Sheltering Vocabulary

DARMOK: The Power of Metaphor & Cultural Stories

By |2025-06-11T13:28:17-06:00June 9th, 2025|

I've been teaching Latin almost exclusively with Roman myths for the last three years - with very positive results. I shared this Darmok activity some time ago. Since teaching with mythology is working so well, talking about Darmok bears repeating. Download the updated Darmok classroom activity here. If you love [...]

OJALÁ QUE LLUEVA CAFÉ

By |2025-04-25T09:51:04-06:00April 23rd, 2025|

Ojalá que llueva café is a classic—an oldie, but a goodie. There are many ways this song is helpful for Spanish teachers. Here is a complete lesson, an example of how to teach and use music in Spanish class. My Spanish students have always enjoyed this song because it's [...]

Shelter Vocabulary, Not Grammar

By |2025-04-17T17:59:18-06:00April 17th, 2025|

One of the shortest but most useful sayings by legendary French teacher Susan Gross, is, “Shelter vocabulary, not grammar.” It is important to teach and use verbs as vocabulary, rather than as drilled formulas. When the sound/meaning pair is different, verbs may need to be presented explicitly—but this is [...]

STUDENT-MADE BOOKS

By |2023-02-15T18:07:00-07:00February 15th, 2023|

If you have done a project like this with your students, please add your advice to the comment section below. Funding a classroom library can be challenging. Here are some ways to do that: While you are waiting for your funds to come in, take a look at the [...]

GRAMMAR CRITERIA FOR BOOKS?

By |2022-05-08T21:19:05-06:00May 8th, 2022|

A reader of this blog asks: I'm curious to know, do you have a criterion or standard of what grammar should be included in level 1, level 2, level 3 and level 4 books? Our general standards for grammar follow the levels in a traditional grammar syllabus with a [...]

READING FOR MEANING RATHER THAN STRUGGLING TO DECODE

By |2022-01-22T19:46:58-07:00January 24th, 2022|

Excerpts from the book and workshop Hi-Impact Reading Strategies by Bryce Hedstrom. Authentic texts (or too difficult texts) do not allow students to read for meaning. “The use of authentic texts with learners often has an effect opposite to that intended: instead of helping the reader to read for [...]

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