Talia Block
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Culture Around Every Corner

9/19/2017

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I didn’t grow up speaking Spanish. I didn’t grow up hearing the lullabies or playing the hand games. As a generally bilingual person, this is not necessarily an issue, but as a Spanish teacher (and bilingual parent), I sometimes struggle. I want to provide my students with the most culturally authentic class I can but I don’t always have the resources to do so. It isn’t the larger cultural ideas that are tough, but rather the little things, such as how a game is played or how turns are taken, that can be difficult to find. It is these things, however, that can add a little extra flair and fun to the world language class.
 
Keep an eye (and ear) out while watching TL content.
I was watching a video for a game, and as I was watching, I realized the kids in the video had various ways of picking whose turn it was to play. I did a quick search for each of the games and added it to my repertoire. Sometimes it’s simply a phrase or a hand gesture that comes out of watching other content, but by simply adding these little bits to our classroom, we create a more authentic experience for our students.
 
Find ways to match culture to content.
What are you teaching and what practices can you think of to match that content? What do we do in our country that may or may not be different in another country? Each year in Spanish we talk about food, which is a huge cultural lesson in and of itself. Our 4th grade unit focuses on food and celebrations starting with birthdays. As part of the unit, I’ve decided to teach the first few stanzas of Las mañanitas, the traditional birthday song. For each student’s birthday, we’ll sing Las mañanitas. It takes such a short amount of time but has a much greater impact than just talking about the song. Finding ways to bring in traditional poems, rhymes, hand games and songs can take a unit to the next level. 
 
Travel (or bug someone who does).
If we had our way, many of us would travel all over the world learning and gathering knowledge. Sadly, this is not always reality. When we are fortunate enough to travel to countries where the TL is spoken, take the opportunity to speak with residents, browse the bookstore or music store, watch local TV or just observe people interacting with one another. In those time you aren’t able to travel, try and connect with a friend or family member who is. Ask them to bring back a book, video, CD, etc. that might be helpful. Giving a specific topic or general theme might be helpful to ensure they bring back what you are looking for.
 
Use social media.
I feel like I come back to this a lot. Social media provides a window to the world without leaving the comfort of you home (or school). By following relevant accounts, (for example: Zoo Madrid for animal), you get real-world resources at your fingertips. Within these resources I almost always find idioms or games that are more authentic than what I was using.
 
Here are a few fun things I picked up recently:
 
Disparejo – for picking turns.
This can be played with as many people as necessary. After saying “dis-pa-re-jo”, every person gives a thumbs up or thumbs down. The person who ends up without a pair (disparejo) is it. Originally, this game was played with coins, but has been adapted to using thumbs.
 
If you’d like to take this game a step further, here is a fun sheet for working on probability.
**Disclaimer: I would not suggest hitting anyone with a bottle, but this is the best video I could find to show you!**
Piedra, Papel y Tijeras
I always learned this game as yan ken po, which is also how it is called in Japan. This is a great example of regional and country differences. Here are some other ways to play rock, paper, scissors in Spanish (From Wikipedia): Piedra, papel o tijera, cachipún, jankenpón, dum-kin-voy,yan ken po, pin pon papas, chis bun papas, hakembó, chin-chan-pu, How-are-you-speak o kokepon.
 
Of course, these bits and pieces look different across the Spanish-speaking world, but I do my best to ensure my resources are authentic. What fun cultural tidbits do you use in your class? I’d love to add them to my bag of tricks!
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Música Madness - Elementary Style

3/17/2017

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I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last to implement a Música Madness tournament in my class. With the help of people like Carrie Toth and @Spanishplans, I’ve been able to craft a tournament that works for my students and me. A bracket of 32 or even 16 songs seemed a bit overwhelming for my first go around with 5th graders, so I settled on 8 favorites. At the end of the year, I do a Lip Sync Off, so I chose songs that students would see again in our next competition. I figure the more contact the students have with the music, the more likely they are to connect with it.
 
I set up my brackets attempting to put like music together to even the playing field. I also tried for different genres of music to engage the widest audience. Once the brackets were set; we completed one bracket a week for the first round, listening to the whole song. As we move forward in the brackets, we’ll listen to just a few minutes to remind students before they vote. I’m so curious as to whether the totals will change the more they listen to the song.  
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#authres: 5 tips for Finding the "Perfect" resource

2/2/2017

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Finding the perfect authentic resource can be challenging. Does the content match what I want to teach? Can I use the resource at an age appropriate level? There are times I spend hours trying to find the “perfect” resource. Perhaps it isn’t about finding the perfect resource, but rather a resource that can be used in the perfect way.
 
Base your vocabulary on the resource and not the other way around.
Finding a resource with all of the vocabulary words you hope to teach is near impossible. Instead, find the resource first and pull the vocabulary list from there. Focusing on cognates and other familiar words or phrases can also help the resource better meet your needs.
 
There is no resource too difficult.
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As an elementary level teacher, many resources seem daunting at first, but breaking an article or infographic into pieces can help ease the anxiety. One resource can be used over a period of multiple days to attract students’ attention to certain information. 

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Day 1
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Day 3
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Day 2
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Day 4

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Brain Breaks 

12/7/2016

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If you’ve ever taught elementary school, you know the kids are squirrely. They can’t sit for more than 10 minutes or so before needing to stand up and move. This is great for language teachers as we often want our students moving around the room and interacting. There are times, however, that we need students to focus on an interpretive task or work on a presentational activity.
 
After reading about primacy and recency, I realized this was a great way to plan my lessons. Even with a 30 minute period, students could only focus on a task for about 10 minutes before needing a change. Enter the brain break.
 
Not only do brain breaks give students a chance to rest and recharge their brains, but also it is a way for me to incorporate cultural songs and ideas and to review previous lessons. Here are a few of my favorites:
 
Chocolate
This is a popular one with students as they get to talk (and think about) chocolate. It has a simple rhythm and simple hand gestures, but it gives them a chance to interact with a friend during class.
Cho-co-la-te
Choco choco la la
Choco choco te te
Choco la
Choco te
Choco Choco la te
Palo, Palo
This is a new find and the students love it! Again, simple words and gestures make it easy to introduce and do during class and it’s just fun! (The action starts about 2 minutes in.)
Palo, palo, palo
Palo, bonito
Palo, eh
Eh, eh, eh
Palo, bonito
Palo, eh

Hand clap
Everyone loves a good hand game and this one is no different! There are three parts to this, the second being quite long. While there is not a lot to the game, I love that the students learn the words associated with the different actions. As they move their hands, they have to say the words. For now, I only have them do part A, but as they get better I may add in part B and the finale. (Start video 1 min in.)
Busca algo…
This is a game we used to play as part of the color unit, but our color unit has been absorbed in other places (thankfully). Kids simply listen for the color (busca algo rojo) and walk around the room to find it. There are three rules: no running, no talking, and no touching other people. It’s a quick and simple way to get them moving and spot check for if they remember their colors. If you want to change it up, have them look for objects or letters.
 
Body Rock, Paper, Scissors
This is your typical rock, paper, scissors game, except that students use their entire bodies to form each object. Before playing, I go over each word and each movement with the students. We practice them in different orders and then in order. When they are ready to play, students close their eyes and say: “roca, papel, tijeras, ¡ya!”. On ya they pick a movement and open their eyes. You can teach phrases like “I win” or “rock beats scissors” as an added bonus.
 
Estatua
Another great way to review vocabulary is with statue. I name an object and students freeze in a way that demonstrates that word. Sometimes, I throw in feelings or adjectives as well.
 
When introducing the brain break, it can take a few extra minutes out of class, but once students know the song or game, all they require is the title of the activity to get going. It is worth the minutes up front to help long-term class participation and interest.
 
These are just a few of the many brain breaks out there. Not all are specific to the World Language classroom, but they can be adapted quite easily. Another option is to take a favorite rhyme or hand game in your target language or to search in your language via YouTube or Google.
 
No matter what you find, find a way to let students move and have a good time. 
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Lip Sync Battle

5/9/2016

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Who doesn’t love a good lip sync? It takes me back to my days at summer camp, but lately, lip sync battles are all the rage. So why not bring it into the classroom. Not only is it a great way to introduce students to popular music in Spanish, but also a chance for me to catch up on the latest and greatest while throwing in some of my favorites! (Plus it was a chance to watch Jimmy Fallon’s lip sync battles gratuitously.)
Students have access to the set of music videos they can choose from before we begin the battle. At home, they listen to as many of the songs as they like and come to class with an idea of their top video. Based on their video choice, they are put in groups. If there are multiple groups that choose the same video, it is up to the group to make their performance standout.
 
Once in groups, students get to work on the studying the song lyrics, and especially the chorus. As this is 5th grade, students are only responsible for truly lip syncing the chorus. In order to impress the judges (a few teachers I roped in and me), they can learn more. Students get to practicing the lyrics while they listen and dividing the work amongst the group. Students perform no more than 2 minutes of the song for the sake of time (we only have a 30 minute class).
 
Next comes the dance moves. No one wants to watch you standing still for 2 minutes! Students choreograph a dance to the part on which they will focus.  It’s really fun to watch the students get into their dance moves. You never know who’s been hiding their talents all year!
 
Groups go against each other in pairs. The winner of each pair advances to the next round. Students are judged on their creativity, the clarity of the lip sync during the chorus, and group dynamics.

While this is a great way to wind down the school year, it is also a fun way to introduce new music to the students. It opens their eyes to culturally appropriate artists and genres, as well as provides input in the target language. Hearing different accents and voices broadens students’ ability to interpret the target language and make use of it. This activity can also be connected to their music classes, adding another layer to its’ purpose. 
 
Next year, I’d love to pair the songs for our lip sync battle with a Music Madness tournament in March, a la Carrie Toth and @Spanishplans. I would introduce these songs/videos in March and get the students geared up and listening. By May, they wouldn’t even need the lyrics to study! 
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Cromos...Olympics Style

4/25/2016

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It’s April and everyone is in a slump (at least my students and I are). As I dive deeper into my 4th grade unit on the Olympics, I find myself wanting something a bit more. It isn’t the authentic resources I’m lacking, or the interpersonal activities, but rather a little something something for the students to get overly excited about. Enter Cromos.

Bethanie Drew wrote about the use of Cromos, which are basically trading cards for the World Cup, in this blog post. Based on the post and our Twitter conversations, it sounded like the cards were a ton of fun. But how could I use World Cup Cromos for my Olympics unit? Would the kids really be able to connect with the cards if they had nothing to do with what we are studying?

I decided it was time to do a little DIY. In class, the students are using pictures of real athletes headed to Rio 2016 as a point for conversation about the sports, geography, and how sports are played. These are people the students are already familiar with and they are also a great connection to the sports the students love.Why not use these athletes to create our own set of Cromos? 

I did a little Google searching for an Olympics frame and Rio 2016 symbol, and I created my own template for the Cromos. (A downloadable file is available below.)
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Cromos.docx
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Each student will receive a template and a set of pictures of the various athletes with whom we are working. They will create a set of 16 Cromos for each player, which I will then laminate. Since I have more than one class, some athletes will have more than 16. I'm curious as to wether some, such as Lionel Messi and Pau Gasol, who the students know, will become more popular or coveted as we move forward.

Throughout the rest of the unit and school year, students will earn Cromos for their behavior and also their use of Spanish. I’m not usually one for this type of reward, but as we near the end of the school year, I think this group could really use it. Students know that in order to earn a Cromo, they must using the highest quality Spanish they can (complete sentences for most of them) during structured activities. During unstructured time or if there is a question, students use their Spanish to the best of their ability. During this unstructured time, I am not looking for perfection, but rather effort, circumlocution, and just using what they know to communicate.
Aside from being a different and fun way to bring the Olympics into the classroom, I am hoping this will excite them about the upcoming Olympics and the many Spanish-speakers involved. Perhaps they will even follow an athlete or two this summer.

Although mine are focused on the Olympics, these cards could really work for any unit you are doing where there are real athletes, musicians, or other people involved. For example, Carrie Toth does a Music Madness in March to reflect the NCAA's March Madness. Cromos would be a great way for students to learn about the musicians and/or groups they are voting for. You can use people, groups, countries, etc. It can be quite a task to find all of the pictures, names, and information, but it is a great way to incorporate the cultural piece into any unit. Not only that, it provides students a chance to ask and answer questions about real people without already knowing all of the answers! 
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Taking it to the Next level - Connecting Students to Content

3/26/2016

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I don’t know about you, but as long as I’ve been a Spanish teacher, I’ve always taught some iteration of activities students like to do. Sometimes it’s sports focused while other times it’s plans for the summer. No matter what, kids like to share what they do. Over the years, like many others, I’ve tried to find different ways to incorporate this into larger themes or ideas – no more me gusta without a purpose or intent. I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a thematic unit around world sports for the past few years, but it never seemed to gel. With the help of some great ideas from #CSCTFL16, I think I’ve finally started to pull it together. With the summer Olympics just around the corner, I figured this was the perfect time to get my butt in gear!
 
Part of the push to focus on the Olympics, or anything other than just sports, was that many of my students had no interest in sports. Ask them what they like, and they say “I don’t know”. If the goal is to have interpersonal conversation, that obviously isn't going to work. With the Olympics, however, there are something like 42 events to choose from. There has to be at least one that interests everyone! (Or at least I hope!) While still a work in progress, the unit is starting to take shape. Here are the current essential questions:
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As a way to introduce the unit, I shared the official Olympic events symbols. Without any information, I asked students to match a set of vocabulary words to the pictures. 
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After attending Amy Lenord’s Central State’s session on List Liberation I went back and forth on whether to provide any vocabulary at all. After some internal debate, however, I decided a set of core vocabulary was necessary to get my 4th graders started, but to let them go from there. The personal vocabulary piece is essential to maintain their interest, but at this age, I believe they still need a starting point. Once students matched the vocabulary I gave them (mostly cognates or words they needed to think about but could guess), they were tasked with finding 3 extra words which they shared in groups.
 
Once we matched the vocabulary, we began the conversation about the Olympics with this great infographic:
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Using interpretive reading strategies from ACTFL’s Implementing Integrated Performance Assessments, students worked in groups to see what they could figure out. There is a lot of language here for a 4th grade novice mid, so I made sure to focus their attention. Students already saw the pictures in a previous activity, which helped bring down their affective filter. This map gave us the opportunity to talk geography (Where is Brazil? What is the capital?) and language, since many students don’t realize that Brazil is not a Spanish-speaking country. I also made sure to focus a question on the transportation available, to give students an opportunity to add these words to their vocabulary. We used the map to practice our interpersonal skills with questions about what activities are available and the similarities and differences in the offerings at each stadium. By breaking students into 4 groups (one per stadium), they needed their classmates to answer questions about event availability before they decided which stadium location they might choose to attend.
 
Sadly, neither my 4th graders nor I will be attending the Olympics this year. And even if we were, the students certainly would not be planning the trip. Keeping this in mind, I decided to focus on what students might watch with their friends instead of what they might attend. In 4th grade, they may not be planning travel, but they are deciding what to watch on TV and with whom to hang out. 
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Using the schedule of events, we did some more exploring of what was available when. Central States keynote, John De Mado, discussed the need for students to “guess” effectively in order to continue their language growth. Acting on this principal, I focused my questions on sports that students had possibly come across, but would not necessarily know. For example, they know correr is to run, but could they figure out Track and Field based on the picture and previously hearing the information in conversation? If they know nadar is to swim, can the determine that nado sincronizado is synchronized swimming? It seemed easy enough, but for some of my 9 year olds, it was a push. Not only did the schedule allow me to bring in more vocabulary, but also to have the conversation about the date in Spanish. Despite having this conversation before, the students ALWAYS seem to get tripped up! Another crack at a cultural difference (and numbers practice) is always a plus!
 
The schedule was also a great way to talk about student interests around the sports. Since each word has a picture associated, there is less stress in choosing activities that might not be so popular or easy to decipher. If I like archery and you like fencing, it doesn’t really matter that they aren’t cognates. I have the pictures and Spanish there to assist me! As students started talking about which events interest them – moving away from me gusta and introducing me interesa – we also added in some adjectives to describe why. Yet another chance for guided interpersonal practice (woohoo!).  Using a simple chart, students tracked their friends’ answers and talked about who had similar interests. (I use this structure a lot for interpersonal practice so students can clearly see the questions they are working with and also keep track of the information.)
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As we move forward in the unit, we will look at medal counts as a way to further practice numbers in context. Lord knows we need the practice! Eventually, students will predict what country might win the most of each medal and why. Students will take on the identity of an Olympian in a sport they enjoy and will do a presentational activities with personal information as well as information about their sport, which will lead to a final interpersonal.

Bringing the Olympics into the classroom is so much more than just activities. We’re making connections to geography, math, culture, and beyond! Using authentic resources to guide the conversation makes the language more real and gives it a purpose beyond the classroom walls. So many of my students play sports that are involved in the Olympics, and now they have a chance to share about themselves in a cultural and language context.
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Top 5 Reason Language Teachers Should Travel

1/4/2016

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Winter break is over and it’s back to work, but this year, the first day back is a bit different. I spent the past two weeks in Panama, living the culture and the language. Other than having a great time and enjoying the warm weather, it made me realize how important travel is for a language teacher.
 
Travel is fun. It can be relaxing, educational, inspiring and more! For language teachers, however, travel can be much, much more. For many language teachers, the opportunities to practice their target language (TL), is rare. While many of us may have chance to use our TL in our everyday lives, it is often at a surface level. Travel, on the other hand, opens us to a world of possibility to learning and practice, which we bring back to our classrooms in both planned and unplanned ways.
 
1. Brush up on your language.
Whether or not you use language in the classroom every day, I would imagine your TL could use a bit of a brush-up. Speaking classroom language to 8 years old (in my case) is not ensuring I maintain my language skills. Many of our classroom conversations are limited; travel expands the topics of conversation, challenges our language negotiation skills, and often pushes us out of our comfort zone. It is also a great reminder of what our students go through everyday as we acclimate to new vocabulary and situations.


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Top Instagram Accounts for the Spanish Classroom

11/18/2015

 
As I mentioned in my previous post, Instagram is a great authentic resource for our students. Instagram bills itself as a platform to “capture and share the world’s moments”, making it a fabulous resource for the language classroom. With engaging visuals and language-rich descriptions, Instagram provides a stream of authentic resources at your fingertips. These visuals can be used as a hook to any lesson, as the center of interpretive activity, a jumping-off point for interpersonal conversation, or as a way to introduce authentic content into a unit. The possibilities are endless! Below are some Instagram accounts worth following for Spanish resources. (If you are not a Spanish teacher, scroll to the bottom for tips on finding good accounts for the classroom.)

Places/Travel
These accounts are pictures and descriptions of places around the world. Some are country specific, while others explore the world.
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Photo by Kristen Ryan via @natgeoesp
@natgeoesp
@natgeocast@Latinoamericaneando
@Viajaportupais  (Argentina)
@Colombianiando
@Chiletravel
@Peru
@Ecuadortravel_ig
 
Food
Whether you need cooking inspiration or just love food, these sites have it all. Just make sure you have a snack on hand!
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@hellofood_mexico
@Comidaven – Explore the food of Venezuela, from the typical to the foreign.
@Recetasveggies –
@Hellofood_mexico – A food delivery service with witty commentary & fun photos
@Comidala – Photos and videos of food from all over Latin America
@Comidabuena
 
Sports/Activities

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@eubeisbol
@decathlones – Exploring all types of sports and activities
@rbdseleccion – All about basketball in the Dominican Republic
@eubeisbol – Venezuelans in the MLB
@ligabbvufut – The official Instagram of La Liga fútbol
 
Arts/Words
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@wawawiwadesign
@wawawiwadesign – Illustrations and designs by Andrés Colmenares; often includes play on words and puns.
@jheycoco – Literal illustrations
@igers.design.mx – Designers and photographers professional and amateur from Mexico
 
This, of course, is not an exhaustive list. Some tips for finding other accounts to fit your needs:


- Search hashtags (#) in the target language that reflect what you are interested in. You can search by country (#peru), by topic (#viaje), or by idea (#chevre)
- Search accounts (@) in the same way.
- Use the tags in the accounts you follow as a pathway to other fabulous and interesting accounts.
- See the account followers and the
accounts being followed. People tend to follow and be followed by those interested in the same things.


Using Instagram for INterpretive Activities

11/4/2015

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Instagram is a social network platform of images and descriptions from around the world. By following people on Instagram, you receive photographs and videos in a constant stream. These visuals, posted by native speakers from around the world, offer a wealth of resources for the World Language classroom. Posts are done by native speakers, for native speakers, and make for the perfect piece for classroom activities. These images are great for activities in all three modes, but especially for the interpretive.
 
One of my favorite accounts is National Geographic in Spanish (@Natgeoesp). As expected, the images in this account are gorgeous, and offer stunning scenery and animal shots. The photo below is one of my favorites, and is perfect for my novice-level unit on animals and the food chain! Not only does the picture capture the food chain in motion, but the caption “¡La captura! ¡La caputra en el aire!” gives a jumping-off point for a conversation around the animals, their eating habits, and the food chain in general.

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