Every day, I greet students at the door. We say hello to each other, I ask how they are doing, and they tell me the class password to enter. (If you aren’t familiar with this process, check out Bryce Hedstrom’s blog post.) This mean that students are entering the classroom and are unsupervised (EEEEK!!) for a few minutes while I am at the door. What do they do during this time? Roam like pack animals, set the classroom on fire, figure out how to conspire against me for the day? Usually, no. (However, some days it seems like it.) While it is loud and bit chaotic, there is a method to this madness.
First, my classroom is deskless. At the end of each period, students “reset” the classroom by putting away their chairs so the room is empty for the next class. Therefore, if students want a place to sit, they need to take out a chair and set it down in the correct spot. (Yes, I have a seating chart.) By its very nature, this is loud and chaotic. Next, students direct their attention to the Daily Dashboard. This is not a warm-up activity, but information about what is coming up during the class period. (I have decided to break up with my bell ringer for various reasons.) By this time, I enter the room and we begin class. But what does that look like if some students are still getting their chairs, not yet seated, chatting with their BFs? Well, I start singing. I first saw Grant Boulanger do this in his classroom and was absolutely blown away by its effectiveness! Singing is the cue that students need to get settled because we will be starting class by the time the song is finished. It works like a charm. EVERY. Time. I sing a few lines of a song, and students join in singing the last few. By then I have their attention and we go right into our daily calendar and class calendar discuss. Class has begun and we are on our way! In Spanish I, I start the year with the rhyme “Bate, bate chocolate.” I start chanting the rhyme and students join my be the 3rd line and we all end together. In Spanish II, I start the year with the traditional children’s song, “Mi gallo se murio.” (This is the one I saw Grant using.) I sing a few lines and students join in by the end. When students seem to be getting bored with the song we are currently singing, I simply choose a different one to open class with. (It usually takes at least a month for this to happen.) I choose the opening song in a variety of ways; for the season, popular tunes, traditional children’s songs, etc. Sra. Chase often sings with her students; here are the song, chants, rhymes she uses. Now, everyone singing together doesn’t just happen. It takes purposeful instruction and I set the expectation that ALL students will participate. When I introduce the song (or chant or rhyme), we spend some time as a class learning the song, learning the meaning of the song, learning about the artist, learning about the country of origin, etc. Then we listen to the song (or just perhaps the chorus) and practice, practice, practice and sing, sing, sing! Below are a few examples of what I have used successfully in class. Each song sheet has the lyrics we will be singing (the students sing the bolded lines). I try to add cultural information and a personal connection as well, but sometimes I just introduce the song and off we go. Happy singing!! Traditional Spanish Round: Mi Gallo Se Murio Spooky Mexican Rhyme Day of the Dead Song: Chumbalaca Children's Game/Chant: A La Lata Traditional Christmas Song: Mi Burrito Sabanero
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Jessie Oelke
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by Bethanie Drew The Language Coach by Amy Lenord Bryan Kandel TPRS by Bryan Kandel Bryce Hedstrom's Blog by Bryce Hedstrom CI Peek by Carol Gaab Creative Language Class by Kara Parker & Megan Smith La Clase de Sra. Dentlinger by Elizabeth Dentlinger The Comprehensible Classroom by Martina Bex Grant Boulanger's Blog by Grant Boulanger Kristy Placido's Blog by Kristy Placido Maris Hawkins' Blog by Maris Hawkins El Mundo de Birch by Sharon Birch Musicuentos by Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell Mis Clases Locas by Allison Wienhold Making Good Mistakes by Courtney Johnson MJ's Comprehensible Input by Michele Whaley My Generation of Polyglots by Mike Peto PBL in the TL by Laura Sexton Somewhere to Share by Carrie Toth Spanish Nobility by Jason Noble Teaching Spanish by Kara Jacobs Todally Comprehensible Latin by Keith Toda Tripp's Scripts by Jim Tripp |