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Service Learning Activity for the Spanish Classroom

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Service Learning Activity for the Spanish Classroom

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1. Me ofrezco en un post-it

Cuando tenemos clases grandes una forma de terminar el curso podría ser la de escribir pequeños anuncios sobre post-iten los que cada alumno ofrezca un servicio a los demás, por ejemplo, algo que sepa hacer o se le dé bien. Cuando todos hayan escrito su pequeño anuncio, los post-it se pegarán en una pared de la clase o incluso en el pasillo. Al finalizar la clase cada alumno recoge un post-it de algo que le gustaría aprender a hacer o estudiar y que otro alumno le puede ofrecer o enseñar.

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Cooperative Learning ideas for Spanish Classroom

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Cooperative Learning ideas for Spanish Classroom

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Ambard - Six Activities for Generating Enthusiasm in the Foreign LanguageClassroom (TESL/TEFL)

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These activities can be easily adapted to fit a wide array of academic settings from elementary students through adult language learners.

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Storybird

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Storybird - Read, write, discover, and share the books you'll always remember.

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Become a better writer with Storybird's creativity tools. Online courses, challenges, and reader feedback will help you improve your writing.

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They will be here in two weeks. They do speak English, but it is not their first language. They may have traveled to the U.S. before, they may not. One thing is for sure.

They have never seen anything quite like Gaston County.

It's as true for our community as it is for anyone's: there are some things about it that would be familiar even to international travelers, but there are other things that you just won't get if you "ain't from 'round here."

Our Sister Cities amigos from Peru (and Germany) will be here soon, and we've made arrangements to take a field trip with them, to show them our area and to just be together. We're all hiking up Crowder's "Mountain," which, FYI is about the same level at its peak as the lowest point of Cusco. There were a few things that our kiddos mentioned might have made them feel better prepared for Peru had they been warned, so we (okay, I) thought we'd get our amigos ready before they leave.

I had brainstormed a list of possible topics with some teacher amigas, and everybody raised their hand for the topic they were interested in:

Then I grouped them in 2s and 3s accordingly.

They've listened to my stories, done a teeny bit of research, and sent some Flipgrid video questions via our kiddos (which will hopefully get answered in the next week or so), and now it's time to start planning our visitors' videos.

They've started working on their scripts, making sure that

1. Each group member will speak for at least 30 seconds of the video.

2. All group members speak in complete sentences in understandable Spanish.

3. Each group member writes their own lines AND adheres to translator policy.

We brainstormed some "datos importantes" about Gaston County first, then played "Similar o diferente" (I picked one response at a time from their Google Classroom question, asked "¿Es similar a Perú o diferente de Perú?", counted to 3, then let them respond). They very wisely said yo no sé to some and I think started to really realize some of what we take for granted in our Gastonian culture! (WHAT? No Cheerwine in Peru???)

Once I've had a chance to look over their group scripts and discuss them with them, they can begin filming and/or editing. I will have them submit their notes in a note on Seesaw with a recording of them rehearsing so I can give them some pronunciation pointers, too--just so they're understandable.

They'll submit their videos next week and have them posted to our amigos in Peru, perhaps via YouTube, and the videos themselves will be scored according to this single-point rubric (but only for a daily work or quiz grade):

I think our amigos will get a kick out of the videos and maybe even feel a little more at ease when we're climbing that "mountain" in a few weeks. But however they feel, I know our kids will be a little more open-minded when they get here.

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Visitor Videos - Cultural comparison PBL

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They will be here in two weeks. They do speak English, but it is not their first language. They may have traveled to the U.S. before, they may not. One thing is for sure. They have never seen anything quite like Gaston County.

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Problem-based example Learning in Spanish

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Problem-based example Learning in Spanish

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Day 2 we will focus on health: food, exercise, and attitude. I included the same health poll at the end of the previous day's Nearpod presentation to kind of set the mood. The format is the same as the previous day's, but with fewer explicit reminders as to what it takes to achieve each performance level. This way they're getting plenty of reinforcement with vocabulary like demasiado and te afecta.

Afterwards, we'll do a four-corners (or four-corners-a-wall-and-a-door) activity to begin splitting up into support groups, or simply equipos. If there's time, we'll discuss how they plan to measure their improvement.

Then Day 3, I'm thinking a TPRS story that ties in structures students will need to discuss their progress like debes, puedes, and vas.

And then we can establish procedures that will help students monitor progress and get to their goals!

Daily journal

Each student will keep a journal for the project, but they can keep track of their daily progress online on a blog or in a little dollar store notebook like I was going to use for the healthy habits unit idea. (We'll do a little soul searching in class to determine which is the best fit for each kiddo.)

I'll also recommend setting a phone alarm--or we can do a Remind text--each day to remind Even if it's a sentence or two each day, it's writing practice!

Weekly resources

Each student will pin one video and one infograph or article each week to their group's Pinterest board--something that will help them or their compatriots keep on track toward their goals: recipes, exercise routines, money or time saving strategies, organizational ideas. A steady flow of new materials to interpret AND help with their goals! I'm thinking these will be due on Wednesdays.

Weekly reflection

Of course collecting pins isn't going to do anybody any good if no one pauses to make sense of it. I've started a Pinterest board for each group so everyone working toward the same (or similar) goals can share. This also works so that everyone has a better chance of finding something they can use, even if it turns out what they found that week happens to be a little bit beyond their level when they start digging deeper.

They'll report--in the target language--in their journals (or blogs)

1. New vocabulary they can use (2-5 words)

2. Summary of information that can help them

3. How they can apply the information in the coming week

Also, I think this is something worth building in a little extra time for in class on Thursdays after their team meetings.
Weekly in-class meeting

Here's where the interpersonal comes in--along with the human element that keeps the kiddos accountable for their progress. They'll report each Thursday to their equipos about their successes, their setbacks, what they need now, and what they want to do next. They'll also ask their partners questions about their progress and offer suggestions and/or support where they can.

I think it would be really cool if they came up with a way to reward each other when they meet a target, too. An appropriate target though--maybe not cupcakes for the group trying to eat better.

Bi-weekly out-of-class meeting

I'm hoping to connect with some other classes on this project to expand the support network and reinforce the idea that this is not just A Thing For School. (If you're interested, please let me know!)

If we can't hook up with other classes, I really hope to push the "extra school supply" Sra. Cottrell recommended this semester. Or perhaps my young ones could find a buddy on WeSpeke, or any native speaker who can just check in and make sure they are sticking with the plan (one student I was running ideas by said she'd just chat with her friend's mom about her money management plans, and that seems cool).

The person could be kind of a coach or just a sounding board, though it would be ideal if they are actually working toward a similar goal. Maybe they could even celebrate together!

My plan would be to check in every other Monday to review recordings or screenshots of conversations.

Invitation

I will share any materials I create or find with Spanish classes who want to join us on this journey to make a change. Please Tweet me or comment if you would like to join forces!

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Day 2 we will focus on health: food, exercise, and attitude. I included the same health poll at the end of the previous day's Nearpod presentation to kind of set the mood. The format is the same as the previous day's, but with fewer explicit reminders as to what it takes to achieve each performance level.

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Questions about favorite foods, colors, animals, and classes only go so far in developing a real human connection. But get a handful of teenagers going on their favorite celebrities or pastimes, and they can go on and on. However, aside from language barriers, there is also the matter of being able to find common interests across cultures. Sure, there may be a quorum on each side of the Skype of kids who are into the Jonas Brothers, but one side's passion for basketball is met with the same polite indifference that the other's fútbol mania evokes for them.

So what is the problem that needs to be solved in a pen pal--or epal--exchange? Finding and sharing those common interests. What's more, at the outset, there might not BE anything in common, so the problem becomes a matter of persuasion: THIS is what you need to know about my favorite team/artist/hobby, and THIS is why and how you should find out more.

Driving Question: How can you get kids in Argentina* to participate in a fan club devoted to what you're most passionate about?

The project-type outcome I predict would probably have to be some sort of online presentation, probably a site that could be updated communally, like a wiki or a blog--a choice that could be left up to kids depending on what they want to present and how. They'll probably want to incorporate some video and/or music and photos, and they'll need to explain what the Argentine audience is seeing/hearing and what's cool about it. Of course a little background information will be necessary too, and it can be skeletal stats-type information or narrative (depending on the student's proficiency/comfort level).

I also think this could be an excellent way to form natural collaborative groups--those who like the same thing sticking together to make something they're all proud of and where they can share the latest news related to their passions throughout the year/semester.

Some need-to-know questions that could help guide the club foundation might be...

What do I spend the most time doing/talking about when I can choose?

What do I like about doing/talking about this?

Why do other people like doing/talking about this?

What do other people need to know to understand my passion?

How can I make other people as excited as I am about this?

What media can best explain what is special about my topic?

How can I set up my online club to make people want to participate?

Culmination and continuation
After the small groups create a page to attract new members from Argentina, they'll then share them with their counterparts across two continents--maybe across the country too--and see how many they can get to join AND actively participate throughout the course. This may have to involve a prerecorded presentation built into the sites or asynchronous dialogue connected to them, given the different school meeting times.

I'd like to see the fan clubs become a regular out-of-class assignment, where students do something in Spanish on the page at least twice a month. Possibilities for fan club activities might include...

Start/moderate/participate in a discussion in Spanish (multiple exchanges--Skype, chat, forum, etc.) on a topic related to your passion, e.g. favorites and opinions or clarification and advice.

Provide an update (current or historical) with links to sources (in both languages?), at least a paragraph in length.

Add images/videos (5-10? cited and APPROPRIATE) related to your topic with titles/short descriptions in Spanish.

Write and/or record a review in Spanish related to your topic (e.g. song, album, game, event, episode, website, location)

Create fan art (including prepared recipes for foodies) and describe in a paragraph in Spanish (or if it's fan fiction or a parody, WRITE in Spanish!)

Write and/or record a how-to guide in Spanish related to your topic.

But what if no one joins their club? Why then, they have the option of jumping ship and joining someone else's! Maybe they just end up liking someone else's better than their own--that's okay too! If the English class kids in Argentina end up making their own clubs too, I think participation in one of theirs would be mandatory too. If some groups in classes across the country/continents have similar interests, they could even elect to consolidate, just participating double, half in each language, on the same site! In theend I would like to come up with some kind of awards for most active clubs and most active members (most active club memberships?) to recognize those who go above and beyond with participation, too, though my objective is for the participation to be its own reward.

* I have a cool connection in Argentina :)

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Pen Pals PBL: Found an International Fan Club

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Questions about favorite foods, colors, animals, and classes only go so far in developing a real human connection. But get a handful of teenagers going on their favorite celebrities or pastimes, and they can go on and on. However, aside from language barriers, there is also the matter of being able to find common interests across cultures.

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How can Constructivism be applied in the Spanish Classroom

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How can Constructivism be applied in the Spanish Classroom

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MundoHispano as a Constructivist Learning Environment

As mentioned above, MOOs can provide a constructivist learning experience that is not possible in the traditional L2 classroom, especially those not in the target language country. Of course, it must be noted that although MOOs can provide this type of environment, it will only be as constructivistic as the designers and/or a teacher allow them to be. The designers of MundoHispano have opened the door to an authentic and constructivist learning environment yet whether or not learners are able to take advantage of the potential of the environment will still be in the hands of their teacher. The following is a discussion of some of the concepts of constructivist design theory and how they can be implemented at MundoHispano.