gutters to my wall.

Here’s a link to my FVR Freebies post if you need to beef up your library for FREE.

Here’s a link to a document I have of book covers to print and display on my FVR Bulletin Board. You can print two pages to 1 for extra small covers like what I use for my shelves. And the most recent novels I’ve added. Boy am I spoiled!

Check out  this post from SpanishPlans.org for some really great labels to organize your books by genre.

Señora Chase just published this post about how she organizes her library.

Carrie Toth has a wicked-awesome Pinterest Board with sooooo many ideas for classroom libraries.

Read about how Mike Peto transitions his students to FVR from this 2015 post.

Some great insights from Allison Weinhold.

Bryce Hedstrom has some great insights about Reading and Differentiation.

See you at the next Puente!

 

 

 

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Tips, Trips and how to Fix: Part 2

I have some more layers to share. This time we are like cake. 

TIP: Practice numbers when you go over the date, throw random numbers into your stories, or let students number off as a Brain Break if you’ve already assigned them their class numbers. 

TRIP: Your roll changes.

FIX: Don’t assign class numbers the few week of school. Wait a few weeks for your rolls to stop changing and have your student record their class number in a notebook or planner. If a new student does add to your class you can modify his/her number with a letter or decimal point (502.1 or 502A). 

TIP:  When you give a test remember that your students need to reset their minds and take a break from all the strenuous language application. This can be a super subtle Brain Break such as stretching, deep breathing or purposeful movement. For example, split the assessment task and have students turn in part 1 of their test by walking it to a designated spot and retrieve part 2 of their test. This gets them up and moving with the same results of a fun Brain Break.

TRIP: Now you have a bunch of papers to sort and staple together PLUS grade. Yuck!

FIX: Don’t spend precious time matching the pages and stapling them together. Instead use a number and filing system. Assign students a number that corresponds to their number on your roll. Then set up a crate with numbered hanging files.  Have students file part one of their test into a hanging file when they get up to retrieve part 2. When they finish part 2 they can staple the two pages together OR a student helper can staple and stack them into a neat and alphabetized pile for you.

TIP: Incorporate purposeful movement to keep your students focused and energized. Students need frequent breaks and opportunities to move. This can be a quick Brain Break or an activity that involves movement such as standing and finding a partner, doing a gallery walk or working in stations.

TRIP: Literally. You get your kids up and moving and someone goes down.

FIX: Clear the floor! Movement is super important BUT safe movement is best. One of the first procedures I establish in my deskless classroom is to store unused items directly under the chairs. I tell my students in the TL while motioning “Todo abajo (everything underneath).” Then in L1 “We want to avoid all slips, trips, splits, and falls.”

TIP: Use gestures to establish meaning, especially during the beginning of a unit. You don’t have to rack your brain and be super original here. If you can’t think of a gesture consult an online ASL dictionary or let your kids come up with the gesture.

TRIP: The kids become dependent on the gestures.

FIX: Eventually you need to wean your kiddos off of their gesture dependency. You’ll also need to ween yourself! Just try talking to an adult in the TL without wanting to gesture. You know what I’m talking about.

TIP: Use sentence stems/starters to scaffold your students to speaking the TL. Don’t just throw your babies into the water without a flotation device. 

TRIP: Your kiddos are speaking in L1 even though you specifically stated to use L2. Some have even made their way over to their friends instead of working with their partners.

FIX: Don’t give students too much speaking time during interpersonal communication activities because they’ll revert to English.

One of my takeaways from LFLTA2017: 

Laura Terrill shared a number of tips but the one that resonated with me was using 30 second bursts for Interpersonal Communication. When students pair up the teacher assigns each student a role. Students then speak for 30 second on the given topic in the target language. When the student runs out of stuff to say s/he starts over. NO L1!  This made me realize A) My directions have not been clear enough and B) I’ve been giving them too much time during these kinds of activities.

FIX part 2: Keep the task level appropriate. “Teachers constantly put their students in the position of saying things that are beyond their competence.” – VanPatten 

TIP: Less really is more. When you teach with Comprehensible Input you really are going an “inch wide and a mile deep.”

TRIP: Don’t approach language as subject matter. “Covering” a set of words or phrases doesn’t guarantee acquisition. Actually according to BVP “…nothing guarantees acquisition. But acquisition cannot happen in the absence of CI.” He also says, “Language learning is piecemeal. The order of acquisition cannot be changed.”

FIX: Spiral your content by constantly recycling structures you’ve already introduced. Don’t beat yourself up when you don’t see your students making the gains you want them to make. It’s not about you 😉

TIP: Include relevant and current topics in your instruction. Kids like to talk about themselves-what they like, what they don’t like, what’s trending.

TRIP: Making assumptions. Don’t do it.

FIX: Ask your kids what they like. Use activities such as personal interviews, circling with balls, play doh, or card talk to connect with your students. Take a genuine interest in your students. They can smell a phony-bologna a mile away.

TIP: Schoology and Google Classrooms are great for doing electronic anything: Bell Ringers, Exit Slips; Quizzes, Assessments. You can save time and paper by making your handouts available to your students through these platforms. No more lost papers!

TRIP: The websites very helpfully offer to translate the text to English. Ugh.

FIX: You can upload a PDF of any document (as far as I know the web browser doesn’t offer to translate those). You can also take screenshots to upload. Super awesome fix I just learned  from a friend:  Use the Kami extension to let your students interact with PDFs. They can highlight, make text boxes to answer questions, draw, and insert pictures with the free version.

Tips, Trips, and how to Fix: Part 1

I’ve been compiling this list and marveling at how simple yet elusive some of these skill were for me as I started my journey as an educator. You know how Shrek says, “Ogres have layer”? Well, teachers have layers too. Layers and layers and more layers of skills which don’t just fortify you but also come together and give a shiny, polished appearance. What’s my point? Growing those layers takes time and it’s not always easy. Here are some layers I grew. Some all on my own and some from watching others.

TIP: Spending two weeks just on procedures seemed absolutely insane to me my first few years. Yes, that’s right. Slow learner here. The payout is well worth it. DO spend 2 weeks on procedures. I like to sneak in some L2 in the form of call and responses, brain breaks, TPR and very basic information like introductions, greetings and the date BUT all of this is part of the opening routines for the class. Take this time to teach several Brain Breaks too. Once you have them in place you can cycle through them for the whole year.

TRIP 1: Your class is practicing the new Brain Break you just taught them and you now have 25-30+ adolescents moving around with no way to get them quiet or back to their seats.

FIX 1: Before practicing ANY procedures that involve movement, FIRST establish and practice your call-and-response in conjunction with your procedure for transitions.   Examples of Call and Response (see what I mean about sneaking in TL?!): Clase → Si señora!    ¿Se puede? → ¡Sí se puede!

How to slide into a transition: You can use signals such as sounds (gong, chime, bell, other instrument, clapping) or a specific call-and-response. Then practice, practice, practice! Give the signal and make sure your students know to move quickly and quietly back to their spots.

TRIP 2: Not being extremely specific about how classroom materials are to be used and treated. For example: Your lesson involves some type of drawing.

FIX 2: Don’t just pass out a bunch of markers. Go over some kindergarten level information. We don’t draw on people or furniture. We only draw on paper. We don’t throw the caps or the markers. When we’re done with the marker the cap is securely replaced and the marker is returned. Make the item their dismissal token: You may go as you return the marker/scissors/pencil, etc to the bucket I’m holding. 

TIP: Do have some type of warm up/bell ringer activity. Some principals expect a posted activity for students to complete as soon as they enter the classroom.

TRIP: Your bell ringers are boring.

FIX: Don’t limit yourself to a boring bell ringer. Use hooks to pique your students’ interest, display a picture and have your students generate the questions. You can let your students participate in FVR or some other purposeful activity. Jump into your lesson just make sure your kiddos are following an established procedure and routine. Read about how Maris Hawkins broke up with her Bell Ringer and how Laura starts her classes. Food for thought: Do let this article inform the ebb and flow of your lesson.

TIP: Keep your RULES simple.

TRIP: You’ve confused rules with expectations and procedures. You have not defined consequences for rule breaking.

FIX: Pick your battles as the old adage goes. If you want your rules to work they need to be simple, straightforward, and worth enforcing. Consider adopting La Maestra Loca’s rules.  Go ahead and post your consequences with your rules.

I can remember when one of my rules was: Do not under any circumstances ask me the time, “When does class end?” or “When do we get out of here?” (Hey, no judging. I promise you I thought this would make my life easier). Guess what I was still asked a MILLION times a day? Even though that is still a huge pet-peeve of mine I don’t let it get to me. Instead I have the bell schedule posted (in 4 different places around the room). Plus I keep my students moving and my lessons are more engaging these days. I more often hear, “What?! Class is over already?!” or “Wow, class flew by today.”

TIP: Establish a “sacred spot” where you can keep your stuff. I like to use my computer desk.

TRIP: Kids are touching your personal belongings, borrowing stuff off of your desk and not returning. What?! Growing up I knew certain things were off-limits. My mom’s purse, my dad’s wallet, my parent’s bedroom, the stove, my teacher’s desk. PLUS those little hands touch way too many shared surfaces. Just think, they open doors, lockers, bathroom stalls, inspect their shoes, use the old spit polish to wipe away scuffs and other appalling things.

FIX: Do not assume your students know that certain things are off limits. Maybe it’s just me, maybe its kids these days but my students HAVE to be told: “These items are off limits. You may not touch these things. You must look with your eyes and not your hands.”

TIP: Cooperative grouping activities are fun! When your students work together be sure to give clear and simple instructions. Use visuals and keep the directions posted for the duration of the activity.

TRIP: You divulged the most important part of the activity you have planned and now your students aren’t listening. First, never, ever, ever lead with: Today you will be working with a partner. The kids will be more focused on trying to pair up with their best friend than listening to your directions.

FIX: Do have your students fill out a Partner Map to use for the school year/semester/quarter. When the time is right have them find their partner.

TIP: Take a break from direct instruction. You can use stations, cooperative learning strategies or Socratic Seminars. The prep time is worth having a day when you can watch your kiddos interact and help each other.

TRIP: You gave excellent directions, the activity you are using is awesome BUT instead of facilitating and supervising you have a line of kids asking you for help.

FIX: Establish a Three Before Me procedure (shared by @mmecarbonneau via #langchat and Musicuentos). Students must follow this sequence (tailor to suit your needs).

1. Show that you tried.
2. Consult your resources.
3. Ask three others.

See you at the next Puente. 

Not Too Spicy Telenovela

Yes, there is such a thing. Maybe you’ve been on the fence about showing your students El Internado or Gran Hotel.  There are so many resources already available plus those two shows are amazing. I’m finishing El Internado for the third time right now and just finished Gran Hotel for the second time. Teachers need CI too! 

Problem is, those two shows are just a tad too spicy for my Middles. Especially El Internado. I might risk it with high school students but there’s just no way I could keep my job if I tried it with the Middles. 

Here’s my NOT TOO SPICY TELENOVELA alternative: En Nombre Del Amor. This trailer actually shows extra scenes that were televised but didn’t make it to the DVD collection I own. 

Why I like it:

There is scandal, intrigue, drama, love triangles, and unrequited love. The drama smacks your right in the face from the beginning and only picks up momentum as the stories unfold. 

Where I found it:

During my student teaching semester. My host teacher played it for her students every  Friday. They didn’t do much more with it but it was fun to watch and not teach on Fridays. 

What my kids say:

“I hate Carlota.”  “Poor Paloma.”  “Can we please just watch the show today?” “I won’t be here Friday, please don’t watch the show without me!” “Mrs. Tracy, you MacBethed us.” Yeah, did you know you could verb Macbeth? 

They also ask to watch the show all the time. It’s their preferred way to be rewarded and they feel so cheated on weeks when we didn’t have class on Friday. 

What their parents say:

Can you tell us the name of that soap opera you show to your classes? My daughter can’t stop talking about it with her friends! 

How I use it:

I let my students watch for about 10-15 minutes on Fridays with English subtitles. I don’t always Movie Talk but here are some fun phrases I’ve been able to introduce:

se murio     es un buen amig@      tiene celos      es celosa      es ingenuo    se equivoco

confia en la persona equivocada      tiene malas inenciones    es egoista      tiene razon

I also use it to talk about the characters and end up hitting most of the family vocabulary you would expect to use in a thematic unit. Of course I don’t introduce all of that vocabulary at once. Rather I sprinkle it in as I circle some descriptive adjectives and high frequency verbs from my Sweet 16 list. 

Then there’s the cultural information that is so easy to introduce. 

The main characters all live in really nice homes with modern furnishings. The family Espinosa de los Monteros even has a full size fountain inside their home plus a second story. I’m always careful to point out that most Mexican families don’t have such large homes. Then I show my classes the little adobe houses from my mom’s village.

We talk about Catholicism and the cultural and social significance (mostly in L1).  I ask them to describe how the girls’ (Catholic) school is different  from ours. Honestly, there’s really no limit to the cultural information you can present. There’s the use of herbal remedies (NOT that herb, btw), the house maid wears her hair in an old fashion/indigenous tradition, and they sing Las Mañanitas during a birthday party, just to name a few. 

Spicy Alert: I always make sure my kiddo know that one of the main characters IS eighteen years old and the other is on the cusp of turning eighteen. I do use a tiny white lie and say that the love interests of the girls are 21 (they’re actually 25) which isn’t really a big deal since the girls are 18… Romina, the childhood best friend of Paloma (the protagonist of the story) is “mature” and is involved in (more than one, gasp!)  grown up relationships. There’s no nudity or foul language just some grown up situations which of course I skip.

If you’d like to know some more specific details about spicy scenes feel free to contact me 😉 

I bought the series 6 years ago on Amazon (it cost about $35). It comes on four discs and I think it has 15-20 hours. I’ve never seen it on any of the streaming services but there are bits and pieces on YouTube. Since my copy is getting a little worn I went ahead and purchased a new one but this time it only cost me $10! I just couldn’t pass it up. 

See you at the next Puente. 

 

 

 

Running Dictation Variations

Have you played RD with your kiddos?  Not sure what it is? Read about it here from Martina Bex.

My Middles love it! Especially the competitive students and here are a few reasons why I love it:

1. My students are up and moving.
2. They have to work as a team.
3. It brings out the very best in my kids. Everyone gets a chance to shine: the artists, the athletes, the high flyers, the kids who are tired of sitting still.
4. Everyone is having fun (except maybe the other grow ups in the building…)
5. They  are revisiting the language in an engaging and novel way.

The key is to find a safe open space where you can make some noise because let’s face it, how fun is a silent relay race? We’ve done the traditional race, this extension  and the Story Towers extension.

When I introduce this game to my 7th graders it’s just the BEST THING EVER. They beg to play it all the time. When I use it again in their 8th grade year sometimes I get mixed reactions. It’s still super fun, engaging, and beneficial BUT there’s always that one kid/group/class. You know what I’m talking about.

My 8th graders only played it once last semester and I was a tiny bit bummed about how it went with one of my classes. I mean, I can’t make them be enthusiastic. I can’t make them smile, cheer and have fun. That’s up to them. Nonetheless, I’m bringing it back and this time with a twist!

It’s really hard to improve on a fun activity like this, especially when Martina has already given us those great extensions. Here are my ideas for keeping it novel:

1. Skipping (this may get me some eye rolls).
2. Walking like a duck.
3. Crab crawl.
4. 2 person balloon race.

Since this is a particularly challenging group to impress I think I’m going to go straight to number 4.

Check out this video I found on YouTube and imagine your students trying this variation:

See you at the next Puente. 

FVR Expansion for FREE!

Who doesn’t just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a Freebie?! I’ve compiled a list of stories from our favorite mentors, sellers and colleagues in the Spanish speaking world of teaching. You can use these to jump start or expand your classroom library.

Mostly freebies, a few flash freebies and some bought stories. Follow your favorite sellers for promotions! I scored the Isabela books from Karen Rowan for FREE.

On a side note, while we might really, really love FREE, let’s not forget to support our awesome and generous colleagues by purchasing some of their products! Each seller is linked back to their TPT store so be sure to follow their stores and see what resources you need to finish out the year.

My classroom library is mostly made up of novels and now boasts 88 titles but I’m always on the hunt for new material. There is a combination of free stories, bought stories, and the news articles from my subscription to El Mundo en Tus Manos.

I went the economical route and printed these stories in black and white. To print a PowerPoint slideshow in booklet form first delete any slides you don’t want in your story. Then go to your printer properties and select the Finishing tab. Click the 2 sided printing Booklet form. When the booklet is finished printing just fold in half and staple through the middle. It helps if you have access to one of these long staplers.

PDF files are a little trickier if there are pages you want to exclude from your booklet. The key here is to put the RANGE(S) of the pages you want. For example, in Pintalabios I didn’t need the practice sentences and questions or the game for the booklet so I just printed the ranges 13-31, selected Booklet and print. Note: PDF files printed in Booklet form print vertically (like mini novels) and the PowerPoint booklets print horizontally so you flip the pages up instead of turning them. To work around this you could take any slideshow and save it as a PDF then print using the booklet form.

This works for the 1-3 page readings as well. Just skip the lesson parts when selecting your ranges but be sure to keep the first page so your book has a cover.

Now you can make as many copies as you need to replace lost or yucky copies and give away to your students. My heritage speakers love to take these home to read to their younger siblings.

From Martina Bex: The Comprehensible Classroom

Maybe you’ve heard Martina described as a goddess, or the Fairy Godmother of CI? These fantastic freebies will help you understand why (you know, in case you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know the magical wonders of Martina).

I also like to print stories from the SOMOS curriculum after my students study a unit.

La Criatura

¡Ratones en Casa!

Pepinillos, el muchacho simpático

Christ y Jennifer

El Niño Sastre

El Popocalipsis

La Correcaca

Basic Reading: quiere, tiene, le dice

Los Fidget Spinners

Pintalabios Para el Portero

Justin Beiber visitó Tulum

El Secreto de Ramón

La Leyenda by Robert Harrell via Martina Bex

El Travieso Hermano Menor by Jalen Waltman via Martina Bex

From Kristy Placido: Placido Language Resources

Kristy is a fantastic author and has kindly offered these freebies for Novice and Intermediate learners.

Cashnip Kitty

Pokemon Go

La Noche Boca Arriba

Chac Mool

From Carrie Toth: Somewhere to Share

Another fantastic author! Check out these free readers!

Eclipse Solar

Si tú la ves

From Mundo de Pepita

This seller has the most adorable resources for Littles. You can purchase and print unlimited  MiniBooks for your library or your students.

Olivia y los Pájaros

Biblioburro Coloring Book

From Storyteller’s Corner

This little gem of a shop has some beautiful stories for your Littles. I like to print out the stories for my Middles who are just dipping their toes into FVR. My reluctant readers find these little stories less intimidating than the regular novels in our library. Don’t forget to check out the $1 Bin for some other fantastic titles and be on the lookout for their Flash Freebies!

Rosa Parks

Tengo Frio

Isabel va a la escuela

Jesús va a Jerusalém

Los Tiburones

Bryce Hedstrom

Looking for non-fiction reading material? Bryce has you covered! You can buy his beautiful book Conexiones here.  I print and keep these stories (minus the teacher instructions) in folders in my library.

Quieres Comer el Cuy?

Los Países Megadiversos

El Jaguar

Español o Castellano

Como Mirar un Eclipse del Sol

Legends and Stories

La Corza Blanca

La Chica Quiere Café

La Chica Fantástica

El Chico Pequeño

The Girl and the Cat

El Trabajo en el Zoológico

El Secreto de Hablar Con Las Chicas

El Amigo Especial

Comprendes Mendez SpanishShop

Ballenas Mitos y Leyendas

Maris Hawkinshas generously offered her Noticias to the collection!

Spanish Plans also shared this resource:  We have a youtube playlist on how to compile other free readers for your classroom: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhVwmCanozzlhXktBa7tKbKY2Sl9s7wC0

I hope you enjoy expanding your classroom library with these freebies! See you at the next Puente.

Giant Character Maps

My Middles really respond to GIANT anything. Giant sunshades, my giant Day of the Dead masks, the giant sombrero just out of their reach. Giant character maps are no exception. I love to use this activity during a novel study to help students examine the characters AND to hit those higher order thinking skills. Martina Bex shared this free resource on her blog (you can read the post here).  These half sheet maps come in really handy so I keep them in stock for choice board options, time gap activities, or plain old Plan B. To make GIANT versions I modeled after Martina/Laurie’s design by blowing each component up to the size of a full sheet of paper. I like to copy the thought bubble, heart and speech bubble on pretty paper and the person on white paper so that it can be modified according to the novel’s description.

These photos are from last year’s novel study of Pobre Ana that I did with my Spanish I students. This activity took up about half the period (we read the rest of class) and started as my students walked in the door. I handed my students lettered cards (of various colors) to really mix up the groups. The letters on each card corresponded to one of the characters in the novel and tied into the warm up activity where I had my students describe their assigned character in Spanish. Then I had them find their groups and gave them a packet of the pages for their map. I used my document camera to project Martina’s character map with the sentence starters and made sure that each group included a problem the character faced and a possible solution. As each element was finished it was glued to a BIG sheet of paper. The final touch was to modify the person by adding hair, clothes, etc.  We hung the maps in the hallway and did a gallery walk the next day followed by a timed writing.