¡Eso si que es!

     The title for this post comes from a pun I learned in Spain.  A business man is in New York, and has forgotten his socks.  He goes to the store, and asks, in Spanish for socks.  He is told they don't speak that stuff in that particular store; he needs to go elsewhere.  He tries to describe what he needs, but the clerk is adamant; he needs to go to a different store.  Finally, the man leaves the store, passing a table covered in socks.  He picks up a pair and exclaims, "Eso, si que es."*  The clerk says, "Well, if you could spell it, why didn't you?"
     As I use Spanish almost exclusively in class, I've noticed I have students like the clerk, who don't understand, and need things concrete.  It pushes them way out of their comfort zone.  Parents can be uncomfortable, too.  The middle school head was contacted by a parent whose daughter complained that she did not understand my directions.  A ridiculous claim-- the assignment was an inventory of "I can" statements from ACTFL, and entirely in English.  Fear is insidious, though, and it can keep us stuck.
     When I went to Spain at 17 years of age, after 4 years of high school Spanish, I was afraid to speak, afraid to make mistakes.  On the plus side, I listened very carefully, and acquired excellent pronunciation.  On the downside, I was very isolated for 3-4 months.  I don't want my students to have a similar experience (except for excellent pronunciation!).  I want my students to feel confident that they can communicate their needs effectively, and even communicate beyond their needs.
     This is cool-- while sitting here composing this post, I got an idea that I can use with my minuscule Spanish 2 class.  We are composing a Spanish magazine while we review all of the material we learned last year, and cover quickly the material left in Spanish 1.  (This is an interesting class.  I have a heritage speaker as a student, who cannot take classes in the upper school because of the US's block schedule.  I also have a very gifted language student.  Tell him once, he's got it and can use it. He learns very fast, but he is not on the level of the heritage speaker.)  What if, for the current topic of health and well-being, my 2's surveyed my other 8th graders about stress in school?  Maybe even other health-related topics?  I will talk to them about it next week.
     And that's sort of how the planning goes.  I wish I could say it is all so serendipitous.  Sometimes it results from conversations I have with colleagues.  Carly Cary was kind enough to let me pick her brain last week.  She teaches 6th grade geography and has a book as a resource, but does not let it drive her curriculum.  She devotes the first few weeks to learning the terms of geography, and how to think like a geographer.  The rest of the year focuses on three major themes: Latin America, Africa and Asia.  She focuses on essential questions: Why do people live where they live?  How do they live? How does geography affect their choices?  She is clear on what she wants her students to know, and together they find a way to get there.
     Essential questions must be the guiding force behind my lessons, and backwards design the way to get there.  ¡Eso si que es!


*That's what it is!  That's it!