It doesn’t take long for Spanish teachers to realize that the textbook is not going to motivate students to learn and acquire a new language. Many of us spend extra hours writing our own supplemental material and searching online for applicable resources to engage our students. If only there was a well rounded, interactive Spanish 1 program that met all the world-readiness standards for a whole school year and worked for our students! Then we could have energy at school and still have time for ourselves, our families and our friends!
Teaching Spanish Joyfully was created for that purpose and more! It was designed for teachers to find joy in guiding their students to help them attain a practical skill, one that will enrich their lives and communities today and in their future as well.
Getting Started
Preparing for the beginning of a new school year can be very time-consuming. The materials for the first week of school will help you get organized for a successful year ahead. They are free so you can see if they will work for you and your students. Start by downloading the first lesson packet. Then, you can download the following lessons as you go which are inexpensive, practical and easy to use. They include-
Beginning of an editable Slide Show
-engaging Google slides for every lesson
The engaging Google slides will guide you and your students through multiple experiences to learn and acquire the Spanish language. The lessons and visuals are thoughtfully done making them user friendly with little prep time. You can adjust the slides to fit your time schedule, class situation and unique personality.
The lessons include all aspects of language learning: listening and speaking skills, conversation practice, weekly reviews, songs, rhymes, games and reading and writing skills with meaningful assignments.
The colorful cultures and history of the Spanish speaking people are woven in and out of the lessons throughout the school year which are evident in the slides and activities that accompany them. The slides also help with calendar talk, storytelling and many other Spanish-only activities.
Students design their own binder covers using images that they can cut and paste, draw themselves or create on a computer
-handouts for their interactive binders
The student materials are kept in an interactive binder that grows with each lesson and is organized into five sections: weekly reviews, conversation and follow-up activities, songs and rhymes, culture and history, and reading and writing.
Since you download a zip file for each week at a time, you can see if the materials will work for you from the get-go. Everything you need to start a class is in the introductory lesson, including calendar visuals, ideas on how to set up your gradebook and suggestions for class expectations, bell ringers, a classroom management plan and a syllabus.
Some of the first slide shows include “Why Learn Spanish?”, “What Does Culture Mean?” and handouts on how the students prepare their binders for class.
Students are servers and clients in the Spanish-only classroom restaurant
- fun activities and so much more!
This program is ideal for the Spanish teacher at a secondary school, especially if they are on a block schedule. Meeting twice a week for a longer period gives adequate time for review, instruction, engagement, interaction, occasional presentations, follow up activities and special events.
With that said, you can also use Teaching Spanish Joyfully for schools that are on the traditional schedule by spreading out each lesson so they will last for two days instead of one.
Teachers also receive extra activities and resources that go with the monthly themes and acquired skills. These would include cultural projects and events along with different kinds of assessments, group practice and review.