El Día de Acción de Gracias

As a vegetarian and a dedicated non-sports person, I don't find much excitement in Thanksgiving.  My usual television is supplanted by football games and I have the unenviable task of creating a mega meal that will satisfy both the vegetarians and meat-eaters in our family.  

However, the idea behind Thanksgiving is taking time to reflect on the year and all the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, and that is something I can absolutely get behind - with a glad heart.  I honestly believe that living in gratitude is the key to long term happiness in life.  I do.

So as a teacher I think it behooves us to take a moment or two in class and talk about things we are grateful for - instead of just focusing on turkey and football.  In a pulic school you will want to make sure to keep religious overtones out of the discussion to every extent possible, of course.  Personally I believe that gratitude and giving thanks are universal human emotions that do not need to be linked to any particular religion.

Yes, the kids might not really get the idea.  They might tell you they are grateful for Xbox, getting to sleep late on Thursday, and not having any homework.  That's okay.  Baby steps, amigos, baby steps.

The graphics here are for you to use if you wish.  I made them from clip art I found on the web and modified for use in my classroom.  I hope you find a use for them and I hope your holiday is blessed.

Hasta pronto,

--AnneK

Los Signos del Zodíaco

We are now in the unit in Spanish IV where we discuss advanced terms for personality traits and characteristics.  One of my favorite activities to do in this unit is to look up our zodiac signs and see what our personalities are supposedly like according to those, then make a comparison/contrast based on on our real personalities.

I found a website that gives excellent personality descriptions (en español, por supuesto) including positive attributes, negative attributes and a descriptive paragraph.  Perfect for intermediate or advanced students!  Take a look at it here:


Click for Spanish Zodiac Signs and Personality Descriptions


Once the students have read their personality descriptions and looked up any vocabulary they do not know, they make a Venn diagram to show the reality of the situation.  I hope to get some pictures of those Venn diagrams up here tomorrow for you to see.

There are a couple of things that we teachers need to keep in mind when doing activities which involve the zodiac.  I've made a short list of pros and cons for you.

Pros

• This activity is fun and the kids really enjoy it
• Students get to use authentic source material from online sites dealing with the zodiac
•  Students utilize technology to complete this assignment
• Students get to talk about themselves and their friends

Cons

• Some strict religious families frown on the zodiac in all its forms.  Prepare an alternate assignment ahead of time for them!
• You will need to make sure that you are clear that you are not condoning the use or the following of the zodiac, only using it as a classroom tool.
• If the Internet is unavailable at your school at the time of the activity, you won't be able to complete it.  Plan ahead by making copies of anything you might need - just in case.

Hasta pronto,

--AnneK

Image Sources:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRvaNdtBIaJmgLnbttzdrUJ_610KIaCeetiR1_Fce2LPYArhmb2xLtuzGFH
http://cdn2.grupos.emagister.com/imagen/signos_zodiaco_99710_t0.jpg

Las Partes del Cuerpo

Here is the fun you can have when you give your students a digital camera (or an iPad) and set them loose with a vocabulary list.  I just marvel at the creative shots they came up with to show the parts of the body in Spanish.  And this isn't even all of them!  I just put some of my favorites here as a little collage.

Hasta pronto,

--AnneK