Welcome to #EarlyLang! Tonight’s topic is Wrapping up the School Year (can you believe it?!?)
We will be using a Q1/A1 format. So when answering Question 1, please include A1 in your answer. And don’t forget to use our hashtag! #EarlyLang
I'll be moderating tonight's chat and my co-moderator is @windycitysenora.
First, let’s get started w/ introductions. Tell us who you are, what you teach, and when is/was your last day or school? #EarlyLang
Hi #earlylang! I'm Rose and I teach K-5 Spanish in NY. Our last day of school is 6/20 but I'm not sure when our last Spanish lessons are - weird things happen that last week!
So glad to see I'm not the only one going until the 20th!! I've been so jealous these past few weeks watching people tweet about their first days of vacation. #earlylang
Hi, Nathan here. Last day is TOMORROW - and it's a half day. Just made 4 dozen macarons for our faculty party! Oh, yeah, and I teach junior pre-K through grade 5. #earlylang
Hello #earlylang chat! I'm Valerie from Chicago--elementary and middle school spanish teacher. Excited to be here with @doriecp to help wrap up the year!
A1 HAHAHAHA "tradition" implies consistency, which I lack in virtually all areas of my life. One thing that I did last year that I'll do again is ask my exiting 5th graders to reflect on #IBPYP learner profile traits - super informative for me #earlylang
A1: 4th-5th gr French students usually make crêpes. This year, we invted the Spanish classes and they brought food too. 1st-3rd had sinaglongs. Fr Ss played a song and then Span Ss played a song. Nice way to share our fun! #earlylang
A1 I have my students do an all about me type activity and draw a self portrait. And then I save them so they can see how much they've grown over the 5 years they took Spanish in elementary school. #earlylang
A1: On last day, I put up agenda cards of the diff topics we've seen in the yr, and then ask ss to recall favorite songs, books, and games. I thank them for a great yr in Eng in the last min of class, which is fun bc their jaws drop as many haven't heard me speak Engl #earlylang
I've been wondering what to do with my 1st graders. They haven't heard me speak English yet. So I debating between saying "Thanks for a great year" or keep them in the dark about my English for 2nd grade too. #earlylang
and it depends on the kids, right? Like last year's 5th graders needed the self-reflection, but this year's 5th graders can give me really good feedback as I work to build purposeful expectations.
I've bounced around a lot between grades and schools, so next year will be my first year having the same kids again. I guess the secret will be out! #earlylang
Hi all, I taught k-5 in CT for 10 years and this year I teach High School😱 last day is the 22nd. Love hearing all your activities. Used to have singalongs and reflect on themes as whole group. #EarlyLang
A2: I am most proud of doing a serious rollout of @Seesaw for Ss to collect their work and be able to reflect upon it. It has made my ability to manage their work easier. And it's so dynamic in that it can store video and audio. And just about anything else! ;-) #earlylang
A2 Finally holding the book I co edited with @manuelawag and M. Byram in my hands! It took over 3 years to work on and I grew so much throughout the whole project. #earlylang
A2 I was super excited this year about using stork & lynx live webcams, which ended up being really fun & motivating for my students. They generated tons of authentic, meaningful communication on a daily basis #earlylang
Seriously! No technology has changed the way I teach like @seesaw has. And i absolutely love that it allows parents to hear their children use the language (many for the first time!) #earlylang
A2: It's my 1st yr in the school I'm in now, but in same district. I'm glad to have had what I feel has been a successful yr. It's hard to start in a new place with all new kids, classroom teachers whose rooms and styles I need to get used to, diff ways of doing things #earlylang
It has been so fun, along with a few unexpected moments (like the storks mating right on the screen lol)... I even check on them on the weekends lol #earlylang
Good evening all. We were just dropping in to hear and listen to all the great ideas shared here. We never want to miss a chance to say 🙏🏼to passionate, engaged and talented WL teachers regardless where you work. Greetings from Ga. #earlylang
A3: Dumping... I never want to a see a partner map again after the fiasco that was 3rd grade partner maps this year. Changing...there are some books that I've come across during the year that I am excited to add in or replace others with next year #earlylang
I really wish I could move our district's arpillera unit from 5th to 1st. I think its such a fun culturally appropriate way to introduce a lot of themes in 1st and I would love to use @MundodePepita's resources! #earlylang
Ohhhh! I'm so glad I'm not the only one. They loved the concept of it, but absolutely hated doing it. I wonder if it's a developmental thing? Do any #earlylang out there have success with persona especial and can teach us your ways????
A4 I'm completely rewriting one of my 4th grade units on biodiversity. It was WAY over their heads and didn't meet then where they are at age 9. #earlylang
A3 I was out of my routine a lot this year in terms of prep, which meant I felt discombobulated a fair amount of the time. Next year I am looking to say 'no' to some things rather than 'yes, I can do that' at every turn #earlylang
I love how you partner with the art teacher- you inspired me to talk with ours and we are planning at least two collaborations next year- thank you! #earlylang
A3: I want my curriculum to move even more towards proficiency-based. I’ve done a lot this year for that to happen but we still have a ways to go. #earlylang
That's awesome!!! I wrote a Language Educator article about using art for culture. I need to write an updated blog post about it. IMO its so much easier to do an art exchange rather than a traditional pen pal exchange. #earlylang
A3: I am super excited to work with fab colleague @DoraFGragg to create a new gr 3-5 curriculum that is aligned btw French and Spanish - same themes and common assessments, just dif #authres according to lang. After that, our curriculum will completely align JPK-5! #earlylang
an interview-style activity that I think was designed Bryce Hedstrom. If you google it there's a ton of blog posts that describe it better than I can in just a tweet. #earlylang
Quick, #earlylang, I need a Spanish lessons for my kindergarten graduate for the morning! She keeps demanding homework, and the math cards are gonna kill me if that's all we do! #nobilingualkindersincedecember
A4: I have suggested a list of books by Hispanic authors/with Hispanic characters or themes for my kiddos to check out of the public library (before I do ;) ) #earlylang
I mean, I allow any student to borrow books from my library for the summer, but it's really my native students who are most interested in doing so. #earlylang
A4 I send home a list of books for summer reading, in English but with Hispanic protagonists. I also encourage them to seek out recipes & crafts . #earlylang
I am going to NYC to learn how to infuse art into my teaching practice. Would love to know more about an art exchange. I want to be more systematic on tracking ss progress toward targets across modes. #earlylang
A4 I also make a playlist of any youtube videos/songs we watched over the year. That way they can sing at home for their families. Many younger siblings come to me already knowing songs I like to sing. #earlylang
A4: My school has a summer portal 4 all classes. WL doesn't have required summer work, but we offer optional things - mainly app suggestions and then access 2 the programs 2 which we subscribe. I bet if I were 2 put @quizlet exercises on that some of them would do it.#earlylang
A5 I'll be presenting at the LILL Institute this summer in Dallas and hopefully heading to the @EarlyLang Summer Institute if I can secure babysitting. #earlylang
A5 I will use @Angela_Watson's summer goal setting template to keep me on track so I don't spend all summer live-tweeting Disney movies
again
#earlylang
A5: I will spend most of it hanging out with my son! Also, lots of reading...I just finished reading Dime quien soy, and want to check out more of Julia Navarro's books. Also, super excited for NNELL Summer Institute! #earlylang
A5. I completely disconnect from work for part of the summer(that often involves having to leave the country to get as far away as possible from Chicago :) ) But I find I'm more focused and refreshed in August. #earlylang
A5: I'll be hosting the NNELL Summer Institute! And doing some other PD for @NYSAFLT and @FLENJ - oh, and running a camp for 2 months. I'll squeeze a little vacay in August. #earlylang
A5. Also reading! I really don't have time for reading(professional or personal) books during the school year. (Your book is my summer list @doriecp !) #earlylang
Can you believe it’s time to wrap up our last chat of the school year? Do you have any reflactions to share?
Reflaction = Reflection + Action
#EarlyLang
A5: NNELL Summer Institute, Atlanta in August, hanging w family, going to the beach, and doing a lot of illustrating/drawing- I love having full days to draw! #earlylang
Before you go,
While we’re taking the rest of the summer off for our weekly chat, be on the looking for an announcement soon from @earlylang about a summer #earlylang slow chat!
Will you miss #earlylang this summer? Join us for the #earlylang#slowchat - one Q for you to ponder all month long. June will be posted tom. Be on the lookout for July & August on the 1st of ea month. We'll be focused on the NNELL Summer Institute theme: pathway 2 proficiency.
Happy summer to all my #earlylang friends! For those of you who unplug in the off months, may your time off be refreshing! For those who don’t, I’ll see you here! #twitterfamily
