writing
January 21, 2013
Paragraph form
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The rubric I use to score all performance assessments (which I almost completely stole from colleagues) has an entire section called “function/structure” that I use to identify how proficiently students communicate in “paragraph length.” Indeed, the AP rubric (from 2007, which will be changing for 2014) talks about “paragraphing,” and for speaking uses words like […]
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August 31, 2012
Screencast: Edmodo
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Have you heard about Edmodo? Not sure how it works or whether it’s worth exploring another social media platform? Give me five minutes to show you how I use Edmodo in my classroom. We now use Edmodo for blogging-type out-of-class social interaction in grades six through twelve at my school. A couple things I didn’t have […]
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August 10, 2012
I say this often: textbooks are unmotivating, often based on bad pedagogy, and out-of-date as soon as they’re printed. If you want to see your students motivated to work with language that interests them, you have to create your own material – or “steal” the great stuff that fantastic teachers like @SraSpanglish and @ZJonesSpanish and […]
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September 19, 2011
Fun activity #6: A escribir
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Fun activity #6 is ¡A escribir!, an activity obviously designed to get students spontaneously writing. At first, when our activity chooser landed on “A escribir,” students were not thrilled. Writing? Don’t we do that all the time? And from my perspective, how do you keep a random, effective writing prompt on hand all the time? […]
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April 21, 2011
Have you used PhotoPeach?
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I have to thank @vivianagabi for giving me the idea to use PhotoPeach to do a project called “25 things about me.” Her (Brazilian) students are at lower levels than mine, and take Spanish for less time per week, but it was a brilliant way for her students to connect with my students (by posting […]
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January 10, 2011
(Keep in mind I teach at a private faith-based school and this isn’t an invitation for a debate.) I’m in a dilemma between two potential topics for our next AP focus. Will you help me decide and/or make suggestions? Our current unit in AP Spanish is called “La verdad es que…” and it’s about how […]
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September 17, 2010
These are the sample prompts we are doing in my presentation, Prompts with Power, with sources. Unit theme: Interpersonal relationships Prompt theme: Adamari Lopez and Luis Fonsi divorce LEVEL 1 Target “should” She is sick. He “should…” Extend: why? LEVEL 2 Target: talking about the past Compare their relationship to a time when an illness […]
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September 17, 2010
Prompts with Power: Prezi
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Here’s the Prezi for Prompts with Power.
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September 15, 2010
This is a writing or speaking prompt I’m making available as a follow-up to my upcoming presentation called “Prompts with Power.” Prezi coming soon. The prompt is: ¿Deben los jóvenes salir con novios en el colegio? My favorite audio source for this is from Patito Feo, a teen drama out of Argentina – it’s a […]
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