You know when you teach 3 or 4 (or 5… oh god or 6??) Spanish 1 sections… and one of the classes is highly motivated. And one of them can’t stop talking. One of them is right after lunch when everyone wants to sleep. Then the last one is full of jokesters… like each class has its own personality.
And one section flies through the material. And of course one of them doesn’t… each class moves at a different pace.
If you teach Spanish 1 and Spanish 2, and all of your Spanish 1 classes move at different paces, then it’s like having 5 preps instead of 2.
Hard. 👏 Pass. 👏
I’m not about that life where I have 5 preps.
Those classes are all going to stay on the same material at the same pace through the curriculum if I have anything to do with it.
There is no world in which one of my Spanish 1 classes will be learning ir + places vocab and the next class is a day behind with present tense verbs. And the next class is two days behind where I’m introducing present tense verbs with yo & tú forms… no. thank. you.
It’s way easier to just teach the same lesson 3 times.
When I have different sections of the same class that move at different paces, I plan for the fastest-moving class and everyone else will skip things.
#makeitwork
So for each day’s lesson, I create what I will do with that fast-paced class. Then the other slower-moving classes will skip Actividad 3. Or they won’t play that game. Or they’ll only do #1-10 instead of #1-20… whatever makes sense. Whatever helps them master the material and stay on the same lesson as we move through the curriculum.
I consider this working smarter and not harder. What do you do to keep various sections moving at the same pace through the curriculum? Share your ideas in the comments below!
1 Comment
Great advice! This is how I’ve been doing it for years. I make little notes in my planning guide so I’ll know the next year what to add or cut out. And honestly, when I have to cut the game for the slower class, if they hear about it from their friends in other class sections and ask why the didn’t get to do it, I tell them they need to pick up the pace and EARN the game. Usually by December, we’re all on the same page! (4 Spanish I classes this year!)