First Day of Spanish Class

I cannot believe it is already August.  School will be here before we know it, so for those of you already thinking about how to spice up your first day of school, here are some ideas!   Day one is all about having fun and building relationships.  Create a fun, engaging classroom environment on the […]

Activities for Reading Comprehension in the World Language Classroom

How boring is it to read a passage, article, or story and just do reading comprehension questions? You can only do this so many times before the students start to lose interest. When reading, it is important to become invested in the passage and to really analyze it.  Here are some ideas for reading comprehension […]

How Spanish Classroom Word Walls Increase Language Proficiency Drastically

using classroom word walls to increase proficiency

How often do you ask your students “¿Cómo estás?” and their response is “bien.”  If I had a nickel for every time my students responded with “bien,”  I would not be a Spanish teacher anymore! The solution to the unison “bien” or “good” came to me during one of my post-observation meetings with my supervisor […]

5 Activities for Using Word Clouds in the World Language Classroom

When teachers make an activity that we love we want to use it and reuse it.  Why not? I mean we are proud of what we created and we don’t want it to sit in a filing cabinet or buried under piles of papers on our desks.  So, when an activity or resource can serve […]

How to Use Authentic Resources for Spanish Current Events 

It is essential that students encounter authentic texts in a world language classroom.  One great example of an authentic text is the news, and you can do countless activities with Spanish current events! With a news article, it is made for Spanish speakers by Spanish speakers. The information is real and relevant. The best part […]

Why students and teachers love Quizlet!

Quizlet is one of my favorite classroom technology tools, and guess what – it is one of my students’ favorites, too!  From being user-friendly to interactive, it is made for everyone.  Here are my top reasons why I’m using Quizlet in the world language classroom and you should be too. 1. You don’t need to […]

How to form student groups

There is always a debate on how to group students when working in small groups.  Should the above average students be grouped together?  Should the groups be mixed levels so the above average students can teach/help the below average?  Should it be random?  There are pros and cons to each way.  I’m going to outline […]

5 Interpersonal Activities for the World Language Classroom

Using the communicative mode in a world language classroom requires coming up with many authentic activities for our students to use the target language.  For me, designing interpretive and presentational assessments and activities is not as hard as coming up with new and innovative interpersonal activities.  So, I will share with you some alternate interpersonal […]

How do I get my students in a routine from bell to bell?

One of my biggest pet peeves as a teacher is when students come into class and hangout instead of begin their work or when they start packing up their backpack before class is over.  I have a solution that has been making a huge difference in my classroom and want to share it with you. […]

What is an Integrated Performance Assessment and Should I Use it in Spanish Class?

In the education field, there are so many abbreviations that our heads are spinning, but IPA is definitely one you want to know and remember.  The Integrated Performance Assessment allows teachers to assess language students’ proficiency. They demonstrate practical knowledge and use of all 3 communicative modes in the target language.  As most world language […]