Christa's Cuentos

Lesson ideas for El chile en nogada The food unit is part of our second-semester Spanish course, and I use the Essential Question "How  does food bring us together?" to guide the unit. (I believe this idea came from my Twitter friend, Michelle Walpole .) El chile en nogada provides an example of the foods that unite us around our cultural or national heritage. This is especially evident in the colors of el chile en nogada, which are the same as those of the Mexican flag. Also, Mexican cuisine has been recognized by UNESCO on their list of Intangible Cultural Heritage , and el chile en nogada is a great example of the richness of Mexican gastronomy. While I have taught this unit before, this lesson on el chile en nogada is new and mostly inspired by a few authentic resources I found, including an article and a TikTok video (see resources and activities below). Additionally, I am thinking through the steps of this lesson using the IMAGE model , which provides a systematic way t...

What is H5P?  H5P is a program to create interactive content for websites or your learning management system (LMS). There are many kinds of content to choose from, including interactive videos and presentations, games, quizzes, questionnaires, dictation activities, flashcards, and more. Check out the full list of content possibilities with examples here at H5P.org . How to use H5P Because my university's LMS is Moodle, I am able to create content on H5P directly in Moodle. I can also see how students performed on the activity with results for each question or prompt in the LMS. In addition to Moodle, H5P integrates with other common learning management systems, including Canvas, Blackboard, and Brightspace.  Here the yellow arrow is pointing at the option I select in Moodle to create an H5P activity. If you want to use H5P and do not have access to it via your LMS, there are a few other options. You can create an account on H5P.com , but there is a cost after the 30-day free t...

Getting Started with my PLN My first full-time gig teaching was at a rural high school where I taught all levels of Spanish, and my only language colleague was part-time. I taught that year on an alternative license because I did not complete an education degree (I had studied journalism and Spanish), and my prior teaching experience was primarily with undergraduate students when I was a graduate teaching associate. Suffice it to say, I was a bit in over my head and without a mentor in my content area. By the second week of classes, it was evident--I needed some help. That's when I started building my PLN (Personal Learning Network). Of course, I didn't know that's what I was doing at the time, but I started following the blogs of other high school Spanish teachers to see what they were doing to engage and connect with their students. I especially loved the Creative Language Class , by Kara Parker and Megan Smith , and Musicuentos , by Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell . These teache...

As I prepare for fall semester, I know that a significant part of my beginning and intermediate Spanish courses will take place online. One of my top priorities is to choose web applications that foster communication in the target language (TL) and are accessible to the diverse range of learners in my classes. After recently reading Disability and World Language Learning: Inclusive Teaching for Diverse Learners (2019) by Sally Scott and Wade Edwards, I have been reflecting on the instructional choices I make to best meet the needs of all my students.  One step I am taking this summer is to evaluate some of the web applications I use in terms of their capacity to help create an inclusive learning environment. The principles of Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) provide a helpful framework for such a task. The nine principles include: equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, size and space fo...