Brillante Viernes: September 22, 2017

Happy Friday!  For me, I have finally gotten into a little groove where I remember most of my tricks to use in class, so lesson planning goes much faster.  Also, since I am teaching Spanish I again this year, I wanted to visit our Latin I class.  I have really appreciated seeing how they apply CI to Latin, and it has helped me apply different techniques to Spanish.  It was so much fun!  I talked about it on Twitter, but I learned a new brain break!  Rich wrote a three digit number on the board when one student had his back to the board. Then, the student guessed numbers.  We would squat down as a class if the number was lower and raise our hands if it was higher.  I loved it!

Also, I wanted to mention that EdCampMetroDC is starting a fall edition on October 21!  I would love to meet many teachers there, and we could even start a foreign language session!  Without further ado- here are some more awesome ideas from this week:

• I totally agree about the importance of FVR!  It is so valuable to your FL class.
• I feel like every time I turn around Path2Proficiency has another AMAZING post.  This post by Meredith is not twisted- it is so accurate.
• Martina’s post about how to write comprehensible texts is perfect for people just starting CI and those who have been using it for many years!
• Even more greatness from the Latin CI world: Secret Agent Sketch!  This is perfect because ALL students (grades 1-12) like drawing on whiteboards!
• From Facebook- as I continue to work on my homework policy, I really like this assignment from Taylor Crump.

More posts from Maris Hawkins Blog in previous years:

• A reflection from my Netflix unit that I am using again with level 2 this year
• Some of my first notes from using Seesaw (which I still love!)
• Our MS Latin teacher still does this bulletin board and I love it!
• This is a fun quick activity about likes that I plan on using with my Spanish I class this week!

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Brillante Viernes: September 15, 2017

¡Es viernes!  It has been a long week with our back to school night on Thursday night.  This year (and last), I decided to do a Kahoot with parents.  I found this fun Kahoot on cognates and copied it.  Parents seem to enjoy it- and it gives them a different view of how we use technology now in the classroom.  I also pass out the students’ Seesaw codes as well.  Here are some of my favorite posts from this week:

• Check out this amazing collaborative, and FREE unit on Ecuador!
• This PBL unit for Hispanic Heritage Month is also incredible.
• I have tried to express this opinion as well- but never so eloquently that there are no super teachers.
• Also, I love how Spanish Plans adopts children’s books for the CI classroom!
• Finally- a Facebook Find of the week!  Check out this list of reading, writing and listening selections for Spanish class!

Flashback Friday from my blog:

• How it helps me to write down questions before a MovieTalk
• I tried to project my class objectives, but I found it was easier to remind myself what I was doing by rewriting them
• Beginning of the year info gap for my level 2
• How to practice dates using dates of independence for Spanish-speaking countries

 

Brillante Viernes: September 8, 2017

I just finished up two days of field trips for the whole 10th grade class where I was in charge of organizing it.  Whew!  I have been looking forward to this weekend!  Everything ended up great- but it is certainly stressful.  In the end, the time that I got to spend with the students was really amazing, and I am impressed with the great attitudes that we had with on the community service trip.  Here are some of my favorite blogs that I got to read this week:

• Any time Meredith writes something, I read it right away!
• I am excited to play around with Quizlet Diagram this year.
• Love this fun food unit that Laura used with her novice students!
• I want to keep evolving my music ideas to get away from cloze activities.  Here are 10 awesome ideas!

Flashback Friday on my own blog!

• Here is an interactive reading that I used with Fichas from the magazine Super Pop!
• A tech tip for Shoutkey
• Battling Google Translate versus Word Reference
• I love all of my ideas from Nancy Doda!

Brillante Viernes: September 1, 2017

Whew!  Happy Friday!  This week was really rough for me.  I felt like I was working so hard yet overlooking a lot of details no matter how many times I checked things.  But then… we welcomed new students to our school, and it went amazing.  And my mentee teacher who is teaching Chinese (and is also amazing) this year offered to put the bulletin board paper up which was pretty much one item that I was dreading!  Also, our CPR group started dancing disco to the song Stayin Alive.  And even with all of the craziness and my hectic schedule, I was constantly reminded that I didn’t have to do all of it alone and that I have some really amazing people to help me.  So clearly, I did not finish my blog posts for this week (except for this one!) But I can’t wait to finish my first unit next week and talk about another cool technology tool that one of our Assistant Principals used.  Without further ado… some great posts for your long weekend!

• I completely agree with Courtney’s post about stopping the shame game.
• I love Matt’s first post on Path2Proficiency and even though it is about Chinese, so many other teachers can learn from it!  (And he is from Maryland!!)
• I can completely relate to Valerie’s post about the vocabulary list and sounds very similar to my plan this year.
• If you aren’t going back until next week- check out this first day stations!  It could also be used throughout the year for station ideas.

My posts from previous years:

• Take three icebreaker/brain break
• My syllabus from last year and some tips to make your own infographic
• Journal topics for my Spanish II students
• A collection of my warm-up activities (although I have moved away from them, I still like a lot of them!)
• Chatty mats!

Brillante Viernes: August 25, 2017

Happy Friday!!  Congratulations to everyone who has made it through another school week!  I went back part time to help with my new mentee teacher and tie up some loose ends with our beginning of the year experiential education trips… and I was SO exhausted!  My husband and son were literally running around me as I lay on the couch useless.  Hope you have time this weekend to catch up on your favorite blogs and relax!

• I just read about decision fatigue recently and now Cult of Pedagogy tackled it too!
• Love Martina’s post about the secret of happiness!
• I really appreciate this post on how to talk about racism in Spanish class.  It is a thoughtful and brave post.
• And finally more tips for having students not rely on online translators!

And a flashback to previous years here on the blog:

• Online games for fast finishers
• My first post about how I use Seesaw in my class
• sie7e’s song So What
• Sports video clips

Brillante Viernes: August 18, 2017

Happy Friday!  I am finishing up our last trip to West Virginia and then I have a few days of work next week with our new Chinese teacher.  All of the teachers officially start back the following week.  I am enjoying these last few days while preparing some, so my first two weeks aren’t too crazy.  I have also enjoyed reading a lot of these blogs this week:

• It has been a difficult week with the aftermath of what happened in Charlottesville.  I went to the University of Virginia and still have many people I care about who live there.  I was so fortunate to have Ricardo Padron as my teacher.  His wife wrote a beautiful post for the Washington Post about how to talk to students about what happened in Charlottesville.  Then Martina had an amazing PPT that she shared with everyone to use to talk to your students in comprehensible Spanish about these events.
• I had already thought about my lessons then Laura reminded me why I wanted to teach Spanish I and the most important thing to tell students on the first day.
• Check out how Wendy is going to use the new Flipgrid updates!
• Annabelle showed some amazing ways to use Google Maps– that I know I will use this year.
• I keep reading about PACE- and this blog makes a lot of sense to me!

There are a few other posts that I really liked, but I try to limit my posts here (and try to spread the love to many different blogs that aren’t always highlighted everywhere!)  If you want to see more, visit my Facebook page for updates throughout the week.  Here are my other posts from previous years:

• My summer reading from last year: The Language Teacher Toolkit!
• Last year my feedback got better for students, and I am going to continue to focus on that this year as well.
• How to stay productive in your planning period
• A getting to know you game for novice high and above
• A story for novice low-mid students about a party

Brillante Viernes: August 11, 2017

Happy happy Friday!  If you are back in school, I hope that you have had a successful back to school week.  We are going up to Volga, West Virginia for our annual summer trip.  I go back to work for a few days early because I have a mentee teacher!! (Squee!  I am so excited to work with our new Chinese teacher!)  This is a little longer Brillante Viernes because I wanted to add some technology updates at the beginning!

• In the past if you wanted to upload a series of pictures to Seesaw, you had to make a collage.  Not anymore!  You can now add an album!  This is perfect for digital storytelling.  Students can upload all of their pictures then retell the story right in the same entry.
• Have you seen the new Flipgrid that was unveiled last night?  I keep reading about all of the foreign language teachers that are using it and all of the awesome ideas that they have.  Check it out!

Now onto the blog posts (and more!)

• I typically don’t listen to a ton of podcasts (I mean with all of my blog reading, I have to sleep SOMETIME!)  But this summer, I have been listening to some on road trips, and I am SO excited for We Teach Languages.  The most recent podcasts have included two amazing WL teachers- Noah Geisel and Lisa Shepard (of Madame’s Musings!)
• Sara-Elizabeth asks the hard questions… and finds that there is more than one answer about authentic resources.
• This is a perfect follow-up about language advocacy and other skills that you learn in a FL class.
• As I continue to make free voluntary reading a part of my class, I really appreciate Mike’s reflections and learn so much from him. He is honest about what works and what doesn’t in his own classes, and I always admire his risk-taking.
• Finally- I blogged over at Path2Proficiency about how I want to become more of a language advocate this year in and out of my classes.

Finally- here are some of my older (but still useful!) posts:

• My first unit of the year for Spanish II was about Netflix: here is Part I, Part II, and Part III of what I did.
• A collection of 15 games for the FL class
• A game for correcting sentences in elementary/middle school

Brillante Viernes: August 4, 2017

Happy Friday!  I know so many people are starting back to school.  We don’t start until after Labor Day, but I am obviously starting to get ready.  BUT I know as much as I feel like it is AUGUST and I have to get all the things done or they won’t get done for a long time… it is still summer for me!  I want to make the most of it.  I took my son to an amazing art and technology exhibit in DC (see above picture), and I certainly plan more days in the sun before it is up.  As everyone is back in school mode, there have been SO many great posts this week!  Here are my favorites:

• I am SO glad that Amy is blogging again!  I shared her post on Facebook, Twitter and NOW here!  The most important paragraph is the last one.
• The seasons of teaching is another valuable post to read.
• I always admire Sara-Elizabeth’s honesty, and I appreciate the boundaries that she has drawn.  It is so important for us as teachers to realize our limits.
• I have been loving using Flipgrid recently.  Check out this post for many more ideas that I hadn’t even thought of!

And some more posts of mine from about this same time:

• Some of the ways that I use the app Seesaw in my classes
• Over 70 #authres that I have used in class! (Hopefully I will update this soon!)
• Some reflections from NTPRS
• How to use Pinterest for teachers (or craft projects!)

Brillante Viernes: July 28, 2017

It is the last Friday in July!  I know this summer is flying by, and some teachers are already going back to school.  I am still at the beach, but I am also starting to focus on back to school and will have some posts coming in the next few weeks to help people who start in early August.  Also, I hope to have an updated syllabus for my levels 1, 2, and 5.  If you are looking for a free template, check this out!

• I love this post on how to get going especially when you feel overwhelmed.
• Kristy’s post about how she uses discussion is great.  I especially relate to her second paragraph.
• Laura attended the same workshop that I did!  Here are her takeaways and questions.
• How one school transitioned to an oral proficiency based program

Flashback Friday!

• My first two days of school lesson plans for level 2 last year
• Quick tip to finding authentic resources online

Brillante Viernes: July 21, 2017

Happy Friday!  I am back in Virginia Beach this week, and it is wonderful to be at home!  Plus I get more time to be with family, be at the beach and read.  I feel like I have finally had enough time to relax and spend some time with professional development to start to plan for my upcoming year.  Also, I am so proud that my father-in-law contributed to the history on the Navy SEALs Memorial here at the beach.  It has been a wonderful trip so far with family and friends.  There have been a lot of great posts to get us back into the swing of things as well:

• Madame Shepard has an amazing series on her blog right now on how to design a thematic unit!  Here is her first post, and be sure to check out all of the others as well.
• This post is full of tips for MovieTalk magic!
• I was so excited to see Sharon’s take on Goosechase.  I plan on using some of her ideas when I teach Blanca Nieves this year!
• I haven’t used Poll Everywhere yet, but this post to use Poll Everywhere AND Choose your own adventure stories looks amazing.

Here are some more posts from back in the day:

• Last summer, I wrote a series on how to start teaching proficiency.  Here is my interpretive post, my interpersonal post and my presentational post.
• An infographic on how to make learning stick
• Some tips for attending conferences as well as some ideas that I got from NTPRS.  (I still love the soy yo activity!)
• An interpersonal writing activity with Google Forms
• Now that I have my own classroom again, I need to bring back my basketball game!