AP Spanish
August 1, 2016
Have you thought about helping your Intermediate Mid+ students navigate an authentic novel? Spanish-learner novels definitely have their valuable place in the classroom, but in my experience authentic novels can’t be beat for exploring in-depth culture and rich language. At the same time, that rich language can be so rich that it becomes incomprehensible at worst or […]
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April 26, 2016
They couldn’t hear the word “no”
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The school year is almost over for my students and me- really, this Friday is our last day. You may know by now that we’ve been working through the movie Canela as the entire foundation of our curriculum this semester, and it’s been fabulous. It’s been a gold mine of authentic language and culture for my Novice […]
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September 23, 2015
Who are the most beautiful of the beautiful? Let’s take a basic novice skill that we all have in all our curricula: I can describe someone using common adjectives. We’ve all seen and done a million activities to get students practicing description. Today, let me offer another alternative, one that offers a deep, critical-thinking aspect […]
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August 28, 2014
I’ve been asked several times lately, particularly by teachers starting out their AP Spanish classes, exactly how I teach the novel La ciudad de las bestias as part of the course. Here’s the answer. If a class has higher proficiency, I set deadlines for chapters. We do read on one set day per week, but students […]
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June 10, 2014
Have you ever stopped to think about why we teach the past tenses separately? When I first started investigating TPRS as a teaching method, a lot of things clicked with me (and some didn’t) but one of the tips that made the most sense was that it didn’t make sense to teach past tenses one at […]
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December 27, 2013
2013’s second most popular post offers tips for those of us approaching the new world language AP exams. The world of AP World Language teachers is all abuzz with the vast changes made to the exams this year. Six years ago the Spanish language exam changed to what was a more proficiency-based format. Last year […]
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December 11, 2013
If you’re interested, here’s my final exam for AP Spanish, addressing two themes we have incorporated this semester: religious celebrations, and healthcare challenges. The exam includes a persuasive essay and an audio prompt for a speaking response. In the persuasive essay, students are asked to discuss whether we should try to change other people’s opinions […]
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December 2, 2013
When I first set out to teach the novel La ciudad de las bestias by Isabel Allende five years ago, I wrote chapter guides for each chapter as I taught it through a year. I never dreamed that teachers far and wide would use the document I made publicly available a few years ago. […]
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November 25, 2013
AP Spanish essay – Obamacare
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It seems like the hottest political topic this year is Obamacare. Boon? Disaster? And what about the Spanish-speaking immigrant population? Seemed like a perfect topic for an AP persuasive essay. First, navigate the new healthcare system’s newly functioning Spanish-language website. Okay, so it’s functioning, but just about all it can do is tell you to […]
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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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August 20, 2013
At a recent conference I had the opportunity to connect with the couple at the head of Common Ground International, who have recently put out an app for iPad (and iPod Touch and iPhone) called High School Spanish (check out their website). It’s a useful, intuitive resource for students studying Spanish, and is especially tailored for […]
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August 9, 2013
Want a vast unabridged Spanish/English dictionary app? Or a Spanish-language thesaurus at your digital whim? Check out the complete dictionary and thesaurus apps from Word Magic. The developer is offering twenty promo codes for Musicuentos readers. Read my review and information on the giveaway below. The Word Magic dictionary is admittedly an expensive app at […]
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