AATSP,+Summer+2009

American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Conference in Albuquerque, July 9-12, 2009. The AATSP Conference in Albuquerque was jam-packed with sessions and workshops to present the World Language teacher with teaching tips, the latest technology for use in the classroom and outside the classroom. Some highlights: These are just some of the many topics presented at the conference. Lilliam Fernández, World Languages, MS
 * El Sistema Lexile Para Leer is a resource free to teachers. Visit the website www.Lexile.com to learn how to run an article, a story or a novel through their system and have the program calculate what the lexile score for the submitted text is. You can then match readings to students or student groups. If a story/novel your students read was just at the right level for them, then you can chose another reading for them at a similar lexile score or chose a higher one as your students rise through their reading levels. The Lexile System functions for English and now also for Spanish.
 * A whole session was devoted to the story //"Cajas de cartón"// often read at the secondary school level. Maria A. Leinenweber and Paula Hirsch have created a whole unit that runs the gamut of activities, topics, grammar, geography, history, empathy, social issues, etc. in Spanish using //"Cajas de cartón"// as a jumping off point for multiple discussions. For more information you may contact them at mleinenweb@aol.com and phirsch@windward.org
 * Claudia D. Brown Jackman of Mercy High in Omaha teaches Spanish grammar through word association, acronyms, chants, stomps, and other games in order to make it easier and more fun for the adolescent second language learner. She can be contacted at jackmanc@mercyhigh.org
 * Pamela A. Gemmer presented "Hooked on the 3 R's: Rhyme, Rhythm and Repetition," a way of teaching voacabulary and grammar among other things to the beginning second language learner through song and rhyme, using popular children's and folk songs that most students know the tune of , such as Three Blind Mice, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, 'Dem Bones and others . Very catchy and hopefully memorable for students. Reach her at pagemmer@att.com
 * Jason Noble presented "Welcome to Podcasts, Blogs, and Wikis." He had information for teachers as basic as the hardware and materials needed to create a podcast and how to record if you don't have a microphone by going to www.drop.io and editing through the website audacity.com. Jason is into "free", so most of the sites he recommended were indeed free, a plus for teachers. Students can do their orals calling drop.io in class or online if they have a microphone. Jason had steps on how to create a blog through Google to Blogger. Some helpful blogs http://senornoble.blogspot.com/ and teachingtips.com.blog . Jason also explained the basics of Wikis and informed us that Wikispaces.com has a K-12 teachers' site that has free membership for teachers. Jason Noble can be reached at jasonoble@gmail.com.
 * Some other sessions included using photography as a language teaching tool, art as a teaching tool, and proverbs as a taking off point for teaching.