Using Movie Clips to Help Narrate the Past

Since my last posting, my students and I have been working diligently on the past and I am super pleased to say that for the first time in my seven years of teaching it they are HAVING FUN with it as opposed to being afraid. I am attributing it to the fact that my approach has been far more differentiated than it has been in previous years and we have examined it in a variety of different aspects.

Of all of the activities that we have done, the one thing that is really working and keeping kids engaged is examining the past through the use of movie clips.

Animated short films or cortometrajes are great for this. Oktapodi, Lifted, La Luna, Presto and One Man Band are among some of my favorites and can all be found on YouTube.

Call me nerdy, but after teaching narration of the past for the last seven years, all I see is preterite vs. imperfect when watching a film like that. As I explain to my kids, it pairs quite well. When narrating a scene in the past, all of the background stuff that is going on that you generally glance over in a movie is the imperfect. It sets the scene, it makes things interesting, and without it it is hard to fall in love with the characters, and to get emotionally invested. The best animated short films pay really close attention to that and then jam in as much preterite into a short amount of time as possible to keep things interesting. From my perspective, the preterite is all of those things that avert attention from that pretty background and those cute little characters. 

Take the movie Up for example, when Mr. Frederickson´s house is flying over the city, you see a big, beautiful house floating through clouds, hanging from balloons of every color over the rooftops of skyscrapers and so forth when all of the sudden you hear the crack of thunder. No longer are you processing that scene-- it becomes secondary. All of your attention is focused on the action. (the preterite)

This particular unit we have vocabulary related to family gatherings. I really wanted my students to be able to synthesize both their new vocabulary with their new grammar, so I chose to show the following clip of the ¨Top Five Disney Weddings¨

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0ykxKbNTgo

In English, we narrated #5 and discussed which conjugation we would use and why.  As a class we narrated #4 in Spanish together and then they were given the choice to narrate #1, #2, or #3 on their own.

As a challenge, I told them not to share with their peers which clip they were narrating. If they narrated it well, we should have been able to figure it out based on their description.

A few tootsie rolls up for grabs, and all of the sudden this writing was fun.It gave them the motivation they needed to make sure that their writing and description was thorough as opposed to thrown together and vague.

I'm excited to see the progression the rest of this year, and I hope that they continue to embrace it with a growth mindset.

Dos Verdades y Una Mentira

After going over the present subjunctive and doubt the other day, I spent some time trying to come up with an idea for the Present Perfect of the Subjunctive that would get them talking!

I think I am going to try dos verdades y una mentira. This is a tight knit group of kids that have grown up together, so I can see them getting excited about sharing little details of their lives to see who can spot the false one.

Just in case those are a breeze, I am also going to have them each write dos verdades y una mentira about a well-known person of their choice. I will be modeling mine with Shakira (a very intelligent Latina, I must add).

http://www.ecumple.com/post/datos-curiosos-de-shakira-cumpleanos

1. Shakira ha estudiado 6 idiomas.

2. Shakira ha recibido su propia estrella en el paseo de fama.

3. Shakira ha visitado muchos lugares en el mundo, incluyendo Rockford, IL.

My plan is to put my desks in two lines facing each other. I will give them two minutes with each peer to spot ¨el intruso¨ and will follow up with a bell ring to move them on to the next set. While they are having conversations, I also want them to record the responses of their peers. When it is over, as an exit slip, I would like them to report to me how successful they were in stumping each other.

i.e. Solamente cuatro personas creen que yo he visitado a españa. Manuel no cree que yo haya comido insectos.

Present, Preterite and Imperfect! Oh, my!

It is getting to that time of year when it becomes time to mix the Preterite with the Imperfect... DUN, DUN, DUN! In the past, I laid it all out there for them in one big grammar lesson. What I found, is that it was way too overwhelming all at once. So, this year, we will try baby steps...


Thus far, my students have seen the regular -ar, -er and -ir endings of the preterite. In fact, thanks to this catchy tune, this was a breeze to teach and remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95heLa1taQA  (On YouTube, search Tik Tok Preterite)

We have also gone over the conjugations of Hacer, Querer, Venir, Poner, Poder, Estar, Tener, Decir, Ir and Ser. These are what I call the ¨Poema¨ Verbs and we have practiced them by reciting:

Hice, Quise, Vine, YO

Puse, Pude, Estuve YO

Tuve, Dije, Fui, Fui Yo

(They especially love to exaggerate the FUI FUI part)

Now that we are back from winter break, I am slowly starting to integrate the Imperfect. I started by showing students a PowerPoint about what I was like as a little girl. With gems like this photo (where I strangely resemble someone moderately famous), it certainly was high interest...

Throughout the PowerPoint I made sure to make statements such as ¨De niña, yo viajaba a Wisconsin con mis abuelos cada verano. Nosotros paseábamos en bote y íbamos de pesca todos los dias.¨ I would then break out and pick individuals in the room to ask questions to. ¨ Anna, de niña, ¿viajabas con tu familia?¨ ¨Will, de niño, ¿ibas de pesca?¨ and so forth. 

I found that through modeling and the use of the images, the kids were able to answer questions throughout the activity. When it was over, I asked them if they noticed anything different about the verbs. They noted the endings and when asked why, it didn´t take much time for them to realize that these were repeated actions and descriptions in the past. Two weeks later and we are mixing the preterite and the imperfect a little more day by day. The posts to follow will likely be more of this adventure down the yellow brick road to el pasado.

And the Bar is Raised

After the Scavenger hunt, the Hawks want more! More, they say! My newest class topic is the Subjunctive and Doubt. In the past, I taught this by talking about Aliens, Yeti, and Zombies. I mentioned it to the group a few days ago and they seemed underwhelmed. When you get that kind of reaction, you just know that it isn't going to work. In an effort to set us all up for success I spent some time brainstorming scenarios that would require kids to question their beliefs. I came up with two (fairly simple) ideas, both allowing kids to try to "stump" each other. (Providing an element of competition)

Activity # 1) I asked my Hawks  to go around and take two "fotos de algo misterioso" for discussion that they needed to email to me. They were also given directions to keep them a secret from each other. Some examples:

We spent the class period reviewing the subjunctive and its conjugations by playing battleship and taking notes. All the while, they kept asking when we would get to "las fotos". Finally, I put the fotos up one at a time and had them write down what they thought the photo was, quietly. I then had them work with a partner to compare answers.  

After giving them some time, I would call one pair at a time and ask ¨Qué es esto?¨ about one of the photos. When they provided me with a response, I called on another pair to ask ¨Creen que es ______?¨ If they believed it--indicative. If they didn´t---subjunctive. Simple, and basic but NOW we have a foundation to scaffold on AND I have kids hooked on the subjunctive.

Activity #2) Sticking with the intrigue of mystery, I gave each of my Hawks a brown paper bag and asked them to fill it with something from home and staple it shut (again, a secret). I numbered the bags and passed them around the room while having the kids answer questions about the items (that they could only feel) inside.

Examples:

¿Crees que es algo fácil de identificar?

¿Crees que uno puede comerlo?

¿Crees que uno lo necesita para vivir feliz?

¿Crees que se usa para algo importante?

¿Crees que tu familia tiene algo similar en casa?

Overall, two high interest activities. Now what to do with the rest of WEIRDO?

QR Code Scavenger Hunt

The treasure? An enthusiastic group of Baby Hawks wondering when we are going to try again.


As an avid watcher of the Amazing Race, I have been wanting to do something like this for a long time. The idea, however, seemed too "big" for my classes. After reading "Teach Like a Pirate" this weekend, I felt inspired to try a couple of things that I have thought might be too "big" or "creative" for me. As Burgess states, NO ONE is born "creative". Creativity takes hard work and reflective thinking: two of my favorite things.

The Process:

 1: I split my class into four teams with four different routes throughout our school.

 2: I picked 7 locations in our school that students could find. (la biblioteca, el gimnasio, la cafeteria, la sala de banda, la oficina, el laboratorio de computadoras and la clase de Rad)

 3: Using their vocabulary words I wrote out little tasks for them to perform at each location. I.e. "Saca una foto de algo misterioso" o "Saquen una foto de Uds. haciendo ejercicio"

 4: I got online and searched for a QR Code Generator. A quick Google search and I came across this one. http://www.qrstuff.com/.  I opted to use "Plain text" as my data type and for each location I typed in my task and their NEXT location. For example, at the library, it would say "Saquen una foto de algo misterioso. Luego, vayan a la oficina."

 5: The night before the activity, I asked the class to split into groups and to have one person in each group download a QR Code reader.

 6: At the beginning of the class period I gave each group a QR code like the one above that said "Saquen un "Selfie" de tu grupo y luego vayan a..." Once they scanned it in, they were off!!!!

***TIP*** Print the QR Codes in four different colors (one for each group). Because the routes are different you don't want them scanning the wrong one and ending up going in circles

NOW, I know some of you are thinking..."Is that it?" The answer is no. There was MUCH more.

When the kids got back to the classroom they had to narrate their route to the class showing them their photos and sharing their "battle" stories. They were told to give their reactions and to use transitions. This is a group that doesn't really like to present. TODAY, they were excited and told me that they would be willing to present again if there was another one. That is of course, if I think "bigger" next time. Ha! So much for it being "too much".

Teaching Like a Pirate...AAARRRGGGHH

I'm going to start this post by saying that if you haven't picked up "Teach Like a Pirate" yet, you need to check it out. It is a quick read and as someone who is constantly looking for ways to improve my practice, this book really has me fired up!


Reflection # 1: Perspective, Perspective, Perspective

Right off the bat, Burgess points out that inevitably, you aren't going to be passionate about EVERYTHING in your class but you are ALWAYS passionate about something.

I'll be honest, I don't really get excited about demonstrative adjectives, direct object pronouns, sports, indefinite and definite articles and the uses of por BUT I sure as heck get excited about spending time with my Baby Hawks, making a difference and making my class one that kids want to be in. Furthermore, I think that all students start to associate certain passions with each teacher. My students would peg me as someone that LOVES school, Baby Hawks, Spanish, owls, chocolate, Grammar, squirrels, coffee,  and traveling (among other things).

My best lessons are those that bring those passions to the forefront. I'll take my most recent out of the box presentation, for example. I titled it "Direct Object Pronouns...and Squirrels". In the past, teaching direct object pronouns was a disaster for me. Not because my students couldn't figure it out, but, because as I taught it I could see on every one of their faces that the lesson was a complete and total grind for them. They were soaking in the material out of loyalty to me, not because they were truly engaged or extremely jazzed about learning grammar for grammar's sake. Those lessons are as soul sucking for me as it is for them. As teachers, we want all kids to look forward to coming to class everyday. With each year, I hope to have fewer and fewer of the "Daily grind" days as I add more pizzazz to my arsenal of lessons.

In any case, last chapter, I was faced with the DOP section of my curriculum. I sat at my computer for hours determined to improve this mind-numbing lesson of mine, thinking about my Baby Hawks. My sweet baby hawks, and how they would be so "squirrely" if I didn't get this just right and then it dawned on me! Squirrels! I affectionately call my students "ardillitas" on a daily basis when I see them get all bright eyed and bushy tailed about something and they love to "push back" and deny this similarity.

I quickly googled "squirrels" and one search led to another as I hit the google images jackpot of squirrels doing everyday things. I copy and pasted as many of these photos as I could find into a Powerpoint and  starting captioning them all in different tenses while using student names.

                                                                   "Will lava la ropa".

As I went through the Powerpoint, we discussed the ridiculous photos. The kids were quickly eager to expand on these scenarios and descriptions. Without them even knowing it, I was able to smoothly get them to start understanding the use of DOPs and to start trying them out in their own sentences.  By personalizing this lesson, incorporating a little bit of creativity and allowing them to learn through experience I effectively engaged all of the students in my room. And, guess what? DOP instruction became a rewarding experience for me too....I can't wait to try it out again next year!

In summary, Burgess is spot on. "By changing focus and activating the creative genius that resides inside each of us, there are incredible ideas all around for the taking". All it takes is a little change in perspective.

PLCs: as Important as ABCs

I have been teaching for seven years now. The first two years of my career, my Professional Learning Community consisted of two important people. My cooperating teacher/mentor/dept. head/Spanish teaching colleague and the math teacher that I carpooled to work with. Don't get me wrong, these women are two of the best teachers on the planet. They both have a wealth of knowledge and skills that they are willing to share and they offered some of the best advice I have ever been given.

My third year of teaching, however, I became part of a Freshmen Team at my school given that I taught four sections of Spanish I every year. Talking about insight! Being part of this team gave me the opportunity to look at student data with people that shared the same students!! Together we have a more well-rounded view of student performance and are able to come up with more comprehensive intervention plans. The success we have seen in the last five years is quite incredible and deserves a post all of its own.

My newest PLC is one that took a little convincing to join. Don't get me wrong, I like the internet. But, for a while, I wasn't sure that Facebook, Twitter, Edmodo and Pinterest were really for me. It took a required course in Technology and Education to get me signed up. A few weeks later, I was hooked. As someone that LOVES school, these sites get me really fired up! Facebook and Pinterest are my two favorites. I love Facebook because of its "Spanish Teachers in the US" group full of Spanish Teachers from all over the US gracious enough to share their craft with others. It truly warms my heart to see teachers asking and RECEIVING support from total strangers. I consistently find myself inspired by the other teachers on this site and strongly encourage other teachers to join. While you are at it, check out Pinterest! It takes a little while to get used to, but, after a while, you get a little rush out of the hunt for true Pinterest treasures! I assure you, it is full of them! If you are ever in the need to spice up a lesson, these are the places to check out!