Awww! I had a penpal from Belize and I also have all of my grandma’s pre-WW2 correspondence with her penpal from Japan including some paper lanterns, wooden dolls, a scarf, etc. Treasures for sure. ❤️

25 is a great start. Anything from Wayside (order through customer service for best pricing or order from CPLI), anything AC Quintero, Craig Klein-Dexemple, were big favorites. Intermediates also loved the “Quién es” book series. Ask students for books in lieu of holiday gifts!

If reading is comprehensible, no lookup needed. Teach them to tolerate a little ambiguity or look up after. Looking up during FVR wastes time.

Some readers are better than others, and there is some absolute unedited crap out there also. I always read when kids were reading, and I’d read a new addition, do a book talk for the class, then add to library. Most kids would rather read comprehensible than passion.

Here is a podcast @senoracmt.bsky.social and I did on the topic of SSR/FVR! www.youtube.com/watch?v=gubt...

@senoracmt.bsky.social What about your Enriquécete? I feel like that would be helpful here. Kids definitely do take the path of least resistance and fall back on known language.

In my opinion by that level there isn’t much actual teaching of vocab. You are now putting students into a language rich environment with tons of reading and listening, robust discussion on a variety of topics, and a regular FVR program. They will acquire more than you could actually teach.

This reminds me I need to go make a donation to the @aclu.bsky.social! Thanks for the reminder Elon! 🤣

If you want to save yourself the work, @senoracmt.bsky.social has some Huellas units that would fit the bill perfectly!

I’m gonna need to know whose cows actually WERE out! 🐄

Oh wow!!! I have stopped so many times just to appreciate a single sentence. Absolutely loving it!

I recently read The Hidden Palace, sequel to The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker and enjoyed them both very much! Now continuing the Jinn theme with The Jinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan and I am LOVING IT. Gorgeous writing! #booksky

As a person with single-sided deafness nothing is worse in a session than a presenter not using the mic. Even in a smaller room it makes it so much easier for me! Also when they let someone in the audience ask a ? and they don’t repeat it for everyone!