I teach Spanish to high school students, grades 9th-12th. I see a blog as a place for reflection and learning that may be updated every day or when possible. It is also a place where links and other educational sites may be posted.
To begin a blog I would start by posting a welcome, introduction of myself, expectations, classroom rules, tutoring times and other facts related to the curriculum. I would add the schools link, which includes all staff members, school hours, and important things that parents and students should know. Because I teach a foreign language some of the things I would include are; a review of the previous level, an introduction of new concepts, a section on vocabulary, grammar and class assignments.
I consider a blog a good tool to help students learn in a different way. It should be easy for them to find what they need in one page.
I teach a lot of grammar and vocabulary and would like some ideas on how to use a blog in the classroom. I have read that a lot of reading and summaries are done in blogs, but it does not directly apply to what I teach. Please feel free to any suggestions, I will be very grateful.
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Hi Graciela,
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of prior course requirements is a great idea. I wonder if there are any language games available on-line that you could link your blog to. I know there is a way to translate written work from one language to another. That may be fun if either your students could translate from English to Spanish, or you could post a piece in Spanish and challenge students to translate into English and share with you in class what you said or find the answer to the question. I teacher 4th grade and do not know if these ideas are even appropriate for your level, but I got excited when I thought about your idea. Good Luck with it!
Courtney, I like to do games because sometimes it gives students a break of doing so much grammar in a different way. Thank you for the suggestion, believe me I take them all because I like to vary. My students are not fluent in the language, but it is a pride for me when they at least understand it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGraciela, I enjoyed reading your blog, you sound like you have some awesome ideas. One roadblock you might face is computer access. I was wondering how many computers you have in your room, and/or do all your students have access to a home computer? Another question I have is, how heavily would you weigh the students grade for computer use as part of your class?
ReplyDeleteAn idea that might help the students learn through technology would be a game that showed pictures with the Spanish and English word written underneath. I know when I was learning Spanish I learned more effectively through pictures and words.
Caray, the only computer I have in the classroom is the one I use. I know not all of my students have a computer at home, so I really cannot grade much work done from a computer at home. When I require the use of computers I take them to the library.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the input about learning with pictures. I use it, but it is always good to hear that it works!