Hey girl

The end of the year is pretty difficult. Students are check-out and ready for summer and I'm getting there as well. So while I was on facebook, one of my friends mom's posted this on her page and I clicked the link. It's kind of weird but made me smile. Sorry guys, this blog is just for female teachers but is still entertaining whenever you need a pick-me-up. Check it out!

"Standardized" testing in Spanish

My 5th graders this week get to do something that no other 5th grade class has done before in Lake Bluff. We are taking online computer assessments, in Spanish! (They were not pleased with me when I told them that was the surprise for class this week haha.) The test is called the STAMP4SE (for grades 3-6; grades 6-12+ take the STAMP4S) and you can find more information on this website. Basically, it is just a way to measure language proficiency in our school. Since this is the first year, there are still working out a few technicalities in the assessment so not everyone finished everything but it will be taken every spring from this year forward. This is not an assessment that needs any studying ahead of time and it doesn't count for a grade. It is just a way for the world language team to see how much Spanish our students are soaking in.  There are 4 parts to this test; reading, writing, listening, and speaking, however, I am only giving the last two sections this year. In the future, 5th graders may take all 4 sections, who knows. The data we get this year from the assessments will be used to help in the redesign of the curriculum over the summer. Here are a few things that I've noticed about the test:


1. It takes almost 15-20 minutes for elementary kids to get logged in to the test after testing the headphone/microphone, downloading the directions documents from my dropbox, and entering the test codes, passwords, and usernames. And it really helps to have the tech person or just an extra pair of hands to help during this set-up.
2. The listening section is like 20 minutes. (The number of questions varies on how much Spanish you know.... the more Spanish you know, the more questions you take.) But the sound cuts in and out so the kids can't always hear the whole question. After day 2, we figured out that you can just refresh the page but sometimes that doesn't even work.
3. You can't go straight from listening to speaking. Instead, you have to log out of the test, quit safari, turn the airport off.... then turn it back on and log in again. Otherwise, the test stops working during the first speaking question. This si weird and annoying but something I can deal with now that I know it happens.
4. Kids get nervous during the speaking sections. They speak super quiet into the microphone because they're afraid of speaking in front of their peers even though we do multiple speaking activities every lesson.
5. Some kids asked me if it was okay that they spoke a little bit of English during the speaking section because they didn't know a word.... I just shook my head and sighed. 
6. New pages (questions) take forever to load. Sometimes it just stops loading and you have the quit and turn the airport off to pick up where you left off.




I'd love to give this test at my new job but I have no idea how the curriculum and/or budget works at NHA. That'll be something that I have to figure out this summer or next fall. I like the idea of giving this national test because it is aligned with the ACTFL oral proficiency targets. (I'll do a post about those a little later.) 


I am excited (and nervous) to see the results!

Free online resources for students

This website has a list (and explanation) of a bunch of websites that are kid-friendly. I haven't really looked through the list yet but thought I would share it. From a glance, they seem pretty good.

Free online resources for educators

You ever have that moment when you realized that you somehow forgot to plan your next lesson (life happens)? Or when you're just at a loss for an activity because the kids need more practice with the vocabulary because you're sick of doing the same thing? Or you need an easy sub plan that's NOT a worksheet? Then check out this website! It works for any language because you type in the words but it has all the templates, pictures, and directions for game boards, dominoes, bingo, crosswords, word searches, etc (yes I realize some of those are worksheets, but not most of them!). This list is endless! I just stumbled upon this website this morning and immediately book marked it for the future. I hope you find it as useful as I do!

Job Hunt is Officially Over :)

Last night I accepted an offer from  Excel Charter Academy! I will be teaching Spanish grades 4-8 and couldn't be more excited. I am happy to still be teaching elementary school but will also be able to use my skills with middle schoolers. Excel is just one of many schools associated with National Heritage Academies. I have a friend who works for this charter network on this east side of the state and she loves her job so I can't wait to get started!

Buen Provecho

Lunch club is still going strong. After a few kids initially dropped out, I combined traditional and multiage so that everyone gets the chance to eat at lunch club every week if they want too. This is much more beneficial for my students rather than every other week. Kids can come and go as they please from week to week, as long as I know ahead of time. I still take attendance every week and there are probably about 30 kids who come consistently. My principal was a guest at one of the lunch clubs last week and even though she doesn't speak Spanish, she had a lot of fun. She sat with a group of 5th grade girls who were trying to teach her some words so that she could participate as well. It was a lot of fun. And I'm not the only school doing this! Check out this article about a private school in a nearby community from where I teach in Lake Bluff, Illinois.

Making Tamales

In my cooking class this past week, we made Mexican tamales. Now, I need to be perfectly honest with everyone. I've never actually eaten a tamale that I've enjoyed, mostly because of the corn dough in the middle of the corn husks. Also because I've never had an authentic tamale and really haven't tried too many in my life. However, when one of my co-workers mentioned that she used to make tamales all the time with her family and my students had been talking about tamales in previous classes, I decided to give it another try. Plus a rule in my class is that you have to take and least 2 bites of every food we cook but you don't have to finish it. My coworker gave me an authentic recipe that she used with her family and guess what? They were delicious :) I have extra corn husks so I'm excited to make some at home for my husband in the near future. Here's how you make it!

Mexican Tamales

1.     If using corn husks, soak them in enough warm water to completely cover for several hours or overnight to soften. Pat corn husks with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Otherwise you can just use aluminum foil. The corn husks are more fun though. 

2.   Combine 1 1/2 cups masa harina and 1 cup warm water. Mix well. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.

3.   Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook 1 chopped onion in 2 tbsp butter till onion is just tender.

4.   Blend in the 2 tbsp flour and 1/4 tsp salt. Then add 1 cup chicken broth. Cook and stir till mixture is thickened and bubbly.

5.   Stir in 1 1/2 cups diced chicken, 1/3 cup raisins, 1/3 cup toasted almonds, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp parsley, and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. Set aside to cool slightly.

6.   In another small bowl, beat 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 tsp salt until fluffy. Beat in masa harina mixture until well combined.

7.   Measure 3 tablespoons dough onto each tamale wrapper. With wet fingers, spread dough to form a rectangle.

 8.   Place about 2 tablespoons chicken-raisin filling, lengthwise, on each tamale rectangle.

9.   Tightly roll tamales jelly-roll style starting with the edge nearest filling.

10.Tie ends securely with strings of corn husk or string. Or you can fold ends under.

11.  Place the tamales on rack in a large steamer or electric skillet. Add water to just below the rack level. Cover and steam 40-45 minutes or until a tamale pulls away from its wrapper when gently unrolled. Serve immediately and enjoy! (Don’t eat the corn husk!)