Best of 2017 #1: 10 Ways to Get Your Spanish Class Moving

Drum roll please.........the most popular post on Mis Clases Locas during 2017 was....

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SSS - Must Read Blog Posts for Spanish Teachers

As a part of my best of the year, I thought I would share some other sites' popular posts of 2017. 

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Best of 2017 #2: 5 New Movies for Spanish class

All ideas for the second most popular post of the year came from a presentation by Israel Fernando Herrera at #CSCTF17. 

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Best of 2017: #3: 4 Corners (with a twist)

Today's top post is another specific activity that got a lot of love this year. 

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Best of 2017: #4: 1st Day Plans for Spanish 2 & 3

Today is the 4th most popular post of 2017. 

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Best of 2017: #5 The Marker Game

It is that time of the year again for year end best of lists! Today I am starting my annual best of posts. Hopefully you find something you missed the first time around, or now this is the moment that you are ready to maybe try something new. 

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Teaching the novel Problemas en Paraíso - chapter by chapter plans

The second quarter novel for Spanish III this year is the novel Problemas en Paraíso by Carol Gaab. This is my first time using this novel as a whole class novel, but I have used it as a part of literature circles. I previously blogged about planning for the novel. While planning, even though I have the official teacher's guide, it is one of the old ones, that is very basic without all of the great cultural expansions and ideas of the new guides. Since I have taught quite a few novels now, I have my "go to" activities that can be used with any novel. (I currently have 72 posts with the label novel if you need ideas). 

You can find all posts for the novel with the label Problemas. 

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What's my answer? - fun game for any novel

I just discovered a new game in the back of the Fiesta Fatal Teacher's guide. If you have ever purchased a guide from Mira Canion, you know they are Packed with ideas. Last year was my first time teaching it, so I just used the chapter by chapter activities to start. This year, I started to read some of the many extra ideas in the back of the guide and came across a new game, What's my answer to use after chapter 2. Both classes had a blast and it forced everyone to be engaged. 

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Teaching El capibara con botas Chapters 10-14 & Assessments

We finished El capibara con botas by Mira Canion over a month ago, but I am just getting around to blogging about the end of the book. To be honest I have been avoiding it because we did not really do anything "blog worthy" and as I get father from finishing it, I forget what we even did :/

We completed it as the first ever novel in Spanish 1. I went too slow to start, so by the end it was dragging. I decided to power through the end very fast as to try and end it on a positive note. This means this post will be quite short. 

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Quick tip: Positive Plates

Since so many people have been asking on social media after a picture I posted, so I figured I would give a little more detail about an activity we did this week that I am calling "Positive Plates." I have a particularly negative class that I am trying my hardest to move in a positive direction. I had a light bulb as to a camp activity we could incorporate. I had done this activity as a team building activity in English with Camp Adventure, and while in bed in Monday night, it came to me to do it in Spanish the next day. 

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libro lunes: La famila de Federico Rico

It is time for another libro lunes, telling you about a great addition to your classroom library. If you implement FVR, or Free Voluntary Reading, make sure you also check out the game changer.

The book today is another gem from the talented Craig Klein Dexemple of Spanish Cuentos. You can purchase La famila de Federico Rico here or on Amazon below using Prime.

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Fishbowl Interpersonal Speaking in World Langauge class

Since I am a #deptof1 and the only World Language teacher in my district, I get to be with the English teachers for our PLC time at school. This is actually amazing, since we all teach using novels, there are so many ways we can collaborate and share. I have learned a lot about teaching with novels from the great English teachers at my school. At one of our recent meetings, the awesome junior high English teacher talked about a technique she used in her class for interpersonal speaking called a "fishbowl." I decided this was something I would like to try out and then did some research. 

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The Game Changer Introducing FVR

I have done many posts in the past about my classroom library, including my Spanish library tour. I have also done quite a few posts on how to acquire a class library including how to write a grant. Even though I frequently mention that we do "free reading" to start class on Tuesday and Thursday, I figured I would break down exactly how we started to do free voluntary reading or FVR in level 1 Spanish class, and how one change made all the difference this year. 

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Planning the novel Problemas en Paraíso

This year another novel I am teaching for the first time as a class is Problemas en Paraíso. It is an older novela that I have used it in literature circles with great success. The students who had the book thought it was funny, entertaining and had an exciting plot. We will be using it second quarter of Spanish 3. You can see my full tentative curriculum plan here.

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Introducing the past tense in Spanish class using high frequency verbs

Inside: Introducing the past tense in Spanish class using high frequency verbs. Introducing the imperfect in Spanish using comprehensible input. 

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Teaching El capibara con botas Chapters 5-9

I am teaching a novel El capibara con botas by Mira Canion as the first ever novel in Spanish 1. It has a comprehensive teacher's guide and you can find all posts I have for the novel using the label Capibara, including teaching chapters 1-4. 

For each chapter it is pretty much the same for how we read. For my lower level class, I read to them, discussing as we go. For my other section, I usually give the option to read with me and discuss, or read on their own and complete activities from the slide show posed on Google Classroom. With that in mind, here are some additional activities we did for chapters 5-9. 

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libro lunes - La casa de la dentista

I am fresh off of #IWLA17 and plan on sharing takeaways at some point in the near future. If you would like to see my presentation, you can find it here. Next year, our IWLA Keynote speaker will be Sr. Wooly! Mark your calendars for October 12-13 in Ankeny, Iowa. On the topic of Sr. Wooly, today I have a new edition of libro lunes for you. This is where I share about a new to me book that I have read and plan to add to my FVR Spanish class library. You can read my past libro lunes posts here. In all transparency, he sent me an advance copy to review, but this is my not paid, honest reflection of what I think about La casa de la dentista. You can also see what other teachers think with reviews from Maris, Kara, Arianne & Cynthia. 

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#IWLA17 Presentation - I like to move it, move it

It is time for the annual Iowa World Language Association Conference! If you, will be there, please introduce yourself and come to say hi! I love meeting virtual friends in person and connecting with all of my IWLA buddies. I will be running for Vice President and would love your vote if you will be there. 

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Teaching El capibara con botas - Chapters 1-4

This year for the first time ever I am teaching a novel in the first quarter of Spanish 1. El capibara con botas by Mira Canion is the ultimate first reader, since it contains just 55 new vocabulary words and has a new teacher's guide. You can find all posts I have for the novel using the label Capibara and here are all posts about novels. Here is what we did before starting the novel, as well as for chapters 1-4. 

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Planning for teaching Noche de Oro

In my original curriculum plan for this year, I was going to start the year in Spanish 3 with the novel Robo en la noche. Since I have a student who read Robo another year in her Spanish class, I decided to switch it up last minute and read Noche de Oro also by Kristy Placido instead. I have never taught the novel previously, but I have the awesome Teachers Guide, which I will be heavily relying on. 

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Currently...September 2017

It is back to school crazy time! I feel like I have been neglecting the blog, but it it because I feel like I am always trying to check off my ever growing to do list. Since my mind is all over the place it is time for another currently post. Here are some thoughts, ramblings, and current favorites of a Spanish teacher. 

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Hispanic Heritage Month - Resources & Ideas for Spanish Class - SSS

My newest post is now on Secondary Spanish Space. Get a ton of ideas for Hispanic Heritage Month in Spanish Class. 

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1st Weeks of Spanish Class Reflection

Inside: Reflection on my first week of Spanish class

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Quick Tip: I CAN statements for Spanish class

Why hello there!

I am sorry I have been MIA on the blog, but as you know the first weeks of school are a whirlwind of to do lists, additional meetings, and my own extra needy kids who just can't hang after 9 hours of day care. On top of the first week of school, it was time for two big birthdays in my house. My first day of school baby from last year is now ONE, plus he was born on my husband's birthday. This means I was trying to get ready for hosing a birthday party at my house, which meant shoving everything in cupboards and frantically cleaning during their nap immediately before the party (which had the theme of "Target Dollar Spot Birthday"). To top it off my little guys molars are coming in, so he likes to scream for a good solid hour around 3am each night. Let's just say we are all aboard the hot mess express eating leftover pizza from the party all week for dinner and trying to figure out how to function as a family with mama back at school. Did I mention my hubby was also chosen for the jury at jury duty this week?!

OK enough about me. Time to share just a super quick tip that has helped me be more organized this year and saves me time. I promise I have more posts in the works in my brain, but I just need time to do them. I posted the photo below on Instagram this week (@SraWienhold) and got quite a few questions about my "I can" statement posters, which are along the top of the board in pink. 

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1st Week of School - TPT Site wide

It is that time of year we all wait for, the Teachers Pay Teachers site wide back to school BOOST sale! Tuesday, head on over to Mis Clases Locas & use the code BTSBonus for an additional 5% off! This is the time to stock up on everything you need for this school year. Snatch up the very popular Back to School Bundle for everything you need for the first week of school. 

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Weekend Talk: 5 Ways to Mix it Up

I mentioned in my post about planning for upper level classes, that we typically start Mondays with a "Weekend Talk" or "Weekend Chat." I had heard about doing this for years in the CI circles, but never seemed to find time to do it. What is interesting is I have always been a #deptof1 so when I can not find time for something it is just me, myself and I putting tight requirements on pacing and curriculum. I am not sure why I felt the need to rush into the week full force and how I could not "find time" to spend a few minutes casually chatting in Spanish about what the students are thinking about. 

What do you want to talk about and think about on Monday? Your weekend! 
Do I want to make class interesting and relevant? YES! 
So I guess I should let us all spend some time talking about what we did over our weekend (or break). 

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Spanish Classroom Library Tour 2017

After posting a picture of this year's Spanish classroom library, I got a lot of questions. So I decided it was worthy of a blog post to show you some more pictures, help you start your own library, as well as explain how we use this class library year round. 

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Lista lunes - Back to Spanish 2017

It has been quite a while since I did a lista lunes post! I decided with the crazy back to school season, it would be helpful for you to have all of my back to school posts organized in one place. 

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La Tomatina: Mini Unit to Start Spanish Class

Are you looking for an engaging topic to start your school year in Spanish class? How about a festival where people literally have a giant food fight with tomatoes? La Tomatina is a yearly event that takes place in Buñol, Spain at 11:00am on the last Wednesday of August. For me, this falls during the first full week of school. I already decided when I planned out my tentative year curriculum that I would start the year with a Tomatina mini unit in Spanish 2. Since then I decided that Spanish 3 will also join the fun and do the unit as well. (I was waiting to see if anyone who took my Culture & Civilization Spanish 1+ would be staying with Spanish 3, since that class already did this unit). As a #deptof1 any time that I can overlap plans for levels and just differentiate, it really helps lighten the planning load. For those of you who have been following my back to school posts and saw my 1st weeks of Spanish 1, here are my 1st weeks plans for Spanish 2 & 3.  

My 1st 2 weeks of Spanish 2 & 3 are as follows:

• 1st short week Find Someone Who + extensions and free write (Friday - Spanish 3 - El Internado & Spanish 2 - Verba viernes)
• 1st full week - Sp2 & Sp3 - Tomatina mini unit (below)

Tomatina Mini Unit

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High Frequency Spanish Verb Unit to Start Spanish 1

Inside: High Frequency Spanish Verb Unit to Start Spanish 1 focusing on the Super 7. 

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What's in a Bundle?

You may have noticed that this summer I have added quite a few bundles to my TPT. I have found that when buying items myself, I would much rather be able to get everything all together at once, especially when doing a school purchase order. (Have you asked your school if you can use your classroom or curriculum money on TPT? If not Do It!) 

A perk on a bundle is that are usually marked at about a 20% discount! Since I want to make sure you are clear on what is in each bundle, I figured I would break it down.

Música miércoles GROWING BUNDLE!

For the Música miércoles music loving classes, this will get you enough music for life! This bundle has the added perk that each time I add a Música miércoles resource, the bundle will be updated, and you can download it again at no additional cost. It currently includes the following 5 slideshows. 
•Música miércoles.
•Más Música miércoles.
•Música miércoles 3. 
•Música miércoles 4. 
•Música miércoles 5. 

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1st Day of Spanish 2 & 3 Plans (without a syllabus)

Inside: Plans for the 1st day of Spanish 2, Spanish 3 or Spanish 4 that get your students up and moving!

I have realized that there are so many back to school or 1st day of Spanish class resources that focus on level 1. I think this is because it is easy to start at the beginning. When everyone is starting from ground zero, you can start with anything. Starting with higher levels is messier. Students are possibly coming from a variety of teachers and schools and have a wide range of prior Spanish knowledge. You can read here why I don't start with a review unit and what I do instead. At the same time you need to get some kind of baseline of where your students are at, as well as get to know them. 

I have a unique situation as a #deptof1 that I will have previously taught all of my incoming Spanish 2 and above students. This means that day one I can skip the introduction of myself, the expectations, and the name games and get right to communicating in Spanish. Our first day is a short one and I wanted to start with a big weekend talk to hear about the students' summer (and sneakily use past tense). I do not know about your school, but I know that the first day my students can not wait to talk to each other and move around. They are bored stiff from syllabus day in every other class and just want to catch up. Instead of fighting  the chatter and trying to spend the whole class discussing and circling, I decided to create a "find someone who" people search to get them up and moving.

**Update** I now have the same resource available in FRENCH too!
**Update again** if you need something to mix it up, I now have a similar activity, but now with differentiated question cards for the first day of Spanish 2+!

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Planning for El capibara con botas

I mentioned in my curriculum plan for this year that I was going to add the novel El capibara con botas by Mira Canion for the first time.  The book came out after I had already done my big curriculum purchase last Spring, but I knew it would be a perfect culture filled first novel. I even wrote about ideas for the novel last summer here - libro lunes - El capibara con botas. So this year, I asked if I could use my yearly "classroom supply" allowance to instead by a class set of novels. It was approved and I would much rather have books than supplies. (I can buy those cheap myself at back to school sales:) Here you can purchase the El capibara con botas & the teacher's guide. 

This year my freshman Spanish 1's previous Spanish knowledge includes two seperate quarter long exploratory Spanish classes over the last two years, where they have done the first few SOMOS units, special person interviews, some Sr. Wooly songs, and other various cultural units. I plan to use this novel towards the end of the first quarter of Spanish 1, as well as during y 8th grade exploratory Spanish second semester. 

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43 New FREE Resources for Spanish Teachers

Are you looking for some new FREE resources for your Spanish class? If so, check out the Free Ebooks below, each with many amazing resources. There is a Secondary Spanish Ebook 2017: Tips and FREE Resources & Elementary EBook. Each page has tips and ideas for the best school year ever from a teacher, with a links to resources. I even have a page in the secondary book! Download today to get your creative juices flowing.

Spanish Secondary Ebook: Tips and FREE Resources

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FREE BOOKS in Spanish & English for your Classroom

Are you looking for a way to build your classroom library for free?

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Back to Spanish Class: 1st Week of School - sss

Are you looking for ideas of what to do the first week of Spanish class?

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A Classroom Without Desks - #Deskless FAQ

Last fall I posted about my (student) deskless classroom. Since that post was published one day after ditching my desks, I decided it was time for an update. Since I went to only chairs in the end of November, I have not gone back. Here I will address some of the frequently asked questions I have gotten about not having student desks. 

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Quick Tip: Welcome Banner for Spanish Class

Quick Tip: Welcome Banner for Spanish Class

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Standard Based Grading in Spanish class

How to Start Standard Based Grading in Spanish class

I have had a few questions lately about how I grade, so I figured it was time for a post. With a change in methods, how I asses has naturally changed. A couple year ago I switched to grading my modes of communication (Interpersonal Speaking, Presentational Writing and Interpretive Reading, and Interpretive Listening). At the time I also had a 10% category for Culture, which included Real World Choice Work. Switching to these categories, really helped me focus on WHAT I was assessing. If an assignment did not fit a category, should I really have been assigning it? This helped me finally fully move away from quizzes that focused on grammar or vocabulary because they did not fit any certain communicative focus! It also helped me cut the cord to giving a grade for a craftivity such as the piñata. 

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What to do with a song in Spanish class

What to do with a song in Spanish class

If you have been reading here for any length of time you know I love to use authentic music in my Spanish classes. I love using music so much that I have weekly routines built in to make sure to incorporate what many students have told me is there favorite part of Spanish class, music. But, what if you want to mix it up? Here are some ideas of what to do with a song in Spanish class. 

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Teaching the novel Bianca Nieves

Teaching the novel Bianca Nieves y los 7 toritos

According to my end of year survey the favorite book of the year for Spanish 2 was Carrie Toth's Bianca Nieves y los 7 toritos. It is technically a level 1 book, but with the high interest story and theme, and past tense, it was a great way to end the year in level 2. You can get the novel and teachers guide here. The guide is one of my favorites and has such great ideas. There are so many for each chapter in fact, that I am going to share what I chose to use in this post. If you would like more details on each activity, I highly recommend you get the teacher's guide. 

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Curriculum Year 6 - Teaching Spanish with Novels

Teaching Spanish with Novels 

You may think that it is crazy that I am already planning for next year, but I can not not help it, I love it! We may have just finished school last week, but I am always looking ahead to a tentative long term plan. At the end of the year I did Google form surveys in all classes asking which novels they liked best, how they felt about the difficulty level, as well as let them vote one which books sounded most interesting for next year. This feedback was so helpful as it guided which novels each level would read and in what order. The favorite book from Spanish 1 was Peter va a Colombia, Spanish 2 was Bianca Nieves y los 7 torritos, and Spanish 4 was Vida y Muerte en la Mara Salvatrucha. It is interesting that it was my first time teaching all three of those novels this year! 

Each level is composed of two semesters that are 18 weeks each, with about 50 minute classes. To see what I have done in past years see: Curriculum years 1-3 & Curriculum - year 4 & Curriculum year 5. Also, to see how I plan for upper level Spanish classes, see this recent post. To get more information about teaching with novels, check out the post Teaching a Novel 101. Many of these novels could be taught in many different levels, but this is how I feel it will work best with my particular students. 

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Curriculum Planning for Upper Level Spanish

Curriculum Planning for Upper Level Spanish 

I recently had a request for a post about curriculum planing for upper level Spanish. As you probably know, for the last couple of years I have not been using a textbook and instead have been focusing my curriculum around novel units. Below is a rough outline of how I have been planning for a year, a unit, and a week. As with everything, remember that we all are doing the best we can in the situation we are currently in. If you have an existing set curriculum, maybe you can use some of these ideas to add one new novel unit, or weekly routine next year. 

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3rd Blogiversary!

Happy 3rd blogiversary to me! I started this little blog on May 21, 2014, as a space to reflect and to try and give back to all of those who have helped me. It has grown into something much bigger than I expected and I am very grateful to all of you who take time to read my ramblings. 

TPT SALE

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Using Sr. Wooly in Spanish Class

Using Sr. Wooly in Spanish class

This year I tried a few new (to me) things. The one that I honestly can not believe that I had not used before is Sr. Wooly. Sure, as a Spanish teacher I had heard of Sr. Wooly, and seen a couple of his videos on Youtube, but I had not yet drank the kool-aid. I did not get what the fuss was all about. Last year when I had curriculum money to spend and posed the question of what to buy on Twitter and some Facebook groups, many people mentioned a subscription to Sr. Wooly Pro. We only get money every six years, so I went all in with a six year subscription. I AM SO GLAD I DID!

Using Sr. Wooly in Spanish Class

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End of year Teacher Confessions

It is that time of the year, the end of the year as a teacher. It is both the best and worst time of the school year all rolled into one. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is being blocked by the stack of assessments to grade and the mile long to-do list. This includes a whole list of helpful blog topics that I could be writing about, and instead you get to read my end of year confessions. 

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Binge-Worthy Netflix shows in Spanish - sss

Are you looking for some binge-worthy shows on Netflix in Spanish? 

Check out my latest post at Secondary Spanish Space for 5 binge-worthy shows for Spanish teachers on Netflix. 

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Teaching the Novel Peter va a Colombia

This year our last novel of the year in Spanish 1 is Peter va a Colombia. It is an awesome novice level reader by fellow Iowan Craig Klein. You can purchase the book here from his site Spanish Cuentos. I wrote about the novel last year here, as well as shared resources for the novel here. You can see our full curriculum this year in this post, but we have already read the novels Tumba & Brandon Brown Quiere un Perro. 

Before starting the novel we spent a full two weeks on cultural units relating to the study of Colombia. We completed the Biblioburo - Storytelling Unit from Martina Bex, as well as El Desfile del Yipao - Cultural Activities from Martina Bex. We also did an activity with the song La Bicicleta. These helped to get students ready for the novel and more familiar with the country of Colombia. You can also get the novel on Amazon below using prime. 

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Reading Club - 1 Novel, 3 Groups

Reading Club - 1 Novel, 3 Groups

After observing 2nd grade I was firmly convinced that I needed to try something different. After seeing amazing literacy differentiation in person, I figured it was time to try it myself with "that class." I have one level one class in particular that has a WIDE range of personalities and reading levels. It also has a para educator, and for the month, an instructional coach. Yet, I was not utilizing these other individuals to their full potential because neither of them speak Spanish. 

After my observation, I remembered a series of blog posts from the amazing Carrie Toth about her reading clubs. (Check them out and then come back: Reading Club - overview, Reading Club - Discussion Day and Reading Club Takeaways). 

Now that you have soaked up her wisdom, here is my (in progress) take on reading clubs in Spanish class. 

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4 Corners for Spanish Class (with a Twist)

Last week I blogged about 10 Ways to Get Your Spanish Class Moving. Today I have one more to add to the list, 4 Corners (with a twist). 

You can see a couple ways to play 4 Corners in Language Class below. 

• Creative Language Class - 4 Corners
• Lugar para pensar - 4 Corners

The basic idea is to have four options, one in each corner. Using the pre-made templates from Creative Language Class in your room, you could do this as an activity to fill in some extra time at the end of class. 

We played 4 corners as a "who said it" activity after chapter 2 of Bianca Nieves y los 7 torritos, using four characters. I already had a list of who said it quote from the teacher's guide, that I had set to come up on my google slideshow one by one (Slide > Transition > by paragraph). I quickly wrote the four characters I wanted to use on paper and posted them in the four corners of the room. 

4 Corners Set up

• Have a list of who said it quotes, or items with choices. 
• Post the four options in the four corners of the room (4 characters, 4 places, 4 emotions, etc)
• Explain the activity before letting the students move all over

My 4 corners signs that were quickly written during class

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