Click here to read the article.
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| Does not compare to La Tomatina. |
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| Seriously? |
Friday
Breaking Bad en Español
Look what I found!!! It's just the trailer, but there are a whole lot of verbs in this clip in various tenses. I haven't thought of what to do with it yet, but I thought I would share the clip for now regardless.
I know the show is inappropriate and I won't be sitting down to watch it with my students, however I am conscious of the fact that most of them watched the series and loved it. In fact, it was my first year Spanish Grade 10 class who insisted that I start watching the show in the first place. It all started when I asked them to come up with a team name and the name they chose was the Pollos Locos- no wait, maybe it was the Hermanos Locos or Pollos Hermanos, or something Armados. Despite this having happened barely 2 months ago, I can't remember. Anyway, I asked how they knew those Spanish words and they said from Breaking Bad, then they eventually convinced me to watch and catch-up on all the episodes on netflix. Little did I know the series would end before I could watch them all, so as I was still finishing Season 2, I disappointed all my kids by watching the final episode! I'm sidetracking now.
It is a Colombian production and it is called Metástasis. Word has it that it is practically identical, the plot line, the script, the costumes, everything.
I know the show is inappropriate and I won't be sitting down to watch it with my students, however I am conscious of the fact that most of them watched the series and loved it. In fact, it was my first year Spanish Grade 10 class who insisted that I start watching the show in the first place. It all started when I asked them to come up with a team name and the name they chose was the Pollos Locos- no wait, maybe it was the Hermanos Locos or Pollos Hermanos, or something Armados. Despite this having happened barely 2 months ago, I can't remember. Anyway, I asked how they knew those Spanish words and they said from Breaking Bad, then they eventually convinced me to watch and catch-up on all the episodes on netflix. Little did I know the series would end before I could watch them all, so as I was still finishing Season 2, I disappointed all my kids by watching the final episode! I'm sidetracking now.
It is a Colombian production and it is called Metástasis. Word has it that it is practically identical, the plot line, the script, the costumes, everything.
Thank a Teacher
Who can't use a bit of love every once in a while? We love what we do, we love the kids, we love our subjects.
One thank you makes it all worth it.
Monday
Cuéntanos
Every year I say I'm going to do a variation of Show & Tell in my Spanish classes and I never actually do it. This year I made sure that I started right away in the first week so that it becomes a part of our daily routine. Every week is a different topic, we keep track on our class blog. And every week I vary the rotation of students. We call it Cuéntanos.
So far we've had Mi objeto favorito, mi pedazo de ropa favorito, mi juego favorito, mi película favorita and I've lined up mi sitio web favorito, mi hashtag favorito. When possible, such as in the object and clothing sections, they are to bring in their item to share and pass around, otherwise we project an image on the board of what they are talking about.
I typically schedule 3-4 students a day, that way we finish them all in 5 days. What they have to is very basic. Answer the questions:
1) ¿Qué es?
2) ¿Por qué es tu _______ favorito?
3) ¿De dónde es?/¿Quién te lo compró/regaló?
4) Otro pedazo de información
This allow those who work at a Level 3, average, complete the basic requirements, but those who would like to work at a level 4 can do so by extending their sentences and providing more information.
By doing this, I am guaranteed that every students gets to speak (albeit limited) Spanish every week. Those few I have who will never contribute during a regular day, now have no choice. I also like that it allows them to work on their public speaking skills. I was a nervous wreck in high school when I had to get up in front of the class, and although I'm sure I would have hated this activity to
start off with, eventually I would have gotten used to getting up there on a weekly basis. I think it is very beneficial for them. We keep it very casual, and they know the routine, we come in, settle down, and someone usually offers to go first and get the party started.
Right now, they've been reading what they have prepared, but I've told them that for the next round I would like them to work on memorising more so that it becomes more than just a reading activity. I would like them to become confident Spanish speakers, and I can already a difference in some of them.
I've really had a good time with this so far. By the way, I also participate in Cuéntanos every week by doing the first one for every topic. I've already learned quite a bit and been surprised a few times. For example, today I found out that one student's favourite game was NHL 14, but I didn't even know he had an interest in hockey. I've only ever heard about him talk about BMX. I've even seen him at the skate park when I've taken my own son. And I've taught this young man for three years! Others brought in instruments as their favourite and I didn't know they even played any. I believe the others are enjoying these little slivers of their classmates life that we are being exposed to, which we may have not otherwise known about.
Does anybody else do anything similar in their class? I'd love to hear about your experiences or if you have any suggestions on how to improve the activity.
So far we've had Mi objeto favorito, mi pedazo de ropa favorito, mi juego favorito, mi película favorita and I've lined up mi sitio web favorito, mi hashtag favorito. When possible, such as in the object and clothing sections, they are to bring in their item to share and pass around, otherwise we project an image on the board of what they are talking about.
I typically schedule 3-4 students a day, that way we finish them all in 5 days. What they have to is very basic. Answer the questions:
1) ¿Qué es?
2) ¿Por qué es tu _______ favorito?
3) ¿De dónde es?/¿Quién te lo compró/regaló?
4) Otro pedazo de información
This allow those who work at a Level 3, average, complete the basic requirements, but those who would like to work at a level 4 can do so by extending their sentences and providing more information.
By doing this, I am guaranteed that every students gets to speak (albeit limited) Spanish every week. Those few I have who will never contribute during a regular day, now have no choice. I also like that it allows them to work on their public speaking skills. I was a nervous wreck in high school when I had to get up in front of the class, and although I'm sure I would have hated this activity to
Right now, they've been reading what they have prepared, but I've told them that for the next round I would like them to work on memorising more so that it becomes more than just a reading activity. I would like them to become confident Spanish speakers, and I can already a difference in some of them.
I've really had a good time with this so far. By the way, I also participate in Cuéntanos every week by doing the first one for every topic. I've already learned quite a bit and been surprised a few times. For example, today I found out that one student's favourite game was NHL 14, but I didn't even know he had an interest in hockey. I've only ever heard about him talk about BMX. I've even seen him at the skate park when I've taken my own son. And I've taught this young man for three years! Others brought in instruments as their favourite and I didn't know they even played any. I believe the others are enjoying these little slivers of their classmates life that we are being exposed to, which we may have not otherwise known about.
Does anybody else do anything similar in their class? I'd love to hear about your experiences or if you have any suggestions on how to improve the activity.
Wednesday
Friday
Les adjectifs
We've been studying adjectives in my Grade 9 Academic French class. I found this great activity over at the Farnsworth Family Blog, that they use at church as part of their youth activities and thought it would be perfect to practice using adjectives to describe each other.
I put my students in friend groups so that they would actually be able to describe each other. Together they had to brainstorm a minimum of five adjectives to describe each person. The person being described was not supposed to contribute any suggestions, they were only allowed to object if they didn't agree with what was chosen for them.
And the rest is self-explanatory. It involved a chair, markers, a whiteboard behind them and all the words written around their head. Oh yes, and the best part was the berets that I made them wear. There were a few, ok, make that a lot of groans and mumblings of "Oh gross, we have to wear that?!", but it was like the cherry on top! We took pictures with our phones and they were all emailed to me. My idea is to put them up in class.
I think the activity could use some tweaking, such as, adding more adjectives, five adjectives seems to be too little. Perhaps next time I'd throw in a couple of sentences? What do you think?
I put my students in friend groups so that they would actually be able to describe each other. Together they had to brainstorm a minimum of five adjectives to describe each person. The person being described was not supposed to contribute any suggestions, they were only allowed to object if they didn't agree with what was chosen for them.
And the rest is self-explanatory. It involved a chair, markers, a whiteboard behind them and all the words written around their head. Oh yes, and the best part was the berets that I made them wear. There were a few, ok, make that a lot of groans and mumblings of "Oh gross, we have to wear that?!", but it was like the cherry on top! We took pictures with our phones and they were all emailed to me. My idea is to put them up in class.
I think the activity could use some tweaking, such as, adding more adjectives, five adjectives seems to be too little. Perhaps next time I'd throw in a couple of sentences? What do you think?
Thursday
Monday
La Música Tribalera/Bota picudas
I like to start with a small unit on Music with my Grade 12s. It's a fun way to start off the semester, and it hooks them right away.
A few of the things I do is start with this short Powerpoint (the links are not working currently, but the videos are below)
I start off by having them tell me about music in their lives related to instruments and types of music they listen to. We then watch the Intentalo video by 3Ball MTY.
They have to tell me if they noticed anything interesting clothing-wise. Usually the answer is the short dresses, and then the funky boots! So, we then start to talk about them and lead into this mini documentary.
To end of this lesson, I have them design their own boots, so out come the coloured pencils and off they go drawing! Next time we meet, they must explain their boots to the class and why they chose the design they did.
A few of the things I do is start with this short Powerpoint (the links are not working currently, but the videos are below)
I start off by having them tell me about music in their lives related to instruments and types of music they listen to. We then watch the Intentalo video by 3Ball MTY.
They have to tell me if they noticed anything interesting clothing-wise. Usually the answer is the short dresses, and then the funky boots! So, we then start to talk about them and lead into this mini documentary.
To end of this lesson, I have them design their own boots, so out come the coloured pencils and off they go drawing! Next time we meet, they must explain their boots to the class and why they chose the design they did.
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