A Look Back on my First Semester Without Phones
Over the Christmas break, I made a list of things that I plan to do differently with my new students when we return from vacation to help run class more efficiently, increase engagement, build community, and reinforce our habits of mind. I’m specifically evaluating practices that I implemented for the first time back in August […]
Spanish Machu Picchu Game
Do you have a deskless classroom and kids who like to/need to move? Do you want your students to be able to understand and answer questions in Spanish with more automaticity? Here’s a fun, no-prep game they will beg you to play. Think of it as a communicative form of musical chairs. Why I Love […]
Fluency Through TPR Storytelling
Who Needs This Book Fluency Through TPR Storytelling (Seventh Edition) is a book that will benefit TCI veterans and novices alike. Skilled authors like Blaine and Contee can explain the fundamentals while also giving more advanced practitioners what they need to take their teaching to the next level in the same book. I’ve always struggled […]
Higher Than/Lower Than Brain Break
Here’s an extended brain break that you can use starting from the first week of a level-one class. It’s perfect for getting reps on the first-person form of the verb “I believe that…” or “I think that…”, making comparisons (higher than/lower than), and reviewing numbers 1-10. There are plenty of times where you can naturally […]
Spanish Future Tense Predictions Activity
This is a fun, no-prep activity your students can do to make predictions about their classmates for the future and to sneak in reps on Spanish future tense verbs. I encourage them to think of someone in our block, but I allow them to put down someone who is not in our class if a […]