Hello teacher friends! It is July, but I am excited for this upcoming school year. Maybe it's because I'm a mom now and want some more routine for my kids, but I am SO STOKED to get back in the classroom.
I changed up my schedule last year a bit. I went from teaching Spanish 1 and 2 on-level to Spanish 1 and 2 Pre-AP, which required that I go to a Pre-AP conference. It was super tiring and the WORST timing, but it also gave me some pretty great ideas moving forward.
Since I began my teaching journey 5 years ago, I have been astonished at how many different methods of teaching Spanish there are. Honestly, it has overwhelmed me and made me feel like I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing at times. Should I be doing comprehensible input only? No vocabulary lists? No books?! HOW?!
I finally got into a groove last year in terms of what I wanted my class to look like. Especially for Pre-AP, I wanted them to have routine and know what to expect when they came to my class, but still have an element of surprise. One thing that I could make consistent every day was my "beginning of class" routine.
So, I decided to keep it simple, but also have high expectations for my students. My Beginning of Class Routine includes three essential things:
1. Students retrieve a "Weekly Sheet" from the Weekly Sheet bin. (I make copies of these on Friday afternoons or Monday mornings with three-hole punches already completed. This has changed my life. Hallelujah.
On this Weekly Sheet, students can write their "I Can" statement for the week, the word/phrase of the week, the daily warm up, and their homework. They only have to write down their "I Can" statement and word/phrase of the week on Monday, so it usually takes a little longer on Mondays.
You can find this resource here.
I changed up my schedule last year a bit. I went from teaching Spanish 1 and 2 on-level to Spanish 1 and 2 Pre-AP, which required that I go to a Pre-AP conference. It was super tiring and the WORST timing, but it also gave me some pretty great ideas moving forward.
Since I began my teaching journey 5 years ago, I have been astonished at how many different methods of teaching Spanish there are. Honestly, it has overwhelmed me and made me feel like I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing at times. Should I be doing comprehensible input only? No vocabulary lists? No books?! HOW?!
I finally got into a groove last year in terms of what I wanted my class to look like. Especially for Pre-AP, I wanted them to have routine and know what to expect when they came to my class, but still have an element of surprise. One thing that I could make consistent every day was my "beginning of class" routine.
So, I decided to keep it simple, but also have high expectations for my students. My Beginning of Class Routine includes three essential things:
1. Students retrieve a "Weekly Sheet" from the Weekly Sheet bin. (I make copies of these on Friday afternoons or Monday mornings with three-hole punches already completed. This has changed my life. Hallelujah.
On this Weekly Sheet, students can write their "I Can" statement for the week, the word/phrase of the week, the daily warm up, and their homework. They only have to write down their "I Can" statement and word/phrase of the week on Monday, so it usually takes a little longer on Mondays.
You can find this resource here.
2. I have a matching Google Slides with the same format as the Weekly Sheet, except that there is only the warm-up and homework for that day. They start working on this while I take attendance and get ready for the day. You can find this on the same resource - Beginning-of-Class Routine for Spanish Class.
3. CLASS OFFICIALS! {FREE RESOURCE!!} Here is my post where I explain this more in detail, but THIS has been such a fun addition to my classroom. The students nominate and elect "officers," of the class (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer). These students begin class by saying the day, weather, word/phrase of the week, I can statement, etc. They each get a script to help them out.
Of course, they make it silly, but this forces them to speak in SPANISH without even really trying, and it really gets the class off to a good start. It is awesome. (I learned about this from the Pre-AP Conference!)
PLUS, it is ALL based off of the Weekly Sheet information, so students (especially those who are officers) are held accountable for their work.
One extra thing that is super helpful:
I use stamp sheets to encourage student participation in the classroom. Students can get stamps for speaking Spanish, responding to questions, etc. I collect it every three weeks, and each box is worth 5 points (total of 100 points). If students don't answer their bell work questions in class or participate, they don't get a stamp. This encourages accountability. You can find the stamp sheet here:
Of course, they make it silly, but this forces them to speak in SPANISH without even really trying, and it really gets the class off to a good start. It is awesome. (I learned about this from the Pre-AP Conference!)
PLUS, it is ALL based off of the Weekly Sheet information, so students (especially those who are officers) are held accountable for their work.
One extra thing that is super helpful:
I use stamp sheets to encourage student participation in the classroom. Students can get stamps for speaking Spanish, responding to questions, etc. I collect it every three weeks, and each box is worth 5 points (total of 100 points). If students don't answer their bell work questions in class or participate, they don't get a stamp. This encourages accountability. You can find the stamp sheet here: