Ya Sabes

Bold Ideas and Practical Resources for Your Language Classroom

Hi educators,

You are constantly looking for just that right resource to reach your students more effectively. And we love helping you find them! In this issue of Ya Sabes, we offer some fresh ideas, a way to connect with your peeps, and a really engaging authentic resource to add to your bag of tricks.

• EXPERIENCE - When protest and dance come together

• READ - Wear your MINT-colored glasses in class

• CONNECT - These Facebook groups say many hands make light work

• TEACH - A tasty activity to get your students thinking

• SHARE - We are looking for your voice

What would you like to see in a future issue? We would love to hear from you!

¡Felicidades!

Get Ready to Kick Up Your Feet

Brought to you by the public media powerhouse KQED, Ancestors: Bomba is Puerto Rico’s Afro-Latino Dance of Resistance explores this joyous, defiant Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance form. Both mesmerizing and powerful, its expression is its own unique language, in which the dancers lead the conversation with the musicians. We have even included the accompanying dance lesson, so break out your drums and ruffled dresses, and join in!

STEM & World Languages: A Perfect Match!

What is your STEM doing in my language class? Angelika Becker explores the how and why of adding STEM to your world language lessons. She offers unique activity ideas and helpful advice, so put on those MINT-colored glasses, and settle in for this eye-opening blog post.

It Really is a Social Network

Facebook is not just pictures of people’s cats and political posts. Case in point – two fabulous groups designed to help you get more out of EntreCulturas.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

A Sweet Video! Cristin Bleess, one of our talented instructional strategists, shares this activity for teachers in On Your Way(side) to Proficiency: "When introducing the second essential question for EntreCulturas 4, Unidad 4 (p. 186), ¿Cómo podemos aportar al bienestar de las comunidades?, use this great video from RTVCPlay to get students thinking about neighbors helping neighbors! I think it's a perfect little warm-up activity for starting this section. This video can also be used for any unit on food. Students could identify the different items each neighbor adds to the basket and say what they would add!"

We Are Looking for YOU!

Woot! We love teaming up with Wayside world language educators like YOU! It allows us to connect with you on a deeper level and strengthens our Wayside community. So, if you have a knack for writing for a diverse audience and love sharing advice, tips, reflections, fresh perspectives, and resources, we want to talk to you!

Totidem verbis

Bold ideas and practical resources for your Latin classroom

Hi educators,

Latin educators see the world through a unique lens. While examples abound for French and Spanish educators looking for current and authentic resources for a Civil Rights lesson, there is a growing body of Latin scholarship and resources offering learners the opportunity to study racism, sexism, classism (and all ugly ‘isms) from perspectives of etymology and world history.

Different tools, evoking different connections, will support crucial global conversations. In this issue we share a few refreshing resources created by Latin educators:

• DOWNLOAD our free sight-reading activity - Translation and study of Ferdinand L. Barnett’s address, “Race Unity” (1879)

• REIMAGINE Latin - Why do we do what we do again? This blog from a Latin classroom reignited our flame!

• EXPLORE these 5 links worth sharing - Online events and resources for teaching Civil Rights and the Classics

• REPRESENT Women - Opportunities to teach texts about and by women in Latin and ancient Greek

• TAKE a path less traveled to the AP^® - Sight-reading with Scandite Muros

Special thanks to educators Jane Lineau, Alex Terwelp, Maureen Lamb, David Wright, Rachel Ash, Justin Slocum Bailey, Kevin Ballestrini, John Bracey, David Maust, Miriam Patrick, Bob Patrick, Lance Piantaggini, John Piazza, Keith Toda and others for their contributions to the field. We also posthumously recognize Ferdinand L. Barnett (cited in our sight-reading activity) and his wife Ida B. Wells, for setting the bar for global citizenship in their words and actions.

What would you like to see in a future issue? We would love to hear from you!

Beatus doctrina,

Free Sight-Reading Activity

Free to print and download: Lawyer and journalist Ferdinand L. Barnett gave his most famous address, Race Unity, to the May 1879 National Conference of Colored Men. In the face of policies that pitted marginalized races and classes against their own, Barnett and his peers advocated for unity among all Black Americans, paving the way for the Civil Rights movements to follow. The two central themes of Barnett’s address, employment and education, also motivated Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech eighty-four years later.

The Imagination Within Latin

New on the Proficiency Talks blog, by Alex Terwelp: “Students benefit immensely from using their imagination to make connections with abstractions. You will not find a student in your career who has met an ancient Roman or has visited ancient Rome. Because they cannot immerse themselves in the culture, students must imagine everything.”

5 Links Worth Sharing 

Online events and resources for teaching Social Justice and the Classics:

1. Classics and Racism – a Zoom event January 16th at 3:00 PM ET. held by The Classical Association of the Atlantic States. Register here today!
2. Certamen Voices Project – hosted by NJCL
3. Social Justice in Secondary Latin – Facebook group hosted by educators
4. Classics at the Intersections – scholarship, citations, and links to inspire your research for your next lesson, curated by Rebecca Futo Kennedy
5. Latin Novella Database – blog dedicated to analyses of the newest Latin novellas

Representing Women in Latin Class

New on the Proficiency Talks blog: Many Latin and ancient Greek textbooks, and even the AP^® exam, focus largely on the experiences of aristocratic Roman men and not so much on experiences of women. In this newest blog post, Latin teacher Maureen Lamb discusses opportunities to teach texts about and by women in Latin and ancient Greek. 

The Path Less Traveled: Sight-Reading

Latin educator and author Jane Lineau thought creatively when she wrote Scandite Muros. Not only does it uniquely focus on sight-reading, it provides a flipped classroom approach that can be adapted to blended, virtual, or in-person semesters. Scaffolding Scandite techniques led Jane to grow one of the largest Latin programs in Maine, with students seeing both AP^® exam success and long-term reading skill development. Explore a free sample of this intermediate and advanced Latin favorite.

A Propos

Bold ideas and practical resources for your French classroom

Hi Educators,

In the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance, we learn that "Tolerance is respect, acceptance and, appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human." In this spirit, we have compiled some resources with the hope of further fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples.

• READ - This blog series exploring authentic resource best practices

• WATCH - Our video on "Top 5 Tips for Vocabulary Instruction"

• MODEL - Culturally responsive and sensitive communication

• CELEBRATE - The thirtieth anniversary of AAUSC

• TOAST - Our brand new 2021 catalog

What would you like to see in a future issue? We would love to hear from you!

Bon cours,

Accessing Authentic Resources

New on the Blog: In a series of three blog posts, instructional strategist Debbie Espitia breaks down the best practices of incorporating authentic resources into lessons. The third post is hot off the (virtual) presses this week!

Our Top Recommendation for the Wayside YouTube Channel

Featured Video: With these 5 tips, instructional strategist Michelle Olah addresses how you can enhance memory and understanding of target language vocabulary.

Ya Sabes

Bold Ideas and Practical Resources for Your Language Classroom

Hi educators,

Authentic resources are a core component of proficiency-driven language instruction, so they are always on our minds. How do we find authentic resources that are relevant and engaging for instruction? How do we celebrate the authenticity of our own culture in daily life? And how do textbook authors incorporate authentic resources into curriculum design? We are delighted to explore these questions, and more, with you.

• READ – A blog series break down of authentic resource best practices
• COOK – Watch this authentic cooking lesson created for aspiring cooks, recorded in the target language
• CONSIDER – How authors combined authentic resources, communicative based tasks, and more, into the design of our AP^® Spanish text
• REQUEST – Wayside's instant 30-day full content review

What would you like to see in a future issue? We would love to hear from you!

¡Felicidades!

Authentic Resources Are Accessible

New on the Blog: In a series of three blog posts, instructional strategist Debbie Espitia breaks down the best practices of incorporating authentic resources into lessons. Read her first two parts today, and subscribe to our language learning and teaching blog, Proficiency Talks, to get the third post automatically emailed to your inbox next Tuesday!.

Authentic Resources are Delicious

New Video Episodes: Before Eduardo Rodriguez became a Wayside Language Solutions Specialist, he was riveting learners as a classroom teacher – and if you watch these cooking lessons, you will understand why! These entertaining demonstrations may inspire you, or your intermediate-advanced learners, to whip up a delicious example of an authentic dish!

Authentic Resources are Deliberate

In the video series How We Wrote This, Wayside's Triangulo APreciado author Frank Masel breaks down the approach the authors took when creating this indispensable AP^® Spanish program.

Frank Masel's study of World Language education includes a B.A. in Spanish with a French Minor from Berea College, and an M.A. in Teaching with a Concentration in Spanish Language from Eastern Kentucky University. His classroom experiences include teaching Spanish 1, 3, and AP^® levels in Kentucky and Maryland, teaching English at a bilingual elementary school in Spain, and instructing college students as an adjunct professor.

Masel currently teaches a variety of levels of Spanish and French at Catonsville High School just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, he sponsors the high school's International Club and a service-learning club. Outside of the classroom, Masel is a Table Leader for the AP^® Spanish Language and Culture exam.

Free Test Drive! Request a Complimentary Digital Review

It could not be any easier. Just select your textbook interests, answer a few quick questions, and Boom! - you will receive a 30-day full content review!

Proficiency Insider

Bold ideas and practical resources for your language classroom

Hi educators,

Welcome to the fall edition of the Proficiency Insider, your go-to source for taking language instruction to the next level. Join us as we dive into virtual back-to-school nights, remote feedback and assessment tools, and online Hispanic Heritage Month resources. In this issue::

• READ – yesterday’s blog on virtual back-to-school nights
• WATCH – our videos on remote assessment resources
• EXPLORE – online Hispanic Heritage Month resources from University of Oregon and UT Austin
• REQUEST – Wayside's instant 30-day full content review

What would help you this school year? We would love to hear from you!

Happy Teaching!

The Wayside Publishing Team

Four Ideas for Parents Night, Pandemic Style

New on the Blog: We are all familiar with back-to-school nights at the start of the year. Typically, they are opportunities to share basic information about our classes and meet our students’ families. This year, just like everything else, it is going to look a bit different. Here are four ideas to help make your virtual event as engaging as possible.

Featured Videos - Remote Assessment Resources

Artwork by Celestino Deleyto Alcalá, 2012

Online Hispanic Heritage Month Resources

Empowering Learners of Spanish is an open educational resource developed by University of Oregon faculty, including Director of Language Instruction Robert Davis, who co-authored Wayside’s own EntreCulturas 1. Certified by UT Austin’s COERLL, Empowering Learners of Spanish offers a variety of resources for heritage learners, as well as students learning Spanish as a second language.

Hispanic Heritage belongs in EVERY month. COERLL at UT Austin is hopefully a resource known to educators of Spanish, but we wanted to give a shout out this month specifically to their team for their continued efforts behind the COERLL newsletter that delivers new professional development options and resources, year-round.

Free Test Drive! Request a Complimentary Digital Review

It could not be any easier. Just select your textbook interests, answer a few quick questions, and Boom! - you will receive an 30-day full content review!