November 14, 2013
Are you headed to ACTFL this year? I’m not (and still, sadly, have never been, but this year I’m on “maternity leave” from travel), but if you are, you’ll want to see this exciting, helpful document from the TELL (Teacher Effectiveness in Language Learning) project. In their words, “the mission of the TELL Project is […]
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November 12, 2013
I’ve been blogging for a long time, longer than most of you have been reading here, and it occurs to me someone might benefit from a repost once in a while. Here’s one from early 2009. I’ve come up with a story that in both Spanish 1 and 2 has worked really well with teaching […]
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November 9, 2013
Listen to some Grammy music
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The Latin Grammy awards are coming up in two short weeks, and this year the website has made it easier than ever for you to catch some Grammy-nominated tunes. Check out the Latin Grammy Playlist Hub, powered by spotify, to listen to Latin Grammy-nominated music by category. Lately, whenever I’m at my computer working […]
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November 8, 2013
Caring about the Really Big Deal
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It’s the question on the mind of almost every student sitting in almost every class in American high schools. The way we, and they, answer this question has a lot to do with how, and when, and where our students will be successful in their future: What is the big deal? Who cares about the […]
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November 7, 2013
Calm before the excitement!
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I know, I know – things have been really quiet on the blog lately! But there are good reasons for that. I have been slightly (or really) buried under two big projects. I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and you’ll be seeing it soon too. Look for some BIG announcements very […]
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October 25, 2013
Assessment has a lot of purposes, the least important of which is to give students a number on a report card. Some that come to mind are: educating students and parents on proficiency helping students identify areas that need improvemen keeping parents informed on their child’s progress, responsibility, etc. showing administration what your class is doing […]
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October 17, 2013
Fluff alert! Guys, you can quit reading now – unless you have a significant other who is a busy mom who needs to streamline her routine! I rarely do this but this post has nothing really to do with teaching. Recently I spent some time looking for a makeup routine that really worked for me […]
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October 9, 2013
Oh, how I miss teaching novices! I teach next door to the Spanish 1, 2, and 3 teacher, with a divider separating our basement rooms, and every time I hear her with her Spanish 1 students I long to be in there – not because she’s really doing anything wrong, but because I love teaching […]
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October 2, 2013
Book review: Teach Like A Pirate
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Honestly, I feel apprehensive about reviewing Dave Burgess‘s hit new book Teach Like a Pirate. I know the book and the author and his consulting group are terrifically popular with education professionals everywhere, including many teachers I respect and regularly interact with. If the masses say yay and I have a bit of a different […]
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September 24, 2013
At a conference a few years ago -I can’t even remember which, I think it was Central States in Indianapolis- I attended a workshop by an AP teacher who gave out a worksheet she used to help students through reading authentic materials. I liked the basis of what she’d done so I took it and […]
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September 20, 2013
Using audio-lingua
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I’m betting you’ve probably already discovered this resource, but if you haven’t, you are going to love this. I don’t know who started Audio Lingua or why, but it’s basically a repository of people, well, talking. About, well, stuff. All kinds of stuff. It seems people record themselves talking about something and upload it. But […]
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September 17, 2013
Seven keys to a great story
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It’s no secret – I believe the single best way to keep students’ attention, deliver comprehensible input, frame new content, and interact with vocabulary is storytelling. You may not think you are a natural storyteller, but you are. Everyone is. Telling stories is a part of life. You tell your spouse the crazy things your child […]
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