Making it Through December: Surviving until the end of the Semester

Normally, I am excited for the end of the semester. I give my students a final activity to prove to them all that they have acquired during our several months together. We spend time reflecting together and projecting for the new year.

This year, however, thinking of December has me feeling like I’m climbing a mountain…

…uphill all the way… in the snow…

It’s a bit overwhelming. You see, this is my current view:

I had foot surgery on Monday of this week, and I’m not going to lie – it stopped me in my tracks. I am a pretty high energy person, always on the go, always available to lend a helping hand. However, this foot-in-a-boot and not being able to bear any weight for many weeks is quite literally for the birds!

The thought of December is daunting. And it’s not just because I had foot surgery. December is difficult for many people in a variety of ways. Constantly busy, stressed, forcing joy, because, you know, it’s your duty to be happy all the time as a teacher, right? A lot of people struggle through the holidays – and most of their reasons have nothing to do with the inconvenience of a foot surgery.

How am I going to survive the end of the semester?

Now that I am a CI teacher, the answer is easy.

Work smarter, not harder!

I have a variety of Movie Talks, Clip Chats, stories, and more that are focused around the holidays. I recently dug out my Frankie’s Holiday screenshots and spent a few minutes updating the structures to be more advanced.

Here is the video:

The first time we saw Frankie, my level 4’s were in level 1! They still talk about Frankie. So I thought, why not bring back an oldie but goodie with updated language? We are targeting the subjunctive right now, so I updated my storyline.

You can click here to make a copy of my screenshots. This is the very first Clip Chat I ever did, so the slides are far from perfect. However, the best part is that there are ZERO words – you can make the story whatever you want it to be! (This was my very first Clip Chat – it is far from perfect. You are free to make a copy and make whatever changes you want.)

This is a beloved story for my students and I. We have talked about Frankie a lot over our 3 and 1/2 years together. Just like the beloved storybook that you read to your children over and over and over, revisiting a Movie Talk or Clip Chat can have wonderful benefits.

Another beloved Clip Chat that I made two years ago is Justino.

For a copy of the screenshots that I made to go with Justino, just click here to make a copy for yourself. I am not a native speaker of Spanish, so if you find an error, please let me know. Once you’ve made a copy, you can alter the storyline any way you wish. You can even have a different version for each level. You can revisit the story every year and build on it. Using familiar contexts with new language is an important part of the L2 acquisition process.

Some more favorites from years past come from La Maestra Loca and Kara Kane Jacobs. I absolutely love the story of Caga Tió from Catalán. It is a great way to introduce a completely different Christmas tradition. Annabelle has a complete lesson on her blog that includes a slides presentation. I recently discovered Dreaming Spanish’s version of Caga Tió that I will be using with my level 4’s right before break. Students will be using FlipGrid.com to record their own Christmas tradition story.

Kara Kane Jacobs also has a version of el Tió de Nadal on her blog. You can find it here.

So, how will I be surviving the month of December?

I will definitely be working smarter than I ever have before by recycling, I mean upgrading, old units. I will be tackling that mountain one non-weight bearing step at a time. I am not ashamed to say that the largest part of my success as a CI teacher is due to the generosity of truly talented teachers like Annabelle Williamson, Kara Kane Jacobs, Martina Bex, Kristy Placido, Carrie Toth, and many, many more.

Cheers to a wonderful holiday season!