1 Planning | Creative Language Class

Teaching Vocabulary to Grow Proficiency

by Megan Smith | Oct 23, 2019 | 1 Planning, What's New

Growing our students’ vocabulary is a big part of our work as language teachers. They need to know WORDS to be able to communicate and make meaning of a new language. But as you know, just because you teach it doesn’t mean they necessarily remember it. ...

Inspiring visuals that promote diversity and culture

by Megan Smith | Aug 11, 2019 | Class Decor, First Days, Organization, What's New

Back to school 2019 Inspiring visuals to promote diversity + culture Some of you are already back to school and others are still waiting on the floors to be ready… I know when I’m prepping for a new school year I often suffer from DESICION FATIGUE. ...

Four Friday Routines

by Kara Parker | Aug 2, 2019 | 1 Planning, Class Routines

Happy F-R-I-D-A-Y! Today I was surfing the web and was reminded of a great memory… the Friday Cheer! During my very first years in the classroom, I can remember hearing John Buckman’s business class yelling “F-R-I-D-A-Y, FRIDAY!” from across...

Ditch the “Review Unit” and try this instead!

by Megan Smith | Aug 10, 2018 | 2 Authentic Resources, AP Themes, First Days, Movies, Proficiency, Units, What's New

Here it is. I’m openly against a “review unit” in the world language class (or any class actually). (If you love them, keep reading. You might change your mind. If not, we can still be friends even if we disagree.) I’ve tried starting the year with a review, and...

Solving the Classroom Tissue Issue

by Kara Parker | Aug 8, 2018 | Class Decor, First Days

The school supply list is out! Are tissue boxes on your list? If so, check out one way to add a little learning to that item. I taught at a school that said tissue boxes and other supplies cannot be for extra credit because students should not be buying their grades....

World Language Syllabus for Proficiency

by Kara Parker | Aug 1, 2018 | 1 Planning, First Days, Proficiency

I’m starting to see teachers on social media heading back to school! Where did the summer go?? The syllabus can be one way to set proficiency expectations at the beginning. We’ve updated our past syllabus template, plus added an additional template with a...