Stacy Witkowski

A student made poster on green construction paper. A student drawing of a monkey with claws riding a surfboard. Text in Spanish includes “Mi personaje favorito es Mono porque es cómico.”

My Spanish 1 students made posters after they read Llama en Lima. I no longer grade this type of activity, but kids loved making them anyways. I used this as a springboard to a reading activity (read each others posters and find the quote) and later assessed with a speaking quiz.

A group of at least three middle school girls sit around a table with papers on it. They talk, smile, and gesture with their hands.

Spanish 2 students playing the Es Posible game to review the book Peter va a Colombia. I love this game. Students are so engaged. I got the template from Comprehensible Classroom and I write my own questions for each novel.

To keep AI out of her classroom, this high school English teacher went analog Forth Worth teacher Chanea Bond says sticking with pen and paper keeps generative artificial intelligence out of her American literature classes.

Forth Worth teacher Chanea Bond says sticking with pen and paper keeps generative artificial intelligence out of her American literature classes. n.pr/4c3cdzs

Cover of Mexican Gothic by Silvia More o Garcia shows a woman from her nose to her knees. She is wearing a purple party dress in front of a dark green background.

I’ve been listening to the audiobook Mexican Gothic. I’m only in chapter 4, but whew, equal parts creepy and intriguing. What are you reading lately?

Mid-year is a good time to look back and look forward. Have you spotted anything you’ve outgrown?

Chart with three columns and 8 rows. Top row reads: English, Spanish, How it sounds. Second row reads: backpack, mochila, mow-CHEE-la

I was looking through my files today and saw this old document 😬
I used to send this home with elementary kids.

What was good about it: I was promoting a home-school connection.
What was bad: They needed a LOT more input, until they didn’t need the cringy “how it sounds” column on the right.

A grey cat with yellow eyes sits on the keyboard of a laptop. She has her tongue out as if mocking the laptop owner.

How am I supposed to write a quiz on Peter va a Colombia like this?

Pink paper. Typed questions and handwritten responses: Q: What has Mrs. Witkowski done that has really helped you learn Spanish? A: She has inturduced (sic) us to spanish websites such as senor willy.

More middle school student reflections. Señor Wooly is one of the most divisive elements of my class. Some students, like this one, say earning nuggets is very helpful. Others mention it as something that wastes their time.

Pink paper with typed questions and student handwritten answers 7. What has Mrs. Witkowski done that has really helped you learn Spanish? she did show is hand jasters (sic) so wen we talk about it we know what she’s talking about.

Mid year self-reflection and goal setting in middle school. What did your teacher do that helped?

Many students mentioned the gestures I use, inspired by TPR.

How about you? What is working or not for you this year?

Photo of small grey cat pouncing on toy, slightly blurry.

It’s too cold to go outside. School is closed and I’m spending the day playing my kitten. What are you doing today?

This is Boro. He went missing in southern Spain after a train derailment that killed 43 and injured 150. After four long days, he was captured by firefighters and has finally been reunited with his family. 14/10 welcome back buddy

Wishing you and your family well. ❤️‍🩹

Altered panel from Tintin cartoon. Captain Haddock, with dark circles under his eyes, leans on his elbow and says “what a year, huh?” Tintin replies, “Captain, it’s ENERO.” A small white dog drinks the captain’s beer.

New semester; fresh start.
How is your year going?

El pato tiene más El pato tiene más by Sarah M. White is a short, simple book about a duck and an elephant counting fruit, which offers simple vocabulary, repetition of numbers, and a sweet message about sharing.

El pato tiene más by Sarah M. White is a short, simple book about a duck and an elephant counting fruit, which offers simple vocabulary, repetition of numbers, and a sweet message about sharing.

Los ojos de Carmen Teachers looking for a nuanced book that opens up opportunities for classroom discussion about aspects of Ecuadorian society -- check out LLLAB’s review of Los ojos de Carmen by Ecuadorian author, Veronica Moscoso.

Teachers looking for a nuanced book that opens up opportunities for classroom discussion about aspects of Ecuadorian society -- check out LLLAB’s review of Los ojos de Carmen by Ecuadorian author, Veronica Moscoso.

New year, new posts from LLLAB

Miss you too! Wish you were here.

A photo of a bookshelf in a Spanish classroom shows a mixture of leveled readers and children’s books

On the way to #ACTFL25! Come see us on Friday at 4:30pm in room 213 for “Cutting It Out: Curating Diverse Classroom Libraries.”

Curating the quality and coherence of the writing and responding to meaning” is a good way to put it. The authors also talk about shifting our focus from accuracy to “control.”

On p 256 is a rubric to assess ourselves. One of my glowing points is "I can identify patterns of errors and patterns of strength in student work in order to provide growth-oriented written corrective feedback." In fact, I did that today as I graded letters students had written.
#SLAyyy #LangChat

On page 226, the authors write "You may have also noticed that this feedback is in English." WHAT? After admonishing us to teach grammar in the target language, now we're giving feedback in English? I mean, yeah, that's how *I* do it with my novices in levels 1 and 2.
#SLAyyy #LangChat

If you're heading to #ACTFL25, I hope to see you there! In the podcast, I give the wrong time for my ACTFL presentation. I'll be presenting with Esme Mora and Kristi Lentz of @languageboard.bsky.social on Friday at 4:30 in room 213. Our topic: Curating Diverse and Inclusive Classroom Libraries.

What an honor to be invited to the SLAyyy podcast with Ben and Bill. We had a lot to say about the book Teaching Grammar for Proficiency. It was fun hanging out and chatting with friends about something we are all passionate about -- becoming the best language teachers we can be.

I agree! Getting to hang out with you and Bill and chatting online with friends here is what motivated me to swallow this big pill of a book. It was definitely good for me, but tasted like medicine. The friendship was the sugar that made it all taste sweet.

i am familiar with the idea of a 'glow and grow' comment bank for use by teachers. I have even used one occasionally. What i haven't done is put this in the hands of students to use for peer feedback. I will use it this week as students finish their letters to their pen pals.
#SLAyyy #LangChat

Ooh this is brilliant!

Slayyyyy! 💅🏻

Graphic from Duolingo shows the iconic green owl transformed into an orange phoenix. Text says I’m on a 1500 day learning streak.

I’m a fan of Duolingo. I think it’s a good tool for language learners. I’ve spent 90% of my time on this app learning Korean, except for a few weeks spent learning Catalan and Hawaiian.

Ty! ☺️

Except my students really DO have penpals in Spain and it is SO motivating for them. 😉