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AYUDA PARA MAESTROS Free Printables & Games for the Spanish Classroom In my last blog post, I outlined some great books filled with engaging activities and games for the foreign language classroom. Fortunately, I own a majority of these books thanks to funding from a FLES grant. Now our program is functioning without funding from our previous grant and my search for more games and activities is just beginning. Free Activities & Games 1. is one of my favorite sites for game ideas. 2. site is a goldmine when it comes to finding activities to reinforce skills in listening, speaking, writing, reading, pronunciation, and vocabulary. 3. is a must see site! 4. came across this site through Twitter and loved how the exercises can apply to almost any language setting for young learners. Free Printable Worksheets & More
Amigo Search: A Spanish Get to Know You Grid This year we had several changes take place in our Spanish program. We went from having two Spanish teachers to one and we have quite a few students who are new to our school, which for the most part means that they are taking Spanish for this first time. As a result of these changes, I decided to take a new spin on how I assessed language skills. Instead of the traditional paper and pencil pre-test, I used a grid that required students to search for their classmates’ signatures, much like is used with most get-to- know you grids. The objective was to get as many classmates to sign your grid. While this activity was meant to get students to interact with each other it also served as an informal assessment of previous skills or knowledge of the Spanish language and its cultures. 1. My students enjoyed this activity very much. I highly recommend this activity for all levels. Finally, I want to give credit to the sources that inspired this activity.
Less Is More: The Value of a Teacher's Time This past weekend, I had the privilege of being part of a panel at the Maryland State Education Association's Education Policy Forum with 2014 National Teacher of the Year Sean McComb, Maryland Teacher of the Year Jody Zepp, and educator-turned-influential radio host Marc Steiner. We convened in front of policymakers, superintendents, and other thought leaders. It sounded title-rific until we actually started talking about the profession we love and lead. One of the first questions we were asked was: "If you could build a school, what would it look like?" The Unseen Work Yet the best investment that seemed most tangible to the policymakers right in front of me was time. If I started a school right now, I would restructure school time nationwide. Seats shifted, because the talking points always fall into similar arguments: Students need more time with teachers. More Time to Plan Some of the effective uses of time that I've seen include: A Better System