Super Site Sábado #7

This week I am highlighting an app that one of my delightful former colleagues brought to my attention this past school year. 

Rosetta Stone Kids is a free application that offers the opportunity for students to build their letter/sound recognition, vocabulary and speaking/comprehension skills in both English and Spanish.

It is a great one for preschool and primary grades or for those who are working to first learn a new language.

The app utilizes these adorable and ridiculously fun little creatures called GoGoLingos to present the skills for practice. 

There are 3 activity options within the app. 

My favorite is the "Spanish Speak & Learn".

In this activity, kids are introduced to a new word by sharing for example "The word for dance in Spanish is...", it then pronounces it, and finally asks them to repeat by using the microphone feature on the phone/iPad. 

Once the child pronounces the word effectively, the GoGoLingo will "perform" the word definition. (Seriously, these little guys crack me up.)

It continues by adding on to the word and utilizing it in different contexts (i.e. dance fast, to the left, to the right, dance together, etc.)

Check out more about the other activities this app offers by watching this YouTube video all about it below :).

Super Bubbles - Monday Made It!

I am thrilled to finally be participating in a Monday Made It this summer. While I had plenty of wedding, household, you name it items that I did "make" this summer, this is the first time I thought you all may find what I made to be more up your alley! I am hoping to participate in a lot more in the weeks to come as there is only about a month before school starts and my creative juices are a flowin'!

That being said, yesterday evening, I worked to put together some BOY welcome gifts for my new thirdies. I have seen some really great bubble ideas come across on Pinterest. We had plenty left over from our wedding, so I thought I'd do a little reuse and repurpose type project. Thus, I took the ribbon off of the leftovers, added some new along with a paper cape to tie in my super hero theme, and there ya have it -  a "super" bubble welcome gift was born! 

It reads "I have been bubbling with excitement to meet you, superkid". 

I just used the trapezoid feature on Powerpoint to make the capes (fit 8 to a sheet on colored card stock) and then added the text and superhero to each side. For the finishing touch, my helper of a hubby glued on each bubble wand with hot glue. Somehow, I think he feels manly when he gets to use a glue gun ;).

Super Site Sábado #6

Hello-World is a site I came across this year that is not only particularly great for kids, but for people of all ages to learn about different languages in a fun, light-hearted way. I must say even I got hooked for awhile trying to pick up languages I had never even thought of trying out before.

The site is free to use and and offers options to learn vocabulary and more from 21 different languages around the world.

Here is a snapshot of what they are all about:

And here is a glimpse at some of the languages they offer:

Once you select a language, you will be brought to a screen with tons of options as to what you'd like to learn about.

Here is an example of a bingo game based on household vocabulary that I chose to play.

You will see and hear a vocabulary word and then must select the correct picture. If you get it right, it will be highlighted with the blue circle (looks a bit like a bingo chip!), and if you select wrong, you will get that sad looking red x. Obviously, the object is to get 5 in a row. You can see my win straight down the center. This game is offered with different vocabulary ranging over a variety of basic concepts.

Here is another activity example for practicing numbers. Kids love a good connect-the-dots picture and this one enables them to hear and practice numbers in the language of their choice at the same time. 

There is also an interactive dictionary under each language which you can use to locate words...

as well as hear them and see a picture reference. 

Another activity that I found to be pretty useful can be found under the "Main Concepts" heading for each language. Here, you can click on any of the key concepts that you are interested in learning more about and practice the vocabulary/listen to it on an interactive screen. For instance, on this calendar screen below, I can click on the days of the week, months, year, season etc. and they will all be read to me according. The season even changes with the month chosen!

Another neat aspect of the site is that if you and/or your students, etc. are not native speakers of English, the site can be translated into a different language for navigation purposes as well simply by selecting from the menu on the left-hand side bar. Pretty nifty, right?

There is seriously so much more to explore on this site. Thus, I think instead of hearing me gab about it more, you should really go check it out yourself! Hope you have a much fun as I did exploring Hello-World and learning new languages, even if it is only a word or two!

Have a great weekend!

First Ever Bilingual Ebook

Many of you may have seen eBooks created by some of your favorite bloggers in the past as you have perused blogs and TpT. If so, you know what a valuable tool they can be.

Some of us bloggers that collaborate at iTeach Bilinguals, decided it was time to create one of these lovely little resource filled readers - bilingual style.

Thus, today I present to you the very first ever Bilingual eBook. 

We decided to focus this first edition on "Back to School" tips, ideas and products to help all who read it get even more prepared for this quickly approaching, upcoming school year.

Inside, each page is written by a different bilingual blogger and contains the following components/links:

 

You can download the eBook by clicking here, or by clicking on either of the images above.

Oh, and did I mention the best part - it is absolutely free! So there is no excuse not to see what it's all about ;). Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Special thanks to Nicole from Nicole & Eliceo for piecing all of our pages together and to all of the bilingual educators who contributed to make this a seriously worthwhile read.

Language Arts Themed Alphabets

Happy Hump Day All!

To those of you that are off galavanting around Vegas this week for the TpT Conference, I hope you are having such a blast! Wish I could be there, but alas, instead I am wading through all of the hubby's and my stuff that we have accumulated over the past goodness knows how long and trying to purge and combine household items before our upcoming move. Wanna trade ;)?

In the midst of it all (and in order to keep my sanity), I did, however, create some new packs that I am sooooo incredibly excited about.

Some of you who have been following me for awhile may remember a few years back when I came out with my "Second Grade Spanish Alphabet". I had tied the alphabet along with content vocabulary across subject areas for this specific grade level.

While I loved the idea behind that alphabet, with my move to 3rd grade this year, I was looking to update the alphabet to be cursive instead of print as well as looking to tweak the vocabulary to make it appropriate for my new students!

I am happy to say, I accomplished this and more!

I started by creating this gem. Exactly what I needed!

And then thought, well maybe some still would prefer the print.

And that led me of course to think, maybe some would prefer an English Alphabet instead.

And you know what is coming next, an English cursive alphabet of course.

And when all was said and done, four new packs were born!

English/Spanish, Cursive/Print.

(All can be accessed by clicking on the image of your choice.)

And here is the best part. To streamline the alphabets a little more so that they could be used across a variety of grade levels (including with my new 3rdies), I utilized key language arts vocabulary (many of which came straight from the CCSS) to correspond with every letter instead of bouncing around subject areas with vocabulary truly only tied to second grade. (Note: For those that have my Second Grade Spanish Alphabet (and use and love it), feel free to continue using it, or download the updated version with the language arts vocab instead by clicking on the "Spanish Alphabet Print Version" above.)

For our language learners especially, it is so important that we that we are constantly facilitating their ability to make connections and draw meaning from vocabulary and concepts. By utilizing these alphabets, every time they look up at a letter, they will be reminded of key academic vocabulary they are using all of the time in their classrooms!

Here are some examples in both Spanish and English of what these 1/2 page cards look like:

All include a picture example along with a corresponding LA vocabulary term.

As well as of course, an example of how to form each letter of the alphabet and highlighting within the key LA term to show where this key letter is found, which in turn helps with sound reference.

I must admit, I found some words to be kind of tricky in either language. Thus, as you can see in the second example, some of the words may contain the letter in the middle or end of the word, in place of the beginning. (Which is why I may add that this product is probably best suited for students who already have an understanding of their basic sounds. Ie. 2nd-4th grade) Also, please note that while English and Spanish have many cognates, which enabled me to keep many of the words the same, some are different, simply due to the differences in letters/vocabulary available in the language! 

I cannot wait to get these up and refer to them throughout the year to build the vocabulary development of my students. What do you guys think? Is this something that you would or could use? Which pack would you choose?

*4th of July* Bilingual Blog Hop

Welcome hoppers!
 For those who haven't visited before, I'm Krista, the teacher behind the blog here at
"The Second Grade Superkids".

I am so excited to be participating in the second ever "Bilingual Blog Hop" this festive 4th of July weekend with some of my favorite bilingual bloggers (and all of you!) over the course of the next few days!

One of the most important things I think we can do for our students is provide them with the resources to foster learning and independence. Each year, throughout the year, I work hard to determine what resources may be useful for my students to have at their fingertips to do just this. 

Once of the things I have found that is consistently helpful for many students to have at their side while writing is a Spanish letter reference card or chart. In the primary grades, a basic letter formation chart was always handy for my kids, and when we entered the second half of second grade (and as I begin teaching 3rd grade this school year), the cursive reference chart is a must as well!

My students keep these cards in their writing folders and I usually have a few extras on hand in our writing station as well. The nice thing about them is you can laminate them and use them from year to year, send copies with students for use at home, etc. They are quite versatile, and you can even print different versions based on each students' needs!

Check out the copies of these cards I use below, and feel free to click on any of the images to download the set for free for use with your students.

If you download the cards, I'd really love to hear your feedback!

Interested in a classroom alphabet set to go along with them? Check out my Spanish Alphabet Card packs here: Print or Cursive 

And for more "super" bilingual ideas like this one, feel free to follow me at Facebook, Pinterest, and Teachers Pay Teachers as well! I am currently hosting a sale at my store to celebrate our hop and this Independence Day holiday. 

You can receive 20% off all of my bilingual and/or Spanish products.

Enjoy your weekend and God Bless America!

Thanks so much for stoppin' by!

Next stop, the lovely ladies of The Dual Trio. 

You are welcome to visit any of the other hop participants as well by clicking on any of the links below!

Instagrammin' Bilinguals!

Calling all teachers in the bilingual realm!

There's a new Instagram hashtag out there that we'd love for you to use! In an effort to collaborate with one another via this social media outlet, please feel free to tag any classroom related posts and ideas using the hashtag above! It is just one more way for us to share resources with one another! 

Spread the news with those you know as well! The more the merrier!

Also, just wanted to let you all know that tomorrow will kick off the start of our second official "Bilingual Blog Hop"! (Some of you may have already seen my countdown a rollin' on the Second Grade Superkids Facebook page!)

Along with great resources and freebies at every stop, many of us with also be hosting sales in our stores to celebrate all the fun along with America's birthday all in one!

Be sure to check back tomorrow!