UPDATE – you can find my 2018 Plans here (including French class as well!)
1st Week Tentative Plan
Day 1 – I can introduce and state the names of my classmates.
BEFORE CLASS – A Spanish Pandora Station will be playing, all desks will have these seating cards, paper & markers, there will be an “Instagram Photo Booth” set up (more info soon!) and the following instructions will be posted on the board
- Take a photo in the photo booth if you want to
- Find your matching seating card
- Make a nameplate with your name & one items that represents you
GREET – Greet all students at the door in Spanish with a smile, handshake and a seating card. I will ask their name in Spanish, modeling “Me llamo Señora Wienhold” “¿Cómo te llamas?”
INTRO MYSELF – I will introduce myself using this Prezi in Spanish with a lot of actions, movement and enthusiasm.
NAME GAME – We will play name games standing in a circle. I will once again model “Me llamo Senora Wienhold” “¿Cómo te llamas?” and then pass a ball to another student, the first time next to them. Once everyone has been introduced, then in the second round the ball will be tossed to another student across the way until everyone has gotten it, and they will need to remember the order. We will then add in “se llama” to tell the name of who the ball came from and where it is going. This can keep going as long as there is high interest. Some classes want to be timed play speed ball style and beat a score, others tire of it quickly. The key is to end on a high note and keep them wanting more.
CIRCLING WITH BALLS – We will start this Ben Slavic activity to continue to get to know each other.
PASS OUT MINI SUPPLY LIST – As students leave they will receive a mini supply list, so they know what to get for class. (Binder, loose leaf paper, 8 tab dividers & writing utensil)
Day 2 – I can state the names and something about each of my classmates.
GREET – Greet all students at the door in Spanish
ATTENDANCE WITH A BALL
CIRCLING WITH BALLS – We will continue to get to know each other.
SPEEDBALL or ICE BREAKER – As a brain & stretch break
*If have technology ready, we may start the following items
- *Fill out info form & self assessment
- *Make Spanish Twitter Account
Day 3 – I can investigate class procedures & proficiency
GREET – Have a conversation with all students at the door in Spanish.
ATTENDANCE WITH A BALL
MÚSICA MIÉRCOLES
PARENT NEWSLETTER – hand out new newsletter to all students to have signed (it will also be emailed to all parents)
EXPLAIN 1st WEEK STATIONS
- Syllabus – explore & write down questions
- Info Form – Fill out Google Form with information & Self Assessment so I can get to know all students.
- Proficiency Levels – I plan to create an activity to go along with working to put these proficiency posters in order & will post once it is complete! **Update: see post about proficiency puzzle here!
- Spanish Twitter Account – Create a Twitter account to just use for Spanish class where all tweets will be in Spanish.
Day 4 – I can investigate class procedures & proficiency
GREET – Have a conversation with all students at the door in Spanish.
ATTENDANCE WITH A BALL
1st WEEK STATIONS – continue & complete secondary Twitter tasks
- Syllabus
- Info Form
- Proficiency Levels – proficiency puzzle
- Spanish Twitter Account **Once the other tasks are finished work on these secondary tasks
- Twitter Bio in Spanish
- Follow class account, Spanish speakers & classmates
- Post “Shelfies” with Spanish library
- Post Spanish music ideas for música miércoles & baile viernes
- Read & comment on classmate’s Spanish posts (Spanish 2 & above)
SPEEDBALL or ICE BREAKER – As a brain & stretch break
QUESTIONS – As an exit ticket write down questions about the infograph syllabus, class expectations, and proficiency to discuss the next day.
Day 5+ – I can explain class procedures and proficiency. I can introduce my classmates.
GREET – Have a conversation with all students at the door in Spanish.
BAILE VIERNES
ATTENDANCE WITH A BALL
VIERNES CHANT
STATIONS – finish if needed & students turn in signed Parent Newsletter
QUESTIONS – Discuss as a class questions syllabus, class expectations, and proficiency.
PERFORMANCE TASKS
- Presentational Speaking – names
- In a circle, students introduce classmates to each other.
- Interpersonal – procedures
- Discuss with classmate the expectations, rules and procedures of Spanish class.
- Presentational Writing – proficiency
- Students write about proficiency goal and what strategies and performance tools they will use to reach that goal.
UPDATE
Editable version of the unit plan, please click here.
Make your own Instagram Photo Booth, please click here.
Download the Proficiency Puzzle activity, please click here.
All of my back to school products together, you can find them here.
I hope that someone finds this useful, as I know my first year teaching I scored everywhere to try and find the perfect plan for the first week. Also here is what I planned last year for the 1st Day of Spanish Class. Just know that the first week there is a lot of business that usually needs to be taken care of, so try not to do anything too heavy, as it will end up getting interrupted by handing out locker combinations and setting up new computers. A couple items of business I will NOT be doing this year are checking out & covering textbooks #ditchbook. Please let me know if you have suggestions, ideas for improvement or questions!
As someone who is also moving to a new school and has been trying to form a plan for the first week, I really appreciate that you shared this! So many of our activities are similar, and I'm excited to hear more about what you do with those Spanish twitter accounts!
Thank you! Last year we set up the Twitter accounts but didn't use them as much as I would have liked. The kids who like #spanstuchat used them a lot, but others just forgot their passwords! I would like to use it sometimes as a back channel like we do at conferences!
Allison- same here with the twitter. I started a class twitter account for exit slips primarily. I was trying be más ecológica but the students were looking at me as if I had recommended Internet Explorer as a browser. One student me tuvo tanta pena that she wrote something on our class twitter. She must have thought " pobrecita."
@ Mis claseslocas- thank you for sharing this resource. I plan to share my plans for my Spanish 1 and 4 in an effort to contribute to this collaborative community. We start school in two weeks ( Chicago- we got left behind with the start of the year).
I love this! I am finishing up my first year of teaching and I am always looking for new ways to improve and this is definitely something I would like to try. Thank you for sharing!
Congratulation on finishing your first year! That is a huge accomplishment! Thank you for reading!
Thank you! I plan on posting more soon about the Instagram Selfie Station as it is still a work in progress in my mind! I have seen some cute ideas online, but I am not sure which direction I will go. I have seen neat cutouts that look like an Instagram post where they put their faces through like a Photo Booth, or just setting up a background with fun props. I will let you know what the inspiration strikes.
Also, the Information form is not finalized either. I am thinking I will add self reflections of 1-5 "how confident do you feel speaking?" "how confident do you feel listening?" etc.
Thanks for helping me to realize all the things still on my to do list!
Lol sorry, I didn't mean to add to your "to-do" list. I just got excited to implement these great ideas. Thanks for sharing! We have all summer, right?! 🙂
Hi Allison- Thanks so much for sharing your creative ideas; they are so helpful. I am about to begin a new job teaching using CI and now textbook- a little scary! Would you kindly send me your newsletter template? Dawn Hayes
Thank you Dawn! What email would you like me to send it to?
Hi Allison,
I stumbled upon your blog and so glad I did. September will be my first year teaching Spanish and you have great ideas, I would love a copy of your template if you are willing to share. Have you ever thought of selling your stuff on TpT?
Hello & thank you for reading! What email would you like me to send the template to? I actually do have a TPT store called Mis Clases Locas https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mis-Clases-Locas Let me know if you have questions as you plan for your first year!! – Allison
What great ideas! Thanks for sharing. I will definitely be implementing some for back to school. 🙂 Emilie
Hi Allison! Have you had success in getting your students to ooh and ahh when storytelling? This will be my third year using storytelling as the core of my teaching, but I haven't been able to get students to buy into giving me those reactions. Do you have any thoughts or advice? Thanks for your blog…I love it!
Thank you for reading Kimberly! This is not something I have worked hard at in the past but would love to start to do more. I think posting phrases, modeling and then just pausing and waiting for responses would help. It would have be beck me the expectation and norm. I am sorry I could not before help!
Hey Allison!
I really loved all your ideas on here I'm definitely going to use some of them. One thing I noticed though was that you said "ditch the book" which i would very much like to do moving into my 2nd year of teaching however I'm not sure how to ensure students are learning all they need. Do you have any ideas?
Dear Katelyn,
I love that I am no longer attached to a book, but it took a couple years to fully cut ties. If you are going to move away from it would do it one unit and one class at a time. You can start by picking unit ideas you like from the book that help student proficieny and skipping the rest. You can then use authentic resources, stories and music to add to the unit.
Also check out Martina Bexs units for Spanish 1 & 2 if you are interested in comprehensible input strategies and stories.
My units are now based on tprs novels. There is no rule that your curriculum has to be based on theme based units. If stud yes are learning to communicate, then you are doing your job!
Let me know if you have more questions!
Allison
I would love a copy of your template as well! I just found you online and start my first year teaching in public schools next week! Thank you!! [email protected]
Hi Rachel! Thank you for reading! You can download the unit 1 template by clicking here https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Class-Pre-Unit-1-1921484
Good luck and let me know if you need anything else!
Allison
Thanks so much for all the ideas! I have already downloaded the proficiency puzzle … awesome! I'm wondering how to download just your lesson plan template. Thanks 🙂
Thank you Logan! Here is my lesson plan template https://docs.google.com/document/d/10kJrxwsyoPbjG2yghHtcUTEqAqWLabsLN-4zmTWByuQ/edit?usp=sharing
Good luck & let me know how it goes!
Allison
Hi Allison! thank you for sharing! Can you send me the link to the celebrtities speaking foreign languages on your prezi please? Gracias! marina. ([email protected])
I would like to read your thought/activities on language activities. How do you organize, teach or get student to learn the language skill necessary to gain proficiency in speaking.
Thanks for the useful information. Knowing Spanish will completely change your travel experience. Learning Spanish is fun! It also provides a huge platform for job. Learn Spanish with web Spanish.
nice post
I am so excited to have found your blog. I am a first year teacher with experience in elementary school taking on high school Spanish 1. I love Spanish and sharing with others and your plans definitely give me some inspiration! Good luck in the upcoming school year.
Hi! This is so helpful and is definitely helping me figure out exactly what to do next week! Thank you!! The link for the Google form for student information does not work (says "Sorry, the file you have requested does not exist.") Is there any way you can update it or share it here in the comments? Thank you so much!
sorry it was created with my old school email so it no longer exists
Ohhh myy so many of your links don't work anymore. They would have been sooo helpful. Like the Google forms and attendance with a ball. Could you possibly update please.
hello!
This post is from 2015 and since then I have many updated back to school posts if you click the category "back to school."