Buenos Dias!
The newest addition to this resource collection is SparkEnthusiasm.com. This site is designed for Spanish teachers and contains a vary wide array of resources.
SparkEnthusiasm.com is great because no matter what you are covering in class, there is bound to be supplemental material on this website, or if there is not, they will provide you with links and ideas to find extra material. It contains PowerPoints over grammar, culture, and vocabulary, as well as TONS of videos to show in class (my personal favorite is the 'Ser Gatero' video). The videos cover a variety of topics and would all be fairly easy for students to understand. They also come from countries all over South America, so they are fabulous when teaching culture. I would include these videos as something fun for the students to watch on Fridays and then talk about the culture of the country discussed in the video, or have students make their own skits pertaining to the topic. Spark Enthusiasm also offers links to posters and decorations for your classroom, so you will be able to coordinate your room with your current thematic unit/topic!
Not only does this site have resources to use in the classroom, but it also contains many great resources for using technology in the classroom, books and literature that might be helpful, and links to workshops around the country.
Overall, I really enjoy this site, and believe it is a very valuable resource for teachers. As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to contact me!
Hasta la promixa vez!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Videos Divertidos
Hola Chicos!
Here are links to several YouTube videos that are educational and very fun for students to watch.
The first is simply called Gusta and is a video made by two high school Spanish teachers. This video is perfect to show to your class whenever you cover Gustar and Gustar-like verbs. It's fun and definitely catchy- my students sang this tune for about a week after showing it in class and then begged me throughout the rest of the semester to show it again. The song is very repetitive, so it provides great reinforcement on how to use Gustar in affirmative and negative sentences. I even caught a few students singing the tune to themselves during the Gustar quiz to help them remember how to use it in a sentence. There are 2-3 mistakes towards the end of the video, but this is a good opportunity to have students look for and find the mistakes after the second or third viewing.
The next video is Reflex Your Verby and is made by the same teachers as the Gusta video. I love this video because it is put to the song 'Dance with Me' by Justin Timberlake, and the students are able to sing along with the tune. It also provides great examples and explanations on how to conjugate reflexive verbs, so it's wonderful way to show your students the same material in a different way. After watching the video once or twice, you can get the class involved, and surprisingly, the students love it (as long as you are willing to belt it out with them!).
The third video is Cry Me a Verb and reviews verbs that are irregular in the 'yo' form, stem changers, and several irregular verbs. Like the first two videos, this video is fun, catchy and is a great tool to review stem changers and irregular verbs after you cover them in class. Since irregular verbs seem to be difficult for students, this video is a good supplement to your instruction and other activities. Plus, it's set to the tune of 'Cry Me a River' by Justin Timberlake, so the students seem to enjoy it.
The fourth video, called ConjugationsBack, reviews present tense -ar verbs. This video is very descriptive and presents the conjugations of present tense -ar verbs very clearly. It is great for visual and auditory learners because they show the conjugations as they say them. It is gives great examples and is set to the tune of 'I'm Bringing Sexy Back' by Justin Timberlake. Again, this video would be great as a review after you have already taught the material and have coupled it with other diverse activities.
The last video, The One Semester of Spanish Love Song is great for Spanish I classes because the phrases used in this video are fairly simple and include vocabulary that would be used in the Spanish I class. The pronunciation is clear, so it is very easy to understand, and it includes pictures/gestures that go along with the words. A way to incorporate this into the classroom would be to use it as a listening activity, having the students write down 5-7 phrases they heard throughout the video. It then could be turned into a speaking activity by having the students pair up with another student who wrote down the same phrase(s) and then building conversations off of these phrases. (ie- if the phrase is "Me llamo Mike" the students can begin a conversation with meeting a new person, and then getting to know that person: Que te gusta? Como eres? etc.
With all of these videos, students are able to watch them outside of class, so you can provide them with the links and they can watch them at home or at a friends house. A possible extra credit assignment would be to have students make their own music videos over whichever topic (Gustar, Reflexive Verbs or Present Tense Verbs) or to write lyrics to a song (for students without access to a video camera).
Hope these help! Enjoy!
Here are links to several YouTube videos that are educational and very fun for students to watch.
The first is simply called Gusta and is a video made by two high school Spanish teachers. This video is perfect to show to your class whenever you cover Gustar and Gustar-like verbs. It's fun and definitely catchy- my students sang this tune for about a week after showing it in class and then begged me throughout the rest of the semester to show it again. The song is very repetitive, so it provides great reinforcement on how to use Gustar in affirmative and negative sentences. I even caught a few students singing the tune to themselves during the Gustar quiz to help them remember how to use it in a sentence. There are 2-3 mistakes towards the end of the video, but this is a good opportunity to have students look for and find the mistakes after the second or third viewing.
The next video is Reflex Your Verby and is made by the same teachers as the Gusta video. I love this video because it is put to the song 'Dance with Me' by Justin Timberlake, and the students are able to sing along with the tune. It also provides great examples and explanations on how to conjugate reflexive verbs, so it's wonderful way to show your students the same material in a different way. After watching the video once or twice, you can get the class involved, and surprisingly, the students love it (as long as you are willing to belt it out with them!).
The third video is Cry Me a Verb and reviews verbs that are irregular in the 'yo' form, stem changers, and several irregular verbs. Like the first two videos, this video is fun, catchy and is a great tool to review stem changers and irregular verbs after you cover them in class. Since irregular verbs seem to be difficult for students, this video is a good supplement to your instruction and other activities. Plus, it's set to the tune of 'Cry Me a River' by Justin Timberlake, so the students seem to enjoy it.
The fourth video, called ConjugationsBack, reviews present tense -ar verbs. This video is very descriptive and presents the conjugations of present tense -ar verbs very clearly. It is great for visual and auditory learners because they show the conjugations as they say them. It is gives great examples and is set to the tune of 'I'm Bringing Sexy Back' by Justin Timberlake. Again, this video would be great as a review after you have already taught the material and have coupled it with other diverse activities.
The last video, The One Semester of Spanish Love Song is great for Spanish I classes because the phrases used in this video are fairly simple and include vocabulary that would be used in the Spanish I class. The pronunciation is clear, so it is very easy to understand, and it includes pictures/gestures that go along with the words. A way to incorporate this into the classroom would be to use it as a listening activity, having the students write down 5-7 phrases they heard throughout the video. It then could be turned into a speaking activity by having the students pair up with another student who wrote down the same phrase(s) and then building conversations off of these phrases. (ie- if the phrase is "Me llamo Mike" the students can begin a conversation with meeting a new person, and then getting to know that person: Que te gusta? Como eres? etc.
With all of these videos, students are able to watch them outside of class, so you can provide them with the links and they can watch them at home or at a friends house. A possible extra credit assignment would be to have students make their own music videos over whichever topic (Gustar, Reflexive Verbs or Present Tense Verbs) or to write lyrics to a song (for students without access to a video camera).
Hope these help! Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
StudySpanish.com
Querido Lector,
Hola! So, it is time to start posting some resources here, and the first resource to make its way to Hablamos Ahora is the website StudySpanish.com. This is a website that I encountered back in 2007 when I was observing at Abilene High school (Abilene, TX).
StudySpanish.com is a great resource and is very user friendly. This makes it ideal to implement in the classroom whenever you have access to a computer lab big enough to take your entire class. It is broken down into Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation and Verb Drills. Each of these sections is further broken down into units, and at the end up each unit there is an optional quiz. Some of the sections also offer a test as well. These can be used as actual grades, or just as practice before a quiz/test in your class. The site is very straightforward, and is a good way for students to be exposed to the material in a different way. This website contains a good deal of information and easily covers all of the material that would be covered in a Spanish I class, as well as some of what would be covered in a Spanish II class.
I particularly like this site because it is very usable in the classroom. I would use this in my classroom after teaching a unit to give reinforcement. For example, after teaching how to conjugate present tense verbs, I might bring my students here and have them read over the section and take the quiz at the end of the unit. This site might also be a good way to introduce material before you present it to the students. Although, if using this site, make sure it is not the only instruction your students receive on any given topic. Be sure to back it up with your own personal instruction and other activities. Using this resource also allows students to get out of the classroom and move around to a new place and do something they all love- play on the computer. Although- you need to make sure you block all websites you do not want students getting on before they come to the lab, and also be sure to heavily monitor to make sure your students are staying on task.
All in all, I highly suggest using StudySpanish.com in some form or fashion in your own classroom.
Well, I hope this is useful for you and your students. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please let me know! :)
Hola! So, it is time to start posting some resources here, and the first resource to make its way to Hablamos Ahora is the website StudySpanish.com. This is a website that I encountered back in 2007 when I was observing at Abilene High school (Abilene, TX).
StudySpanish.com is a great resource and is very user friendly. This makes it ideal to implement in the classroom whenever you have access to a computer lab big enough to take your entire class. It is broken down into Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation and Verb Drills. Each of these sections is further broken down into units, and at the end up each unit there is an optional quiz. Some of the sections also offer a test as well. These can be used as actual grades, or just as practice before a quiz/test in your class. The site is very straightforward, and is a good way for students to be exposed to the material in a different way. This website contains a good deal of information and easily covers all of the material that would be covered in a Spanish I class, as well as some of what would be covered in a Spanish II class.
I particularly like this site because it is very usable in the classroom. I would use this in my classroom after teaching a unit to give reinforcement. For example, after teaching how to conjugate present tense verbs, I might bring my students here and have them read over the section and take the quiz at the end of the unit. This site might also be a good way to introduce material before you present it to the students. Although, if using this site, make sure it is not the only instruction your students receive on any given topic. Be sure to back it up with your own personal instruction and other activities. Using this resource also allows students to get out of the classroom and move around to a new place and do something they all love- play on the computer. Although- you need to make sure you block all websites you do not want students getting on before they come to the lab, and also be sure to heavily monitor to make sure your students are staying on task.
All in all, I highly suggest using StudySpanish.com in some form or fashion in your own classroom.
Well, I hope this is useful for you and your students. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please let me know! :)
Monday, October 11, 2010
¡Mucho gusto!
¡Hola a todos!
My name is Kaki Spronz and I am a MA student of Foreign Language Education at UT Austin. My specialization is the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. After graduation (if I ever get there :P ), I would like to become a high school Spanish teacher. I love the Spanish language and hope to share that love with my students!
The purpose of this blog is to provide relevant resources to other Spanish teachers as well as students of Spanish. The resources included here will be geared towards students in grades 9-12, but may be modified to fit students grades 7-8.
Feel free to leave comments, questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions, or anything else, I would love to hear your feedback!
Well, look around and enjoy! Thanks for stopping by!
¡Hasta pronto!
My name is Kaki Spronz and I am a MA student of Foreign Language Education at UT Austin. My specialization is the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. After graduation (if I ever get there :P ), I would like to become a high school Spanish teacher. I love the Spanish language and hope to share that love with my students!
The purpose of this blog is to provide relevant resources to other Spanish teachers as well as students of Spanish. The resources included here will be geared towards students in grades 9-12, but may be modified to fit students grades 7-8.
Feel free to leave comments, questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions, or anything else, I would love to hear your feedback!
Well, look around and enjoy! Thanks for stopping by!
¡Hasta pronto!
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