As I plan the last quarter of the school year, I have been reflecting on how my teaching and curriculum has evolved over these first 3 years. As a department of 1 I have had complete freedom to experiment, fail and try again.
Year 1 – Ancient Textbook & Workbook are life
Year 1 I taught the way I was taught & used the ancient 2000 version of the textbook En Español. The formula was copy huge workbook packets for chapter, teach book vocab, vocab quiz, teach book grammar, grammar quiz, review chapter, book chapter test, repeat. Along the way I discovered some awesome blogs and tried to spice up these units by using authentic resources & fun videos, but at the end of the unit, they took the text copied straight from the textbook resources.
Year 2 – Projects & Shiny New Avancemos Textbooks
At the start of year 1 I put in a request for new textbooks, since I was the workbook and textbook test queen. By the end of year 1 I was trying to move away from the textbook, but here come the brand new, expensive new textbooks that must be used. Year 2 I used the topics from selected chapters, and some of the activities, but allowed more self selected vocabulary. I got rid of the workbooks and chapter tests and instead units ended with proficiency based assessments or projects. For example Unit 2.1 in Avancemos book 2 is about the World Cup, so I borrowed heavily from Kara Jacobs’s awesome Copa Mundial Packet, along with many authentic songs and activities, ending with a partner project comparing the World Cup to another major sporting event.
Year 3 – TPRS Novels
Year 2 I was awarded a grant to start my Spanish Classroom Library. As a part of this ordered all of the sample packs from TPRS Publishing. Over the summer I devoured these books and was approved to purchase 4 novel sets. Since reading TPRS novels was new to both my students and I, we started pretty easy in all classes with lower level books, to both build their confidence in “reading a whole book,” and to not overwhelm them. This is why most novels were read in multiple levels this year. Through other grants this year I was able to purchase 3 more class sets of novels. Below is the general curriculum of the 14-15 school year in all levels. There were also many mini cultural units mixed in related to holidays.
Spanish 1
Q1 – Basic Introduction of Self, Describing Self, Likes/Dislikes etc
* Avancemos EP/1.1/1.2 (the only time any class touched a textbook all year, next year I plan to start with Martina’s storytelling unit 1)
Q2 – The novel Brandon Brown Quiere un Perro
* See all posts related to teaching this novel here
Q3 – Martina Bex’s Storytelling Units
* Unit 06: Siéntate
* Unit 07: El amigo simpático / Los castells de Tarragona
* Unit 08: Búscalo / Latin food with the movie Canela
* Unit 09: Buscando un animal doméstico / El cucuy
Q4 – The novel Tumba
Spanish 2
Q1- The novel Brandon Brown Quiere un Perro
* See all posts related to teaching this novel here
& Copa Mundial 2014 Unit
Q2 – The novel Esperanza & movie Which Way Home
Q3 – Units Introducing the Past Tense & El Internado (Fridays)
* La Muchacha y La Ardilla (-ar pret)
* La Madre de Jason (-er/-ir pret)
* Structures from El Internado
Q4 – The novel Felipe Alou
Q2 – Describing past & childhood
* using El Internado, Ratoncito Pérez (Ep1.5) & Structures from El Internado
Q3 – Environment – the novel Robo en la Noche & Medio Ambiente
Q4 – Legends – the novel La Llorona de Mazatlán
Spanish 4
* Teaching Elementary Lessons – every other Wednesday in grades 2-5
Q1 – Environment – the novel Robo en la Noche & Medio Ambiente
Q2 – Chicano Identity – the novel La Calaca Alegre
Q4 – Individualized novel study & Piñata Mini Unit
Of course I plan to rearrange a LOT for next year, especially since I will be moving to a new school. I will still be a department of 1, but now at a small public school where I will be teaching high school Spanish 1-4, as well as grades 5-8 exploratory (1st year program, any help would be appreciated! 😉
What do you teach when?
What do you teach when?
** For the most updated curriculum, check out Mis Clases Locas Curriculum for Spanish 1-4
