Classroom Snapshot

During a classroom virtual field trip to Puerto Rico, I can't help but smile as I watch the varied reactions my 4th grade students have when I suggest we hop into a carro público (a type of shared taxi) on our way to Viejo San Juan. Some students are wide-eyed with excitement while others look completely terrified. The simple fact that they understand and react so strongly to the concept of using a carro público shows how far they have come in their learning, and how much I have evolved in my teaching of the 4th grade Modes of Transportation unit. During this particular lesson, my students are using the Google Earth iPad app to independently navigate their way through a virtual field trip of Puerto Rico. But they are doing more than just viewing photographs of San Juan's sandy beaches and El Yunque's lush jungle. They are discussing with their partner whether they should hop on the back seat of a moto-taxi or flag down a gua (a local bus) to get from the airport to their hotel in Old San Juan. It was a real pleasure hearing them evaluate the different types of transportation available to them and watching them work through complex authentic tasks using critical thinking skills, all while using their limited knowledge of the language they are learning.

As for me...

I am a graduate of UConn's Neag School of Education with undergraduate and master's degrees in curriculum and instruction for Spanish education. I also received a cross-endorsement for the teaching of world languages for elementary/primary school from Central Connecticut State University. At the time of this project I have been teaching Spanish in elementary school for eight years, and for the past few years I have been using Byram's (2008) model of intercultural competence (IC) as a guideline for incorporating a more systematic way of guiding my students' development of IC.