| The beginning of the year can be so fun! You’re excited to get to know your kids and help them learn new things! But then –big sigh– you have to REVIEW! Oh no!! Is it just me or does that suck all the fun out of everything?! Well, through trial and error, I have come up with the best way to review with Spanish students: Differentiated review checklists! |
What are differentiated review checklists?
Differentiated Spanish review checklists allow students to review Spanish grammar concepts that they forgot over the summer at their own pace!
They prevent higher achieving students from being disruptive due to boredom, and they allow students who are struggling to work in a smaller setting so they feel comfortable asking for help.
How do you create these Spanish review checklists?
To begin with, students complete a pre-test mostly covering the grammar topics and vocabulary my department or the high school will expect them to know. Depending on the group of students, I have written a few different spanish review pre-tests.
I tell my students that this is not for a grade and they should just try their best. I will use the results to help guide our review.
After I look at the tests, I circle sections that students need to review on these small slips of paper. I use the slips of paper rather than passing back their pre-test right away, because I want them to actually go through the activities, and not just look up the corrections they will need to make later.
Next, I share this independent review checklist with students. It’s a Google Doc with hyperlinks to interesting videos, games and online practice. Students must complete the spanish activities they personally need to review.
Each section has a re-teaching video and some type of self-grading activity for them to complete that will provide immediate feedback. This allows me to walk around and answer lots of questions and help kids in a unique way. Students only review the areas that they struggled with. Here is an example of a Spanish review checklist that I used with my 7th graders in their second year of Spanish.
What if a student doesn’t need to review anything?
For those students that aced their pre-test, they work on the extension activity in the last box. For my extension activity, I assign a video and activities from the website www.SeñorWooly.com. This is a paid website, but worth every penny! It provides engaging music videos in Spanish with excellent activities and games! Students who do the absolute bare minimum in my class work ahead on Sr. Wooly activities – that’s how engaging it is! It is also the single best activity to leave when you have a sub!
Depending on the class and the level of enrichment needed, I recommend “La invitación” or “Los quehaceres.” I deliberately pick a video that isn’t going to lead into a future unit I am teaching, so that the enrichment students do not get even further ahead of the students who are reviewing.
Logistics for differentiated Spanish review
The key to successful differentiated review in your Spanish class is the organization factor! Before you pass out the activities to students, you have to set very clear expectations. I require students who need a lot of review to stay in my room. Sometimes I will even put students into three groups based on the amount of review they need. I ask these groups to sit together and help each other. I typically begin with the neediest group, so I can get them started on the correct path and answer their questions. Then I float to the other groups as needed. The only group I allow in the hallway is the extension group, and I lay out these guidelines:
I am fortunate to work in a 1:1 school where all of my students have Chromebooks, so they can complete this kind of review or enrichment activity on their own. It usually takes about a period and a half to complete (70 minutes), and students may move on to the extension once they finish their assigned review. For the one or two students who need more time, they complete it for homework. After they have reviewed, students also write corrections in another color ink on their test, which I collect.
For me, this has been the most efficient and best way to review Spanish grammar and still engage all kids!
