Thanksgiving break part one

I love the fact that my house is filled with the sounds of giggles, pitter patter of feet dancing to music, and big sister reading to little brother. 

Hanging out in their bedroom.

Dress up box was a huge hit.

Our first adventure was the Perot museum.  I went to my first 3D movie about Bugs.  Very entertaining to be next to my 3 year old sobrino while watching the circle of life of a praying mantis.

3D movie

Gift Shop

Music as a family

Uncle Julio's.....so glad my sister introduced me to this restaurant.

Mi sobrina rocked her taco!

Teaching stem changing verbs....Yikes

I was nervous about this lesson...but my students learned it and I couldn't have been more proud of them!  And I am relieved...because if I teach Spanish 2 again...then I know what works.

First..... they got this cornell note chart.

Second......we made different color note cards to group the verbs according to their stem change.  This was also to help them memorize the definitions.  (This was for my visual learners.)

Third...don't have a picture of it.  I made cornell notes of each verb conjugated with their stem change in bold print.  (This was for the students who get over whelmed with a lot of words on a page.)

Fourth....I recorded each Cornell page to a beat and saved it as an MP3 format.  Each group of stem change verbs got a different rhythm.  So, I recorded the conjugation of the e-ie verbs to a club beat.  The o-ue verbs to a western beat....so forth.  (This was for my auditory learners)

Fifth....I made them each a Rapid Word Chart according to the subject pronoun.  We said these every day...this made an amazing difference.

Yo form

Tú form

Él, ella, Ud. form

Nosotros form

Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes form

Sixth.....I made them a smart sheet with all the verbs they needed to know for the lesson.  I found that the cornell notes were too confusing.  There were too many papers and too many groups.  My students were having a hard time finding the specific verbs they needed.

Notice how we still color coordinate with the note cards.

 Seventh.....we used the Smart sheet when we filled out the workbook pages.

Lastly....which I think I have already posted.  We used the Smart sheet to write sentences on the tables.  By the time the test came around...they had these verbs down.  I'm so proud of my students. 

This was a very time consuming lesson.  One of my students finally said, "Spanish gives me a headache".   So glad he never had my Spanish 2 teacher!  She made the class only speak in Spanish, needless to say...I never talked in class...therefore never learned.  Well, I shouldn't say that...I did learn 'La vaca fea', which is what I probably thought of my teacher at the time.

Puré de papas con matequilla y jugo de carne

We are learning Thanksgiving foods in Spanish.

Took this idea from the internet....cupcake, icing, lemon Starburst, and Carmel sauce.  In order to get a cupcake my students had to answer me in Spanish.

Yo:  "¿Quieres puré de papas, con matequilla, y jugo de carne?"

Mi estudiante:  "Si, quiero puré de papas."

My first period class thought I was serious...that they were really mash potatoes.  Some of them said 'no' at first because they don't like mash potatoes.  Once I told them they were ' los pastelitos' they changed their minds.

Para mi hermanita

Hey sis....look what I found!  Tortilla boats!

Para mi padre

When I was a child, my dad took me to see a New Mexico Military Institute football game.  I don't know if this was my first experience at a game....but I will never forget going to see my first football game....love at first sight.  The action...the cheerleaders...the homecoming court all dressed up, sitting in their convertible cars.  Hook, line, and sinker...I have been a football fan ever since.

Well last night, I was invited to see my first (university) college football game.  We saw the Baylor Bears vs. the Texas Tech Raiders.  This was very exciting since I love to watch college football!

Because I am an Oregon fan (and some of my students are going to Texas Tech)...I was cheering for the Raiders.

Baylor warming up.

Tech taking the field to warm up.

Close up of the Bears warming up.

So impressive seeing the whole team warming up.

Getting pumped up.

The couple sitting next to me did not like that I took a picture of Petty.

I was amazed by the number of coaches.

The Baylor band was huge!  Very impressive.

I was on the Tech side.

The Raider mascot riding his horse...just like my dad said he would.

Coin toss....Tech won the toss.

Number 22 with the first touchdown!!!  It was a fake play...so exciting!

Number #22 with the second touchdown...thought the Raiders might have a chance.

Half time show with Tech's band.  They used fire extinguishers in their routine.

Me before we left.  Got front row seats in the suite.

This was a long football game.  Over three hours and we had just started the fourth quarter.  Unfortunately, the Bears won because they had the talent...but I have to say, the calls the refs made, helped them along the way.  I did love that our side threw tortillas through out the game; they make great frisbees.  :)  A big THANK YOU to the family that invited me....an amazing experience I will always cherish.

I can't wait till my dad and I get to go to a big college football game.  I wonder if there will be football in heaven  :) 

ipad and Reading Therapy

Dividing the syllables and then coding each syllable while using the Smart Board.

I took pictures of the workbook pages with the ipad.  Had each student use a stylus. 

Their work shows up on Smart board.  I need to get a better stylus.

Teaching clothing in Spanish

I loved teaching this chapter!  So many hands on teaching ideas.  This lesson went way to fast and I hope the kids' presentations this coming week bring lots of smiles and laughs to the classroom.

Nuestros talcones altos

 First, I ordered clip on name tags.  Then I put a Spanish clothing item on each note card. I tried to color coordinate the clothes by a different color marker:  Blue; male, Red; female, Brown; fall/winter, Green; summer/spring, Black; for all genders/seasons.  But that got really confusing after awhile.

Clipped the Spanish names to the items of clothing I was teaching.

Tried to get as many students involved.

Next I brought in a suitcase of clothes.  The students had to pack for me, by saying the clothes in Spanish, and then finding the clothes in my suitcase.  I took two different trips.  For the summer items I was going to Cancun and for the winter items I was going to Antarctica.

This class didn't get me 'pantalones cortos' or 'una camiseta' for my trip to Cancun.

This class didn't give me 'algunos pantalones cortos' but 'una playera'?....¿verdad?

This class didn't give me 'algunos zapatos' for my trip to Antarctica.

Yay!...This class gave me what I needed for my trip to Cancun...finally.

I didn't even get 'los pantalones'...they said I should be happy they gave me 'un abrigo'.

Now this week they are suppose to bring in a suitcase for their own trip.  I gave them a list of 33 items that they could choose from.  When I brought in my suitcase I made sure I had all the items in my suitcase so the students could get a visual.  After we reviewed all the items with the visuals, a comment was made in my class (said with amazement)...Senorita....you packed all the items on the list!  I love it when my preparedness amazes some of my students.

Other teaching strategies:  Videos: (Billy La Bufunda) and the Lego man going shopping, Smartboard doll cutouts and you have to put the clothing on the figure, and People magazine photos.