Spanish 5: Immigration

This unit felt like a very natural choice given how often it is being discussed in this election year. Whenever students came into class I was noticing they were often discussing Donald Trump and the election, so I decided to harness this eagerness to speak their minds and build a unit around the topic of immigration. Students at South High come from varied backgrounds, have strong opinions, and are more than willing to debate them. This unit was a success, and I would consider making it a staple of any class I teach in the future. It was a great way to introduce tier II vocabulary, explore students family history, and really think about immigration in a deeper way.

Spanish 3: Los Deportes

This unit was chosen by the students and was frankly not one I would have chosen. It has however been a lot of fun and students have been engaged and curious throughout the unit. It has also pushed me to think more creatively about subjects I would perhaps have shunned before, and really see the importance of incorporating student interests within the curriculum as a way to engage students and have them buy into the subject matter. I would in the future push the students to work independently, and select some of the groupings more strategically to ensure more equitable participation, I also would try and do the unit when the weather is a little nicer outside, as we did this in February.

ELL: Building Academic Literacy

I am very pleased with how this unit is going so far. Students are engaged, learning skills that will help them later in life, and building a classroom community where risk-taking is encouraged, there is no ridicule in failure, and we are free to express our personalities. This unit has made me aware of how important it is to prepare these students academically as next year they will begin taking some mainstream classes and taking the MCAS. I want to do everything in my power to make sure they have the tools to be successful, and learning strategies to not feel so overwhelmed next year.