The homework choice approach is probably my most popular idea ever (it’s a toss-up between that and the YouTube commercials quizzes). Read about the original idea and browse lots of updates using the choice tag.
I just updated my list and its format (and stole a name for it from Bethanie Drew @lovemysummer). I used to say that one option was as good as another, but then a teacher using the idea put her options on a point system, and I thought, that’s exactly what I need to do. Some of these are too easy for AP students (the only class I formally teach at the moment) and some of them the students should do but never do because they don’t plan ahead or make the effort. So, I’ve changed the rules. Students have to do a minimum of 3 points’ worth of activities per week. They can accumulate extra points to “buy” a week off. And they must do one of the five-point activities, which are all community connections (a requirement by the College Board for AP Spanish classes), once per quarter.
I’m also learning InDesign for some projects I’m working on so I took advantage of this update to play around with InDesign. Here’s the new document – what do you think?
Foto: Marta Maduixa
I love the new design! And, of course the whole concept as well. I also have a website where students can submit pictures of things around them with the word in Spanish added to the image. It is a bit similar to your post it notes around the house, but with pictures. Anyone is welcome to submit, if you are interested in having your students do this. Here’s the page: http://aprendeconfotos.tumblr.com. And here’s the archive of all the pictures that have been submitted so far: http://aprendeconfotos.tumblr.com/archive. Pictures can be found by tags, so the page can also be used to review vocabulary in class or outside.
Always love your blog posts! Keep them coming!
¡Muchísimas gracias como siempre Pilar! I’ve missed seeing you around Twitter. 🙂 I am really interested in having my students interact with this site so I’m going to figure out how to do that.
I love this assignment! I just stumbled onto your site through, I think, a TPRS twitter feed. I was wondering if you could send it to me in a non-pdf form so that I can make changes for a lower level class. If not, I will copy and paste. Thanks for sharing! We have been doing cultural assignments for several years, but I love the additional ideas on your document! My e-mail is jennifer.alvarado@valorchristian.com.
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful idea! I have been thinking about this all summer and sat down this morning to try to create something similiar. As a always, do I did a search first and found your document. I will be teaching 3 different classes this year Spanish 1, Spanish 2 and Spanish 3. I would really like to use your document as a basis but need to change somethings to make it my own. Would you be willing to send it in a non-pdf form? I will be sure to give you all the credit. As I tell my department, using another teacher’s idea is the highest form of flattery. Mil gracias. sanokhwrhs@gmail.com
I love this idea. I am back to teaching full time after a 10+ year “hiatus.” I need all of the most current ideas I can get. Thank you so much for sharing!
Lots of success to you and let me know if I can help!
-Sara-Elizabeth
Hi this is fantastic! just wondering what ruzzle and fotos y palabras are, are these apps the students can play in Spanish?
Gracias
Yes they’re both iOS apps that students can play in Spanish. I play Ruzzle for pure fun, but the language is often guesswork with no meaning attached. That’s why I require students to use the messaging feature.
I really like this! I have been having my students do something similar for about 6 years now – I call it their “Home Fun.” I ask that they spend 5-10 minutes each night we have school working with the language in some way. Then they come back the next day and briefly journal what they did (with one or two words or a sentence depending on the level) the night before. Of course, I know that some kids won’t do their “Home Fun,” but many actually do it. I tell them that if they don’t do anything, that I’d rather have them just write “nada” rather than lie, and I tell them that I can always tell who is doing it and who isn’t (and I site that students are more eager to learn in class, etc. if they are doing it). I really have not toyed with actually holding them accountable for it though, like you are doing here. My students are also on Edmodo, but for basic things, and internet access is limited in my district (in the school itself as well as some students don’t have connection at their homes). But I do like this idea. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Sounds great! Putting any choices in students’ hands is so motivating.
I think this is awesome! I would love to do something similar in my own class. I’m a new teacher and I am still trying to figure out homework in my classroom. Would you be able to send the document to me in an non-pdf format? I would appreciate it! 🙂 heavenspanish@gmail.com
Mil Gracias!
Check your email. 🙂
[…] We’ve brainstormed options for our student choice in homework until it’s become a terrifically effective way of motivating students to learn and connect with the language and its people on their own. […]
[…] students’ enemy – they’re helpful. When I give students their options for their Aventura fluency homework or their final exam, if I hear, “Boy, I wish I could do X instead,” it doesn’t […]
I love this idea and would like to implement it in both my Spanish 2 classes and my Spanish 4AP class. Do you have every student post what they did to edmodo every week? (I have about 170 students total so I’m worried about the sheer amount of posts and if keeping track of their work on edmodo would be an issue.) Also, is there a way for students to post on edmodo just to me or will their work be on display for everyone who is in the group? Gracias!
Yes, my students post to Edmodo every week. With more than one class, I’d have separate groups for every class. Students can “direct post” to you. Another way of organizing it would be for you to post “Post your points here.” and all of the students in that class report their progress as a comment on your post. Also, it’s such a set format for them to report it to me – this is what I did, this is how many points it’s worth, this is what I learned, this is what I need to work on. If they have those four things, it’s full credit for me so I mark it and move on. I also give them a chart to keep track of their points and I check it about every 4 weeks in class to make sure the points add up correctly (in AP my students have to have an average of 3 points a week and they can “bank” points – so, 4 points one week, 5 points the next, free week the next). Hope this helps!
Yes, that does help. Mil gracias! I can’t wait to start!
[…] I posted last year about my latest update on the Elige tu propia aventura homework choice activity, the post quickly became one of the top […]
[…] students’ enemy – they’re helpful. When I give students their options for their Aventura fluency homework or their final exam, if I hear, “Boy, I wish I could do X instead,” it doesn’t […]
[…] I posted last year about my latest update on the Elige tu propia aventura homework choice activity, the post quickly became one of the top […]
[…] I found it, but I liked it. Student choice in midterms. I, like many others, have already stolen Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell’s choice in homework system for this year, and I was happy with the results. So I read this […]
Hi, this is a great idea to expose students to authentic language. The whole homework handout system doesn’t always work out in my classroom, so I would like to try something new. Could I get this in non-PDF form? My email is sjessy237@gmail.com. Thank you so much!
Hi Jess, I’m going to email you this link as well, but for the benefit of anyone else reading these comments, let me share with you a more recent post Sample Homework Systems, where you will see a non-PDF version of my point system along with several others from adaptations other teachers have made. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this idea! I’m trying to find your AmigoWeb on Edmodo (which I just joined today) but have had no luck – any help you can give me would be fantastic. My email is angela.wagoner@creteschools.org – Thanks!!
[…] for Spanish homework that I’ve picked up from pretty much all of my online PLN (mostly Musicuentos and @lovemysummer I think–I blame you, SE & Bethanie), you can start with this […]