Mi bebé aprendiendo el español... :)

This is my little baby learning a little Spanish, having fun with her daddy.  It was too cute, so I had to share!

 Aquí está mi bebé aprendiendo un poquito de español, divirtiéndose con su papi.  ¡Yo lo tenía que compartir! 

https://www.facebook.com/mariano.garciaiii/videos/1113717771985445/

¡Práctica con las preposiciones de lugar!  

This is a great Christmas activity to practice prepositions of place in Spanish.  Students can write or speak.  Highlights Mexican tin ornaments!  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CHRISTMAS-SPANISH-PREPOSITIONS-OF-PLACE-WRITING-AND-SPEAKING-ACTIVITY-2253726

¡Feliz Navidad!

Something for every level of middle and high school Spanish! This is a great activity for the week before break!  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/My-Spanish-2-Go/Search:christmas

¡Feliz Navidad! 

I have posted another one of these fun Draw-On-the-Grid activities for Christmas--this time practicing formal and informal commands!  Look for more versions coming soon:  informal commands, Spanish numbers 1-30, etc.!  If you have a request for a certain type of picture or practice with another verb tense or vocabulary list, please let me know in the comments here.  ¡Gracias!

I'm Having a Sale!

¡Hola!  I am participating in the sitewide sale on Teacherspayteachers.com.  EVERYTHING in my store is on sale for 20% off!  TpT is also offering another 8% off on top of that!

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!  What a deal!

I'm so excited to offer this Thanksgiving Edition Packet of my Draw-on-the-Grid activities!  

Students draw what they see in the little square reference for reflexive verbs onto the conjugation grid to create a picture.  Cute, fun, and great practice for conjugating!  This is a packet of SEVEN of my Thanksgiving Editions!  Save and use for different levels and years depending on what you have taught or reviewed so far in the school year.  These are excellent activities that really keep the students engaged all period.  Great to use the day or two before going on Thanksgiving break!  Make a bulletin board of students' work.

Included in this packet (A great deal at almost 30% off what you would pay to purchase them inividually!) (Please see preview file as well.)

1)  Spanish Numbers 1 to 30--students draw a cornucopia.

2)  Spanish Present Tense -ar/-er/-ir Verbs--students draw a cornucopia.

3)  Spanish Preterite Tense -ar/-er/-ir Verbs--students draw a cornucopia.

4)  Spanish Present Tense Stem-Changing Verbs--students draw a silly turkey.

5)  Spanish Present Tense Reflexive Verbs--students draw a silly turkey.

6)  Spanish Future Tense--students draw a silly turkey.

7)  Spanish Practice with Sentences using Gustar--students draw a more detailed turkey.

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

(Please give me feedback in the comments!  My students have always loved these acivities!)

¡Gratis hoy!

¡Hola!  I am offering a new FREEBIE today!  This is one of my conjugation "Draw on a Grid" activities. The one I am offering for free today practices regular present tense -ar/-er/ and -ir verbs in Spanish.  Find this product here.  Also, please check out the fun Thanksgiving versions I have created in various tenses!  There will be a few more coming out in the next couple of days!

¡Divirtiéndome!

I am having so much fun making these activities for Thanksgiving!  Here is another one to practice with -ar/-er/-ir verbs in the preterite.  The end result is a cornucopia.  Are there any tenses in particular you would like to see with this activity (and perhaps with a different picture/clipart)?

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

I have now added two products for Thanksgiving that are fun!  Students will practice conjugating while drawing on a grid.  This is an EXCELLENT activity to keep students practicing Spanish and staying engaged the day before going on Thanksgiving break!  I will be adding more versions in the next few days that will allow students practice in different tenses (preterite, imperfect, future, etc.)  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/THANKSGIVING-EDITION-PRESENT-TENSE-SPANISH-REG-AR-VERBS-Draw-on-Grid-2191838.

Here is a preview of what you will find in this product.

I also created the same product where the students will practice translations of sentences using "gustar."  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/THANKSGIVING-Draw-the-Square-in-the-Grid-for-translation-of-GUSTAR-Fun-2191909.

125 Koosh Ball Activities for Middle and High School Spanish Class!

I have discovered that using a koosh ball in my lessons somehow adds fun and variety that students really enjoy! I, personally, like the koosh ball because it is easy to toss around; however, you do not have to use a koosh ball for these activities. You could use a stuffed animal that is special to your class like a little chihuahua named “Paco el Taco.” Make this fun and personal for your class! This will be one of your best investments for a product to use in all levels, any day, and for years to come!

Most of these activities will take at least 10 to 20 minutes and will get the students actually speaking the language out loud! You may do some as a warm up activity while others may take more time in class. These are great fillers for those awkward days where you have 10 or so minutes left over after getting through the lesson (i.e. Principal’s observation day!) Warning: if the activity goes longer than 20 minutes, it may get old or boring. You want to keep this fun and something students look forward to when you take out the ball or stuffed animal. Use this list as a GUIDE for activities to use in your classroom. Let these ideas become a springboard to bigger and better ways to do different activities in your classroom that may not even involve a koosh ball! You may purchase this at my TpT store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/GAMES-125-Koosh-Ball-Activities-for-Middle-or-High-School-Spanish-2166029

I also adapted this for any foreign language class!  You will find it here: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/GAMES-125-Koosh-Ball-Activities-for-Middle-or-High-School-Foreign-Language-2166048

¡Súper divertido!

This is fun!  How to say your favorite Superhero in Spanish:  http://www.spanishdict.com/blog/how-to-say-your-favorite-superhero-in-spanish/

180 Bell Ringers on Sale!

This amazing product is now marked down to 14.99!   A great deal and a great investment for every level of Middle and High School Spanish!  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BELL-RINGERS-180-Bell-Ringers-for-Middle-or-High-School-Spanish-2032507

Happy Labor Day!  I'm having a sale!

20% off everything in my TpT store!  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/My-Spanish-2-Go.

¡SEPTIEMBRE!  

For you lucky ones that start school after Labor Day, it's not too late to make a great-looking calendar on your bulletin board with these letters for "SEPTIEMBRE!"   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BULLETIN-BOARD-CALENDAR-LETTERS-septiembre-2074810

"OCTUBRE" coming soon!

¡Prepárense!  National Hispanic Heritage Month is right around the corner!

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States from September 15 through October 15.  Prepare for this ahead of time by making a display for the hallway, labeling every classroom in the school with Spanish labels, and encouraging students to bring in trivia.  Assign a day per student to be ready to bring in an interesting fact or piece of trivia about Hispanics that have contributed to American history or about important or interesting Hispanic Americans in the United States today.  For example, how many Hispanics are currently contending for the Republican or Democrat nomination to the next Presidential election?  Where are they or their family from?  See if your students can read their fact/trivia on the morning announcements each day.

Find out some more ideas for celebrating at:   http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson203.shtml

¡El alfabeto español!

This is a 60 minute lesson plan for teaching the Spanish Alphabet. Designed for middle or high school, but I'm sure it could be used in elementary as well! 60 minutes is a conservative number. Some of the activities may go a little longer so this could even become 80 or 90 minutes (especially with transitions.) You could even split the plan up into 2 days as each activity is separate from the other. 

This product includes:
--2 sets of alphabet cards that may be printed onto card stock for display or use in the activities. (One of them uses my papel picado creation! Also, all are transparent, so you may change the color of the background.)
--4 printable posters for display or just use as a Power Point slide.
--15 separate activities (including a task-based partner worksheet with 5 activities) and a printable practice quiz.

Note: The Spanish alphabet used in this product reflects the changes established by the Real Academia Española as of 2010.

Actividad:  ¡Vocabulario ilustrado!

This is a great activity for new vocabulary and makes a really nice bulletin board display or word wall when finished.  It includes instructions, a template, and 14 student examples. This is also a great activity for the day you pass out your textbooks—have the students look in their glossary and choose any vocabulary word to illustrate!  

Here are some of my students' examples:

You will discover some amazing artists in your students:

I've also included a template in this product if you would like to make your bulletin board more uniform:

You may find this activity at my TpT store at: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/VOCABULARY-Great-idea-to-get-students-to-illustrate-vocabulary-2060729

¡Arrebato!

I have added a new game to my TpT store!  It's a great way to get students to review topics in Spanish in groups! It is based on the popular board game of "Outburst." Easy preparation for a very rewarding lesson plan!

This game includes instructions and categories that students should learn in Spanish I in Middle or High School. Fun categories are also included such as: "Popular Latin/Hispanic Singing Groups." There are 32 categories total--4 categories per slide to make printing and cutting quick and easy!

I have always used this as a review game in the first few days of Spanish II, but it could also be used as a review game at the end of Spanish I. You could actually use it in upper levels for a filler or to begin teaching how to play the game.

Coming soon: more versions of the games for Spanish II, III, and IV!

¡Dígame que no es verdad!

I just came across this article while verifying the most updated changes before I post my 50 Minute Lesson Plan with fun activities for learning the Spanish alphabet!  Confession:  I am one of those Spanish teachers that LOVED teaching the alphabet with the marching song by Barbara MacArthur as was made famous on the "Sing, Dance, Laugh, and Eat Tacos 2!" CD.  It was so fun and catchy. However, if you abide by the grammar rules of the Spanish Royal Academy the letters "CH," "LL," and "RR" have been removed.  I had already reconciled myself to this fact, still in search of a song that I will enjoy as much as the cadence by Barbara MacArthur; but now I have learned that they have changed the official names for the letters "Y" and "V."  As a language teacher, what can be more fun than teaching the secret to the name "i griega?"  Did you know you are really calling it the "greek letter 'i'?"  I still managed to keep 50 minutes of fun in my lesson plan, so look for that coming soon...

http://www.latintimes.com/spanish-royal-academy-eliminates-characters-y-ch-and-ll-alphabet-and-changes-names-others-164688

¡A la venta hoy!

I'm having another sale at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/My-Spanish-2-Go!  Today only!

¡Para empezar!

I am so excited about this new product that I have posted to my TpT Store!  180+ Bell Ringers for Spanish Class!  This is a collection of bell ringers that I have used through the years for middle, high school, and Dual Credit Spanish. I will most likely be posting a "Part 2" product soon as I have even more that I can add later!

All of these topics are included!  The number in parentheses indicates how many bell ringers per topic.  If there is a "+" sign next to it, that means it is re-usable and can be a springboard for even more bell ringers!

Here is a little preview of all of the slides included in this Power Point of bell ringers.  Almost all of them include answer keys where helpful/necessary!

Enjoy!  This will be one of your best investments as a Spanish teacher!  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BELL-RINGERS-180-Bell-Ringers-for-Middle-or-High-School-Spanish-2032507

¡Participación!

Here is a collection of ideas, handouts, rubrics and rosters to encourage and evaluate student participation in the World Language Classroom.  These have worked for me!  Editable for your teaching style and classroom.  You may purchase this at my TpT store: 

  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/PARTICIPATION-Encouraging-and-Evaluating-Participation-World-Language-Classroom-2013873

¡Gratis!

Try out my Fiesta Alphabet Clip Art!  This is a free trial of the letters that spell "¡ESPAñOL!" and "¡HOLA!"

¡Qué ganga!  

I'm having a sale!  There's still time to get 20% off all products at my TpT store at:  

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/My-Spanish-2-Go

¡Bienvenidos!

Welcome your students with this fun, festive papel picado banner or bulletin board idea!  Find out more here.

First Day of School.  Assigned Seats?  ¡Sí, Señor!

This is a part of my classroom management that I have used for 20 years.  It really works and sets the tone from the first day that:  1) You, the teacher have things under control.  2) Students get to work on the bell ringer right away.  3) There will be structure in the lesson plan.    You may purchase this template on my TpT store  here.

I first learned of this gem of an idea for classroom management from Harry Wong's book, The First Days of School.  (I HIGHLY recommend this book for first-year teachers!)  I decided to give it a try and came up with this Power Point that is displayed on the screen as students walk in on the first day.

                                                                  

There is a slide that greets the students.  You may edit it to your name and class.  

I purchase these small stickers, write the numbers on them (1-30+) and stick them on the desks in the order I want them.  This works for classes in rows, groups, or however you want to set it up.  After the first week or so, the stickers might start to peel off, or you might take them off.  But, by then, students already know where their seat is.  Usually on the first day, I will just assign the students to the number that they are on my attendance roster.  This makes it very easy to take roll as it is usually alphabetical (but you can mix it up to your style.)

                                                                 

Students will look at the screen, note the number next to their name, and find their seat.  (You might have to add a note about extra seats available for students whose names are not on the list due to being added last minute.) 

You can make it a little more challenging for the language student by spelling out the number on the screen in the target language.  This way, they are using the language from the moment they walk in the door!  (This is editable to any language!)

It may take a little extra time to type in each student's name, but it is worth it and you will be very familiar with their names ahead of time.

In order to get students working on the bell ringer right away, I usually hand them a student questionaire on the first day as they walk in the door.  So, I greet them, give them the hand out, and then they walk in and find their seat.

¡Buena suerte!  Please let me know your feedback on this.