Jefferson Elementary School teacher Hilaire Escaladas is combining the teaching of Spanish with student-centered activities that promote social and emotional well-being.
One project, a “mood meter” outside her classroom, encourages students to identify their feelings, while a poem project encouraged appreciation of self-identity.
Escaladas said the mood meter is a visual reminder to students to be aware of – and manage – their feelings. Students are asked, “¿Cómo te sientes hoy?” (How do you feel today?) and they respond with “me siento…” (I feel …). The mood meter also was produced in a smaller format that students cut and pasted into their interactive notebooks. “Every time we use our notebooks, it’s an opportunity for students to do a quick check-in with themselves,” said Escaladas.
To support an introductory lesson in Spanish, Escaladas had fourth- and fifth-graders listen to a song called “Soy Yo” (“I am”), which centers around being proud and confident. After learning some vocabulary in Spanish to describe various personality traits, students described themselves and then named family members or friends who are similar. Students also identified where they are from, which provided recognition of various cultures.
These “Yo soy” sentences were used to create poems posted around the classroom, art-gallery style. After reading one another’s poems, students left each other feedback – fortifying stronger connections with classmates.
