First week of a new school!

Week one at my new school is done! It was a whirlwind and just flew by. Teaching 4th-8th grade is very different than just 3rd-5th grade even though two of the grades are the same. My 4th graders are learning Spanish for the first time and it is so fun to watch them experiment with the language. On the other hand, my 8th graders are in their 5th year and I am their third teacher in three years. They're still trying to see who I am and what class is going to look like for them this year. So far so good, I think :) I was very nervous to start with the middle schoolers but they really are quite a lot of fun! Quick refresher... I see my 4th-6th graders twice a week of 40 minutes. I see my 7th and 8th graders every day for 40 minutes but only 9 weeks out of the year.

I started each class basically the same way... shake everyone's hand while they say their name (me llamo ___. - yes even the 4th graders did this!) We shared good news from the summer (required bit from Capturing Kinds Hearts... great program if you've never heard of it) then I showed a picture slideshow of myself and my family. I spoke about every picture in Spanish and then had the students translate (or guess for the 4th graders) what I said. Even the 4th graders picked up on almost everything I said. Then we did a ball toss and for the middle schoolers, we also played a quick review game. Day 1, done! Day 2 was all about picking out Spanish names (am I crazy for making myself learn twice as many names as I already have to?) and practicing asking/answering questions about names. Middle schoolers played another review game. Up next comes a quick communication unit with classroom commands and useful phrases for all grades but the vocabulary is different in each of the grade. I am reviewing the basic 4th grade vocab in every grade though to make sure everyone knows what I want them to know.

Many of the teachers in my school have children in the school and I am lucky enough to teach most of them (no pressure... right?) So far though, many of those parents have come up to me saying that their kids are really enjoying Spanish (yay!). That makes me feel good. Plus, my assistant principal and principal have both stopped in my class at least once and left with smiles on their faces. My principal even speaks Spanish! How awesome (and rare) is that?!?

I have so many ideas flowing through my mind about what I want to do and how that it is difficult to organize my thoughts right now. I will still be updating my blog regularly (though maybe not as regularly at first as I adjust to my new school) so be on the lookout for lesson ideas and my thoughts on the (Spanish) teaching profession!

The end of the beginning

It’s over. My first year of teaching is officially over. My first job is officially over. And it doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel like when I go to work tomorrow, I can go in an hour later because I don’t have to plan. I have curriculum meetings 8-3 this week and then that’s it. It’s surreal. I can’t believe it’s June! This year went by so fast. Every year since I can remember just keeps speeding up and now it feels like I’m just flying through life. Last year at this time I was substitute teaching, planning for a wedding and a honeymoon, and getting ready to move to a new city. This year, I am preparing to go to China in a week (yay family!), putting offers on houses, and getting ready for my new job (in an old city - the one where I grew up) where I’ll have my second, first-year of teaching. If the University of Michigan taught me anything, it’s that changes are good and exciting;they are just new opportunities to explore this world and myself in a different light. I am sad that this chapter of my life has ended but am looking forward to the future. Check back on this blog over the summer and next year as I continue to explore the wonderful world of education as a Spanish teacher. Have a great summer everyone!

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!

Weaving with straws

When I went to Peru a few years ago, I went as part of a volunteer group to promote awareness about the weaving culture. My volunteer group consisted of 15 undergraduate students and 1 professor. While we all spoke Spanish in the group, only our professor had any previous knowledge about weaving. We worked with the Cusco Center of Textiles and met a lot of incredible people. I had such an amazing time learning how to weave and communicating and connecting with my weaving mentor. We learned all about the weaving process; from shearing the animals to washing the wool (this process sent me to the emergency eye doctor after some detergent scratched my cornea - I had to wear an eye patch for 3 days!). We also learned how to dye the wool using natural products like leaves, berries, and sticks. Finally, we learned how to spin the wool to make it nice and fine for weaving. Then came actually learning how to weave, which was very difficult, but a lot of fun. In the end, my peers and I made bracelets, belts, hats, and purses. We felt very accomplished. I can't imagine that being my lifestyle though and spending every day of my life weaving to survive. The weavers were very proud of their work and you could see it in their lit-up eyes as they spoke about it. My peers and I were very impressed with their creations of ponchos, blankets, place mats, and table-runners, just to name a few.

I've been trying to figure out a way to share this experience with my classes. There wasn't room in the curriculum this year to add in a full unit and I wasn't sure what I'd even do. So, instead I just shared this experience with my Spanish crafts after-school club. I showed them my weavings and balls of yarn and then we did our own weaving project that I found in a Spanish crafts book. The weaving project went... okay. I didn't test it out ahead of time (fatal mistake, I should have known better - my mom would be disappointed especially since I helped her test out so many experiments and activities ahead of time for her class) so I was trying to figure it out as we went along. That meant that I didn't have the answers for my students so they became frustrated which made me more frustrated which was just a vicious circle. After thinking about it more last night and this morning, I have come up with ways to improve this project for next time. It still needs improvement because this new process isn't perfect either. However, every day is a learning experience, right? Here's the process, with updated directions.

Materials: Yarn, ruler (or measuring tape), straws, scissors

Step 1: Cut 2 equal strings about 30 inches each. (2 for a bracelet, 4 for a belt)

Step 2: Cut 1/2 inch off the top of each straw and feed one string through each tiny piece of straw.

 Step 3: Thread both parts of the string through the long part of the straw. LOOSELY knot the ends of the string together. (You will be untying this later.)

 Step 4: Start weaving! Grab the end of the skein of yarn and tie a know around the bottom of one of the straws. Wrap the yarn around one straw, then drop it through the middle, then wrap around the other straw. Go back and forth, making sure everything stays tight together. When you fill up the straws, gently push the woven part off the bottom of the straw and continue weaving.

Step 5: When your project looks long enough, cut the yarn from the skein and carefully knot the yarn to the straw. Then, cut the little pieces of straw off the yarn. Next, slowly slide the straws out from the yarn.

 Step 6: Untie the loose knotted end of your bracelet and then tie the two ends together. Admire the beauty of the project you just created!

Fire alarms and fun

I had my first super embarrassing moment at school yesterday. My after school cooking club and I were making Mexican corn cookies in the teachers' kitchen. Something was (already - I swear it was already there) on the bottom of the oven and when I opened the door to check on the cookies... smoke started billowing out! One of the kids said, “It would be funny if the fire alarm went off right now.” Guess what happened 10 seconds later.... Yup, the fire alarm started screeching and the lights started flashing. Everyone in the school evacuated, I told the principal what happened, and then had to show the cops/firemen (who were fully dressed in their gear by the way, complete with axes) where the problem was and explain it. Highly embarrassing. Even though I wanted to cry (I didn’t, go me!) I tried to make light of the situation with the other staff members. That wasn’t too hard since they were busy cracking jokes and mocking me (in a friendly way). I think my reputation at this school after I leave will be “Remember when that first year Spanish teacher had the school evacuated because of something she was baking?” At least it’s a great story. Oh and on the upside? The cookies turned out perfect!

Mexican Corn Masa Cookies

 Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine 4 cups instant corn masa mix, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Step 2: In another bowl, beat 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening and 1/2 butter together. (At room temperature)

 

Step 3: Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a firm but pliable dough. (I ended up not using all the dry mixture and mixing with my hands.) Work in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

 Step 4: Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough, shape into balls, and press onto ungreased baking sheet. Press 5-6 pumpkin seeds (I used sunflower seeds since I couldn't find pumpkin seeds in the store) in a petal form on each cookie. You can use a cinnamon candy as the center.

Step 5: Bake 10-13 minutes and enjoy! This is a picture of a cookie pre-baking time. I didn't get a picture afterwards because of all of the excitement from the fire alarm. It looked the same though, just a little more golden-brown. 

I've never had these before but I would make them again! Next time, I'll be sure to clean the oven before I turn it on.

The same yet different

Part of being a (first-year) teacher is adjusting lessons and being flexible and making sure things work. A lot of times, this means that the last time of teaching a particular lesson will be much better than the first. I have 7 different 5th grade and 4/5 multiage grade classes and so sometimes (really, often times) my first lesson and my last lesson are vastly different. Today was no exception. I am teaching my students rudimentary conjugation skills so that they'll be ready for middle school next year. We are currently practicing how to say how we are feeling, in terms of being sick. For example, I have a cough, I have a fever, I am sneezing, etc. Here's the agenda for for my first lesson:


1. Students pull out pre-made flashcards, organize them into piles based on the categories on the board.
2. Have students tell me which cards belong in each category.
3. Introduce I vs You vs He/She using hand gestures and pointing. Practice for each vocabulary.
4. Introduce but don't explain verb conjugations.
5. Introduce and play the game of El Mago (The Magician) by saying one person is el mago and the other person has to do what they say. Play each role 5 times then have a seat. Must speak Spanish.


After the first class dragged on (you could definitely tell my students were bored with it and even I was kind of bored), I decided to make some changes. For the next class, I shortened the use of flashcards but that seemed to make it more confusing. Then I tried to adjust how I was teaching verb conjugations but students were struggling with that too. After a few more adjustments, my agenda for my last class looked more like this:


1. This picture was already on the board.

2. Practice speaking/gesturing vocabulary while switching up I, You, He/She then ask for translations at the end. (They caught on to this really quickly!)
3. Briefly explain verb conjugations (in English, ugh, but at least they weren't confused).
4. Review old vocabulary by having students recall phrases that fit in with what we're learning. (Ex: I am cold, I am sleepy, etc.)
5. Introduce and play the game of El Mago (The Magician) by saying one person is el mago who casts "sickness spells" on the other person. They must say the directions using the "You" format and the other person must do what el mago says (since the person is under a spell). Not only do they have to act out the sickness, they must also say it by changing the verb from "You" to "I". Play each role 5 times then have a seat. Must cast spells in Spanish.


I know that my last few classes got way more out of the lesson than my first few classes. I know this is a part of teaching and the fact that I can change my lessons between classes shows flexibility and adaptation on my part. However, I feel bad for my first few classes and wish I could go back and reteach them! My lessons were the same for each class, yet also different which led to very different learning experiences for everyone. This is all a learning experience for me too though, so I'm still happy! It's not like my first class didn't get anything out of the lesson; they still learned. It just wasn't taught as best as it could have been. My lesson can still be improved, lessons can always be improved, but I am happy with the end result.

I'm already certified in 2 states...

When I accepted my job for this year, I took it knowing a couple of things.... 1) The job was a one-year long term sub position for a maternity leave with little chance of me actually getting to keep the job for more than the one year contract and 2) my husband is applying to medical schools so I probably wouldn't be in Illinois anyway. As it turns out, the old teacher is DEFINITELY coming back and my husband is DEFINITELY not going to med school in Illinois so it doesn't even matter anyway. I am really going to miss this first job of mine though. The school is wonderful, the students and staff are amazing, and I look forward going to work every day. This was a wonderful experience and an amazing opportunity. I am so grateful to have had this be my first job. I'm still not quite sure where I'm going to be working next year because my husband has been accepted to a school in Pennsylvania, wait listed from a school in Florida, and waiting to here back from a school in Michigan. That means I am looking for jobs in lots of different places.


I am already certified to teach K-12 Spanish and 6-12 Math in Michigan and now Illinois. Although in order to teach middle school in Illinois, I think I may have to take another class or two. However, with the possibility of moving to Florida or Pennsylvania, I need to start the certification process for those states as well since I may not know where I'm moving for awhile. I took 3 tests in Michigan to be certified, as well as 3 different (yet eerily similar...) tests in Illinois. Pennsylvania requires different tests still! Which, of course, are not cheap. I think I need to sign up for 7 total, although 3 are really all rolled into 1. Plus, I need to have certification before I can be hired, so I've been told. This wasn't the case in Illinois as I just finalized my certification in this state about a month ago. In Pennsylvania, they are switching to an online system from paper so that transition is eating up a lot of their time. This means that they are pretty backed up and it seems to take 2-3 months for the certification process. With no email address and a 90-minute hold for phone calls to a call center, it's been difficult to get my questions answered. Florida has a pretty straight-forward process... submit a bunch of documents, pay a fee, and voila! I'll be certified in Florida. (From what I can tell... I still need to do more research to be certain.)


Even though I've just started this process, I've already learned a lot. My advice for those applying for certification in a new state? Start as EARLY as possible, be prepared to take more tests, and try to get an email address or a direct phone number whenever possible. While I couldn't have started the process much sooner than I did, I am a few weeks behind and could have already had a couple of the tests done and over with. This process is stressful but will be worth it in the end when I get my second job! Maybe my goal will be to see in how many different states I can earn my certification? Oooo, I could even add another country and teach English abroad in the future! This could be fun :)

I feel that Spanish class is...

This Friday marks the end of the 2nd trimester with my students. I honestly can't believe that in just under 4 months, my first job will be over. This year has flown by! I guess times flies when you're having fun, right? As a wrap-up to the 2nd trimester, I had my students fill out a self-reflection about how much Spanish they have learned, how their behavior is in class, and what they think about Spanish class. I told them they could write whatever they want, as long as they give a reason and are nice. They could write boring as long as they justified their response. You know, the whole "constructive criticism" thing. Here are some of their responses...

- I think Spanish is fun and a little boring because I like making books but don't care for the tests.
- I think Spanish is kind of fun because sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's not.
- I feel Spanish is boring because we have to talk in Spanish.
- I feel Spanish is fun because we play fun games and have a fun teacher.
- I feel Spanish is fun because I like to learn a new language.
- I think Spanish is awesome! :) Because I think it's fun to learn a new language and Mrs. Zhang is awesome because she is so nice.
- I feel Spanish is interesting because the words are really weird and hard to spell.
- I think Spanish BORING! I think that because why do we need to learn Spanish, it is useless! I'm not going to go to Mexico and speak Spanish! We need to be learning Chinese because we're going to be out in the world on our own, we don't need Spanish.


Overall, the majority of the comments agreed that Spanish is fun. However, that last comment I wrote about Spanish being BORING....? That was the first paper I read. It doesn't make me sad that they think Spanish is boring.... what hurts me is that they wrote it LARGE and in all CAPS with a giant exclamation point. I wrote a note back to that student saying "You might not think Spanish is useful now but you never know when you'll need it. A lot of Americans need to use Spanish in their everyday lives, so you may need to use it even in Illinois." I'm not going to confront this student about it; I'm just going to let the note do it's job. My husband tells me to take everything with a grain of salt since they are elementary students but it still hurt a little. I was expecting most of the comments/reasoning that I got, but that one threw me for a loop. I do need to remember though that the vast majority of the papers had nothing but positive words to say. I can't please everyone all the time so I am just going to push that comment out of my head.

So much to do... so little time...

As I have posted about before, I am currently doing a mini TPRS unit with my fifth grade classes. The creating of the stories went really, really well and I was pleased with the end results. As a follow up, I wanted the kids to draw pictures about the story that their class created to make sure they understood what it was about, translate a new (but similar) story with a friend, and then read some of the stories that other classes created. I had hoped this would take just over a week... about one activity per lesson. However, I quickly realized that my goals were too ambitious with the time constraints of my class and so I eliminated the last step. However, it has taken 2 weeks (6 classes.... about 3 hours of Spanish time) and I still have students that aren't quite finished. I don't know if I made the story too difficult to translate (although my higher-level students finished it quickly--probably means I need to differentiate more) or if I let them spend too much time drawing their pictures when that was supposed to be something quick, or if the interference of never-ending assemblies at my school have messed too much with my schedule and I didn't have my classes as long as I thought. I believe it is probably a combination of all 3 factors, and more that I cannot think of. I do not differentiate nearly as much as I should for my classes and that showed with this activity. However, there are some things that I cannot control so I need to be flexible. All this comes with experience and I am definitely on a learning curve right now. On a positive note, I was able to change and adapt my lesson plans based on the circumstances, which is step one to developing an appropriate curriculum. I am learning every day what it takes to be a great teacher and this learning process will never stop. Even though I do get frustrated sometimes, I am very happy to be where I am and doing what I'm doing. I am learning on the job every single day and I like to think that I am improving every single day as well. We all have good days and bad days, good lessons and lessons that need improvement but so far, I've had many more good days and good lessons than not, so this year is going pretty well. 

Nurse?

I have become very good friends with the nurse at my school, which I highly advise to anyone fortunate enough to have a nurse on your staff. This has been especially useful since I have gotten sick once a month (excluding December) since I started my new job at the elementary school. I guess that's what happens when I'm around 300 kids every day and take the train twice a day. The latest bug I've caught? Laryngitis. It's the perfect virus for a teacher, right? Wrong! Not being able to speak pretty much renders me useless in front of my classes. Luckily enough there was a substitute teacher who could cover my afternoon classes so I could take the rest of today to rest and not talk. It was such a dilemma to leave school though. I didn't want to leave but also knew that I would not be the best teacher I could be for the students. Tomorrow, I have a curriculum meeting all day so I should be able to save my voice and get back to teaching on Thursday. Just in time for the first meeting of lunch club! As of now, it's back to resting, drinking hot tea with honey, and eating lots of Vitamin C for me.

New Year, New Plan

Welcome all! This is the first time I've ever written a blog, so please hang with me as I try to figure this whole thing out. I wanted to start this blog at the beginning of my first year of teaching, but I have no idea where the first four months went! I've gotten a little more settled into my classroom now and feel ready to tackle this challenge.


I think you should know a little bit about who I am so that you may better understand my future posts. I am a first year teacher at an elementary school. I teach Spanish, grades 3-5. I live in the city of Chicago, but don't work anywhere close to my apartment, so I take the Metra an hour each way, with walking on either side. I'm a newlywed, whose husband is also a teacher (high school - science) but this is his last year teaching since he's applying to med school. I can't begin to tell you how valuable he has been for my first year of teaching. I studied education at the University of Michigan, but my husband fell into the career path through Teach for America. He and I teach in two wildly different environments, different subjects, and have wildly different views on the profession of teaching. I see it as a lifelong journey for myself, while he sees it as a break after college as he applies to med schools. His experiences have definitely informed my teaching though, and I am grateful for all the tips and advice he gives me. Without his knowledge of what it feels like to struggle as a first year teacher, this year would be much, much harder for me. So although it's not the career path for him, I am grateful that teaching was a part of his life for a little bit. So is he and he's told me many times, "Never will I underestimate what it takes to be a teacher. Not that I ever thought it was easy, but anytime that you come home exhausted, with more work still to do, I will do everything possible to help you." Isn't he the best!? That's why I married him :)


Now for the juicy stuff... the reason I am starting this blog. After discovering that I am a World Language teacher, many people want to tell me about their language experience. I love to listen to these stories, although often times it breaks my heart. I hear stories about people sitting in class, listening to a teacher drone on and on about grammar. Or about the classes where all they did was to memorize vocabulary lists and do activities out of an outdated textbook. Sometimes, people were forced to translate Spanish to English, English to Spanish and this was all they did. Or my favorite... the audio-lingual method. Students listened to, and then memorized specific sets of dialogue. While they may have perfected this small part of language, this style of teaching leaves no room for improvisation. So when it comes time to speak to a native speaker, if that native speaker doesn't know the other part of the dialogue, the student will be forever lost in the conversation. There are many other ineffective ways of teaching a language. This is not to say of course, that these methods did not produce some learning of the language. However, this is not the most effective, or let's face it, fun, way to learn to speak another language. My experience has varied with my teachers. I've learned through a variety of the previously mentioned methods, but also with more interactive styles. For the most part, I had a very pleasant and worthwhile experience, which is why Spanish has stayed such a big part of my life. When I decided to become a world language teacher, I vowed to teach in a way that is as effective and engaging as possible, using some of how I was taught, combining that with how I was taught to teach, and all of the research I am currently doing to stay up-to-date on new methods. With all that in mind, this is why I started this blog. I want to document my research and findings, get feedback, and bounce ideas off my peers, all in hopes of becoming the best teacher I can possibly be. I want to show what it's like to be on the other side of the Spanish classroom.