Sometimes it feels like the winter CRAWLS by… this year I feel like I blinked and its the end of February! Here are some things we’ve been up to in Wildcat Spanish!

Spanish 2 is reading Mata la piñata by Kristy Placido. (Side note, if you are planning to order readers for your class, be sure to contact your Wayside Publishing sales rep to get the classroom price on them!) This book is always such a hit. I got a Fortnite piñata and some purple streamers from Amazon, so our zombie piñata is making it real. (See him in the background?)

In this picture, they’re playing “The Scene Machine“. Each student in the group draws a scene from the reader and writes two sentences (on separate index cards) about the image. Groups move from poster to poster matching the sentences with the drawings. It’s a fun way to review the text.

In Spanish 3, we’re just finishing up my book, Bananas. Based on a true story, it is a look at how the exportation of bananas to the US harmed the people living on the plantations in Central and South America.

In this image, they are playing “QuipLash“. I read lines from characters in the book and each team has to race to be the first to the front with the name of the character who said/would have said it.

In Spanish 4, we are reading my book 48 horas. Also based on a true story, they’re excitedly waiting to find out the fate of the protagonist after she made a bad choice! They have learned so much about the Galápagos, Darwin, and the endemic species in the islands.

Spanish club TRIED to do a field trip to the ice skating complex 90 minutes from our school. They told us to come for open skate and that we did not need a reservation… but when we arrived, there was a hockey tournament and NO OPEN SKATE. The kids were so gracious as we found ourselves trapped on a bus with nowhere to go. We did a quick pivot and went to a restaurant that had a huge game room… it was not ice skating, but they made the most of their night out.

We also had the opportunity to welcome a new group into the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica. I inducted THIRTY NINE new students this year. Way to go, Wildcat_Spanish.

FINALLY… we are approaching that time of year… Testing. We offer the State (IL) and Global Seals of Biliteracy at SCHS. We have used the AAPPL exam many times, but this year are making the switch to the STAMP.

Some reasoning:

1. STAMP is adaptive… the better students do, the harder their questions get (pushing them toward higher proficiency).
2. In the past we stuck with AAPPL because I could buy individual sections. Spanish club paid $5 for listening/reading out of our meat stick sales and students paid the last $15 to finish the test if they wanted. This year, instead of meat sticks, we have been selling Pop-Tarts in the classroom. We made enough money to pay for a full STAMP assessment for every student in Spanish 3 and 4! Hooray for Pop-Tarts
3. AAPPL scoring is inconsistent and I find myself stressing out every year because a kid who deserves and n4 gets an i4 and vice versa.
4. STAMP listening/reading scores are instantly available. Believe it or not, this is a HUGE motivator to them because they always score really well on these sections, so they feel confident going into the “hard parts” of speaking/writing. AAPPL takes 24+ hours to return these scores, so last year mine had to go into the writing section still not knowing how they did on either the listening or reading from two full days earlier.

We have been busy, but it has been making the winter fly by! March 12 ends our quarter 3, so the light is showing at the end of the tunnel and I’ll be wrapping up year THIRTY.

On March 1, I am going to be turning in my letter of intent to retire. We do this 4 years in advance in IL… It feels surreal to be starting my “freshman year” next year.

Hope you’re having a great winter and that seeing spring on the horizon is lifting your spirits as much as it is mine!