tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80163492873745705652024-03-05T22:45:55.442-05:00Reflections of a crazy Spanish teacher.A blog to help me grow as a teacher, share ideas, and receive feedback from my PLN.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-51874686402090572252015-08-12T14:56:00.001-04:002015-08-12T17:23:38.069-04:00¡Aventuras! My take on Real World (choice) HomeworkThere has been a movement by language teachers all over the world to use real world experiences as a way to practice using the target language outside of school. This is particularly useful for those who live in communities that are not lucky enough to have a population of native speakers available.
From: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/23000.html
First column is Maine statisticAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-11767176487903311042015-07-28T22:01:00.001-04:002015-07-29T19:51:10.513-04:00How I will "Make it Stick" in my class
My annual trip to Costa Rica to visit my in-laws has been consumed by reading and analyzing Make it Stick by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel.
How do their ideas of learning work in a world language classroom?
The premise of Make it Stick is for learners to accept the challenges of learning and adopt various methods of remembering and applying Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-40303925805146761882015-07-16T13:25:00.001-04:002015-07-26T12:30:41.596-04:00The summer of readingThis summer, I am looking forward to reading books that will help push my limits professionally. I have never felt this drive to improve during the summer, but whatever the reason, I need to go with it!
I have narrowed it down to five books that I would like to be able to read before starting school again in the Fall. I chose the following three books thanks to @CoLeeSensei, +Sara-Elizabeth Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-32459601735565273942014-02-05T09:43:00.000-05:002014-02-05T09:43:24.032-05:00Nuestro Hidalgo FavoritoI have been teaching a (very) abridged version of Don Quijote to my Spanish 5 students over the past few years. It started about 4 years ago when I was at a loss of something to do with them. It was my first year teaching level 5 and wasn't really sure what to do, as the curriculum was largely right out of a textbook that was way above their heads. So during lunch one day I decided-I have these Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-58181367309534329142014-01-30T21:12:00.002-05:002014-01-30T21:12:32.355-05:00#blogamonthThe hardest part of teaching for me is reflection. I do not give myself or my students enough time to sit and reflect on anything! After a strong Pirate start, I was just barely treading water leading up to midterms. Lucky for me, a new semester is a fresh start! It doesn't feel quite as clean as a new school year, but I'll take it.
I recently stumbled upon the hashtag #blogamonth and I am goingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-26003032458722391672013-10-07T20:39:00.001-04:002013-10-07T20:39:41.336-04:00Interpersonally exhaustedIt's been a month. I have thought about blogging and then I picture my head exploding, so I have put it off. Teaching Like a PIRATE is exhausting! There is so much planning that goes into making class both exciting and informative that there is very little time for any extras-grading, family time, and time for myself have definitely gotten the shaft this past month.
Last year my entire Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-55599439177507931322013-09-08T21:47:00.002-04:002013-09-08T21:48:25.073-04:00QR Code QuizSome of my students have had me for 3 years, but there are still things about me that they do not know. Some very UNIMPORTANT things! Like...when did I graduate high school? How many siblings do I have? Where is my family's lake house? And why are the numbers 2, 5, and 10 important to me?
I have done a Prezi in the past about "Mis Numeros" and I have also handed out a paper and pencil test for Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-66042155567185886392013-09-07T12:17:00.000-04:002013-09-07T12:23:20.057-04:00My head is spinningWe are back at it! It is only my third day of school, and since we're on a block schedule I have seen most of my students only one time. It's the perfect time to reflect on how the first day went!
I was nervous having my seniors again for the third year as I wrote about in my post about fears I have about the year. The first day was exciting. I started in English talking about the two THEMES I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-27418221444758136252013-08-11T15:43:00.001-04:002013-08-11T15:54:39.153-04:00Buen Viaje...As I get ready to travel to Costa Rica with my family, I am feeling a lot of mixed emotions. For one, I am nervous to travel with my kids-5 1/2 and 11 months as it is always an unexpected adventure with them. Who knows if we'll have great listeners that day or a couple of kids who we will leave unclaimed at the baggage claim in SJO. My husband is from Costa Rica and his side of the family está Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0Kittery, ME 03904, USA43.1156628 -70.72874150000001243.0229273 -70.890103000000011 43.208398300000006 -70.567380000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-90819658612551218432013-07-25T16:47:00.001-04:002013-07-25T16:47:47.909-04:00Los primeros días...I'm reading and re-reading the Rapport section of Teach Like a PIRATE and getting excited about what I can do on my first three days of school. I wish I could just take a Dave Burgess pill and have his persona flow through me for the kids. I wonder if he speaks Spanish??
The language part is what is holding me back a little bit. I definitely did NOT hit the 90% target language goal set by Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-80799504847893916482013-07-13T15:51:00.000-04:002013-07-13T15:54:45.743-04:00Dear Me, Thanks for everything...
I was at my colleague's house talking with her about the book I recently finished Teach Like a PIRATE by Dave Burgess. I told her how PIRATE was an acronym and I could list off what all of the letters were except T. I couldn't remember what the T was for the life of me. We just agreed that it must be Teaching because that is what makes sense. Well, of course I ran home to check it Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com1Kittery, ME 03904, USA43.1156628 -70.72874150000001243.0229273 -70.890103000000011 43.208398300000006 -70.567380000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-36362924176379231142013-07-10T12:54:00.005-04:002013-07-10T12:54:57.016-04:00Fears, Inadequacies and an Invitation to an Exciting Ride "Do you want a guaranteed formula for disappointment in life? Set up the rules of your life so that you have to win every time or have one hundred percent success in order to feel fulfilled." -Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess (@burgessdave on twitter)
I am not quite finished reading Teach Like a Pirate...I mean it's only been 2 days since I started and I have two small children at home. I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com6Kittery, ME 03904, USA43.1156628 -70.72874150000001243.0229273 -70.890103000000011 43.208398300000006 -70.567380000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-55660158070763986442013-07-10T12:14:00.006-04:002013-07-10T12:14:40.610-04:00Summertime Fun!
Original Post on July 5, 2013 on http://yhsprofe.blogspot.com
Decided to move the original post here since the purpose of my blogging is for me to reflect personally and professionally. I don't want my thoughts to be tied to my school through the URL using YHS in the name.
June 20th...the last day of school!!!!
I admit I was excited to begin my summer with my kids, butAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0Kittery, ME 03904, USA43.1156628 -70.72874150000001243.0229273 -70.890103000000011 43.208398300000006 -70.567380000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-62814504251348769492011-12-09T13:09:00.001-05:002011-12-09T13:38:24.307-05:00Twitter!
I finally found a way to incorporate Twitter in the classroom! Since the subjunctive is such a hard thing for English speakers to grasp, I wanted to show my Spanish V's how it is used authentically. Twitter is a great source for authentic language in a foreign language classroom. The students really seemed engaged for the entire activity and learned some new vocabulary along the way. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-80935432419812207882011-12-01T21:26:00.000-05:002011-12-01T21:26:33.398-05:00¡El Futuro!
I really like teaching the future to my students. It brings me back to my middle school days playing MASH and folding paper into origami-like fortune tellers.
Today in class we folded like crazy and then went around the room predicting what life will be like in the future. It was fun hearing some of the predictions-although I did hear some English because the kids were so proud of theirAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-22440305771011407902011-11-30T19:10:00.001-05:002011-12-02T16:38:37.176-05:00DiLL-DIgital Language LabWe were so lucky this year to have a Digital Language Lab installed! It has been wonderful to have the students look forward to using technology to work on their speaking and listening skills. I love that it is personalized enough where each student can listen as many times as they need to get certain activities done. It helps the slower learners develop their skills and it also Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0York, ME 03909, USA43.1617687 -70.64829243.0691117 -70.8062205 43.254425700000006 -70.4903635tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8016349287374570565.post-70269084207701841942011-11-27T20:51:00.001-05:002011-11-27T20:53:36.863-05:00Starting AgainWhat I love about teaching is that there are so many points where one can start over.
It is time to start this blog over.
I deleted the 3 posts that I left hanging here from 2009 and have since been inspired by some recent Tweets about teaching. I am new to Twitter as a space for professional development. I don't want to forget about what I want to try and what I am learning, so perhaps IAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758935511188924093noreply@blogger.com0