Using the target language for instructions (visual)

I am a big fan of posting what I say to kids visually, not just providing oral input. Not only does this provide great support for kids who learn differently, but it also creates an ongoing reference source for that input. One of my favorites "posts" are instructions for activities we are doing in class. I've created simple instructions on the back of which I've placed magnets so I can easily change them out when transitioning from one class to another. Additionally, I break down the activity into it's steps and stick those next to each instruction so my kiddos can see the correlation between instruction and step in the activity. As I introduce the activity, I go over the steps one by one ensuring my students comprehend what it is I am asking them to do. What I love about this (apart from using the target language, of course!) is that as we are doing the activity, I can refer my students to the instructions when they ask me "So, what do I do next?" or "I'm done with this".

So, as an illustration, you can see in the above picture students need to first put their name on the activity (La oruga muy hambrienta) using a pencil (note I put the material- pencil, scissors, etc- up as well, reinforcing that vocab). Then, they must cut out the pictures, thirdly glue them to the appropriate pages, and lastly, color. I've provided an example of each step for additional visual support.
The more you use this system, the better students get at it. Keeping the instructions simple enables them to more easily access the vocab, and over time they begin to know what the expectations are for instructions in class and use them independently.
We've created a great printable so you can easily do this yourself! Get it in our shop!

Get our printable here!

Sub Tub

I can not believe I never came up with this idea before! Creating sub plans has always been a challenge, especially considering it is a rare event when my sub speaks Spanish, so a day out is a day lost. Browsing on Pinterest, I came across another teacher's Sub Tub, and with modifications, I have created a marvel (or so I think!). My goal was to create a tub filled with activities that were reusable, easy for a sub who doesn't speak Spanish to manage, and were cultural or linguistic in nature, but accessible for students. I started by thinking of the necessary components:
-Plan book (In this I have, of course, my schedule, emergency info, and instructions for how to use the sub tub and more- see below for a longer listing.)

-Activities organized by grade level (The bulk of these activities are games, each in its own bag, with instructions for how to lead the game/activity and materials to play. See below for a listing of the activities I've included.) The sub chooses one of these activities to do with each class. They are organized by grade level.

-Additional Materials (ball for greeting games, bingo chips, playing cards, etc)

Though it took a lot of time and effort to get the tub together, now I do not need to worry about heading into work in the morning when I am really sick, the plans are always ready to go!

 PLAN BOOK CONTENTS:
-Introduction to Sub Tub
-Class notes, including assigned seats, class rules and routines, food allergy info, how to transition classes
-Conducting a Lesson (Three components: Greeting, Poem, Activity)... this details how to run the three components of the lesson
-Greeting Activities- I start all classes with a greeting activity. I've included four activities which are easy for a sub to manage; materials such as a ball for 'Ball Roll' are in the tub.
-Basic Instructions for Class Activities
-Schedule
-Map of School
-Phone Extensions

ACTIVITIES
-Poems- I have a book entitled 'Poetry Celebrating Life in the Amazon Rainforest' which the kids love. I've made a checklist of each class and each poem, so as one is read, the sub checks off the poem and which class has heard it. This creates a visual reference should I be out again; the next sub will know which poems have been read to which classes.

-Fairytales- I have included a selection of fairytales and folktales from various Spanish speaking countries and a checklist for these. (K, 1)
-Bingo (Lotería)- This could be any vocabulary set, but mine is colors and numbers to 10. The call cards have the word and pronunciation on the back for the sub. (K-2)
-Gato (TicTacToe) (K-3)
-Memorama (Memory)- I made a version with various pictures and vocabulary having to do with Days of the Dead. You could use any vocabulary set or cultural images. (3,4)
-Puzzles- I took a variety of large pictures and maps of cultural images, glued each to a stiff piece of paper, laminated them, and then cut them into pieces. Each puzzle goes into a little baggie. Kids can do the puzzles in pairs. Should they finish one puzzle, they can choose another. (1, 2, 3)
-Reloj (a card game from Spain) (4)

All games have been played with classes at some time in the past so the classes are familiar with them. I've noted the grade levels for each activity in parenthesis. Many other types of games could be included; I plan on adding others in the future to mix it up a bit and add choice. Yay to the Sub Tub!

We've created a Sub Tub Kit ready to print out and put together! Games, activities and more to create your own... get it here!

Get it here!

Welcome back!

I am getting my room ready for the start of school and wanted something that shared with my students how I feel about them. I ran across a really neat door display on Pinterest, http://pinterest.com/pin/169659110933142031/, which I decided to adapt for my room. The result is the above, with vocabulary they already know and new that they can figure out. I am excited to share with them!

Songs in Pictograms

Wow! I stumbled upon this site a few days ago and just love it! A large number of authentic children's songs have been illustrated word for word.... just incredible!


http://www.catedu.es/arasaac/materiales.php?id_material=222

When they are done......

We have all been there.... the class is doing a project or an activity, and one of your students finished way ahead of the rest. So, what do you do? Traditionally, I have had extra activities for my students to do: mazes, dot to dots, coloring pages, all related in some way to the theme we are doing at the time, and in Spanish of course!! Recently, however, I found another idea which I interested in trying out...activity bags. The essence of the idea is to create an activity (such as a sorting activity) whereby the student has to take out the pieces and complete the task....so for instance, in the bag you have four word cards, chiquitito, pequeño, grande, enorme, and small manipulatives of a variety of animals (or picture cards if you don't have manipulatives) and the student has to sort the animals accordingly. You can then check to see if they have done so correctly before they put the activity away. My thought would be to also have a card for each student in their folder with each activity on it that they check off as complete a task (or you could put stickers on it).
As I said, I am going to try this out and will report back!

An idea basket

My fourth graders are practicing creating full sentences using a simple formula... a noun, an adjective, a verb, then another noun. To help keep the creative juices flowing, I use an idea basket full of pictures of vocabulary words they know. I call up a student to pick a noun out of the basket, we put it on the board, and the fun begins!! I have found kids struggle to pull vocabulary items 'out of the air'- with the idea basket your class runs more efficiently and all kids participate. What's really great too is that you often get rather silly sentences, which increases the motivation factor. Sample a few of our recent sentences:

La lima sincera come una banana.
Un taco atlético agarra al gato.
Un gato amable ve una casa.

Qué divertido!

Call and Response

I love call and response activities.... they engage all students, serve to call attention to a particular action, and can be a great help with classroom management. One of my favorites ways to use call and response is to get my classes' attention. The way it works is this:
I say 'Nachos', and my students respond with 'Salsa'. We practiced and modeled what this looks like and sounds like... the expectation being that when they say 'salsa', they stop what they are doing and place their attention on me. My students love it and I easily get their attention when it is needed. Any pairing of related vocabulary works.... '¡Lima!' '¡Perú!, '¡Buenos! '¡Días!, '¡Frida!' ¡Kahlo!'... the possibilities are endless, and as you can see, it is a wonderful way to incorporate culture into your routine.