Professional+Resources+File


 * **Sources of free and inexpensive materials**
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 * Conjugemos.com provides Spanish teachers with brief explanations of the technicalities of Spanish grammar. The website also provides worksheet materials, which teachers may use in their classrooms.
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 * Studyspanish.com offers lessons in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. It also offers interactive practices quizzes, which students may use in order to review what they have learned in class.
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 * This website offers worksheets, which are ready to be printed and used in the classroom. I like that there are website for the most simple Spanish subjects, such as learning the alphabet, to more complicated grammatical topics as well. The worksheets are also attractive and are appropriate for young students.
 * **Thematic Units and Ideas**
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 * Here, a Spanish teacher may get ideas in order to construct educational units. The units are a bit too brief to be complete units, but seeing the various units helps a teacher to know which order may be appropriate to present materials, plus it provides lesson scripts and study materials.
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 * Beyond listing the state standards, the Georgia Department of Education provides complete unit guides for its teachers. It is good to see the order in which they present the materials, and they also give ideas for implementing the units in an effective manner.
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 * On this website, a Spanish teacher may find a good idea of how the curriculum map looks for an entire year. I like that they also include assessment maps. The assessments go beyond paper and pencil in order to make the Spanish language a realistic communicative modality for the students.
 * **Local Community Members**
 * Father Janusz Korban
 * He is a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City. He speaks Spanish and has been designated the task of Hispanic outreach. I will be teaching in the Black Hills area, so I may contact Father Korban to discuss the Hispanic Community in the Black Hills. I realize that the separation of church and state is critical, so I will simply utilize him as a source of information about the Hispanic Community, rather than having him come to my class to discuss Catholocism in Mexico, or another topic that is religious in nature.
 * Black Hills State University
 * Black Hills State University offers a Spanish major. It would be a positive experience for both the college students and for the high school students to have the BHSU students involved with my classroom. They could give lessons on different cultural aspects of Spanish-speaking countries, or they could talk to the students about study abroad experiences that they have experienced. With a partnership with BHSU, the options are endless.
 * El Patron Mexican Restaurant
 * Eating out is a luxury that not every family can enjoy. If families can afford to, I will encourage my students to go to authentic Mexican resaurants, such as El Patron in Rapid City, where all of the servers speak Spanish as their first language, and they love to speak Spanish with anybody, who is willing to try. The restaurant also offers traditional Mexican cuisine, which is a cultural experience for the students.
 * **Valuable SpanishTextbooks**
 * Zayas-Bazan, E., Bacon, S., Nibert, H.J. (2008) //Arriba! Comunicacion y cultura//. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
 * This is the textbook that I have taught, while teaching Spanish 101 at USD. It is the best Spanish textbook that I have seen, providing clear and concise explanations of the grammar, complete vocabulary lists, plus interesting cultural ideas. I have enjoyed working with this textbook, and I intend to utilize it as a reference in the future.
 * Marinelli, P. J., Laughlin, L. M. (2002//). Puentes: Third Edition//. Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle.
 * As I believe that the Arriba! textbook provides clearer and more concise explanations of grammar, this textbook provides exceptionally aplicable and interesting cultural components. It would be beneficial to combine the strong points from a combination of textbooks because of their different strong points.
 * Galloway, V. & Labarca, A. (2003). //Vision y Voz: A Complete Spanish Course.// Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 * It is beneficial for teachers to get ideas from a variety of textbooks. I used this textbook, when creating the engagement for SEED 400. As I am more accustomed to using the Arriba! textbook, I wanted to see what another textbook offers, and I believe that this text's strong point is its vocabulary lists. It has complete vocabulary lists, and it provides effective activities in order to reinforce the vocabulary.
 * **Valuable Pedagogy Textbooks**
 * Marsh, C. J. & Willis, G. (2007). //Curriculum: Alternative Approaches, Ongoing Issues.// Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
 * Because a teacher's curriculum provides a guideline for instruction, it is important to understand the initiation, production, and implementation of curriculum. This textbook covers a variety of issues, concerning curriculum, and it provides teachers with a strong understanding of the process of currculum development and implementation.
 * Orlich, D. C., Harder, R. J., Callahan, R. C., Trevisan, M.S., & Brown, A.H. (2010). //Teaching Strategies: A Guide to Effective Instruction.// Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
 * In my class "Improvement of Instruction," I enjoyed reading this text for its ease of readability, and how it covers a wide variety of issues in education. There are many tables and visual organizers to help organize and emphasize the important and interesting concepts.
 * Kellough, R.D., & Carjuzaa, J. (2009) //Teaching in the Middle and Secondary Schools. (9th ed).// Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
 * This text also provides information on a variety of issues that educators see regularly. It covers issues, such as adolescent psychology, preparing objectives, using technology in the classroom, and using a variety of instructional methods.
 * **Professional Journals**
 * Journal of Research in Rural Education
 * I intend to teach in a small, rural school. Such schools offer unique situations, such as a lack of resources, lack of diversity, fulfilling the role of the focal point of the community, among other issues. In order to effectively accomodate such issues, reading about recent research findings will give me ideas, helping me to become a reflective decision maker.
 * Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language
 * As I intend to be a Spanish teacher, I will likely be student teaching in an ESL classroom for my middle school student teaching experience. Because I have never received training, specific to teaching English as a Second Language, I benefit from reading scholarly journals, regarding best practices.
 * Academic Exchange Quarterly
 * This peer-reviewed journal offers articles on a variety of general issues in education. It has articles on technology in education, best practices, multi-cultural education, among many others.
 * **Cartoons and Expressions**
 * Baldo Comics - []
 * These comics give a humorous twist to the life of a Latino teenager, who is growing up in the United States. The material is school-appropriate, and it knocks down stereotypes.
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 * By learning typical sayings in Spanish, the students will see an even deeper connection between the Spanish and English language. Many of the idiomatic expressions in Spanish and very similar to those in English. This website provides many common sayings, and it also provides the English equivalents.
 * Diccionario Ingles-Espanol de dichos y Expresiones Populares - English-Spanish Dictionary of Popular Sayings and Expressions
 * I intend to have such a dictionary in my classroom, so that students can have an extensive list of popular sayings in the Spanish language. The students will enjoy learning the sayings, and they will be able to see some of the grammar and vocabulary, which they have learned in class, being put into a more real-life and communicative manner.
 * **CD Roms**
 * Colloquial Spanish CD Rom
 * This CD Rom offers typically conversation points for travel, business, and leisurely conversations with native speakers of Spanish. By utilizing this CD Rom, the students will be exposed to native speaker's accents, using colloquial sayings.
 * Rosetta Stone
 * Even thought Rosetta Stone is supposed to be a Spanish course in and of itself, it can also act as a good review for many students. It covers the grammar thoroughly, plus it has native speakers, teaching. The program also encourages students to speak aloud with the program, helping them to become accustomed to speaking in Spanish without the pressure of anybody else hearing them.
 * Photo Op! Images of World Culture (Spanish) CD Rom
 * Adolescent students tend to be visual learners. By utilizing Photo Op!, the students get a visual representation of the Latino world. It may make the students more aware of different parts of the world and more excited to have the opportunities to communicate with the people in those parts of the world.
 * **Translators and Dictionaries**
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 * On this website, students can type in a passage in English, and the translator will say their passage back to them in Spanish. It also works in that the students may type in Spanish, and it can be translated into English. This helps students to hear a variety of accents, speaking Spanish. They will also enjoy using this feature, and bringing enjoyment to school is a positive effect.
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 * Spanishdict.com is the most complete online Spanish/English dictionary that I have used. It provides a variety of meanings for each word, and it provides a variety of contexts in which the word/phrase may be used.
 * Vox Compact Spanish and English Dictionary
 * In the classroom, the students will need to have the ability to use Spanish/English dictionaries. I will expect that they have one with them at all times. The students learn the vocabulary more concretely, when they look for it themselves, rather than relying on my telling them each time they ask, "How do you say...?" The Vox dictionary is complete and fairly inexpensive. It provides an excellent resource for the students.
 * **Videodisc Titles**
 * Vistas Culturales: Spanish Cultural Video Series
 * In a Spanish class, the students should gain a better understanding of the Latino cultures. This video series provides visually interesting pictures, and it also discusses cultural themes, such as tourism, food, holidays, and demographics. The information is presented in Spanish, but it is still appropriate for beginner Spanish students.
 * "Under the Same Moon"
 * This is a film about a family, who has been torn apart by immigration. It provides an entertaining, yet realistic, depiction of the trials and tribulations that a family must endure, when they immigrate to the United States. Such issues may also spark classroom discussion. The instructor may decide to play the English subtitles to make the movie easier to understand, but higher level Spanish students can understand this film.
 * Disney films in Spanish
 * I remember watching Toy Story in Spanish, when I was in high school. My classmates and I enjoyed watching a film that we were already familiar with. It helped to keep us on track for the story line, yet still pick up the Spanish phrases that we knew. Because of this, a lower-level Spanish class may enjoy watching familiar movies in Spanish
 * **Resources to order**
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 * As the daughter of a teacher, I often saw catologues of this nature setting on the kitchen counter. I now realize that the bulletin board materials, the books, and other classroom necessities are important, and this company provides many of those essentials in a convenient manner.
 * Parent Teacher Outlet
 * This store is in Rapid City, so I can easily access it, if I need any supplies immediately. I also enjoy supporting locally-owned businesses.
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 * Oriental Trading has basic teacher supplies, but they also have knick knacks and party supplies. It may be a good resource, if the teacher gives holiday gifts to the students or for fun decorations in the classroom.
 * **Activities**
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 * This website offers a variety of interactive games in a variety of subjects. A teacher may narrow the results to his/her subject matter, and even further narrow the results toward the specific content that the students have most recently been learning. The website has many games for vocabulary and grammar in Spanish.
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 * On this website, the students may play a variety of interactive games, such as crossword puzzles and hangman. It even has games, referring to verb expressions and conjugations, and the website is visually interesting for the students.
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 * Through this website, a teacher may set up his/her students with other students in a Spanish-speaking country as pen pals. This way, the students can work on their second language skills in a communicative and meaningful way. The kids can exchange cultural differences, and they can use their Spanish skills in an informal and exciting way.