SO EXCITED!! I am at iFLT 2016 in Chattanooga. That means lots of ideas, learning and free time to work on school.

I was SO excited to be in a Fluency Fast class this past weekend for Advanced Spanish with Jason Fritz. He did something in class that I have planned for the first week back for my 8th graders.

In class this weekend we discussed a famous Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. After a video that lists Almodovar’s top ten movies, Jason led the class to create a story that inserted the titles into the story. While I might watch one of Pedro Almodovar’s movies, I can assure you that I WILL NOT be showing his movies in class. But…

My students LOVE Señor Wooly! They know his songs sometimes better than me. So why not do the same thing with them to review as we get back in the grove. I have heard from many teachers to start the year not with a syllabus but with Spanish. Here is my plan:

1. Upon entering 1st day: Students name as many Señor Wooly songs they know. (¿Puedo ir al baño?, ¡Qué asco! etc.) After 3 minutes we discuss the list. Who named the most? Do we have a Señor Wooly expert?
2. PQA- What is your favorite Señor Wooly song? Why? Do you like the video? general discussion or a poll/vote
3. Review the SUPER SEVEN verbs (Terry Waltz)- My students are familiar with these verbs and this is NOT the first time seeing them. Go over verbs listed on board to review.
4. Challenge: Tell a class story that uses the titles of the Señor Wooly. The titles have to be inserted in the story. (probably the rest of the class time)
5. Next day: Beginning activity- (Martina Bex Textivate activity) Draw a picture from the story and add 2 dialogue bubbles. Share with table and share 1-2  with class.
6. Write the story together:  Review the story by writing in PAST TENSE the story from yesterday in a storyboard sheet. (Teacher asks questions and writes on overhead as students write on their own copy. Another Jason Fritz idea!)
7. Students add dialogue bubbles and draw story. (rest of class)

This is the first time my kids will see these verbs in past tense. My Goal for the year is to discuss what they are going to do on the weekend the Friday before in class then discuss in past tense the following week. This is my introduction to the SUPER SEVEN in past tense. This will be a super simple retell of the story in past tense.

What is next??? – On Monday we will share drawings of the story together and I will introduce the song “La Cumbia de Batman” to introduce va a + infinitive. My goal is for them to be able to use this structure on Friday to discuss what they will do on the weekend. Then the following Monday we can check in with students to see if they did those things.