Heather's Blog

Cooking in the classroom

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:31:12 +0000

What better way to learn then to have a party and cook (and eat)? Students like to eat, teachers like to eat, it seems like a good fit. When the lesson comes to foods of a region, why not go beyond talking about it to actually showing how different utensils are used and COOK SOMETHING!!! You may need to seek permission from an administrator, but I’m sure they could be made ok with it, especially if you let them sample the end product. This one has like 5 or 6 pages of different utensils that are unique to the Latin American part of the world.

My favorite technology!!!!

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:19:49 +0000

So if I could only have one technology in my classroom, this would be it: a Promethean Board with interactive clickers (or student responders), or pretty much any other accessory that this company provides. I love that there are lesson plans already made and they can be adapted to suit the class that is being taught. I also enjoy the fact that the students can get involved in the learning process through fun games. The “clickers” can be used in such a variety of ways: testing, opinions, and checking understanding mid-lesson.

Document Cameras

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:15:45 +0000

Not every school has document cameras in every classroom with projectors, but here is a good site to help teachers plead their case for why it would be beneficial to the classroom. There is a video, a list of ways to use it, and resources for teachers and administrators on how to get it in the classroom!!!

Adivina Quien?

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:08:05 +0000

Here’s a great game to play with learning characteristics about people – its “Guess Who” but in Spanish. It could be very useful for students to use the vocabulary learned in class and play a game with it. Since the game is played with limited vocabulary anyway, (“Does the person have blond hair?” “is it a girl?”) this would be a great game for Spanish 1 students, but still fun to play in the upper levels as well.

Zingo

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:03:00 +0000

Here’s a game I’ve never heard of or played, but it looks like fun. It looks like it could be played with students learning English as a second language or reversed and used with students learning Spanish as a second language. It links word associations between the two languages and would great for younger kids.

Spanish Classroom Scrabble

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:58:41 +0000

Its every linguist’s favorite game, Scrabble, but with a twist. Since there are a couple different letters in the Spanish alphabet that are not found in the English, this would be a great addition to the classroom. This version can be used in the classroom, especially for the upper levels. Once the students know enough vocabulary and verb tenses it can be a fun game to play. I am sure there are other places to find it, but this website was the first one I found.

Resource for teachers who do not speak Spanish

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:23:33 +0000

With the rising number of students who do not speak English, teacher may start learning to speak Spanish. For those teachers who feel they need to learn and don’t have the time to attend college classes, here is a good program. It is a bit expensive, but not nearly as expensive as college courses. Teachers can learn Spanish in their “off time” (aka summer) and review concepts that are not as clear as needed.

Fun online games and resources

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:08:48 +0000

This page has fun games under the “free online Spanish courses” part of the page. They can be utilized for any grade level and there are resources for beginners to advanced students.

Pod Casts

bcraven — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:06:21 +0000

Here are some really good pod casts for learning Spanish. They allow students to hear native speakers teaching lessons.