Back-to-school seasons is right around the corner for most of us. Some of you are loving it: you’re hitting up the dollar bin, touching up that syllabus, and dreaming of how you’ll decorate your room this year.
Others teachers are walking into Target and feel like this when they see the back to school posters:
Either one is OKAY. If you need to bookmark this post for a few weeks later, do it!
But yes, today we’re talking about gearing up for the new school year and where to find the best free downloads and free resources for Spanish teachers.
Before I jump into all the freebie goodness, I do think it’s worthwhile to say this: my teaching grew by leaps and bounds when I was able to invest in high-quality Spanish materials. Yup, I mean the resources that cost money.
Believe me, I know what it’s like to be a broke teacher: driving a falling-apart car to school and working a second job after-hours to make ends meet. I didn’t have a budget from my first school to buy materials, and had zero budget myself.
As I struggling to teach successfully using our antiquated textbooks, I spent hours scouring the internet for free materials and piecing together whatever I could find.
A few years into teaching Spanish, I was finally able to buy several sets of novels and teacher’s guides, and several bundles of teacher-made curriculum (with a combination of my own funds and a modest budget from my school). It saved me so much time, and having a more cohesive flow of materials made me a more effective teacher.
But I know not everyone can do that, and of course I still love a good free download when I can find it!
The list I’ve gathered here will help you find top-notch freebies without wasting your precious summer time and planning periods! When you are planning to invest some paid resources, it obviously helps to see a sample of a larger set. Downloading a few freebies from a site or teacher-author will usually help you get to know their style and type of products, and know if it’s a good fit for your needs.
The Best Free Spanish Downloads and Freebies for Teachers
1. Spanish Resource Libraries / Ebooks
How about if teacher-authors gather some of their top freebies for you with links and files all in one place?
The back-to-school Spanish Ebooks are just that: a compilation of free printable downloads for Spanish teachers from PreK to high school. Check out each resource library here:
2019 Secondary Spanish Ebook Resource Library
2. Must-See Free Online Resources
There are tons of free online tools and Spanish resources, but no need to spend hours searching and scrolling. Here are some great posts that sort out the top free online sites you should know about:
3. Free Spanish Books and Reading Material
We all know that reading is one of the top ways to improve our students’ proficiency. It can be expensive to get all those books, though! Here are some tips for finding free or low-cost Spanish books.
First of all, it’s possible you can find grants or get funding for books without spending any of your own money. See Allison’s tips for starting your classroom library without breaking the bank: How to Start a Spanish Library
Revista Literal is a free e-zine for novice-intermediate Spanish learners, with content written by fellow Spanish students (and of course edited by teachers). You can simply download and print to start stocking your library.
You can also find online Spanish books for kids to use online or print out, from levels novice-advanced.
4. Assessment and Planning Freebies
Here are the freebies I wish I’d known about as a newbie Spanish teacher, facing that first year (or third year!). As you prepare for a new year, it’s the perfect time to get your assessment system and syllabus going.
But don’t start from scratch! There’s lots of free info out there. You’ll probably end up tweaking, combining, or making your own, and it can be so helpful to have these documents in hand for a good starting point.
Proficiency-Based Rubrics:
Rubrics with Performance Targets for Language Classes (Years 1-5) These targets from Martina Bex are really helpful in long-term planning and helping students understand what levels of proficiency look like in a language class.
Speaking Assessment Rubrics Also from Martina Bex, this rubric is an example of how to assess speaking from a proficiency-oriented perspective. Even if you end up making your own, these are a great place to start.
Interpersonal Communication Skills Rubric from Tina Hargaden. You can also find several other rubrics on this page to download.
Listening and Reading Quick Quizzes from Sra. Chase. This is her super-simple system based on the ACTFL guidelines and worth a look.
If you are busy setting up your syllabus for the year, check out these examples for some inspiration:
Spanish 1 Syllabus example from Sra. Shaw
A detailed syllabus from Sra. Chase, based on an editable syllabus from Martina Bex.
More favorites:
La Persona Especial Questions from Bryce Hedstrom
5. Favorite Free Spanish Printables
And of course, my fellow writers here at Secondary Spanish Space need a shoutout for their freebies! Here’s how to stalk their free Spanish downloads at a glance:
I know that there are lots of freebies out there I missed. If you have something awesome to share, let us know in the comments below!
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